Day 11/29 – Dependence and Discipline

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter Henrichsen
Dependence and Discipline
Day Three Hundred Thirty-three

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:12-13

The follower of Jesus Christ must be passive and active, dependent and disciplined. Faith must be active, never passive, and yet “except the Lord build the house they labor in vain that build it.419 God will never do for you what you can do for yourself, but what you cannot do for yourself, He will do. If the work of sanctification belonged solely to God, the admonitions to self-control and discipline would be superfluous. Therefore, if you do not “work out your own salvation,” you will be lost. Obedience is a key component in your walk with God.

Sanctification, however, cannot be accomplished by human means. You are dependent upon God to do it. He promises you that He resides in you “both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” Paul asked, “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”420 Regeneration, from start to finish, is the work of God. He begins it in salvation and completes it in sanctification.

This means that you will never experience a time when you are not dependent upon the Lord to complete His work in you, and you will always remain responsible for being His obedient, faithful, and dependent servant. If you let go of either truth you will abort the sanctification process.

419 Psalm 127:1
420 Galatians 3:3

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Ezekiel 35-36 2 Peter 1 (New King James Version)

Ezekiel 35-36
Judgment on Mount Seir
35 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it, 3 and say to it, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, O Mount Seir, I am against you;
I will stretch out My hand against you,
And make you [a]most desolate;
4 I shall lay your cities waste,
And you shall be desolate.
Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
5 “Because you have had an [b]ancient hatred, and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, when their iniquity came to an end, 6 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; since you have not hated [c]blood, therefore blood shall pursue you. 7 Thus I will make Mount Seir [d]most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. 8 And I will fill its mountains with the slain; on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall. 9 I will make you [e]perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the Lord.
10 “Because you have said, ‘These two nations and these two countries shall be mine, and we will possess them,’ although the Lord was there, 11 therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them; and I will make Myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you shall know that I am the Lord. I have heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate; they are given to us to consume.’ 13 Thus with your mouth you have [f]boasted against Me and multiplied your words against Me; I have heard them.”
14 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate. 15 As you rejoiced because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate, so I will do to you; you shall be desolate, O Mount Seir, as well as all of Edom—all of it! Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’
Blessing on Israel
36 “And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord! 2 Thus says the Lord God: “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha! The [g]ancient heights have become our possession,’ ” ’ 3 therefore prophesy, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they made you desolate and swallowed you up on every side, so that you became the possession of the rest of the nations, and you are taken up by the lips of talkers and slandered by the people”— 4 therefore, O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the [h]rivers, the valleys, the desolate wastes, and the cities that have been forsaken, which became plunder and mockery to the rest of the nations all around— 5 therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I have spoken in My burning jealousy against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who gave My land to themselves as a possession, with wholehearted joy and [i]spiteful minds, in order to plunder its open country.” ’
6 “Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel, and say to the mountains, the hills, the rivers, and the valleys, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy and My fury, because you have borne the shame of the nations.” 7 Therefore thus says the Lord God: “I have raised My hand in an oath that surely the nations that are around you shall bear their own shame. 8 But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are about to come. 9 For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. 10 I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. 11 I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and [j]bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. 12 Yes, I will cause men to walk on you, My people Israel; they shall take possession of you, and you shall be their inheritance; no more shall you bereave them of children.”
13 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Because they say to you, ‘You devour men and bereave your nation of children,’ 14 therefore you shall devour men no more, nor bereave your nation anymore,” says the Lord God. 15 “Nor will I let you hear the taunts of the nations anymore, nor bear the reproach of the peoples anymore, nor shall you cause your nation to stumble anymore,” says the Lord God.’ ”
The Renewal of Israel
16 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 17 “Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own ways and deeds; to Me their way was like the uncleanness of a woman in her customary impurity. 18 Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. 19 So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. 20 When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name—when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ 21 But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.
22 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. 23 And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” says the Lord God, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God. 29 I will deliver you from all your uncleannesses. I will call for the grain and multiply it, and bring no famine upon you. 30 And I will multiply the fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. 31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will [k]loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations. 32 Not for your sake do I do this,” says the Lord God, “let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!”
33 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land shall be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. 35 So they will say, ‘This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the Lord, have rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it.”
37 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this for them: I will increase their men like a flock. 38 Like a [l]flock offered as holy sacrifices, like the flock at Jerusalem on its [m]feast days, so shall the ruined cities be filled with flocks of men. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’ ”
Footnotes:
• Ezekiel 35:3 Lit. a desolation and a waste
• Ezekiel 35:5 Or everlasting
• Ezekiel 35:6 Or bloodshed
• Ezekiel 35:7 Lit. a waste and a desolation
• Ezekiel 35:9 Lit. desolated forever
• Ezekiel 35:13 Lit. made yourself great
• Ezekiel 36:2 Or everlasting
• Ezekiel 36:4 Or ravines
• Ezekiel 36:5 Lit. scorning souls
• Ezekiel 36:11 Lit. be fruitful
• Ezekiel 36:31 despise
• Ezekiel 36:38 Lit. holy flock
• Ezekiel 36:38 appointed feasts

2 Peter 1
Greeting the Faithful
1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have [a]obtained like[b] precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the [c]corruption that is in the world through lust.
Fruitful Growth in the Faith
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control [d]perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [e]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Peter’s Approaching Death
12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this [f]tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must [g]put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my [h]decease.
The Trustworthy Prophetic Word
16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
19 [i]And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private [j]interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but [k]holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Footnotes:
• 2 Peter 1:1 received
• 2 Peter 1:1 faith of the same value
• 2 Peter 1:4 depravity
• 2 Peter 1:6 patience
• 2 Peter 1:8 useless
• 2 Peter 1:13 Body
• 2 Peter 1:14 Die and leave this body
• 2 Peter 1:15 Lit. exodus, departure
• 2 Peter 1:19 Or We also have the more sure prophetic word
• 2 Peter 1:20 Or origin
• 2 Peter 1:21 NU men spoke from God