That Body!
Now we have Christ the King of righteousness reigning in our spirit, what is the place of king sin in the flesh? When the godless flesh was destroyed the king of sin and death lost his domain and our soul continues as a tutor. The fleshly body and members are undecided who to live for. He will back up whoever feeds him. If you feed you eyes and mind immoral films you will resurrect its sinful power but if you feed it with the word of God and all things godly, the body will serve the king of righteousness in your spirit.
Though our unregenerate nature was to follow sin, fortunately, there are moderating influences in people to more or less degrees. It’s called a brain. People don’t fully give in to the sin because they think of the consequences most times. The undisciplined body is prone to sin because the fleshly body men live in on earth, is interested in three things. Sex, food and comfort. If your body is king it will give instructions to your soul like "let’s watch some dirty movies or tv" Our body must keep a slave. The body doesn’t know Gods rules so it has to be totally controlled by the spirit led soul.
Unless a person’s soul has been trained by their parents and the Word of God they often just let their body do what it wants and they find themselves giving away their virginity to some person there may never see again. A married man’s body is still wanting to look at another woman. Our body doesn’t understand marital covenants, so we can’t let it have its way.
It will also be saying stop here at this takeaway bar and get some more food in spite of the fact you just had lunch two hours ago.
Your body must be trained and disciplined not to eat all the time. Sex sin happens when people can’t control the body’s sexual appetite. Eating is gluttony when people can’t control their eating habits. Don't have to be fat just have to give in to appetites every time you feel hungry. Make your body wait! It is part of the parent’s job to train their child to control their bodies appetite for food.
Friend, your body will be saying that you’re too tired to go to the homegroup and prayer meeting tonight and that you should take your ease. You need some comfort. You can’t go that hot room or the room is too cold and the seats are too hard. Your body keeps yelling till it’s satisfied so it must be told what to do - it must now become a slave to the King of righteousness within us.
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Jesus is merciful
A couple of weeks ago we talked in our life group about poor people tithing. I asked them what they would do if we had a lady in the church getting 160 dollars a week benefit and she was playing 130 dollars a week rent and finding it hard to tithe and live off the rest. The next day I asked the Lord to help me in how I should think. As I got still before Him suddenly I saw a picture of me walking behind Jesus in the grain fields. It was a bright sunny day, the corn was a golden and dry dust was floating around in the suns of sun. Jesus is treading through the golden fields with all the disciples. I thought what has this got to do with tithing? Soon I began to read the scriptures and miraculously the Bible was opened at the exact story where Jesus was walking through the Grainfields. The disciples were hungry and so they were eating the grain as they walked. The Pharisees were not impressed and to defend his disciples Jesus gave them an interesting talk. He said you have heard what David did and the others with them when they were hungry how they went into the house of God and eat of the bread that was only for the priests. I.e. The human need of David and his men took priority over the religious law. Jesus goes on “I am Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath was made for man not man for the Sabbath.” My men are plucking grain on the Sabbath and while you think it is contrary to the law, they have a human need. Sometimes in life, we meet people who are genuinely poor without the resources to meet their basic human needs. The son of man never came to uphold a system of duty but to free the souls of men. Human need takes priority over religious law. Think of the Good Samaritan story. If your neighbour is in trouble on Sunday morning, then helping him is more important than going to church. God loves men more than He loves the Sabbath and He loves his people more than their tithes. I believe in the principle of tithes and offerings but let’s not become Pharisees who seem to think that God cares more for religious rituals or even principles, than He does for people. The Pharisees think that the poor person whose weekly income is 160 dollars and whose rent is 130 dollars a week should give their tithe of 16 dollars and try to live on 14 dollars a week! Because the Pharisee who earns $800 a week religiously gives his tithes his $80 leaving him $720 to live on! Tithing was made for man not man for tithing. Man’s hunger being satisfied is more important to God than tithing. David didn’t say to his men “Learn faith by staying hungry, learn to suffer for righteousness sake by going without food and water. Jesus never said to His disciples “harden up and learn faith by not eating on Sabbath and certainly not to eat that which is Holy and belonging to the priests.”
Friend, Jesus is more merciful and understanding than you think.
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Change
If you ever see a business that closed down it will be because they couldn't make the changes necessary to succeed. If you see a family wounded and in pain, as mum tries to raise to three teenagers, we know someone couldn’t change. We see wives alone after an abusive relationship ends, with a man who could not change, but Jesus comes to change people's lives. He changes the lives of ordinary guys; labourers and tax collectors. No standout performers, no stars but they said yes to Jesus and he rewrote their story. They found out that only Jesus could change them. Your best future, your God planned future demands there are changes now. To have a better marriage, something has to change. You know something has to change. To have a better walk with Christ you know something needs to change to God to bring you to the next level of your ministry, something will need to change. To embrace change we have to be assured of our Fathers tender involvement in our life. To grow through change, we invite Him into our change knowing He's ordering our steps.
Friend, if we believe that our steps are ordered by the Lord our changes are never random and we can grow through change and not just go through change.
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Carry your Cross
Jesus shouldered the heavy cross and staggered along after the Roman soldiers. It wasn’t the first cross that Jesus had faced. As a minister, He had put others needs before His own, and made a thousand selfless choices before he finally took up the final and greatest cross for us. Embracing the Cross is really dying to a self so as to bring life and blessing to others. Jesus embraced the cross among the ancient olive trees as he was tested with the will of God which He ultimately held fast to. To be under Christ’s authority means to be a follower of Jesus. It means to accept the Cross daily and die to self. Jesus said that anybody that wanted to follow Him had to first deny himself and take up his cross. Our submission to God is not tested, till the cross is presented. Jesus was submitted to the will of God at all times but it was supremely tested in the garden. The cross tests or willingness to be a Christian and a follower of Christ. There can be no cross-less followers. No one following the lamb! We have this idea that disciples are one step up the ecosystem of believer or Christians. We need to destroy this notion. Christians and disciples are to be the same people.
Friend, if you are a Christian; you are a disciple and it is only possible to follow Jesus if we carry our cross.
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Souled out
Our spirit is to lead our soul and body. If your soul is ruling it will be telling you to do whatever your emotions feel like doing. Emotions and feelings are so fickle. One day you love your job the next day you hate your job. You love your husband then you don't like your husband.
You don't feel like praying today. You don’t feel like going to church. we can not live successfully by the soul and emotions and our moods. Few would go to work! God is not moody. God does not get an attitude. Attitudes are soulish. Attitudes are an adult pout. If we don’t get what we want. We think we deserve to be angry with that husband. we delight tot hold a grudge etc.
The soul will control you with fear and self-consciousness. You are too embarrassed to speak for Christ at work. You mean I need to go and apologize? I might feel embarrassed.
Answer an altar call? I might feel funny. Begin to dance about the front? ill feel self-conscious.
But we are designed not to do what we feel like doing, but to do what is right Obey God and your right decisions will produce the right feelings.
Friend, to follow God we need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead our spirit in God’s way and bring our soul and body into line with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
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The Person of Grace and Truth
The Law dealt with us as slaves - Grace and truth now deal with us as sons. Grace and truth is the new reality; it is the new way that God speaks and it is the new way that He deals with us. It is the new way that He empowers. Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. In Ephesians, everything begins and ends with Grace. This is the big idea of the New Testament. By grace, we are blessed with every blessing. By graces, we are chosen in Him. By grace, we are redeemed. By grace, we received wisdom and prudence. By grace, His inheritance is in the saints. Grace raises up and places us in heavenly places. We are saved by grace. Grace is the unmerited favour of God. And Grace is the unmerited ability of God. Grace is the unmerited revelation and word of God to us. Grace means the freely given favour and empowering life and voice of God. All three! If there is favour but no voice how does uncommunicated favour help us? If there is only favour but no power toward us, we would be blessed but helpless. We know He is the truth. There is no truth if there is no Grace and Christ is grace. The juxtaposition here in John 1, is not Law with Truth, it is the law with grace and truth. Truth does not equal law. The law is not a person. It is a portion of the revelation of truth, but not its fullness. The grace of God encompasses everything that is in Christ. He interprets it. He displays grace and shows forth the truth.
Friend, Grace is God giving His son Christ to live His life through us. Grace is Christ within us.
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Room to fail
Adam felt incredible shame and guilt as he heard the steps of the Creator in the garden. He hid in the trees but where can you hide from Love. If we learn anything from the theology of Genesis 3, it is that imperfection and failure run in the family. Even the perfect specimens are tainted with it; those prim and proper people who never seem to blow up perhaps struggle with pride and judgmental pettiness. The fact is we all fail. If we don’t give ourselves and others room to fail, we will breed dishonestly in people. People will be afraid to admit their mistakes, choosing to live in unreality. Brothers or sisters that are struggling with certain fears and temptations will be afraid to reach out for help. God’s people may sink in a sea of failure and temptation, not able to ask for help, thinking that weakness or failure is unforgivable. It’s great to have a triumphalist theology, where we talk of a constant walk in the glory and power of God, but where does that leave people in the times when they struggle and need help. When we fail, we must know that God is still able to use even that! Before Adam failed he felt perfect without any sense of sin and no need for forgiveness. He also felt no gratitude for God’s mercy and no sense of love. God allowed men to sin that man might discover all of God.
Friend, if we fail or stumble in sin, God still has a plan in mind. For us to see our own inability and our need to abide in His love. He wants us to experience His forgiveness, and then see His loving character and to love Him even more in return.
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First things first
As Jesus walked slowly through the town “A leper came and worshipped him saying if you are willing you can make me clean.” To encounter Jesus in worship you have to come to Him. He came to worship; he came focused and determined. It was premeditated; I will worship. He didn’t say now that the music is slow and they are playing the songs I like. He worshipped him saying. “You can make me clean.”
When we worship we are always saying something out of our heart. The heart and the mouth speaks. Sometimes we think that worship is not a vocal but is quiet. Of course, praise is never quiet; praise is always expressive, whereas worship could be quiet; but still, every worshipper is saying something. The leper worshipped Jesus by saying make me clean- not make the famous, rich or even employed but make me clean. To encounter Jesus in worship our first need is not understand me or even please forgive me but please cleanse me. That’s repentance! We can ask for forgiveness and never want to give up our sin and be clean. But the voice from the heart of a worshipper says wash me clean.
Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Mat 8:3
Friends, If purity is the desire of our hearts it is likely that we will encounter Jesus consistently. And we never have to question whether Jesus is willing to make us clean. If we cry out to be clean - He will touch us immediately.
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