This week Michael writes that Jesus gave His message on the Sermon on the Mount to enlighten the multitude about his purpose, and about redeeming them from the sin nature they inherited from Adam’s fall. All men and women have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus Christ defeated death, which is the consequence of sin, through his death and resurrection. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In Luke 14, Jesus said there are three things that you cannot do. First, He said, you need to love God above all. Second, you cannot live for your worldly possessions. Third, neither can you live for the praise of the world. Jesus said, if you are preparing to build a tower, you must first count the cost. What is it worth to you? Do you have the resources of time, materials, manpower and knowhow to build a tower that will not fall? Without proper preparation and planning, you will be laughed to scorn when you build the tower and it falls because you failed to plan.
When the crisis comes and courage is required, God expects his people to have such confidence in Him that they will be the reliable and dependable ones. There is safety in the midst of the crisis when we trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not unto our own understanding. As God said to the Apostle Paul said, “My strength is made perfect in your weakness… My grace is sufficient for you.” When a disciple is dedicated and convinced of the majesty, glory, and value of the cause to which they dedicated their life, then they will be willing to march into hell for a heavenly cause. For though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. If we have nothing to stand for, then we will fall for anything. If there is nothing worth dying for, then there is nothing worth living for.
AW Tozer said, “Christ’s Savior-hood is tied to his lord-ship.” Can you accept Jesus Christ as Savior and not Lord? Many have been taught what it means to accept salvation. However, not many have been taught what it means to confess “Jesus is Lord.” There are many definitions of the word “saved.” These include, to be saved from danger and to be rescued or delivered from harm, death, and destruction. Another meaning of salvation is to be made whole. Salvation means to be made complete by receiving God’s gift of Holy Spirit. The word Lord means ruler … the one who has ownership and preeminence. To confess Jesus is Lord means to change ownership. It means that I am no longer the owner of my own life. It means that my life is hid in Christ with God. Christianity is not “who we are.” Christianity is “WHOSE we are.”
What is the cost of following your cause? The greatest response is the response to the most difficult challenge. Jesus Christ challenged the multitude that followed Him around. Most of them were drawn to Him to witness the signs, miracles, and wonders he did. As Mother Theresa said, God works best with nothing. The first of the Beatitudes says, blessed are the poor in spirit for they shall inherit the earth. God cannot fill us unless we come to him with empty hands.
Christianity is not a part-time job. The key to living life more abundantly is to live for the heavenly cause to which he called us: that we would glorify God by living to the praise of the glory of His grace. If we worship the things of this world (the people we love, worldly wealth and possessions, or the praise and accolades of others), then we have the wrong god. The first of the Ten Commandments says in the Aramaic text, thou shalt have no other gods between your face and my face. Why? Because when we love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, this is the first and great commandment.
There is an order of priority in love. For a parent, the best way to love your children is to love their spouse. The best way to love your spouse is to love the Lord Jesus Christ. There are always irreconcilable differences between husbands and wives. Jesus Christ is the one who reconciles. He is the one who breaks down the middle walls of partition between our hearts and God’s heart so that we can be reconciled together in fellowship with God and with others in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus that in having prepared our hearts to live for the cause of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, we will love God above all in the unity of the spirit, that we may forever live to the praise of the glory of God’s grace,
Your brother in. Christ, Michael
No comments:
Post a Comment