Self-Denial: by Andrew Murray

 

If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. —Matthew 16:24

For the first time, Christ had definitely announced that He would have to suffer much and be killed and be raised again. “Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him, saying, Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee.” (verse 22). Christ’s answer was, “Get thee behind Me, Satan” (verse 23). The spirit of Peter, seeking to turn Him away from the cross and its suffering, was nothing but Satan tempting Him to turn aside from the path that God had appointed as our way of salvation.

Christ then added the words of our next verse, in which He used for the second time the words “take up his cross.” But with these words, He used a very significant expression revealing what is implied: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself.” When Adam sinned, he fell out of the life of heaven and of God into the life of the world and of self. Self‑pleasing, self‑sufficiency, and self‑exaltation became the laws of his life. When Jesus Christ came to restore man to his original place, “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Philippians 2:8). What He has done Himself He asks of all who desire to follow Him: “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself.”

Instead of denying himself, Peter denied his Lord: “I do not know the Man!” (Matthew 26:72). When a man learns to obey Christ’s commands, he says of himself, “I do not know the man!” The secret of true discipleship is to bear the cross, to acknowledge the death sentence that has been passed on self, and to deny any right that self has to rule over us.

Death to self—such is to be the Christian’s watchword. The surrender to Christ is to be so entire, the surrender to live for those around us so complete, that self is never allowed to come down from the cross to which it has been nailed, but is always kept in the place of death.

Listen to the voice of Jesus: “Deny self.” Let us ask God that we, as the disciples of Christ, who denied Himself for us, may by the grace of the Holy Spirit always live as those in whom self has been crucified with Christ, and in whom the crucified Christ now lives as Lord and Master.

Strengthened in Your Spirit: by TA Sparks

 

I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Ephesians 3:16

The strength of the Lord's people is none other than the strength of the Holy Spirit in the inward man. Right at the very center of the being, deeper than thought or reason, deeper than emotion or feeling, deeper than all that which comprises the more outward man which, under given circumstances, may prove weak and incapable of standing up to the situation. In the variations of our soul life, the changes of our moods, our ideas, our attitudes, our feelings, our minds; deeper down there is that strength which does not let us go. That is the true nature of spirituality. It is not the tremendously forceful conviction of our intellects or the mighty power of our wills. When these cannot stand up to conditions of intense spiritual antagonism, opposition or perplexity, there is that more inward thing, right in the inward man, which is of God – the Holy Spirit: “Strengthened with might by His Spirit into the inward man.”

Test that out and the result is that when the mind is bewildered by the perplexity of a situation, and the arguments are all in the direction that a mistake has been made, a wrong course has been taken, everything is false – when all the feelings are churned up, disturbed, anxious, fearful, or when there are no feelings at all, they are simply petrified by the position – when circumstances are all arguing in the opposite direction of that which we, in the purest moments of our fellowship with God determined upon. The world around us – and very closely around us, even within the sphere of our own natural life, our own soul life – is an inexplicable mystery. Then spirituality is proved by that inward strength which abides: that standing when you cannot go forward; that holding when you can do nothing; that remaining when all the forces are seeking to sweep you off your feet. That represents a measure of spirituality. That is the true nature of the child of God. The opposite is to be carried away by argument, reasoning, appearance, circumstance, and all such things. That proves a lack of true spirituality. In a sentence, true spirituality is not to live on the outside; it is to live with God right down deep in the inner part of your own being, where He, the Spirit, is.

“Acquainted With Grief” by Oswald Chambers

 

He is…a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. —Isaiah 53:3

We are not “acquainted with grief” in the same way our Lord was acquainted with it. We endure it and live through it, but we do not become intimate with it. At the beginning of our lives we do not bring ourselves to the point of dealing with the reality of sin. We look at life through the eyes of reason and say that if a person will control his instincts, and educate himself, he can produce a life that will slowly evolve into the life of God. But as we continue on through life, we find the presence of something which we have not yet taken into account, namely, sin— and it upsets all of our thinking and our plans. Sin has made the foundation of our thinking unpredictable, uncontrollable, and irrational.

We have to recognize that sin is a fact of life, not just a shortcoming. Sin is blatant mutiny against God, and either sin or God must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue— if sin rules in me, God’s life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed. There is nothing more fundamental than that. The culmination of sin was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and what was true in the history of God on earth will also be true in your history and in mine— that is, sin will kill the life of God in us. We must mentally bring ourselves to terms with this fact of sin. It is the only explanation why Jesus Christ came to earth, and it is the explanation of the grief and sorrow of life.

Rebel Against "SELF-PITY" with Thanksgiving: from Sarah Young - JESUS Calling

 Philippians 4:4-6

 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 

do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Thank Me for the very things that are troubling you. You are on the brink of rebelling, precariously close to shaking your fist in My Face. You're tempted to indulge in just a little complaining about My treatment of you. But once you step over that line, torrents of rage and self-pity can sweep you away. The best protections against this indulgence is thanksgiving. It is impossible to thank Me and curse Me at the same time.
     Thanking Me for trials will feel awkward and contrived at first. But if you persist, your thankful words, prayed in faith, will eventually make a difference in your heart. Thankfulness awakens you to My Presence, which overshadows all your problems.

Psalm 116:17
I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call upon the name of the Lord.

Resting, Remaining, Abiding: by TA Sparks

 

Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in Me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

I have not been the least of those who have striven, and agonized, and strained, and pressed and reached out for all that the Lord would have, all that is possible. It is possible to wear yourself right out, and kill yourself in a spiritual quest, and the Lord at last says to our hearts: "If you only know Me, things will happen; it will all come to pass without any of your strain, struggle and agony. I am going to bear this fruit. I will bear it through you by way of union and fellowship. Remember that the holy, blessed secret of fellowship is just resting in Me, abiding in Me."

If you saw all the branches of the vine every day groaning and agonizing, and writhing in order to bear their fruit, you would see something which is altogether unnatural. As a matter of fact you will see nothing of the kind. You will see them abiding there and bearing fruit. It is what we often speak of as the rest of faith. What is behind the rest of faith? It is not bringing yourself to a passive state, when you inwardly sink down and say, "I am just going to rest." It is knowing the Lord, God in Christ; for the way in which God has joined Himself to us is in Christ, not apart, and the way in which we have been joined to God is in Christ, not apart. The answer to every need is knowing Him in this way.

Recognized by the World? by TA Sparks

 

The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations. (Numbers 23:9)

Not reckoned among the nations. Oh, that is glorious! That puts Israel not only apart from the nations, but on top of the nations. Now, if there has been one thing which Satan has ever tried to do with the people of God in all ages, it has been to get them reckoned among the nations. I speak solemnly and carefully. Right at the very heart of Christendom as we have it today is the desire to be recognized. Recognition! Everything that organized Christianity does is to gain recognition. What are all these churches? I mean, in this instance, all these elaborate and imposing buildings. They are to gain recognition. They are in order to be reckoned something. To what end is all the procedure, the advertisement, and the much else besides? It is in order to get recognition, to be accredited here on this earth, to be reckoned. Yes, that is Satan's triumph. That is where spiritual power has gone out. That is where the Church has ceased to be something to be reckoned with up there. It has, in spirit, come down here, to be reckoned among the nations. If only Satan can get the people of God into a position where they are taken up by this world, written up by this world, made something of by this world, he has triumphed and pulled the Church down out of its heavenly place and made it an earthly thing. That is the principle right through the Old Testament. That too is seen to be the trouble in the Revelation. God will not have it. Satan's success is along that line. He has pulled the Church out of the heavens. Somewhere he has made it touch earth, form a link in some way with earth.

What we have just said does touch us in so many ways, yes, in countless things, this question of being reckoned among the nations in principle, this coming down from the heavenly position. The Lord never meant His Church on this earth to be something that would be taken up by this world, to be something that would be reckoned among the things of this world, recognized and accredited by this world. What He meant, and what obtained when things were right, was that the world itself could not bear the presence of the Church, did not want it. That is the power of the Church to testify against the world.

The Redemption of the Cross: by Andrew Murray

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Galatians 3:13

Scripture teaches us that there are two points of view from which we may regard Christ’s death upon the cross. The one is the redemption of the cross: Christ dying for us as our complete deliverance from the curse of sin. The other is the fellowship of the cross: Christ taking us up to die with Him and making us partakers of the fellowship of His death.

In the above verse, we find three great unsearchable thoughts. First, the law of God has pronounced a curse on all sin and on all that is sinful. Second, Christ took our curse upon Him and even became a curse, thereby destroying its power. Third, in the cross we now have the everlasting redemption from sin and all its power. The cross reveals to us that man’s sin is under the curse, that Christ became a curse and overcame it, and that He is our full and everlasting deliverance from the curse.

In these thoughts, the most lost and hopeless sinner may find a sure ground of confidence and hope. In Paradise, God had indeed pronounced a curse on this earth and all that belongs to it. (See Genesis 3:17–19.) On Mount Ebal, in connection with giving the law, half of the people of Israel were to pronounce a curse on all sin. (See Deuteronomy 27:11–26.) And there was to be in their midst a continual reminder of it: “He that is hanged is accursed of God” (Deuteronomy 21:23). And yet, who could ever have thought that the Son of God Himself would die on the accursed tree and become a curse for us? But such is the gospel of God’s love, and the penitent sinner can now rejoice in the confident assurance that the curse is forever put away from all who believe in Christ Jesus.

The preaching of the redemption of the cross is the foundation and center of the salvation the gospel brings us. To those who believe its full truth, it is a cause of unceasing thanksgiving. It gives us boldness to rejoice in God. There is nothing else that will keep the heart more tender toward God, enabling us to live in His love and to make Him known to those who have never yet found Him. God be praised for the redemption of the cross! 

An EVERLASTING, AMAZING Love: from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

 

Jeremiah 31:3

the Lord appeared to him from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Isaiah 61:10

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
    my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

I have Loved you with an everlasting Love. Before time began, I knew you. For years you swam around in a sea of meaningless, searching for Love, hoping for hope. All that time I was pursuing you, aching to embrace you in My compassionate arms.
     When time was right, I revealed Myself to you. I lifted you out of that sea of despair and set you down on a firm foundation. Sometimes you felt naked--exposed to the revealing Light of My Presence, I wrapped an ermine robe around you: My robe of righteousness. I sang you a Love song, whose beginning and end are veiled in eternity. I infused meaning into your mind and harmony into your heart. Join Me in singing My song. Together we will draw others out of darkness into My marvelous Light. 

I Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The Keys of the Kingdom: by Henry Blackaby

 

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”       Matthew 16:19

The keys of the kingdom represent the access you have to the Father through your relationship to Jesus Christ. With this relationship you have access to everything that is accessible to Christ. However, this access is not given indiscriminately; Jesus gave the keys to His disciples only after they recognized that He was the Christ. Once the disciples were convinced that Jesus was the Savior, they entered into a unique and personal relationship with Him. Their relationship to Jesus gave them direct access to their heavenly Father. Likewise, your relationship with Christ opens the door of heaven for you and gives you direct access to the Father.

Peter discovered that once he had keys to the kingdom, he could go to the Father in every situation. When he stood to preach before thousands on the day of Pentecost, this simple fisherman opened the door to the kingdom for three thousand people in one day (Acts 2:41). When he encountered a lame man, he used his access to God and His healing power, and the man was healed (Acts 3:6). When he was imprisoned, Peter discovered that the keys of the kingdom could open even the most secure prison door (Acts 12:6-10).

If you are a Christian you, too, have keys to the kingdom of heaven. You do not need an intermediary, for you have an unobstructed access to God. With that access come all the resources you need to face any circumstance. When you are afraid, you have access to God’s peace that surpasses comprehension (Phil. 4:6). When you have a broken relationship, you have access to the God of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-21). When you meet someone in need, you have access to God’s provision for that person. What an incredible privilege to be entrusted with keys to the kingdom of heaven!

And After That What’s Next To Do? (or SELF-Realization vs CHRIST-Realization) by Oswald Chambers

 

…seek, and you will find… —Luke 11:9

Seek if you have not found. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss…” (James 4:3). If you ask for things from life instead of from God, “you ask amiss”; that is, you ask out of your desire for self-fulfillment. The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God. “…seek, and you will find….” Get to work— narrow your focus and interests to this one thing. Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you simply given Him a feeble cry after some emotionally painful experience? “…seek, [focus,] and you will find….”

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters…” (Isaiah 55:1). Are you thirsty, or complacent and indifferent— so satisfied with your own experience that you want nothing more of God? Experience is a doorway, not a final goal. Beware of building your faith on experience, or your life will not ring true and will only sound the note of a critical spirit. Remember that you can never give another person what you have found, but you can cause him to have a desire for it.

“…knock, and it will be opened to you” (Luke 11:9). “Draw near to God…” (James 4:8). Knock— the door is closed, and your heartbeat races as you knock. “Cleanse your hands…” (James 4:8). Knock a bit louder— you begin to find that you are dirty. “…purify your hearts…” (James 4:8). It is becoming even more personal— you are desperate and serious now— you will do anything. “Lament…” (James 4:9). Have you ever lamented, expressing your sorrow before God for the condition of your inner life? There is no thread of self-pity left, only the heart-rending difficulty and amazement which comes from seeing what kind of person you really are. “Humble yourselves…” (James 4:10). It is a humbling experience to knock at God’s door— you have to knock with the crucified thief. “…to him who knocks it will be opened” (Luke 11:10).

Prayer in the Name of Christ: by Andrew Murray

 

And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. John 14:13

How wonderful is the link between our prayers and Christ’s glorifying the Father in heaven! Much prayer on earth brings Him much glory in heaven. What an incentive to pray much, to intercede incessantly! Our prayer is indispensable to the glorifying of the Father.

During His last night on earth, Christ’s desire was so deep for His disciples to learn to believe in the power of His name, and to take hold of His promise of a sure and abundant answer, that we find the promise repeated seven times. He knew how slow men are to believe in the wonderful promise of answer to prayer in His name. He desires to rouse a large and confident faith, to free our prayers from every shadow of doubt, and to teach us to look upon intercession as the most certain and most blessed way of bringing glory to God, joy to our own souls, and blessing to the perishing world around us.

If the thought comes to us that such prayer is not easy to attain, we only need to remember what Christ told His disciples. It was when the Holy Spirit came that they would have power to pray in power. In order to draw us on to yield ourselves fully to the control of the blessed Spirit, He holds out to us the precious promise: “Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24). As we believe in the power of the Spirit working in us in full measure, intercession will become to us the joy and the strength of all our service.

When Paul wrote, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17), he reminded us how, in daily life, everything is to bear the signature of the name of Jesus. As we learn to do this, we will have the confidence to say to the Father, “As we live in Your name before men, we come to You with the full confidence that our prayers in Your name will be answered.” Our lives lived among men are to be lived in communion with God. When the name of Jesus rules everything in our lives, it will give power to our prayers, too.

Our Richest Treasure: Inner Knowledge of God: by AW Tozer

 

Deuteronomy 1:6
 The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, "You have stayed long enough at this mountain.
Deuteronomy 1:8
 See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers--to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob--and to their descendants after them."

LARGE NUMBERS OF SUPPOSEDLY SOUND CHRISTIAN believers know nothing at all about personal communion with God; and there lies one of the greatest weaknesses of present-day Christianity!

The experiential knowledge of God is eternal life (John 17:3), and increased knowledge results in a correspondingly larger and fuller life. So rich a treasure is this inward knowledge of God that every other treasure is as nothing compared with it!

We may count all things of no value and sacrifice them freely if we may thereby gain a more perfect knowledge of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. This was Paul’s testimony (Phil. 3:7-14) and it has been the testimony of all great Christi an souls who have followed Christ from Paul’s day to ours.

To know God it is necessary that we be like God to some degree, for things wholly dissimilar cannot agree and beings wholly unlike can never have communion with each other. It is necessary therefore that we use every means of grace to bring our souls into harmony with the character of God.

As we move farther up into the knowledge of Christ we open new areas of our beings to attack, but what of it! Remember that spiritual complacency is more deadly than anything the devil can bring against us in our upward struggle. If we sit still to escape temptation, then we are being tempted worse than before and gaining nothing by it.

Stand by REVELATION: by TA Sparks

 

God, who… made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6

We stand by revelation, "God who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." "God... called me through grace to reveal His Son in me." - Gal. 1:16. How are we going to be made to stand, to be established? How is this endurance going to be put in us? By knowing the Lord Jesus in this inward way, by revelation. The people who are going to stand are those in whom this thing has become a living revelation; "God hath shined in our hearts," this is one side. The other is, "pressed on every side, perplexed, pursued, smitten down... yet not unto despair" - 2 Cor. 4:6-10. We are troubled and pressed down... why? "That the LIFE of JESUS might be made manifest in our mortal bodies" - 2 Cor. 4:11.

Is not that endurance? Pressed on every side yet not strangled! "In pressure Thou hast enlarged me" - Ps. 4:1. What was meant to be "pressed down," God has made for enlargement. Cast down, yet a wonderful rising up. Why? How? It is "God who hath shined in our hearts... in the face of Jesus Christ," therefore you can go through and survive. Nothing can carry us through but the revelation of the Lord Jesus by the Holy Spirit in our hearts; an inside knowledge of Him - not mental assent to a creed or a doctrine, but a living, vital reality in our very being.