There is so much more to the Christian life than originally anticipated. When I refer to dying, I am referring to the fleshly state of man, it its carnality. Look, we all will die one day, we are eternal beings, whether you like it or not, we will live forever.
Satan is the enemy of our souls, and has a lot of tricks up his sleeve; he is an old devil going about seeking whom he may devour; he may not devour us as Christians. The day you said yes to Jesus Christ, it is in that moment that you gave your deepest gift to God, your heart.
And that’s why God deals in hearts, He wants your heart and all of it, He will settle for no less. God loves you with an everlasting love. Some have this image of God sitting on a throne with a big stick, hurting those who don’t obey Him; this is not true. We live in a fallen world in a fallen state. Death has lost its sting, and that is why Jesus Christ came to die for us, for us to be redeemed and saved from eternal demise in Hell.
I wish I could express God’s love for you. Since no one was willing, Jesus Christ, even obedient unto death, chose Himself to become the unthinkable, sin, in our stead. He took upon Himself the sins of the world, from the beginning of the dawn of time to the close of the apocalypse.
The word “die” resonates as an anthem of ultimate surrender to God, representing the highest calling. It is intriguing that many fear the concept of dying to their mortal selves or physical existence; however, the focus here is on the internal struggle of the spirit against the flesh. By setting aside our earthly or fleshly desires, we can experience a profound life in Christ Jesus.
We acknowledge that we have not yet reached Heaven; our journey continues. We exist in a sinful, fallen world, and as Christians, we are not exempt from sin. The Bible states that anyone who claims to be without sin is deceiving themselves. Yet, those who choose to live a life fully surrendered to God learn to recognize their personal weaknesses of the flesh, striving to keep the flesh subdued and the spirit strong.
It is not my intention to suggest that we are already in the Kingdom of God. However, we are participants in the Kingdom, striving to live according to its principles. When one is born again and filled with the Holy Spirit of promise, with the evidence of speaking in tongues, there is a noticeable transformation in how life is perceived. This transformation is what distinguishes us from the rest of the world; we cannot remain unchanged.
Upon entering the Kingdom of God, we experience a sacred and special period of closeness with the Lord, often described as a honeymoon phase. During this time, we are given a glimpse of what is to come, which is later withdrawn to encourage us to seek and acquire a deeper relationship with God. This unparalleled experience sustains us throughout our spiritual journey. For some, it may feel as though God alternates between presence and absence, leaving us searching for ways to rekindle that initial relationship with God.
I think the question at hand is? To what lengths will you go, friend, to have more of God in and on your life? Salvation is free; it is paid for by the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Even though the Gift of the Holy Spirit is freely given, there is a price attached. Seeing that you become an open target for the devil, you can fool other people about yourself, but you can’t fool the devil when he sees the Holy Spirit resting upon you. It is of note and a reality that you can abide in the presence of God each day.
The Father says: “You have not, because you ask not.” If we men, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto our children, how much the more will our heavenly Father not give us His Holy Spirit if we ask Him.”
People, as a rule, don’t like the suggestion of a higher state of living. The day you enroll in the Kingdom of God sets you in a position of so many promises in the Bible. If you have the Spirit of Christ within and the Spirit of Christ upon, hey! You are no longer the same. period. I am in no sense suggesting that you become superior to others, but I would lie to you if I said you remain the same.
Have you ever had an encounter with the Holy Spirit? If you have, then we can come to the agreement that there is just so much more to attain as followers of Christ. The most profound experience everyone should have is to be baptized not only in water but also in the Holy Spirit.
Many churches shun away from the working of the manifest presence of God in their churches, and if you are in a dead church, go to a church where something is going on, where the Spirit of God is strong and vibrant.
You know, many young adults used to go to all the hangout clubs with the music so loud that no one could hear a word spoken. Now that they give their Heart to the Lord and go join the deadest church in town, down the street, where there is absolutely no movement of the Holy Spirit.
Some churches are so cold that there is frost in the pews, snow on the stage, and icicles hanging from the pulpit. Some churches are so narrow-minded, they can peep through a keyhole with both eyes. There are a few things that don’t make you a Christian. Going to church does not make you a Christian, nor does speaking tongues make you any more of a Christian. There is a joke: going to church does not make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald’s makes you a hamburger.
I do believe that once a week we ought to set aside for the Lord, as Christians, this would be on Sundays. There are nuts out there that are not Jews trying to keep Jewish traditions by keeping the Sabbath, God wants more than your Sundays or so-called Sabbath, He needs your every day.
We start to learn the basics, such as in our weaknesses, His strength is made perfect. There exists no greater honor than being crucified with Christ, symbolically speaking. We know of two sinners who had this opportunity. One man to the left of Christ and one to His right. The one man who was so filled with bitter hatred was so self-occupied, and in a sense mocked the Lord Jesus while He was hanging suspended on the cross.
On the other side of the Lord was another man; he must have had so much faith in Christ, and here we find him reaching out to the Lord and said: “Lord, Remember me when you come into your Kingdom”.
This knowledge was beyond ordinary reasoning. He believed that Jesus did not deserve to die, yet he pleaded with Jesus, his final victorious moment on the cross. He turns that which may have seemed to be his end into the beginning of eternity with the Lord Jesus.
I gave this serious thought, Peter, the very one after having just received a divine revelation that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus’s response was one: “Blessed are you Simon bar Jonas, for flesh and blood has not revealed this truth unto you, but it was given you by my Father who is in Heaven, therefor, I shall no longer call you Simon “a reed easy swayed to and fro by the wind” but I shall call you Peter, “a rock” and upon this Rock I will build what I must call my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it, unto you I give the KEYS of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The very same Peter said to the Lord: “Wherever you go, I shall follow, even unto death. To prove more the fallibility of man, Peter, after just having received this deep revelation of Christ, ends up denying Jesus three times in a single night. Peter loved Jesus; he was one of the most devoted disciples of Jesus, a man who revered and feared God.
When Jesus rose from the grave, He asked: “Where are the disciples and Peter?”
Can you admit that even though Peter denied the Lord, Jesus specifically pointed out: “Where is Peter?”
Peter was shattered, but repented. God did not rise and rebuke Peter; no, He encouraged him and lifted him from his despair. Peter thought it was over. Jesus restored him completely; this is how true and amazing God is.
When we are at our lowest, when we think Lord, I have messed up, surely it’s my end. I want to encourage you, if you are going through such a stage or valley in your life, reach out towards Jesus Christ, cast your cares on Him, for His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
Our journey with the Lord is ever progressive, meaning it holds the potential to change. Your calling may be one thing, but even if you get sidetracked, you can recover to the perfect will of God; however, the conditions remain the same, with the same aim for your life.
Don’t lose heart if you have moved from the perfect will of God for your life. I have heard a very prominent healing evangelist say that if you sin, then the Anointing will never come back. I must say, this is incorrect. Search the promise inside of you and let your actions align with this. The Bible says: “That our footsteps are ordered by the Lord”.
Some of you hunger and thirst for more of God, the Bible says: “No one comes unto the Father, save the Father draw you unto Himself. But before this can occur, you need to seriously deepen your faith in Christ and seek the Lord with all your heart, because it shall require your everything, friend.
We serve the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient God, who made himself man, lived amongst us, and paid our penalty in full, for us to be restored unto the Father. God seeks an intimate relationship with you. The Bible says, Seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. It starts with a simple prayer. I understand that not all of us are familiar with a prayer life, but take baby steps, even if you only pray one minute for a week, and then escalate to two minutes a week and so on.
You are the epic centre of God’s focal attention. You may argue that there are just so many people on the earth at a time, but never limit God; He knows every person on planet earth. God made provisions for all men to be born again. The Bible says: “God is not slack concerning His promises, but wants everyone to come to the knowledge of Christ.
Not a single Soul will have an excuse one day before God, and trust me, it will be just you and God; no one else will be able to vouch for you. You will be regarded for your words and deeds on earth. We have such a misperception of the Father. His loving kindness endures forever; he desires a relationship with you.
Look, I don’t presume to know your background, your upbringing, maybe you gave your Heart to the Lord somewhere in your life, but you feel distant from Him, nevertheless, you can receive Jesus Christ in your heart today, IT IS NOT TOO LATE!!!
I would that you embrace Christianity soonest. Some of you hold onto other belief systems and religions. I am not going to judge you, but you must understand that the only means to eternal life is found in Jesus Christ. Many choose to be agnostic, some atheists, simply because they fail to fit a perfect God into a fallen world, not that I blame them, but as long as we reside on earth, things will just not make sense, friend.
I have heard of so many Christians forsaking their heartfelt faith in Christ for another religion; they can’t figure this broken-up world. This much I can tell you, there sits a strongman behind these alterior belief systems. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes unto the Father except through me.
As long as we live in this world, we will struggle with the carnal man; ultimately, we grow in spirit, the spirit man, and we should all strive towards more of God and less of us.
God Bless!
