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Blessed Are The Dead Rev 14:13 (KJV) “And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.” We are in a forward move of God today. Do you see the word “henceforth”? It means, “From now on,” indicating a change. We have seen in the past seven years the status quo has been broken for this generation. The church literally had no idea of what would happen. Before the turn of the century, the prophets did not speak anything that is now taking place. When they realized nothing was coming to pass that was being prophesied, they recognized they had missed the coming of the Lord. But now we are in a new time, and the understanding is returning as God says, “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.” We are in an on-going time where the Lord is bringing His church through the death process, of the old nature so the new image of Christ might come forth. As a result of enduring this death process we can come into the rest of God – which simply means doing it God’s way alone. This obedience will bring the glory of God. When all the hot air of the church is deflated, then the glory will come. Listen to the challenge: “Die in the Lord.” Why? Because if you don’t, you will miss the Gospel of the Kingdom; be snared by the religious system; and be ensnared by the antichrist world system (found in vrs.6,8,9-11). Religion will not save us; our best intentions will not save us; sincerity will not save us. The antichrist system will snare people through sincerity which in reality is insincerity. We depend too much on the governments of this world to save us. You can be as sincere as you want to be with your religion; but if you religion is not directed by the Holy Spirit, it will destroy you. God is telling us something that has always been, but it is essential “from now on.” Jesus said, “No man can be my disciple unless he deny himself, turn from the world, take up his cross and follows me.” (Luk.14:27) What is a disciple? According to Acts, a Christian disciple is a person who denies himself: [says to self, “I deny my ambitions, my plans, my schemes, my rights to live the way I want to.”] I’m not talking sin – we don’t have any right to sin. I’m talking about your right to live (your way). Deny yourself. Confess, “I am crucified with Christ.” To the natural man, self-denial sounds gloomy. But to the spiritual man, self-denial unlocks joy. Look at the deception all around us today at Christians who say “I will do what I want because it feels good.” Ask anyone who has walked down that road of selfishness and self-centeredness – there is no lasting joy. We have seen people walk away from the direction of the Lord, and another death takes over their lives – but it isn’t dying in the Lord. There are three things that are important in life: Love, Joy and Peace. But they are only the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They cannot be found in doing your own thing. How many people do you know who are trying to live their own way. Joy is not a fruit of your own doing; it is the fruit of the Spirit. Self says, “Let me live my own life.” Religion says, “You can live your own life as long as you do some good works.” The antichrist system says, “Put your trust in money and you will be able to do what you want your way.” NONE OF THESE PRODUCE JOY! Someone asked the question: “If Christmas brings so much joy, why do more people commit suicide than at any other time of the year?” Because people want what they want! Maybe Santa Clause should run for public office so he can deal with the issue. Maybe if I could just get what I want, my life would turn around. For 2000 years there has been only one solution: Deny yourself! Talk to yourself and get that old nature under control. Tell yourself: “I don’t trust you. I’m going to take up my cross and follow Jesus.” Why does He give us a cross? Because it helps us to deny ourselves! {What have you done with your cross?} Many times when two people get married they create their own cross because unless the two are totally alike, they will get on each other’s nerves – that is a cross. What is it that got married? The bodies! (And that union will last for about 5 minutes.) What is your body? It is your house – it is not you. I can’t see you. I can only see your house. God sees you. If we could see the “real” other person, we might not get married so quickly. When people decide to get married they hide the “real” person until after their cross has been created. At this point, you have two human beings who are decent people, but they are not the same. Misery can come unless something changes, so unless the couple wants to live in a war zone, one of them must deny him or herself.. Whoever denies “self” becomes the head of the house: whether male or female, there is but one in the Lord. The one who denies self becomes the priest of the home, while the other person does not grow or change because there is not self-denial.. The only key to change and growth is to deny self. If you are to be a disciple, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. [For the single: Being a member of the church where God has planted you is no different. When you ignore doing something you are asked or instructed to do, you, too, will fail to experience growth and change. You may not be, but becoming an obedient member of the church is your test in order to be married to Christ.] What is your personal cross? It is something many Christians are not willing to bear. It is that one thing in your life, that if you could get rid of it you think you would be totally happy. At first, when you begin to carry your cross it can become unbearable. But if you are determined, you can learn how to carry it without difficulty. Here is how: If there is something you can’t change, don’t dwell on it for too long. Dwell on that which you can do. Let God form in you the ability to bear what you can’t change. [He will give you the ability to see life from a different perspective.] Too much introspection on failure and defeat will destroy you emotionally and psychologically – the pain will be too great. Today, psychologists tell us to stop denying ourselves and release the pain inside by confronting that pain so we can be healed. If God says to do something, then you will have the strength to do it. But if you are not strong enough to expose an area that can destroy you, that area must be given to God so you can go forth with the Word of the Lord to strengthen you. {I believe one of the ways the antichrist spirit will come into power is by exposing areas in people’s lives that they are not able to deal with.} Another area requiring self-denial occurs when you become consumed with wanting something you can’t have. Get your mind on what you can have, or you will walk away from your cross. That is a secret of learning to bear a cross. When you first begin to pick up a cross, you must be extremely careful. It has splinters and is painful to bear. Does this analogy describe Christianity? YES! You wouldn’t know it in this country. We are in such apostasy!!! People in the church today are happy with their religion. They do not have an understanding of what it means to be a Christian – they have never met Jesus – only religion. But here and there, the Lord finds a few to whom He offers a cross and asks them if they will bear it and they say yes. They will be like Job, “Though He slays me, yet will I trust Him. I will do what you say Lord, until the day that I die.” That degree of commitment is what it means to be a Christian. Anything less will not work because you will continually be torn between the demands of the spirit and the demands of your own life. The true Christian life, that of total allegiance, produces love, joy and peace that are of the Spirit of the Living God. The great saints of history reveal such fidelity is the only way of living a life for Jesus. These are the ones who have found the joy of knowing Christ to be more than religious duty, with Paul they pray: Phi 3:10 “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;” There are miracles taking place today for those who are following this death process. They experience the Presence of the Lord in a glorious way. You may be debating, “Do I want to save my life, or do I want Jesus?” That is a good place to be – that is when you can make a clear decision without conflict. You know what is at stake. And from someone who has been through the self-denial, things do change – dying to self gets easier – your hands become calloused to the splintering and your muscles grow to the weight that you bear – we have extended our stakes and stretched our tents. There is more room for understanding and clarity. When you come to this place, your confidence that you are not going to quit makes you worthy of the Kingdom. You have to be made worthy of the Kingdom: 1Pe 5:10 “…after that ye have suffered a while, (he will) make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle [you].” 2Th 1:4-5 (KJV) “So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: (5) Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer”: -Pr. Steve January Newsletter 2010 | Blessed Are The Dead |
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