How do Christians live out the life in Christ? How to live our faith may be the biggest challenge for Christians. Recently Rev. Si Duoyong, pastor of a House church in Hangzhou, shares the message of how to live out the life in Christ on a Sunday service.
He states that Christians with life in Christ have faith and obedience. But where does faith come from? It's from God's word. The most terrible thing is that one feels nothing after hearing God's word.
The steering wheel of human is the hands of God rather than men. The book Daring to Live on the Edge written by Loren Cunningham tells that a pastor who has no penny bets that he can stay in London for 20 days by depending on God.Only followers of faith dare to do this but those without faith are afraid to do it.
Pastor Si shares that he stayed in Beijing for a month without getting any money. It may seem a difficult challenge to many people, but he felt very free like sitting in a ship for he had faith in God. The book mentions that the pastor lacks nothing in the days of London.
The gap between normal people and them lies in faith and totally depending on God. Total independence of God is considered as a critical signal of living out life. Don't be by might nor by power but His Spirit, which also obeys God's law and word. Vibrant Christians look up to God. Always put your hope in God and get strength from God.
The world tells you that man become abundant with increasing in knowledge, while the real abundance is making deductions. Our brains are filled with too much rubbish that needs to be cleared out. Having the most graduates in the world, China produces the fewest research results. Because they are crammed too much. So use subtraction: simply depending upon God. A heavy backpack hinders us from walking ahead, therefore, go into a battle with a light pack, like David who took a coat of armor off and beated Goliath with a few stones in the name of the Lord.
Besides, we should take action. Be keen in spirits and see revelation before action, which is called living out life in Christ.
You can distinguish vital believers from dead ones by their responses to a crisis. For example, one can tell if you are vibrant or not when you are beguiled of your money and facing economic, health or marriage issues. Jesus said that it will be time to separate the sheep from the goats and it depends on your crisis management capability. Vibrant believers can overcome these issues. Those who live out life in Christ don't fall though the rain comes down, the streams rise and the crisis strikes.
Observe yourself whether you explain crises with God's word or with your own feelings in the face of crises. For instance, how to interpret a headache with truth? How to analyze marriage issues?
Don't stare at a crisis and believe that there is hope when you fix your eyes on God. "I'm weak but God is strong. I suffer from a disease but God is a healer. I'm poor while God's rich. We face many crises and are more than conquerors through God." The pastor claims. "The secret of overcoming crises is to depend on God. When God's word roots in our hearts, the evil won't hurt us." He adds.
As long as we live in this world, various evil desires tempt us. The key to victory lies in handing over all the kinds of desires to God, for 'after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.(James 1:15)' " Crises occur with worries. Give your worries to God and watch how God leads you.
Translated by Karen Luo