This is an excerpt from Dr. McIntosh’s current radio program titled “The Fruit of the Born-Again Spirit.” Please join Dr. Michelle every Wednesday morning on Gospel 1590 or visit our Radio page for the complete teaching.
The Holy Spirit gave me this teaching in response to all of the negative rhetoric and confrontations we experience and read about daily. People in general are operating by their ungodly thoughts and emotions and lashing out at others for no apparent reason. Satan has persuaded these individuals to act out their aggression on the innocent and those weaker than themselves.
There are hurting people all over the world; in our communities and families because people are living under the influence of the lies of Satan. Christians have the answer and the truth is found in Jesus. We are the light of the world and we of all people should be able to demonstrate the perfect love of God to others. Satan and his evil assignments cannot prevail when God’s people live according to the Holy Bible.
In Jesus we got the victory over all of Satan’s lies and attacks. However, it is the responsibility of each Christian to grow in the attributes and character of our Savior, if we want to enjoy peace of mind and prosperity spirit, soul and body.
When we were saved, we received all of the attributes and characteristics of our Heavenly Father in our born-again spirit in s-e-e-d form. Therefore, it is up to us individually to develop and grow in faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Second Peter 1:2-10:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him [Jesus] who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 But also for this reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge,
6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness,
7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.
God wants His children living in His blessed and abundant life. And it is possible, if we choose to grow in His attributes and character. We are going to have to make up our minds and hearts to let go of all the evil thinking and false religious traditions that have been holding us back from growing in Christ. All of us came to Christ with a lot of stinking thinking–baggage from our sinful nature. But praise our Savior and Lord we have been redeemed from the sinful nature and we are now new creatures in Christ. We must choose to grow in the goodness of Jesus. And, we know it is possible because God said so in His Word!