Hi guys! I’m back again (you’ll be hearing from me regularly now). A few weeks ago I wrote a post called, “Don’t Give Up,” to encourage people to know that they’re loved, chosen & called by God to do great things! Now, I want to follow up on that by telling you that you must walk worthy of the call! Like a pastor at my church always says, “sitting in church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage will make you a car.”
It’s important to know who you are in Christ, to know what the Word says, to maintain righteousness in your life, and to set yourself apart. So how do you do that?
1. Know that You Are a New Creation
First things first, when you accept Jesus into your heart you become a new creation in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Timothy 1:9 says, “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.”
When you become a child of God, your whole nature changes – your old man dies and you become an entirely new creation. However, you have to build up that new spirit man on the inside of you because when you get born again, your spirit man is renewed but your mind and soul isn’t. You have to get in the Word of God, read it for yourself, allow it to renew your mind, and let it become real to you personally because your attitude towards the Word of God will also determine the place it holds in your life.
2. Set Yourself Apart
Now that you know you’re a new creation in Christ, it’s time to set yourself apart from this world. Your foundation is on the basis of the Word of God (Christ is the Word made flesh, so we must live a Christ-centered life). Galatians 5:24-25 says, “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”
You can’t have one foot in the world and one foot in the word, you must be fully sold out for the Lord. Everyday when you wake up the first thing you must do is crucify your flesh. Matthew 26:41 AMPC says, “All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
You will be tested in life, but you must keep watch and pray like Matthew 26 says. As a child of God, you have FULL authority to take your thoughts captive, to take your authority over your flesh. You don’t have to fall into the temptations of the world – you can live fully set apart, and you can do this by growing in the fruits of the spirit.
3. Keep Growing
“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” - Colossians 1:9-10
God desires you to bear fruit in every way, and growth is necessary to produce fruit. You have to constantly grow spiritually. The same way growth comes naturally in the physical realm when all your needs are met, it’s the same spiritually. Spiritually, there are things you need to have in your life to constantly grow. You need good ground (the church) – Psalm 92:13. You need good water (the Word) – Matthew 4:4. You need good light (knowing your calling) – 1 Corinthians 7:17. And finally, you need pruning - John 15:2.
Keep your eyes on Jesus, keep yourself set apart, continue to grow and allow the Lord to prune out everything that’s not of Him. And now it’s time to ask yourself, are you walking worthy of the call of God on your life?
Until next time!
Bri
