The Victorious Life

(Rom 7:24 Moffatt NT) Miserable wretch that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
 (Rom 7:25 Moffatt NT) God will! Thanks be to him through Jesus Christ our Lord!.....)　

Do you truly desire to be an overcomer ? Are you tired of the kind of Christian life that you live?
Have you come to the end of your rope after failing so miserably in your striving for victory that you cry out,
"Miserable wretch that I am! Who will rescue me . . . ?" (Rom. 7.24) Be assured that your salvation is near at hand!!!
" God will! Thanks be to him through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (v.25). For the life that is victorious is not attained, but obtained.
It is not a life changed, but rather a life exchanged. It is not suppression, only expression. It is frankly not in you yourself,
because it is in Christ who lives in you. The life which God gives and you receive at the time you believe in His Son Jesus Christ
is such a life. It is a life that overcomes sin, provides intimate communion with God, and is full of satisfaction and power.
It is already in you, waiting to be explored by you. The secret towards experiencing its power is to let go of yourself and
let Christ live instead of you. This requires a childlike faith. Then shall you more than conquer through Him who loves you.

Three bear witness

"And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."


Jesus did not need to speak to Nicodemus concerning the blood, for being a Pharisee, he understood the need for a blood sacrifice.But he had no knowledge of being born of water, and of the Spirit.To be "born of water" speaks of our being water baptized.To be "born of the Spirit" speaks of our receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.


Peter said:

"…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."Acts 2:38
 　
The blood atonement of Jesus on the cross blots out our sin, as if we had never sinned. But we still have the Adamic nature.In water baptism, as we are totally immersed, our Adamic nature goes down to the grave, and we come up out of the water as being a new creation, with our capacity to function in the spiritual realm restored.


"Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."


Our nature has been changed, and the "tap root" of our Adamic nature has been cut.Now we can walk in "newness of life."Under the Law, righteous living was required, but man was incapable of this and utterly failed.In the New Covenant the ability to live a righteous life was given (and cause you to walk in My statutes).


"A new heart also will I give you, and a new Spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments, and do them."


The Baptism in the Holy Spirit provides this "ability" -that which will "cause," or give us the "power" (Acts 1:8) that will enable us to live above sin.

Thus, the "blood" forgives our sin; the "water" changes our nature; and the "Spirit" gives us the ability (enabling power) to enter into the realms of the spiritual, above all that is earthly.These three together, as "one," provides a full salvation experience that will enable us to enter the Kingdom.

Ezekiel 36:26-27Romans 6:4…Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."Acts 2:38 I John 5:8

A Son

Just Content to be a son
With no ambition to succeed
In realms of earth, and have no need
Of popularity's acclaim
Or purchase for myself a name.
In serving Christ; for He must be
The Lord throughout eternity,
To see His face and hear His voice
And do His bidding is my choice.
Just content to be a son
A son of God without a home
To stay or go to wait or roam
Hither and yon without a plan
Led of the Spirit, not of man
I'll have no moment of praise
But I'll have peace in God's own ways.
And though I tread this earthly sod,
I walk with Him, I live in God.
Just content to be a son
Misunderstood and yet I know
The path I take shall overflow
With life abundant and with grace
I only need to run the race.
With patience, waiting, seeing Him
Hearing the still small voice within,
If others want the earth to quake.
I'll hear His voice when I awake.
Just content to be a son,
No words to say, but what He says,
No work to do, but what He does,
No fear or worry, anxious care.
I live with Him, His yoke I share.
No name to make, He writes His own.
Upon the heart's pure glistening stone.
No life to live, I lay it down
I'll share His Cross, and live again.

Waiting

"They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength" (Is. 40:31 esv).

To wait upon God is entirely within the reach of all, whatever may be the age, condition, or environment. All may not be able to preach, teach, go as missionaries, or enter into public service; but any Christian can wait upon the Lord.

Silence

The Bible tells us much about waiting upon the Lord. The first meaning of the expression is silence. Prayer has been made and now the soul is hushed and, bowing in silence (in faith), it waits before God.

Our souls are too noisy. In prayer life alone we see how it hinders. Our hearts are much distressed and burdened, so we go to prayer and maybe spend much time pouring out our petitions before the throne. And too many times we get up immediately, rush out of His presence and often try to answer the prayer by some efforts of our own. We do the praying but not the waiting. Let us not be afraid to be silent before Him, thinking it is wasted time. He does not want us to be all the time talking–telling Him so many things about which He already knows more than we do. Time is needed today for proper adjustment to Him, our vision properly focused, our hearts hushed, and minds subdued. It is in the silent hour before Him, quietly waiting in His presence, that the miracle is wrought.

Expectation and Hope

The second meaning of the word carries the thought of expectation and hope.

 "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from Him" (Ps. 62:1, 5 esv).

To wait upon God means to expect from God. It implies dependence.

How necessary today that we wait upon God in the sense of expecting from Him. The natural man is so self-sufficient. He turns here and there and expects help from his natural ability, from friends, or from circumstances, But in the spiritual life we are taught to distrust self and to depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit.

Watching

The third meaning of wait is to watch, observe, take notice. This means that all our spiritual senses must be alive, alert, and expectant. To wait means that we are to be near to Him and still, that we may catch the slightest intimation on His part. Our hearts are to be sensitive enough to catch the faintest reflection and be able to discern quickly His voice. The meaning is clearly shown in;

Prov. 8:34: "Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching

daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors."

 Here we have a man, maybe a servant or soldier, waiting at a door or gate. He does not know the moment his master may open the door to require his service, or maybe to give him a gift. Be it one or the other, it matters not to the waiting man. His duty is to wait (to watch or take notice). It is not the waiting of an idler; it is not the waiting of a dreamer. It is the quiet waiting of one who is girt and ready.

We do not long watch or observe keenly the movements of God before He has some word for us. He bids us go or come on some mission, or speak, write, pray, visit, or sing for Him. Why? Because we were near enough to feel what is on His heart, and thus we were able to enter into fellowship with Him in service. Many today do not understand the movement of God in the world as He is speaking to us in present conditions because they are not near enough or still enough to observe Him. Such wonderful blessings, then, hang upon this one condition: to wait. And to wait upon God is to have the heart silent in an expectant attitude, to hear what He might say–that we might do His bidding.  Wait means that we are to be near to Him and still, that we may catch the slightest intimation on His part.

The Cross

Every man will find his discipline, and every man will find his cross. All Christians are not

disciples.

When He first introduces the cross, it is to Christians. Jesus Christ never places a cross on

anybody. It is in our volitional Power of will to choose. He doesn’t lay a cross on us “so we can

love Him!” No, we voluntarily take it. He never imposes it; it will be the instrument on which we

will be slain. Our cross will be the most liberating thing in our life. As with Christ’s cross, it

liberates and sets free everything in salvation, and the things of God.

If we want to sidestep the cross and miss its ministries, we won’t go to hell, but, if we sidestep

this cross, we will sidestep one of the greatest agencies in the economy of God to bring us into

God. He says, “Come, take up this cross as a voluntary act.” The cross is the instrument of death,

but it brings a fuller revelation to our hearts and lives than that of any other agency in His

economy.

If we would know fellowship in the future, we must know it now. We must know the cross in its two

fold teaching; not only sins forgiven, but, on-the other side, joy: agony—but joy. Embrace it; hang

on to it; cruel and bitter though it is; for joy and a sensing of God, as never before, will

follow.

Be willing for the crucifixion, because it is the author of LIFE.

The more spiritually-minded we are in heart and life, the more we can understand the revelation of

God, and the more we understand the cross.

“Though He were a Son,” He learned obedience continually. (Heb. 2:10; 5:8) That was like a cross.

Learning obedience is a cross which we will have too, if we want to follow Him. “If any man wants

to follow Me (to My destiny), let him take up his own cross and follow Me.” But this is not the

cross which He lays on us; it is something that we may voluntarily resist or accept. It is a cross

distinct from trials and testings that He brings upon us. It does amount to great suffering, but it

is a suffering in which we have the power to resist if we don’t want to take it. Sometimes, for

example, great teaching, a great revelation, amounts to a cross. We know if we take that cross up,

if we embrace that Truth, if we dare to subject ourselves under the impact and power of that Truth,

it is going to be a terrific cross that will kill us. It will crucify us. Well, it is supposed to!

Take up YOUR cross.

Your cross and my cross will vary according to the disposition, and the calling of our lives, so we

don’t have the same in that sense, but everyone will have one.

Why? Because in God’s economy and purpose for us, He knows the pattern, the situation, the episode

that will perfectly crucify our old flesh. So He says: “Will you voluntarily take it? You pick it

up. You know what My cross did for Me. It was the place of My execution; it was the place where I

died; now, you take yours. It will be the place of the execution of the creature that you are; it

will slay you. I don’t lay it upon you; I want you to voluntarily take it up, for then your

identification with Me will be what I want—a voluntary love and surrender.”

So, He will bring a cross to you; it may take different shapes and forms, but it is always a cross.

I can’t interpret your cross; nobody but you can. So when God brings it, don’t be amazed, upset, and

confused.

He says, “Take it up.” For if you take up your cross; this decision, this consideration, this

surrender; if you take that up into your life pattern and walk, you will have a crown over there.

Because the sequel, the answer, to a cross is a crown. And there is no crown without a cross,

because every cross, if borne, will take a crown.

“Hold that fast which thou hast . . .” What do we have? We have the Truth, which becomes a cross,

which will slay every one of us. Hold fast to the Truth as to a treasure, lest something come

along, and snatch it away. Hold fast the Word of Truth which is a cross; it will eventually spell a

crown. Snatch your crown! For the crown is the answer to the Truth. Hold to your Truth; hold to

your cross; lest in not holding it, the crown is affected.

What is the symbol of suffering? It is the cross.

Christ had His cross every day, and Calvary was the climax. “He was made perfect through

suffering.” Ready for supreme sacrifice, suffering had done the silent, sacred ministry. “. . . Who

for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross . . .” (Heb. 12:2). “. . . Our light

affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of

glory.” (2Cor. 4:17) He has gone, but He left His cross. Every man has his own cross to bear,

but the sequel is life and secret joy— the crown.

Your cross is your crown in disguise.

Prayer: May we interpret the cross, the crown, the Truth.

His Return

When the Lord Jesus Christ returns to earth, He will appear to believers, wherever they may be.  They may be in their homes, or in a place of prayer, or worshipping together.  He will come to each individual believer, or group of believers, who are looking for His return.  He will appear in His glorified body, and be real and tangible to all who love Him.  He will be visible, and function in a real body, in the same way that He did during the forty days after His resurrection.  When He comes, He will establish God’s Kingdom in the world, and will empower His people to rule with Him.

When Jesus comes, His people will be able to see Him, and He will be able to touch them.  When He reveals Himself to believers, they will be changed, as He releases His power and glory into them.  Then, as they walk in this new power, they will rise up and witness Christ to all nations with great liberty and mighty miracles.  His Kingdom will grow and fill the whole earth.

For forty days after His resurrection, Jesus lived on earth with His people.  He taught them, instructed them, ate with them, and did many other marvelous things.  He was real and could be seen and touched.  Satan could not attack Him, neither could His enemies.  His disciples met with Him, and He appeared wherever He wished, with no restrictions: in a garden, in private homes, by the seaside, on the road.  He appeared to individuals, and groups, and then a crowd of 500 saw Him.  Multitudes of deceased saints also rose and appeared to many people.  But only believers saw Jesus, as there is no record of any unbelievers seeing Him.  His resurrection presence transformed the disciples.

This was a preview, or foretaste of what will happen at His return.  When Jesus went away, He promised to come back to earth and establish His Kingdom.  The angels said that He would come in “LIKE MANNER.”   The SAME Jesus will return in the SAME way (Acts 1:11 NIV Bible).  We are told quite clearly that the state in which Jesus was taken into heaven, is the same state as that in which He will return to earth.  In other words, the same Jesus who was crucified, and then rose again, and walked with them in resurrection, will appear, as He was while with them during the forty days.

Just as Jesus came to believers at that time, so He will return to His people wherever they are. Believers will then see the Lord, for He will be visible, as, and when He desires.  He will reveal Himself wherever He wishes, whether to individuals, small groups, or large congregations.

Nowhere in the entire world will be out of His reach, although not everyone will be able to enter His presence.  However, those who love Jesus will see Him.  He will unexpectedly return and appear to all who are His.  It could be at any time.  If Jesus is your Lord, you too will see Him. One day, as you are going about your daily tasks, He will be there; Jesus will suddenly stand in your presence.

When the King returns, He will come in the power of His Kingdom, which will grow and fill the whole world.  By His “PRESENCE,” He will change and empower His people, and through them rule the nations.  His people will rise into a new liberty, free from carnality that works death, and the Kingdom of God will come with authority into all the earth.

Fear and Trembling

I was blessed as a young man in my late teens to know a saint that
really knew the Lord, and through praying with and talking to
her I came to know something of working out my salvation with fear
and trembling. One day after speaking with her at length she said
"I feel like I need to take a bath after talking with you sometimes"
I felt great shame but it was a word that changed my walk.
I was young in the Lord and full of zeal so I had a scripture for
everyone and many ideas of how to advance Gods work.
As I witnessed the life of the Lord flowing through her as she spoke
to others in our church I realized that there was something very different
in her walk and mine. She was often quiet and spoke with few words but it was always
as if a light came on in the heart of those listening. These were people that she had
prayed for as we prayed together often. The words that were spoken
were not just scriptures and ideas but "spirit and life". She truly
feared to operate independently of the Lord. She said "we not only take
the bad parts of us to the cross but the good parts as well"
All our good ideas for service, All our understanding of the scriptures.
God revealed to me that much of my service had been separate from His Life.
The difficulty is that we have closed areas in our hearts,
where we think with pride that we are right. Our defeat lies not only in our
being wrong but continuing to work for the Lord (from our soul)
rather than with Him (through our spirit).
Working out our own salvation with fear and trembling is something we ask the Lord to
do in us. It is when we truly despair of a lifeless walk and know the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
We then begin to know the fear of the Lord and mourn many of our words and our works.
That kind of fear is the beginning of wisdom as His life begins to
flow through us. Christ is our light. He is the living Word. If we allow
Him to illuminate our heart then gradually our self confidence will
disappear. His words to our heart will divide "soul from spirit"
We will know fear and trembling as we recognize the corruption of our
nature, the hatefulness of our own selves, and the real hindrance to
the work of God is our unrestrained soul-life and energy. May we remain
In a posture of fear and trembling before the Lord and seek Him as never
before and take the things that are revealed to His cross to be put to death
that we may serve in the newness of His Resurrection Life.
　
"The fear of the Lord leads to life" (Proverbs 19:23)

Php 2:12 JM-NT And as my loved ones, according as at all time (always) you
folks submissively listen and obey, not as only in my presence, but further,
now (at this moment), to much rather in my absence -- in company with fear and trembling
be habitually working down so as to bring out the results and effects of the deliverance
(or: be constantly producing the wholeness and well-being which are the outcome
of the rescue and salvation) of yourselves,
Php 2:13 JM-NT for, God is the One habitually being inwardly active, working (effecting)
within you folks both the willing (intending; purposing; resolving) and the [situation] to be
continuously effecting the action and inward work -- above the thing that pleases (or: over well-thinking or delight).

Draw Me

“Draw me, we will run after You: the king has brought me into His chambers….”  Song of Solomon 1:4

This prayer has only two words, “Draw me.”  Yet this is the most powerful prayer that we could ever pray - “Lord, if you will draw me (body, soul, and spirit), in the totality of my being (will, intellect, and emotions), I will run after you.”

The Lord creates spiritual hunger.  Ministry can only feed the hunger that the Lord imparts within us.  Therefore, when we come to the Lord, we must first acknowledge our need:

“Lord, I desire You to work within me, to draw me to Yourself, to cause me to become that which You would have me to be.  Lord, wherever it may lead or whatever it may cost, draw me, and in every aspect of my being, I will run after you.”

The result of such a prayer, when prayed in heart sincerity, will result in intimacy of relationship with the Lord - “the King has brought me into His chambers.”  Once our lives are yielded, and Jesus brings us to Himself as being His Bride, we become one with Him and now His life can be manifested and revealed through our lives.

There is a progression in the outworking of this, in which two basic confessions will result.  Each of us begins with the first one – our being “self-centered.”

“Because of the savor of Your good ointments, Your name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love You.... My Beloved is mine and I am His….”  Song of Solomon 1:3, 2:16

She is saying, “Lord, I love You because You bless me with so many good things.”

This is about to change, as she prayed, “draw me.”  Now her relationship to Jesus is beginning to change.  Something is different, as she is beginning to desire the Lord Himself, rather than all the things that He can give to her.  She is seeing the Lord in His majesty and power and is falling in love with Him.   His approbation, or favor is resting upon her life.

“I am (but) a rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”  Song of Solomon 2:1

“Lord, there are so many lilies, the hillsides are covered with them, but you are blessing me as if I am the only one.”  The Lord responds and said:

“As a lily among thorns, so is My love among the daughters.”  Song of Solomon 2:2

The contrast is powerful.  The Bride’s response to His statement reveals her lack of spiritual perception:

“As the apple among the trees of the wood, so is my Beloved among the sons….”  Song of Solomon 2:3

Apple trees are not pretty, but they have something to eat that is very desirable.

“…I sat down under His shadow with great delight. His fruit was sweet to my taste.”  Song of Solomon 2:3

She is sitting under His shadow.  She was so taken up with being blessed that she did not notice Him.  All she has is the shadow of His presence.  He was there, but she only felt a touch of His presence.

“Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am sick of love. His left hand is under my head, and His right hand does embrace me.”  Song of Solomon 2:5-6

She is beginning to realize that there is far more than all He can provide.  She is beginning to respond to His expression of love toward her.  Now, she is ready to pray the second most important prayer that we can pray.

“Tell me oh you whom my soul loves, where you feed, where you make your flock to rest at noon: For why should I be as one that turns aside by the flocks of your companions?”  Song of Solomon 1:7

In effect, she is saying, “I can no longer be satisfied to simply go to church on Sunday morning, hear a message, go home and spend the rest of the week doing my own things, and then return the following Sunday to hear another message.”

“Why should I be among them?  Lord, tell me where YOU are.  I want to come beyond the shadow into the reality of Your presence.  Tell me Lord, where are those who truly know You, who make room for You to move as you please?  Lord, show me the way, as now I desire to go beyond my present spiritual experience.”

The Lord will respond to this desire, as we were created for communion and fellowship with Him, and nothing short of this will ever satisfy.  She now realizes that it is not enough just to be continually blessed.  There has to be something beyond His provision for us.

“My Beloved spoke, and said to me, Rise up My love My fair one and come away.”  Song of Solomon 2:10

This is a call to rise above all the “things” that are less than His personal presence.

“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing of birds is come….”  Song of Solomon 2:11-12

She is beginning to see into the realms of the spirit that will lead to the Lord Himself.  She has been set free from her self-centered seeking.  Now she can identify with His calling and purpose for her.

“I am my Beloved’s, and His desire is toward me.”  Song of Solomon 7:10

Now with a single desire, she can enter into the harmony of Heaven and worship the Lord for who He is, and find the satisfaction she was created for – her life merged into His life, to become the expression of His life in all the earth.

May each of us enter into and experience all that she experienced, that we also might become the expression of His life at this present time.

Two Planes

There are two planes, or realms in which the redeemed may live.  The first is the carnal, flesh realm.  The second is the heavenly, Spirit realm.  Since we were born into the natural earth plane, our tendencies are toward that plane.  A great transformation is necessary if we are to live and operate on the Spirit plane.  The name of this process is “crucifixion.”

This crucifixion is a death and burial process, as described in Romans, chapter 6, which is the destruction of sin.  There is also to be a facing of the cross of Christ in our daily walk.  Herein is the “process” by which the Lord recreates our character, which frees us from the natural realm, and lifts us into the Spirit realm.  In these processes, He frees us from our strengths and weaknesses, the spots and blemishes of our nature, and gives us a heavenly character.

If we desire to become an “overcomer,” becoming a part of the Bride of Christ, we must enter the school of the Holy Spirit and come under His teachings, dealings, and control.  Here, under the light of the Holy Spirit, we will face ourselves in thorough examination.  No one can see in any other way his faults and earthward tendencies.  With fan, refiner’s fire, fuller’s soap, chastening, these are the Lord’s methods in dealing with these.

“But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appears? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver….”  Malachi 3:2-3

“Whose fan is in His hand, and he will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”  Matthew 3:12

“…My son, despise not you the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of Him: For whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”  Hebrews 12:5-6

There is need of these crucifying processes in each of our lives.  When we see our need, we should earnestly present ourselves to the Lord, to be entered as being His disciple, in “The School of Christ,” of which the Holy Spirit is Principal and Teacher.

If we are careful to listen, the Holy Spirit will show us how to apply the cross to all carnal tendencies, going deeper and deeper, until one after another, they are eliminated.  At first it will be painful and hard to bear, but if we persevere, we will begin to glory in the cross.

All our carnal attitudes and ways will be transformed into the attitudes of Jesus Christ, and we will experience the great joy and delight of living untrammeled in the Spirit realm.  Our liberty and attainment will be boundless, as all barriers are swept away.

Then, along with the Apostle Paul, we will be able to testify:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”  Galatians 2:20

Make Room

Recently, I was told by a certain saint that he has been weaned, not only from watching TV, but from his newspaper and sports addictions as well.  He is among many who are presently being drawn apart by the Lord to live their lives separated from non-essentials.

The Lord is preparing a people for the greatest event since Pentecost.  The apostle Paul carried a burden for this event, which is “Christ in you.”

“My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.”  Galatians 4:19

It is possible for us to be “in Christ” and not bear fruit.  Our being “in Christ” is a judicial fact which relates to what Jesus has done for us.

“Every branch in Me that bears not fruit, He takes away….”  John 15:2

But it is impossible not to bear fruit when Christ is in us.

Our having “Christ in us” means that we have made room for Him, and have invited Him within.  His abiding presence has become an experiential reality and He is in control.

“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5

Jesus desires to come within.  In Revelation 3:20, we see Him standing at the door seeking to gain access.  This particular “door” is that of the lukewarm Christian.

“So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of My mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”  Revelation 3:16-17

In general, the burden which Paul carried has not yet been fulfilled in the Bride of Christ, but it shall be.  The Holy Spirit is now working toward its realization.

Consider the parable of the ten virgins in light of the fulfillment of “Christ in you.”

The foolish virgins took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels (Matthew 25:3-4).  If there is to be room for oil in our vessels, they must first be emptied of the non-essentials.  There must be room within us that has been made available for Jesus to enter and abide.

The Father plans to have a manifestation of the “Hope of Glory” in this earth.  In context with the phrase “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Numbers 14:21), it is evident that He is referring to those who contain His glory.

“And the Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”  Isaiah 60:3

Presently, these are being prepared.

The Fix is in us

 Personal liberty is so precious that we are often in such a hurry to embrace it,  we overlook the depth of the transformation it causes. It is not just about being free from guilt and shame, or from religious legalism and performance-related behavior. In fact, the dead give away of whether we have embraced gospel-grace is how we view others—especially spiritual brothers and sisters.  We tend to give ourselves a break regarding our own inconsistent behavior while expecting our fellow believers to live up to standards of conduct that befit a regenerated person. We conclude that our hearts are right even if we don’t always do the right thing. However, since we can’t know another’s heart, we judge them by apparent behavior. And we find ourselves trying to fix each other.

   We are “fixers” by nature. When something is wrong with our machines and structures, we get busy fixing them. When the car is broken, we fix it. When the faucet leaks, we fix it.  If the government in our locale is malfunctioning, we fix it. When our friends are not working efficiently or satisfactorily, we try to fix them. We even try to fix our grown children who may not be “walking as close to the Lord” as we think they should. But people don’t respond well to fixing. They are not machines that need the problem identified and eliminated. They are people who are created in the image of God and are ultimately responsible to him as their judge. Believers have the very person of God living in them and he is energizing them to embrace the new life that they have.

   Grace is the most glorious and liberating concept ever, but embracing it in every level of relationships is a challenge. Not only is it possible, but it’s also expected by the Lord himself. The point of the gospel is to produce lives that are different in practice as well as in precept. We seek to discover New Testament revelation regarding living the gospel in community.

   First, we must look at the big picture of salvation. God designed creation to have a people who are his nation among the nations. They are to be distinct (holy) and the source of blessing for the other nations. While we often emphasize our national pride based on physical boundaries and bloodlines, we must rejoice mostly that the greatest nation on earth is the people from every tribe and tongue living in the kingdom of God where Jesus is the present and eternal king, ruling supreme. We cannot honestly review the creation story and conclude that life is merely about individual salvation and liberty. God created mankind to produce a people living in mutual submission, partnering with him to express the his true nature on the earth.

   When the Law was given to the descendants of Abraham, they were constituted as a nation. It was the Law that was key to their becoming a nation with a distinctly divine mandate. They would be a nation of priests for the rest of mankind. Obeying the instruction of the Torah would create a culture that would be the envy of all nations and offer a way to know the true God, which would be a restoration to the original purpose for all mankind. Of course, we know the history of Israel’s inability to obey the Torah, and the gracious rescue of their destiny by the ultimate Israelite: Jesus. He came to finish the job of creating a people that would be holy unto the Lord. First he lived the different life. Then he made it possible for others to have his life and live it by his death, resurrection, ascension and gift of the Holy Spirit.

   Later when Paul was instructing the new creation people of God in how to embrace their new life, he showed how the Spirit was the fulfillment of the Law and how it produced a culture of different people who live for the glory of God.

     …but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Ephesians 5:18-21 (ESV)

   He goes on in the text to show how this applies to wives, husbands, children, parents, slaves, and masters. In other words, the Spirit affects every level of responsibility and produces a people who actually represent God accurately on earth while subduing his creation according to his order. The Spirit is now doing internally what the Torah instructed externally. Being filled with the Spirit—though a wonderful experience for an individual—is a community dynamic.

   This new life we have been given requires a community to live. How do we help one another to embrace it fully? There is a very helpful text that picks up a theme of New Testament accountability.  We help more by reminder than by rebuke.

     Since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:19-25 (ESV)

   You will notice in this passage the word “since” is used two different times. This truth is foundational for the coming instruction. It is an assumption that we make and then act upon its implications. The two gospel truths that give us foundation for our choices are: confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, and a great priest over the house of God interceding for us eternally. Because these are true, we are free from anxiety of rejection or performance. The blood of Jesus is the key to intimate access, and the priestly work of Jesus guarantees our standing before God and our abundant provision forever.

   Now we have three uses of “let us.” It is a plural imperative. The command is to the community of faith, but it also has individual application. First, we are to honor the grace of God by continually living in his presence. Then, we are to confidently profess our faith in the distinct reality as defined by Christ himself. Finally, we are to stir each other to love and good works…

   The New Testament as a whole instructs us regarding how this is to be done. There are approximately 31 reciprocal commands in the ethical instructions of the New Testament. Sin, for the believer, is the result of not acting according to the gospel. One has to forget the truth about his standing, status and strength, before he or she will yield to the alluring but shallow offerings of Satan. There is a kind of temporary insanity that causes sin to make sense. Forgetting the benefits of grace is not something new for mankind. Remember, Israel kept forgetting the mighty acts of mercy on their behalf. That made them vulnerable to the threats of menacing enemies and confusing circumstances. How could one forget the Red Sea crossing, or the manna, or the fire and cloud? They did; and as a result they sinned by trusting something other than their God and his mercy. Anytime we choose to believe that our situation is evidence that God is not in control, we step over into the unreal, and sin is crouching at our door.

   So, stirring one another must focus on reminding each other of the grace of God and its implications. Sons of God need reminding that their Father is present and ready to supply their needs for their assignment. We need reminding that the blood of Jesus is our way into the places of intimacy with God. We are encouraged when another believer recognizes our gifts and offers us opportunities to be useful.

   We are not trying to reach some level of holiness measured by performances based on what we do or what we relinquish. People measuring their holiness are still focused on self and standards rather than on Jesus, the only true holy man. As we look again at how Jesus lived, we don’t see him measuring himself by norms of religious expectations. He is so consumed with honoring the Father that he is different. He lived for the honor of the Father. He didn’t take time to focus on his growth or maturity. He was busy about the Father’s interests. If we as his people are ever going to display holiness on earth, it will be a holiness based on selfless living; being so conscious of the privilege of knowing and enjoying the Father that we are unconscious of the measuring sticks of holiness.

   We must note that mutual accountability is a serious responsibility for at least two reasons. First, the gospel is so supra-natural, we must be reminded often that it is both true and available now. Peter, in his second letter, sees this need:

     Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it is right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder…

2 Peter 1:12-13 (ESV)

   Our natural inclination is to reduce the gospel to something we can both understand and manage. We tend to add our cultural values to it, and ultimately it becomes another of the “let’s-be-nice-and-help-each-other-and-God-will-sort-it-out” religions that dot the world map. We cannot afford to lose the majesty of the gospel. It is distinct. There has never been in the imagination of any person anything like the message of grace through Jesus. No other attempt to explain God and man is as ruthlessly honest about mankind’s helpless condition or as mind-blowing in its depiction of God’s mercy with the end result being men and women living on this earth by the same source of life as the eternal Son. Those who believe this must continue to remind the others. The deceitfulness of sin is deadening.


   The second reason we conclude that this responsibility is serious is that Hebrews warns against any of us insulting the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:26-37). In the Old Testament, the sin offering was for unintentional sins. Those who choose to reject the authority of God’s word and neglect his remedy were simply cut off from Israel’s community of faith. In the New Testament, the author of Hebrews is stating how much more insulting it is for people who have come to taste the privileges of being sons of God through Jesus to neglect the Word of God and live as if there were no fulfillment of the shadows of the previous era. Laxity could turn into deafness and that to willful neglect. So, because we are concerned about each other, we must be diligent to remind—and if necessary rebuke—each other. The cost is too great to ignore. We can’t just watch a brother or sister in faith continue to walk in deception without trying to stir them to love and good works.

   New Testament salvation is about community life. We have received the grace of God that saves us individually, so that we can participate corporately with the others in the holy nation of new covenant people. We can assume that those who are born of the Spirit are longing to do the will of God. We can stoke the small fires in their bosom to become raging fires of passionate love for the Father and the Son. We don’t have to fix them, but we can stir them.

Progress

The pathway of our spiritual life can be considered as being an upward spiral. If we take a large wood screw and place one of our finger nails at the edge near the point and run it along the surface, we will gradually progress to the head. Though it may seem to us that we are going in circles, as we continue to make right decisions, we are progressively moving upward. If we do this in reverse and feed the carnal aspect of our being, it will lead us ever downward.

There are those who bear witness of having within them a quality of spiritual life. It may not be apparent as to why this is so, but if inquired into, these would testify that through the struggles of life, they have been making quality decisions of spirit, which is bringing them into an increasing fellowship with the Lord in His Throne.

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. For he that in these things serves Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.” Romans 14:17-18

The Kingdom of God begins with righteousness. As we make the right choices, we place ourselves on a “platform” called righteousness. Due to an accumulation of these righteous choices, we discover within us an abiding inner peace. This results in the approbation, or favor of God, and joy is manifested.

Our submission to His government will lead to our becoming a partaker with Him in His Throne. In this realm, our decisions do not have as much to do with right or wrong as they have to do with the motives that underlie right and wrong. It is here that the final test of our union with Him will find its outworking.

If we truly overcome in this area of our being, we will in that day find ourselves seated with Him in His Throne.

First, we are tested concerning right or wrong. Then, as we progress up the spiral, we are tested in the motives of the heart which provoke the things that manifest as right or wrong. It is not enough to deny only the “thing,” we must overcome the very principle that allows it to abide within us and assert itself.

Those who are satisfied with being blessed and going to heaven have their reward (streets like gold and mansions). But for those who intensely hunger for this higher level of spiritual reality, there is much more. These, in the place of pressure, will deal with the issues of their heart, so in that day as an overcomer, they will be found in the Throne, seated with Him.

“And have made us to our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10

Endless Life

Endless Life

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In His ascension, the blood of Jesus became the “power of an endless life.”

“Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” Hebrews 7:16

As we partake of His life in intimate fellowship, and through communion, we are receiving the “power of an endless life.” As we receive the life of the vine (Jesus) into the branch that we are, we will live. The Lord said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

There is an end-time witness that the Lord will give to this world, through the present day Church. Today, the world laughs at the Church, and considers it a nuisance. But the world is about to be shaken, as there is an “empowering” from above that is about to be released.

The power of heaven (the glory of God) is increasingly being made available to us, but we must “tap in,” as a branch coming to the vine to receive its life and strength.

There are unending demands on our time,(things of this world) which keeps us earth bound, and unable to take the necessary time to “ascend” and receive of His life and strength. These things need attention, but in the end, they will all be left behind, for they have no value in relation to eternal things.

Lets take a walk

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking...
in the cool of the evening….” Genesis 3:8

During the day, Adam rearranged or improved the Garden of Eden. Then in the evening, the Lord, the creator of the universe, came to see what Adam had accomplished during the day. As they walked together, Adam pointed out to the Lord the things he had changed. The Lord found great satisfaction in this, as the Lord takes pleasure in the works of our hands.

In redemption, we also have been given a word. We are to “dress and improve” the world of our day and time. As a result of the authority that Jesus gained in His victory over Satan, we have been given the “Keys of the Kingdom” which gives us authority to rule over, or to affect our environment.

When Jesus comes to walk with us in our present environment, He should find pleasure and satisfaction in what we have accomplished, because we have been given the “key” that will unlock and release the enemy’s grip on the governments that rule the nations. Our neighborhood, city, state, and nation, should be affected by us, as we exercise this authority.

There are areas in or near where many of us presently live, that if the Lord were to say, “You and I will go for a walk this evening in that area,” we would have to say, “Lord, it is not safe to walk there at night.” But we have been given dominion, and there should be a present expression of the higher realm of authority that we will be given in “that day” to rule on the earth, in order to establish the Millennial Kingdom of God.

This means that our ministry, our prayer life, our words, should be affecting the place where we live.

Only then can Isaiah 14:5-8 be fulfilled:

“The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, and the scepter of the rulers. He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hinders.”

“The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into singing. Yea, the fir trees rejoice at thee, and the cedars of Lebanon, saying, Since you are laid down, no feller is come up against us.”

If we have rightly used the “Keys of the Kingdom” that are presently being offered to us, we also will have a part in singing this new song.

Then, the kingdom will become, as Jesus said it is to be, a place of “Righteousness, peace, and joy.”

My testimony

Rev 12:11 And THEY overcame (overcome; conquer) him because of the blood of the little Lamb, and (even) because of the word (Word?) of their witness (testimony) -- and they love not (did not love) their soul (soul-life) even to (until) death.

My testimony is knowing who I am in Him and who He is in me.
I am whatever and whomever God made me to be.
What I am (my identity) is only in Christ
Outside of Jesus, I am not.
My life (my existence, my purpose, my person, my destiny, my identity) is hid with Christ in God.
I am not in charge of my life, but Christ is.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in and through me.
It is no longer I who work, but God is at work in me to do His will and pleasure.
My life is a life of replacement.
I was created to be replaced (inhabited by and controlled by) Jesus.
The only other option is to be inhabited by and controlled by Adam.
Like the Vine and the branches, everything that flows in me comes from Him.
You know “me” - washed in the blood, foreordained, predestined, placed in Christ
before the world began, sanctified, justified, glorified all before I got here in flesh.
You know “me” - I am the very righteousness of God through Christ!
When God looks at me, He sees Jesus!