To be successfully challenged and empowered is the secret of being an overcomer and entering richly into the kingdom of heaven.

New Life

If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away, behold new things have come, 2 Corinthians 5:17.

If we will truly apply this to our life, we will not only successfully face the challenges of life but be fully empowered. You will know what it is to truly operate through the mind of Christ.

Power of Self

The problem with most Christians is that they do not recognize the power of self. Old self-values are false. Our own wisdom is questionable, for we are always wise after the fact.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not, Romans 7:18. The old self must be crucified, for there is nothing redeemable in the old life. It is the undeniable core of corruption, A W Tozer.

Crucified

To be successfully challenged and empowered is to die to sin and live to God in Christ. I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, Galatians 2:20.

It’s all about being empowered by the Holy Spirit and allowing the new to infuse our entire being. Our true identity is hid in Christ. Set your mind on the things above not on the things that are on the earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God, Colossians 3:2,3.

In this life we face fiery trials, 1 Peter 4:12, over and over again. Our strength and the ability to successfully face these challenges comes from the Redeemer who bought us back. He redeemed us from the kingdom of darkness, Colossians 1:13.

Killed

A W Tozer likened the old life to a glass of water with the old way as poison to the new creature. If there is a lot of poison in the glass it will kill quickly. If there is only a small amount of poison in the water, it will kill slowly.

We need to ask the Holy Spirit to root out of us all that relates to the old life. The old resentments and the spirit of offense that lies hidden there. That becomes the lens we judge life through and it poisons the generous present moment and the unknown future.

The Cure

To live a crucified life that successfully faces all challenges is to totally yield our life to the great I Am that I Am, Exodus 3:14. Only then can we begin to truly walk a life that leads to true spiritual transformation.

Jesus said, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But whoever loses his life for My sake will find it, Luke 9:23, 24.

Until we are prepared to give up all self-ambition and desires, we will never discover what God has for us. Never enter fully into His eternal plan and his richness for us. Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know, Jeremiah 33:3.

Unloaded

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, Matthew 19:24. The rich man has difficulty entering the kingdom, for his sights are set on his riches and that is where his energy is.

For the camel to go through the eye of the needle, a small gate in the city wall meant the camel had to be fully unloaded. Spiritually we desperately need to be like the camel and offload the old life.

A Worm

The Psalmist wrote about the crucifixion and the One who created all things, Colossians 1:16-20.  I Am a worm and not a man, Psalm 22:6. Jesus was not only totally Son of God, but also totally Son of Man.

The reference is to the worm that was crushed to make the precious red dye for the Tabernacle. The Son of God would be crushed and submit Himself to the full extent of degradation by the ones he created – mankind. God would take the penalty of our sin on Himself in order to redeem fallen mankind. There is no greater love than laying down a life for friends, John 15:13. Jesus suffered and died that we might become friends of God and enter a covenantal relationship with Him. The cry I am a worm, becomes the lowest, redemptive place that is the only entrance to eternal glory.

God formed man formed man of dust from the ground, Genesis 2:7. It is the humble, hidden and uncelebrated worm that enriches the soil. The worm lives among decay, transforming it into life. It took the weak, despised and broken to bring redemption and eternal life to mankind. The worm, like Jesus, achieves life from death, fruitfulness from lowliness and obscurity, strength from weakness and transformation without self-promotion. May we all become a worm.

God’s Eternal Purpose

The purpose of God is not to save us from eternal hell, but to save us to make us Christ-like, empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit. God’s heart is that we journey into becoming a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 3:14.

How many Christians are going to enter heaven as a poor man instead of richly, 2 Peter 1:11? They have not chosen to fully let the old man die. God gifted us with a free will so we must choose to not be filled with self, but with all the fulness of God, Ephesians 3:19.

That is to have a unique and meaningful relationship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus said, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him. And we will come to him and make Our abode with him, John 14:23.

Successfully Challenged and Empowered

Being successfully challenged and empowered as an overcomer is so satisfying. We must execute judgement on the old self and let the Spirit of God fully create the new creature within us.  

When we insist on allowing God to be Himself, there comes within our being an explosion of reality regarding the person of Jesus Christ. Our understanding of Him goes beyond academics and into that marvelous world of personal intimacy, A W Tozer.

Only then will we discover who and what we are as being made in the image of God, Genesis 1:26. Only then will be the overcomer He calls us to be. We will be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be successfully challenged and empowered.

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Dr. Wendy Stenberg-Tendys is a servant of the Lord who enjoys researching Biblical topics and sharing words of encouragement from the Word of God. She asks the hard questions.

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