Biblical Success
This is the Biblical definition of success:
Philippians 3:10-11 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
The beauty of God's kingdom is that anyone can do this. I could be on a ventilator in a hospital with no arms and legs and still turn over my heart, presenting it to God issue by issue...selfish ambition after selfish ambition...pride after pride...lust after lust...offense, anger, fear, greed...and let God conform me to death of Jesus.
Death of self is the birth of glory, because everything that dies in agreement with Jesus gets resurrected in "glory." Glory is simply the bright light of the perfection of beauty and holiness. Jesus IS making all things new, making everything live again, by returning the light of His presence to earth INCREMENTALLY. For love, Jesus doesn't barge into my heart and take things to make new...no! He offers an invitation. The Lord says "give me your heart and I will shine my light on it, it will begin living again." Whatever I willingly offer as a sacrifice from the darkness of my dying heart, He supplies the fire and burns it off...what is left is something gloriously new that can never die again...refined like silver, until His reflection can be seen in the shiny new surface.
When mankind was made, we were made to live in the bright light of God's presence. He is so bright, fallen man cannot approach Him physically:
I Timothy 6:15-16 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
At the time of the fall, mankind looked upon evil...took in the knowledge of life outside of God's leadership... and corrupted our infinite capacity to encounter the infinite light. Anything less than infinite is "infinity less" and God's light became deadly. God erected a veil between God and man to protect us while He undertook the process of salvation.
There is only one way for us to cross that veil...only dead stuff crosses that veil. When a person dies, their spirit carries their heart across the veil. Someday the veil will open and Jesus will split the sky, permanently ripping the physical veil, just like the first time He came He ripped the spiritual veil. Until then, the more death I experience... the more I offer the corrupt portions of my heart bit by bit in repentance... the more glory I get exposed to.
This is the point of holiness: life abundantly. Stuff REALLY lives in the light of Jesus, the light of mankind:
John 1:3-4 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The glory...the light of God's presence...is so much more effective than the sun to make life happen. The glory of God makes the trees produce fruit 12 times a year instead of one. When Jesus returns to earth, the trees will begin producing fruit like they did in the Garden of Eden:
Ezekiel 47:12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Everything was made to live in the glory of God. In fact the grass and trees were made BEFORE the sun. The sun is simply the dim alternative that the earth was left with after the veil was erected:
Genesis 1:11-16 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day. Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
The light of God makes life happen abundantly. I don't have to wait to die to begin the death of my heart that opens the veil a little more and shines more glory on my heart! I don't have to wait to die in my body to start experiencing resurrection on the inside, where I can feel the power of it in my emotions! This is the most glorious part of the resurrection, and it is available to anyone right now! The more I die to self at the direction of Jesus, the more I cross the spiritual veil and get glorious resurrection of my heart. Death opens the veil. The light then shines brighter on my heart...deep to deep...my resurrection accelerates!
Being conformed to the death of Jesus can sound negative if you don't see that as the path to also being conformed to the resurrection of Jesus. To be conformed to the resurrection of the King of Kings and the Lord or Lords is to be conformed to the resurrection of power, authority, and agreement with God that releases the fruit of the presence of God...everything the world is chasing...striving for and frustrated about outside of God... is freely available to anyone willing to offer up their dark scraps in exchange for vibrant glory. This glorious resurrection is the greatest gift ever, but, on the front end, it feels a lot like dying.
I don't want to resist the death of the darkness in my heart. I don't want to hide from those situations or people that resist me or reject me. I don't want to run from God when darkness is exposed in my heart. Resistance from other people, being spitefully used, or even simply being ignored, it exposes my pride or selfish ambition. I don't want to run from that! I want to embrace presenting those things to God to have my heart made new!
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
I don't want to waste a little bit of some good persecution. To hang onto "my rights" to lash out, to give in to retaliation short-circuits dying to the pride in me. It only delays death and resurrection. These are opportunities from God that satan actually wants me to miss. This is the heat from Jesus that burns off the junk!
I will never walk through the level of resistance, humility, or unjust rejection Jesus walked through, but whatever I can get my hands on is super valuable. That is why Jesus said "count it all joy."
Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
To be resisted for the sake of Jesus is actually the greatest gift the Lord could give this side of the veil, because it initiates the death of pride and self in my heart. To the degree I feel the pain of rejection, that is the same degree I will give in to pride in a time of success. Pride in success is tragic. The process of being lied about, or lied to, resisted or persecuted, or even just passed by, gives me an invitation to death, and if responded to correctly...in love, resisting offense, laying down "rights"...dying to self...opens my heart to the glorious light of glory...tearing the veil a little wider. This allows the seeds of righteousness Jesus is planting to grow in the glorious light of God rather than the dim light of the sun.
I want to attain to resurrection, not delay death! Have your way God. Kill my selfishness now, so I can experience resurrection now!
Philippians 3:10-11 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
The beauty of God's kingdom is that anyone can do this. I could be on a ventilator in a hospital with no arms and legs and still turn over my heart, presenting it to God issue by issue...selfish ambition after selfish ambition...pride after pride...lust after lust...offense, anger, fear, greed...and let God conform me to death of Jesus.
Death of self is the birth of glory, because everything that dies in agreement with Jesus gets resurrected in "glory." Glory is simply the bright light of the perfection of beauty and holiness. Jesus IS making all things new, making everything live again, by returning the light of His presence to earth INCREMENTALLY. For love, Jesus doesn't barge into my heart and take things to make new...no! He offers an invitation. The Lord says "give me your heart and I will shine my light on it, it will begin living again." Whatever I willingly offer as a sacrifice from the darkness of my dying heart, He supplies the fire and burns it off...what is left is something gloriously new that can never die again...refined like silver, until His reflection can be seen in the shiny new surface.
When mankind was made, we were made to live in the bright light of God's presence. He is so bright, fallen man cannot approach Him physically:
I Timothy 6:15-16 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.
At the time of the fall, mankind looked upon evil...took in the knowledge of life outside of God's leadership... and corrupted our infinite capacity to encounter the infinite light. Anything less than infinite is "infinity less" and God's light became deadly. God erected a veil between God and man to protect us while He undertook the process of salvation.
There is only one way for us to cross that veil...only dead stuff crosses that veil. When a person dies, their spirit carries their heart across the veil. Someday the veil will open and Jesus will split the sky, permanently ripping the physical veil, just like the first time He came He ripped the spiritual veil. Until then, the more death I experience... the more I offer the corrupt portions of my heart bit by bit in repentance... the more glory I get exposed to.
This is the point of holiness: life abundantly. Stuff REALLY lives in the light of Jesus, the light of mankind:
John 1:3-4 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
The glory...the light of God's presence...is so much more effective than the sun to make life happen. The glory of God makes the trees produce fruit 12 times a year instead of one. When Jesus returns to earth, the trees will begin producing fruit like they did in the Garden of Eden:
Ezekiel 47:12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
Everything was made to live in the glory of God. In fact the grass and trees were made BEFORE the sun. The sun is simply the dim alternative that the earth was left with after the veil was erected:
Genesis 1:11-16 Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day. Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also.
The light of God makes life happen abundantly. I don't have to wait to die to begin the death of my heart that opens the veil a little more and shines more glory on my heart! I don't have to wait to die in my body to start experiencing resurrection on the inside, where I can feel the power of it in my emotions! This is the most glorious part of the resurrection, and it is available to anyone right now! The more I die to self at the direction of Jesus, the more I cross the spiritual veil and get glorious resurrection of my heart. Death opens the veil. The light then shines brighter on my heart...deep to deep...my resurrection accelerates!
Being conformed to the death of Jesus can sound negative if you don't see that as the path to also being conformed to the resurrection of Jesus. To be conformed to the resurrection of the King of Kings and the Lord or Lords is to be conformed to the resurrection of power, authority, and agreement with God that releases the fruit of the presence of God...everything the world is chasing...striving for and frustrated about outside of God... is freely available to anyone willing to offer up their dark scraps in exchange for vibrant glory. This glorious resurrection is the greatest gift ever, but, on the front end, it feels a lot like dying.
I don't want to resist the death of the darkness in my heart. I don't want to hide from those situations or people that resist me or reject me. I don't want to run from God when darkness is exposed in my heart. Resistance from other people, being spitefully used, or even simply being ignored, it exposes my pride or selfish ambition. I don't want to run from that! I want to embrace presenting those things to God to have my heart made new!
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
I don't want to waste a little bit of some good persecution. To hang onto "my rights" to lash out, to give in to retaliation short-circuits dying to the pride in me. It only delays death and resurrection. These are opportunities from God that satan actually wants me to miss. This is the heat from Jesus that burns off the junk!
I will never walk through the level of resistance, humility, or unjust rejection Jesus walked through, but whatever I can get my hands on is super valuable. That is why Jesus said "count it all joy."
Matthew 5:10-12 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
To be resisted for the sake of Jesus is actually the greatest gift the Lord could give this side of the veil, because it initiates the death of pride and self in my heart. To the degree I feel the pain of rejection, that is the same degree I will give in to pride in a time of success. Pride in success is tragic. The process of being lied about, or lied to, resisted or persecuted, or even just passed by, gives me an invitation to death, and if responded to correctly...in love, resisting offense, laying down "rights"...dying to self...opens my heart to the glorious light of glory...tearing the veil a little wider. This allows the seeds of righteousness Jesus is planting to grow in the glorious light of God rather than the dim light of the sun.
I want to attain to resurrection, not delay death! Have your way God. Kill my selfishness now, so I can experience resurrection now!
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