High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR46/ALPHON_2.ZIP/CROSS.F13

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PRINCIPLES OF THE CROSS                     STUDY NO.13

Becoming a disciple of Jesus means making a change in our
citizenship - from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of God.  It
is more than making a few minor adjustments in our life it means
completely `putting to death' our old way of thinking and acting,
and taking on a totally new set of values.  Read Colossians 1:13;
Ephesians 2:2.

Identifying with Christ's death:-

The Crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection of Christ broke
the power of sin and as we identify with this we recognise that
sin's power in us has indeed been cancelled.  But the whole
purpose of Christ's work on the cross is not just that we
recognise that He did it for us but that we actually live the new
life He has provided for us, a life of day by day victory over the
power of sin.  Read Romans 6:3-11.

Daily experiencing death to self:-

In order to continue experiencing the fullness of Christ's
resurrection life, we need to apply the principle of death in our
own lives each day.  This is not only identifying with Christ in
His death, but also taking up our own cross daily.  It is a
deliberate `putting to death' of the demands of our old self-life,
the desire we have of building our own kingdom rather than God's,
of doing our own will rather than His.

     "If any man would come after me; let him deny himself and
     take up his cross daily and follow me" Luke 9:23 (RSV).

To be truly following Christ as a disciple means that our life
must be absolutely God-centred.  It is like the grafting of a
branch into a new tree: there can be no grafting into God's life
until we be completely cut off from the old life of which we were
a part.  This is a choice of our will.

ILLUSTRATION OF THE SEED

     "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it
     remains alone; but if it dies it bears much fruit" John
     12:24.

This is one of a number of pictures which can illustrate the way
God wants to work in our lives.

The outer wall of self -

Until the principles of the cross are working in our life, God's
plan for our lives remains a frustrating theory.  A person can
have a genuine experience of Christ but lack the power to
actually live the Christian life.  The reason is that their
spiritual life is imprisoned by a hard outer wall of self. They
are still dominated and controlled by their own emotions, past
habits and old thought patterns.  They are like an unplanted
seed having the potential for life, which has not yet been
released.

Breaking the wall -

Once a  seed is buried, the damp, dark soil works to break down
the wall.  So with us, as we daily `bury' our own desires in the
will of Jesus, then we begin to experience the inner release of His
Spirit.  As soon as we neglect to daily turn our life over to
Jesus, we will soon find that "self" takes over again and that our
decisions, thoughts and actions are revolving around what we want,
rather than Christ's will for our lives.  Read Matthew 26:39;
1 Corinthians 9:27; Philippians 3:7-11; Ephesians 4:22-24; Galatians
5:16,17, 6:8; Romans 8:5-13; Colossians 3:5-10.

Discovering the release Christ makes in our lives -

     "And he who loses his life for My sake will find it."
     Matthew 10:39 (RSV).

Death to self, far from restricting or limiting us, brings us into
a whole new life of victory and freedom where we discover  just
how Christ can enrich our personalities.  It is the key to living
in the power of the Spirit.

     "If any man is in Christ he is a new creation, the old has
     passed away, behold the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17
                                        (RSV).

PRACTICAL OUTWORKING OF THE CROSS

Human understanding -

     "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are
     perishing." 1 Corinthians 1:18  (RSV).

No human would have deliberately planned a mission to end in death.
To those of His day, Christ's death appeared as an utter failure.
God's ways are far above our ways, often defying human reasoning.
Isaiah 55:8. When everything seems to go wrong - a tragedy occurs in
the family, we lose our job, or something we were sure God told us to
do, fails - we might not be able to understand, but as we accept
it by faith trusting in the goodness of God, then the working of
the cross in our lives can bring us into a new place of release
and resurrection life.  Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-23; Matthew 11:25.

Human abilities  -

     "The Son can do nothing by himself." John 5:19.

As creator of the universe, Jesus had the power to do anything,
but as the Son He chose to do what His father showed Him.  As
humans we have natural talents and abilities to do many things but
as servants and sons of God we are only to do what the Father
commands us - no more or less.  We are to accomplish these tasks
not in our own strength but through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Read John 4:34; 5:30; 10:25; 12:49; 15:4-10; Galatians 2:20.

Ambitions -

     "Whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest
     in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18:4.

According to the world's standards, the grasping, ruthless,
pushing, demanding person is the one who succeeds.  But for the
Christian, the greatest is the meek person, the one who is
prepared to serve, take the lower place, put others first and who
like a child would never consider himself as great.  Read Matthew
5:3,4; Luke 14:7-11 ; 22:24-27; 1 Corinthians 1:28; 1 Peter 5:5,6.

Material possessions  -

     "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and
     loses or forfeits himself." Luke 9:24,25 (RSV).

A good job, money in the bank, a home of our own and material
possessions are a false security on which to build our lives.
Although in His grace God might grant us these things, they are
not to be the goal of our life.  It is only as we maintain the
attitude of Job - "The Lord gave and the Lord takes away" - that
we can find true security.  Read Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 11:24;
Philippians 3:6-8; Colossians 3:2,3.

Reputation -

     "Let this mind be in you ... (He) made Himself of no
     reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant"
     Philippians 2:5,7.

Often the way we react to situations, challenges and opportunities
to minister is by asking ourselves `how will it effect my
reputation?' If others will think more highly of us, then we react
well.  Too much concern for our reputation indicates we have a
fear of man.  Read Matthew 10:28.  However in applying the
principles of the cross, we must obey God's will in every detail
even when our reputation might suffer.  If others despise us, it
should never be because of unrighteousness in our lives. 1 Peter
3:14,16,17, 4:14-16.

THE BEAUTY OF THE CROSS

The beauty of the cross shines through the humble broken man.
There was nothing beautiful about the mutilated, crucified body of
Jesus.  It was the radiance and beauty of His inner spirit which
draws us.  Death to self does not mean that our individual
personalities are eliminated but instead are enriched as Christ's
life shines through us in a greater way.  All men God has ever
used, first had to undergo some form of breaking in their lives
before they could become bearers of God's glory.  Consider the
lives of Jacob, Moses, David, Peter and Paul.

     "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that
     the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us." 2
     Corinthians 4:7 (RSV).

The day is coming when God has promised to clothe us with His full
glory, but this will come only as the result of the inner working
of the cross in our lives.

THE END