Walking in the Light

"The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you may also have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make your joy complete." 1 John 1:2,3

Fellowship restored

Jesus came to reconcile man to God so that man can enjoy fellowship with God not only in heaven but already on earth. Those who trust in Jesus have access to the Father to enjoy intimacy and close fellowship with God on a daily basis. This is the joy of salvation - being made right with God to enjoy His presence and fellowship! God demonstrates His love for us by giving us His Son so that we can have fellowship with Him. God has done everything for man to be close to Him! 

Walking in the Light

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from every sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. if we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only ours but also for the sins of the world." 1 John 1:5- 2:2

God is light. He is holy and expects His children to walk in holiness (1 Peter 1:15,16). Those who walk in fellowship with God will walk in holiness. As children of Light we are to produce the fruit of the Light (Eph. 5:8,9).

John recognises that even though the believer seeks to walk in the Light, he may occasionally sin. That is a very different walk to the one who continues to walk in sin or darkness. Clearly those who continue to walk in darkness, produce the fruit of darkness and are not in fellowship with the Light, even if they claim to know God and walk with Him! John is repeating what Jesus says in Matthew 7:16 concerning what is revealed by the fruit of one's life.

The effect of sin

John's concern for his spiritual children that they don't sin is based on the fact that sin affects our fellowship with God and one another. If it didn't, then there would be no need to confess our sins! Through Christ, however, the Father has made provision for man to enter His presence and to remain in His presence. Occasional sin does not sever our relationship to God but it certainly affects our fellowship with Him. When a child of God sins, he grieves the Spirit of God (Eph. 4:30). Grace isn't given to cover our sin but to empower us to live in the Light (Titus 2:11,12).

The carpet of grace

If grace is a carpet that we receive from God, then we must understand that it is not given to sweep our sins under. That is to say we have no sin (1 John 1:10)! Rather, the carpet of grace is given for us to stand upon with our sin before God. The mercy and grace of God give us access to enter the presence of God with our sin and to deal with our sin with Him to restore intimacy with Him. On the carpet of grace we are not judged and condemned but rather we are loved, forgiven and empowered to overcome our weaknesses. 

Many Christians still live according to the Old Testament where man had to first offer a sacrifice before being allowed in the presence of God. Similarly many believers feel they must first deal with their sin before coming before God. That way, when they feel good enough they feel they can enter God's presence. The problem with approaching God this way is that it is unbiblical and self-righteous. When do you feel good enough to really know you're good enough? 

True confession and repentance

Confession is not based on what man thinks is wrong. Confession is agreeing with what God sees as wrong! Repentance is not promising God never to do a particular wrong again but changing our minds and living according to God's revelation. Those who continue to sin have not accepted God's word and allowed it to dwell in them and change them - it has no place in their lives (1 John 1:10).

The throne of grace

The writer to the Hebrews says we can approach the throne of grace with confidence (Heb. 4:16). Those who live under law, approach God's throne not with confidence, but with fear of punishment and a great sense of guilt and condemnation. But that is exactly what Jesus came to resolve (Rom. 8:1). The reason we can apparoach the throne of grace with confidence in our time of need (when we have sinned or need strength to overcome) is that we rely on the mercy and grace that is available to us when we stand in the presence of God with our sin! It is in His Light that we truly see our sin the way God sees it. The result will be godly sorrow over our sin rather than worldly sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance and life in the Light (holiness) but worldly sorrow is temporary and leads to death (2 Cor. 7:10-11).

Value the presence of God

God longs for His children to walk in fellowship with Him. He has done everything possible for man to enjoy His company and to be a friend to Him. Don't let sin destroy your intimate walk with God. Walk in the Light and deal with your sin in the Light. The more you become aware of His presence the less inclined you will be to sin. Include the Holy Spirit in all areas of your life. In every danger zone acknowledge the holy presence of God before rushing into something you will later regret. Value the presence of God and you will walk in holiness, enjoying fellowship with God!

____________________________________

Whose kingdom do you belong to?

Everyone belongs to a kingdom. The question is, "Whose kingdom do you belong to?"

A kingdom is made up of a king and that which he rules over. Those who belong to a kingdom are subject to their king and that which he commands. The kingdom each person belongs to is determined by who is king and who he obeys.

Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords even though not everything has surrendered to His rule and reign yet. In the letter to the Hebrews we read,

"In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him." Hebrews 2:8

3 Kingdoms

Every person belongs to a kingdom, whether it is a self-created kingdom, someone else's kingdom or Christ's Kingdom. A self-created kingdom has self on the throne and lives in a realm that is governed by self and does what self desires. The self-created kingdom lives according to self-created values, beliefs, and standards.

Who is king?

The moment a person responds to the offer of eternal life through Christ, the believer surrenders his life to Christ. In other words, the believer gets self off the throne and invites Christ to take His seat as King in his life. What was once ruled by self is now ruled by Christ (1 Peter 3:15). However, the believer only truly lives as a subject of Christ's Kingdom if he is living in obedience to his King!

Whose Kingdom?

Many Christians would say that Christ is King in their lives but their lives bear the fruit of their belonging to another kingdom!

Jesus confronted the religious leaders concerning this very issue in John 8. Jesus even went so far as to say that the Pharisees were of the devil because they did what the devil desires (John 8:44). The religious leaders had created a kingdom for themselves that operated according to self-created values, beliefs and standards. When Jesus exposed who was on the throne of their lives and whom they were subjecting themselves to, they took offense.

The revelation of God's Kingdom offends the self-created kingdom!

The religious leaders responded to the revelation of God's Kingdom by taking offense. They could have chosen to repent of living according to their own, self-created kingdom but they took offense and rebelled against God. They chose to disobey and live according to their own kingdom.

Daily surrender

Daily, every believer faces the choice between living according to the old, self-created kingdom or God's Kingdom. That is why Jesus tells His followers (His subjects) to take up the cross and deny themselves daily (Matthew 10:38).

When God reveals truth to the believer, the believer always has a choice to either believe and obey or disobey. Either we believe God and submit to our King's will or we disobey Him.

Excuses, excuses

Most believers would never blatantly disobey what they know to be God's will. So the only way to avoid submitting one's self to God's will or standard is to create another standard that can replace God's standard. In other words, the believer creates an excuse not to have to obey God's will. By creating another standard for himself, the believer no longer feels convicted to obey God's revealed will but rather has peace, living according to another "godly", self-created standard. The word excuse literally means free from accusation. If the believer can create a standard that does not accuse him, he can fool himself into thinking that he is still doing God's will! This is the essence of self-righteousness - living according to self-created values, beliefs and standards (see Phil. 3:7-11) to be justified before God.

Deceptive excuses

Let me give you an example of this deceptive process. The believer reads God's Word which says, "I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:44,45). Immediately the Holy Spirit brings to mind who one's enemies could possibly be. Perhaps it is a neighbour or a relative or a brother or sister in Christ. The moment the Holy Spirit puts His finger on an area in our lives that needs to be aligned with God's truth, the believer has a choice. Either he will repent by obeying God and changing his attitude toward that person and praying for him, or he will disobey God's will. No believer would say, "I am not going to do what God clearly says!" That would be blatant disobedience and sin.

The believer rather begins to reason with God by creating a new standard. The self-created standard can sound godly but it is still disobedience! The believer may think something like this: "I don't need to love that person because of all he did to me. And anyway, he doesn't accept me and love me either." This form of reasoning makes an excuse so that the believer can live with his disobedience. A self-created "godly" standard is created that seemingly justifies one's disobedience (see 1 Samuel 15)!

Just as man can replace the King with his self-created king,

so he can replace the Kingdom with his self-created kingdom!

(See Romans 1:18-32)

Still itching?

The believer who lives in disobedience by living according to a self-created standard is still living according to his self-created kingdom with self ruling on the throne. It is these people who enjoy listening to teachers who agree with their self-created standards, who reject the truth and those who preach the Kingdom! Paul warns us in his letter to Timothy where he says,

"For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.

Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers

to say what their itching ears want to hear." 2 Timothy 4:3

God is calling His people to absolute obedience to further His Kingdom! Disobedience furthers every other kingdom but God's Kingdom! We must stop making excuses and stop living according to our self-created righteousness - our kingdom!

Ask the Lord today to search your heart and to expose any disobedience in your life. Don't allow your self to make any excuses but rather repent and obey. Self desires what is contrary to the Spirit. They are in conflict with one another (Gal. 5:16,17). Who will you obey? Who is seated on the throne? Whose kingdom do you belong to?

________________________________________

How to live by the Spirit

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with one another, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law." Galatians 5:16-18

Every believer has an earthly nature and a heavenly nature. Paul says in Col. 3:5;

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature."

Why should we put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature? Paul says that in response to the fact that every believer has been joined to Christ and is seated in the heavenly realms with Him (Eph. 2:6). Further he says,

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." Col. 3:1-3

Death to self

In what way has the believer died? Paul says,

"And he (Christ) died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Cor. 5:15

The death we have died is a death to self and a death to living for our own selfish desires.

Now that we are born again as a new creation in Christ with a heavenly nature, we are called to live according to our new nature and no longer live according to our old, selfish and self-centred nature.

We are to move from self-consciousness to God-consciousness.

Self-consciousness vs God-consciousness

Self-consciousness means we are primarily concerned with ourselves and what our selfish nature desires. God-consciousness means we are primarily aware of God and what He desires. Living in response to our selfish nature is idolatry. Living in response to God is to fear God - to honour God and respond to His presence.

The fear of the Lord

Believers who live in "the fear of the Lord" are people who carry an awareness of God's presence in them, with them and around them wherever they are. Because of their God-consciousness, they are sensitive to what grieves Him. They don't live their lives according to principles and rules but rather out of relationship with the Father who dwells in them and with them by His Spirit.

When the believer begins to change his behaviour and desires because of God he begins to live according to the Spirit of God or "by the Spirit" (Gal. 5:16).

Our choice

We have a choice. Either we choose to live according to what we want or what God wants. Either we behave according to our old, selfish nature or we behave according to our new nature in Christ.

"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Romans 8:12-14

Sons of God live according to what God desires.

Why do so many Christians struggle to put the earthly nature to death?

One of the main reasons is that we try to overcome the flesh in our own strength. We try to put a stop to the behaviour that is according to our selfish and sinful desires by prohibiting certain behaviour or actions. The problem with that is that we bring ourselves under law and consequently we break the self-made law because we cannot keep the law.

"..the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." Romans 8:7

Romans chapter 7 describes this "law of sin and death" that we cannot overcome in our own strength. That is why Paul says we must "put to death the misdeeds of the body" by the Spirit.

How do we do that?

We need to replace our sinful desires by becoming more aware of God's presence - God-consciousness. If I am faced with a situation where my flesh desires what is contrary to what I know is God's will, I don't try to stop the flesh but simply direct my attention to God: "on things above" (Col. 3:1-3). The more I become aware of God's loving presence, the less I want to do my own thing. The more God-conscious I become, the more I see how ugly my selfish desires are and the Spirit begins to change my desires from wanting to please myself to wanting to please my Father.

How do I know if I am living by the Spirit?

It's very simple. Since the believer's life is "now hidden with Christ in God" and he is joined to God, the normal state of every believer should be "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control" (Gal. 5:22,23). The fruit of the Spirit is the nature of God and so when the believer dwells or abides in God, he abides in the heavenly nature. Because God dwells in us and we in Him, it is our right to remain in Him and in our heavenly nature. The world, the flesh and the Devil want to "draw us out" of our new and now, normal, heavenly state. We must choose to remain in God and not allow anything to "move us out" of our heavenly nature. When we allow anything to disrupt our new nature, we are not living according to the Spirit.

Peace

For example, let's take "peace." Since I am joined to Christ who is my Peace (Eph. 2:14) and who is the Prince of Peace, I expect to be in a constant state of peace if I am abiding in Him or living by the Spirit.

"..the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace." Romans 8:6

As soon as my peace is unsettled, I immediately check what is the cause of the disturbance. It is my right to abide in peace, since I am joined to Peace. If it is disturbed, I must check what the cause is. I immediately ask the Holy Spirit what is going on.

Peace disturbers

Some common disturbances are:

• Sin - if I disobey the Lord and grieve Him, I lose my peace. The Holy Spirit will always expose anything I am doing or have done that has grieved Him - not to condemn me but to bring me back to absolute intimacy with Him (see James 1:5).


• Attacks of the Enemy - if I cannot pinpoint why I don't have peace, it usually is the enemy trying to oppress me. The enemy tends to be vague but the Holy Spirit is clear. If I am being oppressed, I simply take authority over the feelings and reclaim my right to live in peace.


• Lies of the Enemy. Sometimes I can receive communication that I misinterpret or is simply not true. These thoughts can disturb my peace because I am believing a lie. The lie must be exposed and made obedient to what I know is the truth (see 2 Cor. 10:3-5).


• Worry. Worrying comes from not trusting God. When I am tempted to worry, I direct my attention to God and reflect on His ability to do immeasurably more than I can ask or think (Eph. 3:20) and I remind myself that God's grace is sufficient for me in every circumstance. God knows!

Living by the Spirit is living in God

John says the same when he writes,

"God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16

I want to encourage you to spend time simply reflecting on the truth that you are in God and God is in you (1 John 4:15). Become aware of His presence in you and with you. Acknowledge God's presence wherever you are, especially when you are likely to be tempted or are being tempted to "move out" of the Spirit (see Proverbs 3:6).

"Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.....Let us keep in step with the Spirit." Gal. 5:16,25