As I start this lesson out, I want to remind you again of the words of Jesus. He taught us that our main goal in life is to love God with all of our hearts, all of our souls and all of our strength. It is then out of this love that we are to love others and help whomever we can as we walk along life’s journey. You can boil it down to the simplicity of what Paul the apostle called faith working through love as we live out our lives crucified with Christ, allowing him to change us from the inside out and allowing him to work through our lives. What I will do for you in this school of discipleship is to help you discover the power of Christ within you and your spiritual gifts so that you can fulfill the will of God for your life.
What I am doing right now is laying foundations. In section one we are covering the foundational doctrines of the faith as laid out in Hebrews 6:1-2. We have covered repentance from dead works and now we are finishing this lesson up on faith towards God. Section 2 we are going to get into a deep study on the spiritual disciplines discovering the priesthood of the believer which will help us to learn to allow Christ nature to be formed within our hearts. It will also give us a practical outworking of this inward transformation which will have an impact on the world around us. I am going to talk to you about gifts and leadership in Section 3.
We are all leaders to some measure. Leadership is first of all about self-government. It's where you learn to rule over the fleshly passions enflamed through the spirit of this age. It is first of all about learning how to possess our own vessels through self-control. In Lesson 10: A Lifestyle of Repentance I taught you about the lower nature which opposes us walking in the Spirit and it is the good fight of faith in this age that we will experience.
How many people have you known in a leadership position in the business world, academia, entertainment, government and the church that have lost that leadership position because of a personal character flaw? I know a lot and I’ve watched this same scenario play out over and over the last 30 years of my life. We’ve seen it so many times it’s hard to keep track of those who were in a public place of leadership, but they were overcome by the corruption of this world and due to a character flaw that they refused to address their world came crumbling down. It’s why the daily renewal of our minds through the habit of meditation is so important to develop.
If we want to fulfill the will of God, we must develop the daily discipline of renewing our minds.
A disciple is someone who has committed his life to God’s word. Jesus said in John 8:31-32 if you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Freedom is living life from the inside out. Truth that has been internalized and a part of our lives. It’s learning to allow the word of God to be implanted securely into our souls. It cleanses the lens of our soul’s so that the interface of our hearts will display the fruit of God’s Spirit.
As I said in the last lesson that just knowing facts does not set us free. Belief is not faith, it’s just knowing facts and many times it’s just wishful thinking. It’s the kid that believes that Santa Klaus is real. It’s real in their heads and they believe it, but it’s just a fairy tale. If as adults we live in this fantasy world of wishful thinking, then we are just delusional at best. It’s why right thinking is very important because the world in which we live is going to try to impose its thinking upon us and conform us to its corrupting view.
Embracing the Transformative Power of God's Word
Abiding in God’s word is learning to allow it to truly captivate our hearts. It produces a faith that actually channels the unseen power of God into our hearts, changing our conduct and causing us to fulfill the will of God. James 1:21 tells us the type of attitude we must have as we approach the word of God. "In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to deliver the soul". The Greek word implanted is derived from two other words, En means a fixed position and pho which means to puff or to blow up or to grow.
Jesus taught us that the word of God is like a seed planted in the ground. We must put a high value on the word of God. It must become more important to us than our opinions and feelings.
If we want to see the word of God truly grow within us, then we must have a high regard for it. It must be a treasure we daily seek. As we do this on a consistent basis, our minds will be renewed, emotions stabilized and our determination will come into alignment with the very thoughts of God. In so doing we become yoked to his strength and to the Spirit's ability working within us. The thoughts of God must be intertwined with our thoughts so that our wills are subject to him and he is the one directing our lives. It is an attitude of full surrender where Jesus is Lord over our lives.
The world we live in today is moving at such a fast pace it’s hard to keep up. We have so many opinions, ideas and persuasions coming at us daily and if you don’t have an inner strength that comes from being centered on Christ then you will be overcome by this world. Ephesians 4:14 talks about those who are "tossed to-and-fro by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes." It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed and we are many times pushed to conform to the norms of those around us.
Meditation is learning to live by the ancient rhythms of creation and covenant.
It’s teaching us how to enter into the Sabbath rest of Christ. It’s teaching us how to cease from our own self-effort. It’s slowing down to pray, contemplate and listen to the eternal unseen Creator. If we will learn to daily renew our hearts to his word then we will see him work through our lives, but must learn to yield our hearts to him.
The modern world moves at a pace way beyond our ability to keep up and to be able to grow in the grace of God we must learn to find rest for our souls so that we can overcome this world.
Faith is of the heart and the eyes of faith see the unseen Creator. Faith gives us victory.
I John 5:4 in the New Living Translation says that every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory and the ones who win this battle against the world are the ones who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. The New American Standard Version says this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith. The Greek word for victory is the word nike. Yes, the athletic apparel brand Nike got its name from this word. The word is defined as conquest or the means of success. Success from the Bible's perspective is not having a million dollars, a large home, three cars or anything we desire.
I am going to show you from scripture that success is not the American dream, but God’s dream. God’s dream for you is being in covenant with him, having fellowship with him and completing his will for your life. The context of I John 5 is being born of God, obeying him and walking in love.
The Power of Faith and Surrender in Overcoming the World
Overcoming this world is only accomplished by having faith and surrendering to the love of the one who has overcome death, hell and the grave. The text is first of all about having a faith that overcomes this world in the same way we are told to overcome the devil in Revelation 12:11 and that is by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony and loving not our lives even unto death.
The victory of faith is not about getting something we want from God, but it’s about giving our lives to Him. Yes, as a result of being a child of God he wants to take care of us along our journey and that will mean whatever we need to fulfill our journey.
To accurately interpret the Bible its first important to understand the context that the text was originally written in. In America during the late 1980’s there was a movement within Charismatic circles of the church that became very popular which was known as the Word of Faith movement. The main proponents of this message put a focus on the healing power of God through faith and God’s abundant provision through faith. It was dubbed by some as the health and wealth gospel. One of the favorite scriptures that was used came from the last epistle that John wrote. III John 1:2 says "beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers".
The message of health and prosperity became a popular message in America during the mid-1980’s and in some sections of the church even still today. It’s taking the scriptures and reading them through the lens of a modern American successful person. The motivational speaking industry has a lot of people who adhere to this message. I embrace aspects of it because living by faith is how we walk with God. However, positive thinking and mind over matter is not faith.
The Bible is not American and the gospel did not originate from America. It did not originate with us so it’s important to understand the context of the original message which is a faith that comes from Abraham the father of our faith.
Abraham was the first Jew who lived his days on this earth as a sojourner and pilgrim in what is today the Middle East. Our faith is an ancient faith and it’s only by discovering the original roots of our faith that we can understand how to walk in that faith. Contextualization is not everything, but it does help us to get an understanding of what the original words of God meant to those to whom it was given and then yes we can apply that understanding to our modern world and personal specific situations.
The word of God is living and active, so it moves with us in time. The Spirit of God can take his words and apply them directly to our particular situations. It may not be an interpretation of that text, but it can very much give you understanding and faith for the situation you are walking through on your journey. The point I am trying to make is that many Americans have created a gospel in the image of the American dream, political ideas, business ideas and culture in which they live.
The gospel and our faith is not American prosperity and its not just positive thinking. The positive thinking movement and self-improvement teaching is not faith nor is it the gospel that Jesus and his apostles preached. You cannot find a scripture where Jesus or his apostles told us to improve the old man. The clear message of Christ and his apostles was that the message of new life is first a message about your death. The flesh or the lower nature must be crucified.
The message of covenant from Genesis to the book of Revelation is that new life only comes through the blood covenant and that means sacrifice.
You must follow your master who is your prototype and the only way into eternal life is through the door of the covenant. It’s a door of sacrifice, blood and death to our old way of life while learning to live in Christ resurrection life. It is the message of the cross from beginning to end. Jesus said I am the door. Jesus said take up your cross. Jesus said I am the way, the life and the truth. It’s not making a better self or becoming a better you. It’s being crucified with Him so that the Spirit of Christ can be your source of life.
It’s through the door of death that we become a part of the one new man created in Christ Jesus. We overcome this world by dying to this world, taking up our cross and living by faith working through love. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that transforms us from the inside out, but to live in resurrection you must first acknowledge your dead to this world.
Embracing Creativity in Faith: Painting Your Story within the Redemptive Narrative
In this school of discipleship, I want to help you pick up your paint brush and encourage you to color in your story within the redemptive story of the cross. It’s my goal to help you learn how to color within the lines. Yes, God sets boundaries, he gives us all a measure of rule and a measure of faith in fulfilling his will, but he gives us a lot of freedom to be creative within the redemptive story. Faith is the creative nature of God. He created all things through the spoken word. In the same way we walk in the will of God by the creative power of faith. We live from faith to faith because he is the beginning and ending of our faith.
God doesn’t want a bunch of clones because he created us all to be unique. Look at the fingerprint, the eye, the snowflake that God created so uniquely.
The victory of faith is learning to be ourselves in the many membered body of Christ and we are only truly fulfilled when we discover, develop and put into practice the real individual that God made us to be. The victory of faith is about our identification with the New Covenant and living out the will of God through love. It’s the only pathway to victory over this world. It’s the idea that although we live in this world, we are not of it.
Our source of life comes from the throne of the lamb. The kingdom of God is here and now within us as Jesus said in Luke 17:20, but it’s only experienced in the heart this side of the full redemption of our bodies. Like Abraham we are pilgrims and sojourners in this current age living from the source of the age to come. We live in the tension of a people between two ages. It is through the cross that we partake of the wisdom and the powers of the age to come.
In this age we just get to taste of the age to come and it is our fellowship with the blood, water and Spirit that connects us to the throne of the lamb. The age we live in has been corrupted and that corruption goes back to the garden. Since the day that mankind was promised deliverance through the seed of the woman and the day that seed was bruised on the cross, we have been watching this redemptive story play out.
It’s through the message of the cross that faith becomes a coherent message within the redemptive story.
Like grace if you separate faith from the cross you get a message of delusion and selfish pursuits. You get motivational speakers who sound more like snake oil salesmen than prophets calling us to the cross. Hebrews chapter 11 tells the story of those who overcame this world by faith. The cross was a decisive victory in the redemptive story, but it will not be fully realized until that covenant is fully enforced at Christ's second coming.
Go and read I Corinthians 15:29-58 where Paul teaches about the full redemption of our bodies at Christ's return to this earth. It is our hope and anchor in this corrupt age. We presently live in the tension of this redemptive story looking back to the victory of the cross and partaking of the Spirit of the age to come while we journey forward looking to the final fulfillment of our redemption.
Paul in Romans chapter 8:18-25 says that "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope, we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." It’s what Jesus called the end of this age when talking about the birth pangs the world will experience prior to his return to this earth.
Right now, in this age we learn to toil, struggle and face our own limitations through the power of the Spirit. It’s when we come to the end of ourselves that we learn to live out faith, as we discover the grace that the Spirit produces within. Wisdom cries out for us to listen. If we humble ourselves and listen to the wisdom of the cross, then it can save our souls. We must listen to the wisdom of cross.
If we will listen to the wisdom of the cross, then you can partake of the power of the cross. The power of the cross is living by an overcoming faith that works through love.
Exploring the Hall of Faith in Hebrews Chapter 11
Hebrews chapter 11 is what we have called the hall of faith where the author first tells us what faith is then lists examples of what faith looks like. Our faith is an ancient faith and throughout scripture we are told to listen, learn and follow the example of those who have gone before us. Let’s take a look at what faith looks like and the victory over this world that these men and women experienced. I encourage you to pause this video right now and read Hebrews chapter 11.
In this chapter we see that Abel offered blood sacrifice by faith and was killed by his brother because of jealousy. Noah built an ark and he along with his family witnessed the destruction of the known world. Abraham spent his life living by faith in the promise of God as a foreigner in the land he was promised. He was looking forward by faith to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
In Hebrews 11:13-16 it says, "these all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place - a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."
I know there are those that will teach you that you are going to rule and reign on this earth in this age before the return of Christ with lots of money and power, selectively taking scriptures out of context.
It’s an old message with a modern twist. One of the favorite scriptures used is that the wealth of the wicked is being stored up for the righteous at the end of the age. It’s built on a Dominion Theology. It’s taught that we are going to rule the nations with Christ. However, as with all prophecies, timing is everything because we are only going to rule on this earth with Christ after his return to this earth. I’ve seen a lot of people live in delusion because they were captivated by the false illusions sold to them.
If you have been made to believe that following God is the pathway to prosperity and power, then you are being led down a road that ends at best in disillusionment. I Timothy 6:10 says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. I’m not advocating for a vow of poverty nor that the believer should never be put in places of great power.
Questioning the Notion of Wealth and Power
Let me ask you a simple question. If it’s not been the experience of the people of faith throughout the ages, to have great wealth and power. Do you think God, is all of a sudden, going to give this select remnant of super believers, at the end of the age, all of this money and power? An old saying says this, if it sounds too good to be true then it’s probably not true.
Let’s look at the context of scriptures and not delusional ideas because I’ve seen too many people waste their lives living in delusion. It’s been my experience as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26–29 that it’s not normally the people who have it all together that listen to the gospel. It’s those who see that they have a need who listen to the gospel. Normally those who are rich, powerful and think they have it all together look at the cross as foolishness.
Paul said to consider your calling: not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen what is foolish in the world to shame the wise and God has chosen what is weak in the world to shame the strong. God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world —what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence.
Jesus said it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God because they can rarely see they have a need when they have all that they want.
I know wealthy people who follow God with all of their hearts, but they are the exception to the rule not the rule. It is for this reason that Paul said in I Timothy 6:17 as for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. I know powerful people who follow God with all of their hearts, but they are the exception to the rule not the rule.
In speaking about Moses in Hebrews 11:24 it says by faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin. For he considered the reproach because of the Messiah to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, since his attention was on the reward. The author of Hebrews was teaching us that faith is looking beyond temporary pleasure, wealth and not being afraid to be rejected and persecuted by this world order for our identification with the crucified Christ.
The Bible does not teach against wealth, nor does it teach against having money because you don’t have to be rich to love money because it’s a condition of the heart. As I’ve said before, money is just a medium of exchange like our phones simply display information. Both can be used for good and both can be used for evil, but the determining factor is what we are allowing into our hearts.
Paul taught us that godliness with contentment is of great gain.
One of the favorite scriptures that so many people will quote says that I can do all things through him who strengthens me Philippians 4:13. Let me read the context of that scripture which is Philippians 4:11-12 where Paul says "I’ve learned to be content in whatever situation I’m in. I know how to live in poverty or prosperity. No matter what the situation, I’ve learned the secret of how to live when I’m full or when I’m hungry, when I have too much or when I have too little. I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." What he was teaching us is that in any situation we can have the victory of faith. Victory is not about our circumstances, but about our covenant partnership with God. Paul taught us how to walk by faith and it’s to trust God with our whole heart no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in.
The word prosper, used in III John 1:2, is a Greek word that means to help on one’s way or journey. Faith is believing that the unseen God both wants to have fellowship with us and that he wants to reward us or provide for us along our journey. The end of Hebrews chapter11 goes through a whole list of things people of faith had to go through along their journey and most of them are not positive. Jesus and his apostles talked about being willing to die for our walk of faith with him. The message of the cross is a message of resurrection life, but laying down our lives is the doorway.
Unless a seed goes in the ground and dies it remains alone. That’s the word's of Jesus. He was not a motivational speaker, but the giver of all life. The victory of faith is about completing the will of God. It’s learning to pray the prayer of Christ, which is not my will, but your will be done. It’s a life of full surrender to the cross.
Unlocking God's Plan: The Power of Daily Prayer and Spiritual Discipline
We must aim, focus and be persistent if we want to fulfill all that God has for us while in this body. To be able to do this we must have a daily habit of prayer and intake of the word. Jesus had a daily habit of prayer. Mark 1:35 says Jesus rose very early in the morning while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a solitary place and there he prayed. Luke 5:16 Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 6:12 Jesus went to a mountainside to pray and spent the night praying to God. The apostles followed his pattern of having a consistent daily time of exercising the spiritual man.
The ancient rhythms of covenant teach us to slow down and align our hearts to God’s Spirit. Modern life rushes us, pushes us and tries to conform us to its patterns of thinking. You are either going to be conformed to this age or you are going to be transformed by the renewing of your hearts through the word and Spirit of God. There is no third option.
Moses under the old covenant and Jesus under the New Covenant talked to us about choices. You can choose life or death, obedience or disobedience, light or darkness. Choosing the gray mushy middle ground is actually darkness. In business, politics, relationships and most things in life you have to find compromise. However, when it comes to your life with God, obedience to Him is not optional. He is the great I AM, the alpha and omega.
Americans think the gospel and obedience to God is like going to the grocery store or getting on Amazon to buy something.
You pick a little here that you like, then you pick a little there and go past what you don’t like until you get exactly what you want, which is a god made in your image to your liking. Jesus said take eat this is my body, take drink this is my blood. We’ve been brought into a covenant with Him, but he sets the terms of the covenant, it’s not a negotiation.
The Covenant of Blood, Water, and Spirit: Tracing Our Faith Back to Abraham
Our faith is based on the covenant of his blood, water and Spirit. Our faith comes out of the ancient roots of Abraham the father of faith. As we looked in the last lesson, I showed you that the Jewish people have always been a people of the book and of covenant. Jesus used the phrase our father Abraham in John 8:53 and Stephen the first martyr of the church in Acts 7:2 expresses the family relationship that every person of faith has with the man of faith Abraham as Paul stated in Galatians 3:9. Jesus declared that those who display Abrahams’ faith and deeds are Abraham’s true offspring John 8:39. James reminds his readers that Abraham, as father of the faithful, is called God’s friend James 2:23. James links all believers in Christ to Abraham speaking of him as our ancestor, a man whose faith was made complete by his obedience.
The New Covenant emphasizes that before Abraham was circumcised, he believed God and acted upon that belief. Abraham was called out from the nations and separated by His covenant with God. God’s people are called to be different from the world, through the renewing of the mind. We have to take seriously Paul’s warning to not let the world around us dictate and mold our thinking.
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Next Lesson: Lesson 13 - Baptism into the Body
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