Christianity in one verse?

Hello StirItUp,

Grace, mercy and pure love of our Lord - working more fully and powerfully within, to increase the true knowledge of Him - be with you and all who are, indeed, alive in His Spirit! I am encouraged to find someone pointing to this central, necessary truth, reminding us there is no way to begin or continue a living walk with God apart from His life-giving, guiding Holy Spirit. Many strive, with fleshly effort, to be and do that which is only possible once born and filled by the Spirit.

Our Lord has impressed upon me, in recent days and months, to communicate and emphasize the need for people, who consider themselves Christian, to be sure they are indwelled and filled by the Holy Spirit. It is not enough to presume, based upon faulty doctrine and teachings of fleshly minds, one is alive to God, simply via sincere desire and association with others who claim to belong to Him.

The original disciples of Jesus had to wait upon God, to receive the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit, before being able and ready to serve as His holy apostles. Without waiting for this affirming, empowering Seal, they would not have had the ability to continually abide and bear the fruits of true disciples, teaching others to do the same. We, who genuinely hope to be His, confirming our call from Him alone, must also be certain it His Spirit which has come to indwell, empower, enlighten and guide us, as we abide in the Vine and bear spiritual fruits.

The Father seeks true worshippers, who will not settle for less than doing so in Spirit and truth, which is the only way accepted by Him. (John 4:23-24) As Paul reminds us, again in Romans, "...all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God." (Romans 8:14 NASB)

People talk of their desire for revival, unity, etc.; yet, continue to spin wheels in the flesh, unable or refusing to wait and let the Head cause His ONE, true body of spiritual members to function healthfully and in unison. (see 1 Corinthians 2 and 12, among other relevant teachings)
This begins and develops only once we are willing to humble ourselves enough to stop in our tracks, letting Him purify us, realizing we can do NOTHING apart from Him. (John 15)

Oh, people of God, please realize God's work will not be accomplished and you will only miss His real ways and plans, until you stop running ahead and apart from Him! Those who are born of His Spirit and indwelled - along with you who genuinely, desperately want to be - wait upon the Lord! Live in and be led by His Spirit, which is the Helper intended for us, trusting this way will be enough to secure, teach, empower and unify us, thereby glorifying the One who calls us to Himself.

Amen and amen!

God's grace be active and working to save, David, as you deny yourself and pick up your cross, daily...

"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:38-39 NASB)

Let us never, ever think we may avoid the painful death of self and crucifixion of our fleshly nature, in pursuit and growth of His life in us! I'm so glad you reminded us of this. One of my most fervent and common prayers, over the years of following our Lord, has been simple: "Crucify me!; my desires, my will, my flesh, my human ideas and understanding, my whole being! Lord God Almighty, Crucify Kurt and let only Christ remain in this mortal body!" As I wait upon Him, in the Spirit - being sure to listen and obey His guidance and instructions, He does this, for His glory and my salvation. Hallelujah and all praise to Him alone!

"However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh””for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God." (Romans 8:9-14 NASB)

"The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:16-17 NASB)

"...strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22 NASB)

"It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." (Hebrews 13:7-8 NASB)

God would not baptize me with His Spirit, years ago, until He drew me to the place of surrender of my will, begging Him to replace my life with the life of His Son within me. As soon as He overwhelmed me with His presence and came to dwell within me, by the power of the Holy Spirit, He began convicting me of things I had to repent from, do to reconcile, rectify and make restitution for, in many areas of my life and relationships. While learning to walk on the yoke of Jesus, being led by the Spirit in all aspects of my daily life, His disciplining sting would remind and reprove me, if I failed to obey. However, He would restore and fill me more, strengthening my heart and increasing joy and maintaining peace, as I humbly repented and obeyed Him.

The power of His Spirit empowers me to overcome the flesh, putting its deeds and desires to death, allowing the life of Christ to rule in my mortal being. We must be ever mindful to submit to the death of flesh, loss of our own lives, suffering with Christ and learning by discipline are necessary to maintain and grow in the the life of the Spirit. As the flesh fights to rise up - in will, desires or deeds - we must humbly and patiently wait upon the Lord, allowing His grace and Spirit to put it to death.

True people of God, humble yourselves and pick up your crosses, as our brother David reminds us. Suffer the death of self and allow Christ to to rule in your hearts, by the presence and power of the Helper - the Holy Spirit - learning to walk by that same Spirit.

Hello again, David - His grace, mercy and truth be with you in fulness.

I do not wan to misinterpret or misunderstand you, on some points and references, which I'd be blessed to discuss further with you - either here, by email or offline - if the Lord seems in agreement and you are willing. My sense is that you are focusing, mainly, on the need and ability we have to repent and pick up our crosses, post-conversion, yes? However, for the moment, I'd like to caution entertaining the idea repentance is simply and always an open invitation, either pre or post conversion. Please, by His mercies and love, let's consider some things which arise in my spirit, on this matter.

We must remember, Jesus clearly taught, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT OF GOD.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me...no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” (John 6:44-45, 65 NASB) Also, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. "This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." (John 6:37-39)

Now, it seems pretty clear there must be a definite sense of God's loving, convincing, personalized drawing and inviting at work to ready the soul for true repentance and reception of Christ, via the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This may or may not be at one, fixed point in life and the way in which the Father draws us certainly varies, in circumstances and timetable. However, we cannot simply recognize the need to repent, prior to conversion, at our leisure. In my own journey, which I very briefly summarized last entry, the desire to "experience" God, without full understanding and willingness to truly humble myself to be crucified, far preceded the deeper, convincing sting which prompted me to really begin to repent and pick up my cross. Hind sight seems to show me I really wasn't ready, perhaps not able (only He knew my heart at that time), early in my progress toward becoming saved and walking as a true disciple. He may have allowed me to wander, longer than necessary; or, used the whole timeline and process, in order to be sure I'd ultimately make the right choice. I may never know, until the great and terrible Day of the Lord. Praise Him, one way or the other, for allowing me to come to the knowledge of His Son!

Once we are truly converted, marked by the distinctive, definitive and unmistakable baptism of the Holy Spirit, which comes to indwell, our old nature cannot continue to be an excuse for ongoing unbelief, sin, etc. This is the point at which this thread began, with William's post on 8/28/18. However, certainly, the battle between flesh and Spirit will need to be continually fought, becoming less intense as we learn to walk by the Spirit and obey. People may win and lose battles, progress and temporarily fall back, in varying degrees, to be sure. However, the life of an obedient, growing disciple is marked by increasing spiritual fruit and the consistent crucifixion of the flesh (desires and deeds).

Also, another thing came to my mind as I've been prayerfully, carefully considering your words and this aspect of our faith. In Hebrews, we are reminded (as already converted believers, just to be sure we are on the same page, here), "Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said,"TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.” (Hebrews 3:12-15) Furthermore, later, we are warned, "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears." (Hebrews 12:15-17).

Time does not permit me to delve into some thoughts on these passages, for now. I'll try continue, later, as the Lord prompts and allows. However, can we agree it seems a very dangerous, risky thing to chance holding off on repenting and submitting, if we know we are holding out on Him, knowing it could possibly lead to being left behind?

Again, if I seem to be misinterpreting anything you said, please let me know. I hope we may edify and encourage one another, ongoing. Amen and grace be with you, always.