Lecture 3: Faith

(GB Message)

The word faith is like an icon on a computer desktop. The icon by itself serves no purpose unless it directs the user to a document. Quite a number of believers stop with admiring the size and shape of the icon as it were, by being content with a superficial knowledge of ‘faith’. I urge every one of you to get better acquainted with the concept behind the icon rather than the glorious looking icon.

In order to have a sound knowledge of the concept of faith, let me divide it into two parts:-

1. Faith in the inerrancy of scripture (a belief in the truthfulness, inerrancy and the urgent message behind the word of God James 2: 17, 24)
2. Faith in the atoning work of Christ (the acceptance by the believer of God’s salvation offered by grace through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. It is to be availed with deep gratitude to Him, and also believing that other than Christ Jesus there is no salvation in any other Acts 4: 12)

We shall try to understand these two parts of faith in some depth. At this stage it will be useful to introduce the concept what I call the twin side principle, with respect to each of the two parts of faith viz.: (i) The theological aspect and (ii) the work aspect.

Lecture 2: The magnificient grace of God

(GB Message)

Before we begin the lesson:
Some may think that they are hearing the same old message repeatedly. Thinking in this way indicates that the message does not penetrate into your mind. It could be a warning that ‘sin lies at the door’. For the past 2000 years God is preaching the same old message. Though it is the same old message of God spoken to millions of people for two millennia, it penetrates into the mind of only a few. People would rather hear new messages, interesting stories, strange presentations, attractive T.V. style preachers and so on.

There are many attractive fancy churches in nooks and corners of every city: handclapping churches, drum-beating churches, Amen-shouting churches, slaying-of-the-Spirit churches, prosperity-gospel churches, not to speak of hundreds of varieties of traditional churches. There are churches where one can hear long sermons and churches where one can hear a neat twenty-minute message. Apart from these churches there are also, all night prayer meetings, fasting and prayer groups, miracles meetings and so on so forth.

Let us choose our church carefully because the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has foretold “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ”, Mt 7: 22, 23.

Lecture 1: Three perilous forces faced by a spiritual man

(GB Message)

We use the word ‘spiritual’ to distinguish those things that are not earthly but pertain to divine matters. For us, these terms are special terms used exclusively in connection with God. To be spiritual minded is not an ability that can be acquired by human beings on their own. Rather the ability is only imparted by God through the Lord Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him (simply because they are beyond the capacity of the earthly mind); nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual (having the help of the Holy Spirit) judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one”, 1 Cor 2: 14, 15.

Such a mental attitude as referred to in the quotation cited above cannot be attained unless God grants it. To begin with, the person must have been born of water and the Spirit. The other two qualifications are (a) being a healthy member of an anointed church (b) being one who walks seriously in the path of sanctification observing all the discipline found therein. Thereafter, knowledge improves as his experience in the path of sanctification progresses.