Pastor’s Blog 5.1.19
The struggle is real! From the moment we are born, to the moment we are born again, we fight the fight! Each day we live we strive to overcome the adversities of living in a fallen world. The enemy never stops trying to distract us from our purpose and call. Paul summed it up very well in the following passage:
Philippians 3:9-16 TPT
My passion is to be consumed with him and not clinging to my own “righteousness” based in keeping the written Law. My “righteousness” will be his, based on the faithfulness of Jesus Christ—the very righteousness that comes from God. And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus more fully and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me. I will be one with him in his sufferings and I will be one with him in his death. Only then will I be able to experience complete oneness with him in his resurrection from the realm of death.
I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into his abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfill and wants me to discover. I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. And let us all advance together to reach this victory-prize, following one path with one passion.
We truly have to die to self to live to Him! And once we are in union with Him through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are given the strength to overcome and persevere.
Galatians 2:19-21:
For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” NKJV
There are many in the body of Christ today that have either not grasped this concept or have been led back to living in the flesh by the deceiver. It is no longer I who live? How deep is this revelation in your heart? Paul said, “And I continually long to know the wonders of Jesus more fully and to experience the overflowing power of his resurrection working in me.”
Experience is a key to walking in the Spirit. To be led by the Spirit of God doesn’t mean we become flakey people who follow every thought that comes into our mind as the voice of God, it means we search to discover His will and purpose in our daily lives. It means we are strengthened for the battle daily and we are inspired to continue in the faith by His life in us.
People of Pentecostal faith are sometimes made fun of because of ridiculous claims of the leading of God. Remember all the Apostles and the early church were Pentecostal! The Holy Spirit only speaks truth and this is the real test to see if it is He who is leading. Remember the Holy Spirit is here to help us in our struggles and weaknesses. He is a friend that is closer than a brother. He will never leave us or forsake us and when called upon in faith He is ready to help us overcome whatever we are facing!
Jude 20-21
Maintain Your Life with God But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit,keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. NKJV
There is a reason I spend usually an hour a day or more prying in the Spirit, He infuses me with a “don’t quit spirit” and gives me the strength to just keep doing what I know is right. I now live in a place of victory and my greatest disappointment is in others who won’t lay hold of eternal life. I long to see every person live in the power and strength of God! Don’t you? I wish I could help more people make the daily choices to lead them into the victory of Christ, so I pray. I pray in the Spirit and I pray with the understanding. Also, I shout from the housetops that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and I keep believing the same work that God has done in me, will be done in others. I try to share my victory as an example that if the Lord can do it through me He can do it through anybody!
Be blessed!
- Date - May 1, 2019
- Author - David Chisholm
