Monday 29 April 2013

Grace Notes - Matthew 9 v 9



Matthew 9:9, "And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him."

Many times I have heard various “Altar” calls at events where people are encouraged to follow Christ. This has many aspects but the most difficult is that it can produce self effort as the path of acceptance with God.

Christianity is not a changed life, it is an exchanged life. When we come to Christ our old sinful man is crucified with Christ and we are born into a new union with the living God. Christ now lives in us and He starts to flow through us.

Grace is the power and glory of God now living on the inside of us, motivating us, encouraging us, loving us and overflowing us with the power to overcome. This union is a place of victory and joy. We now  live from a new spirit man and focus our eyes on Christ.

As Andrew Wommack explains to “follow” Christ is to let Him live through us: -

To "follow" means to come or go after; move behind in the same direction; to come or go with; to accept the guidance or leadership of; to adhere to the cause or principles of; to be governed by; obey; comply with.

When a person first comes to Jesus, it is impossible to know everything that following Jesus entails. No one, however, should be fearful of making a total commitment because of some imagined problem that may never come to pass. There should be a willingness to forsake everything to follow Jesus. Once we make that decision, then Christ begins to live through us and we find a strength that is not our own, equal to whatever test we may encounter .

It is Christ living through us that is the secret of victorious Christian living. It is not us living for Jesus, but Jesus living through us. Failure to understand this simple truth is at the root of all legalism and the performance mentality. The law focuses on the outer man and tells it what it must do. Grace focuses on the inner man and tells it what is already done through Christ. Those who are focused on what they must do are under law. Those who are focused on what Christ has done for them are walking under grace.

Just as the life of a root is found in the soil, or a branch in the vine, or a fish in the sea, so the believer's true life is found to be in union with Christ. The Christian life is not just hard to live, it's impossible in our human strength. The only way to walk in victory is to let Christ live through us.

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Thank you for visiting my blog. Please do not feel you have to comment. I enjoyed writing, listening to God and sharing his toughts. I hope you enjoyed reading, and may God who is able to make all grace, every favour and earthly blessing come to you in abundance, do far above all you can ask or think, according to the power that works within you. Be blessed.