I originally wrote this in response to an article posted by Rose; but I think it was a bit of a derailment of the thread, so since it is a pastoral teaching I decided to move it here. I do encourage our members to also read the original thread: Reflect on These Things
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Of all the important principles in the article posted by Rose, there is one that is at the heart of most Christian problems, and it is this-- "transformation of the mind [is] essential to spiritual growth and maturity." Too many Christians (and I did this as a young Christian) pray for God to change them and become frustrated when they battle the same old things over and over and over. But this is not how things work in God's Kingdom. In order to produce in us what He desires, God must first get us to voluntarily surrender all aspects of ourselves to Him; and it begins with our thinking.
God will help us (in fact He will produce the work) but we need to intentionally CHOOSE to view things differently than we always have. And that can be a (very) difficult task because we have been raised --by instruction and experience-- to do things for ourselves. Everything in life has taught us to express our will. It seems logical and, in fact, desirable (if not essential) to conduct our lives by means of our thinking and to be the one in charge of what we do in this earth. But this is a the opposite of life in God's kingdom. In fact, it is a hindrance to life under God's economy.
We have to voluntarily surrender our way of thinking to God's way of thinking. We have to intentionally choose (there's that word again) to accept God's will and way over or own, even over that which to us seems logical and right. In other words, we have to die to self. This means literally giving up the right to arrive at our own independent conclusions, or even to consider our own good.
Is this an instant, one-and-done thing? No way. For some it may be faster than others; but it is in no way quick. It is the result of a learning process where we learn, as did the Israelites in their 40 years in the wilderness, to trust God in everything, rather than trusting their own ideas produced by the circumstances around them. When Israel finally did this they were then brought into the land of milk and honey, finally receiving the promise, their true inheritance on earth.
That, my friends, is the true lesson of Israel's 40-year history of wandering in the wilderness. And this is why I do not accept the common teaching that the river Jordan represents death. No. At least not physical death. It represents death to self-will and self-reliance. The Hebrew word Jordan actual refers to going down, to descending, to going lower. And that is what we have to learn to do in our minds in order to truly experience God's peace and blessings here on this earth. Yes, in His great grace He will send us blessings in our struggling and our trials, from time to time; but the ABIDING PEACE He promises only comes when we are centered in His thinking and in total reliance upon His provision.
If you are tired of your years in the wilderness following your day of salvation --that moment when God delivered you from the domain of darkness and led you into the Kingdom of his dear son, redeeming you and forgiving your sins are Colossians 1:13-14)-- if you are tired of the wilderness in which you too often have been walking ever since, without that amazing peace God promised you in His Word, then please set not just your heart but your conscious mind to surrender your own will and your own thinking to the Word of God as your sole standard and your sole guide. It takes effort. Believe me, at times it takes a very great struggle. Twice in my life I have thought obeying God in a certain matter would destroy my life. But it did quite the opposite.
I can one hundred percent assure you on the basis of God's Word and my own experience trusting God and His Word, that although at times, in the interest of self-preservation and self-protection, your own common-sense thinking may cause you to want to put your will above God's will (whether revealed to you in His Word or by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by His Word) rather than choose to trust Him to provide and protect, HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU. EVER. And the result of trusting Him totally will bring you into a closer and closer relationship with Him. He will lead you across the Jordan into the promised land flowing with spiritual milk and honey, a land where peace and provision abounds. Yes, there will still be enemies to fight, just as there was for Israel. But your victories will be sure and your life will be restful.
If this has been speaking to you, I encourage you to --this day-- make the decision to set your mind on truly surrendering to God in ALL things.
I pray this gets someone to intentionally choose to surrender more and more of themself to God. They won't merely experience the true peace of God as they go forward: they will find themselves used by Him in powerful ways.
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Of all the important principles in the article posted by Rose, there is one that is at the heart of most Christian problems, and it is this-- "transformation of the mind [is] essential to spiritual growth and maturity." Too many Christians (and I did this as a young Christian) pray for God to change them and become frustrated when they battle the same old things over and over and over. But this is not how things work in God's Kingdom. In order to produce in us what He desires, God must first get us to voluntarily surrender all aspects of ourselves to Him; and it begins with our thinking.
God will help us (in fact He will produce the work) but we need to intentionally CHOOSE to view things differently than we always have. And that can be a (very) difficult task because we have been raised --by instruction and experience-- to do things for ourselves. Everything in life has taught us to express our will. It seems logical and, in fact, desirable (if not essential) to conduct our lives by means of our thinking and to be the one in charge of what we do in this earth. But this is a the opposite of life in God's kingdom. In fact, it is a hindrance to life under God's economy.
We have to voluntarily surrender our way of thinking to God's way of thinking. We have to intentionally choose (there's that word again) to accept God's will and way over or own, even over that which to us seems logical and right. In other words, we have to die to self. This means literally giving up the right to arrive at our own independent conclusions, or even to consider our own good.
Is this an instant, one-and-done thing? No way. For some it may be faster than others; but it is in no way quick. It is the result of a learning process where we learn, as did the Israelites in their 40 years in the wilderness, to trust God in everything, rather than trusting their own ideas produced by the circumstances around them. When Israel finally did this they were then brought into the land of milk and honey, finally receiving the promise, their true inheritance on earth.
That, my friends, is the true lesson of Israel's 40-year history of wandering in the wilderness. And this is why I do not accept the common teaching that the river Jordan represents death. No. At least not physical death. It represents death to self-will and self-reliance. The Hebrew word Jordan actual refers to going down, to descending, to going lower. And that is what we have to learn to do in our minds in order to truly experience God's peace and blessings here on this earth. Yes, in His great grace He will send us blessings in our struggling and our trials, from time to time; but the ABIDING PEACE He promises only comes when we are centered in His thinking and in total reliance upon His provision.
If you are tired of your years in the wilderness following your day of salvation --that moment when God delivered you from the domain of darkness and led you into the Kingdom of his dear son, redeeming you and forgiving your sins are Colossians 1:13-14)-- if you are tired of the wilderness in which you too often have been walking ever since, without that amazing peace God promised you in His Word, then please set not just your heart but your conscious mind to surrender your own will and your own thinking to the Word of God as your sole standard and your sole guide. It takes effort. Believe me, at times it takes a very great struggle. Twice in my life I have thought obeying God in a certain matter would destroy my life. But it did quite the opposite.
I can one hundred percent assure you on the basis of God's Word and my own experience trusting God and His Word, that although at times, in the interest of self-preservation and self-protection, your own common-sense thinking may cause you to want to put your will above God's will (whether revealed to you in His Word or by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by His Word) rather than choose to trust Him to provide and protect, HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU. EVER. And the result of trusting Him totally will bring you into a closer and closer relationship with Him. He will lead you across the Jordan into the promised land flowing with spiritual milk and honey, a land where peace and provision abounds. Yes, there will still be enemies to fight, just as there was for Israel. But your victories will be sure and your life will be restful.
If this has been speaking to you, I encourage you to --this day-- make the decision to set your mind on truly surrendering to God in ALL things.
I pray this gets someone to intentionally choose to surrender more and more of themself to God. They won't merely experience the true peace of God as they go forward: they will find themselves used by Him in powerful ways.
