If truth be not diffused

A homeless drunk, with a $10 billion personal bank account sleeping under Chicago bridges is not nearly as pathetic [foolish, insane] as a Christian, indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, who is still living a spiritually crummy self-centered life.

A friend recently conducted a small non-scientific survey asking, in your opinion how many Americans out of a thousand would be true believers in Christ? And of those how many would be utterly committed to living so as to please and obey God every minute of the day?” (What would your guess be?) Sadly all of the participants believed there were very few. There are few who know Christ as Savior, and extremely few who are even attempting to live the life Christ makes available to us through His indwelling Spirit.

Narrow is the gate....few there be that find it.... Mat 7.14 As it was in the days of Noah....(only 8 were saved. 2 Pet 2.5) The laborers (for the harvest) are few (Luke 10.2....

The church is wallowing in the world’s value system, events, and entertainment. Few are serious about trusting and obeying our loving Almighty God. We Christians look, dress, act, talk, lie, cheat, get divorced just like non-Christians, and therefore have virtually no impact on our hurting world, occasional church attendance and Bible reading notwithstanding.

Very few understand how to live so as to reflect the image and character of God, yet that is what God designed us to do. Most evangelicals agree on the Biblical path to salvation, but how to proceed from there is unclear. The purpose of this writing is to help simplify and understand God’s plan for living for Him, while still on the earth.

There is a constant barrage –nearly continuous admonition and preaching about what we are supposed to do, and think, and how to relate to others, to our spouse, neighbor, and boss.

There is perhaps even more information on what we are not to do, and think. Information is not the problem. Ignorance cannot be used as an excuse for living a sinful self-centered life—we do it deliberately knowing that awful consequences will follow. For example, the incredible devastation when a pastor has an affair. They know better!....and do it anyway. Lots of them!

The question is not “what is God’s will?” ..... but how to be and do all that God requires?

I believe this is what is missing in the church today. It is not being taught and emphasized; in fact, it is rarely even mentioned as a serious need. Yet this is God’s ONLY provision for a daily life that pleases Him, and “bears much fruit.”

must have a goal, a clear purpose. Eph 5. 15 ampl says “Look carefully then how you walk. Live purposefully and worthily and accurately....” Look at Paul’s purpose in Phil 3.10 --“to know Christ.”

The Bible uses several different terms to reveal God’s plan for Christian (Holy) living. Here are a few:

God’s purpose for the whole universe forever, is to glorify Himself, and that is His purpose for us. We cannot do that by trying harder in the energy of the flesh. It must be the work of the Holy Spirit who indwells every believer. There is no ‘plan B.’

“It is the Spirit who gives life....the flesh profits nothing...” John 6.63

What does all this mean?
    What does it ‘look like’ in a normal person’s day?
         What does it cost?
             Where do I start?

If you decide you want to play basketball on this coach’s team, you voluntarily go to the coach and say so. Then what? Well, then you do what the coach says. Everybody understands that! If you won’t submit to the coach–you sit on the bench, and you can’t play on his team. A functioning member of the body of Christ, must be willingly obedient and submissive to Him, in everything.

A good starting place is to realize and accept the fact, that “I can’t do it.” Paul, tried (the greatest Christian ever) but he couldn’t do it, and in Romans 7 he cried out “O wretched man that I am......I want to, but I can’t.” That opens into Romans 8, which helps us understand what living under the influence of the Holy Spirit looks like. It’s not me doing my best, with some help from God, but it is God in me, doing His work.” God doesn’t work to improve the flesh, He kills it (I am crucified with Christ), and replaces it with the very life of the risen Christ. So I suggest a careful study through Romans 6, 7 and 8.

An absolute essential to all of this is that you have to WANT TO! You must decide to make a commitment. Being godly does not just happen, it is a conscious ongoing choice. “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day, whom you will serve...” Josh 24.15. God does not pressure, He offers. His offer is real in that He allows us to refuse it! God’s firm design is that you and I choose to love and obey Him. He does not override that choice. He does, however, reveal in His Word the awful long range consequences of rejecting His plan.

What if you don’t want to? The only possible foundation for not wanting God’s will is that you simply do not know Him! You want your own way, Isa 53.6 says. So the solution is to gain intimacy with Him, through Bible study, prayer, and association with folks who do know and love Him, and ask God to give you a deep love for Him.

-- in what God says (who cannot lie). Faith simply believes what God says. That means you have learned to totally TRUST a loving, almighty trustworthy God! Simple! But since you cannot believe what you do not know, you must soak in the scripture where God’s character and plan is revealed. The reason jillions of people so easily believe outrageous lies, is that they don’t know the truth.

The bedrock of sin is independence from God. Satan wanted to be like God, be independent of Him. That is where it all unraveled. The reality of all creation is that everything is derived from God. Submission to God and His will is reasonable, rational and intelligent. It is hopeless indeed to try to live a supernatural life with only the power of human nature (the ‘flesh’). Gal 5.16, 17

We have touched on purpose, knowing, wanting, choices, faith, and applying. What else? I can think of several: ‘Obedience, Humility, Dying to Self, and reading great books. We need to apply what we know. (See below)

So to live under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, we first must know God’s Word. But knowing is of no value, if not applied. [And just reading the Bible doesn’t mean you know it.] Christians today ‘know’ an enormous amount of truth that we are not living (applying). There is a story of a young man who went to a special church meeting, and was greatly moved by the message—took notes, prayed, was visibly influenced-- but he didn’t come back the next week (it was a series of meetings), or the next. On the fourth week, he was back, taking notes, praying and obviously moved by the message again. After this meeting the pastor asked him why he had not come to the last 3 meetings. “Pastor, it took me three weeks to apply all that I learned that first week.” [Isn’t that great!? We need more like him!!]

Everyone knows and accepts the fact that in any sport (or business) you must play by the rules. God is very, very serious about our obeying Him...in everything -- not just in the few things we agree with. You can’t keep just part of the law; there is no such thing as partial righteousness, semi-obedience, or partial forgiveness. “He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me.“ John 14.21.

We have lost the awesome reverence and fear of an Almighty Creator, and have settled for ‘partials.’ Partial obedience is disobedience. Example: Saul and his sheep; read about it in 1 Sam 15. Think about it–we cannot enjoy God and be used in His mighty work with half-way obedience.

We know that the Bible is very clear that God hates pride, and pride is a huge problem to everyone. We have learned to accept it in each other, but God does not! Pride is the attitude of independence from God -- “I can do it without Him.” Most of us can live through a whole week or more without giving God a single thought. “Who needs Him? I can handle it.” We don’t really believe we need God.

It is of great value to read Andrew Murray’s book HUMILITY. If you are serious about abiding in Christ, read it not just once, but repeatedly. Very few people in the world are living examples of humility, yet it is an absolute necessity to being led and controlled by Christ. Do you have a humble heart? “...And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God..” Micah 6.8

And you must die to self if you want to live for God. It is not an ‘option.’ What does that mean? It means that you think and live like Jesus in that His purpose in life was to do the will of His father, and not His own will. He was totally submissive to the Father’s plan and direction. He had no agenda of His own. His purpose in life was to glorify the Father, in everything. He was continuously and totally dependent on the Father for all His needs.

He was utterly unselfish.” I do not seek my own will but the will of the Father who sent me.” (John 5.30) And ”I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.” (John 6.38)

How could we possibly be like that? Answer: We can’t. God knew we couldn’t, didn’t expect us to, and His solution to this insoluble problem was to indwell us by His Spirit. Our part is to submit to His will in everything, as Jesus did.

We live in a microwave world....God does not. There is a “law of gradual growth.” It takes lots of time and dedication to replace the world’s value system and standards with those that God has established. You don’t “stumble into godliness while amusing yourself.” You can’t add learning to ‘abide in Christ’ to your busy schedule. It must be priority. It means you cannot afford to waste any more time on things that do not matter. You will have to let go of some of the ‘good’ things that you like. Instead, ‘pickle’ in God’s Word, spend much time in prayer and in the company of others who love God, and do it with all your heart! And you will do it because you really want to.

What is operative here is that you are replacing good stuff, with what you believe is the very best. A wise man said: “The good robs you of the best.”

Please stop here to read -- and meditate on the Amplified version of Ephesians 3. 14 to 19. It is an anchor for your thinking. It ends with this statement:

“.....that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.”

What motivates a person to this level of submission? Only God can do it--–by your consent. Take a good look at Romans 12.1 Ampl; “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by (in view of) all the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service.” What does Paul use there to motivate people to live the abiding life? The key is the phrase “in view of.” In view of what? All the mercies of God which he has been sharing with them in the first 11 chapters.

It is very helpful to physically write down a list of all the mercies of God you can find, and meditate on them, with the intent of being motivated by God to make a “decisive dedication” of your whole being and future to God. Soak in the truth of the fact that God loves you, died for you, and waits to welcome you to Heaven. Worship Him, praise Him, and thank Him for everything. These things motivate --- and they are things you can choose to do!

What prevents, deters, chokes, inhibits you from attaining this wonderful, desirable and intimate relationship with God? Answer: ignorance, unbelief, rebellion (deliberate defiance, mutiny, revolt, insurrection) which results in fear; sin; pride, and the like. In our country, there is no valid excuse for ignorance.

Unbelief and rebellion are the main ingredients of sin. Rejecting the truth of God has plagued us since Adam and Eve, with enormous miserable consequences. This rejection is the main reason we are not living a life directed by Christ. It is a choice. We can choose to believe God, or believe a lie. Of course, the only reasonable, rational, intelligent thing to do is to believe God!

Unfortunately, that is not what the average believer chooses to do on a daily basis. Worry, for example, is proof of the fact that you have chosen not to trust God for the present circumstances. How common is worry!?

How can you strengthen your faith and trust in God? The Bible says faith comes by hearing the word of God. (Rom 10.17) Faith is reliance on a God who cannot lie, and never ever fails to keep His promises, and more importantly, loves you with infinite love that has your best interest at heart, and does not depend the slightest bit on your good performance! All that becomes real to you as you soak up God’s Word.

We all believe in prayer...don’t we? But the fact is, we simply don’t take time for it. I believe the reason is that we don’t really believe its worth it! Jesus did! Jesus prayed! We need to give God time to get us thinking right about this incredible privilege of fellowship with Him! Much that we squander gobs of time doing...doesn’t matter. THIS..matters! Start today to pray much! It is part of the price and joy...of abiding in Christ. It is not an option!

on a regular life-long schedule with life-long review. It is common for folks to say “I just can’t memorize” to which I say ‘bunk!’ Everybody memorizes all kinds of stuff for business, for sports, and a host of other things. Just do it. Every strong believer I have ever known says that memorizing scripture was the most important part of their spiritual growth plan.

If you find yourself with a strong desire to be a godly person, one who is actually “wholly filled and flooded with God Himself” ---find a quiet place to be alone with God and tell Him that the deep desire of your heart is to die to self-centeredness and to live a life of holiness and obedience that pleases and glorifies Him. Then, simply by faith, as best you know, accept the Holy Spirit’s control of your life, and expect Him to live His life through you, hour by hour, day by day.

God ...”has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him...” (2 Pet 1.3) Trust Him for it. Keep on living (walking) by faith in His Word, one day at a time, ---till He comes.

[Then] ask Him to help you evaluate how you are spending your time and what your purpose in life is, and to show you what adjustments to make as you ‘walk’ with Him..

Books are incredibly helpful. Plan to read them more than once. Here are some suggestions to start:

Kevin understands these simple principles. You can see a very cool presentation on his web site at www.abidingroom.com . He has taught it in person several times in our area. His visuals having to do with chocolate milk and doors that open only way and the like are very helpful in understanding these great truths.

THE 1ON1...has been proven helpful for people who want to ‘abide in Christ.’ We have been using it for 25 years. It is especially effective because each person does their own study and reading, and then we go over each lesson together, usually meeting every other week for about an hour and a half. It’s on this web page www.bertsgoodstuff.com You can look at it there, download and print it to use for yourself and others.