It’s OK to tone down certain charismatic manifestations to make church visitors feel welcome. I love it when the Holy Spirit moves in a church service. But I also know there’s a fine line between charismatic and charismaniac. Too often, those of us…

I hear the rainFalling on the roof,On the trees, andHitting the ground with force,Like an angry drunkSlamming his empty bottle ofBeer on the table,Demanding more.”Just put it on my tab,”He says.The bartender replies,”I think it’s time for you to go hom…

At Shabbach DC, Pastor Daniel Gray preached a powerful word on Sunday asking if YOU had DIED yet. One of the reasons that the change doesn’t stick after a conference like Shabbach is that some of us did not DIE. We tried to add God into the mix of a cRaZy lifestyle when what we really needed to do was to put that old stuff to death and be resurrected into a new life in Him. Don’t believe me….

In Romans 6, Paul is encouraging the believers to live a life free from sin. His reasoning- because they had DIED to who they used to be. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:1-3, ESV). You must die to who you were to become a new creation in Christ. This is why we refer to the area at the front of the sanctuary as the altar; because this is the area where things are put to death.

So I must ask you, did you DIE at Shabbach?

You cannot live an empowered Christian life and keep your old self on life-support just in-case things don’t work out. You cannot simply add Jesus to the mix of what you’ve always done and expect this thing called a relationship with him to last very long. Rather, you must put to death the old things.

Do I really have to DIE?

When we think of dying, we think of what we LOSE. But that’s not the way Jesus sees it. He sees our sacrifice for what we will GAIN. “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:24, ESV). What you lose NOW for the cause of Christ will pay off in the long run. Jesus pointed out that a seed is only one small thing unless it falls into the ground and dies. But in its death, it is transformed into a new life that can bear much fruit (John 12:24). Paul teaches in Romans 6 that if we die with Christ, we will also be resurrected with him in the power of the Spirit, free from the bondage of sin.

As Pastor Daniel Gray illustrated, when you hold a seed in your hand, you do not simply hold a seed. You are holding a seed that can produce a tree, that can produce fruit, that can produce more seeds, that can produce more trees….. etc. In other words, you contain the potential of a forest when you hold a seed in your hand. The pivotal moment is when the seed falls to the ground and dies. Only then will its potential be reached.

So I encourage you to reflect on your life. Have you DIED to who you were so that you can be resurrected into who he is? When you do, you release a forest of potential and receive the power to walk in newness of life, bearing fruit for the kingdom.

Finish reading Romans 6:1-14,

John D. Smith
Shabbach Ministries

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