Powered By The Spirit - You Can't Live Your New Life On Your Own

My Utmost For His Highest

 

We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. —Romans 8:26

 

“When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable. “He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is. The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “…your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” […] Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”” CHAMBERS

 

(John 14:26) Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” We needed a Spiritual transplant to live our new life. In Ephesians 1 it says we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. In our day to day living, we are personally unaware of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in us.  Others can see the impact of His presence in us. (Romans 8:1) “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”  We often quote the first part of this verse and ignore the second part.  We tend to minimize the importance of the role of the Spirit in our lives and think of our new life in terms of what we can personally do to be holy, to live right. 

 

When we are born again, we receive the Spirit.  If receiving the Spirit was not important to our new birth, why would it happen at all?  I don’t pretend to understand it.  I mean if I had surgery and the doctor looked inside, he would not see the Spirit in me.  That is because this is a spiritual fact not a physical one.  But the manifestation of the Spirit in my life should be evident to those I meet.  A transformed life.  No longer conformed to this world, but transformed by faith and the work of the Spirit in me.  I don’t have to understand how I can press on these keys and there are words formed on the screen in front of me.  But I press them and see the words that were in my mind appear on the screen and use that capability to tell the world about Jesus.  Let the Spirit do His work in you, let your light shine and tell the world about Jesus through your transformed life. ELGIN

It's Not Odd, It's God - Living Your New Life With Your Spiritual Eyes Open

My Utmost For His Highest

 

We know that all things work together for good to those who love God… —Romans 8:28

 

“The circumstances of a saint’s life are ordained of God. In the life of a saint there is no such thing as chance. God by His providence brings you into circumstances that you can’t understand at all, but the Spirit of God understands. God brings you to places, among people, and into certain conditions to accomplish a definite purpose through the intercession of the Spirit in you. […]  All your circumstances are in the hand of God, and therefore you don’t ever have to think they are unnatural or unique. Your part in intercessory prayer is not to agonize over how to intercede, but to use the everyday circumstances and people God puts around you by His providence to bring them before His throne, and to allow the Spirit in you the opportunity to intercede for them. In this way God is going to touch the whole world with His saints.”  CHAMBERS

 

Some years ago, we met a man to discuss an aspect of the ministry we were involved in.  In response to a description and a particular circumstance he said “That’s not odd, that’s God.”  I love the English language because of its versatility in connecting words in a memorable way.  What he said as obviously stuck with me, not just because odd and God rhyme, but because it communicates a truth that I have experienced over and over in life.  It’s hard to imagine a God that is so big, He can influence circumstances the way he does.  I have often commented that what just happened was beyond probability.  And it was.  I could not have orchestrated the circumstances, but God did.  Once you might call it a fluke. Perhaps even two or three times, but improbable, God caused events have been happening in our lives since the day that we said “Yes Lord to Your will and to Your way.”  Obedience opens a door of new experiences and possibilities that remain hidden as long as you choose yourself and not God.

 

It is difficult to describe.  I will meet someone and immediately the thought rises, “God has a reason for this .. but it is not yet revealed.” And then sometime later I discover why we met, it was for kingdom purposes. If you think about it, we should not be surprised.  Every believer has the Spirit of God in them.  The same Spirit.  The Father uses the Holy Spirit combined with the faith of His Children to accomplish His purposes on this earth.   A simple example.  (I have hundreds that I could share) I received an email from a friend asking if I could connect them to a Doctor I know who lives and serves in Jeremie, Haiti.  I told her I would.  The last Saturday we decided to take a drive to see the fall colors in the trees in a State park.  On the way, we stopped at a restaurant to eat lunch.  In the middle of somewhere.  Well, who should walk into the restaurant with a group of her friends but the friend who asked about the Doctor.  Highly improbable.  Spiritually affirming.  But it was not odd, it was God.  (Ephesians 1:18-21)  “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.”  Christian, God is at work all around you.  Be on the lookout.  And when you see Him working, join Him.  You will be glad you did. ELGIN

Believing Left Is Right Because God Said It Is

My Utmost For His Highest

 

…but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings… —1 Peter 4:13

 

“If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.[…] When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. […] Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them?”  CHAMBERS

 

I have talked to many people who had been confronted with the conflict of obedience to God and their personal, earthly ambitions.  The “American Dream”, which is not talked about much anymore, was owning a house and a car in the drive. (1 John 2:15-17) “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” We need to focus on the eternal. But, for many of us, the things of this world dominate us and demand that we reject God in favor of them. 

 

Do my words sound a little extreme?  Listen, if God made it clear what you must do, you are certain it is God and not a passing fantasy and you think, “I would love to but I have earthly commitments”, you have a devotion problem.  Oh, you are not alone.  God does not ask everyone to sell their house, quit their job, move to a third world country. But He commands everyone to keep Him first in their heart, to reflect His Son in the way they live and relate to the world, to not care if He does ask those things of them, to be willing to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Well, do we or don’t we? In the military, when you march you step out with your left foot, which makes it the right foot.  God’s ways are not the world’s ways.  God defines what is right, which may look left to the world. We need to keep in step with God.  ELGIN

Facing Truth Is Not The Problem - Choosing The Truth Is The Problem

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. —James 4:8

 

“It is essential that you give people the opportunity to act on the truth of God. The responsibility must be left with the individual— you cannot act for him. It must be his own deliberate act, but the evangelical message should always lead him to action. Refusing to act leaves a person paralyzed, exactly where he was previously. […] When a truth of God is brought home to your soul, never allow it to pass without acting on it internally in your will, not necessarily externally in your physical life. […] The weakest saint who transacts business with Jesus Christ is liberated the second he acts and God’s almighty power is available on his behalf. […] The dominating power of the world, the flesh, and the devil is now paralyzed; not by your act, but because your act has joined you to God and tapped you in to His redemptive power.”  CHAMBERS

 

Once you are born again, what is your purpose for being on this planet? To bring glory to God and to point people to His Son.  How do you bring glory to God?  By walking in obedience to the Truth.  How do you know what the Truth is?  God, the Father, has revealed it in His Son (John 14:6) and in His Word (John 17:17). He has given us the Spirit of Truth (John 16:13).  So how do you walk in that? By Faith in the Truth. Jesus said to Pilate “the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth.” (John 18:37)  When you come under conviction of sin in your life it is because whatever sin it is has been brought up against the Truth.  The Spirit of Truth, convicts us of sin. (John 16:8)  And so the Spirit that is in us, causes us to face our sin.  It is at that point the we are faced with a decision.  Do we stuff our sin and press on with living our lives our way, or do we confess our sin and walk in obedience to the Truth? I guess the question is ‘How important is being right with God and fulfilling your purpose on this planet to you?’ King Saul tried to justify his sin and was rejected by God.  King David repented of his sin and was embraced by God.  It’s a choice we each must make, every day  … choose well.  ELGIN

Trying To Live My Life With The SCAS Turned Off

My Utmost For His Highest

 

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me… —Galatians 2:20

 

“These words mean the breaking and collapse of my independence brought about by my own hands, and the surrendering of my life to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. […] Has that breaking of my independence come? All the rest is religious fraud. The one point to decide is— will I give up? Will I surrender to Jesus Christ, placing no conditions whatsoever as to how the brokenness will come? […] When I reach that point, immediately the reality of the supernatural identification with Jesus Christ takes place. And the witness of the Spirit of God is unmistakable— “I have been crucified with Christ….” The passion of Christianity comes from deliberately signing away my own rights and becoming a bondservant of Jesus Christ.”  CHAMBERS

 

The Cobra Helicopter was designed with something called a Stability Control Augmentation System (SCAS).  You don’t have an appreciation for what it does for you until it is turned off.  Without SCAS the helicopter is difficult to control, impossible for some.  If you fly without it for any time you will wear yourself out trying to keep the helicopter stable. But when it is engaged, controlling the helicopter is a breeze in comparison.  So what does that have to do with this devotion?  As Christians, we often try to live our lives with our “SCAS” turned off.  We try to live a stabilized life in our own strength. But, “this life that we now live in the flesh we live by faith … in the One who gave Himself up for [us]”.  Life is difficult, but it is so much more difficult when we try to live it in our own strength. If you try, you are going to wear yourself out … but then you already know that, don’t you.  ELGIN

Our Continued Struggle With Personal Sin - The Elephant In The Room

My Utmost For His Highest

 

If you love Me, keep My commandments. —John 14:15

 

“Our Lord never insists on obedience. He stresses very definitely what we ought to do, but He never forces us to do it. We have to obey Him out of a oneness of spirit with Him. That is why whenever our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an “If,” meaning, “You do not need to do this unless you desire to do so.” “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself…” (Luke 9:23). In other words, “To be My disciple, let him give up his right to himself to Me.” Our Lord is not talking about our eternal position, but about our being of value to Him in this life here and now. […] If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself. […]  as soon as I obey Him, I fulfill my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small, petty happenings, altogether insignificant. […] If I obey Jesus Christ, the redemption of God will flow through me to the lives of others, because behind the deed of obedience is the reality of Almighty God.”  CHAMBERS

 

It's the elephant in the room, our continuing to choose our own way, to obey our own voice and not His, to make our own rules and disregard His commandments.  We don’t want to talk about it.  We don’t want to think about it.  We prefer to pretend the elephant is not sitting on our sofa.  And what were His commandments?  Love God, love others, deny yourself, follow Jesus.  None of which we can do on our own, but all of which, when we try to do on our own, we fail miserably.  I can remember the words from one of our grandchildren when she was 5 or 6.  “Let me! I can do it myself!”  Some might call that self-assurance.  I would call it not wanting to be told what to do. Oops! When have I heard that before.  Oh, yes, it was in the Garden.  It’s how this mess got started.  The Greek word used for sin is “hamartia” (ham-ar-tee'-ah) which means to miss the mark.  Aiming for one thing and hitting somewhere else.  Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden, “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” The point here is that we very often deal with sin by trying harder, hacking at the branches of sinful behavior, instead if striking at the root, hitting the target if you will, dealing with sin at its source, a divided heart.  ELGIN

How To Miss God's Purpose - All You've Got To Do Is Act Naturally

My Utmost For His Highest

 

Do you not know that…you are not your own? —1 Corinthians 6:19

 

“We are not sanctified for ourselves. We are called into intimacy with the gospel, and things happen that appear to have nothing to do with us. But God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way. […] The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us collapse at the first grip of pain. We sit down at the door of God’s purpose and enter a slow death through self-pity. […] He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, as if to say, “Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine.” If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?” CHAMBERS

 

(2 Corinthians 4:7-12) “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

 

For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.”  That doesn’t sound like living the carefree life does it.  We are still in this world, on this planet, but our citizenship is in heaven. We still face the realities of living in a fallen world. The question is, so how then will we live?  (Philippians 3:18-21) “For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

 

It is so easy to forget Whose we are as we live out our lives, day to day.  The inside of our “cup” has been made clean and should influence how we live, how we treat others, our view of what is right and what is wrong.  But, as Paul was lamenting, for many, it doesn’t.  Once saved, they settle back into the natural life.  They do not lose their citizenship, but they fail in their God-given, God-ordained purpose.  “so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh”.  We must be careful, mustn’t we?  ELGIN