2 Corinthians 3:5 says “Not that we are sufficient in anything as of
ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God. Not of the letter for the letter
kills but the spirit gives life through Christ.”
Continuing Michael's message, he writes : As
His ambassadors, we must give up all rights to self sufficiency and
independence. According to Jeremiah 17:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and
maketh flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. Blessed
is the man who trusts in the Lord. Therefore, trust in the Lord with all
thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways
acknowledge him and he shall direct thy path.”
Unless
a seed falls to the ground and dies, it cannot bear any fruit. God through
Jesus Christ has called us to die to self in order to live for Him. Until you
surrender your life to him, you cannot be his disciple. Those who approach God
for forgiveness must leave their egos at the foot of the cross. If you value
the things of the earth, you will not be blessed when you read the book of Ecclesiastes. The theme of Ecclesiastes is that the things of
earth are vanity of vanities ... everything that is done in the flesh is
worthless, it will come to naught. At
the end of Ecclesiastes the
conclusion of the book is that the whole duty of man is to revere, love, honor
and respect God, to serve Him and keep His commandments.
The
gospel of prosperity in the flesh is contrary to approaching the throne of
grace with a humble, broken and contrite heart. Salvation is about making Jesus
Savior and Lord, and then we shall be
free. Salvation is to change lordships: I am no longer master of my own life,
He is. According to Isaiah, in
repentance we find our rest and our
salvation. Repentance in the Greek means to turn around, it literally means to "change your mind" from the things of the world to the things
of the Lord. Rest and peace with God is waiting for your repentance.
Who's doing the waiting? You're not waiting on the Lord, He's
waiting on you. God is longing to be gracious to you ... his nature is loving
kindness and tender mercy. When we turn from ourselves and unto him, when we
get out of the way of our selfish selves, God will grant reconciliation. Reconciliation
means to put back together that which has
been separated. Our selfish self sufficiency will separate us from
the grace of God. Until we proclaim our "Declaration of
Dependence" God cannot reconcile us back to himself. The greatest
victory is the greatest surrender. I surrender all ... God works best
with nothing.
Like
Gideon's men who broke their pitchers so that the light of God could shine
forth, Lord break our earthen vessels so that the excellency of the power may
be of you Lord and not of us. May we die to self in order to live for you Lord.
Thank
you Lord for your words in Romans 12:
“I beseech ye therefore brethren by the
mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and wholly
acceptable unto God, our reasonable act of worship.”
May
God richly bless you,
Your
brother in Christ, Michael
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