"We Have A Choice" Part II

Through out church history, we have observed various revivals and moves of God in America and around the world. In the 1970s Americans witnessed a tremendous visitation of the Holy Spirit that began on a Catholic University campus and swept through the large denominations, small store front churches and individual homes. Many non-denominational and charismatic churches were birthed. More recently in the 1990s the church experienced great revivals coming out of Canada, Oklahoma and Florida. Now in the twenty-first century there are thousands of Christian organizations around the world where the Spirit of God is evident and the people of God are prospering. These various camps offer the complete salvation message to anyone who wants to partake of God's mercy and grace. In the past they were coined “full gospel” organizations, because they informed people not only about being born-again, but emphasized the importance of being filled with the Holy Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit and speaking in tongues. When the Holy Spirit calls us to a deeper level of commitment, we have a choice.

Once we decide to follow Christ with stages 1 and 2 outlined earlier, we are offered the opportunity to mature in Christ as true sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. No longer will we remain just babes in Christ who are “hearers of the Word” but through a process of transformation we will become mature believers, “doers of the Word.” During stage 3 our hearts and minds are transformed through trials and perseverance to love God with a pure devotion and our faith grows stronger in the Lord. Living in His Presence and obedience to His Word is a lifestyle we choose to maintain. We choose to have faith in God and trust Him for everything. 

We now recognize the temptations and deceptions of the enemy and get fed up with living life in the flesh with its disappointments, pain and failures. We begin to embrace the Easter message of death and resurrection life-- for ourselves. Christ came to enable us to be born-again, filled with the Holy Spirit and joint-heirs with Him through the transformation of our hearts and minds. We experience the abundant life of living in divine health, prosperity and successful relationships. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, we discover the righteousness, peace and joy available to us in the kingdom of God. Every step along the way, we have a choice.

Mature sons and daughters of God have submitted themselves to the dealings and chastisement of God. They have submitted to the pruning process whereby we experience a death to our old carnal nature of selfish desires and natural abilities. We have learned to hate the ungodly, besetting sins that pull us down and control our thoughts, emotions and behavior and destroy our relationships with others. We have learned to abide in the Vine and recognize we are nothing without Christ living in us. He is our only hope for transformation and reaching our destiny in the kingdom of God. Our spiritual focus has switched from temporal, earthly concerns to more heavenly, eternal values. Our time here on earth is preparation for what is to come in the next life and we need to make the most of what time we have left.

With Jesus Christ as our Lord and Master in stage 4, we have overcome the temptations of the flesh and the world. We will receive a crown of life, wear white garments and our names will be written in the Book of Life. Satan and his entities 

will be under our feet-- no longer able to destroy us. We will be walking in holiness unto the Lord and service to the King. We will meet Christ face-to-face and we will hear, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” We will join in with the multitude of angels and other saints singing, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts...To the One Who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb, blessing and honor and glory and power forever and ever."

We have a choice to accept God's offer of salvation; the whole package, all four steps listed above, or to continue to struggle with our selfish nature, give in to the Satan's temptations, live life solely on our own, miss out on God's blessings, be controlled by demonic strongholds and fall short of reaching our destiny in Christ. God offers the abundant life to us and it is by His grace we are made partakers of His salvation. Scripture is clear that He chooses us and ordains us for the kingdom of God. It is the “opportunity of a lifetime” as the saying goes. God wants to be our God and for us to be His people. He offers us a loving, covenant agreement to take care of all our needs now in this life and for all eternity.

“Choose you this day whom you will serve, either the gods which your forefathers served, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are now living; but as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:14-15.

Joshua's farewell message to the Israelites living in their promised land was a challenge to make the right choice. Joshua is still speaking to the chosen children of God today through the voice of Jesus Christ. The choice is to love God and obey His Word, or to love yourself and obey the sinful nature that still controls you. We can promote and protect our selfish agendas, or choose to die to self in order to enter into God's will for our life and marriage. We can run from the Cross and crucified life it represents, or embrace the process of transformation into the character and nature of Christ. We can choose to do what is “right in our own eyes” or we can choose to set our focus on the higher calling of service in the kingdom of God. Time is running out and you may not get to choose the higher course. One day you may suddenly die in your sins, or Jesus may come before you make the right decision; either way, it will be too late. Whom will you serve? Where will you spend eternity? What is your choice?

Scriptures taken from the One New Man Bible: Revealing Jewish Roots and Power, translated by William J. Morford, 2011, True Potential Publishing, Inc. Travelers Rest, SC.