20 September 2013

Intro to Trust, Desire, Hope


God is teaching me a lot about hope. This summer has been an interesting one full of change and redirection. It did not look anything like I expected. I do not entirely know what I was expecting to learn but I know this was not it. Much of this summer was spent battling with the fact that my dreams and my circumstances do not match up. Endurance despite my circumstances was a big theme. All this has led me to study hope.
Before this summer all I knew about hope was that “Hope deferred makes the heart sick but longing fulfilled is a tree of life” (Pr 13:12). It took me a while to remember that I do not have to live in the ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick’ part of the verse. I can be instead looking ahead to the ‘longing fulfilled is a tree of life.’ I do not have to look at my circumstances as a gauge of where I am spiritually.
Right now I know that I am coming closer and closer to longing fulfilled. I can see it on the horizon. I do not know how all this is going to work or what it will look like but I know I am getting closer and closer to stepping into them and living in the fullness of these dreams.
I have big dreams. I want to change the world. I want to see and bring about restoration. I want to cultivate a greater hunger for God in the church. I believe God has great plans for His people and right now He is preparing us to walk in the fullness of them. I believe He placed these desires for greatness within us so that they will drive us to Him because He is the one who can fulfill them.
Trust is the first step in this process. We need to trust that our Father will fulfill His word. When we can trust the Father, He can better grow desires and dreams within us. Hope is the longing for those desires to be fulfilled and the belief that they will be fulfilled.
These next several posts will be more about what I am learning about these things.

17 September 2013

Circumstance and Promise


Pt XI of XI
Continuation of Inheritance
Romans says Abraham grew strong in faith as he gave glory to God (Ro 4:20). How do we grow stronger in faith? Through worship. Revelation 12:11 says, “We have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.” This isn’t something that is going to happen. It already happened. John is recounting what already happened. We already overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. We get to say, “Look, Jesus already overcame you and He lives in me and I in Him so therefore I will overcome you as well. And look, these are the other times I’ve already overcome you by the power of Jesus living in me so I know I am going to win again.”
Our praise has an influence on our level of faith. The more we worship God, the more our faith rises and we increase our ability to overcome. We are focusing on God in these moments and his power not on the problem and our inability. When we take our eyes off our circumstances we become enraptured with whom God is, then suddenly it doesn’t matter that my circumstances don’t match my promise. I know that God is faithful and he will make His promises come true.
David is a great example of this. He was told he was going to be king then shortly after this he escapes into the desert as an exile because the king is trying to kill him. He is in the desert for some 10 years but knows that God will get him to the throne. You circumstances may not match your destiny yet but that doesn’t mean you aren’t to go from being hunted to ruling. The wilderness prepares us for the throne. It is in the wilderness we get an upgrade and step up to a new level of authority so we can enter the Promised Land knowing we can rely on God as He tells us. There are giants in this land that we get to conquer and slay. We have a promise—this is our land. God even called it the Promised Land.

15 September 2013

Inheritance

Pt X
Contiuation of Promises
 
God gave us an inheritance that we can fight with. It is something we can use and is beneficial to us.
1 Timothy 1:18-19—This charge I entrust to you Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience.
I don’t know where you stand with prophecy but Paul is saying here that those promises and prophecies spoken over us are things we can fight with. We can use our promises to fight against that unbelief and those doubts that creep in saying God doesn’t want to use you for this, you can’t do that... etc.
As part of a new kingdom, we have weapons of warfare. God has given us His armor to fight with. He has equipped us with everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pe 1:3). In Isaiah 58 we see God put on the breastplate of righteousness and the helmet of salvation (Isa 58:17). We, like His children, copy the Father and also put on armor just like His. We see a list of our armor in Ephesians 6. We need to use the armor God gives us. If we trust the armor God gives us has the ability to protect us but we never use it, it is becomes useless. It is meant for use.
Satan is a “roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Pe 5:9). He makes a lot of noise, but because we are in Christ, we are already victorious over him. Satan has no power over us anymore unless we give him power. Stand firm in faith and resist him (1 Pe 5:9). He has to flee when we submit ourselves to God (Jas 4:7). Sometimes all we have to do is resist him.
We are victorious in Christ (1 Co 15:57, 1 Jn 5:4, book of Revelation). God always leads us in a triumphal entry (2 Co 2:14). You do not have a parade celebrating victory if you lose. We are operating from a place of victory. We do not have to surrender when God has already declared victory over us. This means we no longer have to give in to fear or shame.
Jesus has overcome the world and by extension so have we.
-        John 16:33—In the world you will have trouble but take heart for I have overcome the world.
-        1 John 5:4-5—For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
-        Romans 8:37—We are more than conquerors.
So, if Jesus lives in us and he has overcome the world and we overcome the world by believing that Jesus is the Son of God and we are more than conquerors, than we don’t have anything to fear. God’s name is Love and he says that perfect love casts out fear (1 Jn 4:18).
So what does this mean?   
1.  It means we don’t need to fear lack because we don’t have lack in the Father. 2 Peter 1:3-4 says He has given us everything we need for life and has given us promises as well. This implies the Father’s given us everything we need now as well as in the future.  
2.   We don’t need to fear that we have no purpose. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit, set apart, dedicated (2 Co 1:22). When you anointed something, you were setting it aside for a specific purpose. You have purpose.
3.    We don’t need to fear that God will not do as He promises. Isa 57:13-19 talks about how God will do what He promised. Psalm 146:6 says he is faithful forever. The NLT puts it: He keeps his promises forever. I didn’t earn these promises. They won’t be taken away. They can be delayed if I’m not cooperating with the Holy Spirit in preparation for the fulfillment of them but they will not be taken away. If I didn’t earn them then it follows that I can’t work to keep them. Romans 4 talks about the promise God made to Abraham. God made a promise of children to Abraham based on his righteousness of faith, not based on the law (Ro 4:13). If it was based on his actions, they could prevent the promise from coming true.
Remember how I was talking about the different promises God made in the OT and in the prophets about how he would restore his people? Do we get to see these fulfilled? We are a fulfillment of a promise. We are children of promise. God promised to restore his people and give them a new heart and place His Spirit in them. We are a fulfillment of that. Even as Gentiles we get to partake in this promise and are a fulfillment of this promise. God promised that the nations would come to him not just his own people. (Galations3:29) And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

13 September 2013

Promises


Pt IX
Continuation of Promises and the Mind of Christ 
Why are the Father’s promises important? The promises allow us to escape the corruption of the world. (2 Pe 1:3-4)
The Father gives us promises of what He wants to be for us and who He is making us into. We have the joy of getting to discover these. The promises are already there and our true identity is already there, we get to discover them. There is joy in finding treasure. If you are willing to seek it out, you will find it (Mat 7:7). He has given us promises so we can connect into the Father’s heart and therefore escape the corruption of the world. When we see as the Father sees suddenly sin no longer has a great appeal.
Some good questions to ask the Father are: how do you see me/ what is your heart for me, what are your promises for me, what does it mean to be a child in your kingdom, this is what my circumstance is but what do you want to be for me in this. Then listen. Write down your thoughts. Get to know the Father's voice. Ask a godly friend to do this with you and use the Bible to check what you think the Father is saying. If it doesn't match up with the Bible, toss it. If it does, find references you can put next to those promises.

Some promises to get you started:  
If we are lonely—I will never leave you nor forsake you (Dt 31:8). I am with you always even until the end of the age (Mt 28:20).
I won’t have enough— The Father promises that he has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pe 1:3). He has given us all blessings. This doesn’t mean he gave us some and someone else got different blessings. No he has given us all blessings.
Ephesians 1:3-14 is similar— We were blessed with every spiritual blessing. Not just some, but every blessing even as he chose us before the world was made. We have access to these blessings now. We get to discover them now. The Father even tells us about our forthcoming inheritance. We are sealed with Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance. He is the down payment of heaven, a taste of what is to come.
If you need to see God as a provider— He provided a lamb in the place of Isaac in Genesis 22. He gave Elijah bread in the desert and provided food for Elijah and a widow and her son during famine (1 Ki 17). Jesus fed 5,000 people (Mk 6).  Matthew 6:25-34 talks about how God cares for his creation and these aren’t made in His image. How much more will He provide and care for those who are made in His image.
If we are stressed—Jesus gives peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn 14:27). “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
If we are rejected—Isaiah 41:9-14 —I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the LORD your god who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. Do not be afraid O Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you, declares the LORD your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.

10 September 2013

Promises and the Mind of Christ

Pt VIII
Continuation of Put Off the Old and Put on the New
Discovering who you are as the new man is like a treasure hunt; it’s exciting, fun. When you are in a treasure hunt or playing hide and seek, what you are looking for is already there. We just get to discover it. The same is true in discovering our identity as a new creation. What we are already exists, we just get to discover it. God has given us his great and precious promises (2 Pe 1:4). They are promises of who God is and of who we are. These promises are things we get to discover and clues as to what God is growing us into and where He wants to take us.
As a New Creation, we need to know the mind of Christ. When we see as Jesus sees then suddenly our perspective changes and we see our circumstances in a whole new light.
Our thinking changes as we renew our minds (Ro 12:2). If we go play outside and get muddy and dirty, we don’t put clean clothes over our dirty ones and call it good. We take off the dirty clothes and put on clean clothes. We take off the old way of thinking and put on the new. Restoration causes transformation. I love how the word rest is in the word restoration. Resting is God’s way of rebuilding us. It is building us into a place of strength, of peace. It is home. It is the place we commune with God. We need to rest and be restored, renewed so we can be changed to be more like God (aka godly).
We have the mind of Christ (1 Co 2:16). We are seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph 2:6). Not only this but we also have the Holy Spirit who “will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). 1 John 2:20—we have all knowledge by the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to hold onto lies anymore because we were given Truth, and one of Jesus’ names is Truth (Jn 14:6).
So, if we have the mind of Christ and He is Truth, then He can tell us who we really are and suddenly those lies don’t have power anymore. The more we spend time soaking in the Father’s presence, allowing Him to tell us who we are, the less those lies stick and the clearer our vision becomes. What we hear starts to sink from our heads to our hearts and we start to believe what the Father says about us. We start to see things as the Father sees and we get a whole new perspective on our circumstances.

09 September 2013

Put off the Old, Put on the New


Pt. VII
Continuation of Seeing with the Father's Eyes
 
The first way to do this is to put off the old self and put on the new. Romans 6 says to present yourselves as alive from the dead. You are no longer the dead person but the new person which means we no longer need to think as the old person but rather as the new. Ephesians 4:22-25 says, “Be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” We do this by taking off lies and speaking truth to those around us for we are all members of one body.
Colossians 3:9-10 says the same thing. Do not lie to each other for you have put on the new self which is renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 2 Corinthians 3:18-4:2 says the same thing. If what we are saying over someone doesn’t pull them up into their new nature and the new way of thinking, then don’t say it. We aren’t to speak lies over each other but rather truth.
The more we see God, the better we can become more like Him and mirror him (1 Jn 3). One of Jesus’ names is Truth. The more we focus on Truth, the less we focus on the non-reality. Jesus came that we may live life to the full (Jn 10:10). Jesus took care of sin so we could walk in the fullness of life. This means there is no more lying. No more complaining. No more pity parties of I’m not good enough. He took away stress and anxiety. Jesus took all that negativity away from us at the cross. He died so that we would no longer have to live in that.

07 September 2013

Seeing through the Father's Eyes


Pt VI
Continuation of Children and Heirs
 
This frees us up to see as the Father sees. When we are no longer living by the world’s hierarchical system, we see other’s worth and identity as the Father sees it and we can call if forth in them. Just as the Father had grace on us, so we get to have grace on others. Grace looks like focusing on someone’s identity not their behavior. The more we know our identity, the more we can see other’s identity and the less their behavior and words stick to us.
By understanding what it means to be a child of the king, we learn to live in the palace not on the edge of the kingdom. We don’t get our thinking from the gutter but from the throne room.
The book of Romans talks about how our old self was crucified with Christ and we were raised with him so we are no longer under the dominion of sin but under grace. The law was our guardian but now we are adopted as children of the Father and have direct access to the Father as his children.

Romans 8:14-17—All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not received the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you received the Spirit of adaption as sons, by whom we cry, Abba! Father! The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Galatians 3:23-26—Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.
 
It is no wonder that Jesus had such harsh words for the Pharisees because of their legalism, and so did Paul for the Judiasers. They were trying to put the law on the New Covenant. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We have to work for death in the kingdom of darkness but God freely gives life in his kingdom. What the Pharisees were trying to do was mix the two kingdoms. They were living as though they were still under a task master or a guardian not under a good Father who accepted them simply because they are His. They wanted the benefits of God’s kingdom but the rules and regulations of the kingdom of darkness that allowed them to measure achievement and standing.
By trying to work for the kingdom of God they were totally missing it and leading others down with them. They wanted intimacy without a commitment. It doesn’t work that way. In the Kingdom of God we do not gain standing based on merit. We have standing because of whose we are not because of what we do.
As children we are also heirs and have access to the kingdom’s resources. In the Roman world the heir would have a signet ring with the family crest or symbol on it. It was representative of the family’s authority and power. A son would receive his father’s seal and with it the authority of his father. Luke 15:22—the Father gave the prodigal son a ring. This was a signet ring. In a similar fashion, kings would give certain people their seal to do the king’s will. They would then have the authority of the king and the resources of the king (A great example is King Xerxes and Haman from the book of Esther).
2 Corinthians 1:22 says the Holy Spirit is the Father’s seal of ownership and sonship on us. We bear the seal of the Father. There is so much untapped authority we are not using as seal bearers.
In John 14:10-14 Jesus is talking to his disciples at the Last Supper and He is being very frank with them. He tells the disciples that He does what the Father tells him to do. He is a representative of the Father, doing the Father’s work. We are now representatives of the Son for the Son lives in us just as the Father lives in Jesus. Jesus says that we will do greater things than He did here on Earth. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it.”
We are ambassadors with the backing of the kingdom’s resources. Never will you see a shabby consulate. The ambassadors represent the wealth and power of their nation. They have access to it and use it. The same is true for us.

05 September 2013

Children and Heirs

Pt V
Contiuation of Ransomed from Darkness into Light
 
So, what does this mean for us? First of all, it means that now that we are in the Kingdom of God, we are his adopted children and heirs.
We have full access to the Father as his children whom He deeply loves. We aren’t created to live at the edge of the kingdom as slaves. We were created to be with Him in the palace. In Genesis 1 God tells Adam and Eve to rule over the earth. That didn’t change at the Fall. More than that, the Father seated us with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6).
We are made in His image and are his children so we should reflect Him to the world. We represent Him here on Earth. We are spies in the enemy camp showing and displaying the goodness of God and turning people. We create a hunger for God through our actions. We become sheep among wolves, a tasty treat so others can taste AND see that God is good. When others see the goodness of God is us, they are attracted to that, not our eloquently prepared arguments and speeches. It is heaven in us that draws people.
Our old self was crucified with Christ so we could be free from the dominion of death and sin. We are no longer slaves but sons. We don’t need to keep going back to the old kingdom, the kingdom of death. We are not the old man anymore. We are a new creation; we are made in the likeness of our Father. No longer are we dominated by sin. We dominate sin. We no longer have a sin nature, though we may have a sin habit. We’ve been born into a new kingdom where we rule. We are co-heirs with Christ and seated in heavenly places with Him (Eph 2:6).
If we go back to the old kingdom and its way of thinking, we step down from our place of authority and go from ruling to being ruled, from sons and heirs to slaves. No wonder the devil wants to deceive us into believing we are still subjects in his kingdom.
We fight from a place of victory knowing Jesus has already overcome the world (Jn 16:33). We fight from a place of rest and love knowing our identity is secure in Him. We cannot earn our identity nor can we work enough to keep it or increase/decrease it.

03 September 2013

Ramsomed from Darkness into Light

Pt IV
 


We are now in the Kingdom of God. We were ransomed from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light (Col 1:13).

And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God (1 Peter 1:17-21).
 
The first thing Peter does is calls God Father. Our Father is our judge and he is impartial. We were ransomed from the kingdom of sin. To require ransoming means that we were stolen. We were taken from the Kingdom of God and enslaved in the kingdom of darkness. The highest price was paid for us, Jesus’ blood. Our worth was so high that Jesus’ blood was the cost for our ransom. That is how valuable the Father says we are.
If God sent Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners, imagine all that he has for us now that we are saints in his kingdom (Ro 5:8-10). That is what God did for us while we were enemies. We were in an opposing kingdom. Take some time and revel in that fact.

If you want more on this, see my previous posts Call on Him as Father, Impartial Judge, Ramsomed, The Precious Lamb We Did not Buy, to name a few.