Are you a Yo-Yo Christian?

You know, up to-day and down to-morrow. Doing pretty well on the whole but there’s that one little thing – you thought you had it licked but – oops! You did it again. Do you ever have a feeling of inner unrest for no known reason and you ask yourself – Is God mad at me or have I done something wrong? The Holy Spirit is always prompt to convict us and make us aware of sin. He leaves us in no doubt. Sometimes we let our feelings overmaster the facts.
Dr. Charles Stanley pointed out the key is in Romans 6 – know – reconcile – yield. VS.6 – we know - know what? VS.11 – reckon – reckon on what? Reckon is an accounting term and everything posted in the ledger has already happened. You have to receive an invoice before you enter it in Accounts Payable. Likewise you have to receive a cheque before you post it in Accounts Receivable. You only reckon on facts. Read very carefully the first 5 verses. These are the facts – facts we know – facts we reckon on. Did you notice something very special in the facts? They are all past tense – all the completed facts of history.
VS.13 – do not yield your bodily members to sin but to God. If there is anything you are determined to hang on to, you cannot yield it to God. I tie this in with – Let us lay aside every weight (Hebrews 12:1-2) and the sin that so easily besets us (Hey Paul – easier said than done). Have you got a feeling that something is missing? Hang in there with me – we’ve got more treasures to discover.
When I received Jesus as my Saviour and was eternally sealed by the Holy Spirit, my spiritual position was perfect in Christ – perfectly fit for heaven. But my daily experience needed something to make me fit for earth on my way to heaven. We are partakers of the Divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) and sin is foreign to the new nature.
Let’s remind ourselves of the facts – our completed history:
- we are dead to sin
- we are crucified with Christ
- we are buried with Him
- we were baptized by the Holy Spirit into the death of Christ
- we were raised with Christ to a new life
- we are no longer slaves of sin but released from its dominion. We are free to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, learn from His wonderful teaching and obey His wisdom-filled commands.
If you look into a mirror you see the reflected image – you don’t see the mirror unless it is dirty or distorted. If we behold the glory of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18) we will be like mirrors to reflect Him. But if we are dirty or distorted nobody will see Jesus in us.
Is God just stringing us a line that we have everything we need (1Peter 1:3) for life and godliness OR should we believe Him?
Let’s bring all this to the bar of (Romans 12:1-2), very familiar verses. Present your bodies. I learned from Dr. Stanley that PRESENT is a word in its original from Greek and means – once – one time only – once for all. In our misunderstanding we went to the altar several times to rededicate our lives and it lasted about as long as a New Year resolution. That is not N.T. teaching.
O.K. I understand the word ONCE but what is involved in the FOR All? A simple example came to mind when I was in the shower. Imagine that I gave you a cheque for $100.00 as a birthday gift. I would have no control – no decision as to how that money is spent. It would not purchase anything that catered to my preferences. That money would be totally and irrevocably yours.
When I choose to surrender myself wholly to my loving Lord – my desire is that everything in me that was never in Jesus is nailed to His Cross. It involves all I am, finances and everything I own – I no longer control decisions, choices and everything that ever happens or comes in my life – everything, always belongs totally, unquestionably, irrevocably to God. I sign away all my rights. This completed transaction will bring a growing sense of freedom and security and deepening intimacy with Jesus. This is the glory of the crucified life. I die daily (1 Corinthians 15:31) and every day die to self, to personal desire and preference. My only purpose for my life is God’s purpose. My prayer is that there be nothing left in me but Jesus with all His (Galatians 5:22-23) lovely characteristics. Of course we will fail from time to time but these lapses will be momentary and become fewer. Any Christian CAN sin, but no Christian HAS to sin.
I am crucified (Galatians 2:20) NEVERTHELESS I LIVE!
I live because Jesus Christ lives in me.
For us this is a principle. Life always comes out of death and for us in Christ Jesus – death always gives way to victory. This is true in all of God’s works. We see it in Creation – there will be no grain harvest if corns of wheat are not buried to die.
We pray for those whose death will not give way to victory but to eternal death - unless ---? It has been said that when God wants to do an impossible task – He takes an impossible person and crushes him. Can I be God’s corn of wheat (John 12:24) where I live?
Remember our spiritual position. Where is Jesus? At (Ephesians 1:20) the Father’s right hand. Where are we? God raised us up together with Christ (Ephesians 2:6) and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus. At the Father’s right hand there are (Psalms 16:11) pleasures for evermore.
The reason we surrender ourselves to God is so that God can (1 Thessalonians 5:23) sanctify us wholly – spirit, soul and body entirely. Then we can fulfill the purpose (ACTS 9:15) for which God placed us here. God’s purpose for each one of us was born (Jeremiah 1:5) before we were. The God-glorifying victory of the death and resurrection of Jesus is that the life of the Lord Jesus would be reproduced in believers. God the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity – Who indwells us – is the authority – energy – power within us which enables us to live that life. This beautiful reality can never be ours apart from the Holy Spirit and our total dependence on Him.

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