My Life is His

Hello Everyone, I just wanted to share with you some things that I shared recently at Calvary Chapel Freiergrund. This church is about 40 minutes away from us. The pastor was going to be out of town and he had asked if I could teach for him while he was gone. So here you go...

In Joshua 24:14-15, it says, "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! 15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

Joshua is at the end of his life and he radically challenges the people to choose whom they would serve. As we think upon these verses, I want to share with you a very powerful verse that I believe that many of you are aware of in the book of Galatians.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

When I look at this verse I cannot help but think of how Paul the apostle boldly declared this. I think that if Paul was living in the days of Joshua, that this would have been his response to Joshua's challenge. There are 5 things that I want to point out about this verse... As you read over these points and these verses, allow the Holy Spirit to minister to you the truth of the Word to your heart...

1. The Daily Choice - Die tägliche Entscheidung - vs.20 “I have been crucified with Christ;”

Galatians 5:24 “And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Galatians 6:14 “But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”

Romans 6:3-6 “Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

By the death of Christ upon the cross I have become utterly estranged from (dead to) my former habit of feeling and action

Luke 9:23 “Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

2. Yielding all of me - Ich gebe mich ganz hin - vs.20 “…it is no longer I who live…”

I have chosen to reckon my old man dead...
Romans 6:11 “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

I have chosen to no longer let sin reign in me any more…
Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.”

I have chosen to no longer present my members as instruments of unrighteousness…
Romans 6:13 “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin,”

I have chosen to no longer live for the old man…
Colossians 3:5-9 “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. 8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,”

• No Longer: My Ways... My Will ... My Wants ... My Desires ... My Dreams


3. Christ lives in Me! - Christus lebt in mir! - vs.20 “…but Christ lives in me…”

What does this mean? It sounds exciting! It sounds like a good “Christian” thing to say! But, when you consider it, I believe it brings with it many possibilities. For this, we have to consider the way Jesus lived His life. Let us look at a few….

A. Christ Lives in Me – A Life of Victory!

John 19:30 “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”

Luke 24:5-6a “Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6 He is not here, but is risen!”

1 Corinthians 15:57 “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 John 5:4 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”

B. Christ Lives in Me – A Life Empowered by the Holy Spirit!

Mark 1:8 (John the Baptist declared) “I indeed baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Acts 2:1-4 “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

C. Christ Lives in Me – A Life of Mission!

John 4:34 “Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

John 6:38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

So now He has called us to live a life of MISSION…
Matthew 28:18-20 “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”

Mark 16:15 “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”

John 20:21 “So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”
• Now: His Ways ... His Will ... His Wants ... His Desires

4. How I will live my life - Wie ich mein Leben lebe - vs.20 “…and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God…”

First, we must recognize…
A. We live in the flesh
Psalm 103:14 “For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”

Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.”

Romans 7:19 “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

B. I live it by FAITH in the Son of God

Romans 1:17 “…the just shall live by faith.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

FAITH is a New Testament word – in the Old Testament the word that we see is TRUST…

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”

Psalm 37:3-7a “Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.4Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. 5Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. 6He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;”

• It is a placing ALL of who YOU ARE in His hands
• And know this!
• He will be COMPLETELY FAITHFUL

2 Timothy 2:13 “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”


5. Why I chose Christ - Warum ich mich für Christus entscheide - vs.20 “…who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

A. He Loved Me
1 John 4:10 “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Jeremiah 31:3 “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.”

1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”

B. He Gave Himself for Me

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,”

& So I Join in with the Apostle Paul and say…

My Life is His!