In Pursuit of the Cross
The Lord is calling His people personally and corporately to press in and go higher spiritually. Putting on nice clothes and playing church one day a week will not meet that goal. God wants your heart twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Do you really love the Lord Jesus Christ or is it just lip service on Sunday? Are you really committed to fulfill the will of God for your life or only those things that keep you in your comfort zone? We as Christians need to keep this in mind at all time, whenever the Holy Spirit reveals a sin or a spiritual dam in our lives, it is for our benefit. The ironic truth is this; the things that we fight against changing the most are the very things that are keeping us in bondage. The Holy Spirit is trying to bring freedom into every area of our life; we need to simply go with the flow and make the needed changes so that we can draw closer to our Heavenly Father.
Jesus said that we are to take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 10:37-39). Many Christians see this statement from Jesus as an option; no, it is a requirement! Don’t ever forget this truth: When you come to the place in your life when you fully embrace the cross, your flesh is bound to get some slivers. The cross is symbolic of death; for the Christian that means death to everything in your life that would hinder you from growing spiritually. I will tell you this right now. If you are going to grow spiritually, you will be taken out of your comfort zones. There will be growing pains! It is not going to be a comfortable experience. What is the alternative; forsaking Christ and on judgment day hearing Him say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you?”
When we leave a church service, we need to feel like we have been stretched. It is okay if you leave church feeling uncomfortable. You are having growing pains. Too often many Christians stunt their spiritual growth by getting offended at their Pastor and jump around to other churches trying to get a “feel good” experience instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to take them out of their comfort zones. I am amazed at how many church hoppers there are in the Body of Christ! We need Christians to get planted in a local church so they can grow spiritually and operate in the gifts that God has given them. Many of those church hoppers are living a very unsatisfied life because they are always chasing after what they want to hear and not what they need to hear; they are not cooperating with the Holy Spirit to help them grow spiritually. So these Christians show up at a local church a few times and want to get something started in the church and any Pastor in his right mind is not going to entrust a ministry to a person that is not committed or planted in that local church; he doesn’t even know that person. I will tell you right now, that as a Pastor, I am not going to let any Tom, Dick, or Harry occupy a leadership position! That would only lead to disaster! So get planted in a good Bible believing church, and don’t be afraid to take up your cross to follow Jesus!
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