- Jun 26, 2015
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More and more, I come across believers that are dismayed and confused by the direction that the church, especially here in the West, seems to have taken. We have, overall, chosen to believe the path where grace makes everyting ok in the end, so why sweat anything? Any talk of sin, or repentance, or responsibility, or yieldedness is seen in negative light. Correction, instruction in righteousness, rebuke, warnings, these are see as reverting back to legalism and hell-fire preaching, making the Christian life one of misery and not measuring up, right? So nice stuff only! LOL. How do you balance the goodness and severity of God without slipping into either greasy grace or legalistic labor?
May I be so bold as to share a sliver of glorious, blinding light heading our way.... where we discover how to walk as real children of God, and to do so, not thru our being chided or guilted into obedience, but because we truly want to please Him and grow up int oHim in all things?
Despite the multitude of deeply offended voices defending their specific denomination or mother church as God's will for us, to any willing to truly compare what we have with what the saints possessed in the early rain of the book of Acts, the truth seeps to the surface and it ain't pretty.
There is no doubt the church as we know it possess a name that they liveth, but they are dead. We may have a nice form of godliness, but our lives testify loud and clear that we do not possess the power of it. Oh, there is no doubt that we draw near to Him with our lips, but how about our hearts? Does He possess them? Are all the doors in our mansion in the sky open for Him to roam, or are there rooms He simply is not allowed to visit? Listen guys, it. is not enough that we be Biblical, for our God wants us fruitful. Glory!
But HOW? With the church in such a divided powerless mess, how do we get it turned around? Is the solution to simply tell the multitudes of sleeping saints to wake up and do better? Obey or else? Here is what we are not seeing. God has given each one of His children a brand new nature that can.... and WILL..... obey, and put to death our old carnal one, the one that loves to rule the roost, and sin, within reason of course!
So what is the problem? Why, if these things are true, do we not see it transforming us from sinner to saint? There IS a reason. You see, it profits us nothing until we actually 'put on' this amazing new nature by faith. And when we eagerly agree to do so, more often than not, it is right here that.we hit the log jam. You see, in order for us to do that, we must first 'put OFF' our old nature. Like permanently. Ouch.
This is no small deal. We must actually come to HATE our old man and his or her self-centered and fruitless ways. We must finally be convinced that we can neither kill it, tame it, nor change it, nor tie it up, discipline it or transform it. It must die, no doubt about that. But.... we cannot do it. Self will not crucify self.
We are even now gradually being awakened to the amazing lives that God has for us.... lives fo joy, of peace, of a closeness to Jesus that almost defies explanation. Trust me, with what is coming, we are going to need it.
There is no avoiding this awakening no matter how we may want to sleep on in our Laodecian contentment. No one is exempt from this awakening. Both wheat and tares, that have grown together for so long that you can hardly tell one from the other, will awaken. But the tares will not respond to God's call to 'come up higher'.They will choose religion over life, and the true great falling away will commence.
But praise God, His elect will also awaken, and will put on by faith their new natures by an act of bold and bodacious.... and humbling.... faith. To the amazement of even the hardened in world, the church, God's TRUE church, will arise from the dust of nineteen hundred years of religious head knowledge, healed only slightly, and finally experience what "the glorious liberty of the children of God" actually entails. Hypocrisy will be as rare as the Sunday service that followed the one where Ananias and Saphira decided to test the Spirit.
Amazing days are coming, dear saints. Do not let anyone or anything keep you from finding your place in Him, standing as an overcomer. Do not doubt that He will 'cause you' to walk victorious over the world, the flesh and the devil. He is faithful that promised narrow !
But first, we must each pass through the valley of decision, where we finally choose to either a) fully let Him reign in us and fully trust the amazing promises He has made to us... OR....b) we choose to continue on as just sinners saved by grace, yet still refusing to let that grace set us free indeed as Jesus promised us. Here we find out who will reign and who will serve... Him... or us? Us must lose. No exceptions.
When we finally see that such a radical idea of truly abiding in Him is not threatening, but the most wonderful place to be found.... kept by the power of God thru faith, every single true sheep will be awakened and light their lamps, and discover to their joy and amazement that God really does actually CAUSE THEM to walk as obedient children.
Our awakening is coming and everything that can be shaken will be. And it could not come at a better time. Religious Christianity has run its course. Time for the latter rain. Bring hip waders.
blessings,
Gideon
May I be so bold as to share a sliver of glorious, blinding light heading our way.... where we discover how to walk as real children of God, and to do so, not thru our being chided or guilted into obedience, but because we truly want to please Him and grow up int oHim in all things?
Despite the multitude of deeply offended voices defending their specific denomination or mother church as God's will for us, to any willing to truly compare what we have with what the saints possessed in the early rain of the book of Acts, the truth seeps to the surface and it ain't pretty.
There is no doubt the church as we know it possess a name that they liveth, but they are dead. We may have a nice form of godliness, but our lives testify loud and clear that we do not possess the power of it. Oh, there is no doubt that we draw near to Him with our lips, but how about our hearts? Does He possess them? Are all the doors in our mansion in the sky open for Him to roam, or are there rooms He simply is not allowed to visit? Listen guys, it. is not enough that we be Biblical, for our God wants us fruitful. Glory!
But HOW? With the church in such a divided powerless mess, how do we get it turned around? Is the solution to simply tell the multitudes of sleeping saints to wake up and do better? Obey or else? Here is what we are not seeing. God has given each one of His children a brand new nature that can.... and WILL..... obey, and put to death our old carnal one, the one that loves to rule the roost, and sin, within reason of course!
So what is the problem? Why, if these things are true, do we not see it transforming us from sinner to saint? There IS a reason. You see, it profits us nothing until we actually 'put on' this amazing new nature by faith. And when we eagerly agree to do so, more often than not, it is right here that.we hit the log jam. You see, in order for us to do that, we must first 'put OFF' our old nature. Like permanently. Ouch.
This is no small deal. We must actually come to HATE our old man and his or her self-centered and fruitless ways. We must finally be convinced that we can neither kill it, tame it, nor change it, nor tie it up, discipline it or transform it. It must die, no doubt about that. But.... we cannot do it. Self will not crucify self.
We are even now gradually being awakened to the amazing lives that God has for us.... lives fo joy, of peace, of a closeness to Jesus that almost defies explanation. Trust me, with what is coming, we are going to need it.
There is no avoiding this awakening no matter how we may want to sleep on in our Laodecian contentment. No one is exempt from this awakening. Both wheat and tares, that have grown together for so long that you can hardly tell one from the other, will awaken. But the tares will not respond to God's call to 'come up higher'.They will choose religion over life, and the true great falling away will commence.
But praise God, His elect will also awaken, and will put on by faith their new natures by an act of bold and bodacious.... and humbling.... faith. To the amazement of even the hardened in world, the church, God's TRUE church, will arise from the dust of nineteen hundred years of religious head knowledge, healed only slightly, and finally experience what "the glorious liberty of the children of God" actually entails. Hypocrisy will be as rare as the Sunday service that followed the one where Ananias and Saphira decided to test the Spirit.
Amazing days are coming, dear saints. Do not let anyone or anything keep you from finding your place in Him, standing as an overcomer. Do not doubt that He will 'cause you' to walk victorious over the world, the flesh and the devil. He is faithful that promised narrow !
But first, we must each pass through the valley of decision, where we finally choose to either a) fully let Him reign in us and fully trust the amazing promises He has made to us... OR....b) we choose to continue on as just sinners saved by grace, yet still refusing to let that grace set us free indeed as Jesus promised us. Here we find out who will reign and who will serve... Him... or us? Us must lose. No exceptions.
When we finally see that such a radical idea of truly abiding in Him is not threatening, but the most wonderful place to be found.... kept by the power of God thru faith, every single true sheep will be awakened and light their lamps, and discover to their joy and amazement that God really does actually CAUSE THEM to walk as obedient children.
Our awakening is coming and everything that can be shaken will be. And it could not come at a better time. Religious Christianity has run its course. Time for the latter rain. Bring hip waders.
blessings,
Gideon
