Bible Study: The Answer

Hi Everyone

Here’s the notes for last Friday’s Bible study.

Click here to listen to the audio.

Yes, the notes for the last few weeks are a little late, but they’re on the way…

Blessings!

Chris

The Answer 

Why Are We Christians?

The time is short and the end is near.  Whether our Lord returns soon or we go, it is all in a matter of thousands of days.  We need to be sharp about the things of God.

The question I ask is this: What are we Christian for?  Is it just to go to heaven?  If so, the objective has been met and no further seeking is needed on our part.

I would say this:  we are Christians to ultimately become like Him, that soul starts to reflect clearly what the Spirit truly is.

When that happens, the same attractiveness of Jesus is manifested, along with His glory, and the World around us.

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, 

Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; 

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, 

To proclaim liberty to the captives 

And recovery of sight to the blind, 

To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (NKJV)

Today, the Spirit of the Lord is upon us.  We are “Christ-ians” – little Christs.  We are like Him in every way in the Spirit, not just moral.  The part of us growing spiritually is that Christ is formed in us, that what is true in our Spirit is believed in and manifested through the soul, acted in the flesh (Gal 2:20).  

In this, we become like the one we are intimate with.  In this, we start to realize more and more that all our needs are met in this relationship with the Lord.

Truly, this is the answer we have in our hands today.  It is not for us to run out now and try this in our own strength.  We all want to see revival that would bring true peace to all but it comes when people are hungry for the Lord, not hungry for good deeds.  The first will automatically lead to the second (see James 4:3).

Let us all go all out completely for Jesus, to know Him and come into an encounter with Him, like the early Christians did, and truly become His witnesses.

Our Motivation

God sees the heart and He works through it.  Motives are everything.  When our motives are aligned with His, we will work through love.

1 Corinthians 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. (NKJV)

Outside of love, much of what happens in Christiandom is wasted effort.  I myself have been involved in many evangelical crusades, religious activities, programs and events outside of love.  Perhaps it was because of social standing, or because I felt it would make me more accepted by God (He has already! It’s called grace).  There I times I’d have been in these because they were the Christian thing to do!  Paul does not mince his words - if we do anything for any reason other than for love, it profits me nothing!

Begin and End Well

Begin in Spirit end in Spirit.  When we first came to the Lord, it was in the Spirit.  We had to believe the Words of Jesus (John 6:63) for salvation.  Going on to living our lives, we again have to be careful not to try to “live more Christian” or like some people say, “live by Christian values”.  

Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (NKJV)

We have to live each day connected to the Lord, by faith in His Word.  The real power is not in doing good works.  It is in believing His love and what this has purchased for us through the blood of Jesus.  We need to grow in grace, know Him, know His love

2 Peter 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen. (NKJV)

Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)

It is when we start to know His love that we become increasingly full of Him.

Only by His Love

On the flip side, we can’t love without His love 

1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (NKJV)

1 John 4:19 We love because he first loved us. (NIV)

We need to seek to know Him more all the time, that His love becomes the source of our love, that we might love more.

It is not just cold intellectual understanding, mental assent of the Word.  We need to live by the real belief and experience of His love seen in the manifestation of His promises given to us in the Word.

Love Manifested in Power

When we start to understand more and more of the promises He has given us, the New Creations we have become because of the finished work of Christ, we start to experience the Luke 4:18 experience!

Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. (NKJV)

The Lord work with them, not against them.  Not bringing trials into their lives to test them.  Signs, supernatural occurrences, followed them everywhere like the Lord promised (Mark 16:17, John 14:12).

We must never be satisfied with coming to church and attempting to be “better Christians”.  We must always hunger for the things of God, have a spiritual hunger that the Lord says will draw blessings.  David as an example longed for God.  He did not hunger for good works, but for the very presence of his loving God, for he knew that with God he had the answer to all things.

The Spirit Within

Today God is in us, with us, for us and never against us.  He has made us into Kings and Priests…

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (NKJV)

… with the specific task of reigning on earth!  Yes, when the glory of God manifests, we reign, not because there are no more problems but because we can live a life beyond them.  We live for purposes that extend into eternity.  When fully submitted to Him (dead to self), we truly live the life of freedom He meant for us to live, where He is our everything and by Him alone we live. 

Revelation 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth.” (NKJV)

Read it, Believe Him

There is much to be said about simplicity of faith.  We need to simply read and believe.  There is much in the Word that seems out of this world and in fact is.  John 15:7, Eph 1:18, Eph 3:20 are a few to start with.  If we only go by what we can see, then we are walking by sight, not by faith.  Worst of all, we must never find theology to disprove the Word of God, to remove its power.

2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (NKJV)

There will be those who will have a form of religion, but deny that we have the same power, not only as the Lord had (John 14:12) but that the Apostles and the early believers had (Acts 2:43, Acts 6:8).

Bear Fruit, Awesome Ones!

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (NKJV)

When 

• we come into a relationship with the Lord (abide in Him) and 
• dare to believe what the Word says (words abide in us), 
• we can ask what we desire (because we know His will 1 John 5:14).
• When these prayers are answered, the Father is glorified.  
• This is what the Lord calls “bearing fruit” and 
• in so doing, we are His disciples.

On the contrary, if 

• we don’t know His Word or don’t dare to believe in it (e.g. praying for miracles) and 
• we don’t come to know Him and are engaged in living out “Christian morals/principles”, 
• we won’t dare to ask, or if we do, they won’t be done.  
• God does not get glorified and 
• Are by the Lord’s own definition not bearing fruit.  
• As a serious indictment, the implication also is that we are not His disciples.

We are awesome people – the Saints, the Holy Ones (“hagios” in Greek, same word used in the word "holy" in “Holy Spirit”).  When increasingly more of us realise the incredible power that has be endowed in us, the less we will make excuses for the lack of ability the we have in the flesh and walk by the Spirit.  It is in this that increasingly, we will see people being saved.

Once there are enough of us this way, we will once again have revival in our land.

Bible Study: I am Intimately One with God in Christ 4

Hi Everyone

Sorry, am running late – it has been a busy couple of weeks and am now just playing catch-up.

Here’s the Bible Study we did early in November.  Click here for the audio.

The notes for your meditation are below.  As usual, do please share it as you are blessed.

In His Love,

Chris

I Am as Christ in This World. 

The New Creation

We have been made into new creations.  The old one, the old nature who is a slave to sin, is no longer around.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)

The question now is what is this New Creation like and how should that make a difference in our lives.

1 Corinthians 6:15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. (NKJV)

For a start, this New Creation is one with God’s Spirit.  Holy Spirit Himself is with us.

The New Reality

Our New Creation beings have so much going for us.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (NKJV)

In the world of the Spirit, which is the reality, we have everything.  We are kings and priests, we are over comers, we are more than conquerors, the list goes on.

And the Spirit is truly who we are.  It is far, far more important than what we see with our eyes as true.  In a sense, we are like blind people trying to interpret the world through our sense of feel.  We are to walk by faith (2 Cor 5:7), not by what we see, by the truths manifested in the Word. 

The fact is, in Christ we have been made complete.  This is a truth in the Spirit.

Colossians 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (NKJV)

We might not feel that way, but we are told not to walk by how we feel, but by faith.  We are told to believe this as a truth.  It is when we believe in what is written in the Word but is in our eyes not possible, that the truth manifests.  This is believing.  This is faith.

Jesus did not come to be an example for us to follow.  In our strength, we would fail miserably and be very disappointed, something I am sure many of us as Christians will have come to experience.

Jesus came as the example of a Man powered by the Holy Spirit in Him, an example of what He died to make out of us.

John puts it this way: that all that Christ was while here on earth, we are.

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (NKJV)

Which explains why Paul said this:

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (NKJV)

The Same Mission

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (NKJV)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon us today, which is why Jesus said that we could do the works He did.

John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. (NKJV)

That’s why He sent us on the same mission.

John 20:21 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (NKJV)

So What’s in the Way?

The one thing that always comes in the way of the Spirit is the flesh.  The flesh manifests in the need to preserve self, to preserve one’s own ego, well-being, comfort, safety.  This is why our Lord said that we must die to ourselves:

Matthew 10:38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (NKJV)

John 12:25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (NKJV)

Matthew 16:25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (NKJV)

The one who is trying to defend his/her life here, essentially his/her flesh, the rights, the ego, one’s own cares and needs, will lose his/her life.

This is up against the realization that in Christ we already have and are all things.  We can be dead to the flesh and be satisfied in all that He has made us.

Realize

re·al·ize [ree-uh-lahyz] verb, re·al·ized, re·al·iz·ing.

verb (used with object)

1.to grasp or understand clearly.

2.to make real; give reality to (a hope, fear, plan, etc.).

3.to bring vividly to the mind.

4.to convert into cash or money: to realize securities.

5.to obtain as a profit or income for oneself by trade, labor, or investment.

The key for us Christians now is to realize who we have been made into New Creations  Without realizing that we have something far, far better, it is always very hard to leave what we now have.

The more we realize in every aspect of our lives that we are already like Christ, the less we will desire our old selves.  The New Creation just becomes more and more irresistible.

This is what Paul laboured for:

Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, (NKJV)

Not that he wanted Christ to be forged from the outside.  Think about it:  If Christ could be formed in the flesh, then He would not have needed to die on the Cross.  It would be like any other religion, where we are taught how to behave, and are given rules to “practice” our religion.  That’s why Christianity is not a “practice”.  I squirm whenever I hear people say that.  It is a relationship in which we start to realize from the Word who Christ has died for us to become, now that the Holy Spirit and us are inseparable.

We are transformed, going from glory to glory, by the renewing of our minds (Rom 12:2, Eph 4:23) as we look into the Word and believe what it says about who we are.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV)

It is all about Identity in Christ – hence this whole series on who we are in Him.

We Are Dead to Sin

The first thing that Jesus did in making us like Him was to take away sin.  With sin out of the way, we are free to be flesh powered by Spirit, like Christ was on earth.

1 Peter 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness— by whose stripes you were healed. (NKJV)

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. (NKJV)

Sin is no longer our master.  Sin holds no sway over us.  The sting of death, the result of sin, has no effect on us!

We are no longer slaves of sin, but slaves of righteousness.

Put Away, Lay Aside, Walk by Faith

When I was a young boy, I had a life jacket that was way to big for me, but was the only thing I had to help me in the pool as I had yet to learn to swim.  It was cumbersome, too large and had me floating in the water with only my mouth above water.

When I finally learned to swim, I was able to forget about this life jacket – I had no more need for it.  I could lay aside the life jacket.  By faith in this new ability to swim, I could jump into any pool without this cumbersome piece I thought I needed.

In the same way, walking in the New Creation requires faith in a new-found ability.  Like the life jacket, we lay aside/put away the old ways that we thought we needed to augment our lives here on earth.

In the crux of it, every sin is the embodiment of an area that we feel we need to defend the flesh.  Every sin is ignorance or unbelief in the finished work of Christ manifesting.

We now have the ability to simply lay aside, put away all that was of the old man.  We can successfully die to ourselves.  Before getting saved, we were slaves to sin.  We had no choice but to be in sin, as that was the nature of the beast, like barking is natural to a dog.  Once we were changed, we became slaves of righteousness.  Our new nature is now one of righteousness.

Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. (NKJV)

Hebrews 12: 1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (NKJV)

James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. (NKJV)

1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. (NKJV)

This is the faith walk – trusting in what the Word tells us about the New Creation, instead of what our five senses tells us.  Once we have faith, works will show, much like once I believed that I could swim, I would not be caught walking around the pool telling people I can swim but not going in for fear of drowning without the life jacket.

James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (NKJV)

This is called “bearing fruit”.  It is something that simply happens when seed goes into good ground.  Our choice is to be the good ground, but without the seed, the Word of God, nothing will grow.

Ask any farmer.  Manure produces no fruit.  Only good soil with seed in it will there be a chance of a harvest.

Jesus said:

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (NKJV)

So we need to 

1. 1. Abide in Him – live by His life
2. 2. Have His Words abide in us – His Words are Spirit and are life (John 6:63)

And when this happens, our requests will be answered.  This happens because we are then aligned with Him, and all that we ask will be to the Father’s glory.  He calls this bearing fruit.  These are the marks of a disciple.

Put another way – if what we pray for is not done, the Father is NOT glorified and we are NOT bearing fruit and we aren’t really good as disciples, probably because His words are not abiding in us and we are not abiding in Him.

Overcoming in this Life

This is how we overcome in life:

Revelation 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. (NKJV)

The Blood, Our Testimony and being convinced that this life is not at all important.  When we see increasingly the Life that is in us, the New Creation, when we realize the temporal nature of life here and the beauty of what Christ has done for us for all of eternity, we become increasingly enamored with His Life and decreasingly interested in the life that is here.

In dying, truly we will live.

The Take Away

• We are New Creations in Christ, made in His image, filled with the Spirit
• We are like Christ in this world
• We need to realize and believe this truth
• Jesus has put us on the same mission, armed with the same Spirit
• Ours is to realize that our lives here aren't worth holding onto, that dying to self is the way to go
• We are already dead to sin
• As saints, it is our privilege to put away, lay aside the old man and walk by faith in the finished work of Christ, His promises

Bible Study: Recap of Who I Am in Jesus Christ Part 3

Hi All

Third installment of the re-cap – I like this one:  Intimately One with God in Christ.

Again, I do recommend you get into the audio for the best of this.

And as usual, do share it as you are blessed!

Chris

Who I am in Jesus Christ - Recap: I am Intimately One with God in Christ 

Born Again, A New Creation, A New Man 

We Are New Creations

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)

Ephesians 2:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (NKJV)

The New: God’s Image

Colossians 3:8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (NKJV)

Walking in Truth

John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. (NKJV)

One with God Through Jesus Christ

Jesus and the Father are One

John 14:8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  (NKJV)

We Can Do as He Did (And More!)

John 14:12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  (NKJV)

We Can Because…

John 14:15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. (NKJV)

…We Are One

John 14:20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” (NKJV)

…We Are One

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 

We are Members of His Body

Ephesians 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 

God Leads Me

Right of Sons to be Led

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (NKJV)

We CAN Know His Will 

John 15:14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. (NKJV)

We NEED to Know His Will

1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. (NKJV)

We Can Hear His Voice 

John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (NKJV)

God Leads Us by His Spirit, His Word 

John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (NKJV)

God Leads Us in Peace

Isaiah 55:12 “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. (NKJV)

Learn to Pull Away from Distractions Regularly

Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (NKJV)

God Leads Us in the Counsel of Brethren

Proverbs 11:14 Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety. (NKJV)

Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established. (NKJV)

Proverbs 24:6 For by wise counsel you will wage your own war, And in a multitude of counselors there is safety. (NKJV)

God Leads Us When We Step Out

Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. (NKJV)

 His Will is Good, Leading to Victory

2 Corinthians 2:14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. (NKJV)

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV) 

Bible Study: Recap of Who I Am in Jesus Christ Part 2

Hi All

Just as we did last week, we are still in the re-cap of everything we’ve done in the “Who I Am in Jesus Christ” series.

I finished the whole section on “I am God’s Own Son” and went on to “I am Loved and Accepted Completely in Christ” part.

These are just the verses here – you will get a lot more listening to the audio for this.

As usual, do share it as you are blessed!

Chris

Who I am in Jesus Christ – I am God’s Own Son

God Wants Relationship with His Sons

Matthew 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (NKJV)

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (NKJV)

God Wants Us to Seek Him

Enoch – Gen 5:24

Noah – Gen 6:8-9

Abraham – Gen 12:1, James 2:23

Jacob – Gen 25:29-34, Gen 32:34-29

David – Ps 42:1

Zacchaeus – Lk 19:1-10

Mary vs Martha – Lk 10:38-42

I am God’s Own Son

God Wants Us to Seek Him

Devout Jews – Acts 2:5-7, Acts 2:36-37

Ethiopian Eunuch – Acts 8:26-31

Cornelius – Acts 10:1-2

God Wants Our Hearts

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV)

Luke 8:15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. (NKJV)

He Wants All to Be His Children

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (NKJV)

Who I am in Jesus Christ – I am Loved and Accepted Completely in Christ

God’s Love – The Source 

Matthew 4:16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (NKJV)

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (NKJV)

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. (NIV)

Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)

Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) (NKJV)

Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)

God Loved Me First!

Romans 5:6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJV)

Psalm 136: 

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever. 

2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever. 

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever. 

Read the whole psalm!

1 John 4:9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (NKJV)

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. (NKJV)

Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. (NKJV)

Bible Study: Recap of Who I Am in Jesus Christ Part 1

Hi All

We spent last Friday talking about all the topics we’ve covered so far in the Who I Am in Jesus Christ series.

So far, I got past about half of “I Am God’s Own Son” and had already preached myself happy there!

There’s much to be encouraged with all over again, so here are some of the key verses, but get the whole thing by listening to the audio!

And share it as you are blessed!

Chris

Who I am in Jesus Christ

I am God’s Own Son

The “Prodigal Son” Parable

1 Corinthians 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. (NKJV)

Adopted as Sons and Blessed

Romans 8:14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” (NKJV)

Restored in His Image

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, (NKJV)

Needs are Provided

Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. (NKJV)

2 Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (NKJV)

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

Matthew 25:23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 

28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. (NKJV)

Bible Study: Truth 8 - Sower and the Soils 6

Hi Everyone

Finally, we conclude this wonderful parable and this series on Truth.

If you have missed any of these in the series, I would suggest getting the audio files and listening to them to get the complete picture.

Meantime, you can download the audio for this session here.

As always, share it as you are blessed!

Chris

The Need for Spiritual Nourishment

There are diseases in this world that cause people to be unable to absorb nutrition.  Such diseases can cause sever malnutrition; regardless of whatever kind of good food is fed him, the person is malnourished and if it is a child, the child will never grow properly, becoming deformed, weak and easily prone to sicknesses, invalid and unable to work.

This is the same with spiritual truths.  If we have a disability in our taking in of God’s Word, we will be spiritually malnourished, unable to grow properly, growing to be deformed, unlike what Christ meant for us (formed in His image), spiritually not strong (not built on the Word, on the rock, tossed by every wind of doctrine), unable to bear fruit – do the work of the Kingdom.

Grow to Become Who You Really Are

The first thing we need to know is that in the Spirit, we are already like Christ because of His finished work.

1 John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (NKJV)

This is the New Creation.  The old has gone.  What is needed now is for our minds, our souls, to realise that increasingly and walk in these truths:

Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (NKJV)

Paul would not ask us to imitate God if we had no such ability.  Like Jesus, we are flesh powered by Holy Spirit.  Our soul, our thinking, has to come to grasp this.  This is what Paul laboured for:

Galatians 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you, (NKJV)

It happens when our minds are renewed by the Word and we are transformed (Rom 12:2).

Grow to be Free

When we are transformed to the image of Christ, who He is in us, what He has bought for us with His blood, what was finished on the Cross, that is when we are really free.  All other forms of freedom are not real.

John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV)

Bearing Fruit is ultimately growing in His likeness.  Growing up as Christians is not something for the “super-Christians” only.  There is no such thing, for we all partake of the same Spirit of Christ.  It is not an option in the Christian life, just as growing up physically in all areas is not.

It Came Through His Crucifixion

All that we have is because of Christ and Him crucified.  That is why this is what Paul said he preached (1 Cor 1:23).  It is not by our works.  Let’s see what Paul said to the Galatians about this:

Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?— 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (NKJV)

From the above passage we see a few things:

1. There is a going on to perfection in the Christian life.  This is the goal, that Christ is formed in us (Gal 4:19).

2. It is not something that will happen in the flesh, behaviour modification, following of principles and methods, right morals etc.

3. It is found in a person – His name is Jesus.  He died for us and His crucifixion in itself is enough for our perfection.

4. The only discipline we really ever need is a discipline in seeking to know Him, and seeking the Kingdom.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NKJV)

It is all about belief.  Jesus has finished it all.  We need to eat of Him and Him alone, feast on His finished work, all that He has accomplished on our behalf.

All this comes by how we receive the Word.

Review of the Soils

Remember – this parable is only about people who did hear the Word.  In spite of the odds, the point Jesus wanted to make was for us to be good hearers of the Word that it may bear fruit in us, that we might go from glory to glory, that we might become like Him.  This part is in our control.  The soil determines the fruit-bearing of the seed.  The soil cannot bear fruit without the seed.

If a believer has been hearing and hearing the Word without fruit, it makes sense to review the hearing process.

Wayside

Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. (NKJV)

Wayside hearers are those who did hear the Word but for a variety of reasons (often related to unbelief) ignored and lost it.  Some common reasons are:

• Unbelief/scepticism – must be willing to believe what we don’t see but is in the Word
• Tradition/theology/teachers misrepresent or ignore certain truths – we must discern against the Word
• Experience does not line up with the Word – the Word holds true
• Word runs against conventional thinking – we must trust the Word

Stony Ground

Matthew 13:20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. (NKJV)

We need to get rooted in His love.  Feelings can be good, but we must not depend on them.  Stay to what the Word says even if your senses don’t say so (“it is written”).  We walk by faith in the Word, not by our senses.

Remember – persecution will arise for those who choose to believe in the Word.  Very often, these come from those inside the Church, those who believe but don’t believe:  there are many believers who believe that Jesus is God, but find it hard to completely believe His goodness to us as written in the Word, especially in areas they don’t see.  We don’t go by what we see, but by faith.  When we go by faith, it is then that we receive.

Thorns

Mark 4:18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (NKJV)

Coming to church alone does not make anyone fruitful.  Many “attend church” but bear no fruit.  They hear the Word but cares, riches and pleasures choke the Word.  The very fear of not having, not achieving in this life causes much of this life and the next to be lost.

The seed has the potential to bear fruit but in this ground, that potential gets lost – it becomes unfruitful.  The irony is that when we seek first God’s things, we miss nothing and the payback is much greater and for all of eternity.

Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (NKJV)

We will serve what we treasure.  Serving cares, riches and pleasures means our heart will be there and we won’t lay up treasures in Heaven.  Doing things God’s way, serving Him, is as fun as life gets.  We don’t miss anything for pursuing the Kingdom:

Matthew 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV)

Good Ground

Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (NKJV)

Mark 4:20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” (NKJV)

Hear it. Have it everywhere with you as much as you possibly can.  Accept that all scriptures are good for us to be complete and fully equipped (2 Tim 3:16).  Don’t discard what you fear or don’t understand for it was there for our good.  Mull on it, imagine it until it gives insight.  When this happens, it will start to grow and bear fruit in that area in time.

How much fruit is dependent on us too.  Some soils will bear more than others.

Be Ready to Receive More

Mark 4:21 Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (NKJV)

The lamp will be set on a lampstand.  The Word will go forth.  Nothing is hidden anymore – revelation in the body through the Word continues to increase and we must be willing to be the good soil, to take heed and hear, that more may be given.  When we rest on our laurels and stop hearing, when we think that we know it all, we will start to lose even what we have.

Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. (NKJV)

The Take Away

• Bearing fruit is not an option for Christians.
• It does not come by what we do but by how we hear the Word of Christ.
• Without having the right heart in hearing the Word, no amount of Bible study/reading/messages will bear fruit.
• There is plenty of revelation from the Word today, but needs us to hear
• If we diligently hear and meditate, we will have more.  If we are complacent, we will lose what we have.