Christian Living
Death Brings Life
By: Rick L. King
September, 15, 2011
Death comes in two ways. We get old and die physically and we die to our flesh during being alive. We get saved and have a new nature. We have a new driving force within us that causes us to desire the spiritual things over the natural things. Though this is a process, we must die to live.
A seed must be planted in the ground and die, in order for it to live and bear fruit. Just like the seed, we must die to live. As we die to self the more the spirit of God is able to be in control. It is like a balancing scale as one side goes down the other raises up. The more that we die or go down the more the Holy Spirit is in control. We are to be led by the spirit. We are to walk in the spirit. We can’t do this if we are in control. We must give up all of our control and let Him be Lord of all.
Mt 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
Contrary to much teaching that is going around today, we must lose our life to find it. We are told by the world and even in many churches that so many worldly things will bring to us life. We are told that having a job, money, position, a nice house or car, vacations to far away places, are what life is about. This is so far from the truth. All these creature comforts are one day going to all pass away. We can’t take these to Heaven either. Sure they make our flesh feel good and build our pride and ego, but they are but a substitute for the real. These are all just a deception of the enemy to keep our focus on all the wrong things. We must become single-minded and focus on what does He want alone.
We are told in:
Mr 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
It is the spirit alone that gives life. The flesh profits nothing. Maybe it seems that way from a worldly perspective, yet we are not to be of this world. Scripture says that we are in this world but not of it. We are a spirit being just like God is, and we are living in a fleshly body. The flesh is not who we really are. Our spirit is the real us.
John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
The cares of this world and riches are deceitful. They keep our focus on “things” rather than on God and the things of the spirit. Many people have no concept of the walk in the Spirit. They may have gotten saved but they are still so alive in their flesh. They have not tasted the things of the spirit yet. I am not condemning anyone especially as people can only walk in what they know or have been taught. They can’t do what they don’t know. Many churches do not even tell people what is available in God. They teach the flesh doing things. The problem is this will never satisfy a person or bring real life to them. This will never prepare them for eternity. Many have never really tasted of the Lord. They have had a form of godliness but have denied the power thereof.
The real issue is that for the most part, people have a worldly temporal viewpoint instead of a heavenly eternal one. People live as though their life here on earth and what they do here or accomplish is the real life. The problem is this kingdom built by man will not last. It will die just like us. God on the other hand has us on this earth as preparation for eternity. The more that we draw near to Him and find intimacy with Him, the more that eternity will be for us when we get there. We are to rule and reign with Him in eternity. Our life here on earth is to draw near to Him, become like Him, learn that the best thing we could ever have is Him. We learn to die to self and resist the devil as we learn that neither is the right way to go. Heaven will be a real shock I think to so many as it will be so foreign to them. If we learn here on earth the things of the Spirit, it will be more of a natural transition as we learned to live in the spirit here.
Dying to self is no fun. Paul said that he died daily. I understand what he meant. I have learned that what I want or desire really is not important. We get so much prosperity teaching these days but it only satisfies the flesh. We can’t serve God and mammon though many ministries seem to be doing this. Seems it is not so much about the power of God, it is more about money so they can do the things that they want to do. Too bad that much is just works and doesn’t impress the Lord at all. He will ask us; ”but did you do my will?” God’s perfect will is that we lose our life in Him. His will is that it becomes not about me or my wants or desires, but it becomes only about what He wants or desires. I chuckle sadly many times when I hear people pray. So many are asking God to come into agreement with what they think or want instead of spending time with the Lord in prayer, praise, and warfare, and finding out what he wants and then coming into agreement with Him. The church for the most part has this so backwards. Who is serving whom? We are to be serving Him, Jesus himself gave up his own will to do the will of the Father. He did what He saw the Father do and spoke what He heard the Father say. In other words, He walked by the spirit. He was led by the Holy Spirit. He did not do the things that He wanted. He was obedient even unto death. Jesus was crucified on the cross but do you realize that His flesh was crucified before that? He died to self so that he could fulfill being the example of what is expected of us. We are told:
Ga 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Ga 5:24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
According to the above passages we are to be crucified with Christ and it be only Christ living in and through us. If we are Christ’s'’, then our flesh with its lusts and passions are crucified. We can be saved but until we totally surrender and allow the Holy Spirit to lead, rule, and reign, we are not really Christ’s. He is not Lord of all of us, just part. We are still living to please self. We are still trying to build our own kingdom. In Heaven there is but one kingdom and it is God’s. Our kingdoms will not be there. Satan tried that already and got evicted. When we try this we are walking in agreement with the devil instead of God. Hard to look at it that way yet it is the truth. We are following the same path as the devil did when what we want is more important that what God wants. It makes us lord instead of Jesus being our Lord. We know that we are on the correct path when our heart cries out for God’s kingdom, power, and will, and the things of this world are not even desired any more. We can then be assured that we are walking by our spirit man instead of our fleshly carnal man. We will want to see His Kingdom established instead of our own. We will be as Jesus when he says, “Not my will but thine be done”. Can we honestly say that this is our deepest desire? If not then we have some dying to do so that we may find true life in Him.
Comments or? Please contact me via my email at [email protected]. Note that there is an underscore ( _ ) between the r and k in my email address. Thanks!
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