Desire of Ages
Chapter 41
The Crisis in Galilee
I get a bit in a bind when I approach chosen ones to offer them the plan of salvation. My natural approach is in the direction of talking about the Lord as being the one and only who can loosen the knot of problems which they have due to the cause and effect of making wrong decisions. It sounds sometimes, when I listen to my own attemps at sharing Christ to others, that I empasize freedom from guilt and suffering, or perhaps offering the how to have a clear clean connection with the Creator, for the sake of having it better in life. This apparently is not always the right stress I should use when choosing words to relay to them their need of Jesus as Savior.
Though I use the Bill Bright's 4 spiritual laws a lot, but it has it's limitations. I still need coaching in methods when I am willing to be used for as an instrument for the Holy Spirit to awaken the heart of another to let loose of the 'world' and give total allegience to Christ as Lord. To so influence people who then made a decision to have Jesus on the throne of their lives, has aborted many times into producing 'rice-christians'. Those who join up only for the sake of material worldy advantage or to put it in the venacular '...what's-in-it-for-me?' type of conversion decisions. Sure they have been converted but not to the Lord as Lord over their lives.
Most want temporal relief from a problem or physical pain/sickness. Having been exposed to the 'heavenly barley loaves miracle' for themselves in their lives, they start off quite happy in their new walk. But I have seen a few defect from their commitment when the going got tough for denying lusts or dying to self.
Jesus declaring 'I am the bread of Life' is important for me to relay to others when and how they are to stay in the faith during the process of santification. Feeding on Him. Feeding daily on all the words coming from the mouth of the Lord. Getting the new converts to experience as Jeremiah did "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart." Jer. 15:16.. So how does the principle of truth in " He that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst" get to be reality in our lives as followers of Christ ?
The beginning of the walk of righteousness happens when "those of us see Christ in His true Character, and receive Him into the heart". Then we have the promise of eternal life. " It is through the Spirit that Christ dwells in us; and the Spirit of God, received into the heart by faith, is the beginning of eternal life. The nourishment of and for this life to keep it alive is Jesus. We need to experience the secret of spiritually eating from Him. This is spiritually to be discerned. Figurely speaking in symbolic icons is often a veil-like clouding of the mind of many, but for those who have the spark of understanding from the Holy Spirit Himself these words fit to the 'T'.
Very important indeed is to understand the symbolism of the Passa lamb eaten with the bread and drink of wine ceremony. Also the original Passah in Egypt with the meaning of the blood sprinkled on the doorposts from the killing of an innocent lamb.
"To eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ is to receive Him as personal Saviour, believing that He forgives our sins, and that we are complete in Him. It is by beholding His love, by dwelling upon it, by drrinking it in, that we are to become partakers of His nature. ....So Christ is of no value to us if we do not know Hima as a persona Saviour. A theoretical knowledge will do us no good. W must feed upon Him, receive Him into the heart, so that His life becomes our life. His love, His grace, must be assimilated."
"So fully was Jesus surrendered to the will of God that the Father alone appeared in His life. As the Son of God lived by faith in the Father, so are we to live by faith in Christ. Although tempted in all points like as we are, He stood before the world untainted by the evil that surrounded Him. Thus we also are to overcome as Christ overcame."
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Prayer : Lord Jesus I pray for myself and my brethern here on Online. Where those of us have grown cold in our first love to you, where those of us languishing in our former zeal, lift us up to new strenght when we turn to you for nourishment. Lead us to eat of your flesh and drink of your blood. Make these mysteries a reality for us please. Bind us in a closeness to you and the Father which you see as unity. For your kingdom's glory, in your name I pray, Amen.
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Folks, we are dealing with the writing mentality of Jewishness. We are having to put aside the Greek/Roman way of mathematical thinking to adapt to the oriental way of seeing concepts and truths in figurative speech. He is the Word. So though He is visibly withdrawn from us His word is still with us. The whole bible is a manisfestation of Christ. Don't let listening to tapes of good speakers be a substitue for reading bible portions to allow Christ to speak to you directly personally. Don't let a sermon on Sabbath make due for the whole week as a spiritual meal. It leads to then a very shallow weak christian life during the week. That's unhealthy spiritually when we live only on spritual rehash of others. Others eating, chewing, digesting and regurgetating then giving it to us for our benefit is a fine addition but shouldn't be our main stay. We have to be eating ourselves from Jesus direct to have the power promised. "We are not to obtain it through the medium of another's mind".
Bible study for it's own sake, friends, is the solution. When we ask for the Holy Spirit to enlighten our understanding then such does take place. Ascertain the principle of thought that God has put into the verse you are reading for yourself. Concentrate until it becomes a "thus saith the Lord" for you. Assimilate the principles of the truth you see in the text until they become a part of your being. Let them be the motivation behind the daily decisions you have to make. Talk to God and ask him to let His word mold the thoughts that you have. In so doing the habits of bad thinking go and the character grows into the likeness of Jesus.
Stay a while in the Psalms and the Holy Spirit will come to you as the Comforter, stay a while in the prophets and He will come to you as the future judge and King, go to the gospels and experience him as the servant merciful compassionate one. Each book or letter glows with the personality and character of God. The goal of heaven is that we who receive Him will partake of His nature and conform to His character. The conditions we're called to are to relinquish selfish ambitions, make a complete surrender of yourself to Jesus, become self-sacrificing, meek and lowly in heart "..if we are to share in the gift of life and the glory of heaven."
We may be called to a life of poverty, or a life of sacrifice, or a life of nondescript without acclaim by men. We may have to do with a life of being tied to a commitment of duty with no respite. If we have relenquished our dreams and goals for the Will of God to be lived out in our lives than it is not important which position we have in the kingdom of God on earth. In due time He will exalt us.
If a person's heart is not open to the Holy Spirit, then God can not draw him to Him. When the Holy Spirit kindles faith in the person, he begins to see the glory of God in Jesus. "When truth is brought home to the hearts, they see that their lives are not in accordance with the will of God."
~~~~~~~~~ Joan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~