Your Laid Down Life

This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Running With Horses, a podcast devoted to inspire you, concerning a relationship with Almighty God that empowers you to accomplish things you never thought possible.

Shirley Weaver wants to take you there. And now, here's today's episode. Hello everyone and welcome back to this episode, Running With Horses podcast, where we make a really big deal over the power of God. One expression of His power is His love. He expresses His love and His power many ways.

We're looking at those. If you go to, or come with me rather, 1 Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul is speaking to the church at Corinth. So this is a significant couple of verses right here in this passage. Beginning verse 19, Paul speaking, but I will come and soon, and then I will find out whether these people who are speaking are giving merely pretentious speeches, or whether they really have God's power. And the next verse, for the kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk, but it is the power of God. It is living by God's power. So right there, twice the word power, same Greek word, the rendering here, dunamis in the Greek, we derive our English word dynamite from this root word, meaning something explosive, basically miraculous. The interpretation of the meaning here, the definition from Strong's Concordance reads this way, force, literally or figuratively, specially miraculous power, usually by implication, a miracle itself.

So let's read this again. But I Paul will come and soon, we'll find out whether these people who are speaking are just giving pretentious speeches, or whether they really have God's dunamis, His miraculous power. Verse 20, for the kingdom of God, that's here on earth, is not just a lot of talk, but it is living by God's power, this miraculous, dynamic, dunamis power. And just for emphasis here, not just a lot of talk, the word talk is Greek logos, meaning something said, including the thought. So we are speaking, you and I are speaking, we are giving testimony, we are sharing our faith, or maybe just in the environment of everyday life, maybe in family life, maybe in our career, on the job, in our business, wherever we live out our lives, we speak, we communicate with logos, something that is said, including the thought.

So do we just speak with words about the kingdom of God, about His salvation, which is a free gift offered to all, or is there real power available on display in my life? That's the question here that Paul is bringing to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 4. And just to sort of segue right here to a verse in Galatians, whatsoever a man sows, that will he also reap.

That's chapter 6, verse 7, probably a well-known verse. Whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. I'm talking today about your laid-down life. We've just looked at this emphasis that Paul gives to not only speaking about the kingdom of God, but being acquainted and able to demonstrate His power, and also Galatians reminds us whatever a man sows, that is what he reaps. Powerful to remember.

Your laid-down life. And this is patterned after basically the example in scripture of the shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, which makes us think immediately, of course, of our Lord Jesus, that his life was not taken from Him at the crucifixion. Rather, what? He laid it down. Our Lord and Savior did not have His life taken from Him. He laid it down willingly because it was the will of the Father. So how does this apply to you and me? Actually, humanly speaking, each of us have this capacity for preferring others' needs over our own. You know, it's something that we do willingly. It is basically at the heart of all service, but it actually brings out the best in us as we do so. It brings out humility, a certain distinction of nobility.

It puts on display our dedication, our selfless discipline. And some people obviously have, there's more capacity for this kind of selflessness for some people than others, say by comparison. And you know, some people seemingly have no capacity at all to think outside of themselves. But I find that is rare.

It really is. We all have sinned and we all do silly, selfish things. But deep down inside, there's this longing, I think, put there by God, to give of ourselves in a selfless way if we only know that that's possible.

I think that that can be activated if there's a demand placed there. And certainly as Christians, as we interact with those who are around us, we know that in everything that we do, we have empowerment by the Holy Spirit, which gives us even greater possibilities. We say supernatural possibilities. So we live and treat others nobly because we have the Holy Spirit directing us, which is, by the way, the same leading that Jesus had when he was here on earth. He is our example. He chose the Spirit's leading and therefore ultimately the Father's will. And he actually came for that purpose, to do the Father's will, certainly to lay down his life for the sheep, for you, for me. And in laying down his life for mankind, he did so so that then each one could then also choose to imitate him in this way. So as a result here, we have the opportunity and the option for choosing, choosing to lay down our life, which again, as I said, attracts the very same Holy Spirit that Jesus followed and the leading of his Spirit. That's the same supernatural way of life that Jesus demonstrated so we can imitate what he modeled for us. So as we just establish that fact, then just going forward every day, you and I, we lay down our lives in service to others.

I say we do so as a fact. I'm saying that optimistically. Maybe you've never thought about it before. I always feel anytime there is something major in my life, a challenge I face, a difficulty that's in my path, I find that there is, and this is just true across the board, I believe for everybody, go find someone to help.

Go find someone that you can help, a place to serve, a way to give of yourself. Because when you're sitting in a situation where your need is so great, you want to sow, you want to sow, this verse out of Galatians, you want to sow so that then you can reap. This is powerful. This is a powerful principle in the kingdom of God that we should be acquainted with. So as we prefer the needs of others over our own personal preferences, certainly our own convenience, we realize, and you may not start out this way, but you become this way, we become happy to do it.

Happy, less like fulfilled. And then we're also hopeful that as we make life better and the load lighter for other people, then we have this sense of hope that our own life is improved, our own load lightened many times by just being there, present and with a situation that needs the strength that you can offer when your need is so great. Many times just being there, your presence itself makes all the difference for others that are surrounded by enemy activity that's too strong for them. We lay down our life to change theirs, helping and ministering to them. In other words, you and I don't have to die for them. Jesus has done that for all.

He already did that. Our opportunity here is to serve in a way to come alongside of in a way to make our presence available with an encouraging word and you know, maybe some muscle power to lift the load. Sometimes acts of service, which requires something of us, you know, it's hot outside and sometimes what is needed can be strenuous.

But if you'll go ahead and give yourself to that and just sweat through, go ahead. I think, you know, you can always know that there's an end in sight. And especially as we bring the light of hope at the end of the tunnel for someone else, you don't have to labor like that forever but I always say you don't have to, you get to, you have the privilege, you have the open door. And who's the greatest beneficiary of all? You and I benefit. It's instant.

It is instant. That sense of giving of yourself in your own time of need, or maybe not even in your time of need, maybe everything is great. And hey, if everything is great for you right now, please, please pray for the rest of us because we all need, we need the body.

We need our neighbors, we need other people to come alongside of us and help us pull this weight and lift this load. I mean, think of the parting of the sea that allowed Israel to cross safely to the other side. Your kindness and sensitivity, underlying sensitivity to another person becomes a sovereign, supernatural rescue. And I believe is the thing Paul was talking about. He said, are you just arrogant enough to talk about things, just to talk about your faith, just to kind of go along like all you need to do is give a lip service? Or have you got some real power, some light to shed here?

That's what I'm referring to. Your activity here becomes the sovereign, supernatural rescue someone else needs. Let me say that again. Your kindness to another person in their time of need becomes, develops into, grows into a sovereign, supernatural, God ordained, God ordered, spirit led rescue to help that person lift the load, deflect the enemy activity that's too strong for them. And just by the virtue of your presence, you make a difference. Your voice, your presence, your strength, your stamina, your sometimes if it's someone on the other side of the world, it might be a letter you've written on their behalf, something. Hey, you know what I mean?

The ways of helping are endless and the spirit of God who is creative by nature will show you the very thing that is needed. So bottom line, here's the word. Never stop laying down your life this way, because if you lay it down, the Lord raises you up, raises your life again and again and again. I've seen it. I've experienced it. I know it. I can confidently say this is true. You know why?

Because of Galatians 6, 7, whatever a man knows, that is what he will reap. Thanks again, and we'll see you next time.