Pass The Spiritual ÒBatonÓÉ Christ In
You.
1Cor 9:24-27
Christ in youÉ doing His work as you. (Jn 14:10)
á
Not you producing His
life, but trusting Him to live His life thru you, as you.
o
I no longer live but Christ
lives in meÉ you & He are one.
(Gal 2:20)
á
Just as you
trusted Him for your salvationÉ now trust Jesus in you as your life.
á
All we can be in our natural
man is self-love, self-esteem,
& self-seeking.
o
Only H Spirit can move
us from self-dominated to Christ-centered.
á
Self-effort to transform
your character is futileÉ only H Spirit can impart purity of heart.
á
When we come to end of
ourselves & renounce all our self-efforts for holinessÉ only then does H
Spirit take full control & bear His own glorious fruit (Gal 5:22-23) in our
life.
o
Failure is door thru which we pass to ChristÕs life in us.
(2Cor 12:9-10)
á
Two stages in
the ChristianÕs life: First, after conversion the believer seeks to work what God
would have him do. Second, after
many painful failures he ceases from his work, enters the rest of God & begins to allow Christ to live in, thru &
as him.
Be separateÉ come out from among the world. (2Cor 6:17-18)
á
Christ in you, living
His life as youÉ the world will be opposed to you & hate you.
á
We have lost power of H
Spirit because line between church & world has been obliterated.
o
Many are on the broad
road that leads to destruction. (Mt 7:13-14)
á
DonÕt you know that
friendship with world is hatred toward God? (Ja 4:4)
á
Love of world excludes
the love of GodÉ you must choose one or the other. (1Jn 2:15)
á
When holy & unholy
(worldly) come togetherÉ both are unholy. (Haggai 2:10)
o
You canÕt run with wrong
crowd & stay pureÉ you become unclean. (1Cor 15:33)
How to balance rest in the Lord & make every effort to be
holy. (Heb 12:14)
á
We often go astray:
Either we try to make ourselves holy & fail miserablyÉ or we seek to
achieve a state of spiritual passivity & wait for God to perfect our
natures.
á
Some spiritual blessings
above line will not come to us unless we make a determined effort to possess
them. (e.g. deliverance from sins, victory over self, fruitfulness, growth in
grace, increasing awareness of union with God, & unbroken spirit of
worship.)
o
These are ours as we
hunger for them, separate ourselves from the world, take time & effort to
be holy, & trust in Christ to manifest them in/thru us. (Phil 2:13)
á
Main cause of lack of
spiritual transformation is failure to cultivate knowledge of God.
o
Temptation is to make
our relationship with God judicial instead of personal.
o
For many, salvation is
viewed as once-done act that requires no further attention.
o
Paul devoted his
whole life to knowing, following, & adoring Christ. (Phil 3:7-12)
á
Work of H Spirit in our
heart is not automatic nor an unconscious thingÉ you must yield your will
& cooperate with H SpiritÉ make
every effort to be holy. (Heb 12:14)
o
Holiness of spirit must be worked out thru your soulÉ
á
H Spirit does not
work in us apart from our own moral responses. Watchfulness, prayer, self-discipline, & yielded
to GodÕs will are indispensable to real transformation in holiness.
o
I laborÉ struggling with all His energy! (Col 1:29)
Run the race & hand-off the baton is such a way as to win.
(1Cor 9:24-27)
á
Run with endurance with
race set before youÉ (Heb 12:1)
á
Run in such a way as to win
the prize. (1Cor 9:24)
á
Lesson from the
Olympics: in a relay race, the runner
who has the baton is responsible to pass the batonÉ donÕt let go until youÕre
sure teammate has it.
o
Running the race so
wellÉ then dropped the baton & didnÕt even finish! DNF!
á
Christ in you,
doing His work as you is what
should be passed along to those you love.
á
Did you hand off the
batonÉ Christ in you the hope of glory?
o
Eternal life is found only in knowing the only true God & Jesus Christ. (Jn 17:3)
o
Will you pass along an
intimate, abiding, knowledge & relationship with Christ?
á
What will you pass
along? (You canÕt hand-off a baton you donÕt have)
o
Will you pass along a
lukewarm faith, sinful habits, weaknesses, hypocrisy, & worldly lustsÉ but
no true knowledge of, or relationship with, Jesus Christ?
o
The baton of religion is
very difficult to hand-off & does not give life.
á
You were running a good
raceÉ who cut in & kept you from truth & faith? (Gal 5:7)
o
Do not let yourself be
burdened again with yoke of self-effort. (v.5:1)
o
Humbly admit sin &
weakness, & confess complete dependence on GodÕs grace.
á
Seek first His glory,
His coming kingdom, your relationship with Him, your oneness with Him, &
His holiness in you, thru you, & as you. (Mt 6:33) Then pass the baton!
o
Devote yourself to study
& obedience of Word, & teaching its decrees. (Ezr 7:10)
á
How important is a NDF
in life? (The Òfinish lineÓ in life is eternal life in Heaven)
o
The finish line is to know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior & Lord.
á
The hand off zone is
shortÉ now is the time, now is the
day of salvation. (2Cor 6:2)