I Am Dead
I amaze myself. Who in his right mind would continue to believe that what is dead, is still alive? Who would continue to enjoy a carcass vs enjoying life? Who would consistently, for 40+ years, insist on struggling vs reigning?
Why would I take all that I have and replace it with nothing that I have? I have everything in Christ, but trade it for nothing from this world. I amaze myself.
I can’t give myself too hard of a time. This is not my unique condition. This is definitely the condition of mankind. Our brother and apostle Paul experienced the same: “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” Romans 7:18-20.
To understand our situation, we have to go a little further than “doing good.” Our problem isn’t our desire, our problem is our sin nature, our flesh, our old man. Our problem is we live in the physical realm instead of the spiritual realm. I love the lyrics from this song “Spiritual” by brother Donald Lawrence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s73WSFxBemA. “You’re not a natural being, having a spiritual experience. But you’re a spiritual being, living this natural experience.”
We get caught up don’t we? We wake up thinking of all the worldly, physical things we need to do. We are impacted by our natural environment most of the day. Our emotions are constantly being impacted by others. Kids, wife, boss, friends. Even more, we’re constantly consuming information through our devices. It is absolutely easy to be 100% living in the physical realm, in the world, totally distracted and find ourselves severely exhausted. Then we wonder why. Ridiculous - and trust me, I’m specifically talking to myself here.
Take it a step further. After all is said and done, we judge ourselves and we instantly attempt to improve our condition. We even pray “Lord, bless me. God please make me better. God I’m sorry, forgive me. I want to be a better husband. I want to be happier. Lord You said You will make me happy, but I don’t feel it. I want to have a better life.”
Oh brothers, that’s a genuine attempt. I applaud it even for myself. But, we are terribly wrong. Our dear brother Watchman Nee puts it epically: “We don’t need a better life. We need a better death.” So true. God never attempts to improve our old man. He wants nothing to do with it. He gives new life to the new man. Check it out:
“Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:3-4
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20
Come on brothers, my fellow warriors, we have to get this. I have to get this. Just like everything in our earthly journey, we can’t just “get it” and we’re good. This is a daily getting. I would dare say this is a moment by moment “getting.” My old man is dead. My old man is dead. I’m crucified. I’m crucified. Over and over and over again, all day, every conversation, every situation, every emotion, every thought, every action… I’m dead, I’m dead, I’m dead.
Now, you don’t have to ask to be dead. Why, it’s already done. The Cross was once and final and complete. We have to reckon ourselves dead. We have to know it. We have to experience it. We have pursue this fact. In spirit. Then soul. Then body.
When I know and reckon myself dead with Christ in a continuous way, I have clarity of my new life. I have all of God’s joy in me. Heaven on earth brother.
Our vulnerability with the enemy and his evil forces, the world pressures and our failure in sin all happen in the old man. On the Cross, all of them have nothing to attack. They have nothing to distract. They have no stronghold. Not only do I want nothing to do with something that is dead (carcass), but neither does the enemy, the world or our flesh. It’s utterly useless.
As God’s warriors, we must continue to have revelation of this… God help us. God has absolute, specific and active purpose with His soldiers. There is a job to do right now, here on earth. He cannot work with our old man. He only works with our new man. The one new man!
Prayer: “God I am so tired of this world. I am so tired of my fleshly ways. I am so tired of listening to the enemy’s lies. I am tired of not living in Your reality of Your work in me through Christ. I am tired of my own understanding, my own emotional reactions, my own ideas of going on and my own use of my body regarding the work of Christ. I need revelation from You Father, through the Spirit, in my spirit, to comprehend how I am dead already. How You have already recovered me, rescued me, taken me from myself and this world. How I am 1,000,000% living in resurrected life, my new life, in Christ. I know if I have revelation from You, my tiredness is no longer needed, because I am refreshed in Your river of water of life! May I go on with You Lord. May I receive what You have already done. May I join Your purpose of life. May I walk in the spirit. Amen.”
