The Christian walk is a life of surrender. It is the kingdom of heaven converging with the kingdoms of men, and the Lordship of Christ becomes the central focus of such men who have relinquished their carnal thrones to God. This yielding on the part of the believer is not motivated by a divine compulsion but rather inspired by an intimacy between both. Love compels us to yield our lives to serve a greater mandate and purpose instead of the lures of the mundane
This dying on the part of the believer, to self, creates an undistracted space for the government of God to rule or manifest within an earthen vessel. Christ, our savior, set this glorious template for us to emulate. I know there is higher price to pay if one wants to see God touched the soul of the nations through them, in ways and manner that is beyond human ability
A lot of things has to be sacrificed in this sacred expedition with God and many pilgrims gives up before the real journey even begins
Until our lives strikes a chord in eternity we have not began living. In the Kingdom dimension success is not measured by how many things you have acquired on earth, it is rather measured by how yielded you are to an eternal ordination. Our savior triumphs against the temptation of self. He cried out at Gethsemane —
LUKE 22:42 KJ21saying, “Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Thine be done.
KINGDOM ENTREATIES
We are entreated by scripture to build our lives upon this same foundational truth that catapulted Jesus into honor and stay there. If you desire to see God manifest in your life in dimensions unimaginable then this must be your creed. Paul writes to the Philippi Church; “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,” (Philippians 2:5 NRSV)
What then was the mindset of Christ? The Spirit answers that in the ensuing verses but the seventh verse drew my attention because of the word emptying. It reads; “but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,” Philippians 2:7 NRSV
THE SELF EMPTYING CHRIST
The mindset of Jesus was about letting the Father’s will prevail in Him. He yielded all that he was as God-man to the objectives of the Father. He was sold out to the agenda of a Kingdom which was not invented on earth. He fulfilled the counsel of the father in becoming a substitutionary sacrifice in the place of sinful men on Calvary cross.
“How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 MSG
The son of God lived and breathed the Fathers will on every single decision he pursued of his earthly life even to the beckoning of the cross.
“he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:8 NRSV
He spoke in this sense of yielding when He addressed the Jews, when they criticized him concerning the healing of a man at the pool of Bethsaida on a sabbath day —
“Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise.” John 5:19 NRSV
We have been conditioned to pursue personal ambitions and goals so most believers only seek God in few matters of life, especially who to marry and maybe when we are at the edge of pain, when we need his intervention. It is almost like everything always has to be our way or the highway. We are religious experts — we know how to emotionally invite God into our world of personal choices to help us fulfill our carnal ambitions.
SELF IS A STUBBORN SERVANT
Even a two year old kid have that fallen mindset of desiring to have his way all the time though that child is under matured guardianship. Letting mum and dad have the control requires total death to the tendencies inherent in the child to want to be in control.
JEREMIAH 10:23 O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Our flesh is weak but it never want to accept that reality because that makes us feel vulnerable in a sense. It is not in humans to direct our steps. Our true reference is in the infinite wisdom of God. Oh, when we become vulnerable and contrite at heart and feel the weight of God in our spirits, suddenly, what was once a priority becomes unappealing within us. This principle of dying to the flesh is strongly echoed by Jesus in Johns gospel; Chapter twelve and the twenty-fourth verse: “Verily, verily I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit”
In this context Jesus talked about his ultimate death and resurrection but within this truth is the principle of seed sowing and harvest, which is applicable in all things in this life. Until one yield himself or become a servant to the law of death, which means to give up to your personal agenda and tendencies, creating graceful space in our lives for God to exercise His will and purposes within us. This is the only way a harvest of eternal magnitude could manifest in us.
That individual seed or life will remain a seed and probably have great success in this world context but as long as Gods will is concern, he will not strike a chord in eternity.
Our lives counts in eternity when we sacrifice our life for the ultimate of heaven to be fulfilled on this side of life.
Self is a serious problem of humanity. We are fighting against a capitalistic system backed by the demon of lust and obsession. Strange enough, it had done a fine work by turning even followers of Christ to be so obsessed with self. Our love wax cold due to the fact that we put ourselves before everything. We struggle with the sin selfishness and lawlessness. Until we grow past the mindset of self aggrandizing this world will not taste the goodness and power of God through selfless individuals who are sold out to an agenda of God. An agenda which is higher and bigger than our personal gains.
If self is emptied for the life of God to be displayed in us, Satan is not a match for the church of Christ. Our churches will be full of love and the power of God. Our communities and the world at large will be drawn to this life. The world still gropes in hopelessness because when your eyes can only see you, you become blind to all the serious matters around you. Matters you and I are called to be hands and feet of Christ in solving it.
I love this rendering of the MESSAGE Bible on Philippians 2:5-8
“Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.”Philippians 2:5-8 MSG
HORSES AND EAGLES RISING
Until that self in us is one hundred percent yielded to the demands of heaven we will not see the manifestation of the greater purpose of God foretold. We are living in a prophetic season of purging and visitation, but there are few men on the altar of surrender.
God is a rewarder. When we give Him the seed of our life he will give us and the world, a harvest.
This self sacrifice was a daily practice of Christ, from birth to death; He yielded His life to the very will of the Father. He had all the privileges as a deity to do what pleases Him yet He set everything aside in order for the Father to have His ways and work in Him. By choosing the path of selflessness our savior and master was honored above all, by the Father
“Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11 MSG
Whoever desires to become true custodian of an eternal reality on earth, God will demand more from you. This kingdom life is more than just doing few morning devotions here and there and being a regular at the local church yet unfruitful in the matters of the kingdom. By salvation we profited from God. By kingdom living (a life of sacrifice to the will of the King) God profits from us. God is a spirit and He functions through men to establish his dominion.
As a true functionary of God, what others can easily do with their life in the mundane way of things you cannot regulate your life by that standard. God will demand your time at odd hours of the day. Sometimes He will want you to pray or intercede according to His desire, not according to your schedule and those personal old same prayer points. He will urge you to refrain from the casual pleasures of this earth just to be in His presence for a day, a week or even a month, to breathe heavenly burdens upon your heart. Whiles everyone is partying or sleeping you will be wide awake at 12am; praying for the will of God to be established in a certain territory.
Those Men and women who changed the world for Christ were people who were dead to self. They loved not their lives and their harvest was uncommon. We are weak, tired, and powerless because we indulge in all kinds of the activities of the economy of the flesh as if eternity doesn’t exist. If your life doesn’t have the symptoms of divine burden then you are still living for yourself.
Let’s walk through the corridors of faith and sacrifice and observe the lives of ordinary men who carried the burdens of Zion as if they were from a different planet —
“And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented— of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.” Hebrews 11:32-38 NRSV
There is an army rising in these end times, from the secret places of divine preparation and manifestation. Such men and women who have downloaded the heartbeat of the father through the burden of obedience and sacrifice. These men are like horses that have swallowed fire. They are like wild eagles with the eyes of sunshine. They gallop through the darkest deserted places of our world as they scanned pressing spiritual needs of humanity, and turning the hearts of a dying world back to the Father of love through the inherent force of a baptism of fire and light in His presence.
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