When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; my

richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; all
the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.
Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling for you and for me; At the heart’s
portal He’s waiting and watching, Watching for you and for me. Come home,
(Come home), Come home, (come home), Ye who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling, O sinner, come home!
I hear Thy welcome voice, That calls me, Lord, to Thee; For cleansing in Thy
precious blood, That flowed on Calvary. I am coming, Lord! Coming now to
Thee! Wash me, cleanse me, in the blood That flowed on Calvary.
Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus I come, Jesus I come; Into
Thy freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to Thee; Out of my
sickness into Thy health, Out of my want and into Thy wealth, Out of my
sing and into Thyself, Jesus, I come to Thee.
Out of my shameful failure and loss, Jesus I come, Jesus I come; Into the
glorious fain of Thy cross, Jesus, I come to Thee; Out of earth’s sorrows
into Thy balm, Out of life’s storms and into Thy calm, Out of distress to
jubilant psalm, Jesus, I come to Thee.
I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told thy love to me; but
I long to rise in the arms of faith and be closer drawn to thee. Draw me
nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to the cross where thou hast died. Draw
me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord, to thy precious, bleeding side.
I would be, dear Saviour, wholly Thine; Teach me how, teach me how; I
would do Thy will, O Lord, not mine; Help me, help me now. Wholly Thine
(Oh Lord), wholly Thine, Wholly Thine, this is my vow; Wholly Thine (Oh
Lord), wholly Thine, Wholly Thine, O Lord, just now.
What is worldly pleasure, wealth or fame, Without Thee, without Thee? I
will leave them all for Thy dear Name, This my wealth shall be. Wholly
Thine (Oh Lord), wholly Thine, Wholly Thine, this is my vow; Wholly Thine
(Oh Lord), wholly Thine, Wholly Thine, O Lord, just now.
As I cast earth’s transient joys behind, Come Thou near, come Thou near;
In Thy presence all in all I find, ’Tis my comfort here. Wholly Thine (Oh
Lord), wholly Thine, Wholly Thine, this is my vow; Wholly Thine (Oh Lord),
wholly Thine, Wholly Thine, O Lord, just now.
Let us pray
Yesterday, we studied about the Kingdom Values and Christian Living
Seventh-day Adventists are found in most countries of the world.
Revelation 14:12 tells us why. This apocalyptic passage describes
two key values and truths that measure Christian faith. They are
saving faith in Jesus as humanity’s only Saviour, and obedience to
God’s commandments. These eternal values create peace, joy, and
happiness in human life.
Loyalty to Jesus as Lord is critical to the credibility of our witness.
Disloyal living means total spiritual failure. Ellen White observed:
“We deny Jesus Christ as the One who taketh away the sins of the
world if we do not, after accepting the truth, reveal to the world the
sanctifying effects of the truth on our own characters.
If we are not better men and women, if we are not more
kindhearted, more pitiful, more courteous, more full of
tenderness and love, if we do not manifest to others the
love that led Jesus to the world on His mission of mercy,
we are not witnesses to the world of the power of Jesus
Christ. Profession has convincing power only when it is
lived out in real life. This means that knowing God does
not bring any blessing to us unless we live a Godly life.
May God grant us the power to live a Godly life and do
away with the sins we indulge in.
Amen!
Today, we are considering Learning Holy Living, Christian lifestyle
and the fruit of the Spirit. I want each one of us to mention one
fruit of the spirit that we know. Lets start from you! We have all
done well but I will like us to take a look at Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such
there is no law. And they that are in Christ have crucified the
flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another, envying one another.(KJV)
Now my question to us all is, where do we fall short? You as an
individual which of the fruits do you lack?
Let us also consider something in Galatians 6:1-3
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are
spiritual, restore such in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye
one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
For if a man think himself to be something, when he is
nothing, he deceives himself.
The bible continues in Galatians 6:7 that: Be not be
deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man
soweth, that shall he also reap.
The fruit of the Spirit is not human-made but God-given.
We are therefore going to pray and ask God to grant us His
holy spirit so that we can manifest the fruits of the spirit to
the world.
Hover o’er me Holy Spirit, Bathe my trembling heart and
brow; Fill me with Thy hallowed presence, Come, O come
and fill me now.
Fill me now, fill me now, Jesus, come and fill me now, Fill
me with Thy hallowed presence, Come, O come and fill me
now.
We will pray individually then ask NAME to intercede for us
Do you think there can be a group of Seventh-day Adventist
youth who are thieves or armed robbers? Or some Adventist
young ladies who are actually prostitutes? Many a times we
think certain lifestyles cannot be associated with Adventist
people. But it will surprise you to know that there are many
Adventist who are living lifestyles worse than the prostitutes
or the arm robbers. There are some Christians who believe
that our works do not matter if we have faith in Jesus Christ.
There are others who believe they could earn God’s favor by
following regulations and doing right.
To those who think that works are unimportant, the
apostle Paul stressed that God’s people will be judged
according to their deeds as seen in Galatians 6:7, 8. To
those who believe that works will earn them divine
merit, Paul emphasizes that “a man is not justified by
the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal.
2:16). The apostle reckoned that unless a Christian
lifestyle is rooted in the gospel, it becomes cheap
grace at best, and perfectionism at worst.
The key to Christian living, according to Paul, resides in a radical
commitment to Christ through the indwelling presence and
power of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22, 23, he uses the
expression “fruit of the Spirit” to refer to virtues or character
traits produced by the Holy Spirit. All these virtues represent the
character of Christ that we are called to manifest as His followers.
The Lord is telling you and I in this room that without love, joy,
peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and
temperance, our coming to church is waste of time. If you have
the love of the spirit in your heart, you will not hate your fellow
man, if you have the joy of the spirit in your heart you will not
cause others to go through pains.
If you have the peace of the spirit, you will not
cause chaos and violence. If you are gentle, you will
not treat people harshly, if you are good, you will
not backbite and plan evil for others. If you are
faithful you will not hop from one man to another
or from one girl to another. You will not tell lies and
be proud if you are meek. Your temper will be good
if you are temperate, you can control that sexual
desire if you are temperate. In fact your lifestyle
will be sweet as fragrance.
We have asked the spirit of the Lord to come fill us. We
are going to pray and ask the spirit to break our
stubborn hearts, He should melt our sinful heart and
mold a new one, so that our lifestyles will now produce
the fruits of the spirit. As we sing “Spirit of the Living
God” we will stand in twos then each one will pray for
the other.
Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me! Spirit of the
living God, fall afresh on me! Break me, melt me, mold
me, fill me! Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me!
There are THREE VITAL TRUTHS in which we manifest true
Christian lifestyle as fruitful disciples.
First, we manifest true Christian lifestyle as fruitful disciples
when we constantly remind ourselves that “we belong to
Christ Jesus”
Second, we manifest true Christian lifestyle as fruitful disciples
when we crucify our “sinful nature with its passions and
desires”
Third, we manifest true Christian lifestyle as fruitful disciples
when we “walk in the Spirit”
To bear fruit we need to be daily connected to Christ. In fact, to be
a Christian means more than believing certain doctrines and
adhering to certain rules; it means a radical transformation of the
heart that leads to obeying God by faith.
As Christians, we cannot indulge in the works of the flesh and
claim to be heaven-bound. We need to die to self. “When Christ
calls a man, he bids him come and die.” As believers, we take the
responsibility of uprooting all the weeds that threaten to choke
our spiritual life so that the fruit of the Spirit may flourish. In
practical terms, this means that any habit, practice, or vice that
feeds the old life of self-seeking and self-indulgence needs to be
put to death. A true Christian lifestyle is self-denying.
To walk in the Spirit means to be controlled by
the Holy Spirit in every area of our lives, from
our innermost thoughts and emotions to our
daily relationships and interactions. This
Involves being shaped and energized by the
Word, prayer, worship, fellowship, and service.
It’s important to remember that any Christian
lifestyle that is not led by the Spirit will fail
miserably.
The questions for discussion today are:
1. Why is it important to demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit?
2. Can you think of specific lifestyle changes the Spirit seems to
be urging you to make?
3. What would your life be like if you gave God’s Spirit absolute
control of your life?
Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee;
Take my hands, and let them move. At the impulse of Thy love, At
the impulse of Thy love.
We will ask NAME to pray and ask God to give us the power
surrender our lives to Him.
With divine power enabling our effort, we will do
what is right. Our lifestyle values will not resemble
or conform to popular practice. When the Spirit
convicts us of our wrong choices we will humbly
seek forgiveness. In contrast, when it seems to us
that we are making progress, we will refrain from
a critical and judgmental attitude toward fellow
pilgrims who might be struggling in their walk
with God.
The fruit of the Spirit, daily put into practice,
exalts Christ in our thinking, feeling, and
behaving. Only a living relationship with Christ
can bring to fruition a new way of being and
living that glorifies God and draws people to
Him. This is what constitutes true Christian
lifestyle: being fruitful disciples who reflect the
likeness of Christ in our character and our
conduct. May this be our experience in Jesus
name! Amen