LOOKING UNTO JESUS Heb12:1-4

LOOKING UNTO JESUS Heb12:1-4

For us to look up to Jesus, one will have to take the following steps;

A)     Lay aside every weight: It means to remove all the heavy loads off the heart or mind, mass, heap and weight. It also means to eliminate arrogance or conceit off the mind. We should put away every weight that hinders Christian progress. Such weight could include;

1.       The weight of forgiveness

2.       The weight of fear

3.       The weight of anger

4.       The weight of depression (bitterness)

B)      Laying aside every sin which doth so easily beset us. The sin that doth so easily beset someone is the one which he or she has been addicted to (weakness).

C)      Running with patience, the race set before us; It means to fight; (1Timothy 6:12; 2Timothy 4:7), to strive; (Philippians 1:30), to contend: (1Thessalonian 2:2).

D)     Looking Unto Jesus; Jesus is the head of all long train of faith heroes; He is the author and the finisher of our faith. “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth”. Psalm 121:1-2. (Psalm 3:4). The Hill is the dwelling place of the almighty; Psalm 68: 15-16; Psalm 24:4; 15:1; 43:3 Psalm 99:9.Help is receiving several helps from God including the help of the Holy Ghost; John 14:16-17; Rom 8:26. It could be help in times of trouble; Psalm 46:1; Hebrews 4:16. God is our refuge and strength, our very present help in times of need.

7 STEPS IN OBTAINING HELP

A)     Recognition of a meeting Place with God; (the throne of grace; Heb 4:16)

B)      Consciousness that this meeting place is made possible through the atoning blood of Jesus; Hebrew 12:19-20.

C)      Obedience in coming to this throne; Hebrew 4:16; Hebrew 10:22-23

D)     Calling upon God for mercy and grace to help in time of need; Hebrew 4:16

E)      Boldness in approach

F)      Fervency and earnestness in presenting needs; James 5:16; Luke 11:5-13; Matthew 17:20; 21:22; Mark 11:22-24.

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BROKENNESS Gal2:20

 BROKENNESS Gal2:20

Brokenness is God’s method of dealing with our self-reliance, rigidity and anything or desire within us that makes us to act independently from Him.

Brokenness is when God deals with our attitude for the purpose of conforming us to His will and making us effective minister to others; Ephesians 2:8-10.

THE NEED FOR BROKENNESS

Brokenness comes in because of the hindrances posed to our Christian living by the activities of our outward man. 

So, brokenness is allowing the inward man to take control of the outward man; Romans 7:22; Ephesians 3:16; 2Corinthians 4:16. God comes into the inward man by His Spirit, Life and Power at salvation. The inward man is the spirit of man where God dwells and mingles with our spirit. Outside the inward man, is the soul (outer man) where-in function our thought, will and emotions. The outermost man is the physical (body). Men, even believers are generally more conscious of the outer and outermost man, abandoning the spirit. The inner man (spirit) must be allowed to break through the outward man in order to be relevant in the kingdom. Because of this, brokenness is highly essential.

WHY ARE MOST BELIEVERS NOT BROKEN?

1.       Pride; Proverbs 13:10 (contending the spirit)

2.       Ignorance; Ephesians 4:18

3.       Fear; 1John 4:18; Luke 21:26; 2Corinthians 7:5

4.       Worldly entanglements; Titus 2:12; Romans 12:2

5.       Ungodly relationships; 2Samuel 11:1-18

6.       Rebelliousness

7.       Stronghold of Satan.

CONSEQUENCIES OF RESISTING BROKENNESS

a.       We hinder our relationship with God.

b.      We delay the fulfillment of God’s will in our lives

c.       We limit what the Lord can do through our gifts and talents.

d.      We are put on the shelf, unused by God and prevented from experiencing the blessing and future rewards.

Brokenness is likened to breaking a shell. “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it dies, it bringeth forth much fruit”. John 12:24.

Except the shell is broken (dies) the seed inside can never sprout and grow up. Death is the cracking open of the shell. It is not that there is no life in the shell; the life in the shell can never be revealed except it is cracked open. When it is cracked open, the seed reveals itself by showing forth its life. 

The shell is the soulish life (thoughts, will and emotion). The life within the shell is the life which God has given and the inside of the shell is the spirit of man. Except the outward man be broken, the inward man can never manifest, but remains confined, shut up and imprisoned within the soul.

Brokenness is also likened to breaking the alabaster box: The alabaster box denotes the outward man. 

The pure spikenard in the alabaster box denotes spirituality and this pure spikenard can only flow out when the alabaster box is broken. But the alabaster box is expensive and so much treasured by men compared to its content. In the same way, many treasure the outward man more than the inward man. Many have more value for their social and academic status, relationships, material possessions, emotions, feelings and physical beauty. The fragrance of the spikenard is more important compared to the so called expensive alabaster box and so as the spirit of a man which carries the life of a man. 

No matter how beautiful or highly placed one may be, we must give room for brokenness in order to be relevant in the kingdom.

“He that believeth on me as the scripture has said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water”. John 7:38. It takes brokenness for living water to flow out of the life of a believer.

WHERE BELIEVERS ARE BROKEN

1.       Death to the sin and the affairs of this world; Romans 8:4-8.

2.       Open heartedness and humility in the place of prayer.

3.       Open and correctible to God’s word; Hebrews 4:12-13; Romans 7:22.

4.       Sacrificial service in the house of God; Romans 1:9;7:6; Ps 51:17.

5.       Being a worshipper worshipping God in spirit and in truth; John 4:23-24.

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