PART #29
THE STAFF AND SWORD MINISTRY
DECEMBER 2009
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by Nancy-TONI Youngbrandt In this series of articles, we have been exploring the subject of Manifesting Christ. This has come from belief out of the Holy Spirit insight that our relationship with God as a Christian here on earth should be like that which Jesus had with God the Father when He walked the earth, at the least, and possibly be filled with even more possibilities since Jesus Himself said, "...He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do because Igo unto my Father. "(Jesus in John 14 . 1 ?) And yet, many of God's children fail to see the wonderful working of Christ Jesus in their lives to even a fraction of the potential. So why is that? Well, in reading Andrew Murray's book, The Deeper Christian Life* , he explained the answer this way:
"So, if there is a discrepancy between our life and the fulfillment and enjoyment of all God's promises, then the fault is ours. If our experience is not what God wants it to be, it is because of our unbelief in the love of God, in the power of God, and in the reality of God's promises." Just think of this, we as Christians, believers of Jesus Christ, have the most wonderful gift imaginable —the gift of Grace through Jesus Christ. Through that gift of Grace we have access to the Heavenly Father God which means Jesus paid the price that we might receive God's Love, God's Power and God's Promises to us. Through God's gift of salvation we have the key to enter through the door into all that God has for us So why aren't there more manifestations in the lives of God's people of that wonderful gift ?? ... Or more impo rt antly, how can we go about obtaining it and walking in it in our own lives??? In this article I plan to take a look at what might be preventing God's people from having a deeper Christian life with the core of that being a closer walk with Jesus.
(* Published by Whitaker House, 30 Hunt Valley Circle, New Kensington, PA 15068.)
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A CLOSER WALK WITH JESUS Perhaps I shouId back up a bit, since it may be my assumption that everyone, at least every Christian, should desire a deeper Christian life and a closer walk with Jesus. For many, their Christian life centers more around Church life and activities, or just believing on Jesus for
salvation, but never really seeking more. Some may even question within themselves, `Why should I want a closer walk with Jesus?' `Is there really more to being a Christian than being saved and going to Church?' Well, the answer is YES — YES — YES!! Salvation is an important, key component to our lives as Christians but it is not meant to the end of our pursuit of God either ... it is the key that open the door to limitless possibilities through and in Christ Jesus and God the Father. Through salvation comes the possibility of walking so fully in Grace through Christ that physical ailments can me healed, food can be multiplied and miracles can be a common occurrence. In John 14:20-23 we can see that Jesus desires that we not only abide in Him but he also wants to come to be in us, to manifest Himself to us and to abide — to live — with and in us. God the Father, through Jesus Christ, wishes to be close to His people so should we not desire the same thing?
MAKING THE TRANSITION So, if you are among those who want a deeper Christian life and a closer walk with Jesus, then some questions could be raised: How can you have one? What keeps you from having one? What do you have to do to get one? One of the more important things to realize about our life in Christ is that in our spiritual life, as Andrew Murray wrote, "... there are ordinarily two steps quite separate from
each other: the bringing him out of sin and the world, and the bringing him into a state of complete rest afterward." I am sure that the rest Andrew Murray speaks of is that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 11:28-30: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and
lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
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MAKING THE TRANSITION continued And yet how many of us still labor under the weight of our sin and try to carry it or prove ourselves righteous through works rather than putting our sin under the Blood of Jesus and letting our soul enter into the rest which is there through Grace which is and comes from and through Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for us. To see this simply in another way is to see that when we repent of our sin, putting it under
the Blood of Christ and we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we then are to come out of sin and the world and begin to transition over and into a state of rest and acceptance of that Salvation through Christ Jesus. For many of us, we have this experience in the beginning but then as our life continues on and things happen in our life, the influence of sin and the world seem to creep back in our lives and we lose that rest and peace we once had. What many fail to realize is that Salvation isn't just a one-time realization and that's it but is something, as the Apostle Paul tells us, must be worked out with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). So what happens in between these two states? What blocks your transition to this life of rest? What stumbles you up? From the writings of Andrew Murray and Francois Fenelon, I have narrowed it down to 3 main stumbling blocks: 1. UNBELIEF 2. CARNALITY 3. SELF At this point it would he helpful for you, the reader, to take an honest look at your walk in Christ and ask yourself: Am I looking for Christ to come down to my worldly level? Am I seeking to continue in my sinful, worldly walk, in my oId life, as I always have? Do I want Christ to come to me with His comfort, His Presence and His Love?
If this is the case then the deeper life will not happen for you. As Andrew Murray writes:
"If I am to have the presence of Christ, I must walk as He walked. His walk was a supernatural one. He walked in the love and power of God. .... Most people walk according to the circumstances in which they are. Most say, 'I am depending upon my circumstances for my religion.' ... 'My circumstances prevent my enjoying unbroken fellowship with Jesus.' .... But as long as you want to walk on a lower level than Christ, as long as you want to have a little of the world and of self-will, do not expect the presence of Christ." In other words, some choose to stay at the first step or phase of their life as a believer,
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MAKING THE TRANSITION continued which is to receive salvation but yet remain in a state of sin and worldliness and go no further. They have not or will not leave or grow beyond that point and therefore wi f I not make the transition to anything deeper or closer to Christ. However, should you wish to begin or continue on in your transition into the deeper Christian life, then let's take a closer look at what may be tripping you up from that more fulfilling life in Christ.
UNBELIEF In his book, The Deeper Christian Life , Andrew Murray explains the following: " If there is to be any deepening of the spiritual life in us, we must come to the
and the acknowledgment of the unbelief that is in our hearts. God grant discovery that we may get this spiritual quickening, and that we may come to see that it is by our unbelief that we have prevented God from doing His work in us. if you are not living in the joy of God's salvation, the entire cause is your unbelief. You do not believe in the mighty power of God, and that He is willing by
His Holy Spirit to work a thorough change in your life and enable you to live in fullness of consecration to Him. God is willing that you should so live, but you do
not believe. If man really believed in the infinite love of God, what a change it would bring about." This may come across as a bit offensive and too straight-forward for some but then the truth often comes across that way — especially when we are likely to be guilty of the truth being revealed. And as painful as it may be to admit, it is Scriptural as well. There are several Scriptures that showed Jesus was unable to do any `mighty works' due to unbelief. Two such examples are as follows:
Matthew 13:38 : "And he did not many mighty works there because of their
unbelief. " Mark 6:4-6: (Jesus said) "... A prophet is not without honour, but in his own
country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. And He could there do no mighty work, save that He laid His hands upon a few sick folk, and healed
them. And He marvelled because of their unbelief" And lest one thinks that the unbelief is only in non-believers, I would point out what it
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UNBELIEF continued says in Hebrews 3:12 — "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil
heart of unbelief in departing rom the living God. " To depart from the living God implies being with or believing in the living God first in order to depart later. The good news is that even if we do suffer from some unbelief in our hearts, we can always turn to Jesus for His help with that unbelief just as the father did in Mark 9:23-24. Here Jesus is encouraging a father of a possessed boy.
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief"" Lastly, as a goal of how a believer should conduct him or herself, I like what it says about Abraham in Romans 4:20-21:
" He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief,' but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able to perform. " Amen to that!! There is no doubt that unbelief can be a rather sneaky sin, one which we may not be aware of but may be revealed in the way we perceive or view God. Andrew Murray pointed this out in his example of unbelief seen in the Parable of the Lost Son in Luke 15:11-32. This is the parable of two sons actually — a younger one who took his inheritance, left home and blew it all, and his older brother who stayed home and worked for his father. Well, the day came when the younger son had reached the end of his road and resources and returned home to his father, not sure of the welcome he would receive. It turns out that his
father couldn't have been happier and decided to celebrate his son's return with a feast including a `fatted calf' pr `kid' for the main meal. However, this didn't go over well with the older son, who was upset that his father had never done this for him, who had faithfully served his father atI these many years. What the older son failed to realize was that he could have had a kid' or `fatted calf at any time ... he didn't need a special reason or excuse but rather what was the father's was his. So why didn't the older son realize this?
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UNBELIEF continued Andrew Murray saw it this way:
"The elder son thought he was serving his father faithfully for 'these many years' in his father's house, but it was in the spirit of bondage and not in the spirit of a child. His unbelief blinded him t the conception of a father's love and kindness, and he was unable all the time to see that his father was ready, not only to give him a kid, but a hundred or a thousand kids, if he would have them. He was simply living in unbelief, in ignorance, in blindness, robbing himself of the privileges that the father had for him." In other words, it was the older son's perception of his father that prevented him from seeing him as he truly was. Wow. How many of us have a false perception based in unbelief of God the Father and fail to realize, enjoy and partake of the love and blessings He has for us? .... Dear Jesus, show me my unbelief that I may give it up to see the heart and love
of my Heavenly Father • — let this be the prayer of your heart as it is mine.
CARNALITY To continue onward and inward in looking at what may hinder our transition from our former life to our new in Christ and the rest He offers, carnality is certainly quite a big stumbling block for God people. In Romans 8 the Apostle Paul states quite clearly that we are not to walk after the flesh but after the Spirit and then equates that walk in the flesh with being carnally minded, and how to be carnally minded is death (verse 6) and the carnal mind is enmity (the enemy) against God (verse 7.) A definite problem for the believer seeking salvation through Jesus Christ. Romans 8 goes on to explain that we must learn to be led by the Spirit of God in order to become sons of God, for to live after the flesh is death but to live after the Spirit, this brings life — spiritual life. I like how Paul goes on to state this in 1 Corinthians 2, where he explains that the wisdom they have been sharing did not come from men but from God by His Spirit. He said this in 1 Corinthians 2: 10-14:
"But God revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit
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CARNALITY continued (1 Corinthians 2:10-14 continued)
of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak of, not in the words which man 's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing ,spiritual thins with spirit. But the natural man receiveth not the things o the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither y iscerned." can he know them, because the y are spirituall Here I have emphasized two things: one is, that like with the Parable of the Lost Son and the lesson to be learned for the older son, that the things of God are "FREELY GIVEN TO US OF GOD." They are there waiting for us if we but receive them. Secondly, that the things of man, which is `flesh', `the natural man' and even the `carnal minded', cannot be compared with the spiritual. It takes the Spirit of God to reveal and give understanding of the things of God for the natural man - the flesh-centered, carnally minded person - receives not the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to them. And if that person wanted to know them, that person wouldn't be able to understand what was being told him or her because it has to be spiritually discerned — something they are not capable of doing. Sad, indeed. So how does one make the transition and have this troubling sin/stumbling block removed from one's path? Well, it takes repentance but it also take a heart-attitude of humility and being broken before God; it takes a willingness to give up being right or wrong but just broken and surrendered before God through Jesus Christ. It's a matter of taking the position Paul spoke of in 1 Corinthians 8:1-3 — "... knowledge puffeth up, but charity (LOVE) edif eth. And if any man think he
knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know. But if love God, the same is known of him. "
any man
This is an excellent guide for you to know when you are being carnal. How? Well, here it says that when you think you know something -- or in other words, you're so convinced of your position that you can't hear or get upset when someone challenges you or has a different point of view -- then perhaps it's time to take a step back and realize that if you get that closed off and defensive that it is likely you don't know something as you ought to know it.... you just don't have the full picture yet. The difference between that reaction and having a knowing by the Spirit of God is that
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CARNALITY continued with the knowing from God comes a peace and a rest unto your soul to the point where you know it's true by the Spirit of God and no one can threaten that or take it away — you just know and you have the rest of the Lord Jesus to go with it. If you don't have that rest, or peace, then it's time to pray and repent of your carnality that God may reveal by His Spirit the whole truth of the matter. I like what Fenelon wrote in the book, Talking With God . Here he wrote:
"The words of God to the heart are simple and peaceful; they nourish the soul, even if they bring death to it. On the contrary, the words of self-love are full of unevenness, of disturbance, and of emotion, even when they flatter us. To listen for the voice of God without making any plans of our own is to die to our own judgment and to our own will." This brings us to the third stumbling block .... self.
SELF A book could probably be written on this subject alone so there is no way I can cover every aspect here but there are a few points that I wish to write about to broach the subject. To begin with, Jesus made it plain that if anyone was to follow Him, they must deny self. He said this very thing in Matthew 16:24-25
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any man will come after me, let trim deny lritnself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his
life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it." Then in Colossians 3:3 it says this:
"Ifye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." So you can see that to gain our true life in Christ, that deeper Christian life, a price is to be paid and that price is self, which is that of ourselves which was before Christ came into our lives and is tainted with sin and the world. This is the life we must deny and take to the cross, allowing the Blood of Christ to sanctify and make us righteous through His Sacrifice.
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SELF continued It also means that as we give up this former, sinful life that there is a new life to be gained in Christ. However, it is one or the other ... ultimately we cannot have both. The second Scripture continues this message by saying that if you really have put your sins on the cross and you have risen with Christ to the new life in Him; we should be setting our affections' on those things which are from heaven above, not the earth and this world. For if we are truly dead in Christ, which means our self-life is dead in Christ, then our true life is hid and therefore protected with and by Christ in God. Praise God for that!! Unfortunately, this transition from one life to the other rarely happens all at once but rather at stages or in pieces. When it comes to surrendering our lives to God completely, it's like we have our hands wrapped tightly around it and we let go of it one finger at a time such is human nature. When it comes to defining SELF it is basically anything of your own person which seeks to serve and protect itself. Some examples of the ways that self can trip us up are: selfish desires pride self-confidence self-love self-hatred self-loathing self-will self-preservation and so on ..... self-esteem While some of these defense mechanisms may serve to give the illusion of protecting us from harm in this world, more often than not they present real stumbling blocks in our relationship with God, who is now to be our everything and who is to replace all of those things with Himself. Since everyone is unique and different, each believer will need to search his or her own heart and seek God in prayer to see what part of your own self-life is blocking you from having a closer relationship with Jesus. Like unbelief, sometimes we are so used to operating a certain way that we may be unaware of what is at work in us, so we each need to seek to abide in Jesus Christ and ask Him to show us what is at work in us, if it is helpful for us to see, and then give it up to Him, putting it under His precious Blood. If it is not i mportant for us to know the specifics of what is at work in us, that's okay too because Jesus can and will still do His work in us regardless. The main thing I would suggest in praying about giving up your self-life is to also have patience with your self, without flattering or making excuses for your self, but with persistence and patience bearing with your self, quieting your self and giving your all over to God through Jesus Christ. Fenelon wrote that, "Self-love speaks less when it sees
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SELF continued
that we pay no attention to it." You see, it's like our life, our being, is rather like a spaceship complete with a captain's chair. Before we are saved, our self-nature tends to be in control and is the one sitting in the captain's chair of our internal life. It plots our course, it yells "Shields up!" when it perceives danger and sets the tone for much of the way we conduct ourselves in this world. Well, now that we are saved through Jesus Christ, He is supposed to be our new captain, the Lord of our vessel. Unfortunately, our old self doesn't really like giving up command and can often resist this new captain in ways we do not expect. Our self now needs to learn a new, back-seat position in our lives, relinquishing the command chair once and for all time. To do this takes becoming meek and submitted to the new Captain, that a new course and a new way of doing things may be established. To do this, I refer to what Fenelon said when he wrote:
"If you wish to become meek, you must humble yourself. Make yourself little in the depths of your heart. A humble heart is always gentle and capable of being easily led in its center, even if on the surface it may seem rough through unexpected outbursts of a sharp and irritable temper. Watch, pray, and work at this. Bear with yourself without flattering yourself. Let your spiritual reading and your prayer help you to know yourself better, to correct yourself, and to overcome your natural temperament in the presence of God." The only thing I would qualify or explain more about in what he said here is where he wrote "make yourself little in the depths of your heart." This does not mean to beat yourself up or to dwell on self-loathing or self-hatred thoughts. These are counter-productive because when you are that down on yourself, you are actually giving yourself more attention and power — even if it is negative attention — and you indirectly but most certainly saying that you and your problems, shortcomings or whatever, are more powerful than God. It keeps you from giving up the captain's chair in favor of your self— no matter how bad you claim that it is. You are actually putting more faith in your self, and how bad you think you are, than inn God. So this kind of making your self small is actually false humility because true humility knows that God is truly greater than all of your problems and shortcomings, and loves you anyway — He accepts you as you are, warts and all!! The flip side of this is when we start to think that we are `good' all on our own, apart from God and Jesus Christ. As Jesus starts to heal us and forgive us our sins, it is easy for the self-life to want to take some credit for the change. Until the self-life is truly crucified with
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SELF continued Christ it is often looking for ways to get control back and to sit in the captain's chair once again. What should we do when this happens? Well, Fenelon put it this way....
"We must not be surprised if we frequently find in ourselves emotions of pride, of self-complacency, of self-confidence, of desire to follow our own inclination against what is right, of impatience at the weakness of others, or even of annoyance at our own state. In such cases, we must instantly let them drop like some stone to the bottom of the sea, place ourselves again in God, and before acting, wait until we are in such a frame of heart as our recollection can bring forth in us. If the distraction of business, or of tenacity of imagination, should keep us from entering calmly and easily into such a state, we must at least try to be quiet by a steady set of the will and by the desire for such refocusing. In such case, the will to be recollected serves to deprive the soul of its own will and to render it submissive in the hands of God."
THERE IS A PRICE TO BE PAID It seems that whether or not you choose to pursue a deeper Christian life, there is always a price to be paid. There is a price to the be paid to enter in and there is a price of not entering in—it's really up to us. Why do I say this? Well, let's look at the example of Israel in the Bible when they were brought our of bondage to Egypt with Moses leading the way. In a much bigger, broader way their experience is rather like what I have been writing about here in theme. First God's people were brought out of bondage in Egypt, whose slavery was/is like our bondage to sin and the world, with Moses being representative of Jesus in what He would later do for mankind in showing and leading the way out of captivity. Then there was a big transitional period in the wilderness where the people went through trials, tribulations and a sorting/sifting process which revealed the unbelief, carnality and self still so active in God's people. Ultimately it would be that unbelief, carnality and self that would keep a whole generation from entering into the Promised Land. It would be a later generation, after 40 years in the wilderness who would eventually cross over and enter into the Promised Land. Here we can see that letting unbelief, carnality and self reign in one's being has a price — failure to enter into the Promises of God. On the other hand, when someone does want to enter in, there are still trials and hardships to endure especially when paying the price of one's self-life, to humble one's self and to repent of unbelief and carnality, and yet it is a
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THERE IS A PRICE TO BE PAID continued price not without reward — actually receiving and walking in the Promises of God, His Love and His Power. And yet even more fulfilling than that sounds since we will be returning to the One who created us and we will become just who He made us to be. With this said, I know there are still a great many Christians that want the blessings of God without paying any price for them. For them I know that Jesus, in His Love and Grace, will not abandon them and He will answer many of their prayers even if they do not prefer to go any closer to Him. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. However, in the end, I can't help but believe you are really missing out what God has for you, and you are hurting yourself as you fail to become who God truly made you to be, and to live and dwell more completely in His Love for you. In closing, I will leave you with these words of encouragement from Andrew Murray. Please consider them in prayer.
"Come as a receptacle — cleansed, emptied and humble. Come and then God will delight to give. With reverence I say, He cannot help Himself. It is His promise, His nature. The blessing is ever flowing out of Him. You know how water alwa y s flows to the lowest places. If we would but be emptied and lowly, nothing but receptacles, what a blessed life we could live! Daily praising Him — He gives and I accept. He bestows and I rejoice to receive."
May God bless you on your journey to the deeper Christian life. ez r()