You Won't Relent

You won't relent until You, have it all

My heart is Yours

You won't relent until You, have it all

My heart is Yours

I'll set you has a seal upon my heart

As a seal upon my arm

For there is love that is as strong as death

Jealousy demanding as the grave

And many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me

Come be the flame upon my heart

Come be the fire inside of me

Until You and I are one.

I don't want to talk about You

Like You're not in the room

I want to look right at You

I want to sing right to You

These are the lyrics to one of my favorite songs by Jesus Culture. This past week I have really seen my need for God because I am such a depraved person. Jesus Christ gave me a new nature, however, my old nature likes to creep its head and displace Jesus from the throne of my life. Each and every day I have to make a choice to follow God. I made a decision to surrender my will for that of God's will and asked Him to save me from my sin. Just because I made that decision, however, doesn't mean that I'm all set for the rest of my life. There is a struggle in me between my new and old nature. When I surrendered it began a slow and painful process to a Christlike transformation. The Devil tries everyday to kill my desire for that likeness. As I said, each and every day I have to make a decision to follow God, and that decision starts when my eyes open that morning. As soon as my eyes open the Devil is already on me to pursue worldliness. Apart from Jesus Christ I cannot even get out of my bed and pray to God because apart from Jesus Christ my nature is that of evil. Apart from Jesus Christ I will never pursue Godliness. Apart from Jesus Christ I will never surrender self. Apart from Jesus Christ I cannot commune with my God. Apart from Jesus Christ I am an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, an idol worshiper, and a liar. The truth is, it is easy to be apart from Christ. It is easy to fall in to sin time and time again because sin is attractive, and it's hard to crawl onto an altar and be a living sacrifice. All I can do is ask God to change me. As the song says, He won't relent until He has it all. He will come be the fire inside of me and the flame in my heart. Many waters cannot quench his love for me.

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.

      But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked.

Proverbs 24:16

I may turn away from my God like an adulterous wife, but his kindness will lead me to repentance. He will let me know I have sinned and He will convict me of it, and I will return to Him. I can never out sin God's forgiveness. As I grow closer to God in my relationship to Him my love for Him will grow as will my dependence. He won't relent until He has it all and I won't relent until I give it all. It will take my life, but that's what I told Jesus He could have.

1) I put gods before Him everyday

2) I have possessions that are more important to me that Him.

3) I take his name in vain when I take his name on my life and don't live like He told me to.

4) I don't keep the sabbath day holy because I make it about me.

5) I don't honor my Father in heaven because I don't heed his teaching.

6) I murdered Jesus on the cross with my sin.

7) I commit adultery against God every time I choose my own way and not His.

8) I steal glory from God by taking credit for what only He could do.

9) I lie to my neighbors with my life because I claim to be a Christian but disobey the commandments I claim to live by.

10) I'm dissatisfied with what God gave me when I see the blessings of others and wish I had what they have instead of being pleased with what God has blessed me with.

Jesus is the rock in the desert and I am Moses. God told me to speak to the rock but I was angry and I struck him instead. Not only did he give me the water that I needed, but unlike Moses, Jesus gave me a way into the promised land. In every way possible I have spurned Jesus, but he pursues me still. His grace and his mercy are new every day. The wonderful thing about it is that I deserve hell, everything else is a gift. Because of all these things I will give praise to God. I will seek his face and his likeness. When I fall I will get back up again, because he won't relent until he has it all.

Old Testament

Many people don't realize it but the Old Testament is all about Jesus. I read this the other day and it just helps put this into perspective.

Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the test in the garden and whose obedience is imputed to us.

     Jesus is the true and better Abel who, though innocently slain, has blood now that cries out, not for our condemnation, but for acquittal.

     Jesus is the true and better Abraham who answered the call of God to leave all the comfortable and familiar and go out into the void not knowing whither he went to create a new people of God.

     Jesus is the true and better Isaac who was not just offered up by his father on the mount but was truly sacrificed for us. And when God said to Abraham, "Now I know you love me because you did not withhold your son, your only son whom you love from me," now we can look at God taking his Son up the mountain and sacrificing him and say, " Now we know that you love us because you did not withhold your Son, your only Son, whom you love from us."

     Jesus is the true and better Jacob who wrestled and took the blow of justice we deserved, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace to wake us up and discipline us.

     Jesus is the true and better Joseph who, at the right hand of the king, forgives those who betrayed and sold him and uses his new power to save them.

     Jesus is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people and the Lord and who mediates a new covenant.

     Jesus is the true and better Rock of Moses who, struck with the rod of God's justice, now gives us water in the desert.

     Jesus is the true and better Job, the truly innocent sufferer, who then intercedes for and saves his stupid friends.

     Jesus is the true and better David whose victory becomes his people's victory, though they never lifted a stone to accomplish it themselves.

     Jesus is the true and better Esther who didn't just risk leaving an earthly palace but lost the ultimate and heavenly one, who didn't just risk his life, but gave his life to save his people.

     Jesus is the true and better Jonah who was cast out into the storm so that we could be brought in.

     Jesus is the real rock of Moses, the real Passover Lamb, innocent, perfect, helpless, slain so the angel of death will pass over us. He's the true temple, the true prophet, the true priest, the true king, the true sacrifice, the true lamb, the true light, the true bread. 

     The Bible's really not about you. It's about him.

Making Disciples

     Christians have become lazy in the area of discipleship, and have instead chosen to let the church handle this responsibility. Jesus commissioned every one of his followers to go and make disciples of all nations. Why do we feel that Jesus wasn't talking to us? When we read the great commission  why do we view it as a story and not a command of our Lord and King? Did Jesus ever say in the Bible that once you give your life to me you can sit back and concentrate on your own spiritual life? When did Jesus become our own personal secret? Instead, Jesus told us to go in to all the world with the good news about himself. It's GOOD NEWS. The gospel of Jesus is offensive yes, but it is a saving news. Telling people good news actually involves talking to them. I know it's scary. People are opinionated, obstinate, and easily offended, but guess what? Jesus knew all that when he told you to go and tell them. 

     Now once you tell them about Jesus you are not off the hook. Discipleship means you have to spend time with them. Jesus said to teach them to obey all I have commanded you. You can't teach people to obey God in one sit down. You have to walk with them in their daily life. This is something that everyone dreads because we are in our heart selfish. Anytime something disrupts us from our schedule or routine we get pissed. How dare I have to spend time with someone that the world considers ugly, stupid, or annoying when I am supposed to go hang out with my friends tonight. New Christians are so needy and they will probably be calling all the time asking endless questions. All I want to do is take a nap, or watch a movie with my friends, or read a book, or anything else besides talk with someone who needs Jesus. Jesus left heaven to come and teach us about God for 33 years, and we bicker about teaching new believers about God a couple times a week. Jesus humbled himself to be murdered by his own creation and we don't even want to give up some of our free time to help people. How selfish are we? The only answer to our attitude is daily repentance. We have to ask Jesus to change our heart and our perspective. When we realize that teaching people about Jesus is the only thing that matters in this world our view is drastically altered. You realize that the hated people in this world are the ones that need Jesus the most. Jesus said himself that the sick are the ones that need a doctor. Everyone hates thieves, gangsters, prostitutes, drug heads, and sex offenders, but those are the people that Jesus hung out with because they were spiritually sick and they new it. Would we dare to be seen with these people much less teaching them about Jesus and what it means to walk with him in a daily relationship? It's not just the people that the world hates either, but also the ones that they ignore. Everyone, Christians as well, ignore homeless people. When we pull up to the stoplight  and there is a man with a sign asking for money we try to pull up just past him or stop further in front of him so we don't have to look at him or read his sign. Jesus Christ our Lord was homeless. He was spurned by the religious community. He was seen with the worst of the worst but he didn't care because his Father in heaven had given him a command. It's high time we started to view Jesus' commands as commands and not suggestions. Jesus said if you want to be my follower you must pick up your cross DAILY and follow me. You don't get to put it down one day and pick it up the next, you don't get to pay someone to carry it for you, you don't get to have his cross shipped do you at the end of your life so you can wrap your arms around it in death. YOU HAVE TO CARRY THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST EVERYWHERE YOU GO EVERYDAY. How? You pick up the cross of Jesus by surrendering your will and your desires to his will and his desires. You submit yourself to your King and Master and ask the Holy Spirit to flow through you and produce the fruit of Jesus Christ in your life that day. Let the Holy Spirit love people through you, and disciple people through you. 

     One last thing to add before I close out this post. In the parable of the sower Jesus said the seed that fell among the good soil multiplied and produced itself 30, 60, and 100 times over. For the longest time Christians have worked with addition. We have an event and people get saved. Bring them to church and people get saved. Multiplication involves making disciples of Jesus Christ and instead of inviting them to church to become church drones  you teach them to go out and make disciples as well. Most all Christians today just come to church and believe in inviting people to church but they are not teaching anyone to go out and make disciples. We are focused on ourselves. Church is programmed for the individual and not around seeking and saving to lost. This is something that has to change. 

     God help us to repent of our selfishness and go out and make disciples of all nations. All we want is for your name to be glorified and I pray that we be intentional about the expansion of your Kingdom. I want as many people to fall in love with you as possible but how can that happen unless I go out and tell them.