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Spiritual Warfare: A Question of Authority
So far, in our efforts to become more spiritually fit, we have successfully worked our way through three of the four levels of exercise in our Workout Program where at… Level 1, we covered the basics of our Faith; learning how, through Salvation, we are Redeemed from Sin and Death, and adopted as children into the Family of God. Level 2, we dealt with Sanctification; or the life-long training process by which the Holy Spirit transforms us from the Sinners we once were into Holy Sons and Daughters of God. Level 3, we learned about Service; or the Work of God that we, as His…
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Sanctification: Restoring the Soul through Prayer
During our previous exercise in Sanctification, we learned that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to… Birth us as the spiritual children of God; then, Mature us into sons and daughters of God who are committed to carrying on the work of Christ in the world. While the birthing part of the Spirit’s work is accomplished at the time of our Regeneration, the maturing part is something which takes place over time, as the Spirit works relentlessly yet lovingly within us to restore our souls to their original function as mediators between our spirits and bodies—or, as the conduits through which the knowledge of God’s will is transferred from…
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Sanctification: Regeneration Perfected
In our first set of exercises, we began stretching our spiritual muscles as we learned some of the basic principles of Salvation, such as… What it is and why we need it; How to obtain it through the New Birth; That it’s God’s destiny for everyone but that only those who “elect” to have it will receive it; and, Once it is received, it can never be lost or stolen. We also learned that Salvation is the process by which God redeems lost sinners—those who have been in bondage to the world, the flesh, and the devil since their births; buying their freedom for them through the substitutionary death of…
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Next Stop…the New Birth!
Now that everyone is back on board the train, it’s time for us to leave the Salvation Station; the place where we were introduced to God’s wonderful plan for saving sinners from death and destruction while, at the same time, adopting them as His very own children–in the process, giving them a hope in this life as well as a glorious future in the next. What we didn’t learn here, though, is just how we can appropriate this salvation that God has so graciously provided for us. With that as our immediate goal, let’s make our way to the next stop on our tour, the New Birth Station; where we will not…
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All Aboard…For Salvation!
Woo-hoo! The time has finally come for us to embark upon our rocking and rolling trip through the Word of God. So far, we have gone over our travel tips and have gotten our itinerary all worked out. Now, here with our bags packed and our tickets in hand, it is time for us to board the Truth Train and depart for the first stop on our journey, the Salvation Station. At this point, some of you may be wondering why a stop there is necessary at all. For those of you traveling in Group #1—those who may have already experienced salvation, or who may have been involved in the…