Sometimes it takes a long "while" for things to click into place!

[Dave_UK]

Yeah! It's me yet again, posting here on this sub-forum 'cos it's the major 1 problem for most of us! That's just the way we're built!


Am struggling to "walk after the Spirit" - and you know the old battle - "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh" - at my age/state/circumstances it is no longer the physical side of things - it's the rotten filthy wicked imaginings that pop up at idle times, and my sometimes "luxuriating" in such thoughts - that's my problem!  In my re-reading (as I am learning "Teeline Shorthand" I often practice writing in my notebooks, the shorthand equivalent of the more interesting chunks of Watchman Nee's old classic  "The Normal Christian Life" and that practice gives me more time to ponder the content of my favourite book after the Bible!

There is a stunning passage in the book that spells out the astonishing fact that the battle is not ours! "The battle belongs to the Lord.".  I would really like to type in the relevant text, but copyright restriction precludes that - but after a short "off-piste" comment immediately below I will supply the gist of it...


START OF "OFF-PISTE" PORTION : -

After many years of superficial thinking about the words of old familiar hymns and songs. I now at long last realize their deeper significance, based upon the realization of Christ dwelling in our hearts, after our "second birth" (vide John chapter 3, Jesus short conversation with Nicodemus) and the coming of Christ into our lives as the Indwelling Spirit.  E.g. in verse 5 of "At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow"  : -

In your hearts enthrone Him;
There let Him subdue
All that is not holy.
All that is not true:
Crown Him as your captain
In temptation's hour,
Let His will enfold you
In it's light and power.

Or the little song we used to sing before the service started, at one church that we attended : -

"Jesus  we enthrone You
We proclaim You our King.
Standing here in the midst of us
We raise You up with our praise,
And as we worship build a throne, (repeated twice)
Come Lord Jesus and take Your place."



It's all about He in us, and we in Him!

Jesus said as much "I in you and you in Me" at The Last Supper recorded in John, and remember His exhortation to us "Dwell in Me as I in you, the same bringeth forth much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.".Also Paul writes in His epistles "Christ in you, the hope of glory to come."

[/b][/color]END OF "OFF-PISTE" PORTION


Now for the promised gist of the passage from W.N's book : -

(BTW We need to realize that we all, born in the ancestral line of Adam, have inherited Adam's nature and characteristics.  Our blood is "tainted"  by Adam's disobedience, hence the need for Jesus virgin birth - he had the DNA of God, and so not as that inherited from Adam.  I don't understand how a father's DNA has an influence on a child's blood. perhaps others more knowledgeable can enlighten me!)

First I would like to repeat what W.N. says about trying to win the battle by exercising our will-power! He approaches this by saying that, in effect, we are trying to please God - we know what we ought to do, but so often fail - we do well for just a while and then "stumble".  Yes! we pray that the Lord will help us (when we eventually come to our senses and seek His face again - after confession and asking for His forgiveness). In His amazing Mercy He does help us in another fresh beginning, and how the spirit is willing but the flesh so weak!  The answer IMO is a constant need  to "walk the Lord 's way" being submissive to His guidance and correction (expressed to us in communication with His Indwelling Spirit within those of us who have received the "second birth"), for only He knows what is best.  This is why Paul exhorts us to continual prayer - when we forget and the cares/concerns of our everyday lives swamp us - it is too easy to forget for a while "Christ within us"!

Because of our intrinsic "fallen" nature (Thanks for that Adam! ) we are too weak to succeed in our own strength - we have to rely on the Lord to bring us through by trusting Him - it's not our battle, but the Lord's through His Indwelling Spirit within us - "The battle belongs to the Lord."!  Now sometimes we may still "stumble" but He is so gracious and will "pick us up" to resume the battle - which will never end while we are still in the body!  I just can't resist repeating what W.N. says about this and the use of will-power :-

"...many Christians endeavour to drive themselves by will-power, and then think the Christian life a most exhausting and bitter one.  Some even force themselves to do Christian things because others do them, while admitting they have no meaning to them.  They force themselves to be what they are not, and it is worse than trying to make water run up-hill... In fact we only have to exert will-power in order to do the things we do not do naturally.  We may do them for a time, but the law of sin and death wins in the end. We may be able to say 'To will is present with me, and I perform that which is good for two weeks', but eventually we shall have to confess, 'How to perform it I know not'.  No,what I already am I do not long to be.  If I 'would' it is because I am not.

   You ask, Why do men use will-power to try to please God? There may be two reasons.  They may of course never have experienced the new birth,  in which case they have no new life to draw upon; or they may have been born again and the life be there, but they have not learned to trust in that life.  It is this lack of understanding that results in habitual failure and sinning, bringing them to the place where they almost cease to believe in the possibility of anything better..."

   Nothing surprising there - but how about this stunning passage from the section "Our end is God's beginning"! : -

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THINK THIS COULD BE A LONG'ISH POST - SO I'LL APPEND TO IT FROM TIME TO TIME, AND REMOVE THIS LINE WHEN I'VE FINISHED!