How to win your battles

The essence of preparedness can be seen and is highlighted at Gethsemane. This is where the battle of Calvary was truly won. Jesus fought the battle on His knees and by His obedience and willingness to embrace the will of His Father. This is where we too will prepare and will win the battle before it is even fought. It will be on our knees, and with an overwhelming desire to carry out the Lord’s will for our lives, even if it means actual martyrdom.

We must be willing to embrace the cross and all that it means, death to the flesh. Jesus reminded us that if any man sought to follow Him, that man would have to deny himself and pick up his cross daily . It seems that there are men who hate the notion of the cross and would deny this very teaching from the Lord's lips. Who are these men? Paul tells us who they are .............

For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things. (Php 3:18-19)

It is so important to note that these men Paul talks about are not enemies of Jesus, for they take His name and walk under the banner of Christianity, no, these men are enemies of the cross of Christ because it's the cross that offends men. They have no desire to pick up their cross daily, they simply just want to be blessed and live there best lives now. which is why the Lord says they mind earthly things.

Do not be fooled brothers and sisters, it is the work of Calvary that cleanses us and saves us, it is the work of yielding to God, picking up our cross daily, that sanctifies us. You note that we cannot sanctify ourselves, we can only surrender to the cross and willingly take it up and through that process, allow the Lord to shape and mold us into His image for His glory. In these last days, the enemies of the cross of Christ will rise up in boldness and deny it's work. Stay vigilant brothers and sisters, and note those who would take away from Calvary.

Keep your eyes on Jesus and your mind on things eternal. This will allow you to praise the Lord your God in everything and give thanks. For because of your eternal mind-set you will know that nothing will separate you from the love of Jesus. Persecution cannot separate us, trials and tribulations cannot separate us, those who seek to kill us and death cannot separate us from the love of Jesus for we know that for His sake we are killed all the day long and that we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

We know this because we know Jesus and we know His word.Yet we also know that in all of those things we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus because of His great love for us. And so brothers and sisters ” I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers,nor things present,nor things to come,nor heights nor depths, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.”

Look forward saints, look upwards and cast your spiritual eyes into things eternal, to our resting place and you will overcome because he is your Lord and Savior Jesus and your eternal reward will be to dwell with Him. There is nothing in this world that is worth more than this.

Do not be fooled brothers and sisters, it is the work of Calvary that cleanses us and saves us, it is the work of yielding to God, picking up our cross daily, that sanctifies us. You note that we cannot sanctify ourselves, we can only surrender to the cross and willingly take it up and through that process, allow the Lord to shape and mold us into His image for His glory. In these last days, the enemies of the cross of Christ will rise up in boldness and deny it's work. Stay vigilant brothers and sisters, and note those who would take away from Calvary.

Amen to what is written there. Any teaching, doctrine, fellowship, church, brother, sister, leader, apostle, book, that leads you to trust in your own righteousness or pursue godliness apart from, through the cross of Calvary is a counterfeit. All things are from to and from Jesus Christ. To Him be praise and glory in all things.

Bro Greg writes..........

"Any teaching, doctrine, fellowship, church, brother, sister, leader, apostle, book, that leads you to trust in your own righteousness or pursue godliness apart from, through the cross of Calvary is a counterfeit. All things are from to and from Jesus Christ. To Him be praise and glory in all things."

Yes and amen!.............. bro Frank

HI bro Zeke,

First of all, there are tow different subjects being discussed in this piece, salvation, then sanctification. Picking up our cross daily has everything to do with sanctification. You must let the words of Scriptures and their plain meaning speak to you. You cannot put a theological grid over Scriptures, using pre-conceived notions, them come to conclusions that you sought to arrive at in the first place. This is the great error, in my opinion, of Calvinism ( no debate please on calvisism, actually any ism)

Phil 3 is clearly speaking of believing Jews. In order to have context, and not take a text out of context and arrive at a pre-text, one must read the whole chapter for the meaning, then the whole book , then of course, all of Scripture. In verse 2 Paul writes..........

"Php 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
Php 3:3 For we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."

Here he is speaking of the judaizers, believing Jews who had spied out their liberty and had tried to keep the new believers under a yoke of the law. For a more respected viewpoint on just who are the enemies of the cross of Christ, and in fact you are the first voice I have heard suggesting otherwise, here is what Matthew Henry says........

1. There are many called by Christ's name who are enemies to Christ's cross, and the design and intention of it. Their walk is a surer evidence what they are than their profession. By their fruits you shall know them, Mat_7:20. The apostle warns people against such, (1.) Very frequently: I have told you often. We so little heed the warnings given us that we have need to have them repeated. To write the same things is safe, Phi_3:1. (2.) Feelingly and affectionately: I now tell you weeping. Paul was upon proper occasions a weeping preacher, as Jeremiah was a weeping prophet. Observe, An old sermon may be preached with new affections; what we say often we may say again, if we say it affectionately, and are ourselves under the power of it.
2. He gives us the characters of those who were the enemies of the cross of Christ. (1.) Whose God is their belly. They minded nothing but their sensual appetites. A wretched idol it is, and a scandal for any, but especially for Christians, to sacrifice the favour of God, the peace of their conscience, and their eternal happiness to it. Gluttons and drunkards make a god of their belly, and all their care is to please it and make provision for it. The same observance which good people give to God epicures give to their appetites. Of such he says, They serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, Rom_16:18. (2.) They glory in their shame. They not only sinned, but boasted of it and gloried in that of which they ought to have been ashamed. Sin is the sinner's shame, especially when it is gloried in. “They value themselves for what is their blemish and reproach.” (3.) They mind earthly things. Christ came by his cross to crucify the world to us and us to the world; and those who mind earthly things act directly contrary to the cross of Christ, and this great design of it. They relish earthly things, and have no relish of the things which are spiritual and heavenly. They set their hearts and affections on earthly things; they love them, and even dote upon them, and have a confidence and complacency in them. He gives them this character, to show how absurd it would be for Christians to follow the example of such or be led away by them; and, to deter us all from so doing, he reads their doom. (4.) Whose end is destruction. Their way seems pleasant, but death and hell are at the end of it. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death, Rom_6:21. It is dangerous following

Can it be any more simple than this?

"If you love me, obey me" and "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you."

"Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do what I say?"

With that said, has the Church given up on "personal righteousness"? Does God require men to be righteous or do we just say, "I am righteous because of Christ?"

Without righteousness the glory of God will not abide among men. Is it enough to be "declared righteous" and to say we are "justified", yet not exhibit any real fruit?

Should there be some manifestation of the work of righteousness by the Spirit in a person. Is there suppose to be a manifestation of the reality of Christ in our lives?

True or False: "be ye holy, for I am holy" is a suggestion?

Paul and James are not contradictory at all. They are addressing different two false views.

Paul is fearful of dead works without a living faith.
James is fearful of a dead faith that produces no good works.

He gives us the characters of those who were the enemies of the cross of Christ. (1.) Whose God is their belly. They minded nothing but their sensual appetites. A wretched idol it is, and a scandal for any, but especially for Christians, to sacrifice the favour of God, the peace of their conscience, and their eternal happiness to it. Gluttons and drunkards make a god of their belly, and all their care is to please it and make provision for it. The same observance which good people give to God epicures give to their appetites. Of such he says, They serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own bellies, Rom_16:18. (2.) They glory in their shame. They not only sinned, but boasted of it and gloried in that of which they ought to have been ashamed. Sin is the sinner's shame, especially when it is gloried in. “They value themselves for what is their blemish and reproach.” (3.) They mind earthly things. Christ came by his cross to crucify the world to us and us to the world; and those who mind earthly things act directly contrary to the cross of Christ, and this great design of it. They relish earthly things, and have no relish of the things which are spiritual and heavenly. They set their hearts and affections on earthly things; they love them, and even dote upon them, and have a confidence and complacency in them. He gives them this character, to show how absurd it would be for Christians to follow the example of such or be led away by them; and, to deter us all from so doing, he reads their doom. (4.) Whose end is destruction. Their way seems pleasant, but death and hell are at the end of it. What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death, Rom_6:21. It is dangerous following

If we quote that which we agree with then let it be said plainly.

This quotation is an unreserved condemnation unto destruction of those of whom it speaks. Make no bones about it brethren. This is outright utter condemnation unto eternal death. The qualification concerns the meaning of whom it speaks. Neither can it be in doubt as to the present application against those of whom it now speaks. In the manner this is being applied in this post as in many other places on this site, it amounts to complete and utter condemnation as of the hand of God Himself on men to eternal destruction. Remember that! Who here is an apostle? Who? Say it or else stop speaking as though you were. Who here has authority to condemn all those who take the name of the Lord because they do not rise to the obedience of the cross?. It was Christ Himself Who bore the cross for our sakes, we do not bear the cross for our own sakes as unto eternal life, we bear it for Christ sake as unto His kingdom. It is utter condemnation to speak otherwise.

I thought Jesus said "we cannot follow Him if we do not pick up our cross".

Matthew 16:24
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luke 9:23
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.

He also said this: Matthew 10:38
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Is this only about sanctification.

HI Zeke,

It seems that we have a disagreement as to what context is or what a pre-text is. Given that, I can see no fruit coming from further discussion. If you disagree with the post then that is your right brother. God bless you. I have no desire whatsoever for contention. Each man has to be thouroughly persuaded in what he or she believes. We have stated out opinions, and you are entitled to yours. Be blessed.

Brother Andrew, just do not know where you are coming from brother, but again, no further comment from me. My post is an exhortation to saints to pick up their cross and follow after Jesus, nothing more, nothing less. So, you have your opinion and I have mine. Be blessed brother and may the Lord continually open up His Word to both of us, and on that I am sure we can agree............bro Frank

Zeke just a gentle question. Are you a proponent if hyper grace? Do you embrace the teaching of Joseph Prince?

I have seen in your posts that you refute the idea of a believer having any need of responsibility in a holy practical walk before Cbrist.

I gleam you think it all hingex on justification by faith with no practical fruit to show in sanctification. Bro the New Testament teaches we are to be holy as ve us holy. And that comes from a Spirit filled Salk if faith with Jesus.

Bearmaster.

I thought Jesus said "we cannot follow Him if we do not pick up our cross".

Matthew 16:24
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Luke 9:23
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.

He also said this: Matthew 10:38
38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

Is this only about sanctification. just-in

The Lord Jesus has said plainly to everyone who believes in Him that in order to be worthy of Him as Lord & King they must take up their cross daily. This however is not an issue of life in the sense of believing in Him as Redeemer and Saviour. The issue of sanctification is settled by Christ Himself in the first instance. “By His [the Father’s] doing you are in Christ Jesus Who became unto us both the wisdom of God, righteousness, sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). This finished work of the Lord Jesus, in His own body on the cross unto death and by resurrection of His body from the dead, is the basis of believing into Christ by a power given by the Father. This power is a gift of faith to believe, without which no one could believe. It is therefore by grace, undeserved, unmerited yet given to the one who asks in Christ name. It is the evidence of the Father’s love towards us and it makes us the children of God. As it is written. “He [Christ] came unto His own and they knew Him not. Yet to as many as believed in Him to them He gave the power to become the children of God”.

The basis and the only basis for taking up ones cross as a disciple [one who follows] is on the basis of first becoming God’s children through Christ by believing. To be a disciple is more than simply believing, it is believing and obedience, comprehending that if we serve Christ in the strength of His life, freely given we will be serving Him as Lord and King to a fruitful outcome. The kingdom is the outworking of this obedience, just as eternity is the outworking of faith to believe. Unless we are able to make a distinction in our own consciences and in the renewing of our minds to comprehend that all that which was necessary for eternal life was accomplished and finished in Christ’s own physical body, having Himself learned obedience through His sufferings, we are in danger of the evil pride of life becoming our motivation in service. The most visible of which suffering is the Cross itself unto death. In other respects we could speak of the Lord being rejected and despised yet reviling no one, but patiently enduring even to the point of fulfilling the law and the prophets.

To speak about sanctification therefore we have to firstly speak about the Lord Himself, His obedience and suffering, even to the point of comprehending that “He Who knew no sin, became sin” for our sakes. “Behold the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world”, is its meaning. Only then can we speak about following the Lord as a disciple. Otherwise we are in danger of following, to an end of making ourselves right before the Father and in that mistaken effort we will find many disappointments as we constantly fail to see the evidence of God working in and through our lives for the sake of Christ Himself and those who would believe.

Taking up our cross is not an issue of eternal life. It is an issue of discipleship and obedience, having already done the works of the Father by believing in the Father and the One Whom He sent, even Christ. In that obedience we have in all sufficiency pleased the Father. No one can be worthy of the Lord’s death otherwise we are saying that there is a man somewhere who is without sin. To be reckoned worthy of the Lord Himself speaks of being worthy through obedience in all things, concerning the risen, ascended and soon to come again, Lord of lords and King of kings.

The cross therefore for those who do believe has to do with dealing with the natural man so that he does not walk in his own understanding but in the [same] mind which was in Christ.

Brother Andrew, just do not know where you are coming from brother, but again, no further comment from me. My post is an exhortation to saints to pick up their cross and follow after Jesus, nothing more, nothing less. So, you have your opinion and I have mine. Be blessed brother and may the Lord continually open up His Word to both of us, and on that I am sure we can agree............bro Frank

Yes I do agree with your prayer Frank. As for explaining myself I have no liberty to enter into explanations.

that's what makes it such good news, the law condemned every man as guilty of transgression the law and deserving of death. Thats why Jesus came because it is impossible to fulfil the requirements of the law. Every righteous act is as filthy rags, Paul called it dung, it counts for nothing. Its gods gift of righteousness.

yes, this is basic and I understand that. But let me ask you a question. Does God want us to experience righteousness in our hearts as a work of the Holy Spirit?

You are righteous because you are IN Christ.

Yes, I understand justification. Again, does Jesus Christ want righteousness to be experiential in the life of the Believer?

That Just-in is the righteousness of God IN Christ. Not just any righteousness but God's. When God sees us, he sees his Son, non of me, all of him, and i am accepted, unconditionally.

Can you show me that in scripture. I am not talking about justification. Especially, the unconditional part, because being truly born-again requires a condition, that we die to everything. We must be willing to die in order that we can be raised in newness of life. No life without death.

Are we just to confess we are "righteous in Christ" and live lives of quiet desperation or is there freedom and progressive deliverance for the Christian? Are we to go from glory to glory and faith to faith and mature, experiencing greater and greater holiness and righteousness of Christ in our lives?

Just-In, Christ's sacrifice was so final and powerful, his blood so effectual in covering sin, that HE, the God of the universe ripped the temple curtain and two. We really do not understand the love of God and what he did. Gods righteousness came to earth wrapped himself in frail humanity whilst we were still sinners.

Again, I understand salvation and justification. What do you make of the walk of sanctification and is it necessary and required by God in the Believer's life? Does God require our participation in anything?

Is that your place to judge another mans servant? Is your understanding of righteousness and justification so complete that if someone had to stay the same for the rest of their lives after believing on the Lord Jesus, would you be all right with that?

Let's bring some balance to this. Jesus is the one that told us how to judge a tree. And He said, we judge (discern) by the fruit it produces. Jesus was not giving us license to judge a man's eternal destination. I think you are thinking that we are judging a person's eternal destination. You judge everyday, Zeke. You judge who you hang around and who your kids hang around. We are even told not to have any fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness so you necessarily have to judge what is darkness or not in order to observe that commandment.

The rest of that balance is judging yourself.

1Co_11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

2Co_13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

In any healthy relationship on earth there is growth, how much more now that we have a relationship with our Father in heaven. So yes there should be, just because of who you are living with.

Ok, now we're getting some place. Thank you. But, what is required to actively "live with God"?

When God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son at was at least 20 years after God had declared him righteous. These days we barely give people 2 months to 'prove' their works and faith.

Don't know what people you are talking about.

And speaking of justification:
Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

You do know that when someone is born-again it is not just a mental ascent to believing in the existence of God. God knows if he/she is really placing themselves on the sacrificial altar as Abraham did Isaac, don't you? The first work of faith is to come and die with Jesus so that we may live with Him.

Rom 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Rom 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Rom 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:

And like Abraham, we will be declared righteous later...

Jas 2:22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

Jas 2:24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.

You see, this seems contradictory but Paul is speaking of legal works that precede salvation and those works cannot be used for a basis of our salvation.

James, on the other hand is thinking of works that are produced by being "in Christ", an outworking of real faith and the presence of the indwelling Christ.

Your faith will make you willing to offer yourself on the altar of sacrifice (Romans 12:1) each day, just like Abraham's faith made him willing to offer his son, Isaac. If you are not willing to offer yourself up for sacrifice to God, then you may not have true faith and this is what it means to examine ourselves.

"be ye holy, for I am holy" is a suggestion?

If that doesn't make you run to Christ what will?

Well, the flesh does not want to be holy and it is still with us.

Without Him we can do nothing.

Having His Spirit and keeping ourselves in the love of God will keep us coming to Him. We must resist many things, unbelief and the root of bitterness to name a couple.

Zeke, how do you understand the following verses?

1Jn_2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

1Jn_3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

Sister MJ writes ........

"I just wanted to say so much of what you have been sharing in your recent posts is what the LORD has been placing on my heart as well. Thank you for sharing such good seeds that I know will produce fruit in my life. We do need to be mindful that time is short and we are called to take up our cross daily to follow HIM. I am learning to see what a privilege that is to be able to do by HIS strength, daily walking with HIM, knowing HIM. This world would attempt to draw us away, to lures into a place of comfort so that we become lazy and unwilling to be about HIS KINGDOM but if we keep our eyes focused on HIM then HE will carry us through."

Thank you so much sister for the light that is in your eye and the love that pours forth from your own posts, they are such an ancouragement to me. I am simply sharing from what the Lord is showing me and have no desire whatsoever to debate. Even having this desire not to debate is a work of the Lord in my life as I seek after a deeper walk with the Lord. I just want to press into Him, draw close to Him. There is such beauty there. Now, the enemy tries to draw us away from this place, but even after failing this very week with a dear brother, we reconciled quickly and beauty flowed from both of us, humbling ourselves in love for Jesus and for one another and asking forgiveness of each other, it is such a beautiful thing...........bro Frank