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That
I may know him, and the power of his resurrection,
The only way to the life of Christ is through his
death. When Jesus came into my heart, it signed the death warrant
to the world. I had a love for secular music, philosophy, tennis,
sports, and literature. All my life I wanted to succeed according
to the world, but when Jesus came into my heart, all that had to
die. The soul had to be dissolved. The soul with its
intellect, will, and emotions had to become subservient to the
spirit. The flesh life, that which fears, that which gets angry,
that which sins and becomes jealous and lustful and conceited, that
life had to be dissolved, and it is a painful process.and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Phil3:10 Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. That life is a life in the spirit. It is a life of love, peace, joy, meekness, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and patience. It is a life above judgment and condemnation. It is a life of mercy and forgiveness. That life can only come about through death. Jesus says if you love your husband, your wife, your children even your own life more than me you can not be my disciple. Luke goes so far as to say unless you hate them. To give up this soulish love is painful. It is a suffering. There is a physical suffering such as fasting. There is a soul suffering such as dying to the world. There is also a spiritual suffering dying to the things you truly love. Jesus learned obedience by the things he suffered and so do we. St. Paul tells us not to grieve the Spirit of God. Why? Because the Spirit will lead us to death in order that the life of Christ might come alive. Not only must we deny ourselves physical things like alcohol, drugs, sex, and tobacco but we must also disjoin ourselves from the world. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is the experience of resurrection life. We are not alone in the process of dying. The Spirit is there to help us in our pursuit of perfection. Justification is not sufficient. We need the Holy Ghost. We need to be born again, sanctified and filled with the Spirit. It is an overcoming life: overcoming sin, sickness, and self. It is a life of love. Love suffers long and is kind. Love never fails. It is more than just being saved. It is a life of crucifixion and resurrection. “I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me and the life that I now live, I live by the faith of Christ who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal2:20) St. Paul experienced death to self in order that Christ might live in him. So it is with us. As we die to self and live for God, God removes that which might hinder the work of God in our lives. We as Christians are to be at it for him and not for ourselves and all the glory is to go to God. Amen |