The Culture of Death vs the Promise
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For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
When a country becomes independent from it's home country it develops a whole new culture and chooses a new leadership to run it. This was the case in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden, they no longer had the Holy Spirit residing in them. They had to rely on their senses to determine their destiny. Their senses ruled now ruled this new culture. So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. Genesis 3:23 NLT
For a Kingdom citizen to operate in this present world without the Governor, it is like having a flashlight that has no batteries! That leaves you with no guidance. In God's Constitution, King Solomon put it this way: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
Keep in mind, the culture of darkness leads to death, and death is the result of sin, and sin is the result of disobedience to the Lord God's Word. One of the first things that happened was the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Genesis 4:6-9 That was the continuation of the culture of darkness. When you lack the Holy Spirit in your life, you operate in darkness. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12 It doesn't matter how many times you attend church. Embracing His Word in your life is the key. Confessing the Lord Jesus is one thing, being born again is completely transforming. You must have the King's Spirit, then you must love and embrace His Word. As King Jesus told Nicodemus: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3
Then He spoke His Promise of the Holy Spirit to His disciples: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17 The Lord Jesus has fulfilled His promise! He promised that He would not leave us alone. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18
So then, when doesn't our Governor--the Holy Spirit—rule? God's Kingdom Governor doesn't rule when we allow darkness into our life. What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:14b-15
Think about what a hindrance our senses are to our faith! When we are controlled by our five senses, we allow sin to creep in through our senses. Darkness now rules. The road in Satan's darkness leads to murder, death and destruction. It is man's inhumanity toward man. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. (Keep in mind that we aren't "obligated to follow the law", meaning that we won't have to worry about the law thanks to being led by the Holy Spirit! I have heard people misappropriate this verse to use as an excuse for sin, like a "get out of jail free card!)
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21 NLT
The darkness of sin breeds death and destruction that afflicts families, communities, businesses, government, and the whole realm of mankind's existence. That expands the kingdom of darkness. But those who are filled with the King's presense don't sweat the small stuff. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:22-25 NLT
Remember:
The Holy Spirit shines in you, extinguishing the darkness around you! The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:5 NLT
If we say we have fellowship with Him but walk in darkness, we lie! This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7
We are given the freedom to choose whether we live
in the culture of darkness to death or
the promise of God's Kingdom, shining in His light.
Choose wisely, not from your emotions and desires.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Ephesians 5:8-14
Remember, our greatest asset is your faith in His Word in His Kingdom
All scriptures are NKJV, except where noted.
W.R. & D. Arlene Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
When a country becomes independent from it's home country it develops a whole new culture and chooses a new leadership to run it. This was the case in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden, they no longer had the Holy Spirit residing in them. They had to rely on their senses to determine their destiny. Their senses ruled now ruled this new culture. So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. Genesis 3:23 NLT
For a Kingdom citizen to operate in this present world without the Governor, it is like having a flashlight that has no batteries! That leaves you with no guidance. In God's Constitution, King Solomon put it this way: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
Keep in mind, the culture of darkness leads to death, and death is the result of sin, and sin is the result of disobedience to the Lord God's Word. One of the first things that happened was the murder of Abel by his brother Cain. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”
Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Genesis 4:6-9 That was the continuation of the culture of darkness. When you lack the Holy Spirit in your life, you operate in darkness. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12 It doesn't matter how many times you attend church. Embracing His Word in your life is the key. Confessing the Lord Jesus is one thing, being born again is completely transforming. You must have the King's Spirit, then you must love and embrace His Word. As King Jesus told Nicodemus: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3
Then He spoke His Promise of the Holy Spirit to His disciples: “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. John 14:15-17 The Lord Jesus has fulfilled His promise! He promised that He would not leave us alone. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:18
So then, when doesn't our Governor--the Holy Spirit—rule? God's Kingdom Governor doesn't rule when we allow darkness into our life. What fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 2 Corinthians 6:14b-15
Think about what a hindrance our senses are to our faith! When we are controlled by our five senses, we allow sin to creep in through our senses. Darkness now rules. The road in Satan's darkness leads to murder, death and destruction. It is man's inhumanity toward man. So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. (Keep in mind that we aren't "obligated to follow the law", meaning that we won't have to worry about the law thanks to being led by the Holy Spirit! I have heard people misappropriate this verse to use as an excuse for sin, like a "get out of jail free card!)
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Galatians 5:16-21 NLT
The darkness of sin breeds death and destruction that afflicts families, communities, businesses, government, and the whole realm of mankind's existence. That expands the kingdom of darkness. But those who are filled with the King's presense don't sweat the small stuff. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to His cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Galatians 5:22-25 NLT
Remember:
The Holy Spirit shines in you, extinguishing the darkness around you! The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it. John 1:5 NLT
If we say we have fellowship with Him but walk in darkness, we lie! This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7
We are given the freedom to choose whether we live
in the culture of darkness to death or
the promise of God's Kingdom, shining in His light.
Choose wisely, not from your emotions and desires.
For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: “Awake, you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” Ephesians 5:8-14
Remember, our greatest asset is your faith in His Word in His Kingdom
All scriptures are NKJV, except where noted.
W.R. & D. Arlene Luchie
www.kingdomcitizens.org
This article may only be reproduced, in print or on the internet, if the author's name and website address are included at the end of the article as originally placed. Thank you
