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Tash
Member



Joined: 2006/6/6
Posts: 24
South Africa

 Death to 'self'

I take this opportunity on this site and greet you all in the name of our Lord Christ Jesus to share something that i think is a crucial matter among us Christians, and is not realised by us- 'Death to self'.

God has been revealing to me and my fellow brothers in Christ i fellowship with that we can never advance spritually if our self is not crucified and left to hang on the cross, so as to allow the move of the Holy Spirit in us. What God has made me to realise through Watchman Nee's book "The Word of the Cross" is that many christians think that once they have achieved Death to sin, they fall into a comfort zone, yet the self still remains and dominates the christians life, and one believes he is close to God and pleasing Him yet his/hers 'self is a hinderance for the Holy Spirit to work in and through that person. Self is our emotions, love, patience, good character etc(anything which is in us and not God birthed and directed) and most of us christians believe once we are no longer 'slaves to sin' we are pleasing to God, and we leave our natural good character, understanding patient self,and don't allow it to be taken to the cross, yet knowing that Christ said no one is righteous, no good dwells in man.

I pray God wroughts this on us hearts that our self is of no use, that God impacts the cross on our 'self' and leaves it there to hang, so that He can work in us and through us without any hinderances. I pray He conforms us to His image and not us to conform Him to our own image. The cross is a painful experience for all of us but we ave to allow God to do it, if we really want to serve Him, to partake in His glorious nature and become precious stones of God

I thank God for revealing this to me, and i know God is preparing me for this as He has said it to me, not only me but all of His children who seek Him earnestly. I have tried my best to write this article in a way i have understood this issue, i am still growing in Christ and there are many things the Spirit of God has to deal with in me, i thank God for these words.Amen.

"If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and
follow Me" (Luke 9:23).


_________________
Tashinga Dekune

 2006/6/10 10:14Profile
Tears_of_joy
Member



Joined: 2003/10/30
Posts: 1554


 Re: Death to 'self'

Brother, amen to what you said.
I don't know have you read this article, it has been posted here few times, but I think it is a worth post it once more, I believe it will be encouragement to you:

[i]Drowning in the Sea of Self by C.Brogden[/i]

Watchman Nee relates a story from one of his experiences as a Christian leader in Communist China. A group of young Christian brothers were gathered together to take a swim in one of the many creeks that run throughout the countryside there. Since most were not good swimmers they were careful to remain close to the banks so as not to get in water over their head.

One of the brothers got out a little too far and begin to struggle in the deep water. Realizing his predicament he began to cry out to his neighbors, who by now were out of the water and drying off. "Help! Save me!" he yelled, all the while thrashing his arms and legs in a futile attempt to keep his head above water.

Brother Nee knew that only one man was experienced enough at swimming to provide some assistance, and he turned to him for help. But strangely enough, the would-be rescuer calmly watched the man's plight but made no move to save him, to the great consternation of Brother Nee and the rest of the group. "Why don't you do something?" they all screamed in unison. But the man just stood there apparantly unconcerned.

After a few moments the drowning man could stay afloat no more. His arms and legs grew tired and limp and he began to sink underwater. Now the slow-moving lifeguard dove into the creek, and with a few quick strokes reached the victim and pulled him to safety.

Once all was well, Brother Nee was beside himself. "I have never seen a Christian who loved his own life quite as much as you," he scolded. "How could you stand by and watch your brother drown, ignoring his cries for help and prolonging his suffering?"

But the man calmly explained. "If I were to jump in immediately and try to save a drowning man, he would clutch me in panic and pull me under with him. In order to be saved, he must come to the end of himself, and cease struggling, cease trying to save himself. Only then can he be helped."

The spiritual lesson here is hard to miss. Nee concluded, and we also conclude, that just as a drowning man cannot be saved until he stops struggling, so must all who would be saved by Christ. Until you come to the end of yourself Jesus will not intervene.

You may be thinking, "Oh, I AM at the end of myself!" Yet you continue to make your own plans, your own decisions, your own choices. You think, reason, debate, argue, and seek counsel according to your own devices, your own thought, your own way. How hard it is for you to stop struggling and give yourself completely into the hand of God.

I believe that God would not have us do any great thing, only the next thing. If we will commit our lives to Him, give Him the preeminence in all things, and stop trying to save ourselves, I believe we will have more peace and heart-trust.

To struggle and thrash about like a drowning man is not faith, but desperation. And it will not bring you the help you need.

Psalms 62 expresses this thought exactly: "I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for Him to rescue me. For salvation comes from Him alone. Yes, He alone is my Rock, my rescuer, my defense and fortress. Why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come (vv. 1, 2 Living Bible)?" Good question. Why should we be afraid? Since David realized salvation comes from God alone, he could well afford to stop trying to bail himself out of every situation.

What does it mean to trust like a little child? Think of the Lord Jesus lying in a manger. Totally dependent upon his earthly parents for food, for clothing, for shelter, for protection. He cannot do a thing for Himself.

Fast forward a few years. Now Jesus is a Man. Now He may feed Himself, clothe Himself, find His own shelter, defend Himself. But inwardly, He is still as dependent upon His Father as He ever was. Not the earthly, but the Heavenly. His own Words: "I can do nothing of Myself. It is the Father Who works in Me. I am come to do His will, not Mine."

The sooner we give the reins of our life over to the direction of an all-knowing God, the sooner we will experience the blessed assurance and calm trust that are only to be found in the heart that has come to the end of itself, and has committed itself unreservedly to follow Jesus

 2006/6/10 11:54Profile
Tash
Member



Joined: 2006/6/6
Posts: 24
South Africa

 Re: THANKS

Interesting , i have never come across this article, but i should say the messge behind it is very convicting. Thank you so much and may this become a reality for all of us Christians. DEATH TO SELF. May the Spirit lead us all on this site to post such as these to edify us all.Amen


_________________
Tashinga Dekune

 2006/6/10 12:52Profile
InTheLight
Member



Joined: 2003/7/31
Posts: 2850
Phoenix, Arizona USA

 Re: Death to 'self'

Quote:
God has been revealing to me and my fellow brothers in Christ i fellowship with that we can never advance spritually if our self is not crucified and left to hang on the cross, so as to allow the move of the Holy Spirit in us. What God has made me to realise through Watchman Nee's book "The Word of the Cross" is that many christians think that once they have achieved Death to sin, they fall into a comfort zone, yet the self still remains and dominates the christians life, and one believes he is close to God and pleasing Him yet his/hers 'self is a hinderance for the Holy Spirit to work in and through that person. Self is our emotions, love, patience, good character etc(anything which is in us and not God birthed and directed) and most of us christians believe once we are no longer 'slaves to sin' we are pleasing to God, and we leave our natural good character, understanding patient self,and don't allow it to be taken to the cross, yet knowing that Christ said no one is righteous, no good dwells in man.



Ernest O'neill preached a great series of messages on the spiritual life and several of the messages deal with this very thing you mention here, O'neill refers to it as the soul life. Here is a link to those messages, check out 'the cross and the soul life" messages in particular.

[url=http://www.howtolivevictorious.com/spiritual-life/index.html]The Spiritual Life Series by Ernest O'neill [/url]

In Christ,

Ron


_________________
Ron Halverson

 2006/6/10 13:42Profile
IRONMAN
Member



Joined: 2004/6/15
Posts: 1924
IN HEAVENLY PLACES WITH JESUS

 Re: Death to 'self'

bro Tash

Quote:
God has been revealing to me and my fellow brothers in Christ i fellowship with that we can never advance spritually if our self is not crucified and left to hang on the cross, so as to allow the move of the Holy Spirit in us. What God has made me to realise through Watchman Nee's book "The Word of the Cross" is that many christians think that once they have achieved Death to sin, they fall into a comfort zone, yet the self still remains and dominates the christians life, and one believes he is close to God and pleasing Him yet his/hers 'self is a hinderance for the Holy Spirit to work in and through that person. Self is our emotions, love, patience, good character etc(anything which is in us and not God birthed and directed) and most of us christians believe once we are no longer 'slaves to sin' we are pleasing to God, and we leave our natural good character, understanding patient self,and don't allow it to be taken to the cross, yet knowing that Christ said no one is righteous, no good dwells in man.



i praise God for the beauty of fellowship that we are not alone and the Lord reveals things to us that we may share and glorify His name. at the same time in so sharing we are shown that we're not crazy! the Lord has surely been showing me the same thing and sis Diane can testify to the same thing. well we're not crazy, God is working at something here. we [i]need[/i] to empty ourselves of everything which is self, ambition, bright ideas, natural affection, our very love which is natural and which we express. this love is flighty, quickly exposed as shallow in times of adversity. it's fine while we are heathens, but it is not sufficient for the work of God. in fact all that we are is insufficient and must die at the cross that God Himself can be our sufficiency and more importantly the testimony upon completing the work of God is that it was by God's hand, this way no man may glory in His presence.

the church largely teaches self-help/improvement yet Christ and the way thereof is self death. this Faith is not for the faint of heart!

Lord have your way!AMEN.


_________________
Farai Bamu

 2006/6/10 21:44Profile
Yeshuasboy
Member



Joined: 2006/6/10
Posts: 668
Northern Rockies, BC, Canada

 Re: Death to self

I agree that death to self is where the real awakening begins. And I also agree that Jesus, because He is love and has given us freewill, will let us voluntarily come to the end of our selves before He comes in. Sure He stands at the door and knocks, however, we must invite Him in.
He seems to teach me the reality that no man can truly serve two masters, and that the doubleminded man is unstable in all his ways. When I compromise my walk (concerning any matter) with God whether I realize it or not, I'm still compromising. Then I begin to become restless, etc, and begin to walk after the flesh.
To me, it's almost like going back and forth between two realms - the spiritual(restful peace) and the flesh(doing things in my own strength). To me their's many sides to the Christian life(as the world sees it), but only in trusting Christ's words by faith and dying to self does a person truly experience Christ abiding within them :-) And to me, when I'm abiding in Him, it's way easier to rejoice in persecutions - I don't even have to try to rejoice in my own strength because He that is within me is greater and it just happens - Love just flows out of me; It's so AWESOME 8-) I think this happens because I choose to lay down my rights as well - I deny myself...I'm finding it possible to really love my enemies as the Lord has commanded us to - They aren't enemies of flesh and blood; They truly are deceived(Lk 23:34a; Jn 16:3) :-o Thankyou for this topic, and the oppurtunity to respond. Only the Spirit of God can guide us into these deep truths...May I become even more of a servant that His will be done, and may my only will be His will. God bless you bros and sis' :-D Richie..PS.I as well have been richly blessed by many of Rev. Ernest O'Neill's sermons


_________________
Richie

 2006/6/11 2:01Profile
deathdancer
Member



Joined: 2005/11/19
Posts: 33
South Africa

 Re: Death to 'self'

Hi Tash,
This topic is very dear to my heart,thanks for raising it.It all started in the garden with the tree of knowledge and ever since the plague rages on. Why all the self help nonsense?Mankind is utterley helpless and totally corrupt.He became his own god, and believed the lie that he would not die.
What happened to the "I Will" as found in the wine of the new covenant? What happened to the "for His name's sake" from God and "for his name's sake"from man?
It has been said that repentance is the sweetest emotion ,if this is not the death of self what is? Death is dead, long live death.
Thank God his calling is without repentance.


_________________
Trevor Collins

 2006/6/11 12:57Profile
Tash
Member



Joined: 2006/6/6
Posts: 24
South Africa

 Re: 'Death to self'

Greetings to you my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, i am happy to hear you guys opinions on 'Death to Self.' My inner man wants to wake up in the morning and sing praises, meditate on some, verses and pray to the Lord. I do this for some morning waking up at 5am, then some days my self refuses to get up yet my inner man really wants. I find my self listening to my flesh and say let me just sleep for a few more minute, and then when i wake up its already time for me to go to work. I consulted the Lord and told Him His opinions on early rising, and He said "if you love God you will wake up early in the morning" and He went on to say that it depends on your love for Him and gave me an example of how a man loves a woman and wuld go out of His way to do certain things for her. I should say the Lord always gives examples that relate to me and make it easy to understand some things. He is amazing and i think back of the times i belonged to the world and did not know that God is there and has much He wants to share with us. I thank the Lord for all He has shone His light on. May His mercy and love be upon all who call upon Him and seek Him.


_________________
Tashinga Dekune

 2006/6/12 2:28Profile









 Re:

RE: Ernest O'Neil

Thanks Ron, for the link.

I listened to the first and was impressed with his insight. He is where I am in my persuasion. It's good stuff so far. I look forward to the rest.



:-Drm

 2006/6/12 10:59
Tash
Member



Joined: 2006/6/6
Posts: 24
South Africa

 Re: Thanks

Thanks Ron. i am listening right now, and i am learning much. Becoming a member to this site is revealing much to me. so that when the Holy Spirit begins working in me and impacting this on my life , i will just humble myself before the Lord. God Bless.


_________________
Tashinga Dekune

 2006/6/12 11:16Profile





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