|
Saints, it's time that we surrender one hundred percent ourselves to Jesus and turn our faces from everything not right, holy or pure. We are here to love Him and live
for Him with every atom of our being. DEUTERONOMY 6: 23 -"He brought us out from there, that he might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers"
He brought us out that He might bring us in. He brought us out to bring us in.
He brought us out of Egypt and He bring us into promised land. Some of us are out, but some of us are not in yet. It is time to come in to the place of rest. It is time to
enter into the promised land. The Bible declares that the promises of God are for now.
The Bible declares that He brought them out but some don't get in. Why? Because of sin.
Sin itself that will keep you out of the place of rest and peace. For they came to the gates of Canaan but they never enter there. They stand in the threshold but they perish
in their sin. They missed it and turned right back. The people who not rebelled was Caleb and Joshue. Moses and others never saw the place of milk and honey. We can learn it in
I CORINTHIANS 10: 11 - "Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come."
Everything happened to Israel, we must pay close attention to. We walk in shadow, we walk in substance. They were type, we have reality of that type. Old Testament is Life.
Many are still in the wilderness. God wants you to go through it but don't to live in it.
What is the key that will take us out of the wilderness and bring us to the land of promise.
When you begin to look on Israel, you will understand what kept them out of the land.
Before we can see what can bring us in, let's see what can keep us out of God's promises.
God was not intend to keep Israel wandering for forty years. To cross the desert will take them easy eleven days, but they were wondering there for forty years. NUMBERS 14: 34
For every day of rebellion God put year in wilderness: "According to the number of the days in which you spied out of the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely
forty years, and you shall know My rejection."
What was the main cause from keeping them out of land of promise?
The biggest enemy, the greatest problem you are facing today is not the devil.
The biggest enemy, the greatest problem is you. Satan has been defeated, Satan is defeated. He is no longer running this world. Jesus won over him two thousand years ago
When Jesus said: It is finished, He meant: It is finished! The only reason he is staying alive so he is here to train you for victory. God is allowing devil to train His
people. But he is defeated foe. But is something which is not defeated yet. It is called - self.
It was the reason why the Israel has never made the promised land. God give us a choice between Him and self. Let look at the garden of Eden. The tree of Life - symbolic of
Jesus and tree of Knowledge good and evil - symbolic of self. But what more do you want when you have full knowledge of God Almighty. When you are living with fellowship with God.
When everything is peaceful and you have a total dominion. Adam had everything God offered him - the world, the fellowship with God, he had glory all over him. But God put a
trees in the garden to give Adam the choice. God created Adam with ability to choose for love Him or not. We are only creatures with choice on this earth.
God put these trees in garden of Eden and He wants to see what is Adam's choice:
Life or death. Good and evil deals with the knowledge of good and evil. Why you want to know evil when you already know good, when you know goodness of God, His glory.
Why you only have a desire to know the wicked. When you see the devil to come to you and tempt you with saying: Has God said? He approach you with a question. What was his
offer? His offer was that you will be like God. God isn't God. You are God. Not God but self, and when Adam accepted this offer he loose God's knowledge and power of God in his life. Adam's choice was
for Adam: Here is yourself, you can do everything you want.
When he allowed self to become God he perished. Today the choice is still there: Jesus or self. We still have a choice between Life or death, between God or self.
Your biggest enemy today is yourself.
But your self was deal on the cross for your self was not born again. It is rotten as ever been. Jesus didn't come to save self. He came to crucify and to destroy self. Self is your biggest problem today. Because he wants to control you. He wants to be king in your life. The wilderness experience was self arisen and speaks of carnality. The unspiritual Christian is a carnal Christian. He is still bound to the wilderness. But Cannan - the promised land is heavenly places in Christ Jesus. For most of us had come out of Egypt as the symbolic of the world, but many still are in the wilderness.
Wilderness is to be saved from sin but not from self. How many of you want to see self out and Jesus in? Have many of you want victoriously day in and day out? You see that God is interested
in crucify self, in destroying your old self. I CORINTHIANS 2: 14 says:
"For the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned."
First lets us take unbeliever, natural man who still lives in Egypt and after carnal Christian who still lives in wilderness and real believer, real Christian who enter
promised land.
Natural man is unsaved man for he is bound to the material world. He is blind to the spiritual world. He is so bound to the material world that God is the flesh - money.
He is blind to spiritual world, he cannot see spiritually. They lack the Spirit of God.
The Bible declares that when we lack the Holy Ghost we not of His belonging.
Natural man is bound to material world and he is blind to the spiritual world.
Carnal Christian is out of Egypt but not in the promised land yet. ROMANS 7 is the address? He is saved, he is out of Egypt, but self rules in his life. We all go through this
battle. We all after born again experience will go through it. But please don't stay in it.
The wilderness experience is not permanent location. God wants you out of wilderness.
Who wants to stay with snakes all around you? With desert all around you with no water?
Who wants to stay in the place with sun that can kill you? No, we are waiting for the promised land. But what is the wilderness? It the place where self rules, when is
question: Forget God, we are going back to Egypt. We want what we want, not what God wants.
Paul reach the place one day when he recognised breakthrough from carnality to spirituality.
If you get there it is beginning of revival in your life. ROMANS 7: 24 brings you breakthrough if you reach this verse in your life. ROMANS 7: 24 declares:
"O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
The day you recognised you are the wretched man is the day that you are to be delivered.
When you admit that is no good thing in you it is God who will deliver you from self.
The day when you say: O wretched man that I am is the day of your deliverance from self.
"O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death?
When you recognise that your body is death body, that self is wretched as your biggest enemy. God Almighty does not want my best. He wants my death to my self.
Don't give God your best, your best is your enemy. He is looking for your death not your best. For Paul said: Is nothing good in me. God says: I don't want your best, I want
your death. The flesh is His abomination for no flesh shall glory in the presence of the Lord.
I, I, I, I must go out of your nature. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus must get in into your life.
You need deliverance from "I" trouble. Tell me: are this trouble is still in you?
Are you touchy? Do you struggle for position of honour or praise? Do you serve?
If you sensitive and get hurt when none recognise you - self is still alive and not crucified.
You are full of self-defence, self -recognition. If these things still in you , you are still in the wilderness. Jesus will deliver you from the wilderness. When you reach
place when you cry
"O wretched man that I am! you on your way to get out. Second you see wretchedness - it is hope. Like Peter cried - "O Lord I am sinful man! and
Paul: "O wretched man I am.
Admit your worthlessness. We have nothing to give Him. When you see how dirty you are, how sinful you are, He will come and deliver you. It's not my doing, it's His doing.
I pray that will change your life today. ROMANS 8: 7 and 8 declares: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor
indeed can be.
So then, those who are in flesh cannot please God." Self is the enemy of God.
It is impossible to please God in sinful flesh. Flesh cannot fight against flesh.
It is like a blind leading a blind. When you cry like Paul: "O wretched man what can I do?
Our spirit is reborn, but our flesh is still rotten and deadly as ever before.
Self will not die - it must be crucify. When self will die then Jesus comes. You never kill self, you must crucify self and keep it on the cross. Self did not improve since we
were born again. It is still your biggest enemy in spiritual life. Jesus did not come to improve self, He comes to replace it. His requirement is to keep self on the cross, so I can live in you.
It is when Paul said: It is no longer I live, but Christ is living in me. GALATIANS 2: 20 -
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me.
It is not longer I, but Christ in me. I cannot improve myself, I cannot discipline myself, I cannot dedicate self to God. I must crucify self. Now you admitted that you
wretched man. When I admit I am wretched man, I am on my way out of the wilderness.
A man who knows how to surround is a man God can use mightily. LUKE 9: 23 says:
"Then He said to them all, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." How we deny
self, how we are doing?
The Bible tells us how in ROMANS 6: 11, 12 - "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do
not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from
the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."
How do I deny self - by not yielding into sin. You have a choice to say "no" to sin.
Will be no temptation which can overtake you. Just say "No". Yield your members to God.
Jesus said that you must deny self and follow Him. Reckon yourself as you been dead and says: Do not
yield yourself to sin but instead yield yourself to God. I deny self when I do not yield to sin and when I yield to God sin will not have dominion over me.
ROMANS 6: 14 declares: "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the Law but under Grace." When sin does not touch me and flesh does
not run me.
You must have a desire for flesh to die. Just say "yes" to God. Yield to His power and He will do it. The law of universe is all sacrifice. Self will is the mother
all of enmity.
Devil can not touch you when you are still on the cross. He cannot steal your life and destroy. The place of safety is the cross. The cross is when God is giving you all power.
If devil cannot get you at once, he will use your friends. Devil cannot touch you on cross.
When you get to the cross - bind yourself on it. Your life must be bound to the cross.
PSALM 118: 27 declares: "God is the LORD, and He has given us light;
Bind sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar."
You know when you off the cross - the self pity is coming to your life, if you resentful.
If you refuse to accept blame for things you have done. You remember Adam answer:
"She made me do it" You not will be willing to say: "I say it, I should be blame for it."
But God says: "I forgive and forget." When is self justification - you are not in the cross.
Self will is the mother of all sin. But Lord told you to come and yield to the cross.
And you realise that is the price to pay. Count the cost : said Jesus before you follow me.
Count the cost before You follow Jesus. You know how yield to the cross.
LUKE 14: 26 declares: "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life, he cannot be My
disciple."
LUKE 14: 33 declares: "So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." So what is the solution of counting the cost
yielding to the cross?
We all must count the costs before you want to follow Jesus. JOHN 12: 24 declares:
"Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,
it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. JOHN 12: 25 declares:
"He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it
for eternal life." Father God, make me most of my life by losing it in Jesus Name.
Battles are won by teaching soldiers how to avoid death. Death is not a pleasant subject but remember victory over flesh is just around corner. What is a true
Christian?
This is the kind of life, he wants us to live. Pray that this kind of life will be you.
He said: Love your enemy, Bless those who curse you. do good to them who hate you,
pray for them which despitevly use you, that you may be child of your father which is in heaven. Be than perfect in love as your father in heaven. The solution is: When Holy
Spirit takes you over you will be able to love your enemies, do good to them who hate you...
"O Dear God, Hear my Prayer, I cannot crucify my own self, I cannot nail my own to the cross, but I ask you today, Jesus - take my flesh and nail it to the cross. I
ask you Holy Spirit, crucify my flesh, so I can say: It's no longer I live, but Christ is living in me, and a life that now I live, I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave His life
for me. O, Spirit of God do the work in me, show me my wretchedness, show me my sin, lead me to the cross, keep me on the cross, where Satan cannot touch me. In Jesus' Name. Amen."
|
