{"id":617,"date":"2011-11-02T07:29:25","date_gmt":"2011-11-02T07:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.churchofthebeyond.com\/?p=617"},"modified":"2012-01-09T15:29:45","modified_gmt":"2012-01-09T20:29:45","slug":"the-road-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/2011\/11\/02\/the-road-to-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Road to Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find\u00a0it.<\/p>\n

Matthew 7:14<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

When it comes to revival, and revival meetings, in one sense, revival is easy… \u00a0Once the flow starts, the miracles happen, the atmospheres change, the going is good… \u00a0On another side, we sometimes don’t see a great degree of change in the people that are attending revivals in the short term.<\/p>\n

For sure, a seed is sown. \u00a0All revival is good, and any outpouring is better than no outpouring, for some seed will find its mark, even as God’s word never returns to Him void. \u00a0But, there is a question we must come to when it comes to revival. \u00a0What is our aim?<\/p>\n

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.<\/p>\n

Matthew 7:21<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Surely, if our main objective is a miracle and preaching ministry, this is short-lived at best. \u00a0These will pass away, as surely as the day. \u00a0And tomorrow, in the language of Eternity, what will we do then? \u00a0There will be no preaching in Heaven, and there will be no need for miracles there! \u00a0If our primary mission is not to glorify the Lord, then we have surely missed the mark, and not presented the fullness of the heart of God to a lost and dying world.<\/p>\n

Consider Matthew 7:14 above. \u00a0What we are seeking, the Kingdom, is the Road to Life. \u00a0We receive Jesus, and, in one sense, we have received life. \u00a0But, do we progress towards it still? \u00a0Have we become perfected in it?<\/p>\n

Despite our failings in the flesh, the renewed heart desires to be perfect even as He is perfect, and to be Holy even as He is Holy. \u00a0The purified heart, although it can still fail, desires earnestly the communion and unbroken fellowship with the Spirit, His\u00a0uninterrupted\u00a0communion flow and glory.<\/p>\n

But, what is the flow? \u00a0What is this Road to Life?<\/p>\n

Jesus said that all of His Father’s commands lead to life (John 12:50). \u00a0As He also said in Matthew 7:21, it is not those that do great miracles in His name that are accepted by the Father, but rather, it is those that do His will.<\/p>\n

We can accept that it is always God’s will to heal his body, and anyone who comes to prayer, you can pray for without discerning whether it is His will. \u00a0Yet, it is the greater thing, of following the will of the Father.<\/p>\n

Even when Jesus was on the cross, He could have, by His own admission, caused one of the greatest power displays of history. \u00a0Twelve legions of angels are at His disposal at a single command, and yet, in obedience, he humbled himself, lowered his head, and wore a different kind of crown because the Father asked.<\/p>\n

This road to life looks different than what we might immediately expect. \u00a0It is always, and only, the road of obedience to the Father. \u00a0As best you can hear Him, as best you can discern it, to follow His will exactly, perfectly, all the time, no matter what may happen, or what may come. \u00a0Jesus said that all His commands lead to life, always. \u00a0Even when it passes through death and hell itself, as Jesus proved. \u00a0Jesus was His own message, and demonstrated the Kingdom way, the Highway of Holiness for us.<\/p>\n

The road looks like suffering. \u00a0The road looks like comfort. \u00a0The road looks like life, for it is that, and yet, at times, to those who cannot see it, it looks like death. \u00a0“Would you walk through that valley with me?” \u00a0He asks. \u00a0Would you enter into suffering, if I ordained it, so that your life could profit others? \u00a0Would you sacrifice your own life, so that others could live?<\/p>\n

This is the call of the Gospel, to be called to serve. \u00a0Any other Gospel is not the one to follow! \u00a0We say, but I will be blessed to be a blessing, sure, and that is a part of it. \u00a0But, would you be cursed to be a blessing to others? \u00a0Is your only goal in life to have enough so that you can give 20% of your income and still live comfortably?<\/p>\n

It is our right in the Kingdom to be treated as sons. \u00a0It is our calling to lay it all at His feet, and submit our entire selves to Him.<\/p>\n

We were made new, not of corruptible seed, but of that incorruptible. \u00a0We were not purchased with perishable things like silver and gold, but with the imperishable price of the blood of Christ, Eternal in the heavens. \u00a0As Jesus said, would we willingly take the stool at the end of the table, rather than the head, not out of a religious false humility, but in simple confidence that, if we really are all that, it will demonstrate itself shortly? \u00a0And, if not, what have we lost? \u00a0Better to not exalt ourselves!<\/p>\n

We are not looking for miracles, ultimately, although we do earnestly desire them and all spiritual gifts. \u00a0We are looking for Him, and only Him, to be caught up in Him, changed in Him, and to be one with Him.<\/p>\n

Jesus said, much to the anger of many listening, that He and the Father were one (John 10:30). \u00a0Later, in John 17, He prayed this prayer.<\/p>\n

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one<\/p>\n

John 17:22<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the same way that Jesus and the Father were one, Jesus has given us His glory, and it is prayer and desire, that we would be one, even in that same way. \u00a0Of the Spirit, not of the world. \u00a0Both on Earth and in Heaven together (John 3:13 NAS). \u00a0Doing nothing but what we see the Father doing, and saying only what we hear Him say.<\/p>\n

To truly be one, united with the Father, in every motive, every action, every intent. \u00a0Not turning it on for a conference and turning it back off, but actually, completely, living in harmony with the God, the actual creator of the universe, the throne of all dominion and authority on the planet.<\/p>\n

This is the purpose of the finished work of the cross, and this is Jesus’ most earnest request, as recorded by John.<\/p>\n

This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.<\/p>\n

John 17:3<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Everlasting life is not something we’re waiting for, it something that we have the moment we believe. \u00a0We will never die. \u00a0And it is in that believing, that because we love Him, we obey His teachings (John 14:15), for, to truly love Him for who He is, we would want to do nothing else.<\/p>\n

This is the Road to Eternal life, not merely to learn more about God, but to meet Him, to spend your life with Him, and, in the deepest way imaginable and then some more, to be one with Him. \u00a0This is perfect love that casts out all fear. \u00a01 John 4:18.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find\u00a0it. Matthew 7:14 When it comes to revival, and revival meetings, in one sense, revival is easy… \u00a0Once the flow starts, the miracles happen, the atmospheres change, the going is good… \u00a0On another side, we sometimes don’t see […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[41,14,1301,112,130,244,267,397,396,50,1299,395,394],"class_list":["post-617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kingdom","tag-father","tag-jesus","tag-kingdom","tag-life","tag-miracles","tag-perfect-love","tag-revival","tag-road-to-life","tag-sons","tag-spirit","tag-teaching","tag-vine","tag-will"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2MdeJ-9X","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/Road-to-Heaven-by-Emily-Mueller.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1439,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617\/revisions\/1439"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ChurchOfTheBeyond.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}