Death and Life

We are going to dive a little deeper into what I touched on in my last post. Which was, death to self. Now I specifically didn't write that but I did suggest it when I mentioned the Israelites getting the Law from God. 

Please read these passages

(Deuteronomy 5:22-33, Exodus 20:18–21, Hebrews 12:18–29)

These three passages explain really well how we fear coming to God. Why? Because we fear dying. 

When we come to Christ and believe on Him we are then given the gift of the Holy Spirit. At that moment we have two natures in us, our nature and His nature. Both are in competition with each other.

Romans 8:5 puts it this way,

 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

Both natures are fighting inside of us for control. However, the Spirit will not go against our free will. It is up to us to choose which one we will follow. Now we have help if we ask, God will reveal ourselves to us so we can see what we look like through His eyes. We must ask Him though. We must be willing to walk up that mountain and be changed. 

Paul said, I die daily. Why? He too had to "die" to the nature that dwelled inside. 

I myself have been witness to the process of dying to self. It's happened to me extensively and continues to this day. It's like eating unhealthy. Take fast food for example. Say you go to a fast food restaurant everyday to eat and you love it. However, you see the effects it has on you but you love the food so much you ignore the signs. Your weight, your health and your mood all change over time. You see the change it has done but you just can't stop. This may take years or even decades to get to a point where it lands you in the hospital for a heart attack. This is your wake up call, the doctor says you were lucky this time but if you keep eating fast food, you'll be dead soon. Now you've got to make a decision, keep on the same path or change. Change is tough. The overwhelming desire to eat unhealthy plagues you 24/7 as you try to transition from an unhealthy diet to a healthy diet. The enemy is everywhere, signs, commercials and other people’s food choices surround you and inundate you continually. Anger is first. Anger at yourself for going down this path, anger at the fast food companies, anger at having to change. With each portion of healthy food though, your attitude changes. There are stumblings along the way but you keep an eye on the goal. The next doctor's visit, He gives you a glowing report and says keep it up. You've lost weight, your not fatigued anymore and you feel great. 

It's the same thing with our nature. The Great Physician calls us into His office and lays some conviction on our heart. He tells us we need to change. It's hard at first and with the Doctor's help we manage to improve and get better. Then we move on to the next issue.

If we come to Christ for His ability to get us out of Hell then we should thank Him by laying our lives down so He can dwell in us to the fullest extent.

What can motivate us to obey the Spirit more than obeying our own desires? Truth. When God reveals the truth about who you are in Him, where you came from and where you are going in Him, it changes your whole perspective. 

We were dead in our trespasses and sins but now we are alive in Christ Jesus. That in itself should be motivation enough for change. However, truth is not preached in churches. With them, the buck stopped there. You're out of hell but you'll never escape sin, end of story but that my friends is unbiblical. Christ came to change the world through forgiveness and through power over our sin nature. Nowhere in the Bible does it say, now that we have been given such a great gift of redemption, go out and live your life the way you want to. No instead, the apostles say live unto the Spirit, choose to lay down your life for the one who laid His life down for you. 

Word has been spread throughout the world for centuries that sin is the dominant force surrounding our lives. We know it separates us from God. We know that Christ came to save us from God’s wrath against our sin. We know once we come to Christ, accept His gift, that we are saved and are now going to heaven.

Yet most churches I have heard, seen or attended keep us locked up in sin still. They want us locked up so we'll still feel guilty. Modern day churches, in the U.S. are money makers for anyone at the head of that church. The bigger the numbers, the more income they get. How do you keep buts in the seats? You preach redemption with a side of hopelessness. You dazzle them with music and events and plays and other stuff. It's a ministry of distraction, to keep you focused on the church instead of Christ. If a person is cured then they don't need a doctor. If the churches preached redemption with a side of complete victory over our sin and a big helping of you can have a working relationship with the Father anytime, anywhere then their doors would have to close. 

The other option is the feel good gospel. They leave your sin out entirely as though it didn’t exist. This keeps you from working out your own salvation. Did you know you were only saved to be entered into the race. We must run the race in order to get to the finish line. With the preaching we have today, they say, don't run the race, it's too hard and you'll never make it. Just sit here at the starting line and wait till it's over and you'll get your participation trophy or with a feel good gospel they say what race, no need to race cause your good to go.

When Christ was on Earth and He healed someone, He would always say, now go and sin no more. Wait, what? Yes, we overlook those words because we don't want the responsibility for our own actions. We want to be lazy and self-centred. We don't want to work out anything, we want it worked out already. 

The 10 virgins again...5 didn't have enough oil. Why? They did not purchase enough. It's a parable that shows, we have been changed into virgins, white as snow through Christ's redemption. This gets us qualified to come to Him. 5 foolish, never sought after Him, never sacrificed and never tried to collect more oil which is a type of the Holy Spirit. The 5 wise had followed, had sacrificed, had died to their flesh and they purchased through their sacrifice more oil so they, if needed, could make it further into the night.

We are currently in this situation. The world is getting darker and darker and just like those ladies, we sit in the dark waiting for His return yet He is waiting still. Why? It’s to prove and to separate those who have run the race versus those who haven't even started. 

We may dive further into this but let this soak in. You were saved so you can create a personal relationship with God. You were saved so you would count yourself as a son or daughter and live your life for Him and not yourself. You were saved because He wants to fully live in you and fill you with His presence. You were saved to be transformed in your thoughts and in your heart. 

It all starts with the truth, seek His truth always. Find out what He thinks about you. He loves us and wants us to have everything He has. We just need to step out into faith and say, all things are possible in Christ. 

More on this tomorrow, for now, know you are loved and you can be filled up with the Holy Spirit and He will lead you into all truth that will draw you out of self and into Him.

To God be the Glory!