SUBMERGED IN GOD! Jesus did not call the Righteous Religionist To follow Him, He called sinners to turn around and follow Him. God wants people to draw near to Him through the knowledge of His great love, mercy & kindness. I cannot however receive His mercy, except I perceive myself as one who needs His mercy. A good, righteous, religious person cannot get to Jesus. Jesus Christ is the expression of Gods mercy for the unrighteous & the sinner. Jesus gave His life for those who are hungry & thirsty for something more than what they presently have. He says... Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6). Those who perceive themselves as just fine the way they are do not hunger & thirst for things to be made right (righteous) because they feel as though things are already right. To get to Gods Mercy (Jesus) you have got to need Gods Mercy. Jesus said... I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32 NASB). Mercy calls sinners, not the righteous. You cannot come to Him (Mercy) except He calls you. Repentance is about a change of mind. An about face. In regard to a relationship with Jesus Christ, to repent means to stop moving in the direction were moving & begin moving toward Him, with Him, & in Him. Take Him. Jesus says... Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood (Matthew 26:26-28). Weve got to be willing to let Him enter into us & be assimilated into our person, our character & our nature. Take Him, receive Him, follow Him, join Him, love Him, cling to Him, Abide In Him, stick to Him. To repent is to forsake everything else in order to submerge ourself in Him. Its to submerge our heart, mind & life fully in the Father, fully in the Son, & fully in the Holy Spirit. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19 NIV). The Word baptize means to submerge fully. Name refers to the essence, nature & character...of the Father, of the Son & of the Holy Spirit. These were some of the last words Jesus spoke to His followers before He bodily departed from earth. He told us to make disciples. That is, people who are disciplined to stay so focused on Me, that they become completely immersed in the essence, nature & character of the The Father & of Me & of the Holy Spirit! What Jesus calls us into is not a Religion, but a River! An immersion into the River of His life from Heaven. A spiritually liquid life; not a religious regiment. You might be a Religionists if... you are more concerned & preoccupied with the visible & material world than you are with the invisible & immaterial world. A Religionist cannot cultivate his relationship with Jesus Christ, assuming he has one, because his focus is primarily on things seen. Jesus does not normally dwell in the realm that is discernible by humanitys natural senses. 1Timothy 1:17 refers to Jesus as the Invisible King. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen (NIV). Religionists are born primarily as a result of the child of God neglecting to constantly focus on the things of God & His invisible kingdom. The inevitable result is that he becomes overly concerned with the things that he naturally perceives. Thus the reason the Apostle Paul reiterates so often in scripture things such as... ...while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen... (2Corinthians 4:18 NASB). Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2 NASB). For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6 NASB). This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). Its easy to see from these references how we can often become religious rather than spiritual, & begin walking after the dictates of our unredeemed flesh. Its easy to neglect to stay focused on the invisible God & His kingdom, which is completely immaterial in regard to this natural dimension. Jesus told us to MAKE disciples (Matthew 28:19). To be a disciple of Jesus Christ, & not merely one whos born of God & hoping to make it into Heaven, we must make ourself more disciplined in regard to an undivided focus on Jesus Christ (The Way). This is the only way well be submerged completely in the essence, nature & character, of the Father, of the Son & of the Holy Ghost! If God were going to do it for you, He would not tell you in His Word to... Set your affection on things above... (Colossians 3:2). Of course He sent the Holy Spirit to help us & He will if well just ask. The Holy Spirit however cannot help us do something that we have not initiated already ourself. I cannot help you move a table if you dont ever touch the table yourself. The Holy Spirit is the Helper. Hes come to help us get all the way into Jesus, as far as we can get, so that when He appears we will not be ashamed before Him at His coming. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming (1John 2:28). God is not going to make you double-minded & Hes not going to make you singleminded. Thats up to us to do. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). ...if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light (Matthew 6:22). Looking unto Jesus Thats up to me (Hebrews 12:2). I want to be His disciple! I am IN HIM because Im born of God, but I want to be CAUGHT UP IN HIM while Im still on earth!
Posted on: Thu, 17 Jul 2014 15:12:04 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015