Let's Get Back to the Cross - Page 9

mfblume · #81 10-28-2010, 09:37 AM

Once again I saw the work of the cross in the story of Elisha and the sons of the prophets.

Sons of the prophets were like bible school students. They were learning from Elisha about the ministry of a prophet to which they were called. Elisha was asked whether the sons of the prophets could go to Jordan and each cut down a tree in order for them to be able to dwell with Elisha since his lodging place was too small for both him and them. They requested he come along.

The point is that each of Elisha's "disciples" were to fell a beam. This is significant. They each had an axe and were to each cut down a tree at the Jordan. There is another story that focuses on axes, trees and the Jordan River.

John the Baptist was baptizing at Jordan and saw Pharisees and Sadducees attend. He knew they were making a show and had no interest in baptism at all. So he told them they were not bringing forth fruits meet for repentance. In other words, he would not baptize anyone who did not show a TRUE CHANGE OF LIFESTYLE -- fruits proving they were ready for baptism. So he told them the axe is laid to the root of the trees of all who bear false fruit, and they shall be cut down and thrown into the fire.

This cutting down of trees stands as God's judgment that will eventually come to all sinners. However, if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged (1 Cor 11:31). In other words, we can deal with our lives by choosing to cut down the trees of our old carnal lives through true application in faith OF THE CROSS. It's like Jesus said, "Lose your life now and find it unto eternal life, or keep your life and lose it forever in the end."

The disciples of Elisha show the personal need for us to deny self and see a true change in our lives in order to CROSS JORDAN. They did this at the Jordan River. John Baptized at the Jordan. Elisha began his ministry when Elijah left by using the mantle of Elijah and opening up the Jordan. Israel entered the KINGDOM LAND by crossing the Jordan. Jesus was baptized and entered into His ministry at the Jordan. JORDAN stands as a demarcation point for KINGDOM LIVING.

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mfblume · #82 10-28-2010, 09:45 AM

The disciples of Elisha were each cutting down a tree. This corresponds to the following:

Romans 8:11-14 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. (13) For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Mortifying the deeds of the body is what cutting down the trees represents. This makes us sons of God. (Like Sons of the prophets). It is the SPIRIT working in our lives with our volition to see that which hinders our lives being cut off. The Spirit quickens our mortal bodies so that the deeds of the body are mortified and destroyed. This is all so that we do not live after the flesh (v. 12). (Some think this speaks of the rapture, but verse 12 shows it does not. The quickening of the Spirit is for the purpose of seeing us cease a walk after the flesh).

In order for the Spirit to mortify the deeds of our bodies, it requires our involvement and FAITH. Paul just spoke of walking after the flesh in the first verse of Romans 8. Such a fleshly walk is an attempt to serve God through human effort and human fleshly power, which cannot work, as Paul proved in the latter part of Romans 7.

While one disciple was cutting down a tree, the axe head flew off the handle into the river. It was still there and present, but was inaccessible. Since Paul taught that we mortify the deeds of the body THROUGH THE SPIRIT, we can see the axe head representing this work of the Spirit. Paul said we do it, but we do it through the Spirit. We lose "our edge", so to speak, and the Spirit is still present with us but we somehow got out of the Spirit and carnality took us over. Sometimes tragic events in life throw us off course and we cease working with the Spirit to work in our lives. The Holy Ghost is still with us, but we have rendered Him "dormant". The Spirit needs our faith for Him to cooperate with us and mortify our carnality.

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mfblume · #83 10-28-2010, 09:54 AM

In order to get back on track and see us mortify the deeds of the body so we can enter KINGDOM living and truly manifest our ministries (every believer is a minister in some capacity), we need to go back over the work of the cross. Because Romans 8:11-14 relates our purpose in having the Spirit -- i.e., to mortify the deeds of the body -- and because it follows after Paul's teaching on the work of the cross from Romans 6, it is a rehearsing of the truths of the cross in our lives that will allow us once again to have the faith for the Spirit to be able to work with us in mortifying our carnality.

So we go back over the truths of the cross, where it all began for us. We died with Jesus by being baptizing into His death. This rendered His death to be our deaths. And we grasp this reality that we died with Him. Romans 6:3-6. Once we grasp that, we apply it personally and truly appreciate that this happened to each of us and consider that all Christ's benefits from dying, that allowed Him to resurrect to no longer be susceptible to sin and death and walk in absolute victory ()how much more victory can we have than resurrecting like Jesus so that death and sin have no more power over him?), are likewise OUR BENEFITS due to our union with Him in His death. (Romans 6:9-11). Then we realize in FAITH that sin has no power over us, so we can present ourselves to God as those ALIVE FROM THE DEAD (you cannot do that if you do not truly grasp that we first died to sin and resurrected spiritually with Jesus). Once we present ourselves to God having this FAITH ABOUT OUR STATES OF BEING, the Spirit sees that faith and GOES TO WORK! We then are back at the state of mortifying the deeds of our bodies THROUGH THE SPIRIT.

This leads to LODGING with JESUS (represented by Elisha) so that we truly learn of Him and continue with Him into active ministry. Once the carnality and fleshliness is removed from our lives, that hindering force that stops the Spirit from ministering forth gives way to Spirit ministry. So, the Spirit does two things. It mortifies the deeds of the body with our cooperation of self denial which allows for that same Spirit to minister forth through our lives in active spiritual ministry!

The cross is highlighted in Romans 6 in order to see us progress towards active ministry, which is the calling of every child of God in the world. We each have a talent to do SOMETHING for God that cannot be done without the power of the Holy Ghost. And if we do nothing with that talent, we have buried it, and will be judged for it. God is not pleased with buried talents.

Burying our talent is like the axe head is buried under the Jordan and we are not seeing the Spirit work in our lives for His Kingdom when we are not growing spiritually. You could say spiritual growth is increased mortification of the deeds of our bodies through the Spirit so that the same Spirit can minister through our lives. The Spirit works in a twofold manner --- it mortifies the deeds of the body through our faithful cooperation with it while it makes way for itself to minister through us as a result.

Sabby · #84 10-28-2010, 04:31 PM

Good words, Mike

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Galatians 6:14
Going back to the cross is humbling and terrifying all at the same time, but go there we must!

Apostolics at least should be able to identify with THIS!

mfblume · #85 11-20-2010, 11:15 AM

Psalm 110:1 is the most oft-quoted Old Testament verse in the entire New Testament. The early church had a powerful revelation about that prophecy of Christ's seating at the right hand throne.

Jesus as Son is told to sit at the right hand until the Father makes His enemies His footstool. Seating was required. In Heb 10 we read the issue from the perspective of the Son where he EXPECTS his enemies to be made his footstool. This shows FAITH. We also read in Heb 10 that sitting contrasts from standing in indication that the work is DONE! The priests who stand are involved in work that is never done. But Jesus SAT DOWN. In other words, the work on the cross was all that was required to see all His enemies be made his footstool. So He does not work any further work in order to see those enemies come down. The cross did that, and He expects that work to cause all enemies to be made his footstool.

We are seated together with Him! And we must likewise have faith that the work of the cross is sufficient to bring all our enemies beneath our feet. And to indicate that FAITH in that cross, we LIKEWISE REMAIN SEATED. In other words, we stand and scurry in frenzy thinking there is surely something WE CAN ADD to the cross to move god to help. No. God looks for total trust in the cross to give us our blessings. By faith, when we refuse to add to the work of the cross to earn blessings, we are seated. And we must REMAIN SEATED in order to see all our enemies defeated. That is what we are doing when we pray IN JESUS' NAME! We're SITTING BY FAITH!

Pressing-On · #86 11-20-2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfblume

Psalm 110:1 is the most oft-quoted Old Testament verse in the entire New Testament. The early church had a powerful revelation about that prophecy of Christ's seating at the right hand throne.

Jesus as Son is told to sit at the right hand until the Father makes His enemies His footstool. Seating was required. In Heb 10 we read the issue from the perspective of the Son where he EXPECTS his enemies to be made his footstool. This shows FAITH. We also read in Heb 10 that sitting contrasts from standing in indication that the work is DONE! The priests who stand are involved in work that is never done. But Jesus SAT DOWN. In other words, the work on the cross was all that was required to see all His enemies be made his footstool. So He does not work any further work in order to see those enemies come down. The cross did that, and He expects that work to cause all enemies to be made his footstool.

We are seated together with Him! And we must likewise have faith that the work of the cross is sufficient to bring all our enemies beneath our feet. And to indicate that FAITH in that cross, we LIKEWISE REMAIN SEATED. In other words, we stand and scurry in frenzy thinking there is surely something WE CAN ADD to the cross to move god to help. No. God looks for total trust in the cross to give us our blessings. By faith, when we refuse to add to the work of the cross to earn blessings, we are seated. And we must REMAIN SEATED in order to see all our enemies defeated. That is what we are doing when we pray IN JESUS' NAME! We're SITTING BY FAITH!

Excellent!!

TGBTG · #87 11-20-2010, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfblume

Psalm 110:1 is the most oft-quoted Old Testament verse in the entire New Testament. The early church had a powerful revelation about that prophecy of Christ's seating at the right hand throne.

Jesus as Son is told to sit at the right hand until the Father makes His enemies His footstool. Seating was required. In Heb 10 we read the issue from the perspective of the Son where he EXPECTS his enemies to be made his footstool. This shows FAITH. We also read in Heb 10 that sitting contrasts from standing in indication that the work is DONE! The priests who stand are involved in work that is never done. But Jesus SAT DOWN. In other words, the work on the cross was all that was required to see all His enemies be made his footstool. So He does not work any further work in order to see those enemies come down. The cross did that, and He expects that work to cause all enemies to be made his footstool.

We are seated together with Him! And we must likewise have faith that the work of the cross is sufficient to bring all our enemies beneath our feet. And to indicate that FAITH in that cross, we LIKEWISE REMAIN SEATED. In other words, we stand and scurry in frenzy thinking there is surely something WE CAN ADD to the cross to move god to help. No. God looks for total trust in the cross to give us our blessings. By faith, when we refuse to add to the work of the cross to earn blessings, we are seated. And we must REMAIN SEATED in order to see all our enemies defeated. That is what we are doing when we pray IN JESUS' NAME! We're SITTING BY FAITH!

Amen, brother!!!

onefaith2 · #88 11-22-2010, 11:37 AM

amen Mike

Sabby · #89 11-22-2010, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfblume

You're welcome, jaamez!

What astounds me so much is how the old testament stories all point to the cross. All of them, if we have eyes to see. Just like Jesus used parables to clarify his spiritual truths, the Old Testament stories are meant to clarify what is taught about the cross in the New Testament. When I realized that, I tore through the bible and studied all the stories I could. And it has been a joy preaching these things, to say the least.

Great points, Michael. There really is meat to the expression, "The old testament is the New Testament concealed"...revealed in the Lord Jesus completely.

"He the Great Example is and Pattern for me"..

If you're not careful you'll be accused of being an "old testament preacher"! I'd take it as a compliment.

mfblume · #90 11-23-2010, 09:20 AM

Thanks, all!

I wondered how it might apply to understanding the power of the cross when I read Joshua 10's account of the sun and the moon standing still. Everything points to the cross or relies upon the cross in our lives for the Lord. So, I knew there is a message of Jesus and the cross in Joshua 10.

A few years ago I got into it somewhat, and then again this last week when it came together even more.

Joshua was conquering Canaan with Israel in fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. By the time we get to chapter 10, five kings of the Amorites became confederate in order to resist Israel, and set forth to fight the people who surrendered to Joshua in Gibeon. Joshua came to the rescue after the Lord having told him he would defeat those five kings.

During the battle, God sent hailstones and slew more enemy soldiers by hailstones than Israel did with sword. Then Joshua realized he required more LIGHT in order to finish the battle and defeat the kings. That is when he commanded the sun and moon to stand still. So the sun stayed until Israel avenged themselves on their enemies.

LIGHT represents TRUTH and REVELATION from God. When Joshua was said to have stayed the sun, it actually said that it was about a whole day that the sun remained still. In other words, A DOUBLE PORTION OF DAYLIGHT shone that day in contrast to the normal span of time that daylight would have lasted.

If LIGHT represents truth and revelation, then it is as though a double portion of truth and revelation was granted to Joshua. He needed a double portion in order to conquer FIVE KINGS.

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