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<\/a><\/p>\nCentral Thought:\u00a0 God\u2019s power is manifested through righteous and holy living.<\/h3>\n
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Text: \u00a0Acts 5:1-11; Romans 6:16-17; Galatians 5:19-23; 1 Peter 1:15-16<\/h3>\n
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In our earlier lessons, we discussed how God\u2019s power is manifested through us in signs, wonders and miracles, and in the way we show love to one another.\u00a0 This concluding lesson on the manifestation of God\u2019s power focuses on manifesting His power through righteous and holy living.<\/p>\n
The Lord Jesus conquered\/defeated Satan who is the source\/originator of sin, through His death and resurrection and anyone who believes in Him experiences victory over sin.\u00a0 At conversion, the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, Romans 8:16, and God\u2019s righteousness is imparted to him and as he keeps following the directions of the Holy Spirit, he (the believer) enjoys a walk with God in holiness.\u00a0 Thus the believer is empowered to live for Him in righteousness and holiness.<\/p>\n
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Who is the source of sin?<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The source (originator) of sin as revealed in the Bible is the devil.\u00a0 In Genesis 3:1-7, we read of how he introduced sin to humanity and made Adam and Eve to fall from the position God placed them.\u00a0 The Lord Jesus described him as a \u201cmurderer from the beginning\u201d, a liar and the father of lies, John 8:44.\u00a0 In Acts 5:3 we read, \u201cBut Peter said, Ananias why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost\u2026\u201d\u00a0 It is also written in 1 John 3:8, \u201cHe that committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the beginning\u2026\u201d\u00a0 It is clear from the Scriptures that Satan is the source (originator) of sin.<\/p>\n
However, the individual has a choice either to obey or disobey him.\u00a0 If a man yields himself to the devil, he becomes a servant of the devil.\u00a0 \u201cKnow ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?\u201d, Romans 6:16.<\/p>\n
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Where does the power for Holy Living come from? John 1:12; Acts 1:8; Joel 2:28; Zechariah 4:8<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
The power to live a holy life does not come from any individual.\u00a0 We understand from Scriptures that, \u201call have sinned and come short of the glory of God\u201d Romans 3:23, and that there is none righteous; no not one, Romans 3:1.\u00a0 David also confessed, \u201c\u2026in sin did my mother conceive me\u201d, Psalm 51:5.<\/p>\n
The power to live a holy life comes from God.\u00a0 He empowers us to live for Him through the Holy Spirit which comes to live in us when we give our lives to Christ.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit produces in us the character of God (the fruit of the Spirit). See Galatians 5:22-23.<\/p>\n
Thus the first step in living a holy life is to give one\u2019s life to the Lord Jesus.\u00a0 \u201cBut as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name:\u00a0 which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God, John 1:12-13.\u00a0 Thereafter, the believer must train himself in the way of the Lord, Psalm 119:9-11; Proverbs 4:20-22; listening to and yielding to the voice and direction of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 As we do this, God\u2019s character will be revealed through us to the world and holiness will be manifested in our lifestyle.<\/p>\n
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Holy Living will attract persecution. Acts 4:1-3, 5:17-42<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
It is to be recognized or accepted by the believer that efforts to obey God and walk in holiness may attract persecution or hatred by men.\u00a0 Obviously our refusal to partake in ungodly decisions\/actions in our offices, schools, business\/market places will make men criticize and\/or hate and persecute us.\u00a0 It may lead to denial of promotion\/entitlements.<\/p>\n
Many believers today do not want to hear of trials\/persecutions.\u00a0 The result is that they easily yield to the threats of men.\u00a0 Let us learn from the examples of our forefathers in faith who declare boldly before the Jewish council, \u201c\u2026we ought to obey god rather than men\u201d, Acts 5:29.<\/p>\n
While no one prays for persecution, however the believer should willingly go through persecution if it so happens.\u00a0 The Bible declares in 2 Timothy 3:12, \u201cYea and all that will godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.\u201d\u00a0 Believers today should be taught and encouraged to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 The presence of the Holy Spirit in us, give us boldness to stand for the Lord even in the face of opposition, threat and persecution.<\/p>\n
It is \u201cheartwarming\u201d and delightful to note that God does not abandon His children in times of trials and persecution.\u00a0 Several instances in Scripture attest to this fact.\u00a0 God was with the three Hebrew children in \u201cthe burning fiery furnace\u201d, Daniel 3, and brought them out unhurt.\u00a0 He shut the mouths of the lions in the \u201cLions\u2019 den\u201d and brought Daniel out unhurt, Daniel 6.\u00a0 He was with Joseph in the prison and eventually brought him out to become \u201cnext to Pharaoh\u201d or a \u201cPrime Minister\u201d in Egypt where he was a foreigner, Genesis 37-39.\u00a0 He was with the apostles and delivered them from the evil intentions of the Jewish Council (Sanhedrin) in Acts 5:17-42, He was the Paul and saw him through all his trials.\u00a0 At the end of it all, he had liberty to continue to proclaim his faith to all, Acts 28:30-31.<\/p>\n
God has assured us that He will give us what to say in moments of opposition.\u00a0 Luke 21:12-15 declares, \u201cBut before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name\u2019s sake.\u00a0 And it shall turn to you for a testimony.\u00a0 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:\u00a0 For I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist.\u201d<\/p>\n
The believer is assured that the Lord will make a way of escape and deliver His children from the hands of the enemy, 1 Corinthians 10:13.<\/p>\n
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What are the benefits of holy living?<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
There are very many benefits for holy living both in this world and in eternity.\u00a0 A life of holiness gives the believer peace and inner satisfaction that he\/she is delightfully doing God\u2019s will.\u00a0 God preserves and protects the individual who chooses the path of holiness.\u00a0 Their prayers may not be hindered.\u00a0 Also the believer who makes holiness his watchword may earn the respect of those around him.<\/p>\n
The congregation\/local assembly corporately also benefits from an atmosphere of holiness.\u00a0 God\u2019s power is manifested in such congregation and numerical increase may also be witnessed.<\/p>\n
Apart from earthly benefits, there are also eternal benefits for a holy lifestyle.\u00a0 A believer who practices holiness in this world will be welcomed into heaven after life on earth, Hebrews 12:14.\u00a0 Such a believer will receive gifts from the Lord which may include crown of righteousness, new name, eating of the tree of life, etc, 2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 2 and 3.<\/p>\n
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Daily Living Application:<\/h3>\n
A believer is called to a life of holiness.\u00a0 We must conduct ourselves in a manner that brings glory to God\u2019s Name.\u00a0 We should not in any way bring reproach to Him by the way we live.<\/p>\n
Obedience to God\u2019s word is the key to holy living and holy living is the key to the manifestation of God\u2019s power.<\/p>\n
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Memory Verse:<\/h3>\n
1 Peter 1:15-16 \u2013 \u201cBut as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Manifestation of God\u2019s Power \u2013 Part 3, Through Holy Living Central Thought:\u00a0 God\u2019s power is manifested through righteous and holy living. Text: \u00a0Acts 5:1-11; Romans 6:16-17; Galatians 5:19-23; 1 Peter 1:15-16 In our earlier lessons, we discussed how God\u2019s power is manifested through us in signs, wonders and miracles, and in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sundayschool"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/holy-livng.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=838"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":844,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/838\/revisions\/844"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mzgtiglobal.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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