Today’s devotion in My Utmost
For His Highest book is sweet. It is a short one, but there is so much in
there. I learned that if we truly learn to live out this life God has for us
and if we truly live in oneness, love, faith, obedience and His will alone,
then the Holy Spirit is delighted to show us how we are slowly becoming like
Him. This part of Salvation is so sweet because you KNOW it is nothing that you
are doing except living your average Joe life on earth. Yet you can see how you
are changing like Him on the inside. You are becoming this person as Christ’s
character is being worked within and right before your eyes you are becoming “THE
GOSPEL MESSAGE”
This goes beyond living a holy
life because even after you are made holy and living out the holy life, you
find that God is still crushing you into submission. It is hard for me to
explain it without going into a much lengthy post. But for lack of better words
I could tell you that it is the difference between taking your regular cup of coffee
or tea with one tablespoon of sugar vs two spoons. You want more sugar because
it is sweeter. It is a different submission from the one when you were broken
so that your will can become His will while you stop acting like
a wild horse. It is no longer about making
you holy either because He would have already worked that within, through great
pain. But it is more like weaving His Holiness through you like dough when you
mix it up with the leaven you are watching it changing as the leaven is mixed
up with every part of the dough. It is also the type of submission where He is
making sure you look the part on the outside, because this life on the inside
is spilling out big time. Yet it is amazing how this life can be so subtle.
I notice, every time I meet
someone from the old Church, of course I always talk to them about God, and almost
every single time they would say something like “you should be a preacher.” I
guess because the minute we start talking about God, I am no longer hungry or
tired and suddenly time no longer matters to me. I talk with conviction,
passion and with hand and body language gestures. But, what they do not realize
is that God has not called me to be a preacher. What they see, is me becoming
slowly, God’s message. Yes, I have a long way to go and I need to live at least
ten more years in the faith and complete oneness to even come close to someone
like Oswald in terms of knowledge of God. But, it is the reality of a walk
completely immersed in God living out the true Christian life according to God’s
will and plan for all of us Christians.
My point is, God taught me that the
process was lengthy and tedious, although sometimes very intense, but this work
goes beyond the basic in Christianity. When I say basic, even the work of
holiness is also part of the basic package before God can take us to what
really matters and the real goal of the gospel. Anyone who has been made holy
knows what I mean. After holiness sets in, you feel as if you are starting the
Christian life all over again. I was annoyed that there was not something like continuity.
I was also tempted to start living my holiness in my own strength. But, after
we are made holy, which comes after brokenness, what seems to be a second
regeneration and so on, all these things are lumped together to build the base
or the foundation of God’s Masterpiece. On a side note, I found out this is why
one can build a whole Christian life on sinking sand and not aware of it. When
we say that the foundation is Christ, then He must be allowed to build it up within
us. If He is not allowed to build it in us, then, we are doing the work as a substitute
for the real thing.
I shared with you in one of my
posts how God showed me how Salvation was like making a cake and on the table
every single ingredient, molds, utensils and so on, needed to proceed and make
the cake are right there for us and nothing is missing. All was provided and
God is the one mixing up the ingredients to put the cake together and He alone knows
what the cake will look like once finish. My role was to stir up once in a
while with His help. Yet He was so generous, He showed me a picture of the most
beautiful cake that I have ever seen. I remember when I saw the finished cake,
in my mind I thought “Wow! God is the best chef that I know” – I have no idea
if because at that time I was like this child by His side or why this idea of
Him being a chef came to mind. Nevertheless, the past few months, I am learning
that it is true, it feels like you are starting over after holiness, but it is
because He is using the basic which is like the cake has been baked, pull out
of the oven and cool off. Now, He is creating a chef-d’oeuvre. This piece of
art is you becoming like Christ and it is you becoming the message.
I encourage even pushed people
through showing the urgency of going forward with Him because I KNOW that I
KNOW what I KNOW. As God showed me how crucial it is to let Him do the work in
2009, I wanted to go with an offer that I had received to participate in Church
planting. People had great plans for me, I felt like I was letting them down. I
was so exited and I wanted to serve Him this way. God knew I wanted to serve
Him with all my heart and the stumbling block that was put in front of me was
because of what I had learned from men made Christianity’s idea. Since I was in
bondage to the wrong things that I had learned in the Church, He showed me how
the first work that will decide our rewards in heaven has nothing to do with
building up churches or mega television ministry “FOR HIM.” This is not to say
they are not good. But, the work of our Salvation and the work of our faith is
first and foremost the work that we have allowed Him to work within each of us.
The whole life, plans, goals, desires, spiritual agenda, wishes, motivation,
attitude and everything we are able to think of, all of it flows through the
work being done within us as we slowly become “THE MESSAGE.”
He showed me if I can walk with Him
in oneness as He leads, then someone who has built a mega television ministry
has nothing on me. He made it clear to me that this does not mean He is not
going to use these people to bring some of His sheep home. But He uses them
through His sovereignty because He can use even Satan to get through those that
are His own. But, when He uses us, in spite of us, not because we are living out
His will for our lives, then, we lose the reward that would have come to us for
all our deeds.
So, brothers and sisters, work
out your salvation with fear in trembling, because there will be a day where
all masks are taken off. Unlike Adam and Eve, who were able to hide from God when
they first found out they were naked, after they sinned, we will not have this
option to hide. Judgement day is not like God is going to humiliate us in front
of everyone to show who we truly are. The problem will be “FACING GOD.” Facing
God when you know you have not been living up to par in accordance with His word
is one thing. But, facing Him when at the same time you have the naked truth in
front of you and you cannot escape it, is more than horrible.
There will be a drastic
difference in facing God because it will be according to what we have allowed
God to become in our lives. We need to go through that phase of salvation where
God ceases to be just our Saviour because salvation is about us. We need to
grab onto Him as sons and daughters of the most High through faith, humility, obedience,
love and dependence and oneness. Until we know such a life in the reality of
our consciousness because it has been worked out in us, then we will face God
with a master and slave mentality. The beauty of facing God as His heirs, is
different because you have let your daddy down and hurt Him. It will no longer
be about guilt, but love. The love of a master and a daddy is different. So, is
He your daddy through head knowledge only according to what you have been
reading or is He your daddy because you have allowed Him to take you there? –
There is a big difference and you would be wise to find it out before you die.
John 6:63 “The word that I speak
to you are spirit and they are life” – How is this working for you?
Make the decision to surrender
once and for all. Not the type of surrender through lip service, but one where
you are willing to accept any pain and inconvenience that comes your way.—That is the only way. —Allow Him to work out His life through you. Let Him flood your
inner spirit and saturate your soul with His waters. Allow Him to refine you
and mold you as you welcome those characteristics in Him that will give you
this meek and lowly heart that you need to walk this walk. CHOOSE LIFE !
