05/04/18 DASH-CAM VIDEO Too Close to the Edge
DASH-CAM VIDEO Too Close to the Edge
People fall out of bed because they go to sleep to close to the edge of the bed.
People fall into rushing, deadly waters because they stand too close to the edge of the bank.
People fall into sin because they stop and stay too close to where they came into salvation, and they don't move to the center of God's will.
When I went to Fort Macon to go fishing, I noticed an unusual sign. It said,
"NO SWIMMING, NO SURFING, NO WADING."
NO WADING??? That seems a little strange. But when I got down to the Point, I realized the reason for the warning.
Along the area where the water meets the shore there is a sudden and very steep drop off. You can be standing ankle deep on moment and the next moment you can be in getting carried away in fast moving and deep water.
This is located where the inlet is located (where the ocean water flows into the sound and river and marsh areas. Therefore there is a lot of water movement, strong tide action and rushing currents on a regular basis, eroding the shoreline dramatically.
Here is the problem. Anyone, child or adult, can be standing at the edge of this drop off, then the sand can be sucked from under your feet, pulling you out to a watery grave.
You could fall in and never get back out because you get quickly pulled out to sea. Or you could fall in and be unable to pull yourself back onto the beach.
Now here is the point.
Even workers in the kingdom; fishers of men, planters and sowers and harvesters, anyone serving God can be off of solid ground in a moment, if they are not paying attention to their surroundings. I know some people don't believe that Christians can fall into sin and be swept away to perdition.
Some folks believe Christians may fall into sin, and God will kill them and take them to heaven. NO NO NO, that is not what happens. If you get swept away from the word of God, away from the truth, away from a right relationship with God, you are not going to heaven. Folks then tell us that you don't lose your soul; they say you just lose your relationship with God. NO NO NO. If you don't have a secure relationship with God, then your soul does not have a secure place with God.
It is possible to lose that right relationship even when you are involved in good things. You do not have to be involved in wicked things. You have to pay attention to where you are.
It is not just a matter of stepping off of the shelf into the drop off, it is a matter of standing too close to the edge, where there is shifting sand. If the sand under your feet moves, then you will move with it.
It is something like going to bed, but going to sleep too close to the edge of the bed. YOU COULD FALL OUT OF BED. I guess that could happen to anyone. The closer you sleep to the edge of the bed, the more likely you are to fall out of it.
The closer you are to the edge of the drop off, the more likely you are to fall in. The waves, the current, the erosion of the sand takes place silently and quickly. YOU MUST PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS.
This can happen to any Christian. It is more likely to happen to the carnal Christian, the Christian who has not made full surrender to God, and has not been filled with the Holy Spirit of God, and purified by the Holy Spirit of God.
For the carnal believer there is an inner drawing away, an inner tendency to move away, an inner weakness that falls victim to the pulling away of Satan. This is why a person should act quickly when they hear God calling them to total surrender.
But remember, anyone can fall victim to the attacks of Satan. Adam fell victim, and he did not have a sinful nature. Eve did and she did not have a sinful nature. Yes, even Spirit filled believers can move in the wrong direction and get too close to the edge. But the norm for the un-sanctified is to be caught in Satan's snares. However, to sell out to God completely is a step toward ongoing victory.
People need to move away from the edge. If you don't want to fall out of bed, move to the middle. If you don't want to be pulled out to sea, move back from the edge. If you don't want to be pulled into Satan's current of destruction, you need to move to the center of God's perfect will, get there just as quick as you can and quit hanging around the edge of His will.
The longer you wait to get into God's perfect will, the sooner you are going to be drawn to the edge and washed away.
Jesus did not say, "Get saved, and then struggle for the next 5, 10, 20 years. Go ahead, be off and on, in and out, up and down, hot and cold, vacillating in the will of God. It is okay to be a person who is not totally committed." NO NO NO. He did not say that.
He said from the very beginning, "If any man will be my disciple, he must deny himself." James tells us where wars come. It is because people want to have their own way. Where do family wars come from; because people want to have their own way. Where do wars come from in churches; because people want to have their own way. Where does war come from between God and individuals; because people want to have their own way.
Jesus said, "You must deny yourself." That was right from the very beginning. It is not something to do to make it easier. That is the way it is . God wants you to be totally committed. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. IF YOU DO THAT, YOU WILL FULFILL ALL OF THE LAW OF GOD.
Jesus said, "Deny yourself, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS." You must be totally and constantly associated with the life and also the DEATH OF CHRIST. We are not talking about the passage in Corinthians, where Paul said that he died daily. Paul was talking about the resurrection and he was saying that he faced the possibility of physical death everyday. He was not saying he had to die spiritually to sin daily. We don't die daily to sin.
WE should be born again, but if we fall into sin we need to be recovered from our sin. So whether you call it being born again, again or whatever, it needs to be repeated. Likewise, if you have died to sin, and then you go back into sin, you need to die again. The point is that we must BE ALIVE TO GOD AND DEAD TO SIN, CONSTANTLY.
TAKE UP YOUR CROSS. Jesus wants us to be associated with Him. Remember, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ lives in me, and the life I now live in the flesh (human body), I live by the faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me."
SHALL WE CONTINUE IN SIN THAT GRACE MAY ABOUND. NO, HOW CAN WE THAT HAVE DIED TO SIN LIVE ANY LONGER THEREIN?
This is what God requires of us: to be dead to sin. And we are, because we are associated with Jesus, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS.
Baptism is a symbol of death. Paul said, "As many of us as were baptized, were baptized into His death... that we may rise and walk in newness of life."
AND FOLLOW ME. It is a daily, moment by moment (not a new choice, not a returning to Him) but an ongoing walk with God. We need to stay in the center of His light. If we do not stay in the center of His will we will move into the shadows (the umbra and penumbra, shadowy areas). Stay where the brightness is. Don't move toward the shadows. Stand firmly on the Rock.
