PASTOR DARRYL BAKER
teaching you how to walk in the light of god's word
Filled With The Fruits of Righteousness
Philippians 1:11
…being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
All who are born again have been filled with the fruits of righteousness known as the fruit of the spirit revealed to us in Galatians 5:22-23. They are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To bring that fruit to maturity we are told if we will walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the desires of the flesh but will see theses fruits manifest.
Once you are born again your spirit being made new has all theses fruits within. That is why when we choose to live ruled by our spirit these fruits will be the result. One way we walk in the spirit happens when we become one with the Word of God. Jesus said His Word is Spirit. To become one with the Word we take time to read and meditate on scripture, especially the New Testament. As it begins to dominate us, we begin to walk in line with the Word of God.
A second key to walking in the spirit is to take the time to listen to the voice of your spirit known as your conscience. Before you speak or act if we take time to listen to this inward voice we will either have a check about doing what is not right, or a peace about what is right. This will lead to us obeying our spirit and the result will be the fruit of our spirit man. Walking in the fruits of righteousness will lead us to live a spirit lead life, dominated by our spirit and not our flesh.
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No Longer Slaves
Ephesians 1:5
He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,…
We are not adopted into the family of God we are born again by His Spirit into God’s family. The term “adoption as sons” refers to us being placed in a position of sonship, which we did not have before being born again. The children of Israel once taken captive in Egypt were slaves to Pharaoh and lived their lives under his control, but God sent Moses and delivered them.
Moses was a type of Jesus, and Egypt a type of the world. Like the children of Israel we have been delivered through Jesus Christ from Egypt (the world), no longer slaves to the world and it’s ways. But the first generation of Israel did not enter the promise land, the new way of living God had for them except for Joshua and Caleb. The problem was God had gotten them out of Egypt, but He could not get Egypt out of them. Their thinking had not changed and they did not see themselves as sons and daughters of God. This hindered their faith in God and His ability.
Scripture tells us they limited God. Why? Because they did not renew their minds to who they now were, no longer slaves but sons and daughters of the Most High God. So it is with many born again today. They have been taken out of Egypt, but if they will not renew their minds to who they have become in Christ they have not gotten Egypt out of them. Romans 12:2 tells us not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Doing so will help every believer to rise up into the promise of the new life God has provided for them.
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Justified By Faith
Galatians 2:16
…nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
We were justified (given right standing with God) not by works, but through faith in Christ. Justified means God declares you righteous or right with Him. God sees you just as if you had never sinned for you are a new creation in Christ Jesus. As Romans 5:1 tells us, we having been justified by faith now have peace with God.
The wrath that God has toward man because of sin is taken away in Christ for all who have received Him and continue to walk with Him, they will escape the wrath to come. The devil will try to get us to pull away from God because of our past sin. Don’t fall for this lie. Because we have peace with God we can draw near to Him. We choose to do what is right in God’s sight because of what He has done for us.
As a believer if you do sin don’t run from God repent, acknowledge the sin, turn from it and run to Him. You have been given peace with God because of justification. Peace means harmony between God and man. God is for us, so don’t fall for the lie that God must be against you. Because of justification through Christ Jesus we now have peace with God and He is for us because we are one spirit with the Lord.
#cffchurch #pastorDarrylBaker
The Ministry of Reconciliation
2 Corinthians 5:18
Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,…
Through Jesus Christ we have been reconciled to God. Reconciled means to restore relationship, and to make an exchange. He took our sin on the cross so that we could receive His righteousness. It is this righteousness (right standing with God) that gives us the right to all that we have in Christ. We now have a ministry to go and reconcile others to God.
In the verse that follows the above scripture it goes on to tell us that God was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting their sins against them. To reconcile others to Christ we need to let people know that God has already dealt with their sins through the cross. It is not all their sins that is now separating them from God, but in fact in John 16:8-9 Jesus tells us that there is one sin that is hindering man from receiving the reconciliation that God has provided, and that is the sin of not putting their faith in Jesus Christ.
In the eyes of God the world has been reconciled to Him for there is nothing more that He needs to do. They simply need to turn to God and put their faith in Him, receiving Jesus as the Lord of their life. Time for the church to go and shine their light to those in darkness and to let them know God is waiting on them to receive them back into fellowship with Him.
#cffchurch #pastorDarrylBaker
Bearing Godly Fruit
Romans 7:4
Likewise, my brethren, you have undergone death as to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that now you may belong to Another, to Him Who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.
Once born again we now belong to God, we are not our own, we have been bought with a price. Because we are His we should no longer look like, sound like, nor act like the world. We should bear godly fruit. You are in the world but no longer of the world. We don’t become born again to keep living the way we have always lived, but to now follow in the Lord’s example for our life.
To do so we see in scripture that Jesus did not come to do His will, but the will of the Father who sent Him. Jesus said that He only did that which pleased the Father. We are to walk in His example no longer fulfilling our own will, but the Fathers will for us and in doing so we will bear fruit unto Him, shinning as a light in a dark world. Jesus purchased our lives with His shed blood so we should no longer be calling the shots, but instead should be fully yielded to God.
As John Osteen once said, “At all costs, and at all times obey God. One thing I have learned is that God knows more than John.” God has your best interests in mind, so remember Who you belong to and always choose to walk in the will of the Father following after Him. His ways are not our ways, they are a much better way to live life. You will be glad you did.
#cffchurch #pastorDarrylBaker
Reigning In Life
Romans 5:17
For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
Those who are in Christ Jesus are not to be ruled by what happens in life, but to rule in this life they live. We can reign in life because of our right standing with God and through His grace (heavens help) which we received through Jesus Christ. God gives grace to the humble. Simply put, as we humble ourselves before God we choose to yield to the grace He has given to us.
Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live soberly, righteously, and godly lives (Titus 2:11-12). This will lead us away from the rule of evil. Yield to God’s grace by denying ungodliness and you can rise above it. To reign in this life we must also recognize our right standing with God. We receive this the moment we are born again through this gift of righteousness.
This gift is what gives us as children of God the right to our authority in Christ Jesus. By exercising our authority through faith in the name of Jesus, we can trample on the powers of darkness. As we remain humble yielding to God’s grace, and use the authority God has given to us through His gift of righteousness using the name of Jesus, we can reign victorious in this life.
#cffchurch #pastorDarrylBaker
A Brand New Life
Colossians 2:11
When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature.
As stated in this verse, circumcision means a cutting away, and in this reference it refers to a cutting away of the old sinful nature that used to reside on the inside. When you truly become born again, the real you on the inside died and a new person was birthed. The old has passed away and the new has come. Even if you know this stick with me for a minute. So many who claim be be Christians still live like the world. How can this be since you have been recreated in the image of God inside?
One answer is we have many false converts. People who think they are born again but in fact they are not. They would say, “I prayed the prayer” or “I went to church when I was a child”. You see 1 John 3:7-8 tells us when you are born again you no longer have a desire to practice sin. In other words you do not want to live contrary to Christ. A baby Christian as they continue their walk with God will begin to realize from within to live in sin is wrong. As they grow they will no longer desire to do so.
When you come to Jesus with the knowledge of your sinful nature within, you repent, turn away from that old nature and make Jesus the Lord of your life. This means you have willing given yourself to Him because you desire to walk with God and your Heavenly Father. As you get to know Jesus, you learn about this new you on the inside and you begin to see change on the outside.
The church as a whole has allowed too many who are not saved to fill key positions in the church who still look like the world because they are, or they have not yet grown up in Christ. This paints a picture to others who may not be truly saved that they are ok with God. Practicing sin is not ok with God. Jesus came to deliver us, circumcise us from that old nature.
There are people who may be bound in some area of sin but in their heart they don’t desire to live that way. They want to get free but may not know how. If you are born again that old nature has been cut away and a new nature, made like Him has come, and when you get to know Him that new nature will change who you are on the outside.
#cffchurch #PastorDarrylBaker
All Wisdom & Knowledge
Colossians 2:3
God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.
All the wisdom and all the knowledge we need is found in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Word made flesh, and through the Word of God we can get this wisdom and knowledge. When we lack knowledge we lack the ability to know what God knows about something, not knowing what God says about a matter.
We can go to God’s Word and find out exactly what He has to say about any subject. But knowledge of what God desires for us or wants us to know is not enough. Wisdom teaches us how to walk in the knowledge we have. For example, knowledge of God’s Word teaches us that He desires to provide all our need. Wisdom teaches us how He does that.
Scripture tells us as we give it shall be given to us for this is God’s established law revealed throughout scripture of sowing and reaping. To walk in wisdom requires a reverence for the Lord. If you reverence Him you will walk in the wisdom He reveals. If you don’t you will keep doing things your way. If you want to walk in God’s will for your life go to the Word, get knowledge and get wisdom applied to your life, and you can walk in His will for you.
#cffchurch #pastorDarrylBaker
We Are Righteous
Colossians 1:14
In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.
The sin that stood between man and God has been washed away in Christ Jesus. Praise the Lord for His redeeming blood! He took our sin and gave us His righteousness. This righteousness or right standing with God is a free gift. You cannot earn God’s righteousness.
Christians who are “trying” to get right with God are facing a losing battle, for once you are born again you have His righteousness and are therefore right with God. It is through this free gift of righteousness given to us that we have the right to all that Christ has provided for us. The devil will try to convince you that you are not right with God.
Revelation 12:11 tells us we overcome him by the blood of the Lamb (walking in the reality of our righteousness), by the word of our testimony (confessing who you are in Christ and what you therefore have a right to), and we do not love our lives to the death (we now live for God, not for ourselves). So don’t try to get right with God, you already are. Walk in the reality of that truth and you can walk in what you have a right to.
#cffcburch #pastorDarrylBaker
Come Boldly
Ephesians 3:12
In Whom, because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).
Through Christ we now once again can approach God without fear. Our Father has provided for us the privilege of fellowship with Him. It is the very reason why Christ died. When Adam sinned his fellowship with God was broken and he became estranged from God. This brought a fear in the heart of man in approaching God for after Adam sinned he hid himself from God.
Because of what Christ did in bearing our sin and the punishment of our sin, we no longer need to live fearful of approaching our heavenly Father. The sin that separated us is gone and we can now approach God with complete confidence. So as a believer we should daily draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. Don’t ever run from God, run to Him. If you have sinned repent, and run back to the Father for He awaits with arms open wide to help you get back on your feet again.
It is the devil who tries to keep us from approaching God by making us afraid to do so through wrong thoughts. Scripture teaches us to come boldly to the throne of grace, to find grace and help in our time of need. God is waiting to help us overcome whatever we may be dealing with in life, but we must draw near to Him to get that help. The door is open so do not ever run from Him. He is your answer, He is your deliverer, He wants to help you; and most importantly He wants you to know Him.
#cffchurch #pastorDarrylBaker
Pastor Darryl Baker
Join me each day as we dig into the scriptures and share God's wisdom that will help you grow in your walk with God.
