The end of self

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mjrhealth

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This has being on my mind for weeks to write, sometimes it takes that long. What is teh end of self?

Its when one comes to teh realisation that all you learning, all your study, all your eading, all your sitting in sermons, amounts to nothing, It when you cry out to Jesus and say, " Lord it thought i knew it all, than i met you, now I know i know nothing, teach me!.

How manr are wiiling to come to that conclusion,

than here is teh doing, i go to church on sunday, i tithe every week, i do this i do that, than you meet Jesus,

Lord what was I doing, i somehow though that I could do all this to somehow please you by my works, but Lord my works are nothing, for my salvation is in you, help me Lord to do your will, for it must be, not my will but your will be done"

Oh how the children of God cry out to Him daily for He is there bread and they must eat of Him for without Him they have nothing.

God Bless
 

shnarkle

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mjrhealth said:
This has being on my mind for weeks to write, sometimes it takes that long. What is teh end of self?

Its when one comes to teh realisation that all you learning, all your study, all your eading, all your sitting in sermons, amounts to nothing, It when you cry out to Jesus and say, " Lord it thought i knew it all, than i met you, now I know i know nothing, teach me!.

How manr are wiiling to come to that conclusion,

than here is teh doing, i go to church on sunday, i tithe every week, i do this i do that, than you meet Jesus,

Lord what was I doing, i somehow though that I could do all this to somehow please you by my works, but Lord my works are nothing, for my salvation is in you, help me Lord to do your will, for it must be, not my will but your will be done"

Oh how the children of God cry out to Him daily for He is there bread and they must eat of Him for without Him they have nothing.

God Bless
I also recently began to look at Jesus' words when he said, "deny yourself"; those words began to haunt me day and night. Haunt because I began to see that I had never really understood what those words meant, and then other passages began to jump out at me as well, e.g. "forsake everything"; "sell all you have and give the money to the poor" etc. These are all hallmarks of the early church, and yet it is quite rare to find anything resembling this today in the modern churches. I'm being convicted, and at the same time, I'm completely inadequate to the task of carrying any of this out.

What's startling to me is that it is becoming more and more appealing. I'm starting to see my possessions as junk. A big load of garbage that only idiots would pay money for. The irony is that there are probably plenty of people who will have no problem forking out their hard earned money for my garbage. I almost feel guilty thinking about it; but there's something about it that seems right as well. It's worth what people are willing to pay for it, and the kingdom is worth way more than everything in this world; so I can't pay for it. I can only let go of anything and everything in this world.

I'm not there yet, but I also don't see any reason to force it; it just doesn't seem to work that way. I just need to get out of the way, and let it happen.
 
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shnarkle said:
I also recently began to look at Jesus' words when he said, "deny yourself"; those words began to haunt me day and night. Haunt because I began to see that I had never really understood what those words meant, and then other passages began to jump out at me as well, e.g. "forsake everything"; "sell all you have and give the money to the poor" etc. These are all hallmarks of the early church, and yet it is quite rare to find anything resembling this today in the modern churches. I'm being convicted, and at the same time, I'm completely inadequate to the task of carrying any of this out.What's startling to me is that it is becoming more and more appealing. I'm starting to see my possessions as junk. A big load of garbage that only idiots would pay money for. The irony is that there are probably plenty of people who will have no problem forking out their hard earned money for my garbage. I almost feel guilty thinking about it; but there's something about it that seems right as well. It's worth what people are willing to pay for it, and the kingdom is worth way more than everything in this world; so I can't pay for it. I can only let go of anything and everything in this world.I'm not there yet, but I also don't see any reason to force it; it just doesn't seem to work that way. I just need to get out of the way, and let it happen.
Amen! I loved reading this, it's good to see Jesus is working on peoples hearts to shed off the useless weights of materialism and worldly pleasures. Maybe like 3% of the christian church follow these teachings of Christ :(. But it's underarandable because it's super hard, when you live a comfartable easy life to let it all go and jump into the fire of a harder life, like everything in the christian walk, it's simple but not easy.
 

shnarkle

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Amen! I loved reading this, it's good to see Jesus is working on peoples hearts to shed off the useless weights of materialism and worldly pleasures. Maybe like 3% of the christian church follow these teachings of Christ :(. But it's underarandable because it's super hard, when you live a comfartable easy life to let it all go and jump into the fire of a harder life, like everything in the christian walk, it's simple but not easy.
I think it's more of a perception that it would be more difficult. Jesus says to forsake all, sell what you have and give the proceeds to the poor. This may sound difficult, but it really isn't difficult at all; as you say "it's simple". More importantly, Jesus says that we are to let our Father provide for us. What could be easier than letting God do it for us? We hear how important it is to understand that we can't work our way into heaven, or save ourselves by our works, yet when it comes to working to survive, we just completely ignore Jesus' words altogether. We don't have to work for any of it. The only work that there is for us to do is to work for the harvest; spread the gospel message. Christ and Paul both point out that we're worthy of our hire, but even then, this isn't why we spread the gospel; it isn't so we will be fed. They're just showing that we're worthy of it. If we can't step out in faith that our heavenly Father will provide for us when we're doing His will, how are we supposed to believe we're going to be resurrected in the first place? It ain't going to happen if we can't walk in faith. What's the worst that could happen? Think about it. The best case scenario if you don't step out in faith is eternal damnation.

Step out in faith or get honest and admit disbelief in God's promises.
 

Wormwood

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mjrhealth said:
This has being on my mind for weeks to write, sometimes it takes that long. What is teh end of self?

Its when one comes to teh realisation that all you learning, all your study, all your eading, all your sitting in sermons, amounts to nothing, It when you cry out to Jesus and say, " Lord it thought i knew it all, than i met you, now I know i know nothing, teach me!.

How manr are wiiling to come to that conclusion,

than here is teh doing, i go to church on sunday, i tithe every week, i do this i do that, than you meet Jesus,

Lord what was I doing, i somehow though that I could do all this to somehow please you by my works, but Lord my works are nothing, for my salvation is in you, help me Lord to do your will, for it must be, not my will but your will be done"

Oh how the children of God cry out to Him daily for He is there bread and they must eat of Him for without Him they have nothing.

God Bless
Isn't it God who appointed some to be preachers and teachers? Aren't these gifts of the Spirit and means by which God edifies his people? Only in modern Western Christianity is spirituality viewed as a personal, individual, experiential pursuit. In fact, this is what Paul rebukes the Corinthians about. They thought their gifts were all about them whereas we are taught that true spiritual maturity has to do with using our gifts to edify and love others. After all, Jesus said that the defining indicator of our discipleship would be that we love each other sacrificially, as Jesus loves us. Not that we focus predominately on ourselves and our own personal spiritual experiences and enlightenment. As Paul put it...

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” (1 Corinthians 13:1–2, ESV)

Focusing on and caring for others without concern for ourselves. That is the end of self...and that is what Christ displayed on the cross for each of us.
 

mjrhealth

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They thought their gifts were all about them whereas we are taught that true spiritual maturity has to do with using our gifts to edify and love others
No its all about Him, churchianity made it all about us. There is a price to pay to walk with Him and it isnt giving up sundays for church. as for pastors bein gappointed, do you know whaich ones they are. I have seeing men of God and I have seeing them fall i have also seing those that are self appointed, you dont become a pastor or a prophet because of "feelings", If Jesus Himself never called you , than you are walking a dangerous path, for evry one we lead astray we are responsible for, even teh moderators on this forum are held to that very same accountability as are they all no matter what forum. Remeber Moses, 40 years of isolation before God used Him, would you be willing to go through that or what Job went through or even Joseph, even Jesus Himself spent 40 days in teh desert, He was 39 i believe before He fullfiiled His call, what happened to all those other years. What do you say to Jesus when he syas. "I never sent you".

Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

It requires self to end for God to takeover, it is something He can do with only you, not a crowd of onlookers
 

Wormwood

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No its all about Him, churchianity made it all about us.
The Church is the "body of Christ." I agree some people want to use the church for their own ends and own comfort or platform. Yet as John says, "How can you say you love God whom you cannot see if you do not love your brother whom you can see." Jesus' command to his disciples was, "Do you love me? Feed my sheep." Loving God and loving our brothers and sisters in Christ are inseparably connected, mj. Jesus did not save us so we could ascend to some mountain top and gaze at our navels while gloating in our own spiritual depth. Nor did he save us as individuals. He saved us as a people and his greatest desire is that his people love one another as he loved us.

It requires self to end for God to takeover, it is something He can do with only you, not a crowd of onlookers
I agree we each have a personal walk and we are called to surrender to him. I am simply saying that "surrender" looks like giving ourselves to build up other believers. That is what he commanded and what he modeled as he washed feet and "gave his life up for his friends." So, IMO, if you aren't involved in a group of believers and you are not striving to use all God has given you to build up their faith (and them yours) then you are not giving up your life. If a person's pursuit becomes their own pursuit of ascending to some great spiritual height so they can look down on others, then they are very much filled with self and are ignorant of the call of Christ on their life.


“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:11–13, ESV)

Notice...he gave in order to equip and for building up the body. The gifts exist for other Christians, not ourselves. Christ's focus is the maturity of His Church, not merely random individuals who cut themselves off from the body out of a inflated sense of importance.
 
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mjrhealth

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Jesus' command to his disciples was, "Do you love me? Feed my sheep."
Come on that was to only Peter, he was the only one of the 12 commanded to do that, we can do it His way or our way, and His way always requires seperation so God can do His work in us, if we are not in Him, if we are not led by the spirit, if we are doing our own thing, than we are not doing as Jesus did,

Joh_5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.

Far too many christians doing there own thing, as He said

Mat_7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Mens denominations have divided teh body of Christ, all claiming to have the truth and yet all preaching their own gospel that is why they have their own doctrines. everyone wants to prove himself worthy so few are willing to wait. We are all given teh same spirit it is what we do with Him that makes teh difference.

40 years Moses spent in the desert, 40 days Jesus spent in the desert alone till His time, 39 years old before His ministry began. RAther be called a fool for Him than try impress man.

Rev_3:18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
 

Wormwood

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Yes, we are all sinners with our failings....including you. We all need grace and that is what should unite us. In fact, the closer one gets to God, the more they realize, like Paul, that they are the "chiefs of sinners" and are wholly unworthy to be called by Him. There is no chest-pounding in the Kingdom of God. There is no looking down on others for we all have nothing except what we receive from God. If you feel like you have greater faith and are better off than the rest, good for you. Just remember that its the grace of God, and not your own goodness that put you or anyone else where they are. Those who really know God are humble and recognize they are nothing and deserve nothing apart from Him. God draws near to the humble but is far from the proud. When we see believers living for themselves and causing division, we should be sad for them and pray for them...not condemn them and blame them for not being as spiritual as us. The only thing any of us does well is sin. IF there is any righteousness in me or you, its because Christ, through his own blood and Spirit put it there. Remember that.
 

mjrhealth

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There is no looking down on others for we all have nothing except what we receive from God. If you feel like you have greater faith and are better off than the rest, good for you
When have I ever done that, Jesus come to show the Jews teh better way , we are supposed to have it, the Holy Spirit is given to all believer , we are all supposed to be led by the spirit, but when we insist on fulling ourselves with learning than we leave no place for Him, when we insist on following after men, than we separate ourselves from Him, Him first above and before all things.

Just remember that its the grace of God, and not your own goodness that put you or anyone else where they are
Is that not all I have ever spoken of.??
hose who really know God are humble and recognize they are nothing and deserve nothing apart from Him
Again is that not all I have ever spoken of.

Whos condemning who, if you feel condemned maybe you need to step back and take a look at yourself

We have but one thiing we can do and that is show man the better way, if they refuse it. thats between them and Him.

Rom_8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
 

Wormwood

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mj,

I thin it is just the way you come across. Perhaps you do not intend it, but I think the reason so many here have you on ignore is because your comments constantly come across as condescending and elitist....as if you have it all figured out and are the only one on here that has a genuine relationship with God. Perhaps we disagree on a great many things, but I do love the Lord and am regularly in prayer to the Lord, seeking to walk near to him with all my heart, studying His Word so I can live in accordance with it to the best of my ability and sharing the hope of Jesus Christ to those around me. I think there are many on here to also seek to live genuine lives...although I am first to admit that I am sinful and need his grace and mercy every day. I have a long way to go and long to be a more Christ-like man.....but Im trying. I think most on here are.
 
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mjrhealth

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although I am first to admit that I am sinful and need his grace and mercy every day. I have a long way to go and long to be a more Christ-like man.....but Im trying. I think most on here are.
and God will not condemn any man least of all one with a willing heart, but sometime we have to let go of everything because its those things we hold on to that hold us back, as for sin, any who know Christ will draw that conclusion that they are the worst of all sinners,but He has done what He needed to do so we can forget the sin and live for Him, that is teh least we can do.

And thanks best converstaion i have had in a long time, can only hope for more.
 
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H. Richard

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mjrhealth said:
and God will not condemn any man least of all one with a willing heart, but sometime we have to let go of everything because its those things we hold on to that hold us back, as for sin, any who know Christ will draw that conclusion that they are the worst of all sinners,but He has done what He needed to do so we can forget the sin and live for Him, that is teh least we can do.

And thanks best converstaion i have had in a long time, can only hope for more.
***
The thing we need to let go of is the self thinking that it can do something to gain God's favor (salvation). God favors no man for doing things in religions but He loves those that believe in His work on the cross.

Heb 10:28-29
28 Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
NKJV

If a person is not trusting in the blood of Jesus shed on the cross to atone for their sins then this verse applies to them.