Ephesians– overview of 3:1-9; The Secret of the Ages, part 30 (Overcoming sin and suffering).

The fastest growing churches in the world are in China and Iran. A leader of the Iranian church in an interview said that the greatest evangelist sent to their country was the Ayatollah. 40 years of rule under Islamic law was, according to them, a utopia, and the people saw firsthand for an entire generation that it was nothing close. He further went on to say that the persecution against the church that began with the rule of the Ayatollahs only destroyed the churches that did not contain disciples of Christ. Churches that were just about converts and Christianity light were easily removed, but the followers of Christ were only strengthened and their evangelistic message was emboldened.

Christianity is meant to be lived, not just spoken.

1Jo 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

1Jo 3:17 But whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

1Jo 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.

“Others. Love always accounts for others. It protects, it serves, it lays down all that it has for others. True love is selfless. It seeks to heal, to edify, to make right. It is righteous always. It is the purest of all emotions, though it is never dominated by emotionalism. It is divorced from the world and yet it dives headlong into the lion’s den to share The Good News with it. It is fearless, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a). It is bold before God, ready to sacrifice, willing to substitute itself to save another. It has no boundaries, no reservations about how to express itself. When called to action, it simply acts, transcending all human reason and venturing into the divine.” [Pastor Ed Collins]

For something to act spontaneously, it must be alive, in existence, itself, long before its need.

The love of God, and every virtue of God, must exist, coiled and ready, within the believer; living, fermenting, poised, and real, thriving in divine power and will to spontaneously act when called into action by any and every circumstance. Therefore, divine truth flowing through the heart of the believer must do so when it is not called upon. We can never say, “Ah, now is the time for me, for selfishness, for my sin, for my life, for no one is calling upon me.”

That we must not do. Can we imagine Christ doing that?

Do not lie to yourself. And the answer to the existence of your indwelling purity, or lack of, may be painful. And it will not mean that it will, in that moment of enlightenment, exist, but what will you do with an honest examination of yourself? Will you set off in the proper direction to set your house in order?

Luk 11:33 "No one, after lighting a lamp, puts it away in a cellar, nor under a peck-measure, but on the lampstand, in order that those who enter may see the light.

Luk 11:34 "The lamp of your body is your eye; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness.

Luk 11:35 "Then watch out that the light in you may not be darkness.

Luk 11:36 "If therefore your whole body is full of light, with no dark part in it, it shall be wholly illumined, as when the lamp illumines you with its rays."

“With no dark part in it,” [Greek: meros – a part or a portion] means an inner man undefiled and uncontaminated. It is one of our greatest dangers that we self-deceive on that question.

Luk 11:37 Now when He had spoken, a Pharisee asked Him to have lunch with him; and He went in, and reclined at the table.

Luk 11:38 And when the Pharisee saw it, he was surprised that He had not first ceremonially washed before the meal.

Washing [Greek: baptize – immerse the hands in water] the hands before eating was proper as they ate with their hands and not with utensils. However, to the religious Jews, this washing become a ceremony like so many other things, going beyond the need to becoming a source of religious dedication. But what if your hands were already clean before you approached the table? To them, the washing must be done as a sign of religiosity, but of course, within themselves, they were unclean.

Luk 11:39 But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the platter; but inside of you, you are full of robbery and wickedness.

Luk 11:40 "You foolish ones, did not He who made the outside make the inside also?

Luk 11:41 "But give that which is within as charity [alms], and then all things are clean for you.

Jesus speaks soon after of a baptism in this regard.

Luk 12:49 "I have come to cast fire upon the earth; and how I wish it were already kindled!

Luk 12:50 "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!

Alms indeed!

Again: For something to act spontaneously, it must be alive, in existence, itself, long before its need.

If there is anything hindering your intake of God’s word, you’re convinced you’re too busy, you didn’t like the subject, you had other things to do, etc. it will still be required of you. There are no excuses.

“Watered down Christianity, devoid of grace and power, is in every community throughout this great nation and the world, and although it eases the mind held by the flesh, it does nothing to empower or even excite Christians to live the Christ life. Watered down Christianity is an anesthetic and nothing else [it was easily removed by the Ayatollahs in Iran]. All things that the ambassador of Christ does must be done exactly as our Lord would have it, and it is never to be interlaced with our human ideas and especially our ambition and zeal. Our zeal is to be for the Lord and this will set us on our proper footing. Our zeal is not even to be for mankind. Satan has that. Our love of the Lord is to be far above of anything or anyone else. When this is so we will love mankind properly and never put him above the command of the Lord.” [blog: Messengers, part 1]