Daniel Whyte III
Our key Bible passage today is Romans 6:6: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
Our lesson today is titled “A New Master, Part 2″
In our last lesson, we began addressing the topic of Self. Because man is sinful, he is naturally self-centered. The devil influences man to make Self the master of his life. This fleshly self-centeredness manifests itself in many ways, including: Self-love, Self-pride, Self-pity, Self-seeking, Self-righteousness, Self-justification, Self-consciousness, and Self-will.
Now we come to a very important question. How can we be delivered from the rule of Self? First, let us see what God did about our self-life. Because our self-life was so hateful to God, He crucified us with Christ.
How can we be crucified with Christ? Consider this illustration: Let’s take a piece of paper and cut out a little man, and then take the little paper man and put him in a book. The little man is now in the book. Suppose we place the book on a table. Where is the little man? He is also on the table because he is in the book. Suppose we put the book on the floor. Where is the little man now? He is on the floor. Suppose we place the book on top of a piano. Where is the little man now? He is on the piano.
When God saved us He put us in Christ on the cross. What happened to Christ happened also to us because we were in Christ. When He was crucified, we were crucified with Him; when He died, we died with Him, and when He rose again, we rose again with Him. The Apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ.” What was true of the Apostle Paul is true of every Christian. Christ died for us, and we died with Him.
Why did God crucify us with Christ? He crucified us with Christ SO THAT WE MIGHT NO LONGER BE RULED BY SELF. Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
God not only dealt with our self-life, but He also gave us a new Master. Our new Master is Christ. He has come to live in our heart, and He is Lord of our life. Romans 14:9 says, “For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.” When Christ rules as King in our heart, the Holy Spirit produces His life in us. The Bible tells us how His life manifests itself in Galatians 5:22-23: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance (self-control).”
Now we come back to the question: How can I be delivered from the rule of Self? Three steps are necessary if we want to have victory over Self.
1. We must deny Self.
If we want to follow the Lord, we must take Self off the throne of our heart. We must make the choice that we will no longer be ruled by Self. It must be “Not I, but Christ.” The Lord Jesus said, “If any man will come after Me, let him DENY HIMSELF….”
2. We must count on our standing in Christ.
God put us in Christ on the cross. When He was crucified, we were crucified with Him. This is our standing in Christ, and we must count on it. The Bible says, “reckon yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” To “reckon” means to count on a fact. Are we counting on the fact that we were crucified with Christ? If so, then let us put our signature to this statement: “I have been crucified with Christ.”
3. We must surrender to Christ.
Christ is our new Master. We must live for Him and not for ourselves. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15, “For the love of Christ constraineth us [or controls us]; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”
Our surrender to the Lord Jesus is a once-for-all giving of ourselves to Him followed by a daily giving of ourselves to Him. Daily, we must say “No” to Self and “Yes” to the Lord Jesus. Jesus Christ said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me.”
That is the choice we must make if we want to live with Christ as our Master — the King on the throne of our hearts.
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If you do not know Jesus Christ as your Saviour, John 3:16 states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The Bible also says in Romans 10:9 and 13: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross for your sins, was buried, and rose from the dead, and you want to trust Him for your salvation today, please pray with me this simple prayer: Holy Father God, I realize that I am a sinner and that I have done some bad things in my life. I am sorry for my sins, and I want to turn from my sins. For Jesus Christ sake, please forgive me of my sins. I now believe with all of my heart that Jesus Christ died for me, was buried, and rose again. I trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord from this day forward. Lord Jesus, please come into my heart and save my soul and change my life today. Amen.
If you just trusted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, and you prayed that prayer and meant it from your heart, I declare to you that based upon the Word of God, you are now saved from Hell and you are on your way to Heaven. Welcome to the family of God! I want to congratulate you on doing the most important thing in life and that is receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. For more information to help you grow in your newfound faith in Christ, go to Gospel Light Society.com and read “What To Do After You Enter Through the Door”. Jesus Christ said in John 10:9, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”
Until next time, May the Lord Bless You!
Daniel Whyte III has spoken in meetings across the United States and in over twenty-five foreign countries. He is the author of over forty books. He is also the president of Gospel Light Society International, a worldwide evangelistic ministry that reaches thousands with the Gospel each week, as well as president of Torch Ministries International, a Christian literature ministry which publishes a monthly magazine called The Torch Leader. He is heard by thousands each week on his radio broadcasts/podcasts, which include: The Prayer Motivator Devotional, The Prayer Motivator Minute, as well as Gospel Light Minute X, the Gospel Light Minute, the Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message, the Prophet Daniel’s Report, the Second Coming Watch Update and the Soul-Winning Motivator, among others. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Theology from Bethany Divinity College, a Bachelor’s degree in Religion from Texas Wesleyan University, a Master’s degree in Religion, a Master of Divinity degree, and a Master of Theology degree from Liberty University School of Divinity. He has been married to the former Meriqua Althea Dixon, of Christiana, Jamaica for over twenty-seven years. God has blessed their union with seven children. Find out more at www.danielwhyte3.com. Follow Daniel Whyte III on Twitter @prophetdaniel3 or on Facebook.
