Solid Ground sisters - Podcast #9 – God’s Mercy Reaching a Wicked Young Man – George Müller

1. The faith he had was received from God through his coming to the Lord. Therefore, Muller was able to live by such a faith given by God. 

2. GM was a very sinful person but God could even save him and use him. 

3. GM once made resolutions that he wanted not to commit sins - but failed. All his resolutions rendered nothing. 

4. 

Solid Ground sisters - Podcast #8 – The Heritage, Salvation, and Learnings of A.B. Simpson

 https://blog.xuite.net/warrenlois/twblog/120139389-%E5%AE%A3%E4%BF%A1%E5%B0%8F%E5%82%B3%EF%BC%88A.B.+Simpson%2C1843%EF%BD%9E1919%EF%BC%89

Solid Ground Bible Study - Different aspects of the matter of reconciliation

Verse reading (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

18 But all things are out from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation;

19 Namely, that God in Christ was reconciling the world to Himself, not accounting their offenses to them, and has put in us the word of reconciliation. 

20 On behalf of Christ then we are ambassadors, as God entreats you through us; we beseech you on behalf of Christ, Be reconciled to God.

>>> the apostles are fully authorised to bring saints to the reconciliation to God. 

21 Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The ministry of the NT - many ministers are in the one ministry (Unlike what's commonly discussed in the Christianity 

Two stages of reconciliation 

1. Unbelievers need to be reconciled to God

2. Believers need to be further reconciled to God. 

Something other than sins, but what we are, our being, our flesh, and our natural constitution also hinder us from being fully reconciled to God (the 2nd veil). 

Solid Ground: 2 Cor life-study (Meeting) - The Ministers of the New Covenant (1)

2Co 3:3 Since you are being manifested that you are a letter of Christ ministered by us, inscribed not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone but in tablets of hearts of flesh.

2 Co 3:4 And such confidence we have through Christ toward God,

2 Co 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God,

*sufficient - or, competent, qualified, fit, worthy. The apostle's sufficiency comes from his knowing God inscribing on him as every letter.  

Christ is every alphabet - I am the Alpha and Omega. 

Paul knows Christ as alpha, beta... etc. - he knows Christ as every letter. 

Writing this letter with ink (oil) - that is we need to be filled with Christ, the life-giving Spirit 

Solid Ground: 1 Thes 5 (sisters gathering) - To Be Sanctified Wholly with Our Spirit, Soul, and Body Preserved Complete

Blessed are those who can say "I don't know" (XD)

- The only thing you need to learn is to say "I don't know". 

- Blessed are the poor in spirit and pure in heart. 

What it means to be sanctified wholly? 

- May your spirit, and soul, and body be preserved wholly. 

- Three parts need to be preserved from any dead works. 

Heb. 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

- In fellowship with the Lord via the following means (singing, praying, rejoicing, praising etc.) 

1 Thes. 5:16 Always rejoice,
1 Thes. 5:17 Unceasingly pray,
1 Thes. 5:18 In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

How to be preserved complete? 

How to preserve these parts: 

1. Spirit 

- To fellowship with God (exercise this by praying with God) - this will help our spirit living! 

To rejoice, to pray, to give thanks are the ways to exercise our spirit. 

- intuition "knowing" whether we are right or wrong 

- conscience being justified 

2. Soul - 

3. Body - 

Solid Ground: 1 Thes 5 (Meeting) - To Be Sanctified Wholly with Our Spirit, Soul, and Body Preserved Complete

Quantitatively, God sanctifies us wholly; 

Qualitatively, God preserves us complete, that is, He keeps our spirit, soul, and body perfect

Be preserved - active-passive :)

1. Our default situation - a deadened condition 

• We must keep our spirit in a living condition - exercising (rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks) 
•  "exercising" means to put in some effort (on the one hand, God is doing it; on the other hand, we need to cooperate by putting in some effort).  
• Why our spirit sometimes feel heavy? We can see something, listen to something, etc. to deaden to our spirit 
• Being passive - just to do nothing 
• We need to be saved from this passivity 
• Sometimes, we might be "saying too much" yet without any reality and content. The Lord 

1 Thes Life-study 20 - Our Heart to be Established Blameless in Holiness and our Body to be Preserved Clean in Sanctification

Our heart needs to be sanctified, our body needs to be preserved in sanctification. 

Two hearts - 

1. Physical heart 

2. Psychological heart - 

All spiritual illness comes from this psychological heart (Three arteries: mind, emotions, and will). 

Have blockages in our psychological arteries - taking things other than Christ in our mind, emotion, and will. 

Romans 12: 1-2  - Presenting our Body and our inner heart being renewed. 

Rom. 12:1 I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Having rooted and grounded in love

Mark 12:30 And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength."

To be saturated with the Lord,

Secret: Hymnal 572 

Thy Spirit will me saturate
Every part will God permeate,
Deliv’ring me from the old man,
With all saints building for His plan.

Excercise our spirit, opening/turning of our heart: So that the Lord can transform us. 

Fornication is the most defiling sin. Have our body be preserved clean. Inward being represented by our heart in blameless; our body clean in sanctification. 

Before God: we need to be sanctified. 

Before man: we need honour. 

How fornication can destroy/damage us. It does affect our being saturated with the Lord

Rom. 12:1 I exhort you therefore, brothers, through the compassions of God to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, [which is] your reasonable service.

Rom. 12:2 And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect.

Rom. 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, [but] be burning in spirit, serving the Lord.

Solid Ground: 1 Thes 4 - Preserve our vessel in sanctification (note taking)

Brother Chris C.

Both the Lord Jesus and apostle Paul gave warnings, and these warnings are out of love.


The most defiling sin is fornication, that is, having sex outside a proper marriage. Other things also can defile us (e.g. the love for money etc., similar to having an improper relationship with money). 

Whether we feel that we are living a sinful life or not, we can all come forward to God with boldness. God's heart is not to condemn us, but "sin no more". In order to do so, we need to flee and pursue with companions.  

God's heart is that we can go on with Him! 

1 Thes Life-study 19: Our Heart to be Established Blameless in Holiness (2)

Bible verses:

1 Thes. 3:12 And the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we also to you,
1 Thes. 3:13 So that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

The soul and the heart

The soul is composed of the mind, emotion, and will. 

The heart is composed of the soul + the conscience (the spirit) 

Our heart is our acting representative (the person in action), and that's why is it so important to keep our heart.

Prov. 4:23 – Keep your heart with all vigilance, / For from it are the issues of life.

Mt 12:34 Offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Mt 12:35 The good man, out of his good treasure, brings forth good things, and the evil man, out of his evil treasure, brings forth evil things.
Mt 12:36 And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgment.

A new heart (a heart turns to God and a heart that is pure) 

Characteristics of a new heart 

1. A heart turns to the Lord

Not a different heart - but a heart that turns to God and is renewed (a continual and unchangeable process) - sometimes we have the feeling to want to turn to God - this is a sign that this heart is renewed. 

In our part, we need to exercise ourselves to turn to Him, He has a way to flow through us and our daily activities. We need to switch on to let the heavenly electricity flow through us. 

2. A heart that is pure (pure in heart) 

The heart is seeking purity. - the single purpose and motive - we do things because we love God. 

How to establish our hearts blameless in holiness. - we're on the way to be fully separated from the world and way to holiness. 

God Himself is our only goal and only aim, and our heart is filled and saturated with God. At this point, God becomes the holiness of our hearts. It is a heart that is separated to God and saturated with God and our heart becomes our unchangeableness. God's element wrought into us to establish us.  

1 Thes Life-study 9: The Reward of Fostering

They lived what they preached.

Bible reading: 1 Thes. 2:10-20

1 Thes. 2:10 You are witnesses, as well as God, how in a holy and righteous and blameless manner we conducted ourselves toward you who believe,
1 Thes. 2:11 Just as you know how [we were] to each one of you, as a father to his own children, exhorting you and consoling [you] and testifying,
1 Thes. 2:12 So that you might walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
1 Thes. 2:13 And because of this we also thank God unceasingly that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted [it] not [as] the word of men but even as it truly is, the word of God, which also operates in you who believe.
1 Thes. 2:14 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus, for you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, even as they also from the Jews,
1 Thes. 2:15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and drove us out; and they are not pleasing to God and are contrary to all men,
1 Thes. 2:16 In that they forbid us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so that they fill up their sins always. But wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
1 Thes. 2:17 But we, brothers, having been bereaved of you for a little while, in presence, not in heart, were more abundantly eager with great desire to see your face.
1 Thes. 2:18 Therefore we wanted to come to you, indeed I Paul, both once and again, yet Satan hindered us.
1 Thes. 2:19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you?
1 Thes. 2:20 For you are our glory and joy.


Our understanding of Christian work
- Christian work is to grow instead of to educate or edification/improving characters.
- Paul considered the young believers are in a big family to grow together.
- Paul didn't give much teaching but gave life.
- A work of life - announcing the gospel to people without life. Therefore, our preaching the gospel is to impart life. As a father exhorting them and a mother nourishing them.


Education comes with growing as well so it is an important component but it is not all.
To imitate = to grow: Imitating in a family means to grow. Showing them (the children) the pattern.
Paul fed the young believers (his children) what he lived - his way of handling the Word of God, etc.


Paul was not trying to boast about himself but to feed the young believers what he lived. This kind of living can actually feed people.


Being a pattern is to feed people instead of trying to teach, teach, and teach. We might feel satisfied with our being able to teach others but it didn't feed people. The young believers can still be hungry.


What is the reward/crown (of fostering)


1 Thes. 2:19 For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at His coming? Are not even you?
1 Thes. 2:20 For you are our glory and joy.


- Paul was emotional but the best father- he just wanted to let the new believers know that whatever he had is really for the young believers. His life would be meaningless without these young believers (children).


- The best way to foster your children is to touch their (the children) heart.
- You thought to be an overcomer, you will be happy before the Lord - but Paul here said no, the glory and the joy are these believers.
- In order to care for new believers, we have to be such ones who are filled with Christ and live Christ.

Life-study 1: Introduction to a Holy Life for the Church Life

Bible verses: 

1 Thes. 1:1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
1 Thes. 1:2 We thank God always concerning all of you, making mention [of you] in our prayers,
1 Thes. 1:3 Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father; 

Enjoyment 

• One of the earliest writing from Paul - when Paul was still on his journey. 
• A solid beginning to a church with rather young believers who were gentiles (young spiritually and in age as well). Therefore, this book is full of tender loving care. 

• 1 Thes. 1:1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace.
• Jesus Christ is "our Lord" 
• God is "our Father" 
• These indicate that we have a life relationship with God, and we're also in the organic union with God after we're saved. 
• 1 Thes. 1:2 We thank God always concerning all of you, making mention [of you] in our prayers,
  1 Thes. 1:3 Remembering unceasingly your work of faith and labor of love and endurance of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father; 
• Apostle Paul did not approach the new believers in an authoritarian way but in a way of love. 
• Work must be issued from faith
• Faith is a gift of God, from God's infusing us with Himself.  
• Love lasts long (love is the motivation)
• love being worked into us.
• Endurance comes from hope, and in any
• Without hope, we have no endurance. Something worked into us to have such an endurance that can endure any kinds of troubles. 
• In faith, in love, and in hope.