Gain and Loss!
Whatever Apostle Paul gained in the world and in his religion prior to his conversion, he now counts as loss after his conversion to Christ. All things gained outside of Christ must be considered a loss in order to gain Christ. No loss equates to no gain.
According to the Apostle, all things gained before Christ now become rubbish (Philippians 3:8) and to no account no matter how important and how valuable they are to you.
One has to experience loss before one can know Christ, His resurrection, His power, His fellowship, and His death (Philippians 3:10). Out of your loss comes your soulish death and out of soulish death comes your spiritual life – His life and His agapao (love) manifested in you as a sweet aroma to His Father and to others.
The reason many Christians do not intimately know Christ is that they have not suffered the loss of all things (Philippians 3:8). They hold on to the very things that He says to let go so they can press on and take hold of Him. Unless your hands are empty, your heart broken and submitted, and your mind renewed, you will have difficulty holding on to Christ of the Cross and progressing in your intimate walk with Christ.
Jesus us said to the rich young ruler:
One thing you lack:
Go
and
sell all your possessions
and
give to the poor,
and
you will have
treasure in heaven;
and
come,
follow Me.
But at these words
he was saddened,
and
he went away
grieving,
for he was one
who owned much property.
(Mark 10:21-22)
To truly follow Christ is a costly proposition which only a few of the few are willing to totally sell out and commit themselves to Him like Jesus wanted the rich younger ruler to do. Jesus said,
“Many are called, but few are chosen.
” (Matthew 22:14).
Sad to say, the church today lacks this “one thing” – to experience loss of everything. Instead, the church’s hands are full, the heart proud, and the mind un-renewed by compromising to the materialistic, political, and temptations of the world as well as substituting the self- and religious life for spiritual life.
Furthermore, without loss and the Cross in your life, you will be unable to take hold of your calling and your giftings to press forward in the power and the anointing of the Holy Spirit to the upward call in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13-14).
Christ suffered the loss of His earthly life through the Cross to gain the Father’s glory and to bring salvation to those accepting and yielding to Him. Christ would say to you and me….
“If you are not willing to
take up your cross
of suffering loss in your desires and ambitions,
you are not worthy of Me.”
(Matthew 10:38)
Being worthy of Christ requires suffering loss to one’s desires and ambitions! A hard word to swallow if one truly hungers and thirsts after Christ and His Kingdom.
The Importance of Cross Leading to Resurrection Life!
Furthermore. one cannot know the power of the resurrection until one has experienced the death of the Cross. One must die with Christ on the Cross before resurrected life is manifested in one’s life.
The Cross becomes the path to resurrection for no Cross means no death, and
without death, there is no resurrected life, and if there is no resurrected life there is no victory, and one remains dead in trespasses and sins and walks in darkness with hell as the destination.
Thus, the earth life presents one with two roads to travel – the Cross road or the Self-road. Either you live for Self, or you die to all your ambitions, desires, and wants apart from Christ through the Cross of Christ. Jesus said and I paraphrase,
“Deny yourself,
(Comment: …..suffer to the point of dying to your soulish self),
take up your cross DAILY,
(Comment: …..get on My cross, take the nails of affliction, and the spear of suffering and become crucified with Me);
and
follow me
(Comment: tag along with me wherever I go).”
(Luke 9:23)
The Self-life brings darkness, and the Cross-life brings light. Either one travels in the dark or one travels by the light of Christ. Those who travel in the fog attempt to blend the light and dark leading only to delusion, deception, despair, and disaster.
The Cross is the road to resurrection and an intimate relationship with the Savior. There can be no relationship with Him without the presence of the Cross, death and resurrection in one’s walk with Him.
The Importance of Cross of Calvary Highway!
Finally, when one thinks of driving directions, one can think of going north, south, east, or west. But how about this - if you place the four directions on a gird, you get the sign of the Cross. All four directions point to two things: (1) the Cross of Christ, and (2) Christ as the compass of life.
All directions point to our relationship with the Savior (Christ) of the world.
For instance,
North
…..equates with the Savior “nurturing” and "nudging" us in grace. mercy, and truth.
East
…..represents His “equipping” and "encouraging" us to walk with Him, do His work for Him, and worship Him.
South
…..represents His “seeking” and “saving” us from the world, the flesh, and the devil.
West
….. represents His calling us to be His “warriors” and "winners" while supplying us with supernatural “weapons” to build His church and usher in His kingdom on earth.
Thus, Christ the Messiah, created an earth with four directions which not only
helps men and women reach their earthly destinations, but also points men and
women in the right direction spiritually if they recognize and travel on the road the
Savior places in front of them as well as walking and living by faith and obedience to
Christ and His commands..
All people of the earth have the opportunity to travel the road called the “Cross of Calvary Highway” as they accept and follow the Savior who owns this road.
It is traveling on this “Highway” which will bring them to their eternal destination called heaven. There is no other highway that is as important as the “Cross of Calvary Highway” for when one finds this road, one will be well on their way to reach the great city in heaven called the “New Jerusalem” which will be their home for all eternity.
Rich Arnold
Servant of the Lord
311 Adelaide Ave SW
Hartville, Ohio 44632
330-704-9306
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