ISAIAH 55:12 - "Acclaimed"

"And he that reapth received wages, and gathered fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is the saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed on labour: other men laboured, and you are entered into their labours." (John 4:36-38) As you may have gathered from the last few days of posting, that I have begun to change the focus from that of us as individuals, to that of us as a church. Why? There is a whole new level of Joy and Peace that we must be aware of, and that we must move in; it is the Joy and Peace that comes from living as "The Body of Christ". I know it may sound a little odd, but that is the best way I can put it. We have been called to a Higher Calling than just ourselves. I am not saying that we do not matter to God as individuals, because we do, and He loves us all individually; He has even given us New Names! But His Greatest Reward is 'The Bride of Christ', of which we are One; each and everyone of us as Believers in Christ Jesus, are all members of the same Body. There is a whole other dynamic of Joy to be known and experienced; there is a more excellent Peace that there is to walk in. It is on a level that can only be known by walking in it! Have I said that I have walked in it? I might have? It would have been when I first received Christ, back in 1981. Because back then, I had experiences of Joy and Peace in my Life that were so profound, I could not even begin to explain them in words. I knew right away that we were all to be working together for the furtherance of the Gospel; we are to be One Body of Believers, and to be pushing back against the world, that would want to persuade us to be still and shut up. I do not think I am alone in saying this: "I have not been faithful to the Calling upon my Life". No, it is true; the world has been able to get it's talons in my heart, and has made my focus be on other things; things more selfish and more set towards me individually. As I look back and ponder this path which was taken, I think I might have figured out how I let it happen: Sin! That's right; sin that I should have otherwise not been focused on, I was focused on because it was there; and in so doing, I took my focus off the Body of Christ, and began to deal more with my own body. This is really sad, and such a waste of many years which otherwise could have been far more fruitful. I hope you can see what I am saying here; Can't you? You see, the sin that so easily stumbles me, is not the root of my problem; the root of my problem is that I have focused on the sin. Jesus died for that sin, once and for all; He does not need to die for it again, it has been dealt with, and I must move past that sinful barrier that holds me back from walking in the fullness of Christ. I know I will sin, I must accept the fact that sin is still present; but I must focus on living as One in the Body of Christ, and not as one outside the Body dealing with sin. Did that make sense? Okay, let me try and put it another way. I have a greater purpose to be holy other than myself; this greater purpose is the Body of Christ. With me so far? The Body of Christ is just that, the body of Christ Jesus, of which He is the Head; and in Him is no sin!!! Well what about my sin? Let me see; I am wondering what that stuff was He died for on the cross; oh yea, I remember, it was that sin. I seemed to have forgotten about those White Robes we are all wearing, and the Blood of my Saviour that covers me; instead I focused upon my own sinfulness and my individual need to deal with it; when I wasted so much time dealing with something that had already been dealt with. What more could I do for it? Could I ask Jesus to come and die for it again, cause maybe it didn't work for me? How about this one; could I maybe die myself? Now, maybe I might have begun to see the whole problem. It was all about self; my sin, my problem, my walk, my, my my. We can not truly begin to experience the Joy and the Peace that He has prepared for us within The Body of Christ, if we are still living for ourselves; they are just two different worlds!!! The word 'Acclaim' means: To applaud; salute. To proclaim or recognize officially. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us individually; and He has set out to provide a Way, a Perfect Way, that we no longer suffer in sin and death. It involved the death of His Son, who died in our place; to give us a place, where we will all be Acclaimed together, for all eternity. 'Lord Jesus; forgive me for not walking in the newness that you provided for my life; for not giving you the glory that you deserve for what you did on that cross; and for not living out the calling upon my life. I pray also for my Bothers and Sisters in You, that there would be an awakening within Your Church, to cause us to forget about ourselves, and to focus on You and the Prize. In Your Name, Lord Jesus I pray. Amen'