Get ready to laugh and love it when you lose it!
The devil gets livid when God’s people lose it!!!
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
Satan only loses control over those who lose their life in Christ! – In Christ they are now “hid with Christ in God.”
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
Yes, they lose their lives into the hands of the LORD!
Notice in these glorious words below spoken to us just before He went to that cross to be crucified for our sins – to bring us to the Father and Himself (John 17). Jesus came to be crucified, buried, and raised again from the dead to glorify the Father and be glorified in us as the Father was glorified in Him. Check this out:
John 12:23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
John 12:25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
John 12:26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Jesus here speaks of His own death and burial and also, of that death to self He calls us to experience daily – and the reciprocal, the corresponding resurrection life which fills our lives.
“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make alive) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” Romans 8:11
God only raises up those who choose to do things HIS way – which is unalterably the way of the cross.
“And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward, and bear fruit upward:” Isaiah 37:31
Jesus conquered death by dying, not by rising up. The Father raised Him from the dead only after the Son of God submitted to His own death (Hebrews 2:14).
Here, our LORD informs us to follow Him in the crucified life (v. 24), to let go of and “lose” our lives into His holy hands (v. 25), and to serve Him and follow Him (v. 26). The Father is honored in such!
Of this glorious passage, William MacDonald writes:
“John 12:21 No reason is given why they came to Philip. Perhaps his Greek name and the fact that he was from Bethsaida of Galilee made him attractive to those Gentile proselytes. Their request was a noble one indeed. ‘Sir, we wish to see Jesus.’ No one who has this sincere desire in his heart is ever turned away unrewarded.
12:23 Why did the Greeks want to see Jesus? If we read between the lines, we can surmise that the wisdom of Jesus appealed to them and that they wanted to exalt Him as their popular philosopher. They knew that He was on a collision course with the Jewish leaders and wanted Him to save His life, perhaps by going to Greece with them. Their philosophy was ‘Spare yourself,’ but Jesus told them that this philosophy was directly opposed to the law of harvest. He would be glorified in His sacrificial death and not by a comfortable life.
12:24 Seed never produces grain until first it falls into the ground and dies. The Lord Jesus here referred to Himself as a grain (or kernel) of wheat. If He did not die, He would abide alone. He would enjoy the glories of heaven by Himself; there would be no saved sinners there to share His glory. But if He died, He would provide a way of salvation by which many might be saved.
The same applies to us, as T. G. Ragland says:
‘If we refuse to be corns of wheat—falling into the ground, and dying; if we will neither sacrifice prospects, nor risk character, and property, and health; nor, when we are called, relinquish home, and break family ties, for Christ’s sake; then we shall abide alone. But if we wish to be fruitful, we must follow our Blessed Lord Himself, by becoming a corn of wheat, and dying, then we shall bring forth much fruit.’
12:25 Many people think that the important things in life are food, clothing, and pleasure. They live for these things. But in thus loving their lives, they fail to realize that the soul is more important than the body. By neglecting their soul’s welfare, they lose their lives. On the other hand, there are those who count all things loss for Christ. To serve Him, they forego things highly prized among men. These are the people who will keep their lives for eternal life. To hate one’s life means to love Christ more than one loves his own interests.
12:26 To serve Christ, one must follow Him. He would have His servants obey His teachings and resemble Him morally. They must apply the example of His death to themselves. All servants are promised the constant presence and protection of their Master, and this applies not only to the present life but to eternity as well. Service now will receive God’s approval in a coming day. Whatever one suffers of shame or reproach here will be small indeed compared to the glory of being publicly commended by God the Father in heaven!”
LOSE it for Jesus! Got to lose it to find it – to save it!
Matthew 10:39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that LOSETH his life for my sake shall find it.
Matthew 16:25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will LOSE his life for my sake shall find it.
Mark 8:35 For whosoever will save his (own) life shall lose it; but whosoever shall LOSE his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
Luke 9:24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will LOSE his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
Luke 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall LOSE his life shall preserve it.
Sister Debbie Lord notes:
“If I don’t unreservedly yield myself to the Lord TODAY, how can I say I’ve given Him my life?
I haven’t truly given the Lord my life if I haven’t completely died to myself and submitted wholeheartedly to His will and His Word TODAY!”
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Luke 14:33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Getting Lost!
Let’s read again and begin to memorize this one:
“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
Declare these words above right now with your mouth, out loud, so that you hear the Word of the LORD.
The crucified life is the way into “the secret place of the most high.”
“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalms 91:1
There are no shortcuts.
Any preacher who is not telling you that Jesus non-negotiably calls you to lay down, to lose your life in this fleeting life, is preaching “another gospel,” is an enemy of the cross of Christ, and is making “merchandise of you” (Galatians 1:6-9; Philippians 3:18-19; 2 Peter 2:1-3). And, if you are sitting under that, you are supporting it, you are bidding Godspeed to it and will be judged with and as the enemy of Christ (2 John 10-11).
You have a Bible, so there’s no excuse before a holy God with whom we have to do. Now repent and obey Him.
We are not good, not one of us (Romans 3:10). If we don’t understand and own what the Bible states concerning the universal fall of all men in Adam, that there’s “no good thing” in us, we will not recognize the need for the daily cross – to be truly crucified with Christ.
The Galatians 2:20 effect! Getting up each morning and declaring this divine statement, the divine ordination of your conformity to the crucified image of Christ, is life-changing.
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Also, here’s a triple threat package for your life with Christ, learning His cross and experience the power of His glorious resurrection in your personal, daily life!
PRAYER: Holy Father, teach me Thy way. Unite my heart to fear Your holy name and to learn the concept of the cross, of losing my life in You, just as You intended when You taught. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
The Cross Life | Support | STORE | Podcasts |
Abiding
How Christ’s Kingdom Evangelism Works [podcast]
“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
“The Word of God, like rain and snow that water the earth and cause it to produce fruit, will be sown in the hearts of men and produce fruit in the moral world (Isa_55:11; Deu_32:2). As the rain and snow fall on various kinds of ground, so does the Word of God (Mat_13:3-8, Mat_13:20-23). Like rain and snow, it will accomplish its best good in the eternal reign of the Messiah, when the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth (Isa_11:9). Thus, the final fulfillment of this scripture will be in the future; there is only a partial fulfillment at present in the preaching of the gospel.” Dake
“God’s word is just as irresistible and effective as the rain and snow. All the armies in the world cannot stop them, and they accomplish their intended purpose. God’s Word never fails to achieve its aims.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23
ANY person who doesn’t understand the power of God’s Word, when sown into the hearts of men, has no business pretending to be a pastor or elder in Christ’s body.
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
“He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?” Jeremiah 23:28-29
The Harvest is Plentiful, the Laborers Few
“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38 Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:35-38
“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.” Isaiah 59:2
People are born again by the WORD of God which means the Word must be sown in their hearts and germinate.
“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-9
Faithfully sowing the seed of the Word of God in the hearts of men assures that God will be glorified in saving each of those souls who receive and believe His truth in repentance and faith.
Here’s how evangelism and our LORD’s kingdom work works—layers of Gospel workers. Usually we are the second, third, etc., Gospel labourer, following up on the seed planted in the hearts of the people we minister to. Let’s gain this vision, this illustration from Christ concerning our work for Him, in His kingdom.
Anyone putting off, pushing into the future, evangelizing the lost, is disobeying Jesus Christ. Anyone not evangelizing the lost around them cannot rightly claim to love Jesus. They are full of self and in need of crying out to God in repentance.
John 4:34 – 38
“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.”
Picture planting a seed in a garden, then standing back and watching the ground you planted that seed in and expecting to see it sprout up visibly from the soil it was planted in. Not wise, right? Right.
The picture our LORD gives here is planting that seed and then moving on, just like anyone who plants seeds to grow some plant, crop.
The Parable of the Seed Growing
Mark 4
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Mark 4:26-29
“And should sleep and rise night and day – That is, he should sleep by night, and rise by day; for so the words are obviously to be understood. He knoweth not how – How a plant grows is a mystery in nature, which the wisest philosopher in the universe cannot fully explain.” Adam Clarke
In ministry, it’s always seeding, planting. It’s GOD, not us, who brings the increase. This pertains to the invisible work of God in the hearts of men.
“The parable may be intended to encourage the disciples. Their responsibility is to sow the seed. They may sleep by night and rise by day, knowing that God’s Word will not return to Him void, but will accomplish what He has intended it to do. By a mysterious and miraculous process, quite apart from man’s strength and skill, the Word works in human hearts, producing fruit for God. Man plants and waters but God gives the increase.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.” Psalms 19:7
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” John 15:16
YOUR PRAYER: Holy Father, please break me. Unite my heart to fear Your name. Thank You for choosing and ordaining me to Your kingdom work. Please bear Your fruit in and through this life, this vessel for Your eternal glory. Let that fruit remain dear LORD. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Abiding
Jesus Washes the Feet of His Own [podcast]
What was Jesus demonstrating and teaching us when He washed the feet of His disciples?
The Washed Way – begins with “the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” – being born again (Titus 3:5-7; John 3:3, 7).
“On the way back from the public bath, a person’s feet would get dirty again. He didn’t need another bath but did need to have his feet washed. ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean.’ There is a difference between the bath and the basin. The bath speaks of the cleansing received at the time of one’s salvation. Cleansing from the penalty of sin through the blood of Christ takes place only once. The basin speaks of cleansing from the pollution of sin and must take place continually through the Word of God. There is one bath but many foot-washings.” Believer’s Bible Commentary
“If these last words of our Lord had any spiritual reference, it is not easy to say what it was. A common opinion is the following: He who is washed – who is justified through the blood of the Lamb, needeth only to wash his feet – to regulate all his affections and desires; and to get, by faith, his conscience cleansed from any fresh guilt, which he may have contracted since his justification.” Adam Clarke
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet
“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him;
3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.
15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
17 If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. – John 13:1-17
Those not happy prove they are not humble nor holy (John 13).
“If loving the person in front of you seems like too small of a ministry opportunity, you’ve forgotten the simplicity of the Gospel.” unknown
Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet as an Act of Final Sealing of His Mercy, His Will
“Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end (to the end, to the utmost).” John 13:1
“Before the feast – Namely, on Wednesday, in the paschal week. Having loved his own – His apostles, he loved them to the end – Of his life.” John Wesley
Adam Clarke writes:
“He loved them unto the end – Continued his fervent affection towards them to his latest breath, and gave them that convincing proof of it which is mentioned Joh_13:5. That the disciples alone are meant here every man must see.”
Of these cornerstone verses of John 13, F.B. Meyer writes:
“John 13:1-11
JESUS GLORIFIES HUMBLE SERVICE
In the Temple the laver preceded the brazen altar. It was kept filled with pure water for the constant washing of the priests; Exo_30:18-21; Lev_16:4. We cannot have fellowship with Christ at Calvary or on Olivet unless we draw near with our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
The Synoptic Gospels tell us that on their way to the feast the disciples had yielded to contention and pride. It was needful that these should be put away, and our Lord’s love was equal to the occasion. He loved them to the end of His life and to the end of love. Only such love could have made saints and apostles out of such material.
Jesus began a work which has never ceased, and which will continue “till all the ransomed Church of God be saved to sin no more.” When we have contracted guilt, we have not to begin our whole life over again, but to go back to the place where we dropped the thread of obedience and begin there.”
May we never forget how merciful our LORD Jesus was to the woman at the well (John 4), the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8), and the woman with the issue of blood (Luke 8).
It’s of interest to note how this 13th chapter of the glorious Gospel of John begins with Christ’s love to His disciples and closes with His command for them to “love one another” as He taught and personally demonstrated to them:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34-35
“When you fall in love don’t you want to shout it from the rooftops? He, the man you are in love with, is all you talk about! Should be the same with Jesus! You want to tell everyone about this man, the Savior who saved your life! Just as the woman at the well did! She told the whole city. ‘Come, and see a man, which told me all the things that ever I did: is this not the Christ?’ John 4: 28-29.” Karen Cochran
YOUR PRAYER: Father, in Jesus’ name, please reduce me to love.
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Antichrist or Christ? [podcast]
Recorded at a fellowship in Colorado.
Who is truly reigning in my heart?
“But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” Luke 19:27
Am I an antichrist?
Are there professing Christians who have “the spirit of antichrist” reigning in their hearts, their personal lives?
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
If I am sitting upon the throne of my own heart in this my temple (myself), I am an antichrist. God forbid!
Anti as in antichrist means in place of: It’s the “spirit of antichrist” working through Satan’s false ministers that robs the glory from Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:12-15; Colossians 1:18; 2:8-10, 18-19; 1 John 4:1-3, etc.).
anti – a. Against, opposed to. b. Before, predating. c. Usurping, in place of.
“Deceived people have no idea that they have been deceived, so they fight those who attempt to direct them back to the truth of the gospel.” Jim Borge
Those not excited for Jesus to return simply love this fleeting world and are not ready to meet the KING! Jesus is coming
We know when “that spirit of antichrist” is working through a rebel when he speaks contrary to God’s Word (John 8:47; 1 John 4:3). “That spirit of antichrist” – anti (in place of) Christ is anything that contradicts what God’s Word says, working to subvert divinely stated truth while posing as Christ’s minister (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).
“That spirit of antichrist” is witnessed in the human agents, possessed by devils who make it all about something, anything but Christ. The emphasis is taken away from Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:18-19). They make it about the church, Zionism/Israel, a nation, a genealogical people, a mere pastor, a man or men, an organization, a creed, a fraternal order, etc. This becomes clearer as the word “antichrist” is broken down. Anti means in place of.
Read Colossians 1 and 2 each morning this week.
“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. 2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. 4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:1-4
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