“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”
When we surrender we also become an offering as we allow another’s rights to be over us. This is also the relief of finding rest. Allowing ourselves to operate out of grace.
When we are dead to ourselves we are alive to Him.
Working hard will not release this raw power that comes only from Him. The most powerful place that we can therefore be in is not in the driver’s seat.
The counter cultural of the kingdom.
It is a lifestyle change. It is the best and the safest place for us to be in.
Jesus died so that we could die to ourselves too.
Then God’s plan can include our lives too. When we are not consumer focused but kingdom focused. Not what I can get but what I can give.
It is not living with a mindset of visitation but with habitation. To live in the realm of the kingdom and heaven on earth.
To be open to its availability. The flesh is the visible, worldly, temporal realm. The spiritual is the invisible, eternal reality.
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
We too easily choose comfort over courage. As in the Matt Redman lyrics: ‘We’ve crafted ourselves a more comfortable cross’.
Power and wisdom will be released only when we lay ourselves down and surrender. Die to self and live for Him.
Open the door and Blaze a trail for all to follow.
To go to the limits of our capacity which is more expansive than we think it is.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
The birth of greater power is from rest and laid down lives. Not from being passively busy in organising structures but in preaching and living the gospel.
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ”.
Religious performance is empty of power and barren of God’s presence.
Powerlessness is not a biblical reality or truth in Christianity.
In the NT we see the Holy Spirit moving in power transforming from the inside and then externally.
He is in charge we are grafted into Him. We receive Jesus Christ and then continue by grace through faith to operate in the power of God in our lives. What is within us will then work through us and is a divine enablement.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
The gospel is the power of God.
We can manifest revival any time we want to if we are willing to pay the price and live the life of Christ. Driven by love. Love never fails.
The price is giving up everything of self and obedience to God.Jesus defined and modelled the price when He died for us on the cross.
The illustration shows Jesus dying for us on the one side of the cross and us dying to self on the other side of the cross. Together manifesting the power that is driven by love and that brings revelation light emanating into the world to push back the darkness.
Five Scriptures that come to mind:
“I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.”Psalm 16:8 ESV
“That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.””John 3:6-8 ESV
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”Ephesians 6:12 ESV
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”Galatians 1:10 ESV
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””Romans 1:16-17 ESV
The song Show Me The Way Of The Cross. Matt Redman
https://youtu.be/nGGeeDPJFnc
Lessisgreater 