Follow-Up from Yesterday's Sermon at Rainsville First Baptist

I want to interpret the Monday series on prayer to give these thoughts from yesterday's sermon and things I did not say....

As the post from Friday indicates, I preached yesterday "The Path is One of the Cross" from Luke 14: 25-27, 33.  The emphasis was we are called to carry our cross daily which means nothing more and nothing less than dying to ourselves, our plans, our opinions, and our loves so Christ alone may live through us His life.  There is no rival in our life to His love or His leading (His will, His plans, purposes).

You can read the notes from that message here.

You can view the full service here.

As I closed the message, I gave one reason we do not "carry our cross daily" and that is unbelief.  We simply do not believe it is better to die to my will, my way of making money, my decision to take that new job, and so on instead of letting Christ give us what we need and want.

I simply do not believe my state in life is better with Him completely in control no matter where that leads.

Unbelief...that we really do not believe God will take care of us, provide what we need, do what is best for us, and His life is better than my American life "living the dream."

Paul came as close as anyone to living the "Jesus" life as he was radically transformed and died to his view of religion, the purpose of life, the direction of life, relationships, and his belief in suffering.  Look at what Paul wrote:

II Corinthians 4:10 "always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body."  There is no manifested life of Jesus in us without dying first.

Paul was not sure if he was going to die or live, but in Philippians 1: 19-26 he summarizes that it doesn't really matter if he lives or dies "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  Either way - living or dying - it is all about Christ living in me and through me.

WOW - that is it!!!  To see life only about Christ, and death is about Christ...so if I live, it's Christ; and if I die, it's Christ.

Paul's "life verse" might well have been Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Do we live by faith?  Do we really believe He loves us?  Then let's die to ourselves so Jesus can live in us.