God's Sovereignty Does Not Negate Our Responsibility

Biblical Community Is First Of All The Sharing Of A Common Life In Christ.

The Fruit Of The Spirit Is Fundamentally Relational. Rather Than Originating With Us, It Flows To Us From Our Union With Christ, And It Flows Beyond Us To Bring Us Into Fellowship With Others. The Secret Of This Flow - And Our Unity With God And Others - Is Humility.

We Are 100 Percent Responsible For The Pursuit Of Holiness, But At The Same Time We Are 100 Percent Dependent Upon The Holy Spirit To Enable Us In That Pursuit. The Pursuit Of Holiness Is Not A Pull-yourself-up-by-your-own-bootstraps Approach To The Christian Life.

God Is Never At A Loss Because He Cannot Find Someone To Cooperate With Him In Carrying Out His Plan. He So Moves In The Hearts Of People - Either Christians Or Non Christians, It Makes No Difference - That They Willingly, Of Their Own Free Will Carry Out His Plans.

Bitterness Arises In Our Hearts When We Do Not Trust In The Sovereign Rule Of God In Our Lives