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Friday, November
14, 2008
From Here To Eternity
Luke 9:23-26 And he said to them all, If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me. (24) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but
whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. (25) For
what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or
be cast away? (26) For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of
him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory,
and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. (KJV)
What’s it going to take to get from here
to the eternal inheritance? Well, our Lord spells it out quite simply, and
now it is a matter of seeing who will respond. Our Lord makes reference to
a cross which He says needs to be taken up on a daily basis in order to
follow Him. Are you really willing to lose your life? Because that is the only
way you will truly find the eternal life that is available in Christ. Will
you be ashamed at what the Lord is asking you to let go of or walk away
from, even if it is someone or something near and dear to you? Because if
you are ashamed of Him and what He is asking then the end result will be,
shame on you as well. Have you truly counted the cost of your salvation?
Because simply put, for you to truly inherit eternal life you will have to
die to this one.
Philippians 3:7-10 But what things were
gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. (8) Yea doubtless, and I count
all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my
Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them
but dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having mine
own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (10) That I may know
him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings,
being made conformable unto his death; (KJV)
Paul was used of God in a mighty way,
because simply put he got out of the way and allowed God to have His way
with him. In fact the things of his past that he considered to be gain were
now in the loss column so that he could win the approval of Christ. The
only way in which that was accomplished was by his willingness to be made
conformable unto His death, which was by crucifying his own desires. Again
in order to experience a resurrection and the power in it he had to die
first. So what is your mindset today, is it more eternal or temporal, are
you holding to this life or are you dying to inherit your eternal one?
Philippians 1:21-24 For to me to live is
Christ, and to die is gain. (22) But if I live in the flesh, this is the
fruit of my labour: yet what I shall choose I wot not. (23) For I am in a
strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which
is far better: (24) Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for
you. (KJV)
You know the more you see and experience
the eternal realm, the less you wish to partake of this fallen one. For
many though, rather than die to self they hold more to the things of this
world and never truly experience a resurrection into the new life Christ
has for them. If you truly desire to move forward in your walk with the
Lord and experience His love, then it can only happen by letting go of the
things or people that are unhealthy to your walk that you think you need to
gain approval from. What things you considered gain in your past must now
be counted as loss so that you don’t end up lost for eternity.
1 Timothy 6:5-8 Perverse disputings of
men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is
godliness: from such withdraw thyself. (6) But godliness with contentment
is great gain. (7) For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out. (8) And having food and raiment let us be
therewith content. (KJV)
What do you consider gain; is it coming
to a working knowledge of Christ, or is it the things of this life that
would keep you in darkness to the realm of the Spirit? Are you truly
content with the fact that you have a firm grasp on God’s plan of salvation
and what He is asking of you, or are you looking for something else that
you think will fill that void in your heart? There are a lot of cheap
imitations out there in the world, and the more you hold on to the things
or the people of it, the more of an open target you leave for the enemy to
fire a dart your way.
Mark 4:15-19 And these are they by the
way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh
immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. (16)
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they
have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; (17) And have no
root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when
affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are
offended. (18) And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear
the word, (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. (KJV)
You think this can’t happen to you? Well,
remember Church this Word was written to God’s people. What we see in the
above examples are people that hear the Word and endure for a season but
don’t become rooted and grounded in truth, but rather are ashamed and fall
away. Things that they considered to be gain were not what the Lord said
would gain His approval, so they eventually fall away by the wayside and
become unfruitful. Nothing really that complicated in the above situations;
a simple formula that if followed will lead to eternal life, while those
that don’t count the cost and are not willing to lay down their lives will
have to answer the question to God Himself personally, what did I think
this world had to offer that was more important than what God was offering?
Luke 14:26-30 If any man come to me, and
hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. (27) And
whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
(28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first,
and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (29) Lest
haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all
that behold it begin to mock him, (30) Saying, This man began to build, and
was not able to finish. (KJV)
Are you going all the way, from here to
eternity, or will you get stuck in this realm and not finish the course?
You will need to do a personal inventory for yourself and be ready and
willing to let go of anything or anyone that our Lord says is a hindrance
to your walk and needs to be let go of in order to move forward with Him.
Remember, is gaining the approval of anyone else worth losing your soul
for? Only you can decide that for yourself if you truly desire to inherit
what is rightfully yours.
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