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The Chronicles of Christ
The Lion, the Witch and You. - Part 14
There are many who attend church that are committed to a set of values instead of being committed to the person of Christ. Commitment to a set of values makes you a moralist. It is a commitment to be a good person to the best of your ability. But it produces disillusionment. No one can live a moral life in his or her own strength. We make ourselves feel better by comparing ourselves to the national average, instead of the Word of God. It is not the way of Christ that gives you new life but the person of Christ trusting in him.
(Matthew 9:9) "Follow me."
Christ will give you life not a set of values. He said 'follow me', not 'follow my principles', 'follow my concepts', 'follow my culture.' How do you follow him?
(Galatians 2:20) "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
You do not invite a set of values to indwell in us but the very life of Christ. He takes away sinful desires by taking away the old heart, and giving you a new heart. Churches are filled with well-meaning people who sincerely want to be a Christian.
(John 14:6) "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
It is not imitating good behavior but complete surrender. It is not 'what' we surrender to but 'who' we surrender to. The Bible does not say 'the life I live in the body, I live by values, concepts and principles', but 'the life I live in the body, I live by faith.' Well-meaning people come to Christ to be refreshed but the cross of Christ makes no compromise. Well-meaning people start the Christian life committed to the person of Christ but it soon changes from a walk of faith, to a walk of sight.
(1 Corinthians 5:7) "We live by faith, not by sight."
(John 3:3) "…no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
Well-meaning people can suffer a great misunderstanding of what it means to be born again. Christ left margin of dispute 'you must.' The conversion of Saul was so dramatic that he fell of his horse on the Damascus road. He wrote most of the New Testament. Martin Luther was a brilliant 16th century legal mind that had to dodge a lightening bolt that came from heaven. He led the European Reformation. But we can unite 'dramatic' with 'born again' as being the same thing, and they are not. Whether you are born again, and how you were born again, are two separate things. It is possible for a person to think they are not born again because it was not dramatic and yet he is born again. Being born again is not an educational matter but a spiritual matter. You can also have some kind of dramatic spiritual experience and never be born again. The cultural expectation is to unite 'dramatic' with 'born again' but it is not a cultural matter but a spiritual matter. Have you struggled with the words of Christ 'born again?' It is the only condition that precedes 'seeing' the kingdom of God.
There was a rich young man who came to Christ and asked him what he must do to have eternal life. Christ asked him if he had kept all the law and the commandments. He responded well having kept them all.
(Matthew 19:20) "All these have I kept…what do I still lack?"
In the heart of every well-meaning person is the inescapable thing that is undone. Something that is beyond keeping to a set of values, principles and concepts. The man was told to sell everything and give it to the poor. But Christ does not offer eternal life in exchange for what is in your basement, attic or garage. He wants all of you.
(Matthew 9:9) "Follow me."
The man kept the commandments, he was sincere in seeking out Christ, eternal life was his desire, he asked the right question, but he struggled with the answer. Have you ever said 'the Christian life is hard commiserating under a heavy burden? You will always come around to say what Peter said.
(John 6:68) "Lord, to whom shall we go?"
If there were another way, I would have already chosen it. But in the darkest moment we look to Christ.
(John 6:68) "You have the words of eternal life."
We always look to Christ not because of our commitment to him but because of his unrelenting commitment to us.
(Romans 8:16) "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."
Our father's are not perfect but when they are gone we miss them. There are many sons who never heard the words 'I am proud of you' until they were in adult life. It still has the same effect. It reduces the son to tears that his father would be so proud of him. The need for approval is the silent motive in us all that hides behind all that we do. We are starving for dignity. Nothing destroys dignity faster than the lack of approval. When we meet people we love to tell them of our accomplishments so we can get their approval. The need for approval is fused with every decision we make. But people will not accept you just as you are all the time because people always want more. God loves and approves of you in his Son Jesus Christ. It is believed by faith not by anything you can do to merit his approval. If there are people in your life that make you feel guilty remember that Christ shed his blood that takes away all guilt. What is the believer's motivation behind good works? It is not for acceptance but out of a grateful heart. We do not serve the Lord to win his approval but to show our thankfulness. If you sense the swelling of your heart right now, it is the Holy Spirit telling you that God loves you that you belong to him, that he made you and that he approves of you. Abandon all your plans to win approval. At the moment you surrender to him he approves you unconditionally.
Ambition drives people. Sir Edmund Hillary faced the tallest temptation of ambition in Mount Everest. Herculean odds were against him. Five and a half miles off the face of the earth, at 11:45 on the morning of May 29th 1953 he stood on top of the world for just 15 minutes as the fury of exposure forced him back down. Everyone has their Mount Everest where they want to be at the top of their game. The temporal summit makes you feel dignified. But once you get there it will not be long before you have to make way for younger men who will ask you to stand down. But there is a mountain that you can stay at the top of.
(Psalm 24:3) "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?"
Christ stands at the top and invites you to join him.
(Psalm 99:9) "Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain…"
The choice is yours: fifteen minutes of fame or the hill of the Lord forever?
(Luke 9:23) "If anyone would come after me, he must…take up his cross daily and follow me."
There is a moment of surrender and a process of surrender. The moment of surrender is when you give your life to Christ and ask him to forgive you. He will take away your old heart and give you a new heart. It is the moment of faith. But the process of surrender is life-long. Christ said it was a 'daily' process. It is not surrendering your life because he has given you new life. It is surrendering your will. First comes the moment of surrender then the process of surrender. Surrender all your good ideas for God-ideas. Not every good idea is a God-idea. We can make a plan to do something good for God then suggest it to him like Peter when he saw Christ transformed with Moses and Elijah by his side.
(Matthew 17:4) "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters - one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah."
Peter's idea was not a God-idea.
(Matthew 17:5) "While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them."
God ignored Peter and interrupted his Good idea. God did not let him finish. Bleached by the presence of God Christ spoke to Peter about a God-idea
(Matthew 17:9)"As they came down the mountain, Jesus instructed them."
(John 3:30) "He must become greater; I must become less."
If you are good at what you do, what can you do to be excellent in it? How do you improve your condition to become excellent? In God's eyes greatness is not stardom but servanthood. God looks for servants not stars. There was no one like John the Baptist with strong character and magnetic personality. Never ask God to increase your skills and abilities. Ask God that Christ increase in you. As Christ becomes greater in you excellence will follow. John the Baptist did not shrink but Christ grew larger. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. waited all day by the podium where thousands gathered in Washington. Ambitious men one after the other took the podium. The day was almost done and people were dwindling. When all others had their say he stood behind the podium as the last man on the schedule and delivered a sermon that entrenched the national conscience 'I have a dream.'
Accept what Christ has done for you and give your life to him. Follow him and be baptized as a public witness.
The Chronicles of Christ
The Lion, the Witch and You. - Part 15
This teaching is part of a new series The Chronicles of Christ.
Other teaching series can be found by clicking the links below
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 1.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 2 & 3.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 4 & 5.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 6 & 7.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 8 & 9.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 10 & 11.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 12 & 13.
If you would like to see previous transcripts or hear audio available in the last series Discovery.God you can find them here.:
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