Higher Ground

Matthew 6:33 (NIV) “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Joshua 24:14-15 (NIV) “Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

Mark 8:34-35 (NIV) “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: ’If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.’”

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”
- Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

To follow Jesus Christ means to give up our life and to lay it at his feet. It is only by giving up our life to him that he can give us his life. This is the choice that we all have to make, and the consequences of this choice will be swift in the days to come. The clear teaching of scripture is that Jesus will be first in everything…whether that comes willingly or unwillingly. Our destiny as the people of God is to seek his kingdom first in everything. The choice that is before us is whether or not we will hold on to our own lives or whether we will offer our lives to our Lord for the sake of the gospel. If we view our lives as too dear to lay down at the feet of the Lord, the consequence, as Patrick Henry so eloquently put it, will be chains and slavery. We cannot view our lives as so dear that they cannot be sacrificed for the sake of the kingdom of God. To do so is to open the door to spiritual slavery. We must become those who are dedicated to spiritual freedom for ourselves and others regardless of the consequences that we face. We must determine, regardless of whether or not we face persecution, to move up to the higher ground of seeking first the kingdom of God in everything. As the cost of following Christ increases in the days to come, we must make the decision now as to how far we will go with him. Unless we are willing to go all the way to the cross, we will lose the life Jesus offers us.

Do not think that this is a message about working to earn God’s favor. It is rather a message that speaks to our faith in God and his instructions to us. Will we entrust our very lives to his word, or will we instead direct our lives according to what we see best? Jesus’ words are very clear that because of persecution that believers in Christ will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other. (see Matthew 25) Are we prepared to face this kind of persecution and instead of retreating move forward for the sake of the kingdom? In every age there have been those who have been killed for the sake of the gospel. Are we ready to face the kinds of trials that other believers around the world have faced and remain true to the Lord? We can only do so if we have in fact given up our life and taken up the life of Christ. Otherwise we may find ourselves fighting against God.

We have tremendous promises from the Lord. If we seek his kingdom first, all these things that we need will be given to us. We have the promise of the glory of God covering the face of the earth and being placed on his people. We have the promise that the Lord will be with us in whatever situation we face, and if we face death that his love cannot be separated from us even then. It is time for the people of God to wake up and to walk in their destiny. It is time for us to become the purified bride that we are called to be. It is time to move forward to higher ground and to live above the Christian status quo. Spiritual freedom is what is at stake.