The remainder, people who have been brought into the churches by human efforts, will never agree to laying down their life for the Gospel. They will talk about it but never do it. They may seek the power of the Holy Spirit so they can "go forth and save a lost and dying world." This is all smoke and mirrors. Nothing of eternal value will take place.

Christ is calling us back to His cross so we may participate in the great witness of the Kingdom of God designated for the closing days of the Church Age. Jesus does not want believers running amuck, trying to build the Kingdom without knowing what they are doing. He is looking for obedience to His will. Are you willing to cease from your own efforts and look to Jesus for His guidance?

We need to get off somewhere by ourselves and yell, "From this time forth I am dead with Christ."

Forget about all the great things you are going to do for God. Go to Jesus and declare yourself dead with Him. This is the first step on the path to glory. Until you die you cannot begin the program that leads to the first resurrection from among the dead, the resurrection of the royal priesthood.

When we count ourselves as dead with Christ on the cross we also are to count ourselves raised from the dead with Him and brought with Him to the right hand of God, far above every other authority in the universe.

This is what it means to be born again. A firstfruits of our personality, that which has been made alive by the Spirit of Christ, is caught up to God's Throne in Heaven. From now on Jesus Christ is our Life. When He appears we shall appear with Him and assist in establishing the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Because a firstfruits of our personality has been waved before the Lord, so to speak, our entire personality is holy and our immediate family is holy. This is the principle of the firstfruits.

Our body still is on the earth. It is dead because of sin.

Our inner nature, our soul and spirit, have to choose each day to overcome, through Christ, the lusts and drives of the body. We have to bring our throne-life down into our personality yet on the earth. We have to pray and compel our body to serve God. This is not easy and requires diligent, consistent praying, meditating in the Word, and living a wholesome Christian life as we have opportunity.

Our body has its own ideas about how we should live. But we do not owe the body anything that we should live according to its desires. Why not? Because our body is dead because of sin and its desires are not to be respected.

To be continued.