2022: The Church in the Wilderness

          We can learn simple lessons from the Bible stories we have all heard growing up. Understanding how Old Testament stories apply to our New Testament experience gives us insight into our current condition as the people of God.

          The story of Israel’s 40-year journey from the bondage of Egypt and into the Promised Land is an Old Testament instruction to the body of Christ today and can be interpreted allegorically.

          Israel’s wilderness journey shows us that salvation is not an event, but a process, and a process that requires humility, and the fear of the Lord. (Phil 2:12-15)

          The length of that process does not have to take 40 years, which represents an entire adult life span, yet for generations that seems to have been the case with the Church. Most Christians in our generation are dying in the wilderness without ever obtaining their rightful earthly inheritance. The never fully enter into the fullness of the kingdom of God even though the blood of Christ has made the way.

          Israel’s salvation was from the bondage of Egypt to the Promised Land and their inheritance. Our salvation is from death and Hell to the Kingdom of God and our full inheritance.

Wilderness is the journey between what we are saved from, to what we are saved into, and it doesn’t have to take long. It just requires humility.

The wilderness is our journey, but it is the Father’s work of transformation. The sooner we submit to His work, the sooner we get to enjoy full kingdom inheritance.

He is our inheritance. Relationship with Him is what we are saved into.

          Wilderness is a place of grace and transformation. A place of dying to self so He can live in us. It is the process of moving from believer to disciple, from servant to son, from initial belief to becoming everything He paid for us to be.

How do we expedite this process?

          We must lay down our God given sovereignty and relinquish our right to say no to Him. Until we do, we will live out our lives and die in the wilderness, never obtaining our full earthly inheritance, and sacrificing our heavenly rewards at the judgement seat of Christ.

          Yes, we will see God move, yes, we will experience God on a surface level. Yes, He will provide for us and protect us. He won’t leave us or forsake us. He just won’t abide in us. He won’t move through us like He wants to, just upon us and among us. That seems to satisfy most Christians.

Are you satisfied with that? I am not!

Matthew 16:24-25 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC

God’s Promise to Change You

          Have you ever heard this old saying?

“God loves you too much to leave you the way you are.”

  Praise God there is scripture to back up that statement!

1Thessallonians 5:23-24

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

          We tend to assume that since He was so gracious to save us we now have the responsibility to “tow the line, shape up, do what is right, separating ourselves from carnal tendencies and worldly lusts.” While this is certainly what needs to happen, God never intended us to shoulder all the responsibility of sanctification and transformation. The truth is, we are no more capable of doing this on our own than we were before Christ.

          “Salvation is not an event as much as it is a process.”

Philippians 2:12-13

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

          Christianity is a glorious journey of salvation and transformation. Saving us from death and eternal damnation and transforming us more and more into His image. Paul exhorted Timothy to work this out in His own life with “fear and trembling.” Why? Because God is doing the heavy lifting here. HE is the Great Potter, and WE are the clay. Clay does not have the power to change itself, it can only be changed by another influence.

So, what is our part?

          Lay our lives down on the Potter’s wheel, let the washing of water by God’s Word clean us and make us soft and pliable allowing the hand of God’s grace to shape us into His image.

Thank you for visiting truthpressure.com. I hope this has been a blessing to you.

JC