Be Ye Steadfast

Faith is an attitude of the entire self, including both will and intellect, directed toward a person, an idea, or a divine being. Faith indeed includes belief but goes far beyond it. In Assemblies of God Church, we believe in the following:

We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible and authoritative Word of God. We believe that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in the blessed hope of His personal visible future return to this earth to receive to Himself his blood-bought church that it may be with Him forever.

We also believe that the only means of being cleansed from sin is through repentance and faith in the precious blood of Christ. We believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential for personal salvation. We believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the cross provides healing of the human body in answer to believing prayer. We believe that the baptism with the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, with the evidence of speaking in other tongues, is given to every believer who ask for it.

We believe in water baptism by immersion for all who repent and believe on Christ as Saviour and Lord and in Holy Communion, consisting of the elements – bread and the fruit of the Vine – is the symbol expressing the broken body and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a Holy Life. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and lost, the one to everlasting life and the other everlasting damnation.

Paul writing to Timothy as well as all of us today says: “Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me – a pattern shaped by the faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” (2 Timothy 1:13-14, NLT)

What do you believe in…? What has been passed down to you in the form of teaching and doctrinal beliefs from your fathers in faith…? We all have it as a duty to pursue God’s word and guard if from the attacks of its adversary. We need to be equipped to give an accurate account of what we believe and why we believe it. In this way not only will we avoid being taken by false teachings, we can pass on this same gospel to the next generation. 

Are You Responsible...?

Do you feel any personal responsibility to the congregation that you are a member of?  Do you feel any responsibility to contribute to the work of that congregation?  I do not mean just giving money in the form of offering and/or tithe on the first day of the week, but actually being involved and active in the work of your home congregation.

You know what; each of us will give a personal account to God. Eventually God will bring everything that we do out into the open and judge it according to its hidden intent, whether it is good or evil. The Lord has not given us all the same talents and abilities, but He has given us all talents and abilities. Some may have more talents than others, but we must each use the talents we have to serve Christ, if we hide our talent (fail to use it), we will be lost.  

When an individual member fails in his responsibilities in using his talents and abilities, it weakens the church.  If enough members fail, the church will fail in carrying out its mission as set forth by Jesus Christ. Some of these responsibilities include reciprocal love (Rom. 12:10 and Heb. 13:1.), Reciprocal watchfulness, (Rom. 15:1–7), Reciprocal helpfulness (1 Thess. 5:11), unity of purpose (1 Cor. 1:10), loyalty and patriotism (Rom. 13; 1 Tim. 2:1-3; 1 Peter 2:12-17), and the list goes on and on.

Just as stones in a house, we must do our part to support the work of the church.  We must never be guilty of becoming a deserter from the army of Christ.  We must not become unfaithful to Christ the church's bridegroom and we must all work together under the direction of our head for the good of the body of Christ. Do not fail to take your place in the house of God.  Do not fail to do your part in supporting the building.  Use your talents and abilities in service to God.  Take your place; fulfil your responsibilities working together with all the other stones in the building and the church will stand.

Melt it...

If your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give them water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the Lord will reward you. (Proverbs 25:21-22, NRSV)

Charles Bridges, a 19th-century English scholar noted: “Surround the intractable (stubborn) metal beneath and above; not only putting it over the fire, but heaping coals of fire upon it. Few hearts are so obdurate (immovable), as not to melt under the mighty energy of patient, self-denying, burning love.”

Like “fiery coals,” acts of kindness can warm the hearts of opposers and perhaps melt down their hostility. Kind actions can win people over to a more favourable attitude toward God’s people and the Bible message they preach. The apostle Peter wrote: “Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they'll be won over to God's side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives.” —1 Pet. 2:12.

Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honour.

Your mind is the door to your spirit. That is why whatever words and thoughts you allow go through your mind, unchecked, will be deposited in your spirit. This is the reason you have to screen and filter what goes through your mind to your spirit.

Every day, we hear words, see things, and receive all kinds of information, positive and negative. Thus, you need to mount guard on your heart and not allow your spirit receive and process the wrong information. Never allow your heart dwell on anything you hear, feel or see that is inconsistent with the Word of God. The Hebrew word translated "guard" in Proverbs 4:23 gives the picture of a stronghold mounted over something valuable. We can as well paraphrase the scripture this way: "Mount a garrison over your heart, for it affects everything you do."

Walking Tall

Is it not amazing how we wake up each morning dress for work and turn the ignition on our car with so much assurance that the car will start or sit on chairs completely believing that we will not fall from the chair or that the chair will carry our weight? Yet we doubt a God, Father and Friend who has been proven over the years to be unwavering in his promises.

Confidence helps the believer, not confidence in self, but confidence about his or her relationship with God. Without this, the Christian life can become an uncertain journey through life rather the abundant, enjoyable life God had planned for every believer.

Confidence in our relationship with God – because of what Jesus has done for us, we can (and should) approach God confidently. Approach him in prayer. Approach him in His word. Not through the blood of animals, but by the blood of Jesus Christ.

Confidence in your relationships with other Christians – make it a commitment to meet with your brothers and sisters in Christ, even when life is getting really busy and hard. 6-7 hours a week for Church, youth Group and Bible Study is not a huge ask, but they all go such a long way to helping you stand firm in your faith. Go to church confidently, to be an encourager! Anyone who wishes to walk confidently with Christ needs the strength and inspiration that regularly gathering and worshipping with other believers provide.

Confidence about who you are amongst your non-Christian mates – do not shrink back. Stand up for your faith at school. Write about your faith on Facebook. Invite mates to youth group even if they laugh at you. So let us not allow ourselves to get fatigued in doing good. At the right time, we will harvest a good crop if we do not give up, or quit.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. There are many things that can lure us away from our confidence in Christ and His promise of wonderful future. There are things that undermine our faith in Christ - things like our attitudes, do we encourage gossip? Do we actually love our enemies…? We need to deal with these things that threaten to undermine our faith.