He will glorify Me . . . —John 16:14
The holiness movements of today have none of the rugged reality of the New Testament about them. There is nothing about them that needs the death of Jesus Christ. All that is required is a pious atmosphere, prayer, and devotion. This type of experience is not supernatural nor miraculous. It did not cost the sufferings of God, nor is it stained with “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 12:11). It is not marked or sealed by the Holy Spirit as being genuine, and it has no visual sign that causes people to exclaim with awe and wonder, “That is the work of God Almighty!” Yet the New Testament is about the work of God and nothing else.
The New Testament example of the Christian experience is that of a personal, passionate devotion to the Person of Jesus Christ. Every other kind of so-called Christian experience is detached from the Person of Jesus. There is no regeneration— no being born again into the kingdom in which Christ lives and reigns supreme. There is only the idea that He is our pattern. In the New Testament Jesus Christ is the Savior long before He is the pattern. Today He is being portrayed as the figurehead of a religion— a mere example. He is that, but He is infinitely more. He is salvation itself; He is the gospel of God!
Jesus said, “. . . when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, . . . He will glorify Me . . .” (John 16:13-14). When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The Spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally.
Journal DJR
11 29 11
Good morning Lord,
At the first reading of todays message I was sad … comparing my life to that which Oswald paints of the New Testament and other saints. Perhaps those were normative and that type of devotion is expected. If so, I fall way short. But whenever I feel like a failure, I suspect the work of Satan.
You are right, and the message is also right. But comparison is not what I want my children to be involved with. Never measure yourself by others … only by me. Dont even measure yourself by me … just come to me and receive the strength to be what I call you to be in the special circumstance that you are in. They are like no other … so no comparison is valid and will only mess you up, put you on a squirell cage of waste, the specialty of Satan. But the message of the Lukewarmness of many today and the institution is true. Without comparing … Dont let it be true for you. Come to me. I am your source. If you can find others who hunger, come together. But in the end, it’s you and me. I want to fill you and empower you. Leave your fears behind and let’s make a ruckus, something different and special is what I want for each of you.
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