MY FRIENDS, STAY FOCUSED, WE SERVE A RISEN SAVIOR!

Dec. 15, 2015

MY FRIENDS, STAY FOCUSED, WE SERVE A RISEN SAVIOR!

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.” My friend, what a life we lived when the flesh ran rampant.

And Satan had us bound together on a road with so many traveling in the same direction. In addition, we had no thought that we were on “a train which seemed the whole world was on board…the conductor, whom all the passengers looked up to and reverenced.

[But none of us realized] “Satan, was the conductor, and we were traveling at lightning speed to perdition.” (E.G. White Early Writings) But now “we serve a risen Savior”  and most of us have no physical signs that we had been in a war zone.

Life was not so complicated while bound to perdition, before we allowed Christ to enter our life. But the real war has begun the controversy within us continues to rage. It may not be adultery, but it’s lust, it may not be stealing, but the idea of paying tithe becomes complicated at bill time.

But my friends remember we belong to God now. We must never fill we have reached the final frontier and begin to feel fatigue and battle driven “for the battle is not ours, but God’s.” In addition, we must realize the flesh will always have a natural inclination for attacks.

So Satan waits for the opportune time. Luke 11:21-22 (KJV) Says, even a strong man cannot protect his house if someone stronger comes along. “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world.

In Romans 7 Paul presents his personal struggles with the flesh of the body, and how hard it is to control the rage of sin from within. “For we all recognize that the law is holy and good but we are carnal from within, bound under the sin of the flesh.

Only satisfied when it is controlled by the forces of evil.” So as A Christian the battle rages daily so the flesh must die along with self daily. We must be honest with ourselves today, Paul tells us.

Our members will always weaken by outside factors if we allow them too. In the 21 century it’s what we watch on TV, and the Internet, what we read, where we go, what we listen too, and who we allow into our lives.

Paul’s discovery as should be ours is that every time we try to do good, evil is always present! No matter what we want to do for the Lord especially in regards to serving Him and doing His will, the forces of evil will always present an alternative plan.

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ and victory can only occur if we are continually abounding in the Lord. And continually growing through His word and Spirit.

And continually falling on our knees with heartfelt supplication crying out “not my will but thy will be done.” Sanctification is a life-time process. It becomes a binding contract, one that can never be broken if  we only “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God……

And not on things on the earth. For [self is now dead], and our life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3 (NKJV) And now our faith should tell us “we serve a risen savior” and tho at times our heart grows weary we will never despair,” only endure; because we know our Savior is leading us to the promise land.

Every excuse we may give as the reason we cannot serve Christ, was challenged and answered at Calvary.