Living In the Right Spirit And Heart

Having an Excellent spirit is not easy in a world of sin and a life of hardships and discomfort. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:14

Hello, my name is Martin Marquez. And this is Dive Into Scripture. A weekly devotional teaching life lessons through the eyes of a disabled veteran with the Word of God. This week's devotional will be titled Living in the Right Spirit and Heart. Let us pray before we start. Lord Jesus, I pray that you help me with this devotional. This topic is a hundred percent easier said than done. As humans, we are not perfect and we all have issues. We all have fallen short of the glory of God. I pray that you help me as much as you help the listeners. Just doing the research and spending time in prayer doesn't make me an expert on the topics I speak on in these devotionals. I pray you help the listeners to understand that I'm only trying to help, not trying to say that I have hit the mark and am perfect. I am just as they are. I struggle daily to not fall into temptation and sin. I'm only a sinner saved by grace. I pray you give me grace with those listening. In your name, Jesus I pray, amen. James two seventeen says even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Faith is the beginning of our relationship with Christ, with our Christianity. This doesn't say we get saved by works, what it is saying is that our faith is mute if we do nothing with it. Many believe on Jesus to be their Savior, but never make him their Lord. We must not just believe on Christ, but also follow Christ. When I was writing books to publish, I was working on writing a book about growing an excellent spirit, and in emotional and physical hardships I have learned something valuable. I have learned that God has allowed me to severely break my wrist more than I let people believe. Now why would a loving God allow such a thing, you would ask? Why would he allow me to go through a bout of depression in the month of my wedding anniversary or the month of my daughter's birthday, or during the holida the holiday months? At times I have fallen and sinned and felt unworthy. But that is exactly why I need to be here now. As the famous calculus teacher from the late nineteen hundreds, Jamie Escalante said, Life is not about how many times you fall down, it's about how many times you get back up. So why all the pain? Well it's all for a purpose. Jeremiah twenty nine eleven says For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end. thirteen says there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. We may think that we are suffering trials, temptations, and hardships, more than we could handle, but we are not. We must look at these times in life through a spiritual lens. While I was at my last church, we have lost some good brothers in Christ and had some sickened. Brother Gary Lynn in his last days had a great spirit, encouraging everyone that spoke with him. Brother Bob Hudson was really sick for a bit. And the same, he just wanted to get back to his prison ministry as he cared about the lost. Brother Johnston lost his wife, and he was there at church the very next church service in good spirits, ready to keep serving the Lord. Brother Nate had been very sick, but was in good spirits, not letting this get him down. I broke my wrist and did my best to be in good spirits and praise the Lord. I had been down for so many years over losing my wife and daughter through divorce. I lost my three thousand five hundred forty square foot house. I lost my career in the army and lack of criminal record over a suicide attempt. I have felt worthless and like a failure in life, especially once I kept getting injured and was given a hundred percent permanent and total veterans disability as well as given social security disability. The problem I had was selfishness. Even after I was saved, I could only think about what I deserved and what I wanted. I am lonely. I want a wife, I want to be a parent. I I I Well I had to let go of I and start thinking of you they them. I wanted to serve Jesus as was my spirit once saved, but I had to let go. I had to see the world as Jesus sees it and think of others. You see, we sing the songs I have decided to follow Jesus and saved, saved, saved. But do we really mean it when we sing those words? You see, God wants our hearts. He has our faith and belief, but that just makes us believers, and the devil believes in Jesus Christ and his deity, but he will not spend eternity in heaven. Jesus said in Matthew nineteen twenty four, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. See, he knew the rich man's heart and where money is shows where a heart is. For example, when I was at my old church and I had much less debt, I used to tithe and give to missions because I loved God. But apart from debt, the majority of my money goes to creating publishing books. That shows that my books are important to me. I desire to share lessons that I have learned with the world and to be a blessing to other people. That's why I have given away many more books than I have sold. But we can have all the acts of goodness we want, but if we do it in the wrong spirit and heart, he will turn away from our works. Genesis four seven says, But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect, and Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wrath? And why is thou continence fallen? If thou dost well shalt thou not be accepted? And if thou dost not well, sin lieth at the door, and unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. twenty eight forty seven through forty eight says Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things, therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies, which the Lord shall send against thee in hunger and in thirst and in nakedness, and in want of all things, and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck until he have destroyed thee. God wants our hearts and our holy righteous spirit as we can do as humanly possible with the help of the Holy Spirit. People are watching us, other brothers and sisters in Christ, the teens and children in the church and outsiders around town. We can't give the devil one inch, and we can't lose our testimony, especially now in a time of moral death in our country and world. We will never be perfect, just as Peter denied Christ three times, but he came back and shared the gospel seeing three thousand saved. We can't do anything about yesterday, and tomorrow is not guaranteed. All we can do is every day die to self, pick up our cross, and daily carry out our mission of being a godly example with an excellent spirit while seeking opportunity to share the gospel. One way to do that is to be prepared. Ephesians six ten eighteen says Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand, stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit and watching thereunto, with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. Second Timothy two fifteen says, Study to shoe thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Remember, being a Christian and living for Christ is more than going to church or teaching a Sunday school class. For many will say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And Jesus will say Depart from me. Apart from being saved, we must conduct our lives in a holy way, as God said in Peter one sixteen, because it is written Be ye holy for I am holy. The only way to accomplish that is to keep your daily walk with Christ in having a daily prayer life and daily devotional time in God's Word. As Pastor Matt Hudson in twenty nineteen his theme was all things through prayer, and twenty twenty theme was looking unto Jesus. We should mimic Abraham, Job, Noah, or other godly examples that did their best to be godly and perfect followers. Yes, our perfect example is Jesus Christ, but look at reality. As God he was perfect here on earth. We can only hope for being as these godly men were while striving to be as Jesus is. Can we truly have that excellent spirit and perfect heart as we guide our hearts with childlike faith? The answer is yes, if we look towards it with faith and obedience to God. Our attitudes are the outside view of our spirit. It is what other people see, so we need to be sure we have a great attitude in a sinful world, regardless of how we are treated or what situation we may find ourselves in. When Job was being tried and tested, God allowed the devil to do many horrible things to him, but he never once abandoned his faith and belief in God. He kept a joyous attitude while praising God all the way. Through our walk with Christ, we can build that constant, good attitude that is shown from our excellent spirit. Remember, the fruit of the Spirit can only be grown with a proper walk with Christ, and an excellent spirit is the combination of some of having the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance is not something we are born to know. We are born sinners. These traits are a fruit given through the salvation and the walk with Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach you to surrender, allowing Jesus to be the carpenter and the potter in your life. So, brothers and sisters, I urge you all to join me in a consistent prayer life, allowing Christ to mold us to whom He desires us to be. We all have different talents, skills, jobs, and lives, but we all have some circle of influence in this world. Only through Christ can we have a testimony to see three thousand saved. Don't stop with denying Christ three times, but recover and share the gospel in a bold and honest manner with love for the lost. Proverbs twenty four sixteen says for a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief. My prayer is that we all are never weighed and found wanting, but instead our Lord will one day say to us all, Well done, good and faithful servant. Remember I am Martin Marques, and this is diet in description. The Romans road can guide you in helping someone choose salvation. Romans three twenty three for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans six twenty three for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans five eight but God commendeth his love toward us, that in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans ten nine and ten that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. Romans ten thirteen, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Amen.