Negatively Speaking...?

Negatively Speaking…?

This evening I was listening to an audio on Sermon Index;
A Grain of Wheat by Major Ian Thomas.


Again I had one of those ‘aha’ moments when the light flickered a little brighter. As we progress down this road of life it is amazing how the Truths of The Gospel Of Christ never change, they remain steadfast and sure. But my, how our understanding of them is changed, as our eyes are opened to see them in more of heaven’s light than we did before. What he presented in this message was not ‘new’ to me. One of the greatest obstacles we face in our journey to know God, is that of thinking that we already know something and rushing on to find something new we can sink our teeth into. When the reality of the matter is, we have barely scratched the surface of comprehending the simplest and most basic principles of the Christian walk. People who have called themselves Christians for dozens of years still stammer and mumble when confronted with trying to explain to the unlearned what Jesus meant when he said, “eat my flesh and drink my blood;” being ‘born-again’ is incomprehensible to the natural man.

What struck me as I listened, was how beautifully he brought in the whole purpose of our Salvation. All my life I listened to countless sermons and altar calls, and they shared a common approach. The Gospel was presented in a negative manner in that sinners were pressured to accept Christ that they might escape hell. How refreshing to hear God’s purpose presented from a positive point of view.

Christ in you, the hope of Glory!

That Christ WILL come to us and make His abode within us, continuing His work, using us as his hands and feet and mouth.

[quote] … “you are now going to be qualified to receive, by my indwelling Holy Spirit the very life I lived. So that the things that I did you will do and greater works than these, because you are going to be added to my new corporate body on earth. And the life that I have lived clothed with the simplest humanity that my Father fashioned for me in the womb of Mary, this new body my Father is going to present to me. A corporate body. Having been with you, I will be in you. I am not going to leave you comfortless. You will receive power from on high. And the power that you will receive will be nothing less than my presence. I will come to you. And live in you”… [end quote - about midway through the message].

This entire message is on dying to self, like the grain of wheat, so that you can be raised up in newness of life, not of your own doing but God indwelling you. That in itself is enough to blow our minds. I guess that I never realized how negative the hell-fire-and-brimstone approach was, because it was all I had ever heard growing up. Perhaps it helped to pave the way for today’s man-centered easy-believism. People were so tired of the negatives, the things that they had to give up, they turned aside to follow another gospel that was geared to cater to their flesh with no repentance required. If you think about it, we have a whole lot more negative baggage that we drag around with us thinking that it is the way it’s supposed to be, while completely missing the point, never entering into the LIFE that Christ died for us to have. He gave his life to bring us into spiritual union with himself, literally. We have an incredible opportunity and challenge before us friends, in one of the darkest hours humanity has ever faced. We are called to be members of Christ’s corporate body in this world, under his headship, continuing to do the work of the Father. “And greater works than these shall you do, because I go to the Father.”

[quote] … “Now you can see what a wonderfully rich gospel it is that we have to preach. You never invite anybody to come just for it’s forgiveness. You never invite anybody to come to Jesus just to get to heaven. There’s only one valued reason why you and I should ever invite any man, woman boy or girl to come to the Lord Jesus, and that is, for the Lord Jesus. That He himself might step into their humanity and fill them with himself. So that their bodies might become temples of the Living God. So that they might literally baptized by the Holy Spirit into his body, they might become living members individually of his corporate body in general”… [end quote].

This is so awesome. We might have known that we would get negative results when we used a negative approach. This approach is anything but negative. It’s all about LIFE, the new life found in Christ!

“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” John 10:10.

Amen & Amen,

Cathy Morris
4/25/2010