Soldier of The Cross, are you willing to be changed into His Likeness?

     As we get older, it seems that absent the habit of prayerful obedience, there is a stiffening of the soul.

     Why?  Because as we move on, the flesh identifies its points of comfort and control.  Soldier,  the most important thing you can do is to make sure you are a humble before Him and that you are telling Him you are willing to be changed.    You must tell Him so aloud.

     Those who agree with Him are transformed into the His Likeness.  Shouldn't it be assumed that there is nothing else more attractive to you?
 

      The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible].  Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God. [Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].    They are living memorials to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises;  He is my Rock and there is no unrighteousness in Him.  
           Psalm 92: 12-15 (Amplified Bible) 

     It is an incredible thing to be loved.

     It is even more wonderful to have the experience of that love.

     There is a love that deepens with the passing years.  It passes every test and withstands the hottest flames and the deepest waters. 

     This love is not weakened by a lack of attention or even rejection. 

     The love experienced by the Believer is the result of the touch of the resurrected Lord and it flows out in power when the Holy Spirit is given free reign in the heart. 

     Christianity is not about love - it is about Jesus.  But the evidence of His Presence in the heart is love that seeks a target.  

     Soldier of The Cross, He loves us through one another. 
     He loves us by allowing the hard things. 
     He loves us by insisting that we walk by faith.
     He loves us by making us wait.
     He loves us in the display of nature.
     He has given us His Word, full of assurances and many Promises.

     His love is not propelled by feeling, although it is certainly experienced.  There is a momentum to His Love that is directed eternity's way.    His Love flows from obedience and becomes a way of life that manifests itself in the JOY formula - 
     Jesus first,
     Others next,
     You last.

     No one feels explosive love all the time, but there are those who can be counted on to talk about Him, sing about Him and reflect Him by service to the Body of Christ and by selfless living.

     He wants to love through us.
     He must be allowed to change us.
 

     There is nothing more thrilling or persuasive than hearing how someone came to Christ.

     I have heard the details of the conversions of all my close friends, but I could hear them over and over and over.  Why is that?  Because everything He does is always new and He never does the same thing twice in exactly the same way.

     We tend to think that some are harder to reach than others.  It is true that the heart can grow hard and that constant rejection and sin can jade the conscience.  But, can't we all say that if He could win me, He could win anyone?

     My heart was so hard and my attempt to escape Him so intense that I did not know I was reponding to Him until the very minute He touched me.  Then, there was no denying what was happening.  He got through the hardness and the fear and revealed Himself.

     The Story never grows old and it is always a penetrating assurance that no one is out of His reach. 

We would have done things so differently.

     We certainly would not have chosen a bunch of uneducated fishermen and common workers to be disciples of Jesus.   If He had to die, we would have chosen a way more noble than a convicted criminal's public execution.

     We would have chosen a reputable Gentile to evangelize among the Gentiles, not a Rabbi, renown for persecuting them.

     And of course, our own lives would have been designed much differently.

     He is a No Matter What God.
     He saved you, no matter what you were like before.
     He still loves you no matter what.
     He responds to you and forgives you no matter what.
     He is faithful no matter what.

     No matter how it seems, He is right.
     No matter what anyone says, His Word alone is perfect.
     No matter what is swirling by sight, He is never out of control.

     Live as a No Matter What Soldier of The Cross. Tell Him you will trust Him no matter what.
     Tell Him aloud.        

     Remember, those without Christ are trapped and do not have the same ability to choose as do those who are His.

     God has set it up so that nature must obey Him.    The animals migrate according to His design.  So do the birds and the sea creatures.   He commands and they must move according to the command.  They have no choice.

     You were created to choose.  Now, you have been born again and the Power of His Resurrection has come to live in you and over your life.  You have choice.

     But, the feeling is so strong.  It seems that the undertow is so powerful, there is no choice.   

     Of course, that is not true.

   
     Soldier of The Cross, you are His.  You have been bought with a Price, and you are familiar with His touch.  You have crossed The Line and you can’t go back.  Unlike the creatures of nature, you are an adopted son, and you do have choice.

     It begins in prayer.  Even if you don't feel relieved, He will take you at your word and He will reveal Himself in the matter.

     Stand firm.  What does the Bible say about the situation?   My favorite saying is, "God's Word is more real than the way that you feel."

     Lord, as I stand before you tonight, I lift up to you this matter that seems to be too great for me.    I choose to take you at your Word and declare to you now that I yield to you, who bled and died for me.

     I don't want anything but you; it is just that I can't shake this.  So, I choose to agree with you.  

     By faith, I choose you over the strongest feeling or influence.  I place my hand in yours, which I know is outstretched to me.
     My Lord and my God.  

     Soldier of The Cross, how far will you go for and with Him?

     If we are upset with Him for what He allows, we presume an equal footing with Him.
 

     Soldier, stand before Him and declare your bottom line.  In the difficult time, you must do this early and often.  

     Can you say to Him that He can do whatever He wants? 

     Tell Him aloud.  

     Learning to depend on the Lord is a tough battle for the flesh.

     Yesterday I actually heard a preacher say that one should not have to trust God for something that he needs right now.  He should pray in enough provision in advance so that he never needs anything.

     I don't find that anywhere in the Bible.  In fact, the whole Word of God teaches that the child of God must learn to depend on Him, and must unlearn independence.

     We are to follow Him and to be changed into His likeness.  We are to be in payer about all things because we were not created to do anything without Him.

     Soldier of the Cross,  we must admit our need for Him.  Our need for each other.  Our need for trials. Our need for His Word and our need to recognize that all things come from His hand and not ours.

     Without Him, we have a tiny little worm's-eye view, and He alone sees all.  We must be led and we must understand that no area of life is exempt.  This is a particular problem for Christians who seem to think everything else can involve faith, but finances must be an exception.

     The days. The hours. The minutes. 
     We need Him so.

    What is the value of The Cross?

     It is the place of the death of the flesh.  Without The Cross, there is no experience of Resurrection Life which exerts its power over believers. (Phil 3:10)  For that reason, we are told there is no discipleship apart from The Cross. (Luke 9:23)

     Soldier of The Cross, without this obedience, there is no power to follow Him.
     Without this obedience, there is no power to love unconditionally.
     Without this obedience, there is no power to see or hear.
     Without this obedience, there is no power to live according to God's Word.
     Without this obedience, there is certainly no power to minister.

     It feels hard and sounds hard, but like all matters that ride the wings of faith, choosing His way supersedes all barriers.  Without The Cross, there is no lightening of the load nor is there the experience of His Presence.

     Soldier, just tell Him and do it aloud.
     Tell Him you will take up the Cross today and that you will trust Him for the result.

     There is a Place in your heart.  It is the place of decision.  You can look at Him, and you can decide that He is in charge and that there is nothing else worth living for.  In that place, there is a U-turn from the self life.

     You can do this.  It must be aloud with formulated thoughts that agree with Him.
     There is nothing else.
     There is no one else.       

     Those who have yielded to the Sovereignty of God during times of loss have been able to do so because they have lived in the practice of agreeing with God.

     It is often the little things of every day life that are our undoing. It is during those thorny moments that the rubber meets the road.  Perspective is off and here comes the Flesh Flash!

     From cover to cover, God's Word tells us where our attention should be and how we should behave.  We are not allowed time off for bad behavior!

     Those who are solid are solid in private as well as in public.  This is the result of agreeing with God in prayer, then in attitude.  

   Soldier of The Cross, can He do anything in and with your life?  Are you able to tell Him so?
You have nothing to lose except insecurity, fear and anxiety.

     Lord, I stand before you tonight and state before the unseen powers of the universe that I am yours.  I ask you to teach me what it means to lose my life so I can find it.  I want to learn to agree with you in all things.
     I trust you.  By faith I step over the line and ask to live a life of faith that is such that I can be trusted with things that don't make sense to the human mind.
     Please Lord, do anything in the deepest parts of me in order to bring about your likeness in me.

     Soldier of The Cross, what is your charge?

     It is not your gift.
     It is  not your family.
     It is certainly not your career.
     It isn't even towing the mark.

     Your charge is to know the Lord Jesus and the Power of His Resurrection.

                    " [For my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly], and that I may in that same way come to know the power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers], and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death. . ."

                         Philippians 3:10 (Amplified Bible)