Now it is time for each true Christian to forget the past, as good or bad as it may have been, and press forward to know Jesus Christ in a much more personal manner. We must come to know the power of His resurrection. We must come to know the fellowship of His sufferings. We must learn to live by Him as He lives by the Father. This is a much more intimate relationship than we may have expected when we first received Christ as our personal Savior.

Coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ means we have learned to trust Him for our security and survival in the world. Most Americans, including Christians, trust in money for their food, shelter, and clothing. Trust in money is part of our culture. We need to be brought into experiences where we begin to realize our security and survival are not based on the American economic system but on God's faithfulness. This may seem far-fetched and idealistic, but that is only because we are Americans. Actually the concept of trusting God for our physical security is solidly biblical.

Coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ as a member of the Body of Christ means we, through Christ, have gained victory over the lusts of our flesh, over the desire for pleasure in the flesh. God always provides His faithful saints with enough joy to continue their discipleship. But the American lust for sexual gratification, for entertainment, for thrills, is demonic. Each member of the Body of Christ must pray and stand in God until these fires have been quenched. This is not easy, but it is possible through Jesus. And it is absolutely required if we are to appear with the Lord as a member of His Body and bring justice to the nations.

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, (Romans 8:13—NIV)

Coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ requires total, stern, strict obedience to God in all things. Freedom from the world and deliverance from lust have been taught at times in America. But we do not know much about obedience to God.

Stern obedience to the Father is learned through suffering, just as our Lord learned obedience through suffering. We must remain in the prisons in which we are placed until God lifts the constraints from us. We must endure long periods of denial of our most fervent desires. We must be patient in tribulation, in frustration, in pain.

We must never step forth in our own enthusiasms and ambitions to "do great things for God." God is not looking to us to accomplish great things. Such a concept is only an expression of spiritual pride and personal ambition. It is not scriptural.

We are to wait on God, looking to Him constantly for every breath we take. The need never constitutes the call. Because we have been given an opportunity to do something that seems to promote the Kingdom of God does not mean God has spoken. Because an experience is so "natural," so accompanied by positive signs and omens, and it makes us feel so good, does not mean it is from God. It most likely is not!

To be continued.