Monthly Archives: October 2020

4 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF REPENTANCE

Christian Life, ,

4 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THE POWER OF REPENTANCE

We ARE God’s children but we live in a fallen world. Most of us, from birth, were influenced by family, friends and the wider environment of the world to think and react like the people of the world. (Some of us were fortunate enough to have had godly parents who taught us the truth).

However, we were all born with a nature corrupted by sin and responsive to the devil’s lie… You don’t need God. You can be God.

When we were born again by the Holy Spirit, we received a new nature responsive to God and sensitive to His realm but… the sin nature still remains with all its ungodly beliefs and ideas.

So, under the direction and teaching of the Holy Spirit, we began the journey of renewing our minds by exchanging the lies we believed from birth with the truth contained in God’s Word. This is a slow and tedious process because our old nature clings tenaciously to the deception deeply grooved into our thought processes, that has prompted our sinful responses.

We have discussed the place that the TRUTH and the PROMISES play in this process of engaging the powers of the kingdom, but what God has said will be of no value to us without REPENTANCE.

We need to get rid of the idea that repentance has to do with feeling sorry for our sins. Repentance is not about emotion. It’s about transformation. Repentance is our response to the CONVICTION of the Holy Spirit.

Conviction is not about feeling guilty. It’s about revelation – the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us through the Word and we respond by believing and receiving the truth in place of the lie we have believed.

For example, somewhere during our early years, someone of significance… parent, teacher, family member, friend or peer, said something derogatory that confirmed our feelings of helplessness, uselessness or worthlessness.

But the Word says we are holy and beloved of God. The Holy Spirit convinces (convicts) us that God’s Word is true. We respond by repenting, changing our thoughts to line up with God’s Word.

That is REPENTANCE. Repentance is always our response to CONVICTION which is a work of the Spirit.

So, repentance is the next and vital step in our learning to overcome the world. If we are to use the powers of the kingdom to overcome the powers of the world that have driven us in the wrong direction, we must continually repent of the lies we have believed (unlearn) and learn who God is and who we are so that our faith is firmly rooted in the truth.

New Living Translation Bible NLT Bible. Hebrews 8:10

But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.I will be their God, and they will be my people.

CONFESSION is or should be our response to anything the Holy Spirit reveals that is out of line with God’s Word. Again, confession isn’t about emotion, it’s about speaking. The Greek word translated “confession” is homologia (from which we get English words beginning with “homo-” meaning “the same” e.g., homosexual), and  “logeo” – to speak. It means “to speak the same words” or “to agree” .

When we agree with the Holy Spirit, we confess that He is right. Remember David when Nathan came to him after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. His immediate response was, “I have sinned…” No excuses, no blaming or passing the buck. Confession paves the way for repentance.

CONFESSION can apply in different contexts. We agree with the Holy Spirit when we have believed a lie or transgressed God’s Word. This kind of confession leads us to repent or change our mind about what we have done or believed.

We can also confess something that is true.

“If you declare with your mouth, (same word homologeo), “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 NIV

A positive confession is a powerful way to imprint the nature of God in our minds. God is love; God is good; Jesus is the way… etc. The ancient Hebrews used every opportunity to declare or confess, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His covenant love endures forever.”

Let’s put these three interactions between the Holy Spirit and us together; CONVICTION, REPENTANCE and CONFESSION, and we have a powerful way to redirect our minds away from our sinful nature towards what the Spirit wants to do in us to reshape us into the image of Jesus.

This is kingdom power at work in us. We work with the Spirit to bring about the changes in the way we think that translates into who we become…

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All Scripture quotations in this series

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

3 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – WHO IS IN CHARGE?

Christian Life, ,

3 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – WHO IS IN CHARGE?

 Now that we have finally settled the issue of who is in charge, we have our first weapon against the devil’s lie that he is in charge – TRUTH.

Our immediate response to adversity should never be, “I am under attack.” Wrong focus! Our first response should be, “I am being tested.” Who is testing me? Definitely not the devil. He has no authority to do anything without Jesus’s permission.

Why am I being tested? To find out whose word I believe. Do I believe the TRUTH that Jesus is in charge, or do I believe the lie that Satan controls my life? Jesus will continue to test us in this area until our automatic response is confidence in the love, goodness and power of God, no matter what.

When we are finally secure in the conviction that Jesus is in charge, we can begin to explore the power given to us to respond positively to every test.

We have two resources at our disposal, God’s TRUTH which tells us what the real issues are in every situation, and God’s PROMISES which show us what He intends to do if we trust Him.

We also have two channels through which we access those promises, FAITH, our only connection with God in the unseen realm, and PRAYER, our direct access to God to tap into the resources He has made available.

We have already briefly commented on faith as the only thread that connects us to God. Without the confidence that God is who He says He is, loving, faithful, reliable and trustworthy, and that He will do what He says He will do, prayer would be a waste of time.

“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.” 1 John 5:4-5 NLT

Today, we take a closer look at prayer because it is only through prayer that we have direct access to and contact with God.

“And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22 NLT

“So, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLT

From the many studies we have done on prayer, let me summarise the Bible’s perspective rather than what we have learned from others.

  1. Prayer is, firstly, changing our awareness. We deliberately turn our thoughts away from the earthly circumstances we are embroiled in to contemplate the glories of the one whose help we are seeking.
  1. We can only approach the Father on the authority of Jesus (in His name). He has given us power of attorney to use His name ONLY if our prayers meet the requirements of His character and will.

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.  You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.  Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! John 14:12-14 NLT

“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.” 1 John 5:14-15 NLT

  1. Our motive for asking for help is to protect our unity with Him and to glorify His name no matter what it costs us. Look at Jesus…

“Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!  Father, bring glory to your name.” Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” John 12:27-28 NLT

“He went on a little farther and fell to the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. “Abba, Father,” he cried out, “everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Mark 14:35-36 NLT

Whenever we effectively engage the power of God in any situation, the outcome reflects back on God.

“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

  1. Having established that Jesus is in charge and that we have help available for every situation we face, now we turn to the Word and the Promises and ask for discernment to engage whatever resources are available in God’s realm (kingdom) to resolve the situation for our good and His glory.

The New Testament gives us many examples of the way Jesus went about dealing with seemingly impossible earthly situations by engaging the kingdom’s resources. Just one powerful example comes to mind, the feeding of the five thousand.

“Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?”  He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do.” John 6:5-6 NLT

Jesus was already convinced of the Father’s character and will. He (the Father) would never send people in need away to seek help elsewhere.

Jesus showed His faith in the Father by giving thanks for the food available in His hand. He acted on that confidence without hesitation.

“Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted.” John 6:11 NLT

Please understand that I am not giving you a check list to tick off but rather showing you how to develop a mindset that responds to challenges rather than reacts in panic.

John wrote an absurd statement which is impossible to achieve UNLESS we do it by using the resources God has given us to overcome the world.

“We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So, we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence BECAUSE WE LIVE LIKE JESUS HERE IN THIS WORLD.” 1 John 4:16-17 NLT

How is this possible? We’ll discover how as we go along.

What I have done so far is to lay a foundation to enable us deal with the whole variety of challenges we face in our lives in this world. I have discovered that every challenge and every test has a specific resource that God has provided for us to overcome the world (the way the world thinks and reacts) in the problems we face and turn them into opportunities to shine the light on God.

In the next few weeks, we’ll explore every resource and find out how to apply them as situations arise. I would love you to add to the list as you recognise, in the Word, what God has provided for you to overcome the world.

Scripture  taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

2 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – THIS IS IT!

Christian Life, ,

2 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM 

 THIS IS IT!

Finally, my blindfold came off. I read this passage with understanding for the first time yesterday morning. Do you see it, precious people?

The reason I have never understood how God’s power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead applies to me is that I failed to appreciate Jesus’s authority in the world right now.

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church is his body; it is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.” Ephesians 1:19-23 NLT

Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection qualified Him to be the supreme authority, ruler and head over everyone and everything that goes on in the world, and He rules over every situation and circumstance for the benefit of His body, the church.

During His life on earth, what mystified the religious leaders most was the source of Jesus’ authority. They refused to accept His testimony that He acted under the authority of the Father. They killed Him for claiming to be the Son of God.

By raising Him from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Father not only vindicated Jesus’s claim, but also gave Him the title, position and function of “Lord” – supreme authority over the universe.

This has huge implications for us. If Jesus has authority over everything that happens in the world, (and that does not mean that He causes bad things to happen but that He works all things for our good), then He is actively involved in every detail of our lives both good and bad.

What is He doing? He is training us for life in His kingdom in eternity. This life is an apprenticeship for the life to come. Everything that happens in our lives is a test of our progress in becoming like Him.  It is also an opportunity to engage the powers of the kingdom to overcome the effects of the fall so that we learn to reign over our old sin nature.

“For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:17 NLT

Since Jesus has the authority to use every circumstance for our good, He has given us the same power that raised Him from the dead to overcome every obstacle to our becoming like Him. His power has many facets, like a diamond, and each situation we face has a facet of that power we are exploring to meet our need.

God’s ultimate design for our lives on this fallen planet is to reproduce Jesus in us so that He can have an eternal family of sons and daughters like His Son.

“God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation. So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.” Hebrews 2:10-11 NLT

So, the whole point of this study is to help us recognise and understand each facet of this power God has given us so that we can use this power to overcome what is in us that contradicts the nature of Jesus.

1 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM – INTRODUCTION

Christian Life, ,

1 – ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM

INTRODUCTION

As you read through the gospels, you will recognise that Jesus had, from His childhood (see Luke 2:48-50), a God-awareness and kingdom-awareness that enabled Him to override the influences of the ungodly world systems.

He viewed every situation from the perspective of both God and the kingdom’s presence and control. He refused to give credit to the devil’s lie that he is in charge in all circumstances.

By engaging the powers of the kingdom of God to effect both physical and spiritual changes in the lives of those He encountered, He neutralised the power of deception and revealed the superior power of God’s kingdom on earth.

In the same way, through the Holy Spirit, God has given us access to His kingdom and all the power of the kingdom to override the influence of the ungodly world systems. We can live in that power in the midst of the darkness that surrounds us.

“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” NLT Bible. 1 Corinthians 4:20

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honour at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.” NLT Bible. Ephesians 1:19-20

The world functions on the lie of the devil that it (the systems that operate by ungodly standards and principles through ungodly people) is in control.

What do we need to engage the powers of the kingdom when the world encroaches on our lives and attempts to drag us under its power?

The first power that I must engage to neutralise the deception of the world is TRUTH. Paul exhorts me to renew my mind which has been polluted by deception, by replacing the lie that the devil is in charge with the truth that Jesus reigns in the kingdoms of men.

“Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 NLT

Truth comes to me from the Word (John 17:17).

“Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.” John 17:17 NLT

The Holy Spirit leads me into all truth.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” John 16:13 NLT

The overriding truth is that Jesus, not Satan, is Lord, the supreme authority over the earth and everyone and everything in it.

“After that the end will come, when he will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, “God has put all things under his authority.” 1 Corinthians 15:24-27 NLT

If I want to participate with Jesus in overcoming the world, I must saturate my mind with the Word of God so that I, like Jesus, have a solution from the Word for every situation I encounter – it is written (Matt. 4:4).

Secondly, I must focus on God’s PROMISES which are my inheritance.

My inheritance, according to 2 Peter 1:3, is to participate in the divine nature. As I embrace God’s promises, the Holy Spirit empowers me to overcome my old nature and increasingly grow in my likeness to Jesus.

“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.” 2 Peter 1:4 NLT

 “We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” Hebrews 6:12 NIV

Thirdly, I need to engage the power of FAITH.  Faith is the only power that connects me to God.

“And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.”

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

I must have full confidence in what is written. By faith, I apply the Word to the situation and expect God to act.

Faith has two legs:

  1. Confidence in God and what He says.
  2. Absolute loyalty to the body of truth (the FAITH) which was given to us by the Apostles through the Holy Spirit without adding to or subtracting from what is written.

“Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people.” Jude 1:3 NLT

As a citizen of God’s kingdom, I have the power to defend the body of truth delivered and preserved in the New Covenant just as Paul did.

“Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.” Galatians 1:8-9 NLT

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.’2 Timothy 4:7 NIV

I must both live by and defend everything that Jesus, as the cornerstone that holds everything together, taught, and the Apostles as the foundation, through the Holy Spirit, interpreted and recorded (the faith) about Jesus.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

All Scripture quotations in this series

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK – THE END OF THE BEGINNING

Bible Study, ,

THE END OF THE BEGINNING

9 When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11 When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it.
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
14 Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen.
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16:9-20

Although verses 9-16 are not in the original text, they are an accurate summary of the endings of the other gospels.

Why did the person who added the epilogue to Marks’ Gospel take pains to record the disciples’ persistent unbelief about the resurrection of Jesus? How could eleven bewildered and frightened men have stolen and hidden Jesus’ body and then spread the story that He was alive? The last thing in the world they wanted was to draw attention to themselves by setting up a hoax that would destroy any credibility they might have about the story of Jesus’ life and teachings.

The ending to this gospel is consistent with Mark’s unembellished record of Peter’s report of Jesus’ life. Miracles and all, it is a credible story, told by an eyewitness who was part of the story. It encapsulates the conclusion to this astonishing part of God’s redemptive plan, unveiling God’s personal entry into time and space to effect in the physical what had already been accomplished before the beginning of creation.

The ending of the book also puts the future in perspective. Jesus came to earth to begin something that has no ending. Every new life has the potential to add something to and continue the story into the next generation until Jesus comes. His instruction to the first group, minus Judas, was to tell the world what the Jews already knew – our God reigns! It’s much more than accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour so that we can have our sins forgiven and go to heaven when we die!!!

It’s about leaving our own agenda behind and identifying with God’s agenda because He has a BIG plan for the whole of creation. He’s taken care of all the obstacles that get in the way of reconnecting with Him. He came to show us how to carry out and carry on His BIG plan.

Like the pieces of a giant puzzle, everyone has a part in the big picture and it all fits together to make sense of history and to fulfil God’s destiny for each person and for everyone together. Jesus is the glue that holds it all together and makes it all come alive! His death was not an interruption in God’s plan. It is the heart and centre of His rescue plan to get human beings back on track with His purpose for the whole of creation.

WATCH THIS SPACE FOR A LIFE-CHANGING SERIES ENTITILED “ENGAGING THE POWERS OF THE KINGDOM”