KNOW, RECKON AND YIELD

April 4, 2004 am MF Blume One of the most wonderful themes in the bible that I have come to love so fully is the truth of being dead, buried and resurrected with Jesus Christ. Question:  Why did Jesus die? Answer:  BECAUSE WE HAD TO DIE. Let us really root ourselves into the soil of this truth, and realize that THIS is the key to LIVING! Rom 6:3-14 (3)  Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4)  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (5)  For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: (6)  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7)  For he that is dead is freed from sin. (8)  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9)  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10)  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11)  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (12)  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. (14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. KNOW, RECKON and YIELD. There are truths that will not be enjoyed by ourselves as Believers until we learn to live by what we know, and cannot see. All that your five senses can relate to will not be able to assist you. You simply have to be taught about these things from the Word of God. And if you can learn to live by these truths, rather than only live by what your five senses communicate to you, then you will be on the road to living the Newness of Life, or resurrection life,  that Romans 6:4 speaks of. Notice the following scriptures that speak about what cannot be seen as opposed to FAITH in TRUTH. 2Co 5:7 (7)  (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 2Co 4:18 (18)  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. Gal 2:20 (20)  I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 1 Peter 1:8 (8)  Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Hebrews 10:38 (38)  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. All of the above scriptures stress the need of having FAITH in order to succeed in God's Kingdom. Notice that Hebrews says we shall LIVE by faith. Since the Garden of Eden, the two pathways have been DEATH and LIFE as expressed in the TWO TREES. FAITH can be defined as solid confidence in what has been SPOKEN to you, concerning something you cannot see not find physical evidence of. Hebrews 11:1 (1)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. GNB Hebrews 11:1 (1)  To have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see. CEV Hebrews 11:1 (1)  Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. There are many things that you cannot see, that God speaks about in His Word. What makes it so hard for people is that they are so used to living by what they can see and physically relate to. And so asking them to live by faith, or live by things that were ONLY EXPLAINED to them that lack anything visible, is something many, many people simply never set forth to do. We LIVE by faith. This is actually the very lesson from the start of the entire Bible. Notice the difference between God's manner of relating to Adam and the serpent's manner of relating to Eve. Genesis 2:16-17 (16)  And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: (17)  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 3:6 (6)  And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. SPOKEN WORD or EXPLANATION of the situation, as opposed to VISIBLE SIGHT of the particular element. Please understand that everything that is SPIRITUAL can be classified as things that are not physically visible, audible, touchable, tasteable, "smellable," etc. It is the CARNAL things that are physical and can be sensed by the five senses. In fact, Paul said that the things which we can see are only temporal, but the things we cannot see are eternal. Now, think of your own lives. If you have genuinely followed the Gospel plan and have been baptized into Jesus Christ's death in His name, and believed you simply had to have Christ's death occur in order for you to have your sins dealt with, then there are certain things that are true about you that you will not see. There are spiritual realities about your life that, unless you comprehend them and have them explained to you to the point that you can live your life BASED UPON THESE FACTS, then you will not become a strong Christian. Ever since the beginning, it is the VISIBLE and OUTWARD that has led people to wrongfulness. It's the things that your FLESH can relate to. But the things your spirit relates to are what we must concentrate upon. And let us understand that some spiritual things are evil, since we do know that there is an evil side to the spirit realm as well. Satan is a spirit, too. At one point, Heaven was nothing but good. Lucifer rebelled and arose in sin, and brought evil into the spirit realm. He was cast out of Heaven. Earth was also good originally. There was not evil whatsoever. But when the devil managed to have mankind mirror his ways of self-exaltation in spite of God, instead of man remaining God's image in the physical realm, the world was introduced to EVIL just as Heaven was. But evil will be cast from the earth one day as well. God's will will be done in earth as it is in heaven! Romans 6 speaks of KNOWING that a baptized person has been baptized into the death of Jesus Christ. Now, had you not had that explained to you, you would wonder why on earth we dunk people beneath the water in Jesus' name. So we must KNOW some things. My sermon is entitled, KNOW, RECKON and YIELD. The path to powerful Christian living is first KNOWING some things. And you are not going to know them by sight. So these are things that are going to require your FAITH. And if you can live your life based upon FAITH in this sense, then you will find a vast horizon set before you that you can launch into and experience such wonders in God's Kingdom! Your repentance and baptism in His name begins the entire journey. YOU ARE CONSIDERED TO HAVE DIED, so far as your old life is concerned. Now, if you were to look at yourself physically, you would see nothing that is any different than before your salvation. Your heart never stopped beating. But the SPIRITUAL truth is that YOU ACTUALLY DIED with Jesus when you were baptized into His death. Once you KNOW that, you can KNOW some other things. Rom 6:6-7 (6)  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7)  For he that is dead is freed from sin. We're FREED FROM SIN if we died. Think of a person who dies. In this life sin has affected them and driven them. Death FREES them from sin. Paul tells us to think of Jesus. Rom 6:6-10 (6)  Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. (7)  For he that is dead is freed from sin. (8)  Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: (9)  Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. (10)  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Jesus died unto SIN. Think of the death penalty dealing with CRIME. What can the judge do more than sentence one to death for a crime? There is no further way of judging the criminal. Death is the end. Jesus took the death penalty upon Himself. You can only DIE ONCE. And the Bible says that He resurrected and LIVES FOREVERMORE now. Since DEATH finishes the business to do with sin, then YOU ARE FREED FROM SIN because YOU DIED through the death of Jesus Christ. That is why we read: Rom 6:10-11 (10)  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. (11)  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. If you died with Jesus, and Jesus was FREED FROM DEATH AND DEAD TO SIN, then you are also FREED FROM SIN! You see, AFTER YOU KNOW THIS, YOU MUST RECKON IT. Between knowing the facts about Jesus' death and our CO-DEATH with Him, and doing something GREAT for God, is the RECKONING ASPECT. We all can KNOW we died with Jesus. But why do we not DO something about it and be great warriors and perform great works for God? IT IS BECAUSE WE DO NOT RECKON IT. Reckoning it is really "getting it" and realizing HOW IT APPLIES TO YOU. Too many know a lot but never reckon it. They know God heals people by believers laying hands on the sick, but they never lay hands on the sick because they do not RECKON THEMSELVES to be involved! This reckoning is the all-important part. It's when you really "get it" and you are impacted with the truth that YOU are dead to sin. That is why the next verse says you DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Rom 6:12 (12)  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Its where you stop talking about it alone, and start LIVING LIFE BASED UPON IT. And you have no physical evidence to prove it. But you have GROWN SPIRITUALLY to live by the explanation of it and God's Word about it. THAT IS FAITH. That is being SPIRITUAL. We cannot look at our situation CARNALLY. Rom 8:5 (5)  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. We're alive unto God now and dead to sin. Romans 6:10 says that Jesus is dead to sin and alive to God, and verse 11 says we must RECKON OURSELVES dead to sin and alive to God. The world is dead in trespasses and sins. It's USELESS to Him. Like a dead corpse lying on the ground. BUT YOU ARE ALIVE FROM THE DEAD -- ALIVE UNTO GOD now! And you must now do the THIRD THING.... YIELD. Rom 6:13 (13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. KNOW, RECKON and now YIELD. Say "God, here I am!  I died with Christ, and am now ALIVE TOWARDS YOU.  HERE IS AM!  USE ME!" RECKON means to consider this of yourself until you can ACT UPON IT. And if you act upon it, you will present yourself to God as someone who is alive to Him for His use. Being ALIVE UNTO GOD, means you are now USEFUL TO HIM! If you do not think God can use YOU, then you have never reckoned yourself alive unto God. DO NOT BE BOUND TO THE NATURAL LIFE. Do not merely look at yourself visibly and live on that basis. If you do, you'll see nothing about being dead with Christ and alive to God. And you will think nothing has changed. And so you will not present yourself as someone useful to God. You'll be non-productive. Rom 8:5-7 (5)  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. (6)  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (7)  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Verse 5:  The carnal or fleshly Christian is the unproductive Christian. They never see themselves Spiritually, because they do not reckon the truth to themselves. They do not put themselves into the equation. They always live by their five sense. THE FLESH. They think of nothing but the things of the flesh.. things that they can taste, touch, smell, hear and see. And that is what Eve related to instead of the things of the Spirit which regarded FAITH IN GOD'S WORD. And as with Adam and Eve, it leads to DEATH. A mind that cannot get into the swing of living by faith in what God's Word says about themselves will always find themselves living a lifestyle that is at odds with God. That is what it means to read "The carnal mind is enmity against God." Rom 8:8-9 (8)  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (9)  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. If God's Spirit is in your life then your life is IN THE SPIRIT. And although you are not "in the flesh" as someone who does not have the Spirit of God in them, YOU CAN WALK AFTER THE FLESH. Rom 8:1 (1)  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. All of this means that people who do not have God's Spirit in them cannot please God. They are not in the Spirit. But you can be in the Spirit but look at yourself as someone who is NOT in the Spirit. This means you are in the Spirit but you WALK AFTER THE FLESH. And that messes things up as well. You look at yourself in the same way as you were before you were redeemed. Your thinking has to catch up with your position! You are not in the flesh, so stop walking after the flesh. Stop living only by what you see! When you do not regard such things as being dead to Christ and therefore useful to God, then you walk down a path towards death. AND THIS BRINGS US TO A FURTHER THOUGHT. If you really believe you are dead to sin and alive to God, YOU WILL REACH OUT AND GOD WILL START USING YOU MIGHTILY. And the truth of KNOW, RECKON and YIELD will give you a powerful understanding that many don't have and some never had for years although they claimed to be Christians for years. If you first KNOW, then RECKON and THEN YIELD yourself for God to use, the YIELDING means that you allow GOD TO USE YOU LIKE AN INSTRUMENT IN HIS HAND. How many know that instruments do not make themselves work? Instruments are USED. Rom 6:13 (13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. If your bodily members are INSTRUMENTS OF GOD, then that means GOD USES YOUR BODY. This immediately tells you that YOU DO NOT CONTRIVE SOME WORK FOR GOD. The principle is to allow God to use you. Invite HIm to use you. You do not think of what you can do. He USES you, and that means HE THINKS of what you should do. People who do not get this concept of YIELDING will inadvertently lean towards contriving their own performances for God. They never think of simply reaching out to God for direction and instruction. They are so fleshly oriented, that they CONTRIVE their work for God, not stopping to think about God determining who should do what. Rom 8:10 (10)  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. You died with Jesus. So stop using your FLESH to serve God by doing YOUR best. Present yourself to God for HIM TO DO HIS BEST with you! The SPIRIT is life! So be SPIRIT-UAL! When you REALLY get this, you will always reach out for God to use you. It will be second nature to you. If you do not have this, you will sit and wonder why people reach out in worship so much. You have no concept as to what they are trying to accomplish. They are trying to present themselves to God, getting their minds on the things that are true, but cannot be seen. They are right there, actually letting God know there and then that He if He can use anyone, He can use them. Rom 8:11-12 (11)  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (12)  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. Compare that with this: Rom 6:10 (10)  For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Jesus had an IMMORTAL BODY when the Spirit QUICKENED Him. He really was ALIVE UNTO GOD. It was solely God's power that made that body live and do things. It could not do anything by the power of the flesh -- natural life could not take a body brutally murdered and executed. Natural life was exhausted and driven out by that death. But that body was CHANGED. He bore wounds that if blood had still been in it, it would have flowed out profusely. But His blood was shed out of His body and GLORY flowed through it instead. But the difference between HIm and ourselves is that the Spirit quickened His immortal body. And although we do not have an immortal body yet, His Spirit can still quicken us! Rom 6:11-12 (11)  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (12)  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Don't let sin reign in your mortal body. Rom 8:11-12 (11)  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Let God's Spirit quicken your mortal body instead! You say Christ's body was immortal when God's Spirit quickened him, and you do not have an immortal body yet. True, but you are spiritually resurrected with Christ although you still have a mortal body. And therefore, by virtue of your union to Jesus, you can have God's Spirit quicken YOUR MORTAL BODY. And what does Paul say will be the benefits of this quickening? Rom 8:11-12 (11)  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (12)  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. THEREFORE -- as a benefit of being quickened... we do not have to live after the flesh! We do not have to be bound by fleshliness. We do not have to dominated by sin and dominated by lusts and dominated by fleshly desires. We don't have to be dragged around to fulfill the lusts of the flesh. Rom 6:14 (14)  For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. Being quickened by the Spirit is LIVING IN GRACE! Grace is divine empowerment! And you can do great works for God! Miracles! Wonders! Casting out devils! But most practically of all, victory over sin in your everyday life! Giving glory to God in the way you live. Its the TWO TREES all over again. ANOTHER LIFE, OR DEATH OF YOUR OWN LIFE you already have. EXTRA life is LIFE beyond natural Life. IT IS DIVINE LIFE. Something OTHER THAN you. Walking by FAITH and seeing GOD FILL YOU AND USE YOU WITH HIS LIFE, or walking by sight and losing the life you do have. Religion versus the real and actual spiritual life is LIVING BY MORE THAN YOURSELF!.