by G. D. Watson
If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25
If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.
Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.
Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.
Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.
The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.
God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.
The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over.
So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.
God will take you at your word. If you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.
As usual your thoughts have spawned a post for me. It will be entitled “The Wind of Man” and it will deal with the man created wind that tries to pass as the Holy Spirit. Thanks, Mike.
P.S. – I would sit under your preaching anytime.
Rick,
I can’t wait to read it! I would really like to listen to your preaching as well.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
I am also trying to publish my sermons online. How did you record and get it on the computer?
Steve,
Please forgive me for taking so long to get back to your comment. The church I preached in last Sunday records all of their sermons. They gave me the MP3 from it. I have a website which I uploaded the MP3 to then I linked to it from my blog.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
I read your sermon and liked it, although when I started listening to the sermon (which I have not finished) I realized I would get a lot more listening to it too. So I hope to save it and get it on my mp3 player as then I can listen to it in quiet (I have 5 children!).
Karen,
It is incredibkly humbling that people listen to my sermon or read my notes on it. Five children! Wow that’s great. My wife and I are hoping for grandchildren soon.
I would like to get your feedback on my sermon. It was the first time I have ever done anything like that and I do want to get better at it.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
Mike, I have listened to your sermon and have been particulary struck by one part. It is when you ask, “Who do you say Jesus is in your heart?” and “Who do you see Jesus as in your heart?” and in the middle of those two questions you qualify the questions by stating something like, “Not do who do you see Him as in your logic or in your reasoning.” I have a fleshly propensity to live a great deal in my head and in my reasoning. The call to examine what is in my heart is heaven sent. I know that what is in my heart shows in my actions, my words, my attitudes, my hopes, my dreams, what dismays me, what thrills me, what I hunger and thirst after (my default treasuring), where my thoughts automatically go and rest when going about my daily life (my default thinking), etc. Blessedly, these questions have been a call to reality and repentence. Praise God. He alone is worthy. Kim T
Kim,
Yes, He alone is worthy! I rejoice whenever I hear of God working in anyone’s heart.
In Christ
Mike Ratliff
Hi MIke,
I really enjoyed listening. I’m so glad the Lord has given you this opportunities and I pray he will allow you more.
Cristina
Thanks Cristina!