2 Corinthians 5: 14, ‘For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf’.
Deuteronomy 29:29, ‘“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law’.
As we receive revelation from God, we need to observe. This is like our inheritance. But the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.
As we read the Bible and as we meditate, as we listen from our Elders and while reading Br.Zac’s books, there is some revelation that we get, some we still need to get. To the extent that we have light on; the revelation that we receive; we need to observe them in our lives.
Jesus died for all, so that we who live might no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose again on our behalf.
How do we live a life for Him who died for us? Lord Jesus says, ‘If you want to follow me, hate your Father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children’.
Deuteronomy 13:1 -4, ‘“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him’.
The Lord your God is tests us to find out if we love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
V6-11, ‘“If your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entice you secretly, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8 you shall not yield to him or listen to him; and your eye shall not pity him, nor shall you spare or conceal him. 9 But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 So you shall stone him to death because he has sought to seduce you from the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you’.
It seems it is very gruesome to be able to kill your own relative or loved one. We can have a look at something similar that Lord Jesus said about the ‘cost of discipleship’.
Luke 14:26, ‘“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.’
The Lord God is testing you, when somebody tries to drive you away from the Lord. He is testing if our love towards friends, family or loved ones is more than the love towards our God. Honestly, we cannot love anyone more than God. Even if we try to love others more, we often fail. The Lord is testing us. If we are to be His disciples, we ought to love God more than our loved ones. God has promised us His Holy Spirit, He will help us to walk this path.
The disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit, after Jesus left them.
Matthew 5, 6, 7 chapters clearly says, how His disciples should be – and what is the cost of discipleship is. These words were given to His disciples but they had not receive the power of the Holy Spirit yet. The disciples must have tried to keep all His commandments and might have failed; until they received the power of the Holy Spirit. And, Jesus had clearly told His disciples that they were to wait until they receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
We need to wait for the Holy Spirit, be filled with Holy Spirit, to do exactly what Jesus taught us. That we can be able to hate our own father, mother, brother, sister, wife and children and even our own selves; to love God first.
Galatians 2:20, ‘I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me’.
It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me.
1 Corinthians 6:20, ‘For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body’.
How can we not get affected by this – that ‘somebody laid his life for you?’ Has this Gospel become too familiar for us that; that it is no longer a serious thing? Jesus died for us and He gave life for us, we need to always have that zeal and love to love Him and follow Him and do whatever He asks us to do. We need to ask for the power of the Holy Spirit.
Though the disciples heard from Jesus for three and a half years, they had to wait for the power of the Holy Spirit before they could live by the same standard.
1 Corinthians 15:10, ‘But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me’.
This is the promise of God to us. Apostle Paul says, ‘By the grace of God, I am what I am, His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me’. May the love of God control us. Amen.
