Please Lord, say you know me

Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Mat 7:28  And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29  For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Chapter 20 - The Conclusion

Bonhoeffer-'We have listened to the sermon on the mount and perhaps have understood it. But who has heard it aright? Jesus gives the answer at the end. He does not allow his hearers to go away and make of his sayings what they will, picking and choosing from them whatever they find helpful, and testing them to see if they work. He does not give them free rein to misuse his word with their mercenary hands, but gives it to them on condition that it retains exclusive power over them. Humanly speaking, we could understand and interpret the Sermon on the Mount in a thousand different ways. Jesus knows only one possibility: simple surrender and obedience, not interpreting it or applying it, but doing and obeying it. That is the only way to hear his word. But again he does not mean that it is to be discussed as an ideal, he really means us to get on with it.

The word, whose claim we recognize, this word which issues from his saying " I have known thee," this word which sets us at once to work and obedience, is the rock on which to build our house. The only proper response to this word which Jesus brings with him from eternity is simply to do it. Jesus has spoken: His is the word, ours the obedience. Only in the doing of it does the word of Jesus retain its honour, might and power among us. Now the storm can rage over the house, but it cannot shatter that union with him, which his word has created.

There is only one other possibility, that of failing to do it. It is impossible to want to do it and yet not do it. To deal with the word of Jesus otherwise than by doing it is to give him the lie. It is to deny the Sermon on the Mount and to say No to his word. If we start asking question, posing problems, and offering interpretations, we are not doing his word. Once again shades of the rich young man and the lawyer of Luke 10 are raising their heads. However vehemently we assert our faith, and fundamental recognition of his word, Jesus still calls it "not-doing." But the word which we fail to do is no rock to build a house on. There can then be no union with Jesus. He has never known us. That is why as soon as the hurricane begins we lose the word, and find that we have never really believed it. The word we had was not Christ's, but a word we had wrested from him and made our own by reflecting on it instead of doing it. So our house crashes in ruins, because it is not founded on the word of Jesus Christ.

"The multitudes were astonished…" What had happened? The Son of God had spoken. He had taken the judgment of the world into his own hands. And his disciples were standing at his side.'

My thoughts--

I feel at a loss for words because this is all truth, the plain, unadulterated truth of CHRIST'S WORD.

I could copy it again, word for word, but what would that do?

Either we DO as our God tells us to do, or we don't, and we can make all the excuses in the world we want for not obeying God in the smallest to the largest thing we know He is asking of us, because He does ask us individually to obey Him.  One man's test isn't the same as the next man's. Your personal temptations aren't the same as the next person's, but they are ALL the same temptation to NOT obey God in some way.

Eve sinned in NOT obeying God. We ALL sin in NOT obeying God.

LORD help us to LOVE YOU, help us to OBEY YOU in ALL THINGS, not just in the things we find easy, but in every little aspect of our lives help us to OBEY, to LOVE YOU as YOU LOVE.  LIVE in US LORD so we may LOVE. Help us to surrender to you!

Know us, Lord. Cost of Discipleship Pt 112

Chapter 19 - The Great Divide

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?

Bonhoeffer- ' Confessor and doer are separated from one another. And now the division is carried to its furthest extent. Only those are now speaking who have survived the test so far. They are numbered among the doers, but they appeal no to their confession, but to the deeds they have done. They have performed deeds in the name of Jesus. They know that confession does not justify, and so they have gone and made the name of Jesus great among the people by their deeds. Now they appear before Jesus and tell him what they have done.

At this point Jesus reveals to his disciples the possibility of a demonic faith which produces wonderful works quite indistinguishable from the works of the true disciples, works of charity, miracles, perhaps even of personal sanctification, but which is nevertheless a denial of Jesus and of the life of discipleship. This is just what St Paul means in 1 Cor. 13, when he says that it is possible to preach, to prophesy, to have all knowledge, and even faith so as to remove mountains, and all this without love, that is to say without Christ, without the Holy Spirit. More than this, St. Paul must even reckon with the possibility that the very works of Christian charity, giving away one's goods, and even martyrdom, may be done without love, without Christ, without the Holy Spirit. Without love: that is to say, in all this activity the activity of discipleship is absent, namely that activity the doer of which is in the last resort, none other than Jesus Christ Himself. Here is the most serious, the most incredibly satanic possibility in the Church, the followers must ask by what ultimate criterion Jesus will accept or reject them. Who will pass the test, and who will not? The answer lies in the words of Jesus to the last of the rejected: "I have never known you." Here we are at last, here is the secret we have been waiting for since the Sermon on the Mount begun. Here is the crucial question-- has Jesus known us or not? First came the division between Church and world, then the division within the Church, and then the final division on the last day. There is nothing left for us to cling to, not even our confession or our obedience. There is only his word: "I have known thee," which is his eternal word and call. The end of the Sermon on the Mount echoes the beginning. The word of the last judgment is foreshadowed in the call to discipleship. But from beginning to end it is always his word and his call, his alone. If we follow Christ, cling to his word, and let everything else go, it will see us through the day of judgment His word is his grace.'

My thoughts-  Demonic faith. Satanic possibility.  While calling on the name of Jesus- demons are busy at work to deceive.

I read this the other day- '1Ch 21:1  And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. '

How?  How was this possible? David was God's chosen, David was close to God, following His ways, listening to Him.  Yet SATAN provoked David. How?  How do you provoke someone to do something? Surely Satan wasn't walking about having conversations with David. Do you suppose he was whispering in David's ear? Do you suppose he was in David's thoughts encouraging Him to do this thing that God did not want him to do? Maybe he was playing on David's weaknesses, exploiting David's desire, taking it beyond temptation and into sin.  We know that Satan works hard, but just how hard is he working at us and in what manner? If we chalk our BAD days up to life, we aren't naming the name of the one provoking us, are we?

Surely you've been provoked by someone before to do something you didn't want to do, yet, because of the provocation you succumb to their encouraging you.  Just how many people are in prisons today because they've succumb to provocation, probably a lot of them.  We know how to provoke others too, don't we? You tease them, you wear away at their resolve, you bug them, bother them, you entice them in any way you can.  Satan PROVOKED David.  

Satanic provocation is REAL now as it was real when Satan whispered to David, getting him to do something that was wrong, something David knew was wrong, something David knew God would not want him to do. It's REAL, Satan is alive and well and living to deceive, living to provoke, living to attack each and everyone of us in any way He can. Satan WANTS to DECEIVE US!  Satan wants us to believe we are right with God, that we have nothing to worry about at all, we are doing the works of God- right?

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?

Bonhoeffer- ' If we follow Christ, cling to his word, and let everything else go, it will see us through the day of judgment His word is his grace.'

This is truth, and we MUST know His word. 

Satan has done his best to keep the word of God from people and he's used many different tactics to do so. He's taken the word and made it scarce, and he's allowed it to be prolific and both of his plans have served him very, very well.

Cling to Christ's word, we must cling to Christ's word! His TRUTH! HIM! We cannot trust in ANYTHING we are able to do! We don't know if it comes from ourselves or from somewhere else, but unless it comes from our SAVIOR we know nothing.  We must KNOW our Savior more than anything else, trust in Christ, not in ourselves for anything at all!

All in HIM! He is our LIFE! We are His disciples, truly His disciples.  When Satan would have us believe that following ANYONE so exclusively is wrong, we must TRUST, we must BELIEVE, we must have CHRIST as our ALL IN ALL.

Is it any wonder there will be so few truly Christ's?

Satan has deceived all but Christ's very elect, and to be Christ's very elect we must be His fully, totally devoted to Our SAVIOR.

Please LORD through Your Holy Spirit let us be YOURS wholly YOURS!

He that doesth the will of the Father - Cost of Discipleship Pt 111

Chapter 19 - The Great Divide

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.

Bonhoeffer - 'The separation which the call of Jesus creates goes deeper still. After the division between Church and world, between nominal Christians and real ones, the division now enters into the very heart of the confessional body. St. Paul says:

1Co 12:3 ' ...no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.'

Bonhoeffer continued- 'It is impossible to surrender our lives to Jesus or call Him Lord of our own free will. St. Paul is deliberately reckoning with the possibility that men may call Jesus Lord without the Holy Spirit, that is, without having received the call. It was harder to understand this in days when it brought no earthly gain to be a Christian and when Christianity was a  dangerous profession.

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.

Bonhoeffer continued- 'Lord, Lord" is the Church's confession of faith. But not everyone who makes this confession will enter the kingdom of heaven. The dividing line will run right through the confessing Church. Even if we make the confession of faith, it gives us no title to any special claim upon Jesus. We can never appeal to our confession or be saved simply on the ground that we have made it. Neither is the fact that we are members of a Church which has a right confession a claim to God's favor. To think thus is to fall into the sin of Israel, which thought the grace of God's call gave it a special privilege in his sight. That would be a sin against God's gracious call. God will not ask us in that day whether we were good Protestants, but whether we have done his will. We shall be asked the same question as everybody else. The Church is marked off from the world not by a special privilege, but by the gracious election and calling of God.  "say" and "do"-- this does not mean the ordinary contrast between word and deed, but two different relations between  man and God. - the man who says "Lord, Lord"-- means the man who puts forward a claim on the ground that he has said-- the doer-- is the man of humble obedience. The first is the one who justifies himself through his confession, and the second, the doer, the obedient man who builds his life on the grace of God. Here a man's speaking denotes self-righteousness, his doing is a token of grace, to which there can be no other response save that of humble and obedient service. The man who says, "Lord, Lord" has either called himself to Jesus without the Holy Spirit, or else he has made out of the call of Jesus a personal privilege. But our doer of the will of God is called and endued with grace, he obeys and follows. He understand his call not as his right, but as an act of God's judgment and grace, as the will of God, which alone he must obey. The grace of Jesus is a demand upon the doer, and so his doing becomes the true humility, the right faith, and the right confession of the grace of God who calls.'

My thoughts-

TRUTH- 'God will not ask us in that day whether we were good Protestants, but whether we have done his will. We shall be asked the same question as everybody else.'

Do we do His will?
You ask, "What is God's will?"  So you may do it, but the truth is, we know God's will, He tells us His will over and over in His word. We want some task, something we can complete, but the truth of the matter is, it is our entire life that is used to do God's will. It's not something we do once and then we relax into some sort of selfish reverie of peace. God's will IS our life under His love!  God's will is our LIFE in HIM, us living our lives devoted to HIS love, which is all for our benefit.

Because Satan has devoted so much time and effort to confuse love into some selfish attainment, so few can truly understand what love really is. That love is - - NEVER getting, but ALWAYS giving-- isn't something we are taught. We twist love into believing that if someone loves us they give us certain things. They... GIVE... Us;  when the truth is,  LOVE will want to GIVE more than RECEIVE. Our being able to GIVE, is love.  Yet Satan has truly twisted things so that we really believe that others don't love us when they don't give us the things we want and I'm not talking simply material things, but things in all forms- attention, affection, etc.  We place a price on love.  Give me enough of this, enough of that, and I'll believe you love me. But when you stop giving I'll start believing your love for me isn't what it used to be. Satan's deceptions run very, very, very deep.

God's will.

Do we truly do God's will? Do we love?

' The first is the one who justifies himself through his confession, and the second, the doer, the obedient man who builds his life on the grace of God.'

' But our doer of the will of God is called and endued with grace, he obeys and follows.'

'The grace of Jesus is a demand upon the doer, and so his doing becomes the true humility, the right faith, and the right confession of the grace of God who calls.'

By the grace of our LORD always!

More tomorrow...

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.