Off With Your Grave Clothes!

I am working on a review of ‘Submission: Heeding Only His voice’ by Zeke Lam and wanted to share the following quotations that set me to thinking about the “grave clothes” that are still in my life.

“The Holy Spirit will certainly uniquely apply this word to each individual, but for the purpose of application let’s set a general definition for what we mean by “grave clothes.” Grave clothes are objects of a dead state of being that restrict the freedom of a living state of being. Are there parts of your life prior to receiving Christ that keep you bound and chained? Be transparent and honest as you cry out before the Lord. He desires to loose you from those grave clothes! Arre you a Christin who struggles with certain addictions or possesses a spirit of apathy or fear in the Christian walk? That is certainly a bound condition that restricts your hands and feet and your eyes and ears from being fully used by the Lord. God wants to free you from those grave clothes and send you forth exemplifying LIFE.

This is the heartbreaking condition today of far too many who have been given new life by our Lord Jesus Christ. There was that certain moment when He called your name: “(your name ______), come forth!” Jesus gave you life. How meaningless it would be for you to become a victim of the enemy’s plot to deceive you and cause you to remain in a dead manner when absolute power and life are flowing through your veins.

God not only called us forth from a sinfully dead condition, but He urges us to loosen ourselves from the grave clothes that hinder our lives from being fully submitted to Him.

Does your past hinder you? Does pride dominate you? Does guilt break you? Does fear control you? Does bitterness defeat you? Grave clothes are not hard to identify if you honestly search your heart. They are the areas in your life that restrict your fellowship and freedom with Christ.

Be aware daily of the fact that the enemy desires to wrap and bind you so tightly that you can never live a life which reflects a living condition. He wants Christians around the globe to be so firmly bound that they never get to step forth in the authority and power God has planned for them. Sometimes it is because of a hurt they will not let God heal. Sometimes it is because of a specific sin that controls their lives. Regardless, they hinder the work of Christ when they refuse to once and for all rid their lives of the grave clothes.”

“Nothing about the life of Lazarus testified to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ until he was freed from the conditions of the grave. What about you? Are you free from the conditions and identities of a dead person? If you have been redeemed as a child of God, the grave clothes are no longer for you. May you relinquish the grave clothes and live out your life as an ordained, anointed, living child of the Lord! Rely only on God’s strength as you seek to move into a more intimate place with your Savior. He did for Lazarus; He will do it for you.”

Excerpted from ’Submission: Heeding Only His voice’ by Zeke Lam (Burning Lamp Media & Publishing, 2011)