|
Faith has always led its possessor to keep the
commandments of God; and it has inspired human beings with a calm
and rational fearlessness of death, whether it came to them in the
form of the sword or the cross.
We are to be controlled by
faith and not by feelings.
We should go in direct opposition to our feelings when they
go contrary to the Word of God.
This is denying ourselves and this is exactly what Jesus has
asked us to do; this is crucifying the old man and crucifying the
flesh with its passions and desires.
The possessor of faith
is often called to pass through many dark hours, many trials, and
inward sorrow and anguish. This
lesson will open to us how to carry the cross by faith, feeling or
no feeling.
1.
How do we walk with the
cross?
2 Corinthians 5:7
__________________________________________________
Note:
Faith and feeling are as far apart as the east is from the
west. Faith does not depend
on feelings.
2.
What restricts our walk with
the cross?
2 Corinthians 6:12
_________________________________________________
Note:
The bowels, or “affections,”
come from the Greek word “splagchnon” which means “seat of the
emotions.” Our temptations,
our ideas, our feelings, must all be laid at the foot of the cross.
Then the soul is ready to
listen to words of divine instruction.
3.
What must be done with our
own affections and desires?
Galatians 5:24
____________________________________________________
Note:
Human nature is always
struggling for expression. If
we are to be made complete in Christ, we must be emptied of pride
and selfishness. Then there
is silence in the soul, and God's voice can be heard.
But until self is crucified
at the cross we can not reach God's ideal for us.
4.
What did Christ overcome for
us in the garden of Gethsemane?
Matthew 26:38-39
_________________________________________________
Note:
Christ was feeling how
terrible the wrath of God is against transgression, when He
exclaimed, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death.”
He was feeling the
offensive character of the sin that He must bear.
Although the terrible feeling of condemnation loomed over
Christ, He clung to His Father in prayer saying “Nevertheless, not
as I will, but Your will be done.”
See also Luke 22:44-45.
5.
What protects us from our old
desires and emotions?
Ephesians 6:14
_____________________________________________________
Note:
Those who are always
verbalizing their doubts and demanding additional evidence to get
rid of their unbelief are not building on the Word of God.
Their faith is based on their
feelings and circumstances.
There is only one power that can guard and keep us
steadfast--the power of God.
6.
What did Paul and Silas do
when they were in physical pain?
Acts 16:25-31
______________________________________________________
Note:
Faith and feeling are
distinct, one not being dependent upon the other.
Faith, relying upon the
simple promise, takes God at his word, not because of any special
feeling, but because the Lord has said it, and will fulfill His
word.
7.
What does Jesus tell us to
rejoice in?
Luke 10:17-20
______________________________________________________
Note:
We cannot mix faith and
feeling together. Our
feelings have nothing to do with faith.
When by faith the blessing
comes and you rejoice in the blessing, you are no longer walking by
faith but by feeling.
8.
What should we always do in
spite of circumstances?
Habakkuk 3:17-18
___________________________________________________
Note:
The message of the cross is to be proclaimed with a loud
voice throughout the land. Every
thread of selfishness is to be swept away by the cross. Let every
altar be thrown down, except the one that sanctifies the gift and
the giver--the cross of Calvary.
9. What must we not be
moved away from?
Colossians 1:23
____________________________________________________
Note:
It is not to be physically
moved away from the ‘hope of the gospel’ that Paul is concerned with
but rather having our emotions lead us away from principle and into
unbelief.
10.
What must be girded up?
1 Peter 1:13-14
____________________________________________________
Note:
We must recognize how
important it is to keep the mind from wandering to forbidden themes
or from spending our energies on petty subjects.
Those who want to have
victory over temptation must guard the avenues to the mind; they
must avoid reading, seeing, or hearing that which will suggest
impure thoughts. The mind
must not be left to dwell at random upon any subject that Satan may
suggest.
11.
What is the result of setting
our minds on earthly things?
Philippians 3:18-19
________________________________________________
Note:
All should guard the senses
or Satan will gain the victory over them.
Satan and his angels are busy
creating a paralyzed condition of the senses so that cautions,
warnings, and reproofs will not be heard; or, if heard, that they
will not take effect upon the heart or change the life.
12.
Where will the mind of the
Christian be?
Colossians 3:2-3
___________________________________________________
Note:
As we surrender our lives to
Jesus and take up our cross we have signified that we “are dead, and
our life is hid with Christ in God. When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear then you will also appear with
Him in glory.”
Many know so little of faith that when
they have asked God for his help and blessing, they look to
themselves to see if their prayer is answered; and if they have a
happy feeling, they are satisfied. This
is not faith, but unbelief. We
should trust God, whether we experience any change of feeling or
not. We cannot expect to be
joyful and hopeful while we look to ourselves; for we must think of
self as sinful. The majority
of professed Christians are watching their feelings; but feeling is
an unsafe guide, and those who depend upon it are in danger of being
deceived. Satan can move upon
our feelings, and he can so arrange surrounding circumstances as to
make our feelings changeable. Victory
in God is not feeling, but faith. It
is the faith that will not yield although there are seeming
impossibilities to be encountered.
|
