Point Break at the surrender of our will Matthew 6:9-14
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]
At the surrender of our will to God the Father's will do we find point break of our stubbornness to ever shatter to pieces our will that we may die to self and discover the dynamics of Jesus' resurrected life living through us.
Apart from the Grace of God and being led by the Holy Spirit; we seek to remain in darkness!
Matthew 6:13 "...And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one...."
We do not seek deliverance from temptation because we delight to remain in sin and seek out the lust of the flesh! Deliverance is there, but we do not seek it, because we do not want it, we choose to remain in darkness and the lusts thereof! Having a form of godliness but denying its power!
Only when we come to terms with our own sinfulness and surrender of our will to God the Father's will; do we find deliverance from temptation and do we seek it out and come out of the darkness into His glorious light through His Grace to deliver us from temptation being Led by the Holy Spirit.
Not my will but thine be done! Henceforth, now and forevermore unto the endurance of my soul to the End! Revelation 3:2
It was no coincidence that Lightening Struck 2 hours after Pope announces His Resignation, God is Sovereign over the Elements of the earth: air, water and fire and His timing is perfect, I am glad Jesus did not resign at Gethsemane but was resolved to Submit to God the Father's will declaring not my will be done by thy will be done! Henceforth, He secured my Salvation! The Marks of following Jesus and being a Vicar and Representative of Jesus on this earth is that you follow Him to the end without resigning but that you persevere to the end as He Did, who for Joy set before Him endured the cross despising its shame and Sat at the Right Hand of the Throne of God! Following Christ means persevering to the end even when faced with the trials, sickness, pain and agony of our physical body in this life, and a believer can only endure to the end when God's grace is sufficient for you in your weakness and at the surrender of your will to His will indeed!
Westminster Confession of Faith Chapter XVII, Of the Perseverance of the Saints:
I. They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved
Hebrews 10:37-38
37 For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.”38 And, But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back."
Revelation 3:2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God
Hebrews 12:1-4
I am glad that Jesus did not resign in His prayer at the garden of Gethsemane! But prayed, nevertheless, not my will but thine be done. And He submitted to the Father's Will and endured the cross despising its shame, because the Joy set before Jesus was His enthronement back to God the Father to Share in God the Father's Glory that He enjoyed with he Father, before the foundation of the world as the Eternal Son of God. And now ruling the Church being fully God and fully Man, the King of glory indeed!
Whatever agony, whatever suffering the pope is undergoing in the frailty of his life, it cannot compare to the great suffering, physical pain and torture that Jesus endured on the way to the cross and on the cross and in His death. Jesus did not resign, put endured the agony, pain and suffering unto the end that He may bring many sons to glory.
And believing in Jesus name means that you are a follower of Christ and you are Jesus' representative here on earth, and to walk worthy of this calling means that you will not shrink away in shame when faced with the frailty of your physical body and life, but will endure the agony, pain, suffering and persevere unto the end even in resisting in temptation because God the Father will lead you out of temptation. It means not resigning and quiting, Jesus did not resign, nor did He ever quit! Henceforth, He secured my Salvation indeed.
Now I am called to walk worthy of my calling in Christ and the marks of a believer and follower of Jesus is that I persevere to the end through the pain, agony, suffering in this life unto death from this life to the next. If I am not persevering then I am not walking worthy of my calling and I am to be most pitied. But thanks be to God who gives me the greater grace to follow Him and endure to the end at the surrender of my will, facing the agony and pain of my suffering that I may endure to the end.
If you are going to be Jesus' Vicar and Ambassador and representative of Jesus Christ here on this earth in this present age, time and history, then the marks of being a follower of Jesus is that you endure to the end and persevere and not shrink away and resign.
And it is no accident that Lightening Struck St Peter's Basilica after the news of Pope Benedict's resignation, God is Sovereign over the elements of this earth: of air, water and fire and if you fear God then you will know that Jesus from His throne of Grace in His Sovereignty sent forth the lightening as a twofold sign of wonder to remind believers of His Chastisement for those who would dare name the name of Christ and then shrink away in obscurity and resignation. And As an encouragement for those who would follow Him that there is no resignation in that path of following Christ. But on the path of Grace and perseverance will bring forth His Grace like lightening and great awe and power. Wake up! O foolish and unbelieving people, who have no fear of God before your eyes, Jesus shot forth His lightening to quicken us to follow Him to the end and that our deeds maybe complete in His Sight! For Jesus was crucified, Dead and was buried and the third He rose from the Grave and ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father, from thence, He will come to Judge the living and the Dead!
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Westminister Confession of the Faith, Chapter XVII: Of the Perseverance of the Saints:
I. They, whom God has accepted in His Beloved, effectually called, and sanctified by His Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved
Westminster Confession of Faith: Chapter 3:5 Of God’s Eternal Decree
V. Those of mankind that are predestinated unto life, God, before the foundation of the world was laid, according to His eternal and immutable purpose, and the secret counsel and good pleasure of His will, has chosen, in Christ, unto everlasting glory,73 out of His mere free grace and love, without any foresight of faith, or good works, or perseverance in either of them, or any other thing in the creature, as conditions, or causes moving Him thereunto;74 and all to the praise of His glorious grace.75
Salvation is Indeed Initiated by God the Father, Secured by God the Son and applied by God the Holy Spirit, without whom there would be none! JV
Salvation is God’s Farm field, He is the farmer He owns the property, He prepares the fields and out of His eternal Decree harvest the outcome according to the good pleasure of His will in the secret counsel of His eternal Decree before the foundation of the world. The outcome are the Chosen in Christ and the myriads of the Elect by God the Father never initiated by the deception of a self-made man. God is moved by His Love and good pleasure of His Will, not by any factor outside Himself that would prompt Him to initiate ones Salvation.
1 Peter 1:2 who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Ephesians 1:4-14
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he[d] made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen,[e] having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory
