High Voltage Shareware/high1.zip/high1/DIR46/ALPHON_3.ZIP/ABANDON.014

Text File | 1992-11-13 | 19KB | 474 lines

                           ABANDONED
                           ~~~~~~~~~

 INTRODUCTION

 Mark 12:29-31 "Jesus answered, `The foremost is, "HEAR O ISRAEL: THE LORD
 OUR GOD IS ONE LORD: (30) AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL
 YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL
 YOUR STRENGTH."(31) The second is this, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR AS
 YOURSELF.' There is no commandment greater than these."

     AMP:      "...you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your
               WHOLE heart, and out of and with ALL your soul (your life);
               and out of and with ALL your mind (that is) with your faculty
               of thought and your moral understanding - and out of and with
               All your strength..."

               Everything (our salvation) rests in our doing this - then
               everything else will fall into place.

 Example: Mark 14:3-9  "And while He was in Bethany at the home of Simon the
          leper, and reclining at table, there came a woman with an alabaster
          vial of costly perfume of pure nard; and she broke the vial and
          poured it over His head. (4) But some were remarking to one
          another, `For what purpose has this perfume been wasted? (5) For
          this perfume might have been sold for over three hundred denarii,
          and the money given to the poor.' And they were scolding her. (6)
          But Jesus said, `Let her alone; why do you bother her? She has done
          a good deed to Me. 7 For the poor you always have with you, and
          whenever you wish, you can do them good; but you do not always have
          Me. (8) She has done what she could; she has anointed My body
          beforehand for the burial. (9) And truly I say to you, wherever
          the gospel is preached in the whole world, that also which this
          woman has done shall be spoken of in memory of her.'"

               The question to us: Have I done everything I can in my
               relationship and ministry to the Lord?

               Only one commandment: Not to bring bondage, but
               liberty into our lives!

 DEFINITIONS:

     Abandon:  liberty; forsake; give up; resign; YIELD UP without attempt,
               at restraint; and relinquishment.

     Liberty:  To loose away.  We need to learn how to rule our flesh and
               soul.  Is flesh and soul controlling us or are we in control?

     Fanatic:  Fanatical: Inspired; enthusiastic; reckless; extravagant; a
               person affected by excessive enthusiasm and devotion.

     Forsake:  leave, leave off to send or let away.

               Give up:  To give away (from-oneself)
               "I must do the Word regardless of what I think and feel!"

               Revelation 22:12 "to give man according to his work" (It will
               take effort and discipline and order on our parts.)

     Yield:    Hebrew "Zara" - to sow. (What I put into it, I will get back)

     Example:  Parable of the Sower in Luke...

     "But some seed falls into prepared ground and as a result multiplies a
     hundred fold."

     Falls as good seed on the good soil of our hearts and multiplies into
     that which brings praise and honour to the Name of Jesus.

     He must have clay (or a vessel) to work with.  I must be available.

     As much as I abandon and surrender myself will be the proportion I
     receive back in (rewards and blessings) from the Lord.

     Psalm 90:1 "Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations"

     Psalm 91:1 "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in
     the shadow of the Almighty."
     (We must get our priorities right - not to visit Him, but to Live in
     Him!)

     Matthew 10:39 (AMP) "..whoever loses his (lower life) on my account
     will find (the higher life)." (Also 16:24)
     NAS:  "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost
     his life for my sake shall find it." (TOTAL abandonment brings LIFE!)

     Our presence: lower life.  In His presence: higher life.

     Matthew 15:8  "This people draw near Me with their mouth and honour Me
     with their  lips,  but  their HEART HOLDS OFF and is far away from Me."

     (1st commandment: All soul,  All  mind,  and  All strength.  He is not
     interested in our "lip service.")

     Matthew 16:27 "..He will render account and reward every man in
     accordance with what he has DONE" (Are we constantly saying what we will
     one day do (lip service) or are we doing something?)

     Example: Sowing and Reaping (To the degree of what we do with the word is
     where we're at in relationship to Him!!)

     Matthew 19:21 "..Spiritual maturity ... accompanies self-sacrificing
     character" "If you wish to be complete (perfect-mature), go and sell
     your possessions and give ... and you shall have treasures in heaven;
     and come, follow me."

     Willing to give-up own desires and self for His Word and what He wants.
     He is wanting us to do something - Not just talk about it.

 SOME HINDRANCES TO THE ABANDONED LIFE:

 A.  Bondage is the opposite to abandonment

     Definition: Slavery; captivity; imprisonment; keep, (Usually to
               ourselves).

     Luke 1:74 "That He would grant unto us that we, being delivered out of
     the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear." (FEARLESSLY)

     Verse 75 "In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our
     life."

 B.  Not living within the Word of God: (Dwelling and abiding)

     Luke 4:4 "..man shall not live and be sustained by (on) bread alone but
     by every WORD and EXPRESSION of God."

     (We have things backward: "If there is time after I eat for the Word and
     devotions, etc., I will...")

          Deuteronomy 8:3 Humbled us - let us be physically hungry that He
          might make us understand that we do not live by bread alone - but
          by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of God.

     Luke 8:21 "..My mother and My brothers are those who LISTEN to the Word
     of God and DO IT."

     Luke 11:28 "Happy and to be envied..who HEAR the Word of God and OBEY and
     PRACTICE it!"

 C.  Not giving to God our lives making Him Lord:

     Luke 6:38 "GIVE and (gifts) will be given you, good measure, pressed
     down, shaken together and running over will they pour into (the pouch
     formed by) the bosom (of your robe and used as a bag).  For WITH THE
     MEASURE YOU DEAL OUT ... IT WILL BE MEASURED BACK TO YOU..."

     Our time (priorities) is a law of God; a principle.

     Luke 14:33 "..whoever of you does not FORSAKE, RENOUNCE, SURRENDER CLAIM
     TO.  GIVE UP.  SAY GOOD BYE to all that he has cannot be My disciple (He
     means total forsaking and surrender to what our flesh wants - our
     "rights".)

     Luke 17:33 "Whoever tries to preserve his life will lose it, BUT whoever
     loses his life will preserve and quicken it." (We do and look at, things
     backwards in our own logic, "I must do this, and this, and this," etc.
     vs.  "I have no life apart from Him."

     Matthew 8:13b "..it shall be done for you as you have believed." (What
     happens to me in my relationship to Him will be in accordance to my will
     or believing and then doing His Word.)

     Victory or defeat in the Christian life.  Our part: Belief, then action.
     If we believe, start acting like it!

 D.  Treating your experience with Christ as a game:

     It is not a game!

     Luke 12:36-37 "And be like men who are waiting for their master when he
     returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the
     door to him when he comes and knocks. (37) Blessed are those slaves whom
     the master shall find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you,
     that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at table, and
     will come up and wait on them."

     Verse 40: "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour
     that you do not expect."

     Verse 44: "Truly I say to you, that he will put him in charge of all his
     possessions."

     Verse 48: "but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy
     of a flogging, will receive but few.  And from everyone who has been
     given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of
     him they will ask all the more."

     We are responsible for what we know and what we have received.

          John 5:10 Jesus' example:

          "I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My
          judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will
          of Him who sent me." (This should be our attitude.)

          John 20:31 "but these have been written that you may believe that
          Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may
          have life in His name."

               We become what we surround ourselves with.
               We become what we hear and see...
               Jesus and His Word reaps L-L-F-E.

 E.  My life is not violent enough

     Matthew 11:12 "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the
     kingdom of heaven suffers (or is forcibly entered) violence, and the
     violent men take (or seize it for themselves) it by force."

     (A share in the heavenly kingdom is sought for with most ardent zeal and
     intense exertion.)

     We cannot keep making excuses and justifying ourselves why we don't do
     this or that! We either will continue on the way we are or we will become
     determined (violent) people.  If we need help - yell, "H-E-L-P!"

 II.  HUNGER FOR GOD'S HELP

     Psalm 139:23-04 (God's searchlight) "Search me, 0 God, and know my heart:
     try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me,
     and lead me in the way everlasting."

     We must become so desperate for freedom from self that we will sincerely
     surrender to Him.  Are we to the point: "Lord, there is no life apart
     from you, take my life if you won't save me from myself!"

     Psalm 42:1-3 "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my
     soul after Thee, 0 God. (2) My soul thirsts for God. for the living God.
     When shall I come and appear before God? (3) My tears have been my food
     day and night, while they say to me all day long; Where is your God?"
     (This is brokenness.)

     We must become so desperate for relief from the bondage and for Him, of
     the carnal nature that we will retreat to prayer and the Word aid go
     down into the very depths of brokenness and repentance over our sins.

     We must become desperate (violent) for Him and the reality of His Word
     and Presence in our daily lives - it will break us.

     Jeremiah 29:13 "And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search
     for Me with all your heart."

     We must experience this.

 III.  CONVICTION And CONFESSION

     First step towards a totally abandoned life: Sin must be dealt with.
     Brokenness will show us our sin nature.
     Psalm 139:23-24  God will show us unconfessed sin if we really
     desire Him to do so.

     "Search me, 0 God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious
     thoughts; (24) And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in
     the everlasting way."

     Jeremiah 17:9  We always want to make ourselves look better
     than we are.

     "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who
     can understand it?"

     Satan is crafty and full of trickery as he operates out of his own
     nature, so is our fleshly nature - tricky.

     (Crafty: stops short of nothing, however bad to attain its purpose.
     Daniel 8:25 "..he (Satan) will cause deceit to succeed by his
     influence.")

     Psalm 51:6  When we get serious about our own sin nature, we
     will not be easy on ourselves.

     "Behold, Thou dost desire Truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden
     part Thou wilt make me know wisdom (7) Purify me... and I shall be
     clean..."

     Honesty with the Lord is of prime importance.

     He will not accept any half-truths.

     THEN, a broken and contrite spirit will take place in us.

     WHY? So that...

     Proverbs 28:13

     "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who
     confesses and forsakes them will find compassion."

     We must confess and forsake our sins regularly.

     Psalm 51:4a

     "Against Thee, only , I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy
     sight..."

     This is what He wants to hear us say.  This is the point He wants us to
     get to. (We have a tendency to condone, justify, and pass the buck - but
     it all boils down to this: "If we do it to the least (or ourselves) ...
     we do it to Him!")

     Psalm 32:5

     "I acknowledged my sin to Thee, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said I
     will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and Thou didst forgive the
     guilt of my sin."

     This is what He wants to hear us say.  This is the point He wants us to
     get to.

     We must remember it must be done with a broken and contrite heart in
     complete surrender and abandonment to Him.

     1 John 1:9

     "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our
     sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

     The only way we can obtain forgiveness for our sins:

     (1)  Confess
     (2)  He forgives
     (3)  He cleanses us

     True confession can only come from a truly broken and contrite heart,
     ("...this He will not despise.")

     Walking around saying: "forgive me" - will not get the job done because
     there must be some action (doing) on our part - then He is faithful to
     His part (promises).

 IV. IMPORTANCE OF GOD'S WORD

     John 14:23

     "If anyone loves Me - he will (1) keep My Word; (2) and My Father will
     love him, (3) and We will come to him (4) and make Our abode with him."

     Romans 6:2b-18 Verse 7   -  He who had died (to self) is free from sin.
                    Verse 8   -  We live with Him.
                    Verse 13  -  Present yourselves to God (also verse 19).
                    Verse 16  -  Sin results in death - obedience results in righteousness.
                    Verse 22  -  To be free of sin is to be enslaved to God!
          Outcome:  Eternal life.

     He will keep us in His will  - "broken and contrite spirit"
             (His Part)                       (Our Part)

 V.  COMPLETE SURRENDER

     Real Christianity is "Christ living in His people".

     We surrender by faith.

     Romans 6:11-13 Present yourselves to God and the members of our body
     - We must consider ourselves dead to sin; but alive to God in Christ
     Jesus.

     We must trust Him and not rely on our own strength for anything!

     His strength is made perfect in our weakness - our problem is that we
     keep trying to do everything ourselves, deceiving ourselves into
     believing we are strong Christians in ourselves, etc.

     Philippians 3:3

     NO confidence in the flesh.

     "We glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh."

 VI. YIELDING TO CHRIST AS LORD

     1 John 2:6

     "The one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same
     manner as He walked."

     Walk as He walked.

     Are our mouths where our feet should be, or are our feet where our
     mouths are?

     Philippians 2:5

     "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus."

     Let His mind be in you.  When our minds are taken off Him, its easy to
     slip back into the flesh.  We become arrogant and prideful.  Everyone
     sees it but ourselves, because we easily can be deceived and tricked.

     He's after the darkness in us.  Remember His searchlight, only if we
     allow it.

     1 John 1:7  Walk (NOT TALK!!) in the Light (as He himself is in the
     light) and with one another.  Fellowship with Him and with one another.
     (The blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.)

     1 John 1:9  Confess (DO IT!!) our sins. (He is faithful and righteous).
     He will forgive and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

 VII. SEEK THE LORD ONLY

     Submit and surrender your whole life to Him daily.

          Life: Body (flesh) Soul: (personality, emotions, mind) Spirit:
          (inner man).

     Revelation 2:20

     "Behold, I stand (not resting) at the door and knock; if any one (doing
     the word) hears my voice and opens the door; I will come in to him and
     will dine with him, and he with me." (what fellowship, what communion!)

     Psalm 126:4a

     "Restore our captivity, 0 lord..."

     We are bound by sins; the devil; lusts; fears; doubts; frustration, etc.

     If we have come to the place that we truly repent (confession) and
     completely yield (surrender and abandonment) ourselves to God and His
     will for our lives - a tremendous change will begin to take place.
     (ALMOST AT ONCE!!)

     Ephesians 3:20-21

     "Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask
     or think, according to the power that works with us, (21) to Him be The
     glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and
     ever, Amen."

               1.    He will do it!

               2.    We're not able!

               3.    His power within us!

               4.    Glory in the church!

 VIII. CONCLUSION

     A.    Continuous dealing with sin

           Galatians 5:16 "Walk by (in) the Spirit, and you will not
                              carry out the desire of the flesh."

     B.    Constant yielding

               1 Corinthians 11:31-32 "If we judged ourselves rightly (we
               don't because we're usually not "in position"), we should not
               be judged. (32) But when we are judged (by Him), we are
               disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned
               along with the world."

     Psalm 66:18 "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear."

     Isaiah 57:15 "For thus says the high and exalted One who lives forever,
     whose name is Holy, I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the
     contrite and lowly of spirit, In order to revive the spirit of the lowly
     and to revive the heart of the contrite."

     Hebrews 13:20-21  He equips us in every good thing to do His will - He
     is working in us that which is pleasing in His sight.

     Philippians 4:5-9  "Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men - We
     are to let our minds dwell on: things honourable; right; pure; lovely;
     good report; anything worthy of praise..."

     Proverbs 4:18  "But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
     that shines brighter and brighter until the full (perfect) day."