5 Reasons Why You Need To Put To Death The Deeds Of The Flesh & Live By The Spirit!

The Bible admonishes us in Romans 8:13 to put to death the deeds of the sinful flesh by the Holy Spirit so that we might truly live. In other words, true life in the Spirit can only happen when true death happens to the lifestyle of the sinful flesh. Before one can live the other must die.

Jesus put it this way in Luke 9:23,24:

“And he was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” NASB

Again we see this dying in order to live. Life in Christ and life in the Spirit cannot fully happen until their is a death to self and to the sinful deeds of the flesh. And according to Jesus this dying must be a daily activity. It is not something a Christian does once and he’s all good to go. No! On the contrary. Death to the sinful deeds of the flesh is something that needs to happen on a day by day basis and sometimes on a moment by moment basis.

Today we are going to look at a story of Peter and Jesus that will give us 5 reasons why this daily dying is so very important. This story is found in Matthew 16:13-23. It says,

“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. ‘But what about you?” he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’ Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus replied, ‘Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’ Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. ‘Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!’. Jesus turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” (NIV)

From this story we can learn 5 important things about why a Christian should daily put to death the deeds of the sinful flesh and begin to walk in the Spirit of God. Because:

1. A Christian Can Transition From Walking In The Spirit To Living By The Deeds Of The Sinful Flesh Very Quickly And Without Noticing It.

   Did you notice how this story started off? It started off with Jesus asking a couple of questions about who do people says that Jesus is. Then Jesus got very specific and personal with a second question. He ask: “Who do you say I am?”

   In that moment Peter filled with the Holy Spirit answered the question, “You are the Christ the Son of the living God.” And it was the corrected answer! And Jesus explained how it was that Peter was able to come up with the right answer. Jesus said it was because God had revealed the answer to Him and that Peter hadn’t learned it from any man.

   You see God the Father through the working of the Holy Spirit made known to Peter who Jesus really was. At that very moment Peter was in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit or understanding the identity of Jesus because of the Spirit.

   But then Jesus begins to explain all that was going to happen once they get into Jerusalem. He shared that he was necessary for Him (Jesus) to suffer many things, be killed and then be raise back to life again on the third day.

   Why was Jesus telling his disciple these things? Maybe it was to prepare them for what was about to happen; maybe Jesus felt that since Peter had to nicely answered the question about His identity that the disciples were ready to hear more or maybe it was a combination of both of these things and others all combined. But is note worthy is how Peter responded to this disturbing news.

   Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke Jesus! Really? Did Peter really feel that he had the right or maybe status to rebuke Jesus? Who knows but that’s what Peter did and Jesus quickly and powerfully corrects Peter for doing it.

   Here’s the point I’m trying to make. One moment Peter is walking in the Spirit and then minutes later Peter is now walking in the deeds of the sinful flesh. It happened that quick! In just minutes.

   The need for being vigilant in daily crucifying the deeds of the flesh because we can move very quickly from walking in the Spirit to walking in the flesh and not even know we made the transition.

2. Walking In The Deeds Of The Sinful Flesh Can Cause You To Start Rebuking Christ.

   Did you noticed that once Peter moved from walking in the Spirit to walking in the deeds of the flesh the first thing he did was to pull Jesus off to the side and “rebuke” Jesus. That’s right the Bible said Peter rebuked Jesus!

   Now before you get to far onto you holy horse and proudly declare that you would never do anything like that let me ask you some self examining questions:

   A: Have you ever complained to God about the some disappointing experience in your life?

   B: Have you ever argued with God about some ministry assignment that He was giving you?

   C: Have you ever avoided reading the Bible because you really didn’t want to hear what God had to say?

   If you answered “Yes” to any of those questions then you have been guilty of rebuking God. Why? Because, just like Peter, you are telling God that you know better than Him and that God should listen to you.

   Instead of rebuking Christ Peter should have taken this disturbing news to Christ and ask him to explain further and to give him more understanding about what He is hearing. Likewise, we too, should go to God is prayer when we hear or sense God telling us something that we really don’t want to hear. Not to argue or rebuke God but to ask for wisdom and understanding.

3. Walking In The Deeds Of The Sinful Will Make You Into A Tool Of Satan.

   When Jesus hears Peter’s rebuke Jesus quickly identify’s what is going on and who is behind all this stuff coming out of Peter’s mouth. Jesus cry’s out, “Get behind me Satan …”

   Jesus was making it perfectly clear that he knew exactly who was behind all this and that in a quick moment Peter had, at best, become a tool for Satan. Satan was using Peter to get Jesus off his path of obedience to the Father.

   Here we can clearly see why is it of the utmost importance that we daily killed the deeds of the sinful flesh and walk in the Spirit. Because if we fail to do so we can quickly become a tool of Satan to try to obstruct God’s plan and mission.

   Now I don’t think that it was Peter’s intention or desire to be a tool of Satan and I don’t think he even knew he was until Jesus identified it. And likewise, I don’t think any of God’s people desire to be used by Satan but that’s exactly what can and will happen if we are not vigilant in putting to death the deeds of the sinful flesh.

4. Walking In The Deeds of The Sinful Flesh Will Make You Into A Roadblock To God’s Work.

   If calling Peter a tool of Satan wasn’t enough Jesus then tells Peter that he had now become a hinderance to Him. He was holding Jesus back, Peter had become a roadblock to Jesus from doing what He was sent to do.

   What exactly was Peter hindering Jesus from doing? Well, Jesus had just been explaining that it was “Necessary” for him to go to Jerusalem, suffer many things, die and then be resurrected, so it is only reasonable that Jesus was telling Peter that you are trying to keep me from becoming the sacrificial lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Unknowingly, Peter was being an obstacle that if successful would prevent Jesus from taking the punishment of God for our sins. This was the reason for Jesus’ birth - it was to die on the cross and Peter was being a hinderance to Jesus fulfilling that purpose.

   Did you know that your failure to put to death the deeds of the sinful flesh can actually be used as a hinderance to God in fulfilling His redemptive purposes? Now can you see why it is so imperative for us to daily kill that sinful flesh.

5. Walking In The Deeds Of The Sinful Flesh Blinds Us To What Concerns God Because We Are To Fixated On Our Concerns.

   Read what that last line of verse 23 says,

   “because you’re not thinking of God’s concerns but on human concerns.”

   I guess that’s what’s been true about all of human history. For the most part mankind, including us, have been fixated upon what is important to us and not really caring about what is important to God.

   That was true for the Prophet Jonah. He didn’t want the people of Nineveh to experience God’s forgiveness - Jonah wanted them to experience God’s wrath and judgment. That’s why he didn’t go the first time God called him and even after he went Jonah whined and complained that God did forgive them. You see Jonah knew that it was in God’s nature to forgive those who sincerely repents but Jonah didn’t want them to repent. As a result, Jonah found to joy or happiness in seeing an entire city repent from their sins and experience God’s forgiveness.

   Why did Jonah have this negative attitude? Because he was walking in the deeds of the sinful flesh.

   To walking in the deeds of the sinful flesh is to be hard hearted to what is important to God and it is to be self-centered instead of God-centered. As Christians we find our true and lasting joy by joining God to accomplish what God’s heart desires. To walk in the deeds of the sinful flesh is to lose all that joy that could and should be our.

There is only one solution and that is to mortify, kill, destroy the works of the sinful flesh from our lives on a day by day basis and sometimes that is on a moment by moment basis during a particular day.

Now that you know 5 reasons why it is so important to do, what are you going to do about it? Are you going to allow the deeds of the sinful flesh live on in your life or are you going to kill them? Do you even know how to kill them?

Let me close with his quick little Bible verse to help you understand how to accomplish that killing? In Galatians 5:16 it says,

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will certainly not carry out the desires of the flesh.”

This is a promise! If you learn to live by the Holy Spirit and His control over your life you will naturally not carry out the desire of the sinful flesh. You can’t kill the flesh with flesh. You kill the flesh by the Holy Spirit living in and through you.

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ROMANS 8: THE MOST IMPORTANT CHAPTER IN THE NEW TESTAMENT: Part 2

Now that we know how chapter seven of Romans ended, which reveals the most powerful dilemma that all Christians have to face, we can now move onto chapter eight which gives us God’s way to deal with that dilemma once and for all.

But before we do that we should remind ourselves exactly what hat dilemma is. It’s the dilemma of wanting to live for Christ but unable to do so because of the power of sin still has control over us. We want to do what God wants but we find ourselves doing sinful things. We hate the sinful things that we do but still we are attracted to it and fall prey to their temptation.

But chapter eight is all about good news, hope and faith that God is not only able to deliver us but has already established the way to that victory over sin.

And in doing so Romans 8 starts off with one major liberating declaration. Let’s read for ourselves what that liberating declaration is.

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

I love the way the Apostle Paul put it, “… now no condemnation…”. The truth is that we all live in the here and now but before we can get to the “NOW” we first had to go through the “BEFORE”.

The life we now have in Christ does not consist of any condemnation from God. For God’s people we now live a condemnation free life. But the life we had before was filled with God’s condemnation. All of us, right down to last one of us, was a condemned sinner to hell.

But we really need understand how condemned we truly were? By developing a thorough understanding of the depths of our former condemnation we will gain a greater appreciation for the amazing declaration we now have of:

NO CONDEMNATION!

THREE LEVELS OF CONDEMNATION:

Level 1: We are condemned because we are part of Adam’s seed.

“So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteious act there is justification leading to life for everyone. For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:18,19

We are condemned because the human race (Adam’s seed) has been condemned. Adam and Eve is the beginning point of the entire human race and through Adam’s sin everyone is condemned.

Now I know what some of you are thinking! You’re thinking, “That Doesn’t Sound Fair”. You’re thinking that it isn’t fair that you should suffer because of something your relative did way back before you were ever born. Now that would be a great subject to study but not now because there isn’t enough time. But for now let me say that our condemnation isn’t just because Adam was our relative. We are also condemned:

Level 2: Because we too are sinners.

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23

To an even greater degree condemnation has come to all of us because each of us joined in on the sinning. I can’t blame my parents, my siblings or my friends. I am a sinner because I chose to sin. I chose to hate, I chose to lie, I chose to lust. These are my sins and no one else is to blame for them.

But then there’s a third level of condemnation that only some will experience. But it is a condemnation that is of an even greater intensity than either level one or level two combined. But is that level?

Level 3: Because you have rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.” John 3:17-18

Here’s the point to get from this passage. Those people who have had the privilege of hearing the wonderful and amazing gospel message and rejected are also condemned. However, in the book of Hebrews there is some indication that their condemnation might be more severe than others who have never heard the gospel.

Here’s the truth about your life before you knew Jesus as your Lord and savior:

YOU WERE CONDEMNED TO HELL!

But now that you know Jesus God the Father has a new pronouncement:

NO CONDEMNATION - NOT EVEN A LITTLE BIT!

God is no longer condemning you and he is not even look for a reason to condemn you. In the eyes of the Heavenly Court with God the Father as the Righteous Judge you have been declared free!

ISN’T THAT AMAZING!

Before you came to Christ you were sinking and drowning in a sea of sin and you were helpless and hopeless to do anything about it. You had been condemned to hell and you were just waiting for the Last Day, the Day of Judgement when that sentence of condemnation would be executed. But then something amazing happened. God the Father stood up in the Heavenly courtroom and declared:

NOT CONDEMNED BUT JUSTIFIED.

The Why? and How? We will learn as we go through this chapter. But for now just marvel in amazement that God has declared you no longer condemned.

Click Here To Check Out Part 1 Of This Blog Series:

4 REASON'S WHY CHRISTIANS SHOULD KEEP OUT OF WORLDLY PURSUITS!

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

As fully devoted followers of Christ we need to give careful attention to what things we pursue in life! Why? Because they can either help us grow in our devotion to Christ or hinder us. A Godly goal is a good thing but a worldly pursuit is not.

In this post I want to share with you 4 reasons why God’s people should at all cost avoid pursuing worldly goals and in particular keep themselves from getting entangled in the love of money. The Love of Money, by the way, according to the Bible is one particular way Christian quite often get caught up in the things of the world.

To accomplish I will be sharing 3 Pitfalls that come with choosing worldly goals and what happens to those who stumble into those pitfalls. These pitfall’s are found in 1 Timothy 6:9-10:

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires. , which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” ((CSB)

These pitfalls are:

PITFALL #1:

It Makes You susceptible To Temptation: When our heart longs for the things of this world we become more vulnerable to the wiles and schemes of the devil. Temptations in and of themselves are not sins but they are the doorway that leads a person to sin. The primary reason a person commits a sin is because they have some kind of worldly desire they are trying to satisfy. And that unmet satisfaction cause people to look for its fulfillment in ways that God says is sinful. Therefore, the cure is not to continually fight off the temptation but to root out the evil and sinful desires and replace them with God honoring desires. So, if your sincere desire is to live a life that pleases God then you need to make sure that your hearts desires are on the things of Heaven and off the things of this world.

PITFALL #2:

It’s a trap that will ensnare you. Traps have been used throughout the ages by hunters who are want to catch unsuspecting animals. They are usually camouflage so the animal will not see it and step into it. And this is the way it is with the goals of this world and especially the love of money. The true intent of these longings are hidden and dressed up to look like things that are good. After all, what could be wrong with being rich if it allows me to give more money to help the poor? What’s wrong with having a nicer and bigger home for my family to live in? Shouldn’t they be able to live in a nice place? You see the issue isn’t what you can do with the money but what you are willing to do to get the money or your true motivation for getting the money.

PITFALL #3:

It Ignites Feelings That You Shouldn’t Have: The problem with the love of money or the desire to have the things of the world is that it doesn’t stay satisfied with the fulfillment of those desires. As a result of pursing them newer and more harmful desires start to grow. There are some feelings that we were never intended to have or experience. The “Love of Money” is described as a “root”. If temptation is the seed then the love of money (materialism) is the root that is form from that seed and it in turns grows into a blooming plant of all kinds of other evil and more harmful desires. If you think that you can control your love for money and keep it contained then you are only fooling yourself. The only way to keep yourself from growth of all kinds of evil in your life is to uproot the love of the world and replace it with a root that exclusively loves God.

Now let me share a little bit about what the end result will be if you fall into one or all of these pitfalls and fail to uproot and guard agains the love of this world and the pursuit of worldly goals. Quite simple it is exactly what the Bible says,

“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (CSB)

2 End Results:

#1: Wandering From The Faith:

In Luke chapter 8 Jesus tells a parable about a person who went sowing seed on different types of ground and then He explains the spiritual significance for each group. Here’s how Jesus describes the seed that feel on the ground filled with thorns and thistles.

“As for the seed that fell among the thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life and produce no mature fruit.” Luke 8:14 (CSB)

This is quite a visible picture, from Jesus, on what happens to people who have their hearts set on the things of this world and not on Christ. The riches and pleasures of life of life choke out or we could also, are more valuable to people than Christ is, and as a result they walk away. Another way of saying it is that people who hear the Gospel of Christ and are excited with the forgiveness of sins that come from following Christ but once they hear that they need to leave everything (including their riches) in order to follow Christ, they walk away sad because they love their money more than they do Jesus.

#2: They Stab Themselves With Lots of Grief:

Notice that verse 10 uses the word pierce and not prick. Why? Because the word pierce suggest a knife or sword stabbing. It is a life threatening wound. It’s not a little poke that might draw some blood but a wound that in most cases lead to death.

Also, notice that this is a self-inflicted wound. This is something you caused yourself and not something someone did to you. You’re the one who sets you life goal, you are the one who decides who your heart will be devoted to. To choose the world over Christ is your chose and the result is a harm that you brought on yourself. It is avoidable if you choose wisely but it is also unavoidable if you don’t choose wisely.

So many people suffer horribly simply because they have chosen to go after the things of this world, to give their heart over to what this world says is important. The pain is real but the pain was and is avoidable.

By simply choosing to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength you will avoid all three of these pitfalls and the consequences that follow. So who will you give your heart to? Will it be God through Jesus Christ or will it be the world.

DON'T CHOOSE DOOR #1: A Biblical Life Goal To Pursue: Part 1

When I was a child growing up one of our families favorite T.V. programs was the game show, LET’S MAKE A DEAL. I always enjoyed watching it because of the thrill of watch people possibly winning something really amazing. You know what I mean. Right? The thrill of the win or the agony of the loss. I would always imagine myself as the big winner.

But wouldn’t it have been nice if you had some special knowledge in advance of what was behind Door #1, or Door #2 or even Door #3? If you did have that knowledge do you think it would have influenced what choice you would have made?

Of course it would!

In this post we are starting a series that deals with options, consequences and admonitions about the kind of life goal you should establish that will guide your pursuit in life. Whether we know it or not we all have goals that guide how we live life and the kind of choices we make as we go through life. Our expectations is that these goals will help bring joy, fulfillment, excitement and happiness during our travels here in this world.

However, establishing bad goals can hinder the experience of that joy, excitement, fulfillment and happiness that we so desperately want in our lives. Making wise choices about our goal is going to be absolutely essential.

However, gratefully God, in the Bible, has told us what our options are when it comes to establishing a goal for life and even better news is that there aren’t 10 to 15 different choices! In actuality there are only 2 choices. One choice is good and the other choice is not good at all. So, in reality for those of us who are fully devoted followers of Christ there is only one life goal that is to be our choice.

Our series of posts will be taken from 1 Timothy 6:3-10 and today’s post is entitled:

DON’T CHOOSE DOOR #1.

Remember there are only two choices but this first choice is not the right choice. This first choice is the choice to avoid at all cost. It is the choice that will rob you instead of give you. It’s the one that will harm you instead of benefitting you. So, what’s that option? It’s the option that this world offers to you.

So, what exactly is in door #1? What is it that we should not make our life’s goal? To help us find out let us take a look at 1 Timothy 3: 3-5 and most specifically verse 5. It says:

“If anyone teaches false doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and with with the teaching that promotes godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth., who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain.” (CSB)

What is the life goal to avoid?

The Pursuit Of Material Gain!

The pursuit of material gain as a life’s goal is one of the false teachings that was and still is part of the church and especially trying to use godly living as a means to getting rich. In verse 10 the Apostle Paul refers to people who make the amassing of material wealth their life goal as people who “Love Money”. Take a look at what it says,

“For the love of money is a root to all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:10 (CSB)

The reason why the pursuit of worldly riches or the love of money is a life goal to avoid is simply because it’s a heart issue. It’s a matter of what you “LOVE” the most.

In Luke 16:13-15 Jesus is teaching the people that it is impossible to serve two masters. You will either love the one and hate the other or visa versa. And then Jesus coined a quote that we still use today. It is:

“You cannot serve both God and money” Jesus Christ

Jesus said you cannot serve both God and money! He didn’t say:

• “You can’t serve fully both God and money.”

• or “It’s hard to serve both God and money”.

• No! Jesus flat out stated emphatically stated that it is:

IMPOSSIBLE

Why? Because the issue at play is all about the heart or it is all about what you love. God refuses to compete or share with anyone or anything concerning the love that is due Him as God Almighty.

Let me hammer the point in by asking you a question: What is the greatest commandment? That was a question Jesus asked some of the religious leaders of his day. It’s a good question that we should ask ourselves from time to time and the answer is something we should remind ourselves daily. What is it? According to the Bible it is:

“To Love The Lord Your God With All Your Heart, Mind, Soul And Strength”

The truth of the matter is that God wants our full and complete love! And God is unwilling to share it with anyone or anything. And one of the biggest competitors to robbing God of the love that is due Him is the love for money. Money is enticing and money is deceiving, People try to justify their love for money to make it sound acceptable or at least understandable.

But according to the Bible the love of money or the amassing of material gain is absolutely not the life goal for anyone who calls themselves a Follower of Christ.

Door #1 Is Not The Door To Choose!

One Often Overlooked Principle For Igniting A Disciple Making Movement

When it come to joining Christ on His mission and seeing a church planting/disciple making movement ignite there is often one essential but overlooked principle that needs to be considered. Watch this video to learn what that principle is and then consider how we can most effectively incorporate it. Leave your thoughts as a comment.

Powerful Missional Living Is All About Learning To Be A Powerful Influencer!

Photo by Elijah Macleod on Unsplash

Do you have the influence skills necessary for living a powerful missional life? Watch this video to find out!

People of influence have learned how to manage the emotion of worry! They don’t worry. As a Follower of Christ there is absolutely no reason to allow worry to part of your life, especially as you live a life on mission with Christ.

Check out this great book called, LIVING ON MISSION IN SPITE OF MY WORRY. This book will give you the Biblical principles and practices you need to rid your life of worry. CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!

Failure: A Tombstone Or A Stepping Stone?

How you deal with failure will have a lot to do with how well you join Christ on His mission!  Watch this video and be encouraged! 

Flow Chart For Reproducing Disciple Making

As we are out in the spiritual harvest fields sharing Jesus and the Gospel with others, different people will give us different responses!  Do you know what actions you should take based upon the response you get from the different people you share Christ with?

In this video you are going to learn some possible different actions you can take when people give you different responses to your offer of receiving Christ and your invitation to begin a discipleship process with them.  It is a flow chart to help you know what to do and what to say!

How To Have God Guide You!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." 

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NAS)

In this short but powerful verse we are given specific instructions on how to allow God to guide our lives!  The Bible tells us: What To Do; What Not To Do; and To Claim A Promise!  In other words there are three conditions (what to do and what not to do) that when fulfilled, God will keep His promise. 

FIRST CONDITION: What To Do!

TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

In other words, we are to have faith in God.  Trust is just another way of saying Faith! Throughout scripture, expressing faith in God is always essential to seeing God work in and through our lives. The Bible even says that faith is essential in pleasing God.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God" Hebrews 11:6

You have to have faith in God!  You have to be trusting in God to work in you, through you and in the circumstances you find yourself in.  ARE YOU TRUSTING GOD?

But we're not only to trust Him!  We are to trust Him with all our hearts.  Not some of our heart, not part of our heart but ALL of our heart.  When it comes to trusting in God there should be absolutely no doubt or concern whatsoever.  Our full trust and confidence in Him is what God expects of us, if we are expecting him to keep His promise!

SECOND CONDITIONS: What Not To Do!

DON'T RELY ON YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!

This verse is very clear that we are not to lean or stand ourselves up on our own abilities to reason things out.  Often, when God tells us what to do, it won't make a bit of sense.  

I don't think it made much sense to Moses when the Children of Israel needed water and God told him to hit the rock with his staff!  And then on a different occasion God tells him to speak to the rock to get water.  Are you serious?  Hit and speak to a rock! That doesn't make sense. 

I don't think it made a bit of sense to Jesus' disciples when Jesus told them to feed 5,000 men plus women and children with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes!  And if I was Peter it would have made no sense to me at all for Jesus to tell me to go out to a lake, grab a fish, open its mouth and there inside find money and then go pay the temple tax.  Really! Feeding a large group of people with just a little bit of fun and finding money in the mouth of a fish to pay my taxes, just doesn't make sense!

But for God it isn't a requirement for it to make sense to us on how these crazy things that He tell us to do work out!  We Don't Need To Understand!

The only requirement that God expects is obedience.  Obedience is Jesus' LOVE LANGUAGE.  

Jesus speaking, "If you love me keep my commandments." John 15:10

THIRD CONDITION: What To Do!

IN ALL YOUR LIFE MAKE GOD KNOWN!

Throughout you entire life there is always one common denominator!  What is it?

GOD!

It was God who fashioned you, formed you, saved you and maintains you.  Without God and Christ we would be helplessly and hopelessly drowning in our sea of sin!  God has loved us with an everlasting love. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God! NOTHING! 

So, why shouldn't we in all our ways acknowledge God?  Why shouldn't we make Him known to the whole world?  How can we help but speak of the great and mighty things that God has done in the past and in our own lives.  

When we are acknowledging God in all our ways, we are shining the Light of Christ brightly in our part of this dark world!  We are making this world a brighter place to live. 

THE ONE PROMISE: What God Will Do For Us!

HE WILL GUIDE US AND DIRECT US!

After all, why wouldn't God direct us and lead us if we are putting our faith in him, making Him known to all the world and not leaning on our own understanding?  Of course He will!  

You fulfill those conditions and you can take this promise that God has made to you, to the bank and cash it in. 

THAT'S PROMISE THAT GOD WILL HONOR AND KEEP!

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The #1 Factor That Determines How You Portray Christ To The World!

While there are other things that will determine how you portray Christ to others, I believe this video will share with you one of, if not the most, factor in how people see Christ in you.  To learn more about how to shine the Light of Christ brightly in your part of this dark world, check out this powerful book on living a powerful missional life: 

THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE: A Journey Into Missional Living.

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The Basic Gospel Sharing Training

I am so glad to hear of your interest in The Basic Gospel Sharing Training that The Ordinary Christian has put together.  This is a FREE training that you can get to help you become more competent and confident in sharing Christ with others.

Watch This Short Video About What You'll Get When You Claim Your Free Copy

In This 3 Part Video Training You Will Learn:

• About The Common Roadblocks Keeping You From Sharing The Gospel

• About The Essential Skills Necessary To Effectively Share Christ

• How To Initiate A Spiritual Conversation With Anyone

This Training Is Being Given To You For Free!

That's right we are giving it to you at no charge to you.  

Why Would We Give It Away For Free?  Because it is the purpose of The Ordinary Christian to empower, encourage and equip as many of God's people as we can to brightly shine the Light of Christ in their part of this dark world through disciple making.  And we don't want the cost of the training to keep it away from those who can't afford it but really want it!

But The Reality Is That My Wife And I Still Need To Make A Living And Pay Our Bills!

So, How Do We Give Away The Training And Still Pay Our Bills?  

After much prayer and seeking God's direction we decided to make this a truly "Faith Ministry".  We are going to give the training away, free of charge, allowing anyone to get it regardless if they have the money to pay for it or not.

But in return we are asking you to pray to God for His guidance on donating to the work of The Ordinary Christian and to give the exact amount of money God tells you to give.  

• If you're able to give financially then give what God tells you to give.  

• If you're not able to give anything, then don't give,  and receive this training with gladness in your heart because that's how we are giving it.

Why do we call this a "Faith Ministry"? 

Simply because we are trusting God to meet our financial needs even though we are giving the training away for free and because you are trusting God to reveal to you how much to donate to the work.  Faith for us and faith for you!

Does that sound fair? 

Are you willing to receive this training at "No Cost" but also willing to seek God's direction on how much to give in support of the work of The Ordinary Christian?

Great! Then Claim Your FREE Copy Of This Training Today!

How To Endure Difficult Times So To Accomplish Christ's Mission

When we begin to join Christ on His mission and become intentional about making reproducing disciple makers, we can rest assured that we will run into times of trials and tribulations!  Difficult times is something we can guarantee will happen and is something we will need to learn to deal with.  

In Luke 9:23 we hear Jesus telling people what is expected of anyone who wishes to be one of his disciples, 

"Then he said to them all, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily, and follow me."

According to Jesus there are three things that are essential if someone truly wants to become one of His disciples.

1. They Must Deny Themselves: A life of a disciple of Christ is a life of self-denial.  To be His disciples means to no longer have your own ambitions, your own goals or your own desires. Instead, your life is for Christ and Him alone.  You surrender your will for the will of Christ and your desire is to accomplish God's will. 

2. They Must Pick Up Their Cross Daily: The cross in Jesus' day was a painful instrument of death. Joining Christ on His mission quite often will be a very painful experience. Many have suffered greatly and even died for their commitment to Christ and His mission.  
3. They Must Follow Him: It is Christ who sets the place for our missional assignment - not us! He's the one who tells us where to go - not us telling him where we are willing to go.  Quite often Christ's followers found themselves in the most darkest of places, led their by Christ, for the purpose of sharing with those who live in those troubled areas the Gospel.

The suffering and difficult times we may experience are part of God's will for us and in accomplishing the mission set before us!

Jesus Understood Clearly The Pain Associated With Carrying A Cross

As we all clearly know Jesus knew what it meant to pick up a cross and carry it! It meant to suffer and then die to accomplish the work set before Him. Even Jesus didn't relish the thought of going to the cross and would have preferred a different solution if possible.  In Matthew 26:39 we get the rare opportunity to listen in on a prayer by Jesus to His Heavenly Father.  It was a prayer concerning the cross.  Listen to what Jesus asks:

"Going a little farther, He felled with His face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will but as you will."

Jesus didn't like the idea of going to the cross. He understood clearly the pain and suffering that was going to come with it. He referenced it as a "cup". This was an Old Testament imagery that was a reference to the Cup of "God's Wrath" being poured out as judgement.  Jesus understood that going to the cross meant that he would be experiencing the full unbridled wrath of His Father.  This was not a pleasant thought at all. 

There's no written record of the Father's answer but we do know what it was by the actions of Jesus and His resolve to go to the cross and die.  The Father's answer was simple,

"Son, you must go to the cross if people's sins are to be forgiven."

And out of love for us Jesus endured the cross.

Just like Jesus was to take up His cross, Jesus tells us that we are to pickup our cross daily and follow him.  He is telling us that on a day by day basis we are to have a heart willing to suffer and possibly die in order to join Him on his mission of redeeming the world.  We must be willing to deny our self interests and desires in order that others, still lost in sin, can hear the Good News and be saved. We must be willing to die, if need be, so others can be born again. 

But how do you do that? How do we endure the pain and suffering that comes with being on mission with Christ so others can be saved?  Again, we find our answer in the example of Jesus.

Jesus Refocused & Looked Past The Suffering.

In Hebrews 12:2 we find our answer through Jesus' example.

" ... For the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the Thrown of God."

How did Jesus endure the cross? Not by focusing on the cross but look past it and focusing on the joy that would come after the cross. 

1. The joy of knowing that everything that needed to be done for the salvation of men had been accomplished. 
2. The joy that He was obedient to His father even to the point of death on a cross. 
3. The joy of all those men, women, boys and girls dressed in white robes standing around the Thrown of God singing Holy, Holy, Holy.  Jesus was focusing on the End-vision. 

That's how we endure daily picking up our cross with all the pain associated with it!  We focus, not on the trial or tribulation but on all those who will receive Jesus by faith because of our faithfulness; by focusing on hearing Jesus words spoken to us, "Well done good and faithful servant"; by focusing on the "JOY" that will come when Christ returns and finds us faithful to the call. 

THAT'S HOW YOU ENDURE!

SIGN UP FOR THE ORDINARY CHRISTIANS NEWSLETTER!

Why Should I Sign Up For Your Newsletter?

You Should Subscribe To The Ordinary Christian's Newsletter If:

• You want or need encouragement to live a life that reflects and shares the love of Christ to others who need to see it and experience it.
• You want to receive some really good but simple training that will help you join Christ on His mission!
• You're wanting to join God's movement of raising up, training up and unleashing a workforce to enter the Spiritual Harvest Fields and bring in the harvest.
• You sincerely desire to live out the purpose for which God has you here on earth for. 

• And here's a great reason:  IT'S FREE

What Can I Expect To Receive?

The Ordinary Christian's Newsletter is intended to empower, encourage and equip the everyday Christian to live powerful missional lives that shine the Light of Christ brightly in their part of this dark world.  With that in mind you will receive blog posts, video's, training material and information about other resources that will help you to live that powerful missional life.

Can I Unsubscribe?

ABSOLUTELY!  On each newsletter email there's a link towards the bottom of the page that allows you to unsubscribe at any time. Our prayer is that this newsletter will become such and encouragement to you and resource that will stimulate you to shine the Light of Christ even brighter that you won't even want to think about it.

How Often Will I Receive It?

We send out the newsletter 2 maybe 3 times a week at this point.  All of the content is either intended to encourage you, empower you or equip you to reflect the glory of Christ in both word and deed!  

Are You Going To Sell My Email Address?

NEVER!  It will absolutely NEVER happen!  We know your email is important to you and needs to remain secure. So you can rest assured that we will never and I mean never sell, share or give away you email address!

How Do I Sign Up?

WHAT DOES MISSIONAL LIVING NEED TO OVERCOME IMPOSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES?

When we begin to live an intentional life on mission with Christ we will begin to experience some circumstances that will literally blow our minds!  As we encounter those circumstances, impossible circumstances, questions will begin to fill our minds! Questions like:

• How will Christ ever be glorified through this?
• What is God trying to do? This doesn't make sense?
• What am I suppose to do in this situation?

We are going to look at just one little statement Jesus made to a woman while he was out on mission. In that statement holds the key to answer this important question!  Take a few moments and watch it NOW!