Spiritual Gifts part 299: A cloud no bigger than a man's hand.

Spiritual Gifts Part 299:

A cloud no bigger than a man’s hand.

Adam Stack’s celebration service:
Saturday August 18, 2012 @ 3 PM

The “pink church”
First Presbyterian – Pompano
2331 NE 26th Ave
Pompano Beach, FL
33062

The Doctrine of Spiritual Gifts

Point 4.
Developing the capacity you need to function effectively in your spiritual gift.

How does the Master produce a vessel that is fit for His use?

He uses situations of suffering to accelerate the production and manifestation of virtues.

He also has plans to develop our perseverance and persistence in believing what we have received from the word of God.

Abiding means to remain, and that brings into the picture the element of time and perseverance.

Joh 14:20
“In that day you will know that I am in My Father [deity of Christ], and you in Me [baptism of the Holy Spirit], and I in you [indwelling of Christ].”

The fact that “abide” is a command means that it is an experience after salvation and not a reference to positional sanctification.

The branch commanded to abide in Christ is the believer called to experiential sanctification through the filling of the Spirit.

“abide” is the verb meno =
to stay in the place that has been given to you.
To remain in a state or relationship freely given.
Not to depart, not to leave, but to remain.

A cloud no bigger than a man’s hand.

Very often, after the word of the Lord has been given concerning something you need in life, there will be an intervening and unexpected delay before the promise is fulfilled.

1. God’s seemingly slow and hidden ways.

2. The demand for faith to be found in His servants.

The mantra of our day is “quick and easy”!

But God often finds it very valuable to have things proceed slowly and with great difficulty.

He wants to have His servants persist in faith.

Then Elijah built the altar of Israel, and put the parts of the ox on it, and drenched the offering with water, and called on the Lord.

The people shout, “The Lord, He is God!”

Don’t let the spectacle distract you from the most important things – orienting to the word of God, and letting Him perform His work in you.