Going to church, reading the bible, listening to Christian music will not advance your spiritual life. These activities may give you more understanding but until you are ready to lay down your life and take up your cross this leads nowhere.
What I am talking about is the sacrifice of self to advance the cause of Jesus Christ in the world. There is a destiny that God had for each of us that only we can personally discover. We can discover it only by detaching from the world and making ourselves available for the Holy Spirit. By detaching from the world--now you have time--the commodity that most Christians are not willing to give.
Jesus said, "Self-help is not help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, to finding yourself, your true self. (Matthew 16:25)
"God has planted eternity in the human heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
"Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
"The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me." (Acts 20:24)
"We have been sent to speak for Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20)
"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
Albert Finch
www.thekeys2kingdom.com
What I am talking about is the sacrifice of self to advance the cause of Jesus Christ in the world. There is a destiny that God had for each of us that only we can personally discover. We can discover it only by detaching from the world and making ourselves available for the Holy Spirit. By detaching from the world--now you have time--the commodity that most Christians are not willing to give.
Jesus said, "Self-help is not help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, to finding yourself, your true self. (Matthew 16:25)
"God has planted eternity in the human heart." (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
"Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62)
"The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me." (Acts 20:24)
"We have been sent to speak for Christ." (2 Corinthians 5:20)
"We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
Albert Finch
www.thekeys2kingdom.com
Going Beyond Our Abilities
Posted 08-25-2021 at 09:24 PM by Albert Finch
And a great multitude followed Him, because they saw His miracles which He did on them that were diseased." John 6:2
When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. YOU give them something to eat." Matthew 14:15-16
FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES
"And this He said to prove him: for He Himself knew what He would do." John 6:6
The Lord often asks us to go beyond our abilities. Our usual response is to express our limitations, not realizing that Jesus is asking us to place our limited ability in His hand, so He can multiply it.
Therefore, concerning these five loaves and two fishes, Jesus said:
"Bring them here to Me." Matthew 14:18
Once the limited resources of the disciples were placed in His hands, Jesus multiplied them, and the multitude was fed to the full.
A HIGHER REALM OF IDENTIFICATION WITH HIM
Several hours later, they were back asking for a repeat performance. Jesus refused and brought a word of correction. He told them to seek their satisfaction on an HIGHER LEVEL.
Then Jesus offered His very life for them to partake of:
"I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51
They had gladly received the miracle of multiplication on the lower level of experience, but rejected the higher realm of identification with Him.
"The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" John 6:52
If we are perceptive, we will discover that this spiritual principle is in operation in our lives at this present time. Whenever the Lord moves on us in any measure of provision or healing, it is His intention to take us further,
into a higher realm of identification with Him.
Jesus was looking forward to the time when He would stand at the door of our heart, knocking, in order to gain entrance that He might sup with us, and we in turn with Him, in which we partake of His very life and blood.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20
PARTAKING OF HIS LIFE
When He fed the multitude on the lower level, they sought to take Him by force to make Him their King. But on the higher level, they rejected Him. Therefore, Jesus stands alone at the door, speaking to whomever will respond (if anyone hears).
Today, all too many Christians are satisfied to remain in the first area of spiritual blessing and provision, and are not seeking to enter into a personal relationship with the Lord, to discover His CALLING on their life.
There is a depth in spiritual revelation and understanding into which the Lord desires to bring us, which involves a partaking of His very life (our DESTINY in Christ). This will bring us into an identity with Jesus in the "fellowship of His sufferings," which refers to His (and our) being rejected and misunderstood, but leads to a depth of satisfaction and fulfillment that only those who partake can understand God's PURPOSE for their life.
"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death." Philippians 3:10
EATING HIS FLESH
There are many who will respond when the blessings are flowing, but when it comes time to "eat His flesh," (PARTAKE OF HIS LIFE) they say, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" and they disappear.
The Lord is speaking of our partaking of the foundational characteristic of His life – that of His ministry and giving His life for another. Many will receive the blessings that He offers, but few will identify with His sufferings.
The purpose of this revelation of Jesus to us, as being a person with feelings, is to bring us into the experience of personally knowing Him, that we might be able to identify with Him in the giving of His life to others.
In this last hour, the Lord is yet seeking those who are willing to go beyond the surface blessings, to enter into the place of identification with Him in the "fellowship of His sufferings."
Here, in intimate, deep communion with Jesus, we will begin to partake of an intercessory identification with Him, in which His life can now be lived and made known through our lives by our discipling others into their Christ identification so they too can come to understand and activate God’s purpose for their life.
When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food. But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. YOU give them something to eat." Matthew 14:15-16
FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES
"And this He said to prove him: for He Himself knew what He would do." John 6:6
The Lord often asks us to go beyond our abilities. Our usual response is to express our limitations, not realizing that Jesus is asking us to place our limited ability in His hand, so He can multiply it.
Therefore, concerning these five loaves and two fishes, Jesus said:
"Bring them here to Me." Matthew 14:18
Once the limited resources of the disciples were placed in His hands, Jesus multiplied them, and the multitude was fed to the full.
A HIGHER REALM OF IDENTIFICATION WITH HIM
Several hours later, they were back asking for a repeat performance. Jesus refused and brought a word of correction. He told them to seek their satisfaction on an HIGHER LEVEL.
Then Jesus offered His very life for them to partake of:
"I am the living bread which came down from Heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." John 6:51
They had gladly received the miracle of multiplication on the lower level of experience, but rejected the higher realm of identification with Him.
"The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" John 6:52
If we are perceptive, we will discover that this spiritual principle is in operation in our lives at this present time. Whenever the Lord moves on us in any measure of provision or healing, it is His intention to take us further,
into a higher realm of identification with Him.
Jesus was looking forward to the time when He would stand at the door of our heart, knocking, in order to gain entrance that He might sup with us, and we in turn with Him, in which we partake of His very life and blood.
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20
PARTAKING OF HIS LIFE
When He fed the multitude on the lower level, they sought to take Him by force to make Him their King. But on the higher level, they rejected Him. Therefore, Jesus stands alone at the door, speaking to whomever will respond (if anyone hears).
Today, all too many Christians are satisfied to remain in the first area of spiritual blessing and provision, and are not seeking to enter into a personal relationship with the Lord, to discover His CALLING on their life.
There is a depth in spiritual revelation and understanding into which the Lord desires to bring us, which involves a partaking of His very life (our DESTINY in Christ). This will bring us into an identity with Jesus in the "fellowship of His sufferings," which refers to His (and our) being rejected and misunderstood, but leads to a depth of satisfaction and fulfillment that only those who partake can understand God's PURPOSE for their life.
"That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death." Philippians 3:10
EATING HIS FLESH
There are many who will respond when the blessings are flowing, but when it comes time to "eat His flesh," (PARTAKE OF HIS LIFE) they say, "This is a hard saying, who can hear it?" and they disappear.
The Lord is speaking of our partaking of the foundational characteristic of His life – that of His ministry and giving His life for another. Many will receive the blessings that He offers, but few will identify with His sufferings.
The purpose of this revelation of Jesus to us, as being a person with feelings, is to bring us into the experience of personally knowing Him, that we might be able to identify with Him in the giving of His life to others.
In this last hour, the Lord is yet seeking those who are willing to go beyond the surface blessings, to enter into the place of identification with Him in the "fellowship of His sufferings."
Here, in intimate, deep communion with Jesus, we will begin to partake of an intercessory identification with Him, in which His life can now be lived and made known through our lives by our discipling others into their Christ identification so they too can come to understand and activate God’s purpose for their life.
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