City Of Refuge Baptist Church is a brand new independant Baptist Church in the planting, in the western suburb of Albertsville, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The plans are for the church to start services before the end of 2011. read more ...

Wanneer ons Jesus Christus as Redder aanvaar en daardeur wederbaar is, word ons dadelik aangeneem in die huisgesin van God. Hy is ons Vader en ons Sy kinders. Die Heilige Gees kom woon in elkeen van ons en lei ons in die waarheid en maak ons gelykvormig aan Jesus Christus.  Elkeen word deel van God se heiligmakende vernuwing. Eph 2:10 se dit so:

“Want ons is sy maaksel, geskape in Christus Jesus tot goeie werke wat God voorberei het, sodat ons daarin kan wandel”

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The following is from a sermon by the late Evangelist Lester Roloff. It is excerpted from sermon #R03404 from Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises, Corpus Christi, Texas --

Every man must repent of his sin. What is repentance? John the Baptist told the people to bring forth fruit meet for repentance (Matthew 3:8). I want to say this to my preacher brethren. I really mean this. We ought not to be too hasty in getting them to join the church, if they haven’t repented. It doesn’t hurt for them to prove their faith for awhile. It doesn’t hurt for them to prove that they have been saved by the grace of God and their lives are changed. John said, "Bring forth some fruit meet for repentance." What are the fruits?

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The following is by Buddy Smith and is from Heads Up! September 9, 2011, smiletex@bighpond.net.au --

"For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods." I Kings 11:4-8

How could the wisest king in history go so terribly wrong? He began his reign so well, and ended it so poorly. Where did he go wrong?

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We are to recognise that we are the Lord’s workmanship. All who are born again are born into the family of God because the Holy Spirit used someone to lead them to receive Christ. The Holy Spirit did the wooing with the preacher and God’s Word and won them to. I want to point out that we must recognise that the work of the Holy Spirit does not end there. Bringing us to Christ is just the beginning. The Holy Spirit will attempt to lead us to be completely changed - to be like Christ.

We are living in times when even true believers are not allowing the Holy Spirit to lead them. We are picking and choosing what leading, of the Holy Spirit, we will follow and what leading we won’t. The Lord is not pleased with most of us today. The true church is in a very sad state.

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Romans 8:1-14

The ultimate goal here is that the born again (in Christ) are led by the Holy Spirit to be spiritually minded.

To become spiritually minded the born again must be led by the Holy Spirit. In daily practice this means that the born again must "walk after the Spirit". Walking after the Spirit will make the born again "mind (be favourable towards) the things of the Spirit." A continual life of minding the things of the Spirit will produce a spiritually minded believer. This is the goal of the Holy Spirit for each that are born again.

The challenge to the goal of the Holy Spirit is our corrupt flesh and carnal mind. If the born again resist the leading of the Holy Spirit and rather choose to "walk after the flesh". They will develop the habit of 'minding the things of the flesh'. Continual minding the things of the flesh will make, or keep, them carnally minded. In this passage we are warned that "to be carnally minded is death" - spiritual death! Spiritual death in the sense that they will be at "enmity against God". Meaning that they are "not subject to the law of God", and neither can they be subject to His law. They are like those not born again, those that "are in the flesh", they cannot please God!

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Text: Rom 12:1-2   1  “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

This scripture tells of the need to present ourselves wholly to the Lord – “a living sacrifice”. A major part of that “living sacrifice” is us allowing the Lord to tell us what is right and wrong. We look to Him to tell us what is important, what is less important, and what is of no value. To give us the correct view of life, or life as He sees it. In v2 we are told not to be “conformed to this world”. i.e. Remain in the mindset of our cultures, our upbringing, and previous experiences that have so far shaped us as persons. We are not to stay the way we are no matter what culture we were brought up in. All are in conflict with Almighty God, all are carnal, and therefore all need to be transformed. All peoples need to be led, and renewed, by the Holy Spirit to be like Christ.

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