dying to self
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Dying to Self
Dying to self is a form of a New Testament sacrificial offering. Dying to self is a means
of producing fruit for the Kingdom of God. As one dies to the desires of the flesh, he
ultimately sows to the Spirit, thus producing the fruit of the Spirit. It is a decision to putGod first, even above personal desires, goals, or ambitions. It is to make Him Lord of
your life, not in word, but in action and deed. Show me your faith apart from your works,
and I by my works will show you my faith. James challenged the status quo, andconfirmed that true faith will indeed have evidence of that faith through the works that
are accomplished for the glory of God. Faith and works will go hand in hand. Faith
without works is counterfeit; it is a false thing and has no truth in it. Therefore fruit-producing is a two-fold directive. We are to reflect the fruit of the Spirit, and to evidence
the fruit of the Kingdom through our actions. Jesus taught a substantial lesson. He taught
that in order to produce fruit, there is a death process that must occur. Just as Jesus had todie and be buried, we too must go through a death process allowing the desires of flesh to
die so that good fruit may come forth.
Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains
just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it,
and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever servesMe must follow Me and where I am, there My servant must also be. Whoever serves
Me, the Father will honor (Jn 12:24-26).
Refiners fire is another form of New Testament sacrificial offering in that it is theprocess of burning off all impurities. Figuratively, it is a process of the corrective
judgment of God in certain areas of our lives that do not reflect His nature, and it is the
portrayal of an inward work in which the sinful nature is purged. Fiery trials are meant totest our faith, to build us up in faith, and to give us confidence in the ability of God to getus through a time of testing. Fiery trials are to produce righteousness in us.
See, I have refined you, but not like silver; I have tested you in the furnace of
adversity
(Isa 48:10).
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Tear down altars. Gideon tore down the altars of Baal and built an altar to the Lord.
Idolatry is paying divine honor or homage to any created thing. It is ascribing power to
anyone or anything other than God. It is intense admiration and love of anyone oranything above the ultimate love reserved for God alone. Idolatry is the act of choosing to
deify, exalt, or worship the creation over the Creator. Gideon removed the idols and we
must do the same. Thoughts, time, attention, finances, and dedication are given to thething loved. It is a constant on their agenda. It takes precedence over everything. It can
be a seemingly good thing, such as children, church work, or religious beliefs. It can be
an obviously bad thing such as exalting self, an abusive relationship, or an extreme desirefor power or position no matter the cost. Remove the idols. Are there any altars in your
life that need to be torn down? Where do you spend your time, attention and focusto
self, an altar to man, an altar to family, an altar to the fear of man, the fear of failure, an
altar to shopping, eating, dieting? Before entering the battle, tear down idolatrous altarsas Gideon did.
Robin Bertram Ministries
www.robinbertram.tv
http://www.robinbertram.tv/mailto:[email protected]://www.robinbertram.tv/mailto:[email protected]