The aspiring Sons and Daughters of GOD must be willing to embrace afflictions. Those who truly desire to be one with Christ shall themselves be incorruptible.
Paul wrote by THE SPIRIT in 1 Corinthians chapter 15:
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—
52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
We have been called and chosen thus we must be faithful when tested in the “furnace” of affliction, we must be proven under pressure and allow ourselves to purged, sifted, refined, purified, molded and fashioned into the very nature and character of Our Lord Jesus Christ. As we allow ourselves to be proven, only then shall we reign with Christ as true overcomers.
How many siftings must we experience? In Luke chapter 22, Jesus spoke:
31 And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”
33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.”
34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”
Peter’s level of self interest and preservation were being tested. He expected Jesus to prevail over the current establishment for he had seen the power and authority of Jesus time and time again. By two or three witnesses, everything is established. Peter’s spirit man was weaker than his soulish man. Jesus agreed to Satan’s request even though Satan did not realize that this sifting was part of FATHER’S plan to build Peter up after the ascension. Peter’s calling would be strengthened after the sifting.
I could not express the following better than Brother Eby who recently wrote:
These are the days in which God is preparing a people to reign in the kingdom of God over all things. These will have to be those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb. They will be those who have been filled with all the fullness of God. They will be those who have learned to be led only and always by the Spirit. They will be those who have kept His word and walked according to His will. This company of people will be one with God in mind, heart, and purpose. They will have put on the mind of Christ and their own will shall have given way to His will in all things.
The people whom God shall use to reign over the nations and the universe, bringing God’s kingdom to pass in all realms, will be a strong people. They will be a holy people. They will be a compassionate and loving people. They will be those who live in the presence of God and breathe in union with Jesus Christ.
Those who reign with Christ cannot be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, nor deceived by every great sounding theory of man that poses as a good scheme of ministry or as deep revelation. They will not be moved by smooth-tongued orators or fast-talking deceivers. They will perceive the hearts and motivations of men and understand the true nature of all things. God is not interested so much in what is going on today within the church systems of men. God does not want just anybody to go out and do signs, wonders, and miracles. He is preparing an incorruptible order of people to do these things on a level never seen before.
There are many miracles and good works done in the name of Jesus by men whom the Father has not sent. But these men receive at least a portion of the glory, and use their power over men to suck them into their own little kingdom. God is very selective in this hour of those He chooses to manifest His power in the earth. Not just anybody is suitable. God trains and chooses in many ways. Moses was in the backside of the desert for forty years. David went through many years of battles and trials and testings to be eligible for the throne to which God elevated him.
God is shaping our lives with a view to the future. What is happening to each son of God today has a bearing on what his role will be in the kingdom of God throughout the ages to come. Our present travail will be easier to bear when we understand this truth. A crown prince cannot live like other people. When the crown prince of Great Britain is born, he is a marked child from the day of his birth. He is different from other children. His education, his way of dress, what he is taught in the home, his associations, his activities, where he goes and when and how, his leisure time — everything about his life is planned to prepare him to be a king! The man or woman called to sonship cannot be like other people or other of God’s children any longer. God has a special plan for this one!
The truth is that a son of God marches to a different tune than his contemporaries. He hears the band playing the march of victory. He stays in line with those enChristed ones who march with him. He keeps in step with his leader, Jesus Christ. He marches to the music of the celestials. He marches in the procession of Christ. His music is the music of the kingdom. Because this is a different kind of marching from that of those in the carnal church systems of man, he is often out of step with them. They are not all marching to the same place!
Most Christians are marching to a place in the sky with golden streets, palm branches and harps, and spacious mansions over the hill-top, to sing and dance and play and frolic for eternity. Sons do not have time for such frivolity, for they are marching to the throne of the universe, to a position of eminence, power, authority, responsibility, and eternal glory as lords and kings and priests and creators after the likeness of their eternal Father. Their business is not dancing over the hillsides of glory, but bringing the kingdom of God to pass throughout the infinity of God’s vast universe! -End quote