Keeping out Life
Hello Friends,
As I am sitting down today to write to you, I cannot help but proclaim to you that Jesus is the great Lord! He is the mighty God, the magnificent One, the everlasting King, the Savior of our life! Jesus is our best friend, a friend that sticks closer than a brother. He is our all in all. There is none like Him. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, of sin and all its effects. Satan was a murderer from the beginning, Jesus came and brought him to naught and paralyzed him.
When the children of Israel were delivered out of Egypt, it was a type of the New Birth. They were delivered out of the land of slavery by the mighty hand of God. They had passed through the Red Sea which was a type of baptism. Then as they came to Sinai something strange happened. Moses went on top of the mount of God and the people became anxious as to what had happened to him since he was gone for many days.
Aaron told the people to bring them their gold. He melted it down and fashioned a golden calf out of it as a symbol of the god that brought them out of Egypt. Now, when Moses returns, he asks Aaron to recount what has happened. Aaron had a different story. “For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ “I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off.’ So, they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” (Exodus 32:23-24). Must have been a miraculous phenomenon!!! It just popped out!
However he wanted to view it, the golden calf has always been the symbol of great idolatry, because it was. Idolatry is always a symbol of leaning to self for the answers, and leaning to the world system, instead of leaning to God. After all of God’s mighty works of deliverance, they declared that this thing which they made with their own hands and with their own possessions, was their salvation from Egypt.
As we read this account, we understand that this just is not the truth. However, we are, many times involved with situations and come up with the same opinion, which produces our golden calf. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves.” (2Corinthians 4:7). The power in our life is of God and is not of ourselves. It may reside within us, but it does not originate from us. It comes from God.
“For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.” (Romans 8:2). It is living in Christ that keeps us free from living in self. The laws of life in Christ set us free from the laws of sin and death, which Jesus came to destroy. It is always our aim to stay in our position in Christ.
Let me give you an example; Silk flowers always look beautiful because they are dead. When we are dead to self, then we can stay beautiful. Fresh, living flowers look great, at first, but then they start to fail and fade, looking dead even though they are alive. When we live for self, we are alive to self, and in sin we look good at first (a season), Then we fade and fail, looking dead, even though we are alive. To live in sin is death, destruction, ruin. Things can be looking good at first, but then it produces death. This is a roller coaster life, full of all kinds of ups and downs. There is no stability in that kind of life.
Silk flowers are steady, consistent, as one dead to self. It Stays Beautiful!! If we look to keep our life, we will lose it, but if we lose our life, we will keep it. Let’s stay out of idolatry and realize where our power of a changed and increased life comes from.
Pastor Bob
