Matthew 4:17 – “Repent! (metanoia) For the kingdom of God is at hand…”
Metanoia – “Turn from your ways and go beyond your mind.”
Law – “Thou Shalt Not” Grace – “I will.”
Hebrews 8:8-10,12
The Cross – “It is finished!”
Hebrews 8:12 – “…all their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.” –God
Romans 5:17 – Gifts: Grace and Perfect Righteousness
Ephesians 4:22-24(AMP) – “Put OFF and Put ON”
Exodus 20:1-5a – Do not make nor serve any Graven Images
Graven Images – made by impressions – physical and MENTAL
Souls – Like “soft wax” – easily moldable
The WORLD – Currently under the direct influence of the “prince of the air.” – Ephesians 2:2
He offers ILLUSIONS posing as TRUTH and supports them with Myths
Myth #1 – More Options mean More Freedom
Myth #2 – More Analysis – More Wisdom
Myth #3 – More “Things” accumulated – More Happiness
Myth #4 – Progress must be made regardless of the COST
Evolution – CHANGE: A gradual progression in which something changes into a different and usually better form.
Christians – Natural man to Spirit man
The greatest danger in the “Theory of Evolution” – What are we willing to accommodate in our lives in order to affect future change? Where are we headed as a species?
The destination we chose will determine the Approach we will take to progress.
True Wisdom – Jesus Christ: His approach; His heart; His teachings; His life’s model as the means to Evolutionary Transformation.
True Godly Transformation can’t be accomplished through a world viewpoint with its fake and flawed wisdom and ILLUSIONS.
Illusions create Delusions
Delusion [Def] – “A fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual facts.”
Matthew 7:7-8 – “Ask – Seek – Knock” and keep doing it!
Pray: WE come to You, Our Father, and willingly submit to your provision and ways.
Jesus said in John 10:9-10, I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will go in and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I HAVE COME THAT THEY [THE SHEEP] MAY HAVE LIFE AND THAT THEY MAY HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY
STAND IN SOZO- to save, deliver, protect, keep safe and sound, heal, preserve, do well, be made whole.
“Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” John 8:36
When Jesus went into the temples, starting in Galilee, just fresh from the wilderness, empowered by the Holy Spirit, He approached the podium to read the Scriptures. He knew that He had come to bring a new kingdom with new rules: a NEW COVENANT and fulfill the prophetic words about Messiah. He turned the world upside down. Many marveled and believed.
He came to Nazareth, his hometown, to the synagogue and opened to Isaiah 61. It’s recorded in Luke 4:18,21.
Luke 4:18,21 Jesus said:
I came to set the captives free
Preach the gospel to the poor
Heal the brokenhearted
Recover sight to the blind
Set at liberty those who are oppressed
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
Luke 4:21, and he began to say to them, “Today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
:28 – so all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. They thrust him out of the city and tried to toss Him off a cliff. [those from his hometown]
:30 – then passing through the midst of them, He went His way.
He continued to preach in the synagogues and demonstrate the power of God there and in the street.
Not everyone is going to want to hear about Jesus.
God desires for each of us to BE 100% WHOLE. Jesus paid the price.
Let’s do something we can all relate to and apply these truths to our lives now. Let’s use His Word to continue to set our lives on His course, His journey.
Consider that you are a multicolored air balloon created to SOAR…but you are tethered to the ground by four ropes, tied to the ground. The goal is to become untethered, so let’s cut the ties and SOAR IN THE SPIRIT.
In Luke 4, there are four areas of our lives that Jesus paid the ransom for.
CONSIDER THEM TO BE 4 ROPES TETHERING US TO THE GROUND.
Generational sins-released
Ungodly belief-delivered
Woundings -spirit, soul, body- healed
Demonic oppression-freedom
1. Rope – generational curses- sins and family baggage
Ex 34:7 “I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty….”
JESUS’ FORGIVENESS COVERS IT ALL.
Iniquity – a propensity to sin, Family lines propelled in a specific direction. Repentance is required—Recognition and acknowledgment, then repentance.
God wants to cut off these iniquities.
Iniquity pressure is real- there are triggers. Recognize them and deal with them. We need to close doors. Apply His Blood
Sins from ancestors, addictions, heart tendencies.
AGAIN…Close all the doors
GOD WANTS TO BREAK IT OFF
Consider: we’re Boxing – we get knocked down several times – Getting hit over and again. Why? There is something there.
Exodus 20:5-6
: You shall not bow yourself down to them nor serve them. For I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons to the third and fourth generation of those that HATE ME, and showing mercy to thousands, to those that love Me and keep My commandments.
God wants to break off all generational sins from our lives.
I call them the ‘twirly whirls.’ lies that we believe. Neural pathways that are unhealthy. They tether us to the earth. Ask God what the issue is. He can release you from the lie and tell you the Truth.
Ephesians 5:26 – washing of the water of the Word- Why?
The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ washed away all our sins. Yet as a believer, we still sin every day. The verse referenced speaks of a necessary CONSTANT RENEWAL, a refreshing of the Word in our hearts that cleanses and keeps us clean. A CONTINUOUS REVIVAL.
Col 3:21 Christ enthroned – fill your mind with heavenly thoughts
Romans 12:2 be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Agree with God for your life.
It’s important that we break any contracts we have made with sin, sickness, or death. [vows]
WE receive His truth in godly living-
1 Peter 1:3 – “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His glory and excellence.”
3. Rope – Woundings – hurts of the spirit, soul, and body.
The wounds of life happen, but God has a big Eraser and Healing Balm.
Isaiah 53-He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds
Meet Jesus where you are – Receive His healing
-GOD KNOWS HOW TO HEAL YOU-
He knows how to heal- He knows what happened to you- Listen – find Him – Forgive
He has set the table before you- Dine with Him- Receive His love- His healing intimacy.
4. Rope – Demonic Oppression
This can be a result of the other three areas.
If you leave demons alone, they will leave you alone? No
We have to Battle with demons – yes – but a situation may not always be demonic. we Can defeat them – we need Discernment I John 4
Can a Christian be possessed by a demon? No-we are redeemed
We can be oppressed. We have to identify them and deal with them.
NO LANDING STRIPS FOR DEMONIC THOUGHTS.
DO NOT GIVE THE ENEMY A SEAT AT THE TABLE.
Confess sins and actions that do not agree with the Lord
Cast down and remove from your mind any thoughts in disagreement with His Words
Submit to God, Resist the devil
Do not give place to the devil – 11 Tim 2:26
Stand Stand Stand- Apply the blood of Jesus
I John 3:8-9 “… For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His Seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God.”
Rechem- womb- We enter the womb of mercy- being born again… and access His Life for ourselves.
THE CURTAIN, THE VEIL, WAS RENT WHEN JESUS DIED, GIVING US OPEN ACCESS TO THE THRONE ROOM AND THE HOLY OF HOLIES.
“There is a way through the veil…love never fails.” Don Potter
How do we access these truths in God? PRAYER.
Heb 4:16 “Therefore let us [with privilege], [approach boldly, draw near] the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious, unmerited favor to us sinners] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].”
6
STAND IN SOZO– to save, deliver, protect, keep safe and sound, heal, preserve, do well, be made whole.
“Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” John 8:36
[PM- Bind hopelessness] GOD BRINGS HOPE.
“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it’s a TREE OF LIFE.” the minute you pray, God begins to move. He wants you transformed.
Biblical hope is an expectation of something good that is coming from God.
We are GOD’S sons and daughters-
LIVING OUR LIVES WITH DETERMINED PERSEVERANCE.
WE possess unrelenting boldness because of Him.
IT IS FINISHED.
“He Who began a good work in you is able to complete it” Ps138:8
“You keep every promise you’ve ever made to me! Since YOUR LOVE FOR ME IS CONSTANT AND ENDLESS, I ask you, Lord, to finish every good thing that you’ve begun in me!” TPT
We become an untethered balloon FREE FROM ENTANGLEMENTS, soaring on the wind of the Spirit. We need to Surrender to God as each rope is cut and we rise.
OUR balloon is blue, red, and purple, and soaring…
The curtain on the temple was blue and red, and purple.
Matt 7:24-27 – Building on an unshakeable foundation
“When a person feels moral clarity and a burning sense of purpose, they can often UNDERESTIMATE thecomplexity of an issue and OVERESTIMATE their own wisdom in solving the problem. Virtuous purpose can then become self-righteousness of our own sin.” – David French
God’s design and desire for humanity – Free Choice
“I think God has more faith in us than we do in Him” – PR
Jesus: “The WAY – to the TRUTH – which leads to LIFE.”
Free Choice – a Two-Edged Sword that either Frees us or Enslaves us
Desire – “Hardwired” into our natural hardware by God
Wade Taylor – “He places within us the Desire to be apprehended for the very purpose that He had in mind when He first touched our spirits. We must believe this, and again to seek the outworking of that for which we were also apprehended.”
Apprehend – To intuitively grasp the meaning of something and be captured by it.
Without Desire, there’s nothing to impel us forward:
Our life energy is a product of our desires.
Denying desire = Denying our God-given nature and the ultimate purpose of our existence.
Attachments – Habits and idiosyncrasies added to the “True Self.”
Compulsive – when our desires “Take Over” – Result: Slaves to our own desires
1 Corinthians 12:10 – the gift of spiritual discernment
“Watering the weeds” – surrendering some of my inner freedom by arranging my life to serve my fears and aversions, thereby giving them the POWER to rule.
Matthew 27:1 – Pontius Pilate
God’s desire for mankind – to make “Life-Giving” choices leading to FREEDOM
A Word for RCF: “Stop watering the weeds that are growing in the midst of your garden.”
“Choose LIFE and direct your energies toward cultivating the Life-Giving fruit I’ve planted in the Garden of your hearts.”(Galatians 5:22-23)
“Remember, My Kingdom is within you. So, seek me with clean and clear hearts, and you will find me and apprehend what you were apprehended for.”
Are you struggling? Are you in need of more of God? Are you hungry and thirsty for more of Him?
It is imperative that we learn to wait on Him.
Psalm 27:14 Psalm 37:7
We often find ourselves in troubling circumstances, and we step into stress instead of stepping into REST. Gratitude is the open door into His Presence. When we encounter His Presence in the midst of our lives, especially in trying times, there is an acceleration of our own development as believers. He reveals to us our true identity and forms His character within us, and HIS OUTCOME is released. This is the will of God. The Prince of Peace must take up permanent residence in the center of our being in the NEW REALM of the Spirit. Then it is the work of the Holy Spirit to take what belongs to Jesus and make it real to us. John 16:15
“The outcome of His intention is the finishing line. He intends that we reach” GC
Ps 119:37- “Help me turn my eye away from illusions so that I may pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in Your paths.”
STRESS is a by-product of a life NOT FOCUSED ON CHRIST WITHIN IN THIS NEW REALM.
THE REAL YOU IS NOT STRESSED. GC
WE MUST STAY FILLED with God.
Overcome as we depend on Him.
Take care of our own vineyard.
Weed the garden. Get enough sunshine and fertilizer so we can grow well.
God alone offers comfort to us who are suffering in the midst of difficulties. In our brokenness, God joins us and cultivates His character within and conforms us into His image. God sees suffering as a means to develop the spiritual fruit of patient endurance in us, which produces our crop of godly righteousness and peace in our lives as we become one who has been trained or exercised by it. We become groomed by our Father and begin to display the love of Jesus Christ.
Eph 4:17- “then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the RESTING PLACE OF HIS LOVE will become the very source and root of your life.”
Pray together: JESUS, I OPEN MY LIFE TO YOU AND ASK YOU TO BE LORD OF EVERY AREA. CHANGE ME. PURIFY ME. LET ME SEE MYSELF THE WAY YOU DO SO THAT I MAY REALIZE MY TRUE IDENTITY. WHEN I FOCUS ON YOU, I AM CONFIDENT AND COURAGEOUS-TRULY ALIVE. SO, I WILL KEEP MY FOCUS ON YOU, AND TOGETHER, WE WILL VICTORIOUSLY OVERCOME MY SHORTCOMINGS AND WEAKNESSES.
We want to be like Job. Job 42:5–6 – “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but NOW MY SPIRITUAL EYES SEE YOU, AND I PRAISE YOU, REPENTING IN DUST AND ASHES.”
In Revelation, the Word reads: “The Bride has made herself ready…clothed with linen garments.” What does that mean?
The linen garments are the righteous acts of the Saints,.our responses to and the results formed in our lives in the midst of the troubles we face and overcome as we rise up and See God in the midst.
ONLY then we can then go higher and deeper with God, pressing on for the prize of the high calling of God. Phil 3
So, consider how God accomplishes His purposes in our lives: so that we transform into His image. He wants us to SEE HIM AS HE IS SO WE CAN BE LIKE HIM. THROUGH DIFFICULTIES.
Deut 8:3
Some instruction from Isaiah 55 is an invitation to receive the glory of the Lord’s restoration.
Are you hungry and thirsty for more of God?
Come to the waters
Gain entrance with thanksgiving and praise.
Listen carefully to God.
Eat only what is good.
Let your soul delight itself in His abundance.
Enter into a covenant relationship with God.
Seek Him, call on Him when He is near.
Return to Him.
Forsake your way
Walk in His way
Go out with joy.
Be led by the Lord Himself with peace.
Consider the operation of His Word and His faithfulness.
His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are higher.
As the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without watering the earth, making it bear and sprout, and providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater. SO WILL MY WORD BE WHICH GOES OUT OF MY MOUTH; IT WILL NOT RETURN TO ME VOID, WITHOUT ACCOMPLISHING WHAT I DESIRE, AND WITHOUT SUCCEEDING IN THE MATTER FOR WHICH I SENT IT.
Pray together: “Our Father, may the Glory of Your Name be the center on which our life turns. May Your Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us. Manifest Your kingdom on earth “Luke 11:2
”The spiritual life is to be pursued as though NO spiritual life exists because it is not really a separate life — Only ONE Life exists, and that is from God which is given to us moment to moment.”
Christianity — Deconstruction and Reconstruction surrounding CHAOS
Chaos — a cause of instability and PAIN: Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual
General Pain — 3 Types :
Burns, cuts, lacerations — damage to organs, muscles, bones, etc.
Inflammation — swelling, throbbing, etc.
Neuropathy — excessive and abnormal sensitivity: magnifies ordinary sensory outputs and converts them into pain
External Energy used for relief; Massage therapy, Sonic Heat, Hydro-thermal
Emotional and Spiritual Neuropathy – constant emotional pain, lacking peace in their minds and hearts
John 14: 27 Jesus’ peace
Restores to ONENES
Single-minded focus
Clears confusion
Stability
“World’s” peace — lack of conflict
James 1:8 — “A double-minded man is UNSTABLE in all of his ways.”
“Prayer is not asking. Prayer is putting yourself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and LISTENING to His voice in the depths of your hearts. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.” –Mother Teresa
Being ALONE – can allow us to enter into peaceful solitude and find salvation and rest
LONELINESS – carries with it a vague sense of not mattering or not belonging
LONELINESS – is melancholic and nostalgic – a longing for “home” and the peace that comes from solitude.
“Home is the place where when you get there, they have to let you in.” –Robert Frost
“Home” – not as much as being a building buta web of relationships.
We’re at HOME when we are with people who know us and still care for us regardless of our behavior
Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to ME…”
A FRIEND – is someone you know, like, and trust; one who will stand with you in a struggle.
All of Jesus’ early disciples either knew each other or were related to one another. They weren’t randomly picked.
Point: He knew them BEFORE He called them – warts and all!
Jesus’ chosen friends:
Peter– proud, tempestuous, impetuous, denied the Lord Luke 22:50-51 – Cuts a guy’s ear off Galatians 2:11 – “A man-pleaser.” Matthew 17:4 – Rude and spoke out of turn
Thomas – John 20:19-25 – Unbelief
John – The “Apostle of Love” – wanted to incinerate people -Spirit of MURDER
James and John – “Sons of Thunder” – All Noise – No Power!
Mark9:38 – “Hey, you’re not from MY CHURCH-put that demon back in that guy.”
Women with them; Luke 8:1-3 – “…healed of evil spirits….”
Mark 3:13-15 – “And He called unto Himself those He WANTED.”
Ephesians 3:17-18 – That we might “KNOW the love of Christ….”
