Fresh Speaking
(Judy's notes from Lord's Day fellowship, April 25, 2010)
The focus of this morning's sharing was on 2 Cor. 4:11-12 "For we who are alive are always being delivered unto death for Jesus' sake that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death operates in us, but life in you."
Over this past year, we have seen a progression starting with the shedding of the Lord's blood, and then going through the seven letters to the churches in Rev. 2 and 3. We have seen that God's desire is towards us both individually and as the church corporately. In Rev. we saw that God is going somewhere – He's going on a journey and He wants us to go with Him. If we are not going on with Him, then we are on the peripheral, and our life has been vanity, we have lived our life in vain.
2 Cor 4 :11-12 give us a little "taste" of what He is after, something has come out here – "So then death operates in us, but life in you". What does this mean, and what does it mean in our experience in our Christian life? When we experience death, then resurrection comes out. You've got to go through death. Without death, there's no way resurrection can come out. You've got to go through death, that's where God is leading us. In the Old Testament, in Israel's coming out of Egypt, we see a picture of this. Israel was the first to follow God in this way. They followed His leading. He went before them, leading them by a cloud by day during the day and a pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13: 21-22). If you look at a map, they could have gone straight out of Egypt into the land of Canaan but God took another route, by the Red Sea. Why would He have done this? Through their journey, in so many situations, Israel learned that they had to depend on Him. We too are put in situations where there is seemingly no escape – we have to depend upon Him! Sometimes the situations we are in seem unfair. It is as though we are in a dead end, a boxed canyon with no escape. Why did God take us there? He does not lead us there that we'd be abused by Him, rather He has led us in such a way so that the glory of God can be shown! An example of this is the man in John 9: 1-3 who was blind from birth, "And His disciples asked Him, who has sinned, this man, or his parents that would be born blind? Jesus answered, neither has this man sinned nor his parents, but he would be born so, that the works of God might be manifested in him."
How about the route God takes us on? We think we know the best route, but we have to drop our way of getting there, and take God's way! Have you ever traveled in a caravan? The first car takes the lead, and those behind have to follow closely behind the lead car, keeping the same speed, crossing lanes, turning right, etc. and even if you don't think the driver in front of you is correct, you still have to follow him and keep up with him. In other words, you have to give up how you want to drive. Following the Lord though is hard because we just can't give up how we want to "drive". With the Lord, we have to drop who we are and allow Him to lead us, and that way, is to be "delivered unto death for Jesus' sake". There is a treasure in the alabaster box, and its fragrance comes out of the box when it is broken. Within us, there is a treasure, and for it to come out, the Lord needs to take us through the "breaking" situations. This process is really positive. We can call this process by different terms – experiencing Christ, transformation, etc. but what it really is, is that death operates in me, but life in you.
So, practically, what is this dying in our Christian walk? It is our practical service, and most often, it involves our time and our money, for our time and money is what we value the most. It is through our practical serving, that we can experience death. We are learning how to follow the Lord, and He is taking us where death can come out – by serving others! For us, just as a parent "dies" to themselves in order to serve their children, we would "die" to ourselves in order to serve those around us. How does this "dying to self" happen? It is by being willing to pay the price to be immediately available to others, to die for them, and to minister to them. In our practical serving, as the Lord leads us to serve others, we have to pay a price – when we would rather just sit on the couch, the Lord may lead us to make phone calls, visit, etc. - to spend and to be spent. What does the Lord want to do? He wants to contact those around us, and to labor in the Word. As we do, we find that the Lord desires to have a conversation with us. Rather than letting us have our way, He is asks for our time, and in His asking this, we are convicted concerning the giving of our time, and how we want my time for ourselves. He says, "Don't say in a minute, just do it! Don't put it off, or it won't get done." However, upon hearing such a word, don't create a law that you can't follow (Lord I'll always do "it") but rather, as the Lord invites us to follow Him unto death, our reaction would be, "Lord, may I have a heart to do what You want, and to turn when You want to turn". Sometimes He channels us where we have no choice – now what? So then, death operates in us but life in you. This is the experience of death and resurrection. We don't need someone to prepare us for the "honeymoon" or the "top of the mountain" experience, but, when we are in the valley, the cross, it is the Lord's design to take us there. Inwardly, we can't say "No" to the Lord. What is it to allow death to operate in us that there will be life for others? What does it mean to live Christ, to experience the cross? It is easy to use terms, but hard to explain. It is experienced in our time with the saints – coming to the meetings on time, even coming early. It is coming to serve and in our preparation for serving, for example, our preparation for serving in the children's meeting.
In this last year we've been "going", now, in this death and resurrection, it is where the rubber meets the road. It is very practical. It is the essence of what makes Christ real, the allowing the Lord to lead us and for us to follow into death and resurrection.
Some testimonies:
We should not take our preferences, but His, even when we don't see what He's doing. We can't rely on what worked yesterday, it may not work today. The Christian life will lead us into His way. He knows what's best even if to us it seems to be the wrong way.
The time in the Lord's presence is the key. If there is no relationship with the Lord, and we just do it our way, then, when the time comes, we will have no heart to follow the Lord. Having time in the Lord's presence is the key to have the desire to take His way.
The real experiences with the Lord are the hidden treasures within coming out.
Make the choice to follow the Lord, then others will see that you are not contaminated by the world. There is something of the Lord that they will see. "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me". This is not theoretical. If we are willing to give up our choice, His life will operate in us.
He is more interested in the process than the end. He knows what we need to go through in order that the resurrection life can come forth. There's a reason for death to operate in us, though we may not see it, and it is not just for us. Daily, we are bombarded by choices, and we need to make the intentional choice to follow the Lord. Rom. 12:2. says "Do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect". For Israel to get to the good land there was a process. For us also, we need to go against the "normal" things of this age and to choose the Lord's way. To present our bodies cost us a little but, it is the presenting of our bodies in the corporate life that the Lord gets the opportunities to renew our minds. The Lord says, "I will build My church". We all have a little part that the body can be built.
A prayer:
Lord, this week we want to follow You, and spend time with You that we would know You. You desire our whole being, and we want to give You our whole being.