“It is the Spirit that gives life–He is the Life-giver; the flesh conveys no benefit whatever–there is no profit in it. The words that I have been speaking to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63
Ever wonder if you are doing something in the flesh? Ever consider whether what you are doing, as you go about ministering in Jesus’ name, is spirit driven or flesh driven? Sometimes I think we folks believe we are working with God in spirit but are doing so in the flesh. We pray with our minds focused on the horizontal effect–what God’s answers will do for me and my church rather than Him and His church. We plan, build, strategize, and politicize, to bring about what we believe will bring God glory and further the gospel. Ever wonder how much of our effort is spirit-filled? Ever examine what you say and do, write and think beneath the magnifying glass of the Spirit who gives life?
Are you furthering your education to get a degree? Burning midnight oil and studying to make an A? Planning lessons to make your point? Growing a church to build a better resume? Visiting folks to appease the pastor? Attending church to feel better about yourself throughout the week? Preparing sermons to fix some individual or group? Supporting missions, ministers, leaders and campaigns so goals are met and numbers increase?
If we answer yes to any of those questions, our actions are of no benefit whatsoever. Nada. None. Zip.
It’s only when we fall back completely and surrender every iota of our self-sufficiency to Christ, that the Spirit can fill us and use us for His glory. We can do nothing apart from Him and when we do something with anything other than Him in mind, we do nothing at all.
We might well wonder why we fuss and fume, bicker and bump into one another as we work to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We might wonder why we’re like magnets with two south poles repelling one another.
“For we are not wrestling against flesh and blood–contending only with physical opponents–but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the master spirits who are- the world rulers of this present darkness, against spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) sphere.” Ephesians 6:12.
It is only when we are giving up ourselves to the whole counsel of God and allowing Christ to completely rule our hearts that we see the manifestation of the Spirit-Life. I think this means I have to give up anything that causes another’s focus to be on anything but Jesus and Jesus alone. Only in dying to self will Jesus manifest Himself in me. Sometimes I wonder why He would want to live within such a pathetic wad of flesh? Wonder why He would willingly suffer and die upon a cross to pay the ultimate price for God’s grace to pour out upon His children? Wonder why it seems so hard for us to present ourselves as a living sacrifice in honor of His sacrifice of obedience to His Father? I wonder. Do you? selahV
Amen! Good preaching!
James
Jamess last blog post..Today’s quote
James: “preaching?” is that what I was doing? 🙂 I rather think your post (Branch On The Vine) on Feb. 24th compliments this post quite nicely. I hope folks go read it. http://anebooks.blogspot.com/2009/02/branch-on-vine.html
Thanks for the affirmation. selahV
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Living unto God in all that we do, humanly speaking, is impossible except for the grace of God. Focusing in on so living, I have found, is best accomplished by having my mind on Christ and His people and His work. I do better, I find, when I don’t think of trying to do the impossible. Being balanced, flexible, and creative results from a good grasp of seemingly contrary truths (that is truths that appear to be contrary). It is sort of like having two tracks to run on – like a train. To put it another way, the tension created in the mind, a healthy tension by the way, by two-sided biblical teachings, helps one to accomplish things otherwise unthinkable. The trinity and unity of God, the Divine nature and the human nature of the Lord Jesus, the Divine and human elements of the inspired written word of God, the calls for holiness on our part by the word and the reality of the presence of a nature opposed to such living (the warfare within), all of these impact and empower for to service that is worthy of the Lord’s name. We hit the right stance, when we realize that our best is about equivalent to my siser and I making mud pies for grandma, when we were little above toddlers. Grandma acted like those mud pies were great like her chocolate pies, She was just pleased that we thought of someone besides ourselves. It seems to me that my best service is like making those mud pies. God grant His smile on our poor endeavors.
Dr. James Willinghams last blog post..A preternatural and invisible hand
Dr. Willingham, you hit the nail on the head by your little comparison to your grandmother’s appreciation. She didn’t look at the mud-pies, she looked at the hearts of those who made the mudpies. And that is what our Lord looks at. He knows our hearts and our motives. Thus the flesh cannot please God when the flesh is making mudpies for recognition of man. It’s a heart after God’s heart that God finds well-pleasing. It’s the pouring out of the best of our perfume to wash His feet. It’s the giving of all we have and trusting Him to care for us, no matter what we do not have. Then God encourages us when we bring our all to Him, just as your grandmother encouraged you with her appreciation. selahV
selahVs last blog post..THE SBC…MORE THAN A CONVENTION MEETING IN JUNE
The Christian life is Allowing Christ, by the power of the Spirit to live in and through us. God onlt accepts what He, Himself, does.
Dr. Foltz, don’t believe we can do that unless we are willing to die to ourselves. And your point is my point. How do you live out your point in a particular instance? How would we know you are “allowing Christ, by the power of the Spirit to live in and through” you? Can you give us an example? selahV
selahVs last blog post..THE SBC…MORE THAN A CONVENTION MEETING IN JUNE
No. You weren’t really preaching, but I don’t know what else to call it, maybe teaching. If I had written it, I would have called it an <idle musing>…
Yes, it definitely ties in nicely with the vine and branches post.
James
Jamess last blog post..Link love
SelahV;
Idied when Christ died; He died not only for me, but as me.
Retroactive positional truth]. I count it to be so each morning.
If i have confessed all known sins and am obeying the Word I am Spirit filled [Spirit -controlled]. Either He’s in control or we are.
James, I was only kidding. I find myself musing a lot over when the Lord is going to pour out His spirit and women and children prophesy. Not that I’ll be one of the women…just find it something wonderful to envision. selahV
selahVs last blog post..THE SBC…MORE THAN A CONVENTION MEETING IN JUNE
Dr. Foltz: Okay. I know that. You know that. So how do you “practice love”? How do others see that manifested in you? What did you do today, for instance, that so manifested the Spirit of God in you that others could see Him at work in you? selahV
selahVs last blog post..THE SBC…MORE THAN A CONVENTION MEETING IN JUNE
Good in general, but a couple of areas that could use refinement here.
1) There is a difference between justification and sanctification. “It’s only when we fall back completely and surrender every iota of our self-sufficiency to Christ, that the Spirit can fill us and use us for His glory.” It’s only if we are justified that the Holy Spirit can fill us and work with us to bring us gradually closer to mirroring the image of Christ, which is sanctification.
Therefore, while we are positionally perfect, our motivations are yet questionable. As we are further sanctified, we become more sensitive to our particular sins, such as these motivational ones. Until we stand before Him in glory, we will never be practically perfect. That means that:
2) God uses practically imperfect people, still operating with vestiges of sinful motivations, to accomplish His purpose. No one is worthy to minister and unless God uses sinful people to accomplish His purposes, no one can be used. I’m a musician and am active in various music ministries. i struggle with my motives with every rehearsal and every time I get up to offer my gifts. I know Christian musicians who apparently don’t have such a struggle and it appears as though that sin is not yet evident to them and certainly not mortified. Eventually, they will become sensitive to it and I will become sensitive to some I’m not aware of yet. Nevertheless, God uses our offerings made with sinful motives.
3) That’s because God can cause something to happen as a first cause that we cause to happen as a second cause for completely different intentions.
Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. How can God intend something He didn’t cause to happen? Would we say that being sold into slavery is an evil thing? Nevertheless, God intended it for good while Joseph’s brothers intended it for evil. So, even if someone were to be overtly evil, God can still use it to benefit His purpose. how much more can God use something that we intend for good even if our motivations are in some way questionable.
This is certainly no excuse to sin with a guilt-free conscience. What this realization does is free us to minister in the name of Christ with the understanding that we can still be effective in His name while still working to mortify our internal sin issues such as fear, anxiety, pride, envy and sloth.
Jim Pembertons last blog post..Asking For One Thing, Pursuing Another
Jim, thanks for your input. Great truth in it. In my post, I couldn’t begin to assume anyone who understands my points would not already be positionally “justified” in Christ.
Oswald Chambers is quoted in My Utmost for His Highest, “God’s first sovereign work of grace is summed up in the words, ‘that they may receive forgiveness of sins…’ When a person fails in his personal Christian life, it is usually because he has never received anything. The only sign that a person is saved is that he has received something from Jesus Christ….In sanctification, the one who has been born again deliberately gives up his right to himself to Jesus Christ, and identifies himself entirely with God’s ministry to others.”
Do we follow through on this each and every moment of our lives? No. That is the point of my post. Living in the flesh with great intentions is not living in the Spirit. Can the Spirit take even our best intentions and flesh-driven efforts and add His life (as in your illustration of Joseph and his brothers) to the ultimate outcome? Certainly. God is sovereign and works out our utter failures to His own plan. But let us not deceive ourselves that it is we who do anything. It is the Life-Giver within us. That is another reason I so often claim Psalm 138:8–“The Lord will perfect that which concerneth thee.” As we focus upon Him, He presents us with opportunities to follow Him and surrender our will to His.
I think we are saying the same things. Thanks for helping me in “fleshing something out.” selahV
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