hatchcreek.com Bible blog

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB)

Before we became Christians we were in rebellion to God and were powerless.  After we become Christians we are still powerless in ourselves.  In order to be victorious we need to yield ourselves to God so that He can live His life through us.  He wants us to be His servants here on this earth to lead others to a saving knowledge of Christ.

So many time I’ve heard messages about letting Christ live through us. But, how do we actually do that?   Is it following a bunch of rules?  No, that’s not it.  That is legalism.  Is it trying our best?  I’ve heard many people say, “Oh, she is doing her best.”  Or, “He is a hard worker and trying.”  No, that’s not the answer either.  How about this one? “I’m going to do better!  That’s not it either.  You can’t do better on your own.  We have to actually die to ourselves and let the Holy Spirit live through us. 

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (NIV)

You see it isn’t about us.  It is about what the Lord wants us to do.

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

We are to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices.  God now owns us and we are his possession.  How wonderful it is to know that He even wants us. 

The answer then to the question of how do we live this Christian life in power is to obey Christ.  We must do what He says.  The only way we can know what will please Him is to read and study the Bible and pray.  Do you have a time each day that you spend with Him?  If you don’t why not give it a try.  You will find that somehow God gives that time back to you and you still get just as much done.  You will be truly blessed.  You will discover how God wants you to live as you communicate with Him. 

As we walk the Christian life we will sin.  Everyone does.  Sin is disobedience to God.  When this happens it breaks our fellowship with the Lord.  At that instance we are back walking in the flesh, even though we are still a Christian.  That is called being carnal.  Many people who you see in church every week are actually carnal Christians.  That means they are Christians and on their way to Heaven, but they are out of fellowship with the Lord.  They are powerless.  I don’t think most of them even know of their sad condition.  They are spiritually ill.  Oh they still are busy as beavers.  They sing in the choir, lead Bible studies, participate in the music ministry, and are even leaders in the church.  A person can by busy for the Lord and still out of fellowship with Him.  However, their ministry and life will not be productive.  And, if they stay out of fellowship with God they will be disciplined. 

God has a solution to this illness. It is found in  I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  (NIV)  We must agree with God that what we did was wrong and He will wash us clean again and restore our fellowship with Himself.  Then we will be walking in the Spirit again and have His power to serve Him effectively.  That is why communication with God is so important.  He will keep us on track and we will know when we sin.

One way to think about how walking with God in obedience and power works is to compare it to a lamp.  God would be the power source.  The lamp is plugged in and then it can be effective and give off light.  Suppose you turn off the switch on the lamp.  The light goes out.  Well, that is what happens when we sin.  It is like turning the off switch.

When we are saved we are  plugged into God our power source.  The power that flows out from God to us is the Holy Spirit power.  When we are in fellowship the power flows and we can give out light to the world.  However, when we sin, the power goes off.  It is like turning the off switch on the lamp.  We cannot please the Lord when we are out of fellowship and we lose our power. When we confess our sins God turns the power back on for us.  We never lose our salvation, but we do lose our power.

I remember an old Christian Hymn, “Trust and Obey.” that speaks to this truth.

When we walk with the Lord
In the Light of His Word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.