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Written by Judy Sky/BenWolf
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THIS VICTORY YOU SEEK WILL REQUIRE A DEATH.
If you truly desire success and
victory in this thing you battle with, and if you are battling with it then you
must, know that it will require a death. Something has to die in order for it to
cease to be alive, and the death you need to initiate is the death of the "sin
that dwelleth" in you (Romans 7:17).
The only place where sin can actually be put to death permanently is the cross
(Colossians 2:14), and Jesus said that in addition to his completing the work
of our salvation on the cross, there was a personal cross for each of us that
we must take up ourselves in order to make the effects of this work a reality
in this life (Matthew 10:38).
THERE IS NO PADDED CROSS.
Jesus
Himself, the very Son of the living God, God in the flesh in whom dwells the
fullness of the Godhead bodily (Colossians 2:9) shrank in horror in
anticipation of the cross on the eve of his crucifixion, even going so far as
to ask the Father to rethink His plan if possible (Matthew 26:39). In light of
this, it should be noted that there must not be a way out of having our own
cross removed, bypassed, or made comfortable. It is a necessary affliction that
we must endure in order to put to death the things in our lives that Christ's
blood gives us a unique power over. We, through what Christ did on the cross,
are given empowerment to live holy in love to God, but the years we have spent
indulging the appetites of the flesh, allowing ourselves to be consumed with
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, developing habits and patterns in
our lives around these things, make it necessary that we undergo an
uncomfortable phase in our walk towards God where we make a break from them and
change our habits.
THE CROSS IS ONLY TEMPORARY! SIN LEFT
UNCHECKED IS PERPETUAL!
The cross is not comfortable or enjoyable, but it is only temporary. Jesus is not
still on His cross. Know this: our Christian lives are planned by God to
be
modeled after Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, not only His death. If
a believer is serious about obeying God, one of the things that the enemy will
try to do is divert them and convince them that it is all about the death with
no resurrection, or all about the resurrection with no death. Both of these
deceptions will result in the believer's actions being of great detriment to
the kingdom and to them. We must acknowledge and participate in both, but the
cross is the temporary part. Christ died on the cross once and was afterward
raised up into eternal life forever, never having to return to those agonies
again. You will suffer long term in your addiction,
and dysfunction, whatever sin is keeping you in bondage, or you can suffer
intensely but short term, to die to the habits and words and behaviors and
addictions, thereafter spending the rest of your life free and fulfilled!
It requires a decision, and a sincere commitment to that decision. Decisions
are the necessary incisions that will cut away that circumcision of the heart
(Romans 2:29). The decision is ours to make, but God gives
us the power to adhere to the commitment we make to Him (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
YOU DECIDE HOW TOUGH IT'S GOING TO BE
Your
personal cross that Jesus says you must bear does not need to be as unpleasant
or miserable as it may sound or you may anticipate. Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you,
and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28 through vs. 30) The cross
has been preached as though it were some unavoidable terror and drudgery that
must be endured in order to enter into what God has for us, but Jesus clearly
states here that the burden He asks us to bear is light and easy in comparison
with the heaviness that we labor under while we are yet outside of Christ and
under the Law (Galatians 4:1-7). We cannot be our own savior; that is why Christ
had to die for us. Simply accept that God is asking you to die to those things
that you were a part of when you were a child of the world, ask Him for the
strength and perseverance to endure the cross He is placing before you to bear,
and God will honor your obedience with the strength and support from the
brethren He will place around you so that you will soon be rejoicing in the
completeness of the death that it will bring to these things.
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