What's In Us?

Sacrificial lamb.  In John 1, John just finished explaining who will come after him and his ministry.  He tells us plainly that He who comes after him will baptize us with the Holy Ghost.  The very next day, John recognizes Him!  He says in verse 36, "...looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, behold the Lamb of God!"  Jesus's symbolism is shown in the Old Testament when the Israelites were instructed to sacrifice and kill their most prized and precious lamb (an atonement) right before Moses led them out of Egypt.  And with the blood of that lamb, Moses's instructions were to have them smear it along the door in order to save them from death.  God was delivering the Israelites through the ministry of deliverance in Moses.  Not only were they to smear the blood along the door, but they were given order to consume the entire lamb... a lamb of the highest quality, a lamb without major defects, a lamb that was their most expensive.  How many of you know of a greater Lamb?!  Praise God!  That's a good place to say, amen.  Next, to consume means to do away with something completely; to use up.  Consume, in essence, is amalgamated into this: taking in the whole of something.  Well, that's exactly what God has called us to do.  To consume Him.  Every bit of Him.  Consume His Spirit, His Word, His Will.  Consuming is not left up to subjection, it's clear to us.  After something is consumed, what's left?  Absolutely nothing, otherwise it hasn't been consumed.  The other key is the "in" part.  Romans 8:10, "...And if Christ be in you..." Romans 8:11, "...the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you..."  Jesus is very much alive and He requires to be living in us.  Therefore, we must consume Him.    

How does this relate to teaching?  Well, ask yourself, what's in me?  I know I do, daily.  What am I consuming?  Simply stated, what's in me will come out of me.  Think about eating habits.  Don't let your mind go there with the previous sentences...  After I consume a few cookies, 2..5..10... I recognize this unhealthy act and immediately feel its effects.  Then I try to cover it up by eating "perfect" the remainder of the day or week.  That's not what God has called us to do.  It's the same thing in our lives.  I can't sin and then make it up by consuming the righteousness and the goodness of God.  It's not an act of doing more obedience than disobedience on a weighing scale.  Sin draws us away from God.  It's separation from God.  God tells us to walk not of the flesh but of the Spirit.  That's not easy; however, Paul reminds us that we're really at our strongest point when we're weak.  Why?  Because we submit our will to God's will.  It's God who is all-powerful.  God equips us, fills us, and provides for us.  We need to be obedient vehicles of His Word.  God gives us His power.  He enables the disabled.

So, what are you consuming?  Is it aligned with the Word of God?  God says He is greater in us than he that is in the world, but if we're not consuming Him, how can He really be in us?  What is in you will come out of you.  Consume the blameless, spotless, blemish-free Lamb of God - Jesus.  When you're in front of students, what's coming out of you?  Is it pride, envy, slander, etc?  Or is it love, joy, and the other fruits of the Spirit?