Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
When we first moved out to the woods, I had never used a chainsaw before in my life, but because we use so much wood for cooking and heating, I needed to become a fast learner and practiced using it nearly every day. It seems like I was sharpening saw blades more than cutting wood. Everytime that you hit a rock or some dirt, it only took a split second to completely dull them.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
You can save yourself countless hours of sharpening saw blades if you simply perfect the way that you cut firewood. You need to practice each day, learning to keep your saw blade out of the dirt.
Ephesians 4:11-15 ¹¹ And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; ¹² For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: ¹³ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: ¹⁴ That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; ¹⁵ But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
God wants us to go on unto perfection, but in order to do that, we have to accept the truth of scripture. In order to become a saint, we are going to have to transform and overcome sin in our lives. This begins by accepting God’s Word. You must first admit that you are a sinner, and acknowledge the error of your way, before lasting change can take place. God is rich in mercy and ready to forgive, but one must recognize the things that you need to change in order to walk in His perfect will. In the carnal state, we are imperfect creatures, but God wants us to become perfect.
Hebrews 6:1 “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,”
If we sin we have an advocate with the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, but we are not supposed to receive grace in vain. It needs to result in the perfection of the soul. Should we sin that grace may abound, God forbid. We must use God’s forgiveness to come to a place in our lives where we can go and sin no more, becoming obedient children to a loving and faithful God.
Matthew 5:48 “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”
When we lived in the world we acted and behaved like the world, but when we are baptized into the faith, we are supposed to be transformed into new creatures in Christ.
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
In order to become pleasing unto God we have to walk in faith, seeking to obey Him out of love. We need to step off of the wide road of sin, and begin walking the narrow path of submission to God. Jesus is our example who serves God perfectly. The Apostles and disciples of the Lord proved by their own actions that we can overcome the carnal nature. This is a world that is filled with sin, but God wants to take us to a new place, a righteous world that is filled with pure charity. To obtain that place, we must practice our faith day by day until like a recital piece, it becomes flawless.
2 Corinthians 7:1 “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
The Apostles main goal was to bring the church to a place of perfection in the sight of God. This is why they were constantly educating and teaching them God’s Word.
Colossians 1:27-28 ²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: ²⁸ Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
2 Corinthians 13:9 “For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.”
When we begin the Christian Life, we are like a baby taking their first steps. If they fall down, they need to get back up and try it again. God gives us an ample amount of grace in order to do this. Think about how many times a figure skater will keep practicing their routine over and over, in order to someday win an Olympic medal. We need to practice our faith each and every day, so that someday we can eventually achieve the prize of eternal life. We must edify and build each other up in the one true faith, which requires that we are unified under the exact same teachings of scripture. In these modern days, numerous people have altered scriptures, to the point that they are so far away from the original verse, that they have completely twisted its meaning. To have true unity in the church we have to be united under the same Bible. Variations on scripture only brings forth contention. To do God’s will, we must know God’s will so that we can eventually attain a place of perfection.
Colossians 4:12 “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.”
Hebrews 13:20-21 ²⁰ Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
²¹ Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Just like a little child we need to move on to maturity, not allowing ourselves to be led astray by people who are trying to deceive us. Remember that this is what happened to Eve in the garden of Eden, resulting in separation from Paradise. The devil certainly doesn’t want you to obey the commands of God, but will attempt to lead you in rebellion with him. He continues to do the same thing today, deceiving the hearts of the simple.
Romans 16:17-19 ¹⁷ Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. ¹⁸ For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple. ¹⁹ For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
To win the race, we must move on to a place of perfection, practicing the Christian Life each and every day, until we finally learn to keep that saw blade,…
…….Out of the Dirt
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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