Choose Life or Death Part One: In pursuit of God, #3

By Riaan Engelbrecht

Our entire spiritual journey, along with our free will, boils down to either choosing to walk with Jesus (LIFE) or choosing the way of the world (DEATH). In God there is life, and life in abundance. Not just eternal life, but life in spirit, in soul and in body. Yet, there is a real difference between knowing of Him and knowing Him. In Him we abide in life, and walk in such life, but this calls for obedience to His Truth, to His Way and to His Kingdom. From a true relationship with the Lord, not religion, flows life and the blessings of such divine life. The Life and Death series is a volume of work stretching over many years, guided by the Holy Spirit, for the disciples of the Lord to understand that we can walk in life, yet this calls for remaining true to the Word, to His Will, to His Ways and His Kingdom. May we choose God, and then we choose His life of beauty, hope and wonder. If we choose the broad path, we wander the hallways of spiritual corruption, moral bankruptcy and ultimately, self-destruction in spirit, soul and body. Jesus gave His life so that we may walk in His abundant life of grace, mercy and love. 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Riaan Engelbrecht
• Release date: Jan 19, 2021
• ISBN: 9781393721444

Riaan Engelbrecht

Ps Riaan Engelbrecht is the founder of Avishua Ministries, the vice-president of Lighthouse Ministries International and the station manager of Lighthouse Radio. His ministry deals primarily with the prophetic, but he also has a passion to teach the Truth of the Lord Jesus and His Kingdom for only the Truth of the Lord sets us free (John 8:32).  He is also a qualified and seasoned journalist.

Book preview

Choose Life or Death Part One

This is a distributed edition from Avishua Ministries.

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Scriptures quotes from the New Kings James Bible, Amplified, and the New International Version.

www.authorriaan.co.za

Table of Contents

The choice lies before us

Supremacy of God – giver of life  

Life of the Kingdom

Drought in men’s heart

There is life in the glory of God

Seek wisdom to find life

Life is in the Blood

Find life on the path of the Lord  

A true disciple walks in life

Walking in the fullness of His Spirit

The Lord conforms our moral fabric

Conducting our lives in Spirit and Truth

Justification, sanctification, glorification

Stay true to the covenant of life

The choice lies before us

OUR ENTIRE SPIRITUAL journey and free will boil down to either choosing to walk with God (LIFE) or choosing the way of the world (DEATH).

Regarding all the death, chaos, anarchy, violence and abuse in the world, there is a simple explanation for why the world is witnessing so much tragedy and sadness. It is because so many people in the world have chosen not to believe and FOLLOW the one true God and His ways. There is a real difference between knowing Him and knowing Him.

The Lord once spoke something in my spirit that is so simple in truth but so profound: Those who walk not in Life (submitted to Jesus) will never be able to truly appreciate the sanctity of life or uphold the sanctity of life, for they have chosen the way and value of death. This is why we sit in a world of war, violence, anarchy, chaos and death because the world has not chosen to follow the Lord of life.

The world is rife with substance abuse (self-destruction), murder, war, abortions, child abuse, human trafficking and the list goes on. Why? Because this world has chosen to forsake God, therefore, LIFE (spiritual, emotional, physical) and so we are witnessing a complete disregard for the sanctity of life and thus the complete destruction of mankind. Where death reigns in the heart of men, then death will have its way. As the value of life depreciates, the world will drift further away from abiding in the Lord, who is divine life.

For those who do not walk in the life of God (truly and utterly submitted to His will, way and truth in Spirit), they walk in the ways of death, and such death will always seek to destroy life. Jesus destroyed the sting of death, not only applying to eternal life but also destroying the power of death on earth. But we have to choose to abide in the Lord and abide in life, lest death has its way in our lives (and death manifests in many different ways - not just physical death).

For this reason, our very planet is dying (wildlife, environment, fauna and flora) because the sanctity of LIFE on this planet is not upheld. The ONES who are to uphold such sanctity are the human race, created by the Lord, yet the human race has chosen not the way of the Lord and has thus, by choice and design, chosen to be ruled by DEATH and thus inflict death not only against the planet, but also against each other.

The Lord created man in the first place to be stewards of this planet, but the deeper mankind has fallen into sin, the greater the wickedness that has been manifested on earth.

It is the mandate of the Church to bring this world back to Jesus and thus back to the value and sanctity of life. Our problem is that we have rebelled and disobeyed God. Jesus is the only answer to the world's hatred, anger, divisions and cruelty, for this is the way of death. Only when we submit to the Lord and walk in His life shall we truly begin to defend the sanctity of life.

The Lord mourns for this world, even many in the churches are no longer following Him, and so allow the world to dictate their path of destruction. For let us remember, the devil comes to steal, kill and destroy. He hates life, for he has rebelled against God. Indeed, there is a spiritual battle that wages on earth, and the battle deals with life and death! And this is no game. This is reality.  God has come to give us an abundant life, while the devil tries to steal such life. While God grants us life and life in abundance, the devil seeks to destroy, kill and deceive.

The Lord, throughout the Scriptures, proved His authority when it comes to granting life, while the devil has, since his fall, been busy trying with a counterfeit move to lead people to death. And so we need to understand that when one talks about life, it is life in the spirit, soul and body. It is about life in the spirit that manifests into salvation and thus eternal life.

It is about life in the soul that manifests into the wellness of the mind, heart and emotions. It is about life in the flesh that manifests into the wellness of the body and walking in the health of the Lord.

As a counter move, the devil comes to seek and destroy, meaning he wages a spiritual war against man – the centrepiece of God’s creation – but he does it by attacking the spirit, soul and body. The devil is intent on enjoying dominion over man, which means taking control of man’s spirit, soul and body.

He does this by leading the world away from the Lord to embrace a different reality and a different truth, so that the world no longer walks in life but allows for the devil to have his way.

We need to understand that this is no game. Man was first made in spirit, then born into the flesh and will return to the Lord as spirit. There is a very real and definite war being waged against man, and this war is surely one of life and death.

We need to understand that if we truly wish to enjoy life in abundance – in spirit, soul and body – there is no room for compromise, and there is no room for the world to infest and corrupt us.

It is simple. As soon as we allow the devil into our lives, and as soon as we enable this world to creep into our souls, then we allow death to enter our state of being.

It says the following in Romans 8: 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

Take note of verse six: the mind governed by the flesh is death. You see, if we live in carnality, seeking this world above God, we will ultimately run the risk of having our mind governed by the flesh, and the flesh (meaning the ways of this world) is hostile to the ways of God. Only when we lead a life in the Spirit can we truly walk in life!

Yet this world will lead us down a downtrodden path of chaos and lawlessness.

Romans 6: 23 For the wages of sin are death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Again, there is only death to be found in this world, for the world leads us to sin and to cast our minds not on God but on the ways of darkness. Want to walk in life? Then seek the Lord above all!

It is written in 1 John 2: 15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

Again, the same theme of living – we shall live when we do and follow the will of God, and not the will of this world or the devil. This is the crux of the Lord’s Prayer, which is to seek the will of the Father.

So if we choose this world or the way of the devil, then we choose death, which of course translates not just into physical death. There is spiritual death, which comes by forsaking God, idolatry and spiritual adultery. There is the death of the soul, where depression, anxiety, fear, doubt, anger, unforgiveness and bitterness take hold of our thoughts and our emotions, leading us down a dark path of self-destruction and self-loathing.

We have to realise that Satan first attacks the soul (mind, will, heart). A soul that is darkened by the devil’s influences can lead to a spirit forsaking God by accepting the way of the world. The devil is, for now, the ruler of this world. And as the soul becomes corrupted by the cold grip of the devil – allowing for death to seep into our lives – very soon it manifests into our flesh, where our actions, behaviour and moral conduct rarely reflects the glory of God but the immoral ways of the devil.

Deuteronomy 30: The Offer of Life or Death:  11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it? 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. 15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. 19 This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

In the Old Testament life and death translated into blessings and curses for the Israel nation. Under the Law of Moses, the Lord presented to His people a very simple choice – follow God and live, or disobey God and die. Take note of verse 15: See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.

We are either going to follow God and live in abundance – spirit, soul and body – or we are going to choose to allow ourselves to become infested by the world and therefore suffer the touch of death – spirit, soul and body.

This Scripture also closely relates to the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 7: 13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

With the wide and the narrow road, the Lord is teaching about choice. We either have a choice to go His way or the way of the world. Thus, we have a choice to choose between life and death. It is interesting to note that there is no middle path in the teaching of Jesus – there is thus no compromise.

Again, the lack of the middle path alludes to the following truth, as spoken by Jesus:

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

We cannot, therefore, walk both roads. We cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and the devil. We cannot live in the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness. We have to choose!

The choice that lies before us was even underlined in Jeremiah 6: 16 This is what the Lord says: 'Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

We have a choice, but sadly, we have forsaken the path of life to seek another path (the broader way), and so we have gotten lost along the way. If we are not walking in the shadow of the Lord, then we cannot hear the voice of the Master.

So often, people will say that the Old Testament has nothing to do with the modern-day Church. This is where we make our biggest mistake. The Lord has never changed, and the foundation of the spiritual war remains intact. It has always been a war over life and death. Nothing has changed.

The Lord demands obedience, faithfulness, holiness and purity for us to lead a life of life, while the devil calls for man to disobey, to be unfaithful, impure and unholy so that death may destroy and harm.

Why do we think this world is in such a grip of death? Is it not because the world has chosen to follow after other gods – choosing death over life? This world has chosen to follow a different truth masked by a myriad of philosophies, ideologies and religions.

This world has chosen to embark on a road that leads to hell’s door. Are we then surprised that the world is in the throes of war, famine and plague? To be honest, very few people of the 7 billion on the planet truly walk in life, meaning they are utterly devoted to God, to His Truth and ways. There are but a few who refuse to compromise, who still treat sin as lethal and who follow a path of holiness and purity. If the vast majority of the planet follows the ways of the devil we should not be surprised that we see death and destruction around every corner. After all, we live in a world of fear, rumours, conspiracy, conflict, violence and dread. We live in a world where we fear dreaded diseases, poverty, injustices and xenophobia.

Amid all this turmoil, we must be vigilant not to turn our ears or eyes to such manifestations and deem it to be the final reality of all things, for this will then cause fear and anxiety. We must not listen to rumours, talks of conspiracies, propaganda and hate speech, for this sows fear, confusion and deception. Such is the work of the enemy. Turn your eyes and ears upon the Lord and the Lord alone, for He is the author of our faith, He is the Alpha and the Omega of all things, and He alone holds all power in heaven and earth. No one else.

Why fear the world? Why fear famine, plague and violence? Why live in dread? Isn't the Lord of Israel the God whom we serve today? Is not the One who shook Egypt with the 10 plagues the One who still rules and reigns? Is not the One who provided for Israel and protected them in the wilderness the same One who holds the keys of life? Why fear? Why dread? For those who indeed shelter beneath the shadow of the ALMIGHTY God shall not be moved and shaken, for indeed, peril and fear and dread surround us, but fear not!

Choose life or choose death on this day! It is either the world and its conspiracies or God and His Truth. It is either being a slave of the world ruled by the hand of the devil or being a Son or Daughter of the Highest King. Isn't the Name of Jesus above all Names? Isn't the Blood stronger than any famine, plague or disease? Isn't the Blood capable of delivering us from all our afflictions? Is God not mighty, almighty, all-powerful and majestic? Why then fear?

Believers, we need to turn our ears to God and listen to His voice and His voice alone! Turn your eyes to Jesus and Jesus alone! Obey the Lord, forget Him not, forget not His ways, forget now what He has done and be led by the Spirit.  War, conflict and violence have always plagued the earth, for such is the way of death, yet God of Life will rule and remain standing when all is done. Today, now, repent of one's fears, repent of one's lack of faith and trust in the Lord, repent of your sins for indeed the Kingdom of God is at hand, for look, our days are turbulent and persecution and perversion arise, but has the Lord not commanded not to worry, not to be anxious and to keep on praying?

If we seek life, we need to seek God, thus His glory, for there is life in the Glory of God! There is no darkness, death or destruction in the Glory! It says in Habakkuk 2:14: For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. When the earth is covered by the knowledge of the glory, then this earth will be alive and full of life! The glory is not just the Lord’s presence, but it is the very life that He brings, and by that life, we are sustained.

How we need to walk in God’s glory, for the Glory of the Lord is life; it is the prosperity of spirit, soul and body! The Glory of the Lord is the power of God, the healing of the Lord and His sustenance to a weary soul! How we need to crave and yearn and seek after the glory of God.

To carry His glory places our focus on God and makes us God-conscious of His holiness, purity, of His character, nature and love. If we truly carry His glory, it will redefine the way we operate and function – for those who allow the Spirit to take them from glory to glory. It means certain abandonment unto God and alienation from the Self. Our motivations, intent and thoughts will be centred on His Will, His compassion, His love and His desire to see a lost world saved. It will place our hearts in alignment with His. We become God-conscious and not self-conscious in all that we do, say and think.

Alas, how we need to urgently recapture the centrality of glorifying God in our lives and work, for this will lead us to life! Too much of what passes for evangelical Christianity is man-centred or even self-centred. God is reduced to a means to some other end, whether it is my own self-fulfilment or the welfare of others. The results are disastrous for worship and discipleship. Worship either becomes tepid, or it becomes an experience we offer to people as a sort of consumer product rather than the adoration and consecration we offer to God.

If the glory of God is our supreme passion, this will redefine both the goal of our task and how we pursue that task. The goal of our task is that the earth is filled with the knowledge of His glory as the waters cover the sea. Our passion is to see Him receive the glory that is due to His Name from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Everything else is simply a means to that end.

A passion for the glory of God will also redefine how we pursue our tasks. If our supreme goal is to glorify Him, then we shall indeed walk in the weightiness of His substance.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3: 18: And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

It is therefore clear from Paul’s writing that it is those who turn to Jesus and thus to the Spirit that will begin to walk in Glory which should be reflected in our walk. Yet, an ever-increasing glory and a transformation speak of the process of self-denial, a journey of sanctification and abandonment unto God, and the continuous seeking after truth.

A word of Isaiah 8 for God's people here and now:

11 This is what the Lord says to me with his strong hand upon me, warning me not to follow the way of this people: 12 "Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it. 13 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread.

Matthew 10:28: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Indeed, for those who believe, who truly serve the Lord in Spirit and Truth, and who have denied the Self, religion and