By our fruits... Cost of Discipleship Pt 110

Chapter 19 - The Great Divide

'In such times as these, Jesus requires his disciples to distinguish between appearance and reality, between themselves and pseudo-Christians. They will then rise above all inquisitive examination of others, but they will need a sincere determination to recognize the verdict of God when it comes. At any moment the nominal Christians may be separated from the real ones. We may even find that we are nominal Christians ourselves. Here is a challenge to closer fellowship with Jesus and to a more loyal discipleship. The bad tree is cut down and cast into the fire. All its display of finery proves ultimately to be of no avail.'

Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

My thoughts-

Distinguishing between appearance and reality. 

Sometime appearance really can be very, very deceiving.  The outward Christian can be the inward devil, yet no one knows but perhaps them. Even then, we love to deceive ourselves.  We quickly turn a blind eye to our shortcomings giving them labels such as-  'Can't help it. Just the way it is. Oh well, that's life. I'll never be perfect. It always has to be something. If it's not one thing, it's another.'  And on and on it goes.

We are scared to truly look at ourselves because we know that even our hearts are deceitful.

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

Again- the FRUIT of his doings.

The fruit truly is the OUTCOME of a tree/plant, it's the END product.  And like fruit trees and such, year after year they are bearing their fruit. We must have fruit, the end product of our actions. We are constantly producing fruit as well. That's why Jesus says- 'By their fruits ye shall know them.'   We KNOW people by their actions and what those actions bring forth.  Some fruit takes a long time to be produce, others are very prolific but the final produce is what matters.

If you've ever planted a garden and had a bad season where your plants simply refused to produce much fruit, and that it produced was of low quality, then you know that there are NO guarantees on the fruit that will come forth.

So many variables can affect fruit production, and just like fruit trees and their produce, our lives are affected by many variables as well.

We have to comprehend that JESUS holds up the standard and HE promises us all the help we'll ever need to live for Him, to live in Him.  Jesus isn't going to ask us to do or not do anything that isn't possible to do or not do, through HIM.

If we look at ourselves we will NEVER ever find ourselves capable of bearing proper good fruit for Him.  We CANNOT do  the necessary work. We have to submit to allowing the power of Christ to live in us, to work in us. 

We have to put all our hope in HIM.

However…  we cannot ignore all that He says and believe we are submitting to Him, that is self-deception!

We cannot constantly produce rotten fruit and believe we are submitted to Him.

Christ will WORK in us, but we have to allow Him to do so.

We have to KNOW HIM, and be KNOWN by HIM.

If we KNOW CHRIST then we know that His will is just, that the fruit He calls for us to produce through Him is LOVE and all the results of love.  If your ways are selfish, if your ways are covetous, if your ways are evil and of the WORLD then you have to know they are NOT GOD'S WAY!

This is truth-

Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Pro 3:6  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Pro 3:7  Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.


In ALL our ways we HAVE to acknowledge GOD!  Not just in a few ways we think are good. In ALL OUR WAYS we must acknowledge GOD and only then can He direct our ways! We have to reverence the LORD, we have to fear the LORD, we have to TRUST wholly in HIM, not ourselves, not our ways!

2Co 13:4  For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.
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?
2Co 13:6  But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
2Co 13:7  Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest, though we be as reprobates.
2Co 13:8  For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.
2Co 13:9  For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection.

Everything through CHRIST!

Examine ourselves!
Prove ourselves!

We have to look at ourselves, we can't ignore ourselves and just do as we please without any consideration for our SAVIOR. If we are examining and proving ourselves and we come up very short of the mark, we have to REPENT, we have to seek FORGIVENESS, we have to go to our SAVIOR - HE SAVES US! We do NOT save ourselves. HE will save us IF we let HIM! Truly let Him and do not hold back trying to run our own lives the way we desire, in sync with the world and its ways. If we want to live as the world, and be as the world, we have to comprehend that makes us a part of WORLD and not of GOD. If we want to live as God would have us live, and be what God would have us be, we likewise have to comprehend that we can be GOD'S.   We cannot have BOTH!  When we seek to compromise then we are clinging to the world and that evil will stain us and keep us from giving our heart fully to God.

Please LORD, help us be FULLY, WHOLLY YOURS!

WE want to bear good fruit through YOU and only through YOU! We don't want to be as the world! We want to be YOURS! Help us to submit to YOU in ALL THINGS, not just pick and choose where we will submit.  PLEASE LORD, save us as only YOU can save!  Save us from ourselves, from all the evil that would cling to us. Cleanse our hearts! Clean us as ONLY YOU CAN CLEAN US!

All through YOUR LOVE ALWAYS!

There is a COST of discipleship!

Chapter 19 - The Great Divide



Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.



Bonhoeffer- 'The separation of Church and world is now complete. But the word of Jesus forces its way into the Church herself, bringing judgment and decision. The separation is never permanently assured: it must constantly be renewed. The disciples of Jesus must not fondly imagine that they can simply run away from the world and huddle together in a little band. False prophets will rise up among them, and amid the ensuing confusion they will feel more isolated than ever. There is someone standing by my side who looks like a member of the Church. He is a prophet and a preacher. He looks like a Christian, he talks and acts like one. But dark powers are mysteriously at work; it was these who sent him into our midst. Inwardly he is a ravening wolf: his words are lies and his works are full of deceit. He knows only too well how to keep his secret dark and go ahead with his work. It is not faith in

Jesus Christ which made him one of us, but the devil. Maybe he hopes his intellectual ability or his success as a prophet will bring him power and influence, money and fame. His ambitions are set on the world, not on Jesus Christ. Knowing that Christians are credulous people, he conceals his dark purpose beneath the cloak of Christian piety, hoping that his innocuous disguise will avert detection. He knows that Christians are forbidden to judge, and he will remind them of it at the appropriate time. After all, other men's hearts are always a closed book. Thus he succeeds in seducing many from the right way. He may even be unconscious himself of what he is doing. The devil can give him every encouragement and at the same time keep him in the dark about his own motives.'



My thoughts-



These words are SCARY TRUTH.  I say scary truth, because what can be more frightening than the idea that you are deceived by Satan so completely you truly believe yourself to be a disciple of Christ when in truth, you are not.  Every thing inside of us screams out that we would never be led by Satan that way. But the truth is, the great deceiver has special tricks for every single human being and he knows how to ply those tricks so that they DECEIVE. That word says it all! DECEIVED!  You don't know what's happening! You aren't aware of what's going on! You are FOOLED! You are tricked into believing you are Christ's when you are far from being so.  We truly can't worry overly much about others being deceived except they are using their deception to influence us to join them.  What I mean is, far be it from US to not look at ourselves, not judge ourselves first and foremost looking for that awful beam in our eyes.



Bonhoeffer- 'Such a pronouncement of Christ's could cause his disciples great anxiety. Who knows his neighbor? Who knows whether the outward appearance of a Christian conceals falsehood and deception underneath? No wonder if mistrust, suspicion and censoriousness crept into the Church. And no wonder if every brother who falls into sin incurred the uncharitable criticism of his brethren, now that Jesus has said this. All this distrust would ruin the Church but for the word of Jesus which assures us that the bad tree will bring forth bad fruit. It is bound to give itself away sooner or later. There is no need to go about prying into the hearts of others. All we need do is to wait long. This is not to say that we must draw a distinction between the words of the prophet and his deeds: the real distinction is that between appearance and reality. Jesus tells us that men cannot keep up appearances for long. The time of vintage is sure to come, and then we shall be able to sift the good from the bad. Sooner or later we shall find out where a man stands. It is no use the tree refusing to bear , for the fruit comes of its own accord. Any day the time may come to decide for the world or for the Church. We may have to decide, not in some spectacular matter, but in quite trivial, everyday affairs. And then we shall see and discern the good from the bad. In that day the reality will stand the test, not appearances. '



My thoughts-



'ANY DAY THE TIME MAY COME TO DECIDE FOR THE WORLD OR FOR THE CHURCH. WE MAY HAVE TO DECIDE, NOT IN SOME SPECTACULAR MATTER, BUT IN QUTIE TRIVIAL, EVERYDAY AFFAIRS.'



Did you  read that very, very closely??? Did YOU??? Read it again...



'ANY DAY THE TIME MAY COME TO DECIDE FOR THE WORLD OR FOR THE CHURCH. WE MAY HAVE TO DECIDE, NOT IN SOME SPECTACULAR MATTER, BUT IN QUITE TRIVIAL, EVERYDAY AFFAIRS.'



Truth!



This is the SORT of truth we do not want to hear. We want to cover our ears and shut our eyes and simply hide from this sort of truth because it causes us to truly look at our OWN lives in a very, very honest way. 



The decisions we are called to make everyday- for CHRIST or the WORLD, these can be the deciding factor in our eternal life!



We cry out with PAUL - WHO CAN SAVE US! WHO CAN SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! OUR FAILINGS! OUR WRONG CHOICES!



ONLY CHRIST!!!!!!!



And we need to REPENT for choosing the world, time and time again! PLEASE LORD HELP US! SAVE US FROM OURSELVES! PLEASE LORD!



We can't hide from the world, but we can live separate from it.  Is it any wonder CHRIST'S disciples are so few and often time noticeable in the world. They are set apart even as they live in it. They don't immerse themselves in the world glorying in its evil. They are modest, they are circumspect, they are chaste, they are loving, they are kind, they are forgiving, they are meek, they are all that JESUS said they ARE! And when we choose to live a life far from these things, how can we hope to be His? Our only HOPE is that CHRIST can lead us to this life, as we repent of the world's awful grip on us!



There is a COST of…. DISCIPLESHIP!  And there is CHEAP GRACE.  One leads to life eternal in JESUS CHRIST, the other to eternal nothingness.



Please LORD!

PLEASE! We want to bear YOUR FRUIT, GOOD FRUIT!



Let us live in YOU, by YOUR grace! SAVE US by Your LOVE! Such amazing LOVE!

Faith Alone Justifies

The following is an essay by William Grotheer that I found very interesting considering our studies of late.

Truly we are POWERLESS on our own.

~

AN ESSAY

Paul's Illustration of Righteousness by Faith   -  Wm. H. Grotheer

In Romans 4, Paul asks a question:

What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? (v. 1)

To the question, his reasoned answer was:

If Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. But to him that worketh not but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. (vs. 2-5)

The promise was plain. He was to become "a father of many nations" (Gen. 17:5). God had specifically stated through whom: "Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed" (Gen. 17:19). The problem was with Sarah. Her womb was dead (Rom 4:19). It would require divine intervention for Isaac to be born. The record reads:

And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. (Gen. 21:1)

It is then stated -- "Sarah conceived and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time God had spoken to him" (v. 2). The sexual relationship between Abraham and Sarah did not change, but God vitalized Sarah to a physical state she had not previously had. The change did not come to Sarah until it was impossible, from a human viewpoint, for Sarah to become pregnant (Ex. 18:11). Further. God did not intervene until Abraham and Sarah ceased from their planning as to how they could fulfil the promises of God. He did for them what they could not do for themselves.

Paul used this experience to illustrate the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Consider our condition. We are sinners. We need mercy and forgiveness. Can we provide by works acceptable offerings which God will accept to cover our sins? If man can in any way provide such a gift, then the Roman doctrine of penance has merit. Can we live a single day without sin or fault? No one has ever done so, except the Word who came to be flesh. For this to be our experience there will have to come a divine intervention. Our uncleanness must be taken from us. By works? No! But by faith in Him who is able to save to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25).

(((Heb 7:25  Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. ))))

What then is to be the message of righteousness by faith for the final hours of human history? A call for an expanded works program in which to place our trust? No, never! It is to be a call to recognize the necessity for God to lay our glory in the dust, and do for us that which we cannot do for ourselves. What is our response to be? Paul indicates that it is to be even as was Abraham's, who -

Staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness (Rom. 4:20-22).


Then a conclusion is drawn:

Now it was not written for [Abraham's] sake alone, that it was imputed to him; but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and raised for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith (not "plus works"), we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (Rom. 4:23 - 5:2).

--#--

What is justification by faith? - It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust, and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. When they begin to praise and exalt God all the day long, then by beholding they are becoming changed into the same image. What is regeneration? - It is revealing to man what is his own real nature, that in himself he is worthless.
Special Testimonies for Ministers and Workers. No. 9, p. 62

Pasted from

'On the razor edge between this world and the kingdom of heaven...' Cost of Discipleship Pt 108

Chapter 19 - The Great Divide

Bonhoeffer- 'To believe the promise of Jesus that his followers shall possess the earth, and at the same time to face our enemies unarmed and defenseless, preferring to incur injustice rather than to do wrong ourselves, is indeed the narrow way.'

TRUTH.

'Preferring to INCUR INJUSTICE RATHER THAN DO WRONG OURSELVES.'  

Is this something we do readily, or do we rail against it wanting JUSTICE, wanting retribution, wanting revenge, wanting that self justification against the injustice done to us. We find it so incredibly difficult to NOT do wrong ourselves in favor of erring on the side of having to accept an injustice done to us.  Far be it from us to accept injustice, doesn't that mean we are weak? And we don't want to be weak, but our SAVIOR wants us to comprehend that we are NOTHING without HIM and all He stands for, HIS love means more than any injustice, ANY injustice no matter how awful that can be done to us. Imprisoned wrongfully, suffering the abuse of the prison system when you are innocent of what you've been accused of, that sort of injustice is appalling, yet it happens all the time. Are those under such grave injustice to seek ungodly means to prove their innocence, are they to, from that moment on, live as though God has abandoned them? The VERY NARROW WAY.  Rather than retaliate, endure. Rather than doing as done to, doing as you wish had been done to you. The VERY NARROW WAY.

Bonhoeffer- 'To see the weakness and wrong in others, and at the same time refrain from judging them; to deliver the gospel message without casting pearls before swine, is indeed a narrow way.'

TRUTH.

CHRIST'S WAY.

Bonhoeffer-  'The way is unutterably hard, and at every moment we are in danger of straying from it. If we regard this way as one we follow in obedience to an external command, if we are afraid of ourselves all the time, it is indeed an impossible way. But if we behold Jesus Christ going on before step by step, we shall not go astray. But if we worry about the dangers that beset us, if we gaze at the road instead of at him who goes before, we are already straying from the path. For he is himself the way, the narrow way and the strait gate. He, and he alone, is our journey's end. When we know that, we are able to proceed along the narrow way through the strait gate of the cross, and on to eternal life, and the very  narrowness of the road will increase our certainty. The way which the Son of God trod on earth, and the way which we too must tread as citizens of two worlds on the razor edge between this world and the kingdom of heaven, could hardly be a broad way. The narrow way is bound to be right.'

TRUTH!

Joh_14:6  Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.


Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 14:18  I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Joh 14:19  Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
Joh 14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Jesus is the WAY- the narrow way, the VERY narrow way.  We have to look to HIM for all things, this is the lesson we must learn, this is the lesson we must submit to. And we are told what we must do to submit. Jesus Himself tells us if we LOVE Him we will obey Him.
Jesus Himself tells us that He will PRAY to the Father for US, asking the FATHER to give us another Comforter.
A COMFORTER, ANOTHER COMFORTER.

Jesus came and He did COMFORT many by revealing the TRUTH to them, allowing them to comprehend that there is good news, there is hope for a WORLD made new with HIM, an eternal life with HIM, a KINGDOM with HIM. Jesus came and showed everyone that this is NOT the world He lived for, but the FUTURE world. A Heavenly Kingdom. A Kingdom in which a  Holy City dwells and that Holy City would one day come down out of heaven and be set upon the earth.  Jesus came and taught us how to live connected to HIM, believing HIS promises, having hope in HIM.

Jesus didn't want to leave His people without a Comforter, without One who would guide them and help them in this harsh sin-filled world. Jesus promised there would be ANOTHER COMFORTER. And through that Comforter who would live with us FOREVER, Jesus will come to US, He will manifest Himself to us.

The SPIRIT OF TRUTH!

The world CANNOT receive the SPIRIT of TRUTH!!! This is something Jesus SAID! Why can't the world receive the Spirit of Truth, because it doesn't see Him, it doesn't know Him,  it does NOT DWELL IN THEM, but this SPIRIT of TRUTH will DWELL WITH US, this SPIRIT of TRUTH WILL BE IN US!

Joh 14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

We are not going to be able to ever walk the narrow path, not ever without the Spirit of Truth in us. And we know by obeying our Savior, listening to Him, comprehending that it is only through HIS power we live and can obey, and no other way, we have no power of our own. All glory to God every single moment we truly live in Him, allowing Him to live in us, giving us the ability to live the truth.

We will doubt, and that doubt is just another opportunity for us to realize all our hope must be in Christ, and NOT in ourselves.

There are certain rules we all follow in our relationship with others, right? When the rules aren't followed what follows is discord in the relationship. So why do we imagine that we don't need to follow God's rules, and there should still be a peaceful relationship with Him?

If it weren't Jesus who told us - Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. - we wouldn't necessarily believe we have to keep the commandments, right? But He tells us plainly that IF WE LOVE HIM WE WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS and THEN He will pray to the Father for us!

Yes, the way is very NARROW it's focused solely on CHRIST and not on ourselves at all and we hate taking our eyes off ourselves.  The NARROW WAY tells us the RULES, and what to do if we break the rules.  The NARROW WAY is surrounded by the BROAD way, and it's only by staying on the NARROW WAY we can live with the broad way all around us.  We must CLING to the Narrow Way and the Narrow Way will wrap us in HIS protective LOVING Spiritual embrace, keeping us safe as we cling.

Watch a child reach for a parent and the parent grab their child up, what would happen if the child was still clinging to the parent and the parent let go of the child? It wouldn't take too long before the child would fall away from the parent. Every parent or child caregiver knows that sometimes a child will fight the embrace that is keeping them safe from falling, and it's only by the sheer will of the child and truly unintentional that a child will actually best the parent's embrace and fall. I'm NOT talking infant here, but an older child. We know what it's like, we do. It's always best for both the parent and child to have grip on each other, neither fighting nor letting go.  Christ will NEVER let us go, but we can free ourselves from Him, because He will NOT force us to cling to Him. We, unlike a child, know the consequences of our choosing to let go. Yet, so many of us are constantly wiggling out of Christ's embrace determined to try and do things on our own. We CAN never ever get to a place where we do NOT need Christ's embrace, He is our only hope. Without His embrace we die, yet we still struggle to prove we can conquer some besetting sin on our own, when in truth we need to cling ever tighter to Christ as we seek to follow His commandments, not do a single bit of conquering on our own. 

If we truly want to walk on the Narrow Path we must realize we can ONLY do so hand in hand, heart in heart, Spirit in spirit with Christ Jesus our Savior.  We can't ever walk on this path without clinging to Him, not ever, the narrow path instantly disappears when we let go of Him.

Jesus never asks us to keep a single one of His commandments without Him, not one!

Please LORD, keep us in YOU, ever in You in all ways, all by YOUR power, YOUR righteousness, YOUR grace, YOUR mercy, YOUR amazing LOVE!



*******

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

The very narrow way - Cost of Discipleship pt 107

Chapter 19 - The Great Divide

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mat 7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
Mat 7:16  Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Mat 7:17  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
Mat 7:18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Mat 7:19  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Bonhoeffer- 'A little band of men, the followers of Christ are separated from the rest of the world. The disciples are few in number and will always be few. This saying of Jesus forestalls all exaggerated hopes of success. Never let a disciple of Jesus pin his hopes on large numbers. "Few there be…" The rest of the world are many, and will always be many. But they are on the road to perdition. The only comfort the disciples have in face of this prospect is the promise of life and eternal fellowship with Jesus.

The path of discipleship is narrow, and it is fatally easy to miss one's way and stray from the path, even after years of discipleship. And it is hard to find. On either side of the narrow path deep chasms yawn. To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way.'

My thoughts-

The day before the following-

Joh 6:66  From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

-Jesus fed 5000-

Joh 6:10  ...So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 

5000 people.

5000 PEOPLE.

And the next day-   '...many of his disciples went back and walked no more with him.' 

Joh 6:67  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?

ALL BUT His chosen 12?! So that Jesus turned to them and asked them if they were going to leave too! His chosen 12!  5000 people down to 12!  From the many so very quickly to the few.

Peter answered for the 12-

Joh 6:68  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
Joh 6:69  And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

When we read Bonhoeffer expounding on the fact that there truly will be FEW, that we are deceiving ourselves if we believe that EVERYONE and their BROTHERS will be HIS, we have to believe it-- because it's not Bonhoeffer's truth, it is CHRIST JESUS' TRUTH! Christ tells us that FEW will truly be HIS!  How do we dare hope to be among them? How? We have to, we have to have HOPE.

Bonhoeffer- 'A little band of men, the followers of Christ are separated from the rest of the world. The disciples are few in number and will always be few. This saying of Jesus forestalls all exaggerated hopes of success. Never let a disciple of Jesus pin his hopes on large numbers. "Few there be…" The rest of the world are many, and will always be many. But they are on the road to perdition. The only comfort the disciples have in face of this prospect is the promise of life and eternal fellowship with Jesus.

The path of discipleship is narrow, and it is fatally easy to miss one's way and stray from the path, even after years of discipleship. And it is hard to find...'

My thoughts continued-

Isn't this a very scary thought- 'The path of discipleship is narrow, and it is fatally easy to miss one's way and stray from the path, even after YEARS of discipleship.'

Fatally easy to miss one's way.

This is truth, isn't it? It has to be. If it were EASY then Christ would NEVER have said the things He said, never! He wouldn't tell us this--

Mat 7:13  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

Strait and narrow.

We hear about the straight and narrow, but we hear it in a different sense don't we? We hear it in an offhand way. 'He's on the straight and narrow.' Meaning he's no longer living his life in ways that are detrimental to him, but not necessarily Christ's path. 

Our Savior tells us the path is NARROW and it's STRAIGHT. It is NOT the WORLD'S PATH. All we have to do is look at the WORLD'S path and we know what the broad path entails.  Remember up there Bonhoeffer saying 'it is fatally easy to miss one's way'?  The broad path, we could be on the narrow path for years and then a side street catches our attention. That side street leads right to the BROAD path of destruction but it's not advertised as such. That side street is covered in deception, it's a wolf in sheep' clothing meant to trick us into believing it is still part of the narrow way.  We have to surrender to our SAVIOR in all things! We have to be on guard, we have to have our armor on, we have to be fully committed to CHRIST our SAVIOR, forever seeking forgiveness and repenting of our sins, our evils.

Bonhoeffer- ' On either side of the narrow path deep chasms yawn. To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way.'

Truth.

What is impossible with us is ONLY possible with CHRIST JESUS!

Mat_19:26  But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mar_9:23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

READ this again--

Bonhoeffer- ' On either side of the narrow path deep chasms yawn. To be called to a life of extraordinary quality, to live up to it, and yet to be unconscious of it is indeed a narrow way. To confess and testify to the truth as it is in Jesus, and at the same time to love the enemies of that truth, his enemies and ours, and to love them with the infinite love of Jesus Christ, is indeed a narrow way.'

Deep chasms… on either side of the narrow path we walk.

'To be CALLED to a life of extraordinary quality, to LIVE up to it, and yet be UNCONSCIOUS of it….is indeed a narrow way.'

Live up to it, and yet UNCONSCIOUS of it-- ONLY THROUGH CHRIST, not at all through us!

'To confess and testify to the truth as it is IN JESUS, and at the SAME time love the ENEMIES of that truth - his and ours, and to LOVE them with the INFINITE love of JESUS CHRIST…..  Is INDEED A NARROW WAY.'

TRUTH! TRUTH! TRUTH!

Please LORD SAVE US!

FORGIVE US!

No special privlege, no power of our own - Cost of Discipleship Pt 106

Chapter 18 - The Disciple and Unbelievers

Bonhoeffer- 'The difference between the disciples' seeking and the Gentiles' quest for God is that the disciples know what they are looking for. We can only seek God when we know him already.  How can you look for something or find it if you do not know what you are looking for? The disciples seek a God whom they have found in the promise they have received from Jesus.'  AMEN!

'To sum it up: it is clear from the foregoing that the disciple has no special privilege or power of his own in all his intercourse with others. The mainspring of his life and work is the strength which comes from fellowship with Jesus Christ. Jesus offers his disciples a simple rule of thumb which will enable even the least sophisticated of them to tell whether his intercourse with others is on the right lines or not. All he need do is to say "I" instead of "Thou," and put himself in the other man's place. "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophet."  The moment he does that, the disciple forfeits all advantage over other men, and can no longer excuse  in himself what he condemns in others. He is as strict in condemning evil in himself as he was before to himself. The evil in the other person is exactly the same evil as in ourselves. There is only one judgment, one law, and one grace. Henceforth the disciple will look upon other men as forgiven sinners who owe their lives to the love of God. "This is the law and the prophets"-- for this is none other than the supreme commandment: to love God above all things and our neighbors as ourselves.'

Mat_7:12  Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

Luk 10:25  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

My Thoughts-

We have NO power of our own. Our only HOPE is in Christ and HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, not Christ and our righteousness, NEVER our righteousness. 

Any good we possess, any good we use, any good we do, any good at all comes from CHRIST.

Christ tells us to LOVE Him, and to LOVE others. When we are loving others we are loving HIM.

Bonhoeffer says it plain enough, true enough. We have to live in the here and now, ready to comprehend the truth of putting others FIRST, others before ourselves. We want others to treat us with dignity, with respect, with love, with niceness, with kindness, with loyalty, with common decency, without talking back, without any belittling, without any snide-ness, without subterfuge, without anger.  We hurt others ALL the time- sometimes intentionally but a lot of times not intentionally, but intentional or not, we have to seek forgiveness when we recognize that we've hurt someone. It's not easy, because we have spent a lifetime of justifying our righteous indignation, our right to anger.

Only through CHRIST can we hope to live as HE wants us to live in HIM. We must hate the sin, love the sinner, just as GOD hates sin and loves the sinner.

We must choose God because to do otherwise is death, hate, evil in all its forms. We might embrace the tiniest of evils, but it will still warrant death, just like the greatest of evils.  We must choose God because He is LIFE, He is LOVE, He is good.

By the GRACE of our GOD we are HIS, and as HIS we are gifted with the HOLY SPIRIT, and through the Holy Spirit we are to live in CHRIST, as CHRIST'S.

Protector from Sin

Excerpt- 'Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness for by it God was manifest in the flesh. God-like-ness - godliness - is God manifest in human flesh. This Christ revealed even in the slave-form of man. Those who partake of the "divine nature" again manifest God in their slave-forms. God dwells in them, and walks in them. '

Php 2:6  Christ was truly God. But he did not try to remain equal with God.
Php 2:7  Instead he gave up everything and became a slave, when he became like one of us.
Php 2:8  Christ was humble. He obeyed God and even died on a cross.
Php 2:9  Then God gave Christ the highest place and honored his name above all others.
Php 2:10  So at the name of Jesus everyone will bow down, those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.
Php 2:11  And to the glory of God the Father everyone will openly agree, "Jesus Christ is Lord!"
 (CEV)

Joh_14:20  At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Joh_15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

My thoughts-  People don't like to believe that Christ divested Himself of His divinity, but He did. God with God.  Jesus was with God and by Jesus all things were created.

Col 1:13  Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Col 1:14  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
Col 1:15  Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
Col 1:16  For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him

Christ God, with the Father God, equal in all ways until Christ became FLESH. To become FLESH He gave us His immortality, and became subject to death. Christ truly took on the form of a slave, a servant. We are slaves, we are servants, but were are NOT slaves and servants to a hated, brutal, vicious, abusive master! Our Master is LOVE in all its truth.

We are born slaves and servants, we are NOT born with any divinity in us at all. We must be BORN AGAIN and we receive the Holy Spirit, and Christ lives in US, and we in HIM.  This is a MIRACLE of which we can scarcely fathom. Such LOVE to make this possible! To choose to JOIN with us, the Creator taking on the form of the Creature just so He could SAVE US!

Excerpt- 'When each mystery has run its course in time, certain results will become manifest. Of those who have yielded to the energies of Satan, it is prophesied:  Through yielding to satanic influences, men will be transformed into fiends; and those who were created in the image of God, who were formed to honor and glorify their Creator, will become the habitation of dragons, and Satan will see in an apostate race his masterpiece of evil, - men who reflect his own image.

Of those who have yielded to the life-giving energies which Christ brought with Him into humanity, and which through the Holy Spirit are ministered to each believer, it is written:   We must learn of Christ. We must know what He is to those He has ransomed. We must realize that through belief in Him it is our privilege to be partakers of the divine nature, and so escape the corruption that is in the world through lust. Then we are cleansed from all sin, all defects of character. We need not retain one sinful propensity.

As we partake of the divine nature, hereditary and cultivated tendencies to wrong are cut away from the character, and we are made a living power for good. Ever learning of the divine Teacher, daily partaking of His nature, we cooperate with God in overcoming Satan's temptations. God works, and man works, that man may be one with Christ as Christ is one with God. Then we sit together with Christ in heavenly places. The mind rests with peace and assurance in Jesus. '

Excerpt- 'The true Christian obtains an experience which brings holiness. He is without a spot of guilt upon the conscience, or a taint of corruption upon the soul. The spirituality of the law of God, with its limiting principles, is brought into his life. The light of truth irradiates his understanding. A glow of perfect love for the Redeemer clears away the miasma which has interposed between his soul and God. The will of God has become his will, pure, elevated, refined, and sanctified. His countenance reveals the light of heaven. His body is a fit temple for the Holy Spirit. Holiness adorns his character. God can commune with him; for soul and body are in harmony with God.'

My thoughts - 

Being truly God's will mean accepting a real, viable hatred of all things sinful. That hatred of sin, the Grace of our SAVIOR and His hatred for sin, will reveal our evil propensities, ALL OF THEM, but only if we allow. We are NEVER forced to give up a single sin. If we believe the giving up of any sin in our life is wrong, then we are NOT God's.  How do we know what is sinful and what is not? Sin is the transgression of God's law. Sin is NOT loving God, and NOT loving others as CHRIST would have us love.  If any action we commit goes against God's love, or the love we should possess for others, then it is sin. We can't know what sin is except we look to God's law. We know that it is ONLY through CHRIST that any sin we overcome is most assuredly overcome BY HIM IN US and NOT US ON OUR OWN. We need to have CHRIST closer to us in ALL things, not just a select few, but ALL THINGS, it is the only way we are protected by HIM, by being in Him and He in us.  If you have a body guard, the body guard is no good if he/she is not present with you in all situations. If you are abducted from your bathroom, it's only because you didn't have your guard in their with you and the abductor took a route to you that your guard was not covering. We want sin protection and the ONLY way we can have sin protection is to live IN CHRIST, and CHRIST IN US-- ALWAYS! He is the all in all, all Glory belongs to HIM, none to us.

May we take the time to realize that it is CHRIST alive in us through the HOLY SPIRIT that enables us to live for HIM. When we fall and fail, when we give into some temptation it is because we go around our  Protector from Sin to get to it, we need to seek forgiveness! We need to repent! We need to resist, we need to sacrifice, we need to pick up our crosses. We need to comprehend that we have a wicked enemy that will stop at nothing to entice us to leave our Protector from Sin and he's extremely skilled knowing our EVERY weakness. May we CLING tightly to our GOD, our SAVIOR, knowing it's only as we are connected to HIM, that we can live at all!

He is our HOPE!
He is our SALVATION!
He is our LOVE!
He is our LIFE!