1)
If there be therefore any
consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit,
if any bowels and mercies,
2)
Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one
accord, of one mind.
3)
Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
4)
Look not every man on his
own things, but every man also on the things of others.
5)
Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus:
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W |
hen
one actually "give(s) God control," it means that his mind belongs to
Him. In the same way that the rudder steers a ship, the mind that God controls
"steers" its possessor only in those directions dictated and
sanctioned by Him.
It
is not as if we are unaware of the influence of the Lord, for we will hear what
He says, yet have our own plans as to what we are willing to do. Our interests
in our natural fleshly lives fill us with a desire to please ourselves
and the more we cater to it, the "more" we will have to have.
There
are many in salvation this very day who came to salvation miserable—and have
remained this way. Then they and others wonder why they seem to be unable to
achieve any other state. You see, too often, the people of God are not
committed to Christ, but still expect Him to do things for them.
One
of the devil's greatest deceptions lies in convincing the people of God that it
is necessary for them to protect themselves. You know, we will get saved, but
then find all sorts of things to worry and wonder about. Why would the Lord
take us from one life full of woe just to "graft" us into His family,
give us a mission and along with the mission, require us to "worry"
and fret, assuring that time would be taken from the mission? We must
learn that the life that we have been granted through salvation is a life of
service and that service requires us to be free from all encumbrances. These
encumbrances include worry about anything and concern for ourselves.
Many
of us need to reexamine why we came to salvation. We are frequently asked the
question of whether or not we came knowing that this meant we belonged to the
Lord. The prevailing attitude is usually that we cannot be held accountable for
this because we had not been "taught" that. That may be true, but
once one is saved, there is the awareness through the Spirit, that one has embarked upon a totally different life. Of course, once one comes here (to Living Faith), whether
you knew before that salvation meant service or not, you know, now. The
only question is: "So, what's your excuse?"
If
one feels that it is necessary to look out for himself, who is going to have
the greatest control over his life? He is, because he will constantly
dictate to himself his own behavior and priorities.
Dictating
our own behavior and following our own priorities is inconsistent with a life
controlled by God. Since He is concerned with the spiritual, as opposed to the
natural, we must do what is spiritual and not natural.
Contrary
to scripture, there are those who believe that the human spirit becomes changed
upon salvation. To understand what really happens, one must know that the
"first birth" spoken of in the scripture refers to our natural birth
which is focused upon the awakening of the natural human spirit. The
"second birth" is that in which we are born of the Spirit of God that
we might be a spiritual being. This is required by the Lord because of the
nature of heaven, itself. The "nature" is such that we are left the
mandate that "flesh and blood shall not inherit the
Being a spiritual being, apart from the
issue of birth, means that one lives by the complete direction of the
Holy Spirit. This
is the only way man is assured of being sin-free. What it does not mean
is that man talks about God and being saved, goes to church, but then,
does as he pleases.
Probably,
the biggest "blockage" the people of God have in "giv(ing) God control" is the
misplaced fear of losing our identity. But, as long as we try to retain our own
identity we will miss the opportunity to fulfill our higher calling in the
Lord—whatever that is. If we had been "good" enough for God, or
"complete" the way we were, He would not require more of us. In that
He does, not only can He not be satisfied with our remaining the same, we
cannot be allowed to be satisfied, either.
God
will never be allowed to be in control of our lives as long as there is an
ounce of doubt in our minds about Him being greater than ourselves. Actually,
He already knows who we believe to be greater by our actions. The one to whom
we give the most responsibility for our lives is the one we count to be the
greatest.