Living by the Gospel

ORPHAN

SON

LIVING BY “TRYING HARDER.”

JESUS IS OUR FLESH’S “HELPER.”

Jn. 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans"

LIVING BY FAITH.

CHRIST IS OUR LIFE! Jn. 15:4, Gal. 2:20

Rom. 8:15 "He has given us a Spirit of Sonship"

Feel alone; lack a vital daily intimacy with God; “a vacuum of self concern.”

1.

Have a growing assurance that God is really my loving Heavenly Father (1Jn 4:16).

Full of anxiety over “felt needs”: friends, money, etc.; “I’m all alone and nobody cares.”

2.

Trust the Father and have a growing confidence in His loving care; freed from worry.

Live on success/fail basis; must “look good” at any cost; performance-oriented.

3.

Learning to live in daily self-conscious partnership with God; not fearful.

Feel condemned, guilty and unworthy before God and others.

4.

Feel loved, forgiven and totally accepted because Christ’s merit really clothes me.

Have a “little faith,” lots of fear, no ability to really trust God. “I’ve got to fix it.”

5.

A daily working trust in God’s sovereign plan for my life as a loving, wise and best plan.

Labor under a sense of unlimited obligation, trying hard to please, burnout.

6.

Prayer is the first resort; “I am going to ask my father first!” Daddy (Abba), Father!

Rebellious towards God and others; often spiritually cold and hard-hearted.

7.

Finds strength to be submissive; soft (broken and contrite) heart (Ps. 51:17).

Defensive; can’t listen; bristles at the charge of being self-righteous (virtually proving the charge).

8.

Open to criticism since I consciously stand in Christ’s perfection, not my own; am able to examine my deeper motives.

Must always be right, safe, secure; unwilling to fail; defensive; unable to tolerate criticism; can only handle praise.

9.

Able to take risks—even fail. Since righteousness is in Christ, needs no record to boast in, protect or defend.

Self-confident but discouraged, defeated and lacking the Spirit’s power.

10.

Christ-confident and encouraged because of the Spirit working in me.

“I’ll show ‘em—just watch my smoke!” “Where others failed…” (will power).

11.

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13).

Self-effort; rely on gifts and abilities to get by in life and ministry.

12.

Trusting less in self and more in the Holy Spirit (with self-conscious daily reliance).

Complaining and thankless toward God and others; must tear others down; displays a bitter, critical spirit.

13.

Rely on the Holy Spirit to guide the tongue for use in praise, edification, thanksgiving and encouragement (Eph. 4:29).

An expert at pointing out what is wrong; always dissatisfied about something.

14.

Not blind to wrong, but chooses instead to focus on what is good and lovely (Phil. 4:8).

Gossip (confess other people’s sins); need to criticize others to feel secure; a competent analyst of other weaknesses; has the gift of “discernment.”

15.

Able to freely confess faults to others and preferring to major on their strengths; don’t always have to be right; finding that I am often wrong; eager to grow.

Always comparing self with others, leading either to pride or depression (depending on how bad or good others look).

16.

Stands confidently in Christ; real self-worth comes from Jesus’ blood and righteousness, not man-made props (Phil. 3:9).

Powerless to defeat the flesh; no real heart victory over “pet sins,” yet has lost sense of being a “big sinner.”

17.

Resting in Christ, and seeing more and more victory over the flesh (Rom. 8:1-9), yet seeing self as a “big sinner.”

Relatively prayerless; prayer is a “last resort;” prays often in public, seldom in private.

18.

Prayer is a vital part of the day, not confined to just a regular “quiet time;” Talking with the Father is a joy (1 Th. 5: 16-18).

The Bible’s promises of spiritual power and joy mock self: “What has happened to all your joy?” (Gal. 4:15)

19.

God’s promises of power and joy are beginning to describe self (Rom. 15:13).

Needs to boast; must constantly point out own accomplishments for fear that someone might overlook them (Gal. 6:14).

20.

Finds that Jesus is more and more the subject of own conversation; boasts in the Lord and in own weaknesses (2 Cor. 12: 9-10).

Unconsciously building “a record” of works that needs noticing and defending.

21.

Christ’s righteousness is own “record,” stands complete in Him (1 Cor. 1:28ff).

Self-centered: “If they would only see things my way!” Deep need to be in control of situations and others.

22.

Becoming Christ-controlled; ministering in the power of the Holy Spirit, not in the strength of own “redeemed flesh.”

Something other than Jesus can satisfy; “idols” in life (possession, position, passions) give sense of worthiness and justification.

23.

Christ is meat and drink; God truly satisfies soul. “…and earth has nothing I desire besides you” (Ps. 73:25).

Little desire to share the gospel (since own Christian life is so miserable); when sharing, tend to be motivated by a sense of obligation and duty, not love.

24.

Desire to see the lost come to know Jesus, shares the gospel with others, even when not under the outward pressure of a church program. “…the love of Christ compels us” (2 Cor. 5:14).