Issue No.051: Spiritual Gifts Vs Spiritual Fruits
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Issue No.051 “Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”. 1 Corinthians 1:3
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In this issue:-
- Perspective:- Spiritual Gifts versus Spiritual Fruits
- Study Note:- The Golden Lamp stand (contd..)
- Out line: - Remember! Remember!
- Anecdote: - King visits a beggar
Perspective:- Spiritual Gifts versus Spiritual Fruits.
NTK
We must be very sure about the difference between gifts and fruits. Both are surely the work of the indwelling spirit of God. But one is the means and the other is the end. Gifts have to do with service. Fruits have to do with character. Gifts are the result of receiving from with out. Fruits are the result of Spirit of God producing from with in. One shows what we have, the other shows who we are.Merely possessing a gift does not bring glory to the Lord. But fruit glorify the father. Gifts should be exercised, in the background of fruits. That is what Paul expounds in 1 Cor. 13. Corinthians had gifts but no fruits. He urges them to bear fruits, and work out gifts in that background.
Instead of boasting upon our special ability let us be concerned about the fruits that we bear. Our activities are not an alternative to the fruits. One may be more spectacular and shows in quantity but the other is not so much spectacular yet reflects the quality of life. Praise God for the gifts but make sure in the midst of emphasising the gifts of grace we forget not the need of bearing spiritual fruits:- the qualities of Christ reproduced in us to glorify the Father by the working of the Holy Spirit.
Study Note:- The Golden Lamp stand - Never to go out
C.E.Wigg, TASMANIA.
We are told both in Ex. 27: 20-21, and Lev. 24: 1-4, that the lamps were to burn “always", "continually", and that they were to be continually tended in each generation, they were never to be neglected, never allowed to go out. There have been times when the testimony publicly seemed to be totally gone.Down through the dark Middle Ages, it seemed that there was only the terribly corrupt, false, Roman Catholic Church, in Europe and the Western world, and the equally dead, but perhaps not quite so corrupt Eastern Orthodox, with its different branches in the East. However because of the faithfulness of God, there was always a small minority, in every generation, who maintained a well a they knew, the purity, and simplicity of the true New Testament Church, the lamp has never gone out.
It will continually burn until the Lord Jesus comes to take His Church away, at the rapture. But it is for us, the sons of Aaron, to see that the testimony of God in the Church is maintained in purity and simplicity until the end. We can only do this by maintaining a simple obedience to the word of God, in our individual lives, and in our collective, Assembly testimony. Disobedience to that word, even partial disobedience, whether individual, or collective, will cause the lamp to go out.
It is a sad fact that in these days, Assemblies that once had the truth, who were happy to obey the word of God, and though despised by other Christians, groups, or denominations, would not allow the practice of things that were contrary to that word, have failed very miserably. They have allowed the entrance of other spirits, who have led them to disobey the plain commands of scripture, and at the same time have both grieved and quenched the Holy Spirit. This has been done under the pretence of making their testimony "Relevant to the 21st., century". May the Lord open our eyes, and cause us to return to a life of obedience to His word!
Remember! Remember!
- The believer in Christ. Luke 22:19
- The backslider from Christ. Rev.2:5
- The stranger to Christ. Luke 17:32
- The banished from Christ. Luke 16:25
King visits a beggar
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one who he visited thought that he was their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him.
Then he left. Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The king thought would surely ask for some gift or favour, but, he didn’t. Instead he said, “You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the coarse food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!”
Worthy Quote:- ““It is no use to anybody for a tree to bud and blossom if the blossom does not develop into fruit.” ---------Martin Luther
Correction:
Sorry to note that in the prayer point published on the ministry in the Bahamas in our last issue, there was little mistake in the e-mail id. If any body is interested to know more about the Lord’s work in The Bahamas may kindly contact: - augustmoncur@hotmail augustusmoncur@yahoo.com
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Edited and posted by NTK for the Glory of God & the Joy of the saints.
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.."2 Peter1:2