Recognizing and Responding to the Call - Wisdom from Oswald Chambers

"My Utmost For His Highest," Jan 14(http://utmost.org/called-by-god/):

CALLED OF GOD
"Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." Isaiah 6:8

God did not address the call to Isaiah; Isaiah overheard God saying, "Who will go for us?" The call of God is not for the special few, it is for everyone. Whether or not I hear God's call depends upon the state of my ears; and what I hear depends upon my disposition. "Many are called but few are chosen," that is, few prove themselves the chosen ones. The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ whereby their disposition has been altered and their ears unstopped, and they hear the still small voice questioning all the time, "Who will go for us?" It is not a question of God singling out a man and saying, "Now, you go." God did not lay a strong compulsion on Isaiah; Isaiah was in the presence of God and he overheard the call, and realized that there was nothing else for him but to say, in conscious freedom, "Here am I, send me." Get out of your mind the idea of expecting God to come with compulsions and pleadings. When our Lord called His disciples there was no irresistible compulsion from outside. The quiet passionate insistence of His "Follow Me" was spoken to men with every power wide awake. If we let the Spirit of God bring us face to face with God, we too shall hear something akin to what Isaiah heard, the still small voice of God; and in perfect freedom will say, "Here am I; send me."

Pair this up with recent insight from previous days' "My Utmosts:"

"If we obey God, it is going to cost other people more than it costs us, and that is where the pain begins. If we are in love with our Lord, obedience does not cost us anything— it is a delight...
Beware of the inclination to dictate to God what consequences you would allow as a condition of your obedience to Him." - Jan 11

"We seem to think that God wants us to give up things! God purified Abraham from this error, and the same process is at work in our lives. God never tells us to give up things just for the sake of giving them up, but He tells us to give them up for the sake of the only thing worth having, namely, life with Himself." - Jan 8

"He went out, not knowing where he was going —Hebrews 11:8

Have you ever “gone out” in this way? If so, there is no logical answer possible when anyone asks you what you are doing. One of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is, “What do you expect to do?”You don’t know what you are going to do. The only thing you know is that God knows what He is doing. Continually examine your attitude toward God to see if you are willing to “go out” in every area of your life, trusting in God entirely...
Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do— He reveals to you who He is." - Jan 2

"There are times when you can’t understand why you cannot do what you want to do. When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don’t fill it with busyness, just wait. The time of waiting may come to teach you the meaning of sanctification— to be set apart from sin and made holy— or it may come after the process of sanctification has begun to teach you what service means. Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt— wait.

At first you may see clearly what God’s will is— the severance of a friendship, the breaking off of a business relationship, or something else you feel is distinctly God’s will for you to do. But never act on the impulse of that feeling. If you do, you will cause difficult situations to arise which will take years to untangle. Wait for God’s timing and He will do it without any heartache or disappointment. When it is a question of the providential will of God, wait for God to move." - Jan 4

I'll admit, I don't have all this put together in my mind yet, either. I know to wait on God, for His timing is perfect. I also know to listen in the waiting and when I hear His still, small voice, to say "Here am I, send me!" I also know that it takes faith, beyond what is certain or logical, such that we will go out like Abraham, "not knowing where he was going." I know that we must count the cost, not just to ourselves to but to loved ones and those around us, and that any cost to us or others is no reason not to obey the call, but rather to prepare our hearts for His work. I know that although the call can bring sacrifice to others and myself, that the call is a delight, for we "Delight [our]selves in the Lord, and he will give [us] desires of [our] heart" (Psalm 37:4). I also know that I cannot dictate what consequences will be conditions of my obedience or what the call may be--but that obedience is our only condition.

The paragraph above is just a brief summary of the "My Utmosts" quoted above, and each is sound and in agreement with the Word. However, how do we apply each of those things correctly, such that we are not either over eager or too hesitant? Again, I'll admit that I'm still figuring it out, but I love to ponder these things and I hope you do, too. I think of it like this:

In the moments before the start of a horse race, each horse is in the gate with the rider poised for the start. But there is silence. Some horses stir a bit, getting anxious for the start--these often get poor starts. Some horses and riders are almost too relaxed or not on full alert, such that when the gate drops, there is a slight enough hesitation to put them in the back of the pack at the start. In any case, all horses and riders are ready to some extent, yet the gate has not been dropped.

Sometimes I think we need to have the attitude of the horse and rider behind the starting gate. We should not try to charge ahead while the gate is in place! We will be disqualified from that race and have to wait for the next one. By the same token, we should make sure we've gotten to the gate and in position, or the race will start without us. But I think we can be like that well-trained horse and rider, ready for the drop of the gate. Until the gate drops, until the Lord makes it clear without a doubt that we are to charge forward, we wait. Immediately upon dropping the gate, immediately upon picking up on that still, small voice, we go out with all we can muster, though we don't know what the race is going to look like--will my horse grab the lead or will I be last? Will the track be slippery? We go out without knowing where we are going, but we go at the drop of the gate. Others will not be chosen by God for this race that we're running, though we may wish that we could run with them. "Run with endurance the race marked out for you" (Heb 12:1). We may feel that we wanted to go with others on their races before us (their calls), or that we want to bring others and not "leave them behind" in our own minds, but God has called each to a race marked out for them. We cannot consider what it is costing them or us to run this race--we simply run the race marked out for us. And though we do not know all the consequences and there was sacrifice in leaving our comfortable stables to get out on the edge in the race, putting ourselves at risk, we can forget all the other distractions and realize the great exhilaration of the race--we are running with the wind in our faces! But only if we have gone through the life-long training, only if we've taken our place at the starting gate, only if we've waited for the gate to drop, and only if we'll charge forward when the gate is dropped, knowing perhaps little more than that a gate has been dropped, we are here and equipped by our Master Trainer, and we must run the race He has marked out for us.

All of the above alludes a specific call for ministry. As if we as riders and horses are committing to something new and different that is full-time ministry. Indeed, this fits, I believe, and you and I may very well need to read it that way. However, we might want to examine in what way we define "full-time ministry." When you hear that, I'm sure you think of pastors and missionaries, etc. Indeed, they are included. But could you be in full-time ministry right where you are? Could you be an engineer, school teacher, doctor, or lawyer in full-time ministry right now? I believe the answer is "yes." We often think about "going out without knowing" as being discarding all for the sake of a career in ministry. That may very well be your call--do not dismiss it if He is asking! And if you're unsure, then you can still start in obedience by making your life and career full-time ministry right now. The difference is attitude and approach to the work day. The difference is attitude and approach to friendships. The difference is attitude and approach in your thought life. We can "take every thought captive" (2 Cor 10:5) in the working world, doing everything "...with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" (Col 3:23) being ambassadors for Christ every day.

I do not want to discount the calling to pastors and missionaries here. I believe that as many will read this, less are going to commit to such service for God than He has called. "Many are called, but few are chosen." As O.C. writes, few prove themselves chosen by responding to the call. In encourage you, in whatever way the Holy Spirit is guiding you right now, do the following:

- Listen for God continually while you wait and as you go out
- Wait for the Lord's direction that you KNOW is from Him
- When you act in obedience, go out without knowing or being hindered by the consequences for you and others
- Check to make sure that whatever the sacrifice, you still have the full joy of the Lord
- Start living for Him in full-time ministry right where you are today
- At any snare, at any success, at all times, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thess 5:17)

If you can satisfy these conditions, I believe that the Lord has you right where He wants you, your life will never be the same and for the better, and we are one step closer to walking down the path of His preferred will.

If this is all confusing, I understand. You might throw everything written here out the window and do just one thing: pray. You don't need me or anyone else to tell you what God can tell you Himself through prayer and sincere study of His Word. I write these things to be a catalyst in your relationship to Him, not at all to be a substitute. Your inspiration can start while reading here or "My Utmost" or any other Christian writing, but it must immediately be fed by the Source, God Himself. This is endeavored through prayer and Scripture.

May the Holy Spirit speak to you today, and may we both respond to His voice in the way that is most pleasing to our Father in Heaven. Amen.

From "Against you alone have I sinned" to "For you alone do I live"

From the Jan 4 “My Utmost for His Highest,” (http://www.myutmost.org/01/0104.html) –

Peter said to Him, ’Lord, why can I not follow You now?’ —John 13:37

“Peter did not wait for God. He predicted in his own mind where the test would come, and it came where he did not expect it. “I will lay down my life for Your sake.” Peter’s statement was honest but ignorant. “Jesus answered him, ’ . . . the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times’ ” (John 13:38). This was said with a deeper knowledge of Peter than Peter had of himself. He could not follow Jesus because he did not know himself or his own capabilities well enough. Natural devotion may be enough to attract us to Jesus, to make us feel His irresistible charm, but it will never make us disciples. Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.”

This “My Utmost” is very challenging and convicting to me. “Natural devotion will deny Jesus, always falling short of what it means to truly follow Him.” I know this full-well. We have to get beyond “natural” devotion. The kind of devotion that is excited and inspired and purely emotional at the beginning, but fades with time, or the kind of devotion that is to a cause, however noble, or to the amazing blessing or gains that we may see personally from such a devotion. This is any devotion short of sincere commitment to Jesus Himself, leading to strict obedience to His Word and a sincere desire to know Him more.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith.” – 1 John 5:3-4 (see also John 14:15, 21, 23).

Again, this is more than emotional response and much, much more than a desire for the good things that such a relationship brings to my life. This is commitment to Him, at the risk of abandoning all that I consider to be my own. “Against you and you alone have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). This is an interesting and true Bible verse, as David writes that against God, and God alone has he sinned. In addition to sinning against God, we think about sinning against our family, friends, or strangers because of the hurt it might cause them, or perhaps because of some good fortune at their expense, whether they know it or not. But this verse reveals that our only sin is against God.

Have you ever put a stake in the ground and said, “I will sin no more,” or “I will not commit this sin anymore, starting right now!” And you last for hours, days, maybe even months…but sometime down the road you and I failed to keep that commitment? Why is that? Because there was even the smallest element of “natural devotion” short of holy devotion to God Himself. Often we realize in those times that we are deprived of something and we want to change that. Sometimes we use a loved one in our lives as motivation not to commit that hurtful sin (whether it be outbursts of anger, infidelity, lying, or an obvious impurity in your heart or other sin). These motivations may seem noble, but in the end they lead to failure. This is because the motivation must extend to this: “Against you and you alone have I sinned.” If our aim is anything short of devotion to God in obedience to Him for HIS sake, then we will fall.

“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” – 1 Cor 10:12-13

To whom are we committed? To our Father who is with us to strengthen us to withstand all temptation that we might face? If not, then we will not stand. If so, then we will surely stand. The struggle then, isn’t against sin or to stay motivated and devoted to the cause or the person that we are abstaining from sin for…the struggle is to remain wholly devoted to the only One who can save us and can strengthen us such that we are “more than conquerors” (Rom 8:37). This “One” is Jesus Christ. When our daily motivation to lead a holy life reaches a point where our thoughts are purely for God and living for Him, recognizing our weakness even in our strongest moments and our need for Him, we have a foothold that will never slip. For most of us, this is a life-long struggle, which is the source of “work out your salvation” (Phil 2:12). Our salvation was immediate and permanent upon receiving Christ (Eph 1:13-14, 4:30, 2 Cor 2:21-22). Yet, we must work out that salvation in the daily struggle with sin, and our victory is in supernatural devotion to Jesus, imparted to sincere hearts that truly seek Him first and above all else, realizing that “against you and you alone have I sinned,” and therefore when I live righteously, it is because for You and You alone do I live. Amen.

Seeking a Prophet – When We Desire a Word from the Lord Today

This week in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF), we were studying Hezekiah and the events during his reign as king of Judah, specifically when Assyrian king Sennacherib threatened to overtake Jerusalem and the entire southern kingdom (Isaiah 36-37). Hezekiah’s response to intense pressure and impending exile by a foreign nation was most impressive—He sought the Lord immediately and with utmost sincerity. I know we can all take a lesson from that.

One of the interesting actions that Hezekiah took upon hearing the threats of the invading army outside of the city was his summoning of Isaiah. Isaiah was the prophet appointed by God in the kingdom of Judah throughout the span of several kings, including Hezekiah. Isaiah was the Lord’s man—God spoke directly to Isaiah with words to speak to the rest of His people. I believe that Hezekiah recognized this fact and rightly revered Isaiah as being God’s chosen messenger.

Hezekiah tore his clothes and went straight to the temple upon hearing the news from the Assyrian army commander. He also sent for Isaiah, signifying his total and utmost seeking of God. He needed to hear from God for guidance or encouragement or repentance or just any word from the Sovereign God of Israel. God responded by speaking through Isaiah. The response was to have faith and be reminded of the promises He had made: in this case, the king of Assyria would not enter the city and his entire army would be wiped out. How, they did not know—but this was the word of the Lord.

See Isaiah 10, specifically v. 32-34, for the prophecy of Assyrian demise years earlier. In Isaiah 36-37 we see them come to “the hill of Jerusalem” and “shake their fist,” yet they were wiped out as chapter 10 depicts (and again in another prophecy in Ch. 37). You see, the Assyrians did more than taunt Jerusalem, filled with God’s people, and Hezekiah, who was God’s appointed king—they insulted God Himself, saying, “Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Have the gods of any nations ever delivered their lands from the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? 20 Who of all the gods of these countries have been able to save their lands from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?” (36:18-10) We might reply similarly to Hezekiah and say, “silly man, those gods were fake. In having those “gods,” they had no God!” Nevertheless, this kingdom of Assyria dared to exalt themselves above God and publicly ridiculed Him. In Hezekiah’s sincere prayer, we see a powerful attitude that we should all seek to possess:

“LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 17 Give ear, LORD, and hear; open your eyes, LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.
18 “It is true, LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste all these peoples and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. 20 Now, LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, LORD, are the only God.” (37:16-20)

Hezekiah’s plea wasn't simply for his wellbeing or the wellbeing of any loved one or even his entire people—His plea was for the integrity of the Lord to remain sound, so that all would know Him as the only one real and true God of the entire world. Hezekiah’s grief went beyond his fate and that of his people—His grief stretched to the blaspheming of the name of God. And within the sincerity of that prayer, and the truth of the Assyrian pride and defaming of God Almighty, God moved swiftly. He not only sent word to Isaiah to comfort and strengthen Hezekiah and Judah, but He sent His wrath to the Assyrians. We read later how the angel of the Lord actually killed about 185,000 of the Assyrian warriors as they slept. Only a handful, including King Sennacherib, woke up the next morning to the horrifying and inexplicable scene. Later, King Sennacherib was killed by his sons in the temple of a false god, according to the prophesy the Lord gave Isaiah in response to Hezekiah’s request (37:7, 38). Our God is good and His Word has perfect integrity and truth.

This is a riveting story that could be made into a blockbuster historical-style film. However, my inspiration tonight goes back to Hezekiah calling upon Isaiah in his time of distress, in addition to going straight to the temple. You see, a righteous man such as Hezekiah would know full-well that Isaiah was the Lord’s chosen prophet—He was effectively the mouth of God to these people. The Lord’s prophecies through Isaiah were fulfilled both in their day and in generations to come (more prophecies about Jesus come from Isaiah than any other prophet). So we see that in times of distress, good kings sought prophets to bring a true word from God—to bring guidance, to bring conviction when repentance was needed, to bring encouragement when the Lord’s favor was with them…and simply to receive whatever it was that the Lord desired to tell them, for better or for worse. Seeking the Lord’s prophet was seeking God, for they knew that God would speak through him.

I think we can apply this directly to our lives. Are you in a bit of a quandary right now? Would you like to hear from God on what to do, what to choose, or where to go? Are you undergoing trial right now? Do you need to be convicted for repentance or encouraged that the Lord is with you and will deliver you? Do you need hope? Do you simply seek His presence and to hear from Him in a very real way? Do what Hezekiah did—seek the Word of the Lord.

In the days of Hezekiah and Isaiah, the Word of the Lord came through Isaiah (though, God could certainly speak in any way He wanted and sometimes did speak in other ways). You see, they knew right where to go—go to the prophet! Today, we should seek such a prophet—except there is no prophet like Isaiah so prominent and known to the king and every townsperson. Nevertheless, God has ordained that we should not need to seek Him through another man—He has given us two infinitely powerful things: the Bible, which is the Word of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit, which is God filling our very bodies to guide and convict us. We also know that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:14) in the form of Jesus Christ, who is called Immanuel, meaning God with us. God brought Himself to us through Jesus, His Word embodied, to live with us, to die and make propitiation for our sins and redeem us, such that God could remain with us via the Holy Spirit. We can go directly to Him, our High Priest, who was tempted just as we are, yet remaining blameless (Heb 4:15). He therefore understands and has the strength to conquer the sin that so easily entangles us (Heb 12:1). "Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith" (Heb 12:2). Let us go to His Word daily, let us pray and learn to recognize His voice in the Holy Spirit.

Do you see it? Do you see that if you seek answers from God this very night that He has made a way for you to receive them? In Hezekiah’s day, he set apart one man, Isaiah, who was cleansed when the hot coal was applied to His lips after He confessed His sinful nature (Isaiah 6:5-8). And today, through Christ and receiving of the Holy Spirit, we can call on God sincerely, just as Hezekiah went directly to the temple and immediately called upon Isaiah. We can ask Him tonight and confess our sins and need of His perfect holiness (enter the temple), and we can open the Bible to receive His very Word to us. Pray about where you might read, or simply throw it open. In encourage you to pray, though. Keep your ears open as you pray daily, in between prayers, for He will speak through sermons, wholesome songs, brothers and sisters in Christ, and even in your very core (perhaps He might even speak through a blog such as this). Whatever the experience is for you, find a way into the Word. Start anywhere and read. Make a habit of it, and you’ll begin to find that He is speaking to you. Some days you’ll wonder if what you’re reading was written just for you this very day because it is so on-point—the Holy Spirit is alive in you then! Don’t you know that the Word is alive (Heb 4:12)?! It is, and I speak of these things not because I have been told them, but because I have experienced them. Even still, I would do well to heed my own encouragement here, and get into the Word and prayer with all sincerity every spare moment and increasingly every day. We have to make the time.

We can have direction in times of impossible decisions. We can have conviction when we don’t know where we’ve fallen and how to get back to God. We can have comfort and hope in the midst of impossible odds and the most threatening trials. Go to the temple, and seek a word from the Lord: Open to Him in prayer, and open His Word to hear His truth and a personal reply to you. "Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). Do you know what that means? He loves you—you! He is listening to your thoughts right now, and if you’ll open to Him, He will fill you. Will you give Him 5 minutes today? Will you give Him 30? How sincerely are you seeking Him? He will not only match your sincerity, He will more than doubly meet your sincerity—He is infinite, He is not the limiting factor. Our experience of Him is equally as powerful and sweeping as our sincerity in seeking Him. Let us seek Him to our utmost and receive from Him His highest. Amen.

Reference verses worth reading:

Heb 4:12-16 - “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven,[f] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Heb 12:1-3 – “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

John 1:12-14 – “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

1 Peter 5:6-11 - "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."

"To Live is Christ" - Personal Death that Brings Abundant Life

From a young age, as a Christian I have always known about being “born again.” And I have always known that Christ lives through us. And I have always known that the Spirit indwells us (maybe not always known, but for long enough). But I have never quite thought of it as O.C. puts it in the 2nd paragraph of the "My Utmost" at the bottom of this post, that we are analogous to Bethlehem as Jesus is actually born into us. If we will yield and let Him enter into us, just as Mary was obedient and thereby yielded and let Jesus into the world through her, then He is born into our lives permanently from that day forward just as His impact on this world is permanent from the first Christmas onward. The day of our salvation is our very own personal Christmas day. Then I think we spend our lifetimes progressing to the Cross. We are to partake in His sufferings upon His birth within us. We may each have different paces to Calvary, carrying our crosses, but we must each be headed there every single day.

Luke 9:23-26 – “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? 26 Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

Rom 8:17-18 – “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

It’s a fresh realization of the life of Christ within me. As O.C. puts it, “Immediately Christ is formed in me, His nature begins to work through me.” I long for more of Christ to come naturally through me. Do you ever struggle with that? I do, as I battle the “old self” of sin that I have been (Rom 6:6, included below). I believe the more identified we are with Christ’s death, lived out by our death to sinful nature, the more purely His life is worked out within us, as Paul wrote in Phil 2:12: “Continue to work out your salvation.” I believe this is what he means: Not that we’re earning it, but that we’re learning to die for Christ more every day—we have to work that out by intentional submission and fixing our eyes upon Jesus (Heb 12:2), forsaking personal selfish and sinful desires of old. Therefore, instead of striving to do more good, especially when we see the bad we’ve done—hasn’t this been our strategy, trying to make ourselves do more good and less sin?—instead, we need to seek to identify with Christ in the cross…we need to seek to die to self each day.

To seek the fruit before the plant is mature is backwards and irrational. When we seek good works and pureness of heart without first abandoning all for the sake of Christ, experiencing a full death of the “old self,” we have the same irrational expectation. The seed must be planted, it must be watered, it must soak in the sunlight, and its roots must run deep. In the Parable of the Sower (Matt 13:1-9, 18-23), the sun and the rainstorms killed the plants in shallow soil, but they serve to grow those with fertile soil. So we see that to grow we must embrace the rainstorm of trial and difficult circumstances, driving our roots deep into the Word and prayer and truly personal relationship with Christ. We must endure the sun that seems harsh as we are “in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), exposing our every sinful desire. We must see God as sovereign and holy, as well as loving, to endure the sunlight. And if we do, we will then grow. And if we grow, we will see much fruit. This growth comes by death first, then trial (or really, an intention of death followed by actually death, one piece of me at a time)—both are identification with Christ. So if our goal is to be like Christ, not just superficially, but inside our very hearts every private or public moment of the day, we must realize that the only way is sharing in His sufferings. We will not experience Him without that, but we will experience the infinite amazement of His presence within us if we do. When once we get a taste of His presence, just a little fuller than we did the day before, we will realize there is no circumstance in this world worth trading for, and our present sufferings grieve us less, giving us more joy, as we “consider it pure joy… when you encounter trials of various kinds” (James 1:2) because we know that we are being grown even closer to the purest and abundantly fruitful love of Christ. Moreover, when we are concentrating on the following: "I must do good, I must not do evil," our focus is on self. When we acknowledge, embrace, and enjoy the Lord growing within us, our focus is rightly on Him.

Gal 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

Rom 6:3-11 – “Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
(See also Rom 8:9-11, Gal 5:24, Gal 6:14)

Finally, have you ever wondered exactly what Paul meant by “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21)? Dying is easily seen as gain with Heaven in mind, but what about “to live is Christ?” I used to think that this meant to live as Christ by Him living through me, doing good things and acting in a proper manner. However, I have a new perspective: to live is Christ because to live as one born again is to be crucified with Him daily. The essence of life becomes sacrifice, just as Jesus sacrificed all. The essence of life becomes submission to the Father, just as Jesus submitted, as seen in His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying in effect three times, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:39, 42, 44). The essence of life becomes service, just as Jesus served our sentence of death in our place. The essence of life becomes love, just as Jesus loved us literally to death. The essence of life then and only then becomes pure joy, as Jesus' joy was made complete by His resurrection and the redemption of our willing souls who accept Him. Therefore to die is gain, but to live as a true believer is certainly Christ. Amen.

"My Utmost For His Highest," Dec 25:

HIS BIRTH AND OUR NEW BIRTH

"Behold, a virgin shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."Isaiah 7:14 (R.V.)

His Birth in History. "Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35.) Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not evolve out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being, He is a Being Who cannot be accounted for by the human race at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate, God coming into human flesh, coming into it from outside. His life is the Highest and the Holiest entering in at the Lowliest door. Our Lord's birth was an advent.

His Birth in Me. "Of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." (Gal. 4:19.) Just as Our Lord came into human history from outside, so He must come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God unless I am born from above by a birth totally unlike natural birth. "Ye must be born again." This is not a command, it is a foundation fact. The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. Immediately Christ is formed in me, His nature begins to work through me.

God manifest in the flesh - that is what is made profoundly possible for you and me by the Redemption.