Eternities Definition of Success Success in the Kingdom is not based on how much I produce or how many people show up to my events. Success is determined by my album sales or how much money I make. Its not predicated by social status, likes on Facebook, gifts, talents, abilities, the degrees on my wall, or my position in organizations. All these things are measured and calculated and predicted by the world so they know who to award and celebrate here on earth. But the CROSS. The cross redefines success and demands attention from all humanity whether rejected or accepted. The CROSS crushes Pilates governmental status and prestige built in years of service to a wicked system. The crucified body of our Savior declares to the governmental leaders of the earth throughout the ages that they never earned those positions whether by vote or by force. They were given by God for His glory, not theirs. Jesus life was not taken by those sitting in governmental seats of authority it was given up freely. An offering must be freely given, it cannot be demanded or stolen. The cross is Jesus offering to the Father for us, for our redemption and reconciliation to the one who gave us life. The CROSS destroys the Pharisees religious standards and their vein attempts to define God on their terms to promote their own agendas. They believed their positions proved their success and that they were untouchable by those who would question or accuse them, including Jesus himself. They thought following the law by their own definitions, which the wrote about in their own books and discussed endlessly, would show the rest of the world how successful they were. The CROSS shakes the foundations of a compromised Christianity that has built a theology for their own greatness under the guise of grace. They wanted to make Jesus King in their own terms in their own systems by their own power and Jesus would have nothing to do with it. He hide from them, corrected them and eventually chose the forgotten, broken, sinners to invest in because they understood that grace wasnt permission to go on sinning but a holy gift, from a holy God, that was worth more then they could ever payback and therefore should be stewarded and honored with their whole lives. The CROSS kills power seeking by platforms and finances as the King of the Universe dies penniless on a cross reserved for the most wicked of sinners. I understand that some would argue that the resurrection would be a better definition of success. But the truth is that we have no resurrection without the cross and Jesus never asked us to follow Him to the empty tomb. Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die. Jesus calls us to come die so that we might really live. You cant get the fullness He has paid for without uniting with him on the cross. The early Church understood this and that why they were willing to die for their faith. We dont get it so we complain if the churches air conditioning doesnt work and our favorite seats were taken by another family this week. We grumble and complain and live unsatisfied lives because we dont agree with Jesus and we dont agree with basic New Testament doctrine; Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25 This is what it looks like and its repeated throughout Pauls teachings and modeled by the lives of those who we call apostles of the first century Church. Paul had everything we call success here on earth and here is what he said about it; Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him....that I may know Him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3: 8-11 Success defined by the scriptures and by Jesus Christ himself looks like the cross. We dont ignore it, look past it so that we can get what we want. There is no other way to the Father and to the life you want to have in Christ empowered by the Holy Spirit. We must embrace not only the power of the resurrection but unite with Jesus in His sufferings, not avoiding them at all cost. Galatians 5 calls us to crucify our flesh so that we can gain power over the works of the flesh and live in the fruit of the Spirit. James 1 says that trials and testings are the way to maturity and Romans 5:3 tells us that suffering produces character and character produces hope. We have to stop avoiding the very things that God wants to use to glorify Himself in us and grow us into the men and women of God we were always meant to be. Success is not defined by the worlds applause its defined by a life laid down in every circumstance and every situation no matter how we feel about it in the moment so that we are transformed from the inside out to look more and more like the one we love. The world will see heaven when they see us and our Father will look on our lives and say, well done. Remember God is Great and you are Loved! Take the time to sign up for our newsletter here: jakehamiltonmusic/newsletter Purchase my book Sandcastles and Skyscrapers here: amzn/0989602605 You can also get our new album Beautiful Rider on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple/us/album/beautiful-ryder/id794549910
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 17:15:41 +0000
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