Freedom is no longer freedom if we surrender and indulge in bondage. If your heart desires sinful ways, your heart is not yet free. Freedom from bondage was given so that we can enjoy fellowship with Christ in His love. The heart that is free will only yearn for fellowship and intimacy with Jesus Christ.
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Where the law and knowledge of sin is, there is bondage. Grace will never cause man to sin, and be in bondage, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law, and a sinful desire always follows a sin consciousness.
Grace will liberate man from a sin consciousness and set him free to love God in total surrender to His goodness, never fearing the consequences of the sins committed under the law, but fully relying on His sacrifice of atonement and the absolute forgiveness through His blood.
Forgiveness and Grace makes love to abound in our hearts. Perfect love casts out all fear. Fear is the expectation of punishment and judgment. Grace and forgiveness removes the sin from man, and in doing so creates spontaneous love towards God and praises to His glory in the heart of the worshiper.
Bondage is having a consciousness of sin. Freedom is having no consciousness of sin at all, as if sin never existed, but in stead a consciousness of God and His intense and wonderful love towards us. That is trust in the sacrifice of the cross of Christ. That is faith.
There is no freedom outside Christ, only bondage. We were set free from sin to be bound to Him and in Him. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. It is for intimate fellowship with God that Christ has set us free from the law and sin.
If you are free from bondage you are bound to freedom, and if you are free from freedom, you are bound to bondage. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then in you freedom, and do not be hampered again with the yoke of bondage (Gal 5:1)
We are now bond servants of Christ, bound in His love to the eternal bliss of knowing Him. We are slaves of righteousness, forever bound to freedom!
Tuesday 27 October 2009
Saturday 3 October 2009
We see Jesus
Jesus said:
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth [them]; even so the Son quickeneth
whom he will.
5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
5:23 That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
Sometimes we don’t see God moving in our lives, and we think He doesn’t want to. The thing is He lives in you. He can only move on earth through you! He will not move apart from you. He can not move apart from what He does through people. He gave all authority to men (Gen2 & Ps 8). He sent us to be His ambassadors, His representatives on earth. We believe in Jesus. That makes us sons of God. If we are sons, the Father loves us, and shows us His works, and greater works. Why do we not see all things under our feet then? Because we don’t see Jesus, and therefore we don’t see the Father, which implies that we do not realise that we are sons, and we do not experience that the Father loves us.
Heb 2:7-15 says
2:7 For some little time You have ranked him lower than and inferior to the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands,
2:8 For You have put everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to man, He left nothing outside [of man's] control. But at present we do not yet see all things subjected to him [man].
2:9 But we are able to see Jesus, Who was ranked lower than the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death, in order that by the grace (unmerited favor) of God [to us sinners] He might experience death for every individual person.
2:10 For it was an act worthy [of God] and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest] through suffering.
2:11 For both He Who sanctifies [making men holy] and those who are sanctified all have one [Father]. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren;
2:12 For He says, I will declare Your [the Father's] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.
2:13 And again He says, My trust and assured reliance and confident hope shall be fixed in Him. And yet again, Here I am, I and the children whom God has given Me.
2:14 Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death-that is, the devil-
2:15 And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.
Jesus was the only representation of the Father and the sole expression of His glory. If someone wanted to know Who the Father was, they needed to meet Jesus, and He would reveal the Father to them (Heb1:3, Col 1:15,1 Cor4:4). Jesus showed people on the earth the Father and He has given us the glory of the Father (John 17:6, John 17:22). He has revealed the Father by manifesting Him. The Father dwelt in Him and He in the Father, and therefore they had perfect union. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. The difference between Jesus and the rest of the Jews, was that He had fellowship with the Father, and saw Him, and knew Him. Jesus prayed: not My will, but Yours be done! He humbled Himself. He did not do His own will, but only the will of the Father! He was tempted not to die on the cross, but He did the Father’s will. If Jesus hadn’t done the Father’s will, we would never have known the Father, and the Father would never have been revealed to us, but He did, and now we can see Jesus, and therefore we can see the Father, and that means that we can know that the Father loves us, and He shows us His works, and we realise as sons we can do the works that our Father shows us.
Jesus revealed the Father, He did the works of the Father. He knew those works, and could manifest them, because He was one with the Father. Because of His sufferings, we are sanctified in Him. He became the door, and now by believing we have fellowship with Jesus.
1 John 1:3 What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
1:4 And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be full [and your joy may be complete].
1:5 And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].
1:6 [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents].
1:7 But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
We are now one with Jesus. We are in Him, and He in us (John14-17). He is still one with the Father and the Father in Him. Now we have fellowship with the Father through Jesus. We have perfect fellowship with the Father, by means of our union with Christ. Now because we have fellowship with Jesus, we see Him. If we can see Him, we can do His works. This means that the Father can once again move on the earth to help people, to answer prayers. He will do this through His church. If we bear fruit, the Father is glorified (John 15:8).
We do not yet see all things subject to us, but we see Jesus. In seeing Jesus, we see the Father, and in seeing the Father, we see His works, and we are able to do the works that we see Him do. This makes us to be very powerful. Looking unto Jesus is very important for us. Let us look away from every distraction, unto Jesus, Who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Heb 12:1-3). Let us look at Him, then we will realize that all things are under His feet, and we will realize that we are in Him, and all things are under our feet.
We have the authority to rule on the earth. Those who receive the overflowing free gift of grace and righteousness will rule as kings in life (Rom5:17). He has washed us with His blood to make us kings and priests (Rev 1:5-6 & Rev 5:9-10). He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. We are kings and lords. He can only rule on the earth, if we who are in charge on earth humble our hearts and surrender to His will, and let Him rule through us. Jesus surrendered His will to the Father, and did the works of the Father. Pride is therefore to refuse to do miracles.
We need to know who we are. We are kings who are supposed to rule through Jesus Christ. We are kings who are supposed to surrender to Him and let Him take complete rulership in our lives. Present therefore your bodies to God as a living sacrifice, and let Him control it. That gives God the opportunity to control things on the earth. The more I am surrendered to Him, the more my steps will be ordered of the Lord, and I will be led by the Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God (Rom8:14).
Jesus and the Father never changes (Heb 13:8). Jesus is still the sole expression of the glory of God. Jesus is still the exact likeness of the unseen God. No one can see the Father, except through Jesus. Now we see Jesus. Now Jesus can manifest Himself in us, and we can show the Father to the dying world, and do His wonderous works.
We need vision to see Jesus, and His works. We need to let the image of Jesus’ miracles burn into our minds. That is the Father’s image. That is who we are, and what we are about to do!
Acts 10:38 How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.
God is with us! He hasn’t changed! See His works, and go do it! This is who we are!
John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
5:20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
5:21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth [them]; even so the Son quickeneth
whom he will.
5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
5:23 That all [men] should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name:
Sometimes we don’t see God moving in our lives, and we think He doesn’t want to. The thing is He lives in you. He can only move on earth through you! He will not move apart from you. He can not move apart from what He does through people. He gave all authority to men (Gen2 & Ps 8). He sent us to be His ambassadors, His representatives on earth. We believe in Jesus. That makes us sons of God. If we are sons, the Father loves us, and shows us His works, and greater works. Why do we not see all things under our feet then? Because we don’t see Jesus, and therefore we don’t see the Father, which implies that we do not realise that we are sons, and we do not experience that the Father loves us.
Heb 2:7-15 says
2:7 For some little time You have ranked him lower than and inferior to the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of Your hands,
2:8 For You have put everything in subjection under his feet. Now in putting everything in subjection to man, He left nothing outside [of man's] control. But at present we do not yet see all things subjected to him [man].
2:9 But we are able to see Jesus, Who was ranked lower than the angels for a little while, crowned with glory and honor because of His having suffered death, in order that by the grace (unmerited favor) of God [to us sinners] He might experience death for every individual person.
2:10 For it was an act worthy [of God] and fitting [to the divine nature] that He, for Whose sake and by Whom all things have their existence, in bringing many sons into glory, should make the Pioneer of their salvation perfect [should bring to maturity the human experience necessary to be perfectly equipped for His office as High Priest] through suffering.
2:11 For both He Who sanctifies [making men holy] and those who are sanctified all have one [Father]. For this reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren;
2:12 For He says, I will declare Your [the Father's] name to My brethren; in the midst of the [worshiping] congregation I will sing hymns of praise to You.
2:13 And again He says, My trust and assured reliance and confident hope shall be fixed in Him. And yet again, Here I am, I and the children whom God has given Me.
2:14 Since, therefore, [these His] children share in flesh and blood [in the physical nature of human beings], He [Himself] in a similar manner partook of the same [nature], that by [going through] death He might bring to nought and make of no effect him who had the power of death-that is, the devil-
2:15 And also that He might deliver and completely set free all those who through the [haunting] fear of death were held in bondage throughout the whole course of their lives.
Jesus was the only representation of the Father and the sole expression of His glory. If someone wanted to know Who the Father was, they needed to meet Jesus, and He would reveal the Father to them (Heb1:3, Col 1:15,1 Cor4:4). Jesus showed people on the earth the Father and He has given us the glory of the Father (John 17:6, John 17:22). He has revealed the Father by manifesting Him. The Father dwelt in Him and He in the Father, and therefore they had perfect union. Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing. The difference between Jesus and the rest of the Jews, was that He had fellowship with the Father, and saw Him, and knew Him. Jesus prayed: not My will, but Yours be done! He humbled Himself. He did not do His own will, but only the will of the Father! He was tempted not to die on the cross, but He did the Father’s will. If Jesus hadn’t done the Father’s will, we would never have known the Father, and the Father would never have been revealed to us, but He did, and now we can see Jesus, and therefore we can see the Father, and that means that we can know that the Father loves us, and He shows us His works, and we realise as sons we can do the works that our Father shows us.
Jesus revealed the Father, He did the works of the Father. He knew those works, and could manifest them, because He was one with the Father. Because of His sufferings, we are sanctified in Him. He became the door, and now by believing we have fellowship with Jesus.
1 John 1:3 What we have seen and [ourselves] heard, we are also telling you, so that you too may realize and enjoy fellowship as partners and partakers with us. And [this] fellowship that we have [which is a distinguishing mark of Christians] is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
1:4 And we are now writing these things to you so that our joy [in seeing you included] may be full [and your joy may be complete].
1:5 And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].
1:6 [So] if we say we are partakers together and enjoy fellowship with Him when we live and move and are walking about in darkness, we are [both] speaking falsely and do not live and practice the Truth [which the Gospel presents].
1:7 But if we [really] are living and walking in the Light, as He [Himself] is in the Light, we have [true, unbroken] fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses (removes) us from all sin and guilt [keeps us cleansed from sin in all its forms and manifestations].
We are now one with Jesus. We are in Him, and He in us (John14-17). He is still one with the Father and the Father in Him. Now we have fellowship with the Father through Jesus. We have perfect fellowship with the Father, by means of our union with Christ. Now because we have fellowship with Jesus, we see Him. If we can see Him, we can do His works. This means that the Father can once again move on the earth to help people, to answer prayers. He will do this through His church. If we bear fruit, the Father is glorified (John 15:8).
We do not yet see all things subject to us, but we see Jesus. In seeing Jesus, we see the Father, and in seeing the Father, we see His works, and we are able to do the works that we see Him do. This makes us to be very powerful. Looking unto Jesus is very important for us. Let us look away from every distraction, unto Jesus, Who is the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Heb 12:1-3). Let us look at Him, then we will realize that all things are under His feet, and we will realize that we are in Him, and all things are under our feet.
We have the authority to rule on the earth. Those who receive the overflowing free gift of grace and righteousness will rule as kings in life (Rom5:17). He has washed us with His blood to make us kings and priests (Rev 1:5-6 & Rev 5:9-10). He is King of kings, and Lord of lords. We are kings and lords. He can only rule on the earth, if we who are in charge on earth humble our hearts and surrender to His will, and let Him rule through us. Jesus surrendered His will to the Father, and did the works of the Father. Pride is therefore to refuse to do miracles.
We need to know who we are. We are kings who are supposed to rule through Jesus Christ. We are kings who are supposed to surrender to Him and let Him take complete rulership in our lives. Present therefore your bodies to God as a living sacrifice, and let Him control it. That gives God the opportunity to control things on the earth. The more I am surrendered to Him, the more my steps will be ordered of the Lord, and I will be led by the Spirit. Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God (Rom8:14).
Jesus and the Father never changes (Heb 13:8). Jesus is still the sole expression of the glory of God. Jesus is still the exact likeness of the unseen God. No one can see the Father, except through Jesus. Now we see Jesus. Now Jesus can manifest Himself in us, and we can show the Father to the dying world, and do His wonderous works.
We need vision to see Jesus, and His works. We need to let the image of Jesus’ miracles burn into our minds. That is the Father’s image. That is who we are, and what we are about to do!
Acts 10:38 How God anointed and consecrated Jesus of Nazareth with the [Holy] Spirit and with strength and ability and power; how He went about doing good and, in particular, curing all who were harassed and oppressed by [the power of] the devil, for God was with Him.
God is with us! He hasn’t changed! See His works, and go do it! This is who we are!
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