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                           Handed Over To Death!

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By David Wilkerson
March 29, 1999
__________

          On the day of Pentecost, the apostle Peter declared to
          the crowds in Jerusalem, " Jesus of Nazareth being
          delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
          of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have
          crucified and slain" (Acts 2:22-23).

          What did Peter mean by saying this? One Greek
          dictionary translates his words this way: "Jesus was
          handed over to enemies, given over to death according
          to the determined plan of God."

          What a strange, incomprehensible act by a supposedly
          loving heavenly father. God deliberately handed over
          his son to death! It was as if he purposely led Jesus
          into the hands of his worst enemies and said, "Here's
          my son do with him what you will." Then he stood by,
          doing nothing to stop his son's wicked enemies from
          killing him.

          What kind of predetermined plan was this? Why would God
          hand over his own beloved son to death? Peter gives us
          the answer in the very next verse: " because it was not
          possible that he should be holden (by death)" (Acts
          2:24).

          God knew it was impossible for Jesus to be held
          permanently in death's grip. So, there was no risk for
          him in handing his son over to death. He knew Jesus
          would come out of the grave a glorious victor over
          death raised up by the life-giving power of the Holy
          Spirit!

          It's important, however, to understand the times in
          which Peter spoke these words. Up until Calvary, death
          was a very fearful thing to humankind. It was still the
          devil's domain, under his rule and lordship. Therefore,
          death was an enemy to be feared.

          God knew this power of death had to be broken. And
          that's why he handed over his son to death: " that
          through death he might destroy him that had the power
          of death, that is, the devil" (Hebrews 2:14). God
          wanted to remove death's sting, to break Satan's power
          over death once and for all. So he allowed Jesus to go
          down into death in order to swallow it up.

          As Jesus lay silent in the grave, Satan and his hordes
          gloated. They thought they'd won an irreversible
          victory. But all along, God's foreordained plan was
          being put into operation a plan for resurrection life!

          The Lord sent his Holy Ghost down into the very bowels
          of death. And there the Spirit quickened Jesus body,
          raising him from the dead. Then out of the grave
          stepped our blessed Savior, right through the thick
          stone. And he emerged with this testimony:

          "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am
          alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and
          of death" (Revelation 1:18). Christ is saying here,
          "I'm the one who has eternal life! I was dead, but look
          I'm alive, now and forever. I hold the very keys to
          life and death in my hands!"

          The moment Jesus walked out of death's prison, he
          became the resurrection and the life. And he did this
          not only for himself, but for all who would believe on
          him from that day on. He has brought forth to us a
          resurrection life totally beyond death's power!

          Thus, there is no longer any reason for a Christian to
          fear death or to see it as an enemy. Our Lord has
          conquered it completely: "Whom God hath raised up,
          having loosed the pains of death " (Acts 2:24).

          If you've received Jesus as your Savior and Lord, then
          he resides in you as a mighty power of resurrection
          life. And the same resurrection power that brought him
          up out of the grave will sustain you as well. "Know ye
          not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you "
          (2 Corinthians 13:5). You have within your being all
          that is in Christ, a powerful life-force that Satan
          can't destroy!

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                          Paul Tells Us We Too Are
                           Handed Over to Death,
                          As Was Jesus, Our Lord!

                      -------------------------------

          The apostle Paul writes, "We which live are always
          delivered unto death for Jesus sake, that the life also
          of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (2
          Corinthians 4:11).

          When Paul says, "We which live ", he's echoing Jesus
          words from Revelation 1:18: "I am he that liveth " Paul
          is speaking here of Christians, those who trust in
          Christ and have his life abiding in them. Yet, what is
          Paul actually saying about us in this verse? He's
          telling us we also have been handed over to death!

          That's right just as the father handed his son over to
          death, he likewise hands over all who are in Christ.
          God leads each of us by the hand to the very gates of
          death and says, "Here, death take this one too. Do what
          you will with him!" And at that point, God's hand is no
          longer one of protection. Rather, it ushers us into the
          very jaws of death!

          Why does God do this, you ask? He does it for the same
          reason he gave over his own son to death. He knows
          death can't hold us! Death's pain and sorrow can no
          longer swallow us up or destroy us. We have within us a
          life-force more powerful than death, the life of Christ
          himself!

          God knows there is no risk for us, just as there wasn't
          for Jesus. And he has a predetermined plan for us, just
          as he had for his own son. This plan is going to win
          for us the greatest victory we've ever known. Yet this
          victory can only be accomplished in us through death.

          Paul warns us, "If you have the resurrection life of
          Christ in you, God is going to plunge you into death
          every day of your life!" "We which live are alway
          delivered unto death " (2 Corinthians 4:11).

          The apostle adds, "As it is written, For thy sake we
          are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep
          for the slaughter" (Romans 8:36). The Greek meaning
          here is, "Every day we are handed over to death." In
          short, Paul is saying, "Every day I face a new death
          situation."

          Please understand Paul isn't speaking of physical death
          here. He's talking about a kind of death that happens
          to us daily in our walk with Christ. When he testifies,
          " I die daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31), he's referring to
          tribulation, distress, persecution, peril, trouble of
          all kinds.

          Paul is saying, in essence, "We who have the
          Christ-life in us are constantly being given over to
          one death situation after another. Every day, some new
          test, crisis or persecution is thrust upon us. So, if
          you have the life of God's son in you, you can expect
          to see some kind of death situation enter your life
          every day!"

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                         Every Time Paul's Friends
                        Saw Him, He Was in Trouble.

                      -------------------------------

          The godly apostle Paul was full of the Holy Spirit and
          revelation knowledge. He prayed fervently and walked
          daily in intimate communion with Jesus. Yet he admitted
          he was continually buffeted, defamed, despised,
          reviled. He was gossiped about, his character attacked,
          his name reproached. And on top of all this mental
          anguish, he was harassed by demon powers, shipwrecked,
          beaten, stoned.

          Paul suffered so much so often, even his spiritual
          children wondered why he constantly faced trouble and
          persecution. Every time they saw him, his face was
          bruised, or his bones were broken, or his body was
          covered with marks.

          They couldn't help asking their spiritual father,
          "Where are God's promises for you, Paul? You preach
          that God protects and delivers. Why isn't that
          happening for you? Why do you always have to bring such
          a heavy heart when you come to see us?" They thought
          Paul had to be guilty of some sin.

          Of course, this hurt Paul deeply. Here was a powerful,
          sincere preacher of God's grace and deliverance and
          everywhere he turned, he was reviled and defamed. The
          slander finally got so bad, Paul cried out in a letter
          to Timothy, "Everybody in Asia is against me! I started
          all these churches, raising up their leaders. But now
          even they have turned on me!"

          The apostle said he had one friend left, Onesiphorus,
          who " was not ashamed of my chain [bonds]" (2 Timothy
          1:16). Paul said of his friend, "This man isn't ashamed
          of my imprisonment. He knows better than to think
          there's some hidden sin in my life!"

          Paul also said he was encouraged by a group of
          believers who " had compassion of me in my bonds "
          (Hebrews 10:34). He said, "These people feel what I'm
          feeling."

          Why did all these people stand by Paul in his trials?
          It was because they themselves had been " made a
          gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions whilst
          ye became companions of them that were so used" (verse
          33).

          These believers had become the apostle's "companions in
          afflictions" because the same thing that was happening
          to Paul had happened to them! They couldn't look at the
          apostle's deep trials and accuse him of being under
          judgment for sin. After all, they'd suffered the very
          same reproaches. They had to have compassion on Paul
          otherwise, they would have to question their own
          spirituality!

          I know a deeply spiritual minister who endured years of
          satanic buffeting and persecution from other believers.
          Every time I saw him, he asked me to pray for him about
          his troubles. I gladly complied but over time, as his
          trials persisted, I grew bothered. Finally, I asked him
          point blank:

          "I don't understand why you're always so harassed. Why
          do you seem to be a constant target for demonic attack?
          You re one of the godliest pastors I know. You're
          intimate with the Lord, always in prayer, continually
          studying his word. Why would the Lord allow you to face
          such constant trouble?"

          I couldn't help thinking, "I have trials and bad
          seasons, too but I don't have them all the time, the
          way he does." For a time, I doubted that man's
          spirituality.

          But now I know why this godly minister was handed over
          to death situations daily. It was because he was full
          of resurrection life! God wanted to use him in a mighty
          way so he kept handing him over to death in every area
          of his life. He wanted nothing to remain that would
          hinder the beautiful manifestation of Christ in him.

          This is why Paul was "handed over to death daily." It
          was why he was buffeted, defamed, persecuted, robbed,
          imprisoned, shipwrecked, maligned, hated,
          misunderstood. Satan was set on destroying the
          testimony of life in him. He knew a great manifestation
          of Christ was about to shine forth in Paul's life!

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                         What Is It, Exactly, That
                            We Have to Die to?

                      -------------------------------

          Paul says we are handed over to death " that the life
          also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2
          Corinthians 4:10). God brings us into death situations
          so Christ's life in us can be revealed to others!

          The apostle also says, "I think that God hath set forth
          us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death
          [handed over to death]: for we are made a spectacle
          unto the world, and to angels, and to men" (1
          Corinthians 4:9).

          Simply put, when godly saints full of the Christ-life
          are led into death situations, it's never a private
          matter. Scripture says we're made a gazing stock to
          three different intelligences: angels, devils and
          humankind.

          Right now, you may be struggling in the very jaws of
          death. The enemy has come against you, bringing trouble
          upon trouble, overwhelming you with fear. At times you
          may feel all alone in your struggle.

          But you aren't involved in some secret warfare. Your
          battle isn't taking place in some dark corner. On the
          contrary three realms are watching you with great
          interest. Devils are watching you, angels are watching
          you, and people are watching you. And they're all
          wondering, "How is this servant of God going to respond
          to his trial?"

          What are such spectacle-trials all about? Why do we
          have to go through these deaths? What's in us that God
          is after?

          Our heavenly father knows that certain unredeemed areas
          in our lives hinder the full manifestation of Christ's
          life in us. He knows our stumbling blocks, our fears,
          our ambitions, our lusts everything that blocks a full
          shining forth of Jesus. So he allows us to be put into
          "death situations" to rid our hearts of these
          hindrances.

          Consider these examples:

          1. If your hindrance is a fear of man, God may lead
          someone into your life whose presence paralyzes you
          with fear. Everything that person says or does adds to
          your fear, until it becomes unbearable. Over time you
          begin to feel beaten down, worthless, barely able to
          carry on.

          I've seen such fear cause physical pain to God's
          saints. Some have ended up hyperventilating over the
          "hard person" in their life, literally losing their
          breath!

          Where does such an overlording person come from? Why
          does God allow such a man or woman to become involved
          in your life? It happens because your loving father is
          handing you over to death! He's telling you, "Your fear
          of man hinders the precious flow of the Christ-life in
          you. Thus it cannot produce life in others. This fear
          in you has to end. You have to die to it!"

          Your cry to him may be, "Lord, get me out of this!" But
          God responds, "No I'm going to let death do its work.
          I've arranged all of this so you'll be brought to a
          death!"

          2. If your hindrance is ambition, God may open to you a
          tremendous door of opportunity. It could be a blessing
          so obvious and promising, you can't miss it. It might
          even be the biggest, most ambitious project of your
          life. And God will allow you to step into it, thinking,
          "This is it! I finally got my big break."

          Then the Lord will allow the whole thing to fall to the
          ground. You'll end up standing amid the ruins of your
          life's dream, crying, "Lord, I thought this project was
          your will! I thought it had your blessing. I prayed to
          you faithfully about it, and you brought me this far.
          How could you allow it to fail so miserably?"

          You've been handed over to death! The failure of your
          project is meant to be the death of your ambition, a
          death to everything that hinders the Christ-life from
          being manifested in you.

          3. Your hindrance could be the incredible revelations
          you receive from God's word. You may ask, "How can
          fresh revelation ever be a hindrance to a lover of
          Jesus?" Believe me, this happens to many dedicated
          followers of Jesus and it could happen to you!

          One day you may be reveling in the new truths being
          opened to you. Profound doctrines are becoming clearer
          to you than ever before. And your confidence is
          growing, because you consistently apply every new
          revelation to your walk with the Lord. You're so sure
          of your place in Christ, you think, "I've finally found
          the biblical principles to fully live an overcoming
          life!"

          Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, your soul is
          stricken with dryness. Soon your joy and assurance give
          way to a sense of frailty and uselessness. An
          unexplainable depression fills your soul, and each day
          becomes a burden to you.

          The scriptures that had come so alive in your heart now
          seem like a closed book. Instead of receiving
          revelation, you wonder if you'll ever learn anything
          again. You think, "I can't seem to get hold of even the
          clearest passage of scripture anymore. I can't get a
          simple word from God. I must be a spiritual ignoramus!"

          The problem isn't your intellect. You're being handed
          over to death! Your dryness is meant to hasten your
          death to all confidence in your flesh. It's a death to
          your tendency to glory in the revelation you're given,
          rather than getting your joy from Christ.

          The fact is, revelation tends to produce pride. This is
          the very reason God gave Paul a thorn in his flesh. He
          was restraining Paul from glorying in his many great
          revelations. God wanted his faithful servant to remain
          humble in all things!

          This whole process of having to endure "death
          situations" can seem cruel. Without question, it is one
          of the most painful aspects of our walk with Jesus. But
          if we allow death to finish its work in us, Christ's
          own resurrection life will flow freely out of us. If,
          on the other hand, we resist death's work, we won't
          ever have Christ's life in us!

                      -------------------------------

                    When I Speak of Dying to Something,
                  I Simply Mean That the Thing We "Die to"
                 No Longer Has Power or Dominion Over Us.

                      -------------------------------

          When we die to something, whatever the hindrance was
          loses its grip on us. It is no longer our taskmaster,
          no longer a source of distraction to our mind or
          spirit.

          Yet Christians have varied reactions whenever God hands
          them over to death situations. Many murmur and
          complain. They cry out to God, "Lord, get me out of
          this! I ve had enough. It's all too much for me to
          handle!"

          Others become convinced God has failed them. They
          wonder, "Where was the Lord's delivering power when I
          needed it most? Why didn't he keep his word to me? His
          promises don't work!"

          But with every death situation we face, God knows we're
          not finished. He knows we're not going down to death
          forever. The death we're going to experience can't hold
          us or destroy us. Our father's divine plan is for his
          Holy Ghost to bring us out of our test victorious, full
          of resurrection life!

          Simply put, our death situations are meant to be the
          end of certain personal struggles. Our father brings us
          to a place where we realize we have to depend on Christ
          completely, or we'll never get through. He wants us to
          say, "Jesus, unless you deliver me, it's hopeless. I
          put my trust in you to do it all!"

          Paul experienced this kind of death. At one point in
          his life, he quit looking for relief from his death
          situations. I'm sure that in the early days of his walk
          with Christ, he endured terrible times. And, like most
          of us, he probably hoped that if he just trusted the
          Lord enough, he'd be protected from all trouble.

          The first time Paul was thrown in jail, for example, he
          might have cried out for deliverance: "Lord, open these
          prison doors. Get me out of here, for your gospel's
          sake!" Likewise, his first shipwreck probably tested
          his faith severely. And his first beating might have
          caused him to question God's ability to keep his word:
          "Lord, you promised to protect me. I don't understand
          why I'm enduring this horrible trial!"

          But things just kept getting worse for Paul. Scripture
          gives little evidence that the apostle ever saw much
          relief from his troubles.

          I believe that by his second shipwreck, Paul must have
          thought, "I know the Lord abides in me. And so he must
          have a reason for this trial. He has told me, All
          things work together for those who love God and are
          called according to his purposes. If this is his way of
          bringing forth a greater manifestation of Christ's life
          in me, so be it. Sink or swim, my life is in his
          hands!"

          By the third shipwreck, Paul probably said, "Look at
          me, all you angels in glory! Look at me, all you vile
          demons of hell. Look at me, all you brethren and
          sinners. I'm going down once again into deep, dark
          waters into the very jaws of death. I'm a spectacle, on
          display for all of you to see!

          "I want you all to know God knows death can't hold me!
          He has told me I'm not finished, and I'm not quitting.
          I'm not going to question my Lord about why I'm being
          tested this way. I know this death situation is going
          to end up in great glory to him. So, all of you who are
          watching me see how my faith comes forth as pure as
          gold!"

          I wish I could have met Paul in the final, mature days
          of his walk with the Lord. I would've asked him,
          "Brother, what kept you from fainting and giving up?
          You were constantly pressed down on all sides."

          I believe Paul would have answered, "Yes, I was pressed
          down. But I wasn't distressed by any of it."

          "But you write of being perplexed so often by your
          trials," I would say.

          "True but never once did I give up in despair," he
          might answer.

          "You were also persecuted more than anybody."

          "Yes, I was. But the Lord never forsook me through it
          all."

          "You were struck down often, with infirmities and
          troubles."

          "Sure. But none of it destroyed me."

          Today Paul testifies to the whole world, "We are
          troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
          perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not
          forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians
          4:8-9). He wants God's people to know, "All of your
          troubles are light, momentary afflictions. And they're
          producing in you an eternal weight of glory, far beyond
          your comprehension!" (see verse 17).

                      -------------------------------

                         Paul Sums Up God's Eternal
                      Purposes in Our Death Situations
                       With One Powerful Statement.

                      -------------------------------

          Paul tells us, " death worketh in us, but life in you"
          (2 Corinthians 4:12). The apostle states very plainly,
          "Here is the reason why God hands us over to death. He
          does it so the life of Christ will flow out of us to
          others! If we allow death to complete its work in us, a
          manifestation of the Christ-life will come forth in us.
          And our testimony will produce life in all who hear
          it!"

          The Lord hands us over to death, death to all lust,
          sin, ambition, flesh and pride so that our innermost
          being will overflow with pure, life-giving waters. He
          tells us, "The death I've led you into is meant to
          bring life to those around you. Only a servant who's
          dead to this world can truly bring Christ's life into
          his sphere of influence!"

          Remember when financial problems hit, when physical
          pain strikes, when your name and character are being
          defamed, all eyes are on you. Your coworkers, your
          family members, your brothers and sisters in Christ,
          even strangers are watching and waiting for your
          reaction.

          What do they see flowing out of you in such times? Do
          they see faith, trust, surrender? Or do they see a
          despairing, murmuring Christian who won't entrust
          himself to the resurrection power of Jesus?

          Beloved, let death finish its work in you! Let it
          remove everything that hinders the flow of Christ's
          life out of you to others.

          Say to the Lord, "Father, I know these troubles aren't
          happening to me because you're angry with me. They're
          happening because you're trying to get at something in
          my soul. Deal with it, Lord. Bring it to death and out
          of that death, bring life!"

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.

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