Do you belong to Christ?

Gal 5:19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,
Gal 5:20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
Gal 5:21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
Gal 5:24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
(emphasis added)

That last verse has really struck me. If you are Christ’s, you have (not “are trying to”) crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

What does that mean if you know you’re saved, but you’re manifesting the works of the flesh?

Hsa 10:2 Their heart is divided; Now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars.

Our first state when we are saved is that of a divided heart:

Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

So, we have surrendered parts of our lives to Him, but there are parts that still do not belong to Christ.

We must pray like David:

Psa 86:11 Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.
(emphasis added)

Even if there are areas of our life that we are currently struggling with, and don’t want to hand over, we must continue to pray for the strength and grace to do so, and seek to encounter Him in prayer and worship until His presence changes our hearts.

This is a real revelation for me, because I have viewed a lot of scriptures like Galatians 5:24 in the past with a lot of self-condemnation. “How can I belong to Christ if I am manifesting so much bad fruit?” I pray we will all find the grace to continue walking out our salvation with fear and trembling (but also with hope, confidence and joy, knowing both the terror and the delight of the Lord).

The body!

I didn’t have time to do a full study on it yet, but this sunday morning I really got an appreciation for the body of Christ. It’s amazing how much being around my church family lifted my spirit.

I keep falling back into the “it’s just me and Jesus” loner mentality… God keeps having to bring me back to the revelation of what the body of Christ is, and is for.

Although I’ve had some really incredible one-on-one encounters with the Lord, we are generally fed through our connections in the body of Christ.

I pray that as the time for the bridegroom’s return hastens, He would mold the body of Christ into the image of a true body, no longer limbs scattered about as they themselves see fit.

P.S., I just realized that “word press” is “gath davar” in Hebrew.

Signing off…

Well, I’m not going to make it on the nightwatch tonight… I’m just way too tired. Hopefully next friday.

On the nightwatch again

…and not ready for it, in any sense of the word.

It’s been a rough week, and I’ve been rather cold and sleepy at heart. I’m looking forward to getting warmed back up, and the spiritual cruft knocked off my heart.

The teaching is about to begin for the Friday ECS, so more details later…

The fear of the Lord

It’s funny… Today (friday afternoon), I went over to a friend of mine at work, and I told him, “You have to help me, I’m almost beginning to think that I’m a good person.” He said, “Uh-oh,” and we spoke about the fear of the Lord, and the understanding that we are fallen man who has been graced with this unbelievable opportunity to seek out the heart, ways and knowledge of God. (I was speaking about pride; If we have Christ dwelling within us, then the good Person will be manifest within us.)

I listened to the Friday night Encountering God Service at IHOP earlier, and I was really gripped with the fear of the Lord, and concern about what direction my life is really going.

The part that grabbed me the most was this testimony by Mike Bickle:

In my encounter in the Spirit (Oct. 78), Jesus said, “You are saved but your life was wasted.” I protested, “You have the wrong person.” The idea came to my spirit that it is impossible to manipulate Jesus. I cried, “Can I have another chance?” The idea came that is appointed unto a person to die once then comes the judgment (Heb. 9:27). I wept with a profound sense of loss and regret. Then suddenly I was awake being on my knees by my bed. What matters most about our life is what Jesus thinks when our eyes meet. I must fear “regret” more than anything else.

And this wonderful scripture:

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.
14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.
15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
I Corinthians 3:11-15

I had to really pray about what the Lord wanted to do with my life, and align my heart with His. It was an awesome thing to think that after a life of “serving” Him, one could arrive in heaven scorched, with nothing to show for 60-70 years of life. The thing that really troubled me about Mike’s testimony was that He said that even in that point of His walk, he was very diligent about seeking the things of God and having a life of prayer — so we can see that even a person with a very sincere and real life in God is in dire danger of having all wood, hay and stubble/straw.

I pray that we all will contemplate the word of God and the fear of the Lord, and seek direction for our life as long as we have it. Another thing that he said during the service was:

Our works follow us but not all of them. Some leave no lasting value. We do not need to put off proving our work to the future. I pray, “Lord, shock me now, do not wait until then.”

I hope that we will have open hearts to be able to receive a shocking command from the Lord.

The official notes from the session are here.

humbled

I got challenged twice yesterday. Once by a dear brother who was challenging me and calling me to sobriety concerning the consistency in which I live my life. Then at our tuesday night prayer meeting, I got the sense that while the Lord was there, He was holding back to some degree because of the unpreparedness of my heart. It’s one thing to join in a chorus, it’s another thing to be given a place of leadership… this terrifies me with a godly fear.

Lust

0518 and all is very well on the Nightwatch

Here are some scriptures on lust, in case we forget what the Bible says about it (let us not forget)

Pro 6:25 Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, Nor let her allure you with her eyelids.
Pro 11:6 The righteousness of the upright will deliver them, But the unfaithful will be caught by [their] lust.
Eze 23:11 “Now although her sister Oholibah saw [this], she became more corrupt in her lust than she, and in her harlotry more corrupt than her sister’s harlotry.
Mat 5:28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Rom 1:27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
Rom 13:13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.
1Cr 10:6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.
Gal 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
1Th 4:5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
Jam 4:2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet* you do not have because you do not ask.
2Pe 1:4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption [that is] in the world through lust.
2Pe 2:10 and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. [They are] presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries,
1Jo 2:16 For all that [is] in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world.
1Jo 2:17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

The knowledge of God

0433 and all is well on the Nightwatch

“knowledge of God” is the most awesome query I’ve ever punched in to a bible search engine. Here’s the results:

Pro 2:5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God.
Hsa 4:1 Hear the word of the LORD, You children of Israel, For the LORD [brings] a charge against the inhabitants of the land: “There is no truth or mercy Or knowledge of God in the land.
Hsa 6:6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Rom 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable [are] His judgments and His ways past finding out!
1Cr 15:34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak [this] to your shame.
2Cr 10:5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Col 1:10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing [Him], being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
2Pe 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,

That’s just awesome. It makes me think of an incredible song by Misty Edwards, “Something bigger’s going on,” where she sings,

“fill me with the knowledge of God,
with the knowledge of You,
with the knowledge of the Holy, Holy!”

Our Spiritual Identity

(0300 and all is well!)

From Mike Bickle’s excellent notes from tonight’s (last night’s?) Encountering God Service at IHOP:

Our core spiritual identity – Are we essentially a slave to sin who struggles to love God? Or are we essentially a lover of God who still struggle with sin? Are you a hopeless hypocrite who is trying in a futile attempt to love God or are you an authentic lover of God who is still struggling?

The Kingdom of God

BTW, 0200 and all is well (still awake and alive on the Nightwatch)

Here’s a thought… what is the Kingdom of God?

Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

I’ve heard a lot of preaching that would indicate that the Kingdom of God consists of all of the businesses owned by christians, and all of the countries run by christians. While that is a very real aspect of the Kingdom of God, it isn’t the primary one. The main land that Christ is interested in isn’t physical real-estate, but rather the hearts of men (and women, of course). So what is it really to be in the kingdom of God? What is the kingdom of God?

The kingdom of God is the state in which God’s will and presence is manifest. When I open my heart up to the Lord, and ask Him to have His way in my life, the kingdom of God is being manifest within me, and I am walking around as an encapsulated bubble of the kingdom of God in a world that is completely anti-Christ and lying in the wicked one (I John 5:19).

Here’s the powerful thing: when those who have come under the authority and government of God begin to walk together in unity as a true expression of the body of Christ (and not just a bunch of unrelated people living separate lives and meeting once a week), the power of that expression of the Kingdom of God increases exponentially!

While the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are the same concept, I believe that from the context of where the bible differentiates between the Kingdom of heaven and the Kingdom of God, that the Kingdom of heaven refers to the eventuality of God’s will being manifest in totality on the earth, while the Kingdom of God seems to refer to the will of God being manifest in men on the earth today.