my capital "I" struggles

R

rainydaygirl Jan 2, 2011

Do you pray and ask God's will and plan for every aspect of you, or is it just the major decisions in life that draws you to HIM? Do you seek HIM on how you spend time? who you spend time with? what you spend time doing?

If we really are to be servants unto the Lord then do we really have any right to make decisions with out seeking HIM first?? How often do I eat what "I" want to, sleep as long as "I" want to, dress the way "I" want to, wear my hair the way "I" want to, all the day to day decisions that I make with out every praying or seeking HIM....

Just been thinking about life and how much of it do I lay day and surrender unto HIM and how much do I hold back and view as my own. Maybe God is showing me that "I" needs to die!!

rdg

sermonindex Jan 2, 2011

Yes sister!

The focus is Christ not Me! Our focus is more important then our obedience or effort. Christ must be everything and then He will bear fruit in our walks.

For every One time you look to self "I" look Ten times to Jesus!

the little booklet "Seeing Him" was very helpful to me this week:
http://www.gfa.org/store/journey-with-jesus/

sermonindex Jan 2, 2011

Just been thinking about life and how much of it do I lay day and surrender unto HIM and how much do I hold back and view as my own. Maybe God is showing me that "I" needs to die!!

Galatians 2:20 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.

There are a lot of "I"s in that verse. Paul exists but he exists in Christ, his life is hid in Christ. It's so much so that all he sees is Christ and not himself. The "I" is still there but it's overshadowed by the presence of God. It's not an "I" that wants to do it's own will, it's an "I" that is fully aware that without Christ he is naked, blind, and barren.

Only those that obey God ever reach this true realization.

P.S. I had to come back and add this because I don't want anyone to think that I have reached this plateau, not at all.

sermonindex Jan 3, 2011

LORD Bless you sister rdg.

Watchman Nee's "The Release of the Spirit" has had to have it's Introduction extended/added-to to clarify that it's not the "annihilation of" the soul that was being taught but that all of our souls/selves are "stubbornly independent". Our wills need to become yielded - then it can be a "functioning 'channel' through which the Spirit of life seeks to flow out" of.
It's all about "dependence" - that waiting on His Spirit to direct, guide, lead, in all that you mentioned - Amen.

All the fulness of The Godhead dwelt in Christ Jesus bodily, yet we see Him stopping & looking up to pray - for an example unto us, of how to walk in dependence, rather than autonomously, as we as humans do naturally.

There are some beliefs of Nee that we don't all agree with - such as 5 raptures and some of what he wrote on 'authority' but The Spiritual Man, The Release of the Spirit, and The Ministry of God's Word - just for 3, are more than worth their weight in pure fine gold. Nee has kept many from going off the deep end with "The Latent Power of the Soul" and "Spiritual Reality or Obsession".

His teaching on the "spirit, soul & body" - the tripartite make-up of humans, is a GOD send to The Church because through it, we can understand The Trinity.

His Spirit indwells our Spirit upon regeneration, then the freewill that makes up our soul, which controls our bodies as well, decides whether to stop and wait for the leading of the Spirit - "to walk in the spirit" or not.
When we do walk in the spirit - then the soul is submissive to His Spirit and the body is controled by the freewill of the soul, under submission to The Spirit. (How Jesus walked)
Then our tripartite nature is "one" as Jesus and the Father were One - as He said while He was here in flesh.

'Pray without ceasing' sums it up and that's what you've said in your first two paragraphs. I truly appreciate your post. We all need that reminder - to take up that cross daily - of submission/dependence. Amen & Thank you Sis.