“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
POWERFUL: When we accept Christ as our Savior, He does an amazing work in us. He comes to live inside of us and gives us a new nature and a new spirit, both of which are His.
Everything that Jesus is comes to live inside of us, in our born-again spirit.
We
receive His righteousness:
We receive His Peace, His Joy, and the fruit of His Spirit. This is only the beginning of what God’s Word
says that we are and have in Christ
· We are justified in Him.
· Redeemed in Him
· Sanctified in Him
· We have the mind of Christ
· We are forgiven
· We are dead to Sin
· This is what happened in the story about Julie, the alcoholic.
Your Life: Have you ever been so discouraged with the way your life has turned out that you thought or said, “I wish I had someone else’s life”?
WITH JESUS: That’s exactly what
you get when you receive Jesus as your
Savior.
1. He takes your old life and you get His Life
Paul said in Galatians 2:20
a. He said that he had been crucified with Christ and that he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him and the life he was living now, he lived by faith. (We can have Jesus’ life)
b. Paul was living a new life, one in which he had learned to put his trust in Jesus for everything rather than putting it in himself or other people.
1. We are complete in Him, who is the Head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:10)
2. We are alive with Christ. (Ephesians 2:5)
3. We are free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:2)
4. We are far from oppression, and do not fear, for terror does not come near us (Isaiah 54:14)
5. We are born of God, and the evil one does not touch us (I John 5:18)
6. We are holy and without blame before Him in love (Ephesians 1:4; I Peter 1:16)
7. We have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5).
8. We have the peace of God that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7)
9. We have the Greater One living in us; greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).
10.We have received the gift of righteousness and reign as kings in life by Jesus Christ (Romans 5:17).
11.And so much more!
HOW do we begin our walk with God? By Believing His promises are true!
Most people say, “I will believe it when I see it!” But God’s promises must be believed FIRST.
· Believe in your heart first and see later.
A. What are the keys that unlock the vault to God’s promises (Hebrews 6:12)
a. Faith and Patience
Learning who we are in Christ is Vital if we are to ever live a victorious life as a Christian. We are DEAD to our past.
Our past may make a difference to some of the people we know, but it makes no difference at all to God.
a. He sees us as a new person who has not only died with Christ but was also raised to a new life.
b. We need to learn to see ourselves like God sees us.
c. When we receive Christ, He takes our sin and gives us His righteousness.
d. God views us as righteous.
e. That is the way He chooses to see us once we are in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21)
What happens when we receive Jesus?
1. He comes to live in us.
2. We are also placed in Him.
3. We are made one and have union with Him.
a. Paul said, “We are to be strengthened through our union with Him (Ephesians 6:10)
4. We go to Jesus empty and He fills us.
POWERFUL NOTE: If we are in HIM, then everything that He is becomes ours.
The Barrel Example:
If you are an empty jar and you are placed in a barrel of water, you will be filled with the water just as the barrel is filled. What is in the barrel becomes yours. When you are placed into Christ by virtue of our faith in Him, He fills us with Himself.
Our Confidence in God.
Scriptures speaks of us being in Christ. One of them is found in Philippians 3:3, which says that our confidence is to be in Christ and not in our own ability to perform. We learn to find our worth and value in Him instead of in our own works or what we can do.
Confidence is important!
The Deposit – Pg. 115
Jesus has made a deposit in each of us. According to Scripture, He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. (Read 2 Peter 1:3)
A. Note that “all things” are not experienced by us – even though in reality they belong to us – unless we are personally knowledgeable of Him and the kind of life He has called us to live.
B. We have to add our diligence to the promises an exercise our faith in them in order to see them released into our lives.
What happens if someone makes a huge deposit into your bank and you did not know it was there or available to you.
***Lack of knowledge is the thing that prevents God’s children from living the truly awesome life that Jesus died for them to have.***
We simply don’t know that it is even an option. We have no idea that we can let go of our past and never look back or that they can experience healing from all of the wounds of our soul.
If the deposit was made but the person was lazy and never went to the bank to get wat they needed, they would also live in lack even though they actually were supplied with everything they could ever need. (POWERFUL)
Jesus made a deposit in us.
We have EVERYTHING we will EVER NEED! Everything you need and desire is in Him; He is in us and we are in Him.
***Please don’t miss the benefit this truth is intended to give you because of lack of knowledge or being passive about claiming these promises as your own. ***
[It’s AMAZING that God has chosen to live in us and has allowed us to live in Him.]
If you can believe it, you can receive it!! (pg. 116)
***READ John 14:20***
Page 116 –
What did Paul warn the believers?
To stop boasting about the leader they were following and realize that all
things were theirs (1 Corinthians 3:21)
What does that mean? We do not get what we need or find our worth and value from the people we attach ourselves to, but only from being in Christ and Him being in us.
What should we meditate on? That “I am in Christ, and He is in me! I am His home, and He is my home.”
CLOSE FELLOWSHIP WITH JESUS – Pg. 117
We are invited to have close fellowship with Jesus through His Spirit.
Jesus told His disciples that He would send them another Comforter to be in close fellowship with them. That is His promise to us.
Jesus is always close to us. He’s never far away. He can talk to us anytime. He wants to have a close, personal relationship with you.
What should we take from this section: That we should spend more time in fellowship with Jesus than following rules. We should learn who we are in Christ. We should live our life knowing that Christ lives in us. When we go places, know that we are taking Christ to that place. When we do things (good or bad) know that Christ is in us while we are doing that! Instead of trying to follow all the rules and regulation so they would feel they had some value, they had learned that they were given value by the fact that Jesus died for them and had made His home in them.
Pg. 118 When you realize that with Jesus, you have everything you need, you now possess:
· Confidence
· Security
· Strength
· Righteousness
· Peace
· Joy
· And the list goes on
Whatever need arise, it was already met by Jesus so you don’t have to live in fear. This is our inheritance.
Guidelines that God gave Moses for constructing and erecting the Tabernacle (2nd paragraph on page 118)
1. 3 Entire chapters
2. To discuss precise details and instructions
3. Very extensive and detailed list
4. God took creating us just as serious.
5. He has fashioned each of us as a suitable home in which He can dwell
6. He took great care in forming us
7. He was precise about each detail of our temperament, talents, and abilities.
8. The color of our hair, eyes, skin tone, height, and every other detail.
Psalm 139 (please read)
1. Chapter shares how carefully God formed us.
2. He personally formed us with His own hands in our Mother’s womb.
3. We were fearfully and wonderfully made.
You are not a
mistake; you are God’s amazing design!!
Bearing Good Fruit
Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We are rooted in Him.
We are expected to bear good fruit.
Live Righteously
Walk in love with other people.
Be Kind
Be humble
Be Peaceful
Be Patient
We are to use the abilities that God has given us to serve Him and help people.
God will always equip us with what we need to overcome, be successful, and to be victorious.
He makes a deposit in us of all the things He expects us to produce in our lives.
If we live, dwell, and remain in Him, and let His Word (Jesus) live, dwell, and remain in us, God’s Word promises us that we will bear much fruit (John 15:5)
When we become Christians and Christ lives in us:
a. We don’t begin a journey of behavior modification
b. But we learn to do life with Jesus
c. We live to have fellowship with Jesus.
d. We learn from His Word
e. We li.ve His Word
f. We talk to Him
g. We lean on Him
h. We trust Him
i. We tell him Everything.
Should we make a few character and life changes…YES.
Should you stop purposely sinning…YES
Should we become more discipline about our behavior and or actions…YES
BUT learning the right way to change, or be changed, is very important.
We can modify our behavior somewhat through discipline and self-control, but we
cannot change our nature---ONLY God can do that and He has.
Keep pressing
Keep Trusting
God will enable you to be all He wants you to be.