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 Let this MIND be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…   Phil.  2:5

          If the Bible says we can have the mind of Christ and if we are instructed to have the mind of Christ, then we need to know what kind of mind Christ had.

Jesus had the right kind of mind.  It was the kind of mind that God wanted Him to have.  It was the kind of mind that kept Him in victory.  It was the kind of mind that allowed Him to continually walk in the Spirit. 

This is the kind of mind that God wants you and me to have.   I believe this is the kind of mind Jesus had:   

1.  Jesus knew Who He was. 

There was never any doubt in His mind as to Who He was or what He was here on earth for.  He had a single mind.  He had a clear mind.  He had a focused mind.  He knew He was the Son of God.   He knew what He was born to do and His mind was set on accom­plishing His mission.  We need to have this kind of mind.

2.  Jesus knew His Father. 

He was intimate with Him.  He knew His will and He knew His heart.  He was in agreement with His Father.  He talked with Him and He loved Him and He had continual fellowship with Him.  Jesus had a perfect revelation of God. Jesus really knew His Father and this “knowing” was deeper than a mere acquaintance or shallow understanding.  

We need to have this kind of mind. 

3. Jesus knew the Word. 

He knew the Word because He was the Living Word.  He was familiar with God’s plan and purpose for Israel, the Gentiles and the future.

Jesus lived the Word. Jesus spoke the Word.  Jesus thought the Word.  Jesus used the Word as a weapon against the devil.  Jesus released the Word from His heart in Faith and miracles hap­pened.  The sick were healed.  The blind received their sight.  The lame walked.  Those who were demon pos­sessed were set free.  The powers of na­ture obeyed the Word that Jesus spoke.  Jesus knew the Word. 

 We need to have this kind of mind.

4.  Jesus knew what He could do. 

He was certain and sure of His author­ity.  Jesus knew He had power over all the power of the enemy.  He never doubted what He could do and He was not afraid to do it.  Jesus knew what He could do and He knew the limitations of the devil.  He knew about spiritual warfare and He knew He could and would win every conflict and conquer every de­mon.  

We need to have this kind of mind.  

5. Jesus had a winning mental­ity. 

In His Mind, He never considered defeat.  Even in the times of great con­tradictions, He maintained His win­ning mentality.  Even before and dur­ing the crucifixion, He never conceded to defeat.  He exercised victory over death by willingly giving up the spirit of life. 

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.   Luke 23:46 

No man taketh it (life) from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I re­ceived of my Father.  John 10:18 

 We need to have this kind of mind.

6.  Jesus had a Faith Mind with Faith Eyes. 

He lived by Faith and He walked by Faith.  One time He used His faith to pay His taxes.  

Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.   Matt. 17:27 

He used His Faith to stop a storm. 

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.   Mark 4:39   

He used His Faith to see things that were not and to call things that were not as though they were (Rom 4:17).   Jesus had a mind that was filled with the Word. 

We need to have this kind of mind.

          The believer’s main problem is a mind problem.  The battlefield is in the mind.  If you can understand the place the mind has in spiritual warfare, you will be able to fight and win the Good fight of Faith that was discussed in the first part of this study.

For consider Him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds…  Hebrews 12 

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind…  2 Thes 2:1-2 

 And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the re­newing of your mind…  Romans 12:

But let him ask in faith, noth­ing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord…   James 1:6-7 

For to be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace…  Romans 8:6  

          There are TWO LEVELS of mind operation: 

• The carnal and

• The spiritual. 

The natural man is carnally minded and the regenerated man should be spiritually minded.  Many who are born again are still thinking with an “unsaved” mind.  They have re-created spirits, but their minds are still carnal and they function in a body that is ruled by their unrenewed mind.  They are saved, but they need to get their minds saved.

          God wants you to think right.  Your biggest problem is a thinking problem.   In fact, you are the sum total of what you think.  Where you are, How you are and What you are, are determined by how you think with your mind.  

What you will be is determined by how you think.  Good and evil, success and failure, victory and defeat all emerge from your thought process.  Victory living comes from victory thinking.  Success living comes from success thinking. 

The highest quality of life comes from thinking and living out of a renewed mind.  The mind can only be renewed through Revelation Knowledge that comes from the Word of God.

          Man is a triune being.  Just as God is revealed through the mystery of the trinity, man is understood through his triune nature.  Man is a spirit.  Man has a soul.  Man lives in a body.  Therefore, man is (1) Spirit (2) Soul and (3) Body. 

The spirit is the real man.  The soul is man’s mind, will and emotions.  The Body is the physical, biological living taberna­cle of flesh in which the spirit, mind and soul live.

          Your mind is the key to the power that is in you.  That is why Satan at­tacks the mind… he knows if he can get you to faint in your mind you cannot draw from the Power that is within you. 

Now unto him that is able to do ex­ceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us… Eph. 3:20   

Understand that your real temptation is to faint in your mind.

For consider him that endured such con­tradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Heb. 12:3   

            And when and if you faint in your mind:

• You forget what you know (the Word).
• You become caught up in the prob­lem.
• You will be moved by circumstance and sit­uation.
• Doubt is born and fear will set in.
• You fall into this seven-fold tempta­tion cycle:

1.  Discouragement

2.  Depression

3.  Despair

4. Resignation (“Nothing matters, nothing will ever    change…  it will always be this way”)

5.  Acceptance of Failure

6.  Condemnation, guilt, inferi­ority

7.  Defeat.  Probable Death.  Possible Suicide

              How you THINK determines and defines what you are.

For as he thin­keth in his heart, so is he… Prov 23:7.     

              You are constantly becoming exactly what you think.  You mind is your “thinker” and it must be disciplined and controlled if it is to think right.  You actually have to train your brain.  In the world system your mind is trained by education, by experience and by reason.   In the walk of faith your mind is trained (renewed) only by the Word of God. 

Be not conformed to this world (kosmos) but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…   Romans 12: 2 

              What do you think most of the time?    What you think de­termines what you are. You can program your mind with doubt and unbelief and sense knowledge or you can renew your mind with the Word.  You have control over what you think. 

Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God…  II Cor. 10  

              You think what you see and you see what you think.  You have two kinds of eyes.  You have natural eyes and you have faith eyes.  Natural eyes see things as they are.  Faith eyes see things as they can be and as God wills them to be.   

              A mind is a “terrible thing to waste!”  A mind that is renewed by the Word sees though faith eyes.  It sees what the Word says and rejects anything and everything that does not agree with the Word.

          Most believers need to change their minds.  You have the power and the ability to change your mind.  If you are not thinking right, you will not be talking right.  If you are not talking right, you will not be living right.  If you are not living right you are in defeat and failure.  You are dying and not living. 

If your mind is focused on wrong things, you need to change your mind.  It needs to be changed so that it will think in agreement with what the Word says. 

See what the Word says about the following, and if you need to, change your mind. 

• Change your mind about Who you are.
• Change your mind about God. (His Character and His Nature)
• Change your mind about the Word.
• Change your mind about the Church.
• Change your mind about Prosperity.
• Change your mind about Healing.
• Change your mind about the devil.
• Change your mind about Faith.
• Change your mind about Giving.
• Change your mind about Confession.
• Change your mind about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.
• Change your mind about Speaking in Tongues.
• Change your mind about the Gifts of the Spirit.
• Change your mind about demons.
• Change your mind about Heaven.
• Change your mind about Hell.
• Change your mind about the Future.
• Change your mind about Eternity.
• Change your mind about Sin.
• Change your mind about Judgment.
• Change your mind about the NOW.

It is going to be absolutely necessary for you to control your thinking and your imagination if you are going to Live and keep from Dying.     

The best way to do this is to get in the Word and get the Word in you… in your mind, in your heart and in your life.   Work on it.  You will not regret it!

Word for Today:  May 23

God is able.

Most every Christian will agree that God is Able.  To settle for anything less would degrade the concept of Christianity.  God truly is able.  Paul declares in Ephesians that He is “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think…” However, the majority of believers would agree with the FACT that God is Able but I want to add a new dimension to this confession of faith.  I want to declare that God is Able and God Will.  God Will do for you what nobody else or nothing else can.

The fact that GOD IS ABLE is the Magna Charta of the New Testament Church.     This is the Emancipation Proclamation of the Body of Christ:  God is Able.  This is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights for the Christian:  God is Able.  Confess “GOD IS ABLE!”  Now add to that confession:   “… AND GOD WILL!”

As we begin this day, I want to begin it with high hopes… with Great Expectations.  With great faith.  With awesome Dreams.  I want to take you with me into the place where you can rest and know that God is Able and…. God will!  No matter what.  No matter who.  No matter where.

God wants to encourage you.  He has set aside this day and this moment to build you up and strengthen you and to help you.   He is able to deliver you out of your fiery trial and out of your furnace and out of your Egypt.  And He Will.  He wants you to know that.  He wants you to know that today.

God wants you to get out of hoping and praying into confessing and believing.

And then from confessing and believing into Receiving and Possessing.

You are BORN AGAIN by the Word. 

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incor­ruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.   1Pet. 1:23   

          The Word initiates and completes the New Birth.  That is why Satan hates it so much. The Word quickens the dead human spirit and brings it to life… (Zoe: the God-kind of life).   

He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.   1John 5:12   

          The Word is impregnated with the same kind of life that God has.  When you are born again, your human spirit is made alive, re-created and made perfect, sinless and complete.     

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.   1John 3:9  

          This verse refers to your human spirit that is re-created, made perfect and “fixed” so that it (the spirit; not the mind or body) cannot sin.  This passage of scripture is speaking only of your spirit-man… your natural man (flesh) and your un-renewed mind is subject to sin and certainly capable of sin.    

          The devil wants to keep the Word out of you because the Word working in you makes you like God.  The Word in you gives you the God-kind of life..  The Word makes your spirit man perfect, sinless and untouchable by Satan and demon powers.  The Word makes you eternal.  The “real” you (your re-created human spirit),  will never die nor will it ever be subject to or dom­inated by death. The “real you” lives and overcomes because of the Word that is in you.  

          Let’s notice some sequential events that give us a better understanding of what being born again means:

First:

          You were born, in the natural, dead in tres­passes and sin.  

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: Eph. 2:1   

          You came into this world through a natural birth.  You were born with a dead spirit, an unrenewed mind and a sin-dominated body.  You were born with the fallen and sinful nature of your fa­ther, Adam.  You received, through your natural birth, the sinful, natural, death-doomed nature of Adam.

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.   Rom. 5:12     

• Your natu­ral man was ruled and controlled by the flesh and was guided by human reasoning through a carnal mind.

• You were bound, controlled and owned by the devil.  You were condemned to live under the law of sin and death. 

• You were motivated by fear, subject to worry, anxiety, confusion, frustration, despair and, ultimately, death. 

• You were constantly and continually the victim of sickness, dis­ease, depression, and failure. 

• You were sad, mad, mean, uncontrolled and miserable.   You were of the earth;  you were “earthy.” 

The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.   1Cor. 15:47  

• You were subject to all the consequences of the curse that came as a re­sult of the fall of Adam. 

Second:

          When the Word broke through and into your dead human spirit, light came in.

The entrance of thy words giveth light…   Psa. 119:130.

Then when the Word came in, you willingly mixed what you believed about what the Word says with your “measure” of faith.

For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.    Hebr. 4:2   

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.   Ro 12:3 

The Word that came in impregnated your dead spirit with the Life of God and you were instantly and miraculously born again.  You were regenerated. You were “re-gened” with the genetic signature of God Himself!  You became a New Creation in Christ.  Your dead Adamic human spirit was recreated in the image and likeness of God Himself.  You were saved.  You were born into the family of God.  You be­came a child of God. 

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  1Pet. 1:23  

Your natural man (the old man of the flesh) was crucified, slain and buried.  And you are now alive with the Life of God.  What a miracle!   

I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.  Gal. 2:20   

 Your old carnal mind is presently in the process of be­ing renewed by the Word of God.  Your recreated human spirit is now filled with the Life of God.  The Seed of God is in you.   You are growing stronger each day and you are being conformed more and more into the Image of Christ.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.   2Cor. 3:18  

Word for Today:  May 22

The seed and the ground

Jesus gave us the parable of the Sower and the Seed.

This parable is found in all three synoptic Gospels.  We need to consider some characteristics that identify a seed and also some ground conditions that are necessary for the seed to germinate.

Jesus said that the Word is the seed.

The ground is the heart.

He pointed out that the condition of the ground in which the seed is sown determines the extent of the harvest.  Good ground produces a bountiful harvest.

The Seed is the Word and when the Word is sown in good Ground (the proper heart condition) then the Word will produce “after its kind.”  Ideally, Word production is the production of the Will of God.

Whatever is in the Word will be grown in the earth.  Whatever is in the Word will be produced on the earth.  Jesus prayed in the Model Prayer “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”  When our heart condition “draws out” what God has placed in, then God’s Will is accomplished on the earth.

In Real Time.  In the present.  In the now.

When and where it is most needed

          The Word is important. 

Nothing in all of creation has the power that the Word of God has.  Believers have total access to this miracle-working, life-changing, victory-producing power.   The All-Powerful Word was not only for the days of the Bible.  It is for us today.  God spoke in the past and continues to speak to us in the present through His Word.    His Word carries the anointing to accomplish what God desires and what believers need.    

          God said:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth:  it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish (Asah: to do or to make;  to create)  that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it… Isaiah 55:11 

          When God sends His Word out it always brings something back.  When we send His Word out in faith, it brings something back.   God’s Word is a carrier.  It carries stuff.  It brings things in and it takes things out.  God’s Word will never “not do” something;  it accomplishes, it creates, it makes, it does things.

          God’s Word will accomplish what pleases God.  What is it that pleases God?  Jesus said: 

Fear not little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom…   Luke 12:32 

          God pleasure is to give us the Kingdom.   

Here are some of the things God’s Word does, it:

• Produces faith 
• Reveals God  
• Saves sinners
• Renews the mind of believers
• Sanctifies Christians
• Chastens the Body of Christ  
• Recreates and brings to life the dead human spirit
• Overcomes the world  
• Makes us like Jesus

          The Bible tells us that the Word is Alive and full of Power. 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the di­viding asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a dis­cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.   Heb. 4:12  

          According to this verse, the Word is “quick” or “alive.”   The Word is locked and loaded and ready to produce.  The Word has Heaven-potential in it.  Whatever is in Heaven is in the Word.   There is life in the Word.  There is healing in the Word.  There is deliverance in the Word.  There is prosperity in the Word.  There is victory in the Word.  There is restoration in the Word.  There is peace and joy in the Word.  There is strength in the Word.  There is protection in the Word.  There is comfort in the Word.  There is assurance in the Word.  There is salvation in the Word.  The Word is God and God is the Word.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.   John 1:1 

          When we believe the Word and speak the Word in faith, it will produce what God produces.  There are no restrictions in the Word.   Nothing that is good is held back.  

For the Lord God is a sun and shield:  the Lord will give grace and glory:  no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly…  Psa 84:11  The Word of God is the WORD OF GOD  

          The Word of God is inspired, inerrant, and infallible.  It is authentic, it is alive and it is eternal.   It is full of miracle-working power.  It is God-Breathed.  It will never pass away.  It is with us now and it will be with us in heaven. 

          Holy men of God were inspired and moved on by the Holy Spirit and what they spoke and what they wrote be­came the written Word of God.  However, the Word of God existed before it became a written word.  All creation had its birth out of the Word which God spoke.  Only after the establishment of the human race, did that Word become a written word.

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.   2Pet. 1:21   

           That record is com­plete and suf­ficient and it is the foundation and primary message of the Church today.   It is relevant and up-to-date.  It needs nothing added to it and it needs noth­ing changed in it.  It is perfect and it is finished.  

The Word of God is the Will of God

           It is His Testament… it is what He desires for His creation.  The Word reveals His eternal purpose for the Earth, for the Heavens, for the Nation of Israel, for the Church and for the believer.  The Word is the written down Will of God. 

The Word of God is the key to bringing God’s Will to pass on earth

          When we believe the Word, say the Word and do the Word, we bring God’s Will down from heaven and release it into the earth.  Jesus prayed for the Will of God to be done in earth as it is being done in heaven.  (Mat. 6:10)  When the Word prevails, heaven’s power is re­leased on earth and God’s will is done. 

          God’s will is accomplished and established through the Church.  The Church can accomplish the Will of God on earth by doing the Word of God.  When we do the Word we accomplish the Will of God.

The Believer can live and keep from dying only by the Word

…that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.   Deut. 8:3

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that pro­ceedeth out of the mouth of God. Matt. 4:4   

          If we are to live to the fullest poten­tial of God’s plan, we will do so only by the Word and through the Word.  The Word is able.  The Word is adequate.  The Word is enough. 

• The Word will tell us what is to come and will prepare us for it

• The Word will make us strong and keep us strong 

• The Word will drive out sickness, disease, infirmity and weakness 

• The Word will keep us well, keep us whole, deliver us, and keep us in prosperity 

• The Word will convict and chasten us

• The Word will cut off the ex­cess and expose the unnecessary

• The Word will starve our doubts and feed our faith

• The Word will make us ready to meet Jesus 

• The Word will give us life and life more abundantly

• The Word shows us how to live and keep from dying

Word for Today:  May 21

The fact is, life does deliver some crushing blows

We need to “get real.”    It is unprofitable for us to live in some dream world where everything always is perfect.  Life is not some Hollywood American Utopia where there is no pain and no disappointment…  The devil is real and the kingdom of darkness is real.

Some of these contradictions that we are unable to understand are aimed at believers as well as unbelievers.  The church is not immune to demonic attacks.  In fact, the purpose and ploy of the devil is to kill, steal and destroy… primarily that and those who are not already “his.”   Therefore, how we react and cope in difficult and trying times is extremely important to the Kingdom of God.

We must understand that the “curse” is far reaching.  Even though the Redemptive Work of Jesus cancelled it for the Believer, its effects and influence is still very active in the natural world.  That’s why we are experiencing war and murder and injustice and abuse….  All manner of wickedness and evil that is contrary to the Kingdom of God.

The world we live in is influenced by principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places (Eph 6:12).  This is a principle that those in the early church were well aware of.  However, the Message that motivated those experiencing the trials and tribulations of such an unfair and unjust environment was a Message of great encouragement.  It declared that even though times were tough, they were Overcomers.

This is one of the recurring themes of New Testament Theology and it is a contemporary Message of encouragement to us as well.

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world

Word for Today:  May 19

Do you have a need?

• Are you hurting?
• Is something in your way?
• What mountain are you facing?
• What valley are you in?
• Do you feel the pressure?
• Are you in a bind?
• Are you caught between a rock and a hard place?
• Are you stressed?
• Are you sick?
• Are you bound?
• Are you sad?
• Are you discouraged?
• Are you disappointed?
• Have your hopes been shattered and your dreams destroyed?

Where ever you are, God is there.

Whatever you are facing God is there.

However you are hurting, God knows how you feel.  He wants to help you more than you want help.  His great pleasure is to give you the Kingdom and get you out of your place of pain and disappointment.

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:32

His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Peace and Rest and Healing and Abundance and Fulfillment and Satisfaction.  God’s Pleasure is to see that you receive and enjoy all the benefits of your Salvation.  That’s what He has provided for you.  That’s what He wants for you.

That is His will for you today

Word for Today:  May 18

God is so much bigger than we can imagine.

What He can do far exceeds our ability to understand and comprehend.  He is greater than the greatest, bigger than the biggest and more powerful than anything or anybody we can imagine.

John speaks of the “streets of gold” when he attempts to describe the splendor and opulence of heaven.  He is limited by the words at his command to describe what he sees in the spirit.  Did you know that the “streets of gold” are nothing more than the “garbage dump” in heaven?  The earthly streets that John knew about were littered with garbage in his day.  The inhabitants of the city would throw their trash and garbage into the streets and the traffic of human feet and the paths of plodding animals would pack down the garbage.  The streets in John’s day were the garbage dump.

If Heaven’s Garbage Dump is solid gold, I cannot begin to imagine what the houses and lands and habitations of the redeemed will be like.

Do you have a need?  Any need.  Big need.  Small need.  Few needs.  Great needs.  Many needs.  If your answer is “yes,” name your need.  Does it have a name?  What is it?  Call it out.  Give it a name.  Tell yourself what it is.  Tell the devil what it is.  Tell God what it is (even though He already knows.)  Is it a health need?  Is it a financial need?  Is it a marriage or family need?  Is it a spiritual need?  Is it an emotional need?  If you have a need, then God has the supply… and God is Able to get His supply to your need… AND HE WILL.

Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, (Jesus) and given him a name which is above every name:

Therefore, the Name of Jesus is ABOVE the name of your need.  And it is subject to that Name.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:19

Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us… Eph 3:20

God is Able to meet your need TODAY.

Word for Today:  May 17

God has a plan.

God has a purpose and a design for all things.  As long as His plan is followed, His purpose and His design will come to pass.  When you by pass the Plan you by pass God’s purpose and God’s design.  When you work the Plan you flow in God.

A builder has a blueprint.  He follows the blueprint and it results in a completed structure that meets all the required specifications.

A cook has a recipe.  When the recipe is followed and all the instructions are obeyed, it results in a successful and delightful dish.

God has a Book.  It is the Bible and it is His Word.  When you abide in His Word and follow His Word, you have His Will and His design.  It is a winning will.  It is an overcoming design.  It is a FAIL-SAFE success system.

Read and follow the Instructions

“His Own Purpose…”

2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

God’s Purpose is for:

1.  Man’s Redemption

2.  Earth’s Restoration

3.  Heaven’s Completion

Let’s talk about the WHY of Redemption.  Why did God save you?  What purpose does He have in mind for your life?  What is the reason for your redemption?  We need to understand that no one is saved by accident.

Eph. 1:4   According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Eph. 1:5   Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 

Most people who are saved have no real idea WHY they ARE SAVED.  Salvation, to them, is equated with Religion or Church Membership or Doctrinal Creed or Denominational affiliation.  Most have been taught that Salvation is a convenient escape from Hell and that it good only after they die.  Some have been taught that SALVALTION is based on how they act, what they do or how good they are.  It is obvious that we need to know MORE about SALVATION.

There is reason and rationale behind your redemption.  You were and are saved for a plan and purpose… there is a plan in the Heart of God for you.  God saved you   so that you might demonstrate His Heart on earth.  

God knew you before the foundations of the earth were formed.

Ephesians 1:4  According as he hath chosen (to pick out, choose, to pick or choose out for one’s self)  us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

He knew you and loved you and planned on you before Creation.   He had you in His Heart.  He looked forward with great anticipation to the time that you would be brought into the dimension of Time and Space.  God orchestrated the genetic structure of all your ancestors…. all the way back to Adam…. just to produce in YOU the characteristics, talents, and abilities HE needs for this hour in human history.  God planned you with more care and creative genius than He planned anything else in all the Universe.  You are important to God.  You are in His Heart.  God has a reason for your life.  God has  purpose for your being here.

 Look at where you were:

 Eph. 2:2   Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Eph. 2:3   Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Colossians 2:13  And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Look at where you are:

Eph. 2:1   And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins:

Eph. 2:4   But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Eph. 2:5   Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Eph. 2:6   And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Eph. 2:7   That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Why did God save you?

God Saved you Bring you into His Family.

             God chose you, called you, and birthed you into His Family.  He made the earth for you, and He made Man for Himself.  God desires Fellowship and Communion and Friendship with you.  Agape (God-Love) craves fellowship.  We are love objects of our Father God.  He is our Father, and we are His children.  He longs to fellowship with you and to enter an INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with you.   God want you to KNOW HIM.  (Epiginosko) He saved you to establish FELLOWSHIP with you.  “…who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ…”  (II Cor 5:18)

You are saved so that you may experience and enjoy all the benefits of Heaven before you get there.  God wants you with Him but before you get there, His Heart is that you might live in Heaven’s atmosphere while you are still on earth. 

 God saved you to make you like Him. 

God did not send Jesus to teach us…. He sent Jesus to Reproduce us.  God’s Heart is that you and I become LIKE HIM. 

            God wants you to be like Him.  He wants you to look like Him, talk like Him, think like Him and act like Him and He wants you to do it Right now where you are.  His greatest pleasure comes from the fact that you resemble Him.  You are recreated in His Image.  You are predestinated to be conformed to the Image of His Son (Rom 8:29).  He wants you to operate here on earth just as He operates in heaven.  God wants His Kingdom to come and His will to be done ON EARTH.  The way that His Kingdom comes, and His Will is done ON EARTH is when you act like Him.  When you live like Him.  When you think like Him.  When you talk like Him.  It is doing what God does the way God does it that changes the world.  When we realize we can be like God our whole perspective on life changes.  Why would God want us to be like Him if it were not in the realm of POSSIBILITY?  If we can be like God, we can do the IMPOSSIBLE.  If we can  be like God, no power in hell will ever defeat us.  If we can be like God, no sickness can overtake us.  If we can be like God all our needs will be met and all our dreams will be realized.  God saved you to be LIKE HIM.  His Nature has been imputed into you and your Recreated Human Spirit is now alive with the Life of God and you are MORE than a conqueror.

“What is man that thou art mindful of him?   and the son of man that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels (Elohim), and hast crowned him with glory and with honor…”   Psa 8:4-5

            Now, what is God like?  What does God do?  What does He think?  What does He say?  How are His emotions?   What is His Heart?

            First, God is LOVE so God Loves.  God is Love.  All God does comes out of God’s Love.  God is Good and God is good all the time. God is Love and God loves all the time.  God forgives.  God does not hold grudges.  God is not resentful.  God does not wish harm or evil on anyone.  God loves with a special kind of love.  It is not sensual.   (eros)  It is more than brotherly.  (philios)  It is supernatural.  It is Agape.  It is love that is unconditional.  It is love that loves regardless.  It requires nothing in return.   God wants us to love like He loves.  He says love your enemies.  Pray for them that despitefully use you.  Do good to those who hate you.  Be kind to those who are mean to you.  Be like Jesus.  “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do…”  God is a Faith God, but God’s faith works by Love.  “Faith worketh by love…” 

             Love answers the “why” of creation.  Love is the reason for creation.  Love is the RATIONALE for creation.  All things have their beginnings in LOVE.  LOVE is the DIVINE FORCE that brought all things into existence.  All the CREATIVE MIRACLES of GOD have their birth in LOVE.  Love is the reason for our very being.  LOVE CREATES.  LOVE ACTIVATES.  LOVE MOTIVATES. All action has to be MOTIVATED.  All of GOD’S ACTIONS are motivated by LOVE.  God loved and HE CREATED.  (1) the Heavens for earth  (2) the earth for Man  (3) man for Himself.   Man (you and I) are the objects GOD’S LOVE.  

The KINGDOM of GOD is in you and that KINGDOM is adequate to supply all your needs.  Just as EDEN was adequate to supply all the needs of Adam and Eve so it the KINGDOM sufficient to supply all your needs in this life.  KINGDOM PRINCIPLES and KINGDOM LAWS operate by LOVE.  LOVE is the ROYAL LAW of the KINGDOM of GOD.  God put Himself inside of you when you got Born Again.  God put His Kingdom inside of you when you got Born Again.  God’s Kingdom works by love.  God produced you through LOVE and He reproduces Himself in you through LOVE.  When you operate in LOVE you reveal the Heart of God and release God to work miracles.  You are identified to the world by LOVE… “By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another…”  John 13:35.

LOVE is the method of operation for the NT Church.  The Church was born by love and initially operated through love.  No DIVISIONS… FACTIONS… PREJUDICE… COMPETIVENESS… JEALOUSY… The membership was “together” and in “one accord” and “had all things common”… ONLY LOVE CAN PRODUCE THIS!!  Love is UNITY and SHARING and GIVING.   AGAPE is the cohesive force that binds the BODY of CHRIST together.  Each “joint” (member) supplies this binding agent that unifies and bonds the Body together.  This is LOVE.  Agape Love.  The GOD-KIND of Love. 

And Love Never Fails….