THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - VOL. 2
january 2nd
IF WE DEPEND UPON OUR OWN UNDERSTANDING IN ANY WAY AND, THUS, COME TO
SPEAK AND ACT APART FROM THE REVEALED KNOWLEDGE OF GOD'S WILL AND THE UNCTION
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THEN WE ARE NO LONGER GLORIFYING THE FATHER IN OUR WORDS
AND ACTIONS - WE ARE SEEKING TO GLORIFY [EXALT]) OURSELVES REGARDLESS OF
WHETHER WE FEEL WE ARE OR NOT!
...."Whoever
speaks, let him speak as it were, the utterances of God, whoever serves, let
him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may
be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion
forever and ever"....
1 Peter 4:11 NASB
Peter is speaking here
of all those who belong to God. As Christians, we are representing God whether
we are speaking to our children, whether we are speaking to our next door
neighbor or whether we are ministering from the pulpit. If we depend upon our
own understanding in ANY way and, thus, come to speak and act apart from the
revealed knowledge of God's will and the unction of the Holy Spirit, then we
are no longer glorifying the Father in our words and actions. In reality, we
are seeking to glorify ourselves - regardless of whether we "feel" we
are or not. All those who do or say "anything" apart from Christ have
- as their deepest heart motivation at the time - a desire to exalt themselves
above God! This is the spiritual reality of ANY action taken or ANY word spoken
apart from Christ - and the Anointing that "abides" within.
GOD'S
WORK [TRUE KINGDOM-SERVICE] CAN ONLY BE ACCOMPLISHED BY GOD'S POWER!
Now we can begin to understand the seriousness of the sin of presumption
[getting out ahead of God born of pride and self-desire] - for it indicates
both rebellion and idolatry in the heart! Those are the two things that will
surely remove us and keep us from the presence of God - and, thus, prevent us
from hearing clearly the voice of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that he would
never fail us or forsake us, but we, by our rebellious actions, can most
certainly fail and forsake Him - and remove ourselves from the place [the
"inner chamber" on an individual level and the "designated"
true spiritual environment - corporately speaking] He desires each of us to be
in. The Father can in no way "fellowship" [communicate freely] with
those who are "wilfully" walking in [maintaining] any form of sin,
idolatry or rebellion. But it is certain that He has most certainly made the
Provision, in Christ, for us to be free from ALL manner of sin and rebellion
and idolatry - as we diligently align our hearts with the deepest thoughts and
intentions of His heart - through a perfect and abiding fellowship with Him on
a daily basis. It is our choice and we must choose this day and every day whom
we are going to serve. If one is going to speak or act on anything that has its
origin and source in the "flesh" [old nature] then it constitutes the
fact that they are seeking the "glory" for themselves - regardless of
what it looks like or sounds like outwardly. How do we truly glorify God in all
things? We speak the utterances of God, and we operate only in the wisdom and
strength that He has supplied [the Anointing] - for God's work [true
Kingdom-service] can ONLY be accomplished by God's power!
Related Scriptures: Ephesians 4:29; John 5:30; John 15:5; 1
John 2:27; Joshua 24:14-15; John 6:63; Romans 7:18; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15;
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