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Author
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Topic: Influenced By The World
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Dwayne
Community Member
Member # 2246
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posted
I agree with what you are saying brother....... ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
Making Christ acceptable to men instead of making men acceptable to Christ! We need to elaborate more then talk of symptoms you mentioned but how to overcome!
VICTORY!
The problem with most Christians, and I especially speak of those who truly love the Lord, is that they attempt to fight battles which Jesus has already fought and won. If Satan can maneuver us into this position and spiritual posture, he will defeat us every time. To be brief, at the Cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ defeated every enemy, and defeated them completely (Col. 2:14-15). We must understand that every single victory He won, all bought by His Precious Blood, was done entirely for you and me. In other words, He didn't come down to this world for Himself, or for Heaven, but rather for you and me. We must never forget that. All the great things He did, all of the ministry, healings, and miracles, and all that He accomplished at the Cross, all in totality were done strictly and totally for us, and not at all for Himself. Therefore, understanding that He did all of this for us, we should surely understand as well that He wants us to have all of the victory which He has purchased, and especially considering that He purchased it at such great price - the giving of Himself on the Cross. Knowing that He left nothing undone at the Cross, that every single thing Adam lost in the Fall was totally and completely addressed at the Cross, there is no reason for a single Christian to walk in defeat in any capacity. If we do walk in defeat, it's simply because we do not know and understand God's prescribed order of victory. You don't need to fight battles that Jesus has already fought and won! You don't need to fight the Devil and demon spirits, which Jesus has already defeated at the Cross. There is only one fight in which you should be engaged, and that is "the good fight of Faith" (I Tim. 6:12).
THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH
To obtain all of these great and wonderful things which the Lord has done for us at the Cross, our only requirement is that we evidence Faith in Christ and His Finished Work (Rom. 5:1-2). Satan will fight you as a Believer in the realm of your faith, more so than he does in any other manner. In fact, every single attack leveled against a Believer by Satan, whether it be physical, material, financial, domestical, or spiritual is all for one purpose, and that is to destroy, or at least seriously weaken your faith. He wants you to lose faith altogether, and barring that, at least to get you to shift your Faith from the Cross of Christ to other things. To be sure, he doesn't too very much care what the other things are, just as long as your faith is moved from the Cross. Regrettably, he has been very, very successful with many, if not most, Christians. The faith of most is not in "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified" (I Cor. 1:23; 2:2, 5), but rather in Jesus Christ and the Church, or Jesus Christ and our giving of money, or Jesus Christ and the good works that we accomplish, etc. No, without exception, it's always "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified," or else while it may continue to be faith, it's not faith that God will recognize. Spiritually speaking, I fought Jebusites, and Girgasites, etc., for years. I fought bravely, and faithfully, but the truth was, I was fighting a battle that had long since been fought and won. In such a conflict, the Holy Spirit will not help the Believer, and to be sure, without the help of the Holy Spirit we simply cannot overcome the spirit of world as you mentioned.
THE HOLY SPIRIT
Whenever we fight correctly, which is to fight the good fight of Faith, which refers to having Faith in Christ and what He did at the Cross, irrespective of what Satan may then try to do, the Holy Spirit will stop him forthwith. Please understand that Satan doesn't mind tangling with us whatsoever, but he wants no part of the Holy Spirit. That should be obvious, considering that the Holy Spirit is God. It's a wonderful thing to win battles, but it's even better not to have to fight the battle. And we as Believers do not have to fight that which has already been fought. Jesus Christ is our Champion. He is the Conqueror, and as stated, He did all of this for you and me. That's one of the reasons that He said: "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Mat. 11:28).
REST
It's sad, but when many Christians think of living for the Lord, they think of a fight, a struggle, etc. And please believe me, I know that feeling. But haven't we stopped to think that this does not coincide with what Jesus said? He said that He would give us "rest," not more fight or struggle. What did He mean by that? He simply meant that He would fight for us, which He did at the Cross, and there defeated every power of darkness (Col. 2:14-15). The way we live, and I refer to our attempts to live for God, I sometimes think that most Christians do not really understand the "Finished Work of Christ." What does that mean?
THE FINISHED WORK
On the Cross, even moments before He died, it is fairly certain that the last Words that Jesus said were, "It is finished: Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit" (Jn. 19:30; Lk. 23:46). At the moment He said that, the Scripture says, "And, behold, the Veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the Earth did quake, and the rocks rent" (Mat. 27:50-51).The Veil, as most Bible students know, separated the Holy Place in the Temple from the Holy of Holies. In the latter, the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat were to reside. It was where God dwelt between the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim. Regrettably, and because of Israel's sins, these articles of Sacred Furniture were not in the Holy of Holies at that particular time. Nevertheless, the Type still presented itself. Consequently, when Jesus died, this signaled the fact that the price had now been paid, and the way was opened up for man to go directly into the Presence of God, with God splitting the Veil, showing that the way was now open. Before the Cross, only one man, the High Priest, could go into this place, and then only once a year, which was on the Great Day of Atonement, and then not without blood. But when Jesus died, thereby having paid the price, the way was opened that anyone may come, and drink of the water of life freely. This is what Jesus was speaking of when He cried out on the great day of the Feast, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. "He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." John then said, "But this spake He of the Spirit, which they who believe on Him should receive" (Jn. 7:37-39).The Cross and the Cross Alone made all of this possible (I Cor. 1:17). Concerning this, Paul also said: "When He had by Himself purged our sins (which He did at the Cross), sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3).In fact, all the Priests of old, in their duties in the Tabernacle and the Temple, not one time ever sat down, simply because their work was never finished. Their work was not finished because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sins (Heb. 10:4). Therefore, more and more sacrifices had to ever be offered up. But when Jesus died on the Cross, the Scripture says: "But this Man, after He had offered one Sacrifice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Heb. 10:12). Now, there is no more need for earthly Priests, who in fact in Old Testament times, were Types of Christ. That for which they were used and that which they did have forever been finished, and was finished by the Christ of Glory on the Cross. Now we can bank the Altar fires. We can take down the Tabernacle, of which it was but a Type. We can take the little lambs and let them out to pasture, for not another one will ever be needed again, at least for sacrifice. It is done! It is over! It is finished! Thereby understanding that this Work, this glorious Work, this Work that Christ carried forth on the Cross, is done and complete. It is finished! Consequently, I must never try to take something from that Work, or add anything to that Work. To do so is tantamount to blasphemy. It is the greatest insult to Christ! Understanding this, the only thing I'm required to do is to simply place my Faith in this which He has done, understanding that it was completed, and understanding that it was for me. When I place my Faith in the Cross, and keep my Faith in the Cross, the Holy Spirit will then work greatly for me, guaranteeing to me all the great things that Jesus did at the Cross. That's why Paul said, "We preach Christ Crucified" (I Cor. 1:23).
A BANKRUPT MESSAGE!
The Message of the Cross changes a life and ministries. Most of the preaching done today, is rather Preachers preaching a bankrupt message. meaning that what most Preachers are preaching is not "Jesus Christ and Him Crucified," but rather something else. And if it is something else, and irrespective as to what the something else is, to be sure, what they are giving to the people is in fact, a bankrupt message. It holds no water; it has no substance; and it will effect no positive results. It might sound good to the natural ear, but it will not do the job. Only the Word, only the Message, only the preaching of Christ and Him Crucified will set the captive free (Eph. 2:13-18). No, I don't have to fight a battle that's already been fought and won. The Jebusite, the Amorite, the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and all others for that matter, were totally defeated by Christ at the Cross. If the Cross is not preached, it will be subbed with human thinking which eventually leads to law and a church full of worldliness!
-In Christ-
Dwayne
Posts: 11 | From: Alberta, Canada | Registered: Oct 2003
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barrykind
Advanced Member
Member # 35
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posted
Daily Meditation
"A place for your mind to dwell."
Influenced By The World
Rom 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
I have dropped by today to tell you the reason the church today has so little influence on the world, is because we allow the world to have so much influence on our church. If you don’t think so, listen too much of the so-called Gospel music of today; observe how churchgoers dress. Often, one is hard pressed to distinguish the church, from the patrons of the local honky-tonk.
We are attempting to draw people into our churches, by acting like, looking like and sounding like the world. This is the very opposite to what God’s Word instructs us to do. God’s Word says “do not be conformed to this world;” it instructs us to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
My friend, when someone is in trouble, they don’t want more of the same old mess, they are looking for something different! Way back in Deu 18:9, God said, “When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.”
Are you getting it? “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”(John 15:19) The truth is, “the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.”(1 Cor 3:19)
God’s Word instructs His church to “not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”(2 Cor 6:14) Oh, you thought that verse applies only to marriage? Wrong!!! The “principle” of it applies to everything you do.
There is an old saying; “if it looks like a pig, behaves like a pig and sounds like a pig; it must be a “pig.” My friend, if your church looks like the world, behaves like the world and sounds like the world; it must be of the world! When that happens, the world has a right to look at you and say, “What would I gain by being a part of you? You’re a part of us!!!”
God is looking down at multitudes of churches today, and saying, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth;”(Rev 3:16) you have so little influence on the world, because you allow the world to have so much influence on you.
Think about it!
Bro. Russ McDonald
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The HEART of the issue is truly the issue of the HEART!
John 3:3;Mark 8:34-38;James 1:27
Posts: 3529 | From: Orange, Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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