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Face Like Flint Isaiah 50:4-7 (KJV) “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. 5The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. 6I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. 7For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” I believe that Jesus Christ lived a lonely life with other people. Why? Because He had determined to find his purpose in life and pursue it with all his might. And that purpose was as the only begotten Son of God. He grew up learning the scriptures; and when He realized who He was, He knew His life would have to be given in order to save mankind. Jesus experienced every feeling that you and I have ever or could ever feel. Jesus knows about pain, suffering, rejection, misunderstandings and abandonment. But there was only one way He survived this type of treatment – HE SET HIS FACE LIKE FLINT and never looked back with any regrets; therefore, He had no shame even though He carried the greatest shame – death on a cross. It was a life-long awareness of getting up daily and listening to the voice of His Father for direction so He would not be taken off guard. And because He listened He did not become rebellious. We must believe that Jesus Christ was totally man. He left His supernatural powers behind when He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of a Virgin. Jesus went through every step that we go through to make us new creatures in Christ.
He was: Born of the Spirit For us to walk in His footsteps, we also must be born of the Spirit; filled with the Spirit; led of the Spirit; and empowered by the Spirit. Few people know all about being born of the Spirit. The terminology as I was growing up was, “Are you a Christian?” Then it went from “Are you saved?” to “Are you born again?” None of these has changed our nation. More recently, we try to identify real believers by asking, “Are you filled with the Spirit?” But only 15% have any understanding of what it means. But most people don’t understand what that means either. If you are filled with the Spirit then you will be led by the Spirit to do the will of the Father and know what He is saying to you daily. It is not being born of the Spirit that produces righteousness; it is the faith and obedience of receiving Christ that results in righteousness being ascribed to us. That requires being led by the Spirit of God on a daily basis. If we accept Christ but then do not keep his commandments, we are not acting in faith and obedience toward God. So our faith in God is not faith at all, but a formula to attempt our righteousness. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be given the tongue of the learned, or one who would become disciplined – not through His intellect, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit. We may have head knowledge about Jesus Christ; we may even acknowledge that Jesus is who He says He is; but there is no salvation, no eternal life, until we are daily walking out our salvation with the Living Jesus walking in the Holy Ghost. The Lord God is now preparing those who are being led by the Spirit of God and getting ready to empower us by the Spirit. This fourth step is now being made available to us. But it won’t happen naturally. I have to set my face like flint and determine that my salvation is today. This is not for the half-hearted Christian, but for the believing obedient Christian who will pay the price to live a righteous life even as Christ lived. Knowing that you may be rejected, misunderstood, abandoned by friends, have to suffer persecution, get ready for a fresh infilling of the power of the Holy Spirit to live life abundantly. Your natural man is being pressed down today and being crushed by the pressures of life. It has to be this way. We are being brought down to death so the resurrection power of Jesus Christ can lift us up with the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. All of our strength, our knowledge, our abilities are being shaken – all old things are passing away, so that all things can become new in Christ Jesus. With every change the righteousness of Christ is being imputed to us to sustain us and produce godly righteousness in our new nature. Through every trying circumstance, every difficulty, when we are pressured beyond the point where we know what to do, the nature of Christ is formed in us and we are raised up together with Him in POWER & MIGHT, at the right hand of the Father. Seated on the throne with Christ, we will begin to rule with authority against all demons of darkness and depression and despair. Yes, the debt is already paid. Yes, Jesus sacrificed Himself for us. But the servant is not above His master. What is good for the master is good for the servant. Jesus went to Gethsemane and suffered intense mental agony to find the will of God. He was taken to Gabbatha where He was tried before Pilate an innocent man – yet they persecuted Him, buffeted Him, beat Him, stripped Him, shamed Him – but He didn’t rebel, he didn’t turn away and run. He set His face like a flint and was not ashamed of any of this suffering. They took him to Golgotha where He suffered the cruelest human punishment. There was no other way. There is no alternative to the righteousness of Christ Jesus. We must die daily, taking up our crosses and rejoice in the sufferings of Christ no matter what that may be. I, like Christ, will not be ashamed of my sufferings because this gospel message is not in word only, but in power of the Holy Ghost that I might be a follower of Christ, having received the word in many afflictions but with JOY IN THE HOLY GHOST. (1 The. 1:6-7) We all have a picture in our minds what eternity will be like. We may even have a picture in our minds what the future is going to be like. But neither one of those will save us. To set your face like flint is to determine in your mind and in your heart that no matter “come what may” I will still obey and follow on. Whether a road of suffering or a season of great blessing and favor, I will still determine that morning by morning I must be disciplined by the Power of the Holy Spirit, the power that comes through the resurrection of Christ. - Pr. Steve February Newsletter 2003 | Face Like Flint | From Bride to Mother Pastor's Journal February 2002 | Lawless Theology | Precious Seed part 2 of 3
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Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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