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vivmeeraj
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Joined: 2012/5/26
Posts: 61


 Victorious Christian Life - 4 - God

When we submit self (will) first and simultaneously have a genuine concern for brethren, we are ready for God. I am not talking about perfection in the above two or in any area. Perfection comes only from abiding in Christ. It is a journey we take till we reach eternity.

One might be living a religious life; doing certain good deeds or even religious work or even sacrificing a lot. But anything falling short of God’s will is not pleasing to Him. That is a situation you and I wouldn’t want to be in. So let us take a closer look at doing God’s will. Let us go to the throne of grace with the right attitude and let us worship Him in Spirit and truth.

Today we see churches which have gone astray, far from the will of God. They do not preach higher life as they fear disturbing their members and loosing memberships. Compromising in their own personal lives, the leaders have also lost relationship with Jesus Christ. So both the leaders and the believers do a lot in the name of Jesus with no connection with Him. Do we really seek Him or seek some kind of an escape route?

Jesus warns Pharisees who hold on to the Law without any concern for God or His people.

Matt 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye tithe mint and anise and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law, justice, and mercy, and faith: but these ye ought to have done, and not to have left the other undone.

Believers mostly practice rituals basically to feel they have pleased God by obeying the teachings. They also feel they lead a good spiritual life by being religious and would reach eternity. When they ‘worship’ they sing and dance and feel good but doing the will of god which pleases Him is not the core intention. The spirit behind is selfishness (what Jesus wants one to get rid of). The word of God reiterates that sign of a man in Christ is bearing fruits of repentance. True repentance is followed by spontaneous actions.

Luke 3:7-14

People coming to the Lord with a wrong attitude

So he began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

The call for repentance

“Therefore bear fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham. “Indeed the axe is already laid at the root of the trees; so every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

The actions (understand the spirit) of a repented person

And the crowds were questioning him, saying, “Then what shall we do?” And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” And some tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to.” Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

It is extremely important to check our attitudes at all times, in all actions. Some good deeds could possibly have wrong motives. For example, when we give, fast, pray etc if we do so to get noticed, we have already got the reward here, so none in heaven. So we need to constantly check our attitude & spirit in each decision or action if we are to please god. It is not a hard rule which one cannot win by self efforts. On the contrary, all that is required is to submit the self will and seek His will. God knows we are weak and that we need grace. To a submitted person, He showers His amazing grace that would keep one victorious.
Let us examine ourselves. We can renounce anything in the world. If they are with an attitude of detachment from the world, fine. Be it comforts, positions, possessions etc. For example, certain groups give up gold ornaments and they strongly advocate this. God looks into the hearts. If one has renounced everything worldly including gold, it is a great gesture indeed as the word says ‘do not love the world or anything of the world’. If they hold on to all kinds of wealth, position and greed and renounce just gold, it is only a ritual and hypocrisy.

Seeking God’s will

In this age of grace also, churches give a set of practices and teachings for its believers and keep them under a new type of bondage. Jesus came to deliver us from Law through grace. We are called for a higher life. The spiritual calling for you and me is much above religiosity. One has to seek it from the word of God.

Let us check our attitude in certain steps we might have taken when we came to faith and also try to understand what is important in the sight of God.

Stopping indulging in sins like adultery, consuming alcohol etc. Some go a step further by stopping watching movies etc. The spiritual need is to have a clean heart and mind, through His grace. Stopping the sins in a physical sense is ok, but we need to press on to perfection – depending only on Thy grace. (Matt 23: 25)

Attending a church, becoming active in religious work. God wants us to have fellowship. He wants us to be under authorities as a humble person. But He wants no church or person to be between Him and you. He wants us to be part of the real church which is the body of Christ. If we are parts of it, we will hear from and respond to the head, Jesus Christ himself. (1 Tim 2:5)

Accepting water baptism, obeying it just as a commandment from God, fearing His wrath and for ensuring a place in heaven. One has to die with Jesus to resurrect and live with Him. Baptism is only a symbolic representation of this. (Rom 6)

Paying tithes. Mostly when the incomes are high, a 10% is not paid. Smart calculations are made like in the case of IT returns! New Testament doesn’t teach us to give tithes. Everything (100%)is His and we are supposed to get His consent before we spend the money He gave us. One has to give to the last penny, if need be, to do His will. It is again a matter of one’s attitude and willingness to do God’s will. God is least concerned about the amount one gives away. That doesn’t mean one should not support the church. One has to, by all means. But no one is supposed to induce guilt and ask you to pay. (Matt 23:23)

Doing some charity. Mostly through the church as personally there is no idea or concern of what is needed. Charity is a word associated with love in New Covenant. Nothing has to be out of compulsions, practices, teachings etc. It has to come out as an expression of love and concern. So forget the compulsions and have compassion instead. Ask god with a willingness to part with your possessions, what is to be done. He would guide you and do just that. (Matt 19:21)

Simple living. Some people, after coming to faith go for a little moderation in dress, luxuries etc. Some are forced by certain groups to wear only a certain colour and style of dresses and abstain from using ornaments. Mostly this is from a teaching and not from a conviction. There is seldom any control over the desire for more money, wealth & power which are called ‘blessing’ in Pentecostal circles. So I would personally suggest (you need to ask god yourself) moderation as the minimum standard. There are people who have chosen to live below moderation who live by bare minimums. They are definitely at a higher level in the area of detachment from the world. But again, it is not guilt that has to guide you but conviction. You seek it and god will clearly guide you. Never try to justify your views and say that is the right balance. God would be pleased if one renounces material things for His glory, to be simpler and with a purpose of giving away those extra resources to the needy. (1Tim 6: 7,8)

Let us ask ourselves these 4 questions

1. How much of Christ do you desire in yourself?

Christ in you means denying self, taking up the cross and following Him. Such a man cannot have a personal agenda. The Holy Spirit would give victory over personal interests, ego, pride, worldly desires, sin etc each moment. The amount of Christ that one manifests is in proportion to the amount of desire in self. You cannot be filled by self will and the Holy Spirit, they are at enmity with each other (Gal 5:17) The old man has to die for Christ to reign in you.

2. How much of your wealth or money do you want to share with others?

This would also give answer to the first question. That is the measure of Christ in you. I know it is a challenge. But it is a hard fact. If we have seen clearly our Lord and the final destination, how can we live for this temporary world? Let us not be guilt ridden again. We are all in a journey of denying self. But let us ensure, we are on the path. (Acts 2: 44. 45)

3. Name your top 3 priorities. Where is Christ in it?

Some of the most likely priorities would be self, family, career, entertainment, status, positions, wealth accumulation etc. Are we trying to fit in our Lord also somewhere in between? Let us repent and put Christ as the top priority, then ask Him about the others. (Matt 7:21)

4. What is the biggest price you have paid to be Christ like?

This could be money, time, efforts, position, self respect, comforts etc. Have we really paid a price by denying self and doing His will? (Matt 13:44, Matt 19:21)
Once we have the right attitude, we may look at the following.

Spiritual preparation & life of a child of god

There should be a balance in the following. Christian life has a personal aspect and a community aspect which go hand in hand. One should balance these.

• Prayer
o Personal – seeking to get closer to Him and to hear from Him personally
o Family/close group – seeking Him in oneness and unison
o Group/ fellowship – as a community

• Knowing Him
o Meditating the word (reading, studying, discussing etc)
o Hearing the word (from the pulpit, recorded messages etc)
o Experiencing Him in life (from practical application of faith and walk with Him)

• Fellowship (only a perfect balance of the following would please god)
o With the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
o With brethren

Maturity and commissioning

As a result of a continuous walk with Him (one might have fallen and lifted up by god in this walk) God leads one to a spiritual maturity. We will experience this in ourselves, including the following areas.

• Holiness
o Supernatural victory through the Holy Spirit
 Realizing in body and soul the resurrection power to deny self
 The rate of victories grow fast over failures

• Discipleship
o Getting shaped into a disciple
 Eager to hear and do His will rather than self will.
 A continuous process of fine tuning, better responses to the voice from above.
 Finally reaching a stage where self desire is not considered at all against His.

• Servant
o Being called for His work – god directs to certain assignments, it is not our choice but His.
o Waiting for confirmation – god will give certain gifts and duties and one would do it totally detached from praise and self exaltation.
o The great commission – proof is Christ centered work
o Taking the first steps and seeking His presence & will more than ever.
o Full fledged service of the Lord (can be full or part time)

This is the outcome of my own search into the word to understand Him a little better. He spoke to me of many things and I thought it would be good to share the thoughts with fellow believers. It is not intended to judge or criticize any individual or organization, but to trigger a stock taking of our spiritual assets.
I am sure if you have read this far, you are really serious about your spiritual life. Together, let us pray, support and be a healthy part in the body of Christ. Together let us glorify our Lord by living a great, victorious Christian life. Together let us rejoice in Christ and shout Hallelujah!

full article available in www.maninchrist.org
please send me your responses if this (5 part) article has encouraged you. Email. [email protected]

May god bless you all abundantly.

a man pursuing to be in Christ.


_________________
Rajesh

 2012/5/29 1:30Profile





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