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Chapter 10 THE CARNAL CHRIST
(Rev 3:7-13 KJV) "And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; {8} I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. {9} Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. {10} Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. {11} Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. {12} Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. {13} He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
What was the revelation given to the church of Philadelphia? First, Jesus spoke nothing negative. We can come to this place in Christ where He will say "Well done." But until He does, the dealings of God go on, until we come into relationship. We do not have to fear God for His wrath, but accept Him for His love.
He comes to this church and has nothing against them. He reveals Himself as the HOLY ONE! That is relationship, walking in the truth, honoring and obeying the Lord. But look at this: 14 things HOLINESS is not: Justification is not holiness - When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal savior, it is just as if we had never sinned. But that does not make holiness. You are made in right standing with Him and His wrath is not against you, but not because of you, because of Christ! Nothing else. Did it change your walk? How you talked? What you did? NO! It was only justification. Salvation is not holiness - It is only the first step toward it. But some believe it is all you need. Social action is not holiness - "I will give a cup of cold water to those who need it. I will become a social activist." -- That just says my behavior is socially acceptable. It doesn't mean my heart is pure. Amassing things is not holiness - I want to produce what looks good. Today we have been told by ministries the more you have, the more you are really blessed by God. That is not holiness. It simply means you have more (headaches). Position of leadership is not holiness - Some believe if you get a certain position, then you must be holy. I do not think so. Just look around today at leaders! Divine power is not holiness - Working of miracles is not holiness. It is a work of the Holy Spirit as He wills. The gifts are not holiness - The giftings of God do not mean holiness. Gifts are free. You do not earn them, and you cannot do anything to receive them -- at least not from God. The gifts come in spite of you. We idolize the gifted ones thinking they must have done something special and been close to God, but the gift has nothing to do with their character. What is difficult is seeing the giftings operate and knowing the lack of holiness that follows. God honors His gifts for the sake of the sheep. The gift does not produce holiness, so do not be surprised when you see a minister act carnally outside the pulpit. God doesn't ask you which gift you want. He simply chooses. So do not let some one tell you the greatest gift is prophecy, because that is the one we should covet. That makes those who do have this gift become special to man, awhile in God's eyes, they are not. It has nothing to do with the person. They did not fast more than you. God just gave it to them. It does not make them holy. Development of my character is not holiness - I can develop myself carnally, naturally, based on humanistic teachings. Being a perfect specimen is not holiness - To believe holiness makes me automatically perfect is to base it on my goodness, not His. Moral actions is not holiness - If this belief were true, then the Pharisees were holy. They were morally good. Good moral people are in cults. In fact, these people are more moral than many Christians. Religious performance is not holiness - I can read my Bible, I can tithe, I can teach; but that is not holiness. Conformity is not holiness - Some people believe if they obey this law to the letter, they will be holy. They will not. Separation from all that is unholy is not holiness - NO! Jesus proved that! He confronted the self-righteous. He touched the ones others thought were unholy. Consecration is not holiness - I can commit myself to God every day, but that does not mean I am holy? Consecration is a way of life, but it is not holiness!
What then is holiness? (Isaiah 57:15) “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”
The revelation Jesus gave to the church of Philadelphia was that He was a holy God. In the Old Testament the Lord revealed His holiness through His names. He said, I am your salvation, I am your banner, I am your peace, I am your righteousness, I am your healer, I am your presence, I am your shepherd, I am your provider, I am your Holiness.
"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy." He gave a higher revelation: holiness is not just a part of His character; it is who He is. He is HOLY. Holiness is not what He does. I cannot say that "I am holy." Only His nature is holy.
To whom does He come: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit" -- to the humble, those with a repentant spirit. We must maintain and grant a spirit of repentance so He can come to our aid. "And to revive the heart of the contrite ones." HUMILITY AND REPENTANCE ARE WHAT MAINTAIN REVIVAL.
How did Christ reveal Himself to us? (Phil.2:4-8) “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who being in the form of God thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death even the death of the cross.” This God who hates and abhors all that is evil and impure humbled Himself and became a man so that we might be restored and renewed in holiness. For Christians, this is a laying down of everything we want so others might live. Holiness is produced through humility. He became a servant, giving up His position and power and majesty (or self-esteem) to become obedient to the cross, A SACRIFICE BORN OUT OF RELATIONSHIP.
He doesn't want you to be something fantastic that everyone can gloat over. He simply wants you! That is why Jesus was willing to strip Himself of everything. Are we? Holiness is becoming WHOLE. That means we will be stripped of our personal motives, our selfish attitudes, and our self-righteous actions -- so that we become nothing and He becomes everything. We will not care anymore if we have a position or if someone recognizes us or gives us credit. We will desire only the Father's Glory.
Such surrender is not easy, but it produces life abundant and joy unspeakable. He is our example in total unconditional love. When we get close to well- known ministers, why do we cringe or back off? Do we think they are better than we are? There may be something that makes them appear higher, but it isn't humility. It is self-righteousness, a sham for holiness. When you find a humble person, you want to be with them. There is no power play operating.
The Pharisee wants to be heard and seen and recognized. But Jesus says, you are a white-washed seplecure. You look and act good on the outside, but inside you are empty and dead. You have no agape, no real love.
In the natural, we are no different. What is our hope? Jesus Christ. He says in I Thes. 5:23: "I am going to come and make you whole - spirit, soul, and body and preserve you blameless until my return. Faithful is he that called, he will also do it." Positionally, I become holy because of Him, but my walk is yet to match His. He wants to set me free from my walk.
(1 Th 4:1-8 KJV) "Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. {2} For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. {3} For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: {4} That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; {5} Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: {6} That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. {7} For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. {8} He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit."
When you reject this kind of living, you are rejecting God! When we say, “I do not want to be holy,” we have just rejected Him. God feels this rejection. You cannot tell a person you do not like a part of him without that person feeling rejection. How do you feel when you are rejected? Isn't it all or none?
Holiness is His nature, just as love is His nature. And it's that loving heart that beats toward us to draw us. His mercy is extended because He knows we cannot come to him on our own. So He said, "I must go away so I can send to the earth the one who taught me how to live": The Holy Spirit. He is to guide you into all truth.
Once you determine holiness, you enter WAR. You war against Satan who does not want you to walk in holiness, because the more you do, the more you walk in God's divine presence. The Lord gets all your worship, all your desire and all your life. The devil becomes nothing to you and has nothing in you.
Your flesh also rebells at holiness because it will no longer be satisfied, fat and sassy. It will become disciplined, refined, and subdued. Your will becomes so consumed with His that nothing will touch you in this realm that can destroy or defeat you. Holiness produces life abundant and full of glory, joy unspeakable, fullness of belief and rejoicing in Him.
Holiness is not a revelation of us. It is a revelation of Him. If I do not want to see His holiness, I do not want to see Him. Have we ever seen His Holiness? There is only one way; holiness produces worship of Him! Do you want to worship Him? Holiness releases worship. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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