A. Put on the Armor of God
“The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” (Rom 13:12 NIV)
“While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:5 NIV)
Jesus is light. There can be no shadows where He is because Light is His shadow!
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5-6 NIV)
“..who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.” (1 Tim 6:16 NIV)
“In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:16 NIV)
Each day you are to “put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Eph 6:13-18)
1. The Belt of Truth
Let’s take a close look at each piece of armor and see what it covers.
First, there is the "belt of truth buckled around your waist." The belt used by the soldiers of Rome was not just to hold their clothes up. The belt went around their waist and between their legs, covering and protecting their reproductive organs. Paul calls it the "belt of truth." If you want to "hold up" to the wiles of the devil and "reproduce" Christians, then you must live your life both in and by the truth.
Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32 KJV). It is by living your life in truth and honesty that you will be able to set others free. You must guard your testimony with the belt of truth.
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness
Next is the“breastplate of righteousness” that covered the torso of the body, which contains all of the major organs, including the heart. It is from the heart that the blood of life flows. But also, in a spiritual sense, the heart is the home of love and faith. Jesus said that you are to "Love the Lord" your "God with all" your "heart and with all" your "soul” and with all your “mind” and with all your “strength" (Mark 12:30). This can only be done through forgiveness by receiving God’s forgiveness, forgiving others, and finally, forgiving yourself.
Jesus also taught that a "good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45).
Every day, if you want to live a holy and righteous life, you must put on "righteousness." Living a righteous life is living a life of faith and love. Paul also calls the "breastplate of righteousness" the "breastplate of faith and love" (1 Thess 5:8). If you are to be effective in your daily testimony as a Born-Again Christian, then you must live righteously through faith and love, which should be a conscious and deliberate act on your part. You don't wake up each day overflowing with faith and love. Faith and love are your defense against attacks, whether or not those attacks are in the form of a harsh, cruel word from a loved one or a direct assault from the enemy.
3. The Shoes of Readiness
Following the breastplate comes the "feet fitted with readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace." Roman soldiers wore sandals that protected and supported their feet and ankles. Paul says you are to wear shoes of "readiness." You are always to be prepared to go and share the Gospel with others. This readiness comes from living in peace with one another. You can never be ready to go and share the Gospel if you are not living in peace.
Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27).
You are not to be afraid of the evil in your past or even the evil that will come in the future. Finding the real peace offered by Jesus is by actually understanding that He has everything under His control in spite of the circumstances.
4. The Shield of Faith
Next, you are to "take up the shield of faith, with which [you] can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one” (Eph 6:16). The shield was almost as large as the soldier himself who carried it with one hand. The shield would protect him from an onslaught of flaming arrows and rocks. As the flaming arrows hit the shield, they would burn themselves out as there was nothing to feed the flame. The shield was also used to ward off the blows of an enemy’s sword.
This "shield of faith" can ward off all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Therefore, it is of significant importance that you always take it with us wherever you go, because "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" (Heb 11:6).
The other major ingredient in successful warfare is faith. Faith is the key to overcoming the world “Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:5 NIV). Jesus said that sometimes the enemy will not be defeated “except by prayer and fasting" (Matt 17:21 NKJV).
The faith that will protect us and extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one is simply ‘trust.’ To do this successfully, you must live a life of faith, "For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’” (Rom 1:17).
Faith is not a tool that can be used to make God work on your behalf. Each day you must "take up the shield of faith" by entrusting every breath you take to your Savior.
5. The Helmet of Salvation
You are now told to "take the helmet of salvation." Paul also calls the helmet "the hope of salvation" (1 Thess 5:8). The helmet was used to protect the head. The head, of course, houses the brain, which controls the whole body as well as what you speak, hear, and think. When you put on this helmet, you are saying that your actions, the words you speak, and your thought life will be according to "things that accompany salvation" (Heb 6:9).
You are to meditate on "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable." And, as a Christian, whatever things you "have learned or received or heard" from your study of the Scriptures and the testimony of faithful Born-Again Christians, you should "put it into practice." Then, when you do, "the God of peace" will be with you (Phil 4:8-9).
6. The Sword of the Spirit
A soldier would not be complete without a weapon to defend himself, so, next, you take up the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Eph 6:17). There is no defense without a good offense. The sword was used, not just as a weapon to protect but also to destroy. It had a short, double-edged blade and was designed for close-quarter, one-on-one fighting. A soldier had to spend many years learning to use it effectively. The well-trained soldiers of Rome were able to conquer most of the known world using these unique swords.
If you are going to destroy the works of satan, you must learn to use your unique sword—the Word of God—and study it diligently. No soldier would ever go into battle without having learned how to use his weapons.
As you are trained how to study the Bible, you learn to use its power to demolish those strongholds that have existed in your life because you are now able to take captive your every thought and make it obedient to God's word. When you go into these spiritual battles, you fight with weapons that are not of this world.
Your spiritual weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds and “every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.” And when you do fight with these “spiritual” weapons, you can then “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:4-5)
There is, however, one area of the soldier’s body that is left unprotected. The armor wasn’t made to cover the back. Roman soldiers gave no thought to covering their back for two important reasons: First, they were trained to always march forward. There was never any thought of retreat. The soldier was to press on, fighting the enemy face-to-face. And so it must be with us in your “spiritual” battles. You must always confront your enemy face-to-face, never giving up in retreat. The war has already been won, but not every battle fought will end victoriously.
Secondly, each soldier was trained with others as one unit. If a soldier was attacked from the behind, another would stand with him, back-to-back, in order to protect him by fighting the enemy from both sides. You must learn to stand back-to-back with fellow Born-Again Christians, protecting each other as you fight your own spiritual battles. Prayer is the best covering you can offer your fellow soldier.
7. Prayer in the Spirit
Finally, and most importantly, you must "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints" (Eph 6:18).
1. As a Christian soldier, maintaining a strong relationship with the Father through prayer is the greatest weapon you have to use against your true enemy.
You can dress with faith, righteousness, peace, pure thoughts, and be a great student of the Word, but if you do not pray, if you do not keep in constant communication with your Commander, you will not have the strength to battle against your enemy.
2. Prayer is what strengthens you to do battle because it is your lifeline.
3. Prayer is also the way you fight for and defend, other Christians throughout the world. Without a consistent prayer life, you will not be an effective warrior as you enter into battle. You must always be in prayer.
4. And when you pray for fellow soldiers, they will be covered by the Holy Spirit.
B - Live the Fasted Lifestyle
There are two things that bring the exchange with great power, and that is prayer, which we covered in the last class, and fasting. They are the most difficult, but when you combine those two together, it makes the greatest exchange.
Prayer and fasting are not designed to move or change God. They are designed to move and change you. And bring you into a place where you can begin to hear what God is saying. It increases your hearing so you can receive with great power what God has.
Hebrews 5:14 says: “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”
Part of the reason for having the anointing and the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit through the prayer and fasting process is that we begin to train up the senses. You start praying for a few hours, and then you increase it. You begin to train up the natural man by the things of the Spirit.
"Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? (Isa 58:1-6 NIV)
Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).
In the daily pace of modern society, it is easy to lose our focus on God. That’s why, as Born-Again Christians, it is critical that we fast from time to time to help bring us a clearer sense of God’s desire for our lives. Through fasting and prayer, our communication with the Lord moves to a dynamic and highly sensitive level
1. Why we should Fast
It was a custom of some of the early prophets, church leaders, and Christian disciples to have a period of fasting, or self-denial, during which Born-Again Christians said, "I want to deny myself and draw closer to God." Recently, the practice of fasting has become popular among other segments of the Church as well.
Throughout the Bible, you can see that it was assumed there would be fasting. This is the reason religious leaders challenged Jesus about why His disciples didn’t participate. He replied that people shouldn’t fast in the presence of the Bridegroom, but they would when He was taken away (see Matt 9:14-15).
2. The Purpose of Fasting
If you want to be changed, you must start with a heart of repentance and forgiveness. You can’t begin a fast holding something against someone. If you’re going to ask God to hear your voice, you must be willing to love and forgive others.
"Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place?" The reply is in the following verse: "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully." (Ps 24:3)
Fasting is going without food and only consuming liquids. Some people will just fast a meal, and you can do that, but if you are in a desperate situation or are praying about a serious matter in someone’s life or about breaking a stronghold, you need to get serious about fasting. Skipping one meal isn’t serious fasting.
3. The Benefits of Fasting
a. Release of Spiritual Power in Your Personal Life.
Before beginning His ministry, Jesus was driven by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where He didn’t eat for 40 days. Although Jesus lacked food, He was strengthened and nourished through His direct and intimate communion with the Father. That is why fasting is so important to the Born-Again Christian. It causes us to focus directly on our Creator and Lord. This is where our true strength comes from. In fact, some believe that the time Jesus spent fasting brought Him so close to the Father that the devil’s temptation was needed in order to get Him refocused on His earthly mission and to get started on the path set before Him. His personal holiness and the increased spiritual power released as a direct result of His fasting helped Him face the devil -- and emerge victoriously. (see Matt 4)
b. Release of Spiritual Power In Ministry.
Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch were Barnabas and Symeon (also called "The Black Man"), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the foster-brother of King Herod), and Paul. One day as these men were worshiping and fasting the Holy Spirit said, "Dedicate Barnabas and Paul for a special job I have for them." So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them -- and sent them on their way. (Acts 13:1-3 TLB)
Note again what else they are doing besides fasting? -WORSHIPING AND PRAYING. It doesn’t specifically say praying, but how do we know they were? It says the Holy Spirit spoke to them. What is prayer? It is communication with God through the Holy Spirit.
c. Hearing the Word of the Lord.
In response to Daniel’s fast, God sent an angel to give him insight and understanding.
"So I earnestly pleaded with the Lord God [to end our captivity and send us back to our own land]. As I prayed, I fasted and wore rough sackcloth, and I sprinkled myself with ashes." (Dan 9:3 TLB)
"Even while I was praying and confessing my sin and the sins of my people, desperately pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, flew swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice and said to me, "Daniel, I am here to help you understand God’s plans. The moment you began praying a command was given. I am here to tell you what it was, for God loves you very much. Listen and try to understand the meaning of the vision that you saw!" (Dan 9:20-23 TLB)
Acts 13:1-3 also gives another reason for fasting. We have left our normal worldly routines behind and focused on the Lord, so our ears are open and attentive.
d. Protection.
Ezra was a priest and scribe that attempted to bring reform to Israel after they had been subjected to corruption from foreign contact. Rather than asking the King for protection, Ezra proclaimed a fast.
Ezra proclaimed the fast before leading a flock of exiled Jewish families on a perilous journey from Babylon and home to Jerusalem.
"Then I declared a fast while we were at the Ahava River so that we would humble ourselves before our God; and we prayed that he would give us a good journey and protect us, our children, and our goods as we traveled. For I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and cavalry to accompany us and protect us from the enemies along the way. After all, we had told the king that our God would protect all those who worshiped him, and that disaster could come only to those who had forsaken him! So we fasted and begged God to take care of us. And he did." (Ezra 8:21-23 TLB)
Note that Ezra and the people did more than to just go without eating. They humbled themselves and sought God. They sought Him through prayer, and God responded by listening
e. Avoiding Disaster and Destruction
During a devastating famine in Israel, the prophet Joel -- inspired by God--decreed that there should be a holy fast. He ordained a solemn assembly with all the people confessing their sins and the priests weeping and interceding before the altar (see Joel 2:12-17).
In the Book of I Kings, we learn that Ahab was an evil King when he reigned over Israel along with his wife Jezebel (21:20-29)
Elijah spoke to Ahab the words of the Lord. Elijah said that God was going to destroy Ahab and his wife because of their evil deeds. Ahab responded by tearing his clothes and placing sackcloth upon his flesh as a way of humbling himself. However, more significant is that he received the Word from God with a truly repentant heart. God then reversed His judgment upon Ahab and Jezebel. Ahab had responded the way God wanted and avoided destruction.
f. Help In Times Of Trials, Tribulations, and Battles
Joel describes the plague of the locusts and calls the people to repentance. He urges them to mourn, tremble, fast, and pray.
"The grapevines are dead; the fig trees are dying; the pomegranates wither; the apples shrivel on the trees; all joy has withered with them. O priests, robe yourselves in sackcloth. O ministers of my God, lie all night before the altar, weeping. For there are no more offerings of grain and wine for you. Announce a fast; call a solemn meeting. Gather the elders and all the people into the Temple of the Lord your God, and weep before him there." (Joel 1:12-14 TLB)
"That is why the Lord says, "Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me all your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, mourning. Let your remorse tear at your hearts and not your garments." Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered; he is full of kindness and anxious not to punish you. Who knows? Perhaps even yet he will decide to let you alone and give you a blessing instead of his terrible curse. Perhaps he will give you so much that you can offer your grain and wine to the Lord as before! Sound the trumpet in Zion! Call a fast and gather all the people together for a solemn meeting." (Joel 2:12-15 TLB)
Once all of the people joined in the fast and sought God’s face, the Lord promised restoration; "See, I am sending you much corn and wine and oil, to fully satisfy your need. No longer will I make you a laughingstock among the nations. I will remove these armies from the north and send them far away; I will turn them back into the parched wastelands where they will die; half shall be driven into the Dead Sea and the rest into the Mediterranean, and then their rotting stench will rise upon the land. The Lord has done a mighty miracle for you." (Joel 2:18-20 TLB)
When God does answer and vindicates you, it is very important to praise Him for His wondrous grace and mercy. So here we see a remarkable case of God’s deliverance. The locusts in this story can represent, for us today, any kind of battle or opposition in our lives.
g. Deliverance
When King Jehoshaphat heard the news that the surrounding kingdoms had declared war on his kingdom he gave orders that "everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast. So the people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord" (2 Chron 20:3 NLT).
The people cried out to God and declared, "Whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, disease, or famine, we come to stand in your presence before this temple where your name is honored. We cry out to you and you will hear us and rescue us" (2 Chron 20:9 NLT).
h. Power for World Outreach.
The Book of Acts includes "the minutes" of a pivotal meeting of disciples.
"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul’" (Acts 13:2 NIV).
The fruit of that fast was the commissioning of two missionaries who set the gentile world on fire for Jesus Christ.
4. Harness the Power of the Resurrection
Peter said,
"For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Peter 1:21).
We should see that the people of God were driven by the power of God. The picture is of a leaf that falls from a tree and is carried along by the power of the wind. The leaf had to first let go of the tree to then be carried by the force of the wind. We have to let go of self and allow the Spirit of God to carry us along in the direction that He desires for us to move.
In the New Testament, we find the Greek word "endunamoo" which means to empower. It is a compound word. It is from the Greek word "en" meaning "within" and the Greek word "dunamis" meaning "power." We get such words a dynamite, dynamo, and dynamic from "dunamis.. Therefore, the picture is to receive power within. Here are some passages that use the word meaning to empower. The word / words in in Caps indicate the word meaning empowered.
"But Saul INCREASED the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ" (Acts 9:22).
"He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but WAS STRONG in faith, giving glory to God" (Rom 4:20).
"Finally, my brethren, BE STRONG in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Eph 6:10).
"I can do all things through Christ which STRENGTHENETH me" (Phil 4:13).
"And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath ENABLED me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry" (1 Tim 1:12).
"Thou therefore, my son, BE STRONG in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 2:1).
"Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and STRENGTHENED me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion" (2 Tim 4:17).
"Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were MADE STRONG, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens" (Heb 11:34).
a. The power of the Holy Spirit is offered to every Born-Again Christian, beginning on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4).
b. The primary requirement for the Born-Again Christian to receive the daily power of the Holy Spirit is to ASK (Luke 11:13). This is not a lighthearted asking but an asking out of a necessity to have the power to live the Christian life. It is a continual asking with a determination to receive that power.
c. We also should understand the awesomeness of the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul prays that the church would come to know ... "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power" (Eph 1:19).
Paul had everything from the world's perspective, but he counted it to be a pile of manure compared to the knowledge of God. He said, "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (Phil 3:10). He also declared that this power was the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
"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 your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom 8:11).
Peter declared that it gives the ability to speak. "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (1 Peter 4:11).
d. We should understand that the power is invested within Born-Again Christians enabling them to do the will of God. Again, Paul prays,
"That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man ... Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph 3:16, 20).
e. We are to depend upon this power when we find ourselves to be weak. Paul declared,
"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me" (2 Cor 12:9).
f. We are not to lay this power upon the shelf or neglect it. Paul wrote to the young minister, Timothy,
"Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (1 Tim 4:14).
We are to utilize the power for living the Christian life.
g. Last, we are to stir up this power. Again Paul instructs Timothy,
"Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands" (2 Tim 1:6).
The word picture here is of one taking a poker and stirring some dying coals causing them to burst into flames.
Since becoming a Born-Again Christian, I have always wanted to
“know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” (Phil 3:10).
I really desired to understand the “power of His resurrection.”
As a young Christian, I became involved in a church that was way over the emotional edge, and I was convinced that type of behavior was part of a normal Christian life. I thought all “true” Christians were to express themselves that way. I wanted to experience the resurrection power of the “Holy Ghost.” I thought this “power” was some supernatural force that was given to “zap” people and knock them over.
I see many today who continue to seek God’s power in the same way as a "thing" or a "force" that can be used for their own needs and wants. There is a serious problem with this thinking. The “power” of the resurrection isn’t a “thing” or some “force” - it is love!
It was love that exploded Jesus out of the tomb! It was love that sent Jesus into the world! Listen!;
"God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
God loved us so much that He sent the Son, Jesus, to die for us. It is His love that holds the universe together, and that will remain when everything else passes away.
It’s far easier for many to understand the power of the resurrection as a kind of physical might or an explosive force such as dynamite. Many want that kind of power in their lives because they want to defeat their problems. They want the power to blow away those things that trouble them.
When you realize that the power of the resurrection is love and not some “thing” you can use as a tool, you have the predicament of learning how to appropriate it. It’s a lot easier to destroy things than it is to love. Loving is the hardest task of all, and you can’t do it on your own. You can’t even love God on your own. You have to ask Jesus to give you the love to love Him back.
Of all the hundreds of laws in the Old Testament, Jesus narrowed them down to just two. When asked by a Pharisee, "Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." (Matt 22:37-38)
It’s easy for us in the natural realm to understand the difference between right and wrong when it is clearly marked before us, such as a traffic sign. We drive down the street, and when we see a stop sign, we stop because it says to stop! If a line is drawn in front of us that we are not supposed to cross, we don’t cross it. Those are things we can do because they are clearly defined.
When God says we are supposed to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, we find ourselves in a real quandary because we don’t have clearly defined signs in front of us.
Jesus then gave the second law:
"Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt 22:38-40)
Jesus is saying that loving your neighbor as yourself is the same as loving God with every cell of your being!
Now comes the real test: How are you supposed to love your neighbor when you can’t stand yourself? You may live in defeat, and you may even hate yourself. Many go to 12-Step programs three days a week and help make psychotherapists rich by trying to deal with the garbage inside of them. Yet, they don’t deal with the real problems within because they can’t handle the reality of who is to blame. Their lives stay miserable. They see themselves as useless.
You can’t love your neighbor if you don’t know how to love yourself. You can only learn to love yourself and love God with all your heart, soul, and mind by giving up and giving in to your Creator.
5. The Old Rugged Cross
During the early years of my Christian walk, I spent much of it clinging to the Cross. The song "The Old Rugged Cross” was my favorite. The cross is where I found real life and liberty. I wasn’t afraid of its cleansing power either. If “carrying my cross daily” meant suffering, I didn’t care. It didn’t bother or concern me because I just held on to it for dear life.
Many Christians, once they are “saved,” are afraid of the personal effects of the cross and don’t even want to get near it because crucifixion represents death and dying. They know they must die to self, but they often think that dying to self comes by performing a kind of spiritual suicide or self-humiliation because they have to put their old ways to death.
What is misunderstood is that you can’t crucify yourself. Imagine trying to physically crucify yourself! If you take a nail in one hand and a hammer in the other, you can pound a nail through your feet. If you hold a nail just right, you can pound it through one hand, but what happens to the other hand? There is no way to hammer a nail through it. It’s impossible. We need someone else to crucify us. We can’t do it on our own. Sadly, some even think that “crucify yourself daily” means to put yourself down or mentally berating yourself to keep your thoughts pure, so you can focus on what is holy and righteous.
I used to verbally kick myself to sleep at night because I hated the things I did. As a young Christian, I saw myself as a terrible hypocrite.
Then someone came along and said, “You can’t crucify yourself! Jesus has to do it. He is the one who puts the old man to death. The only way it can be done is to surrender fully to Him by asking Him to be your leader and forgiver.”
As a Born-Again Christian, you have already been put to death in Him. The crucifixion of Jesus lasted for six hours. In those six hours, Jesus paid the ultimate price to guarantee access to God the Father. It did not then, nor does it now, take a lifetime of performing good deeds or working at living a pure and righteous life.
From the cross, Jesus went into the tomb. It was within the tomb that He experienced the power of the resurrection. He opened the way for you to receive eternal life. Please understand—I’m not discussing the benefits of the cross! They last for all eternity. What often happens is that we tend to stay at, or constantly go back to, the cross for things that have already been put to death by Jesus. It’s time to press on into His newness of life so that we might truly know the power of the resurrection.
6. The Agony of Gethsemane
Before Jesus was resurrected, He had to spend three days in the tomb. In order to be resurrected, He first had to die. However, before He was crucified, He had to go through the agony and suffering of Gethsemane. It was there in the Garden that Jesus, so overwhelmed by the terror of being separated from the Father for the first time in all of eternity, that He sweat blood to the “point of death.” Yet, even with the sheer terror of the unknown facing Him, He
“fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matt 26:38-39 NIV)
If you honestly desire to experience, and live in, the power of the resurrection, God’s infinite love, you must say to Jesus, "I can’t love You on my own. I’m asking You to give me the love I need so I can love You back."
Sharing in the “fellowship of His suffering” means coming to the place where you can honestly and completely pray, just as Jesus did, “Not my will but yours be done.” Positionally your old nature was already put to death once and for all at the moment of salvation. However, the effects of the old nature must still be put to death on a daily basis. There needs to be a daily Crucifixion of the old nature by dying to self. It requires the total giving up of your own wants, needs, and desires; when you do that, you will realize that there is nothing within you, apart from Jesus, that can get you to the place you need to be.
If you desire complete healing of your spirit, mind, and body and to become a vessel that can be used to bring healing to others, you can only find it through the power of the resurrection. But first, you must walk the only path that takes you there, the path which runs through the Garden of Gethsemane and to the cross.
