[Satan's Plan] [Jesus Christ, our Life] [Up]
A STUDY OF RESTING IN JESUS AS OUR LIFE
Part 1- INTRODUCTION TO RESTING IN
JESUS AS OUR LIFE
Jesus said, “…I have come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. Why don’t we as Christians experience the abundant life on a more regular basis? How do we explain this dilemma between God’s promise and our experience?
Our study is about discovering the secret of a joyous Christian life in
the midst of the reality and difficulties of our lives. Christ in you, the hope
of glory (Colossians 1:27) is the power of God, the wisdom of God and the secret
of the joyous Christian life. Resting in Jesus as our Life is about exchanging our
life for His… it’s about practicing a life of faith, working through love, and of
having an intimate relationship with the living God. We believe that Jesus said
that we can indeed have life abundant while on this planet, and that this
happens as we allow Jesus Christ, moment by moment, to live His life through our
own.
Furthermore, we recognize Satan
as the great deceiver seeking to blind us from the reality, simplicity, and
power to live the life God has planned for us. We know that submission to Jesus,
who is our life, results in the natural budding of the fruit of the Holy Spirit
in us. Love, joy, peace… can dominate our lives as we grow, being transformed
by the power of the Living God to His glory. God’s goal for the Christian is
to bring us to full maturity as His children that “…Christ be formed in
us” Galatians 4:19 God has created each of us uniquely giving us special gifts
for doing His work of building up the body of Christ.
Bible verses to think about:
A. Read John 10:10. Jesus said, “The thief comes…to kill, steal and destroy… I came that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly “. (The NIV bible translation uses the term "life to the full") Jesus wants us to experience an abundant life in midst of life's many troubles. This life is not natural but supernatural. The abundant life is God's life.
B. Read Galatians 5:22-23 The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. This is God's definition of an abundant life which He wants us to experience in daily life. If we are honest we realize that this is not natural. In fact, these character traits have their origin in God. They describe God's definition of God's love 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
C. How do we get God's life? It all starts by admitting we are not perfect. The bible in Romans 3:23 says "All have sinned and fall short of God's glory" No human has the capability of living a perfect sinless life. The good news is that Jesus did live a perfect sinless life since He was God in human flesh. He died on the cross for the punishment of the sins of all mankind and arose on the 3rd day offering eternal life as a free gift! If we will repent (change our mind), believe and receive God's free gift then Jesus will come live in us. Colossians 1:27 tells us Christ in us the hope of glory! This is the start of the abundant life--Jesus living in us! Eternal life is not a thing but a person. Jesus promises to never fail or forsake us!
D. In John 14:6 Jesus said "I am the way the truth and the life" In John 15:5. Jesus said " I am the vine and you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" Jesus is telling us once we have Him living in us then we still can do nothing to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit without continuing practicing drawing from His abundant life. This is a life long process as we practice a life of child like dependence on Jesus as our life.
E.. Read 2 Corinthians.11:3, 14 . The Bible clearly stipulates the existence of Satan. (1 Peter 5:8). Satan's true nature is to destroy but he cloaks his deceptive intentions as an angel of light. The word beguiled in 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV) means “ to rob us of what might have been” Satan & his forces want to keep people from becoming a Christian or neutralize our effectiveness after becoming a Christian. Their goal for the Christian is to move us off of this simple life of trust in Jesus as our life source.
F. Read Romans 9:30-33. What error did Israel make in pursuing a life of righteousness, (abundant life)? The Jews rejected Jesus as their life and life source. They tried to make themselves acceptable to God by what they did . Read Galatians 3:1-5.The Galatian Christians started out receiving Jesus by faith but then went back to self effort to try to produce a Godly life. The apostle Paul admonishes the Galatian Christians to get back to the basics of living in dependence on Jesus as their life source. Matthew 11:28 Jesus said, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest"
G. In Galatians 2:20 Paul describes the objective of Christian living -- to allow Jesus to live thru us as we practice a simple life of trust in Him. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 shares the same theme of God living thru Paul. The word "manifest" (reveal) means to render apparent. The apostle Paul in talking about death is not referring to physical death but daily death to his old self (flesh). Paul is saying that he is depending on Jesus by faith in his severe difficulty and weakness. As he yields his will to God then the very life of Jesus Christ is revealed in his human body.
H. In Isaiah 40:31 the word "renew" means "to exchange". This Hebrew word is used to describe the changing of clothes. This is where the idea of the Christian life being an exchanged life originated - trading our weakness for His strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that God's grace is sufficient for His power is perfected in our weakness. Thankfully, we are eternally secure as God's children as we practice resting in Jesus as our life.
I. In Ephesians 1:13-14 The Christian has great security as we are sealed by the Holy Spirit who is given to us as an irrevocable down payment to guarantee the blessings to come in eternity. Galatians 4: 6-7 tells us we are mature sons & daughters of God all because we believed in what Jesus did on our behalf. Praise God for His faithfulness!
Part 2 - WHO IS JESUS CHRIST TO YOU
Every person is challenged to
decide who is Jesus Christ to him or her. Non-believers
may see Jesus as a perfect man, a good teacher, a prophet, a good example, the
Son of God - but not God, or even a liar or a lunatic!
As a child of God we believe He was the perfect God man, the
Son of God and our Savior, saving us from the eternal penalty of our sin and giving us
eternal life. We believe too many Christians stop right there. They fail to
involve Jesus in their daily lives. We need to reconsider whom Jesus is
relative to how we live out our daily lives.
Scripture teaches two important
doctrines: Justification and Sanctification. Justification means that our
faith in Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection has reconciled us to God forever, and
thereby allows us to live eternally with Him. Sanctification is the process
by which we become what our name Christian means "little Christ".
We assert that Jesus Christ
wants to be nothing less than our life. Just as depending on the power and love
of the Risen Lord justifies us before God, we believe that same dependence
allows Jesus to manifest his life through us now...daily...moment by moment.
This life of faith is the key to experiencing the abundant life that Jesus
promised us... a life dominated by the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Often God uses our overwhelming problems and
difficulties to show us our need for Him. These trials can move us to brokenness
to prepare our hearts to accept the good news of Jesus as our life source. Often
God uses our spiritual failures, doubts and disappointments for us to see that
we can't live the Christian life in our own strength. Sometimes, this can take
years! God's goal is to drive us to Jesus as the source of an abundant life.
Hopefully, we will be encouraged in an age of over advertisement to
realize that God
is much better than we ever imagined and offers us abundant life which is His
life to be lived thru ours.
Bible verses to think about:
A. Read 1 Corinthians 1 23,24, Colossians 3:3-4, John
6:63 These verses all point to the fact that Jesus thru the power of the Holy
Spirit is the source of a life of Godliness and holy living. Jesus said in John
6:63 The Spirit give life but the flesh (self life) profits nothing. Our attempt
as Christians to live a godly life in our own strength doesn't work!
B. After becoming a child of God (justification = declared not guilty by God because of Jesus death on the cross for our sins and resurrection from the dead). We are then set apart for a life of holiness (process of sanctification which is learning to live the abundant life) 1Corinthians 1:30 implies our sanctification and righteousness is complete. This is because Jesus lives in us and we are one with Jesus.(1 Corinthians 6:17) Yet, there is a life long process as we learn to better appropriate the resurrection life of Jesus to more consistently overcome our natural bent toward evil called our flesh (self life)
C.. Colossians 2:6 tells us as we received Jesus so walk in Him. Since we received Him with child like faith so live your life in the same way now that we are His children. Jesus reminds us in Luke 18:2-4 to enter the kingdom of God as a child and the greatest in the kingdom are like children. Jesus is reminding us that a life of child like trust is foundational and fundamental no matter how long we have been a Christian.
D. Jesus at the height of His maturity and ministry lived in total dependence on the Father. He allowed His Father to work thru Him John 14:10, John 5:30, John 5:17 In 1 Corinthians 15:10 the apostle Paul shared how he lived in dependence on the grace of God to work with and thru him. Jesus and the apostle Paul modeled the way we are to live dependent on God's grace to carry out God's will. .
E. In 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 the Apostle Paul shares the reason for his overwhelming trials is so that he might not trust in himself but in God who would deliver him. Our overwhelming trials can be the catalyst to trust Jesus as our life source. In Philippians 1:21 Paul states to me to live is Christ... reflecting his desire to practice living in total dependence in Jesus as his life source.
Part 3 - WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST
As God’s children it is critical that we have a clear understanding who we are in Christ. A human family can help us understand our relationship with the perfect God family – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. If you are a parent and have children then the following may give you insight regarding God’s attitude toward you as His child. When your child was born he/she became part of your family. A good parent will always love their children regardless of their behavior and their child will always be their child since they were born into the family. Yet a good parent will not always be pleased with the child’s behavior. If the child is disobedient a good parent will discipline the child to correct them and withhold blessings if necessary to correct the child and train them to take the correct path. The good parent is eager to bless the child and wants to do what is best for their children. Sometimes if a child is extremely rebellious the parent may let the child experience the consequences of their own rebellion to bring them to their senses. Yet no matter what, the good parent recognizes that regardless of that child’s behavior by birth they are in the family. Well hopefully we get the picture, when you are born again you become part of the God family never to be forsaken! How much greater is God’s love for us than our human love for our children!
Bible verses to think about:
A. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us as a Christian we are a new creation. We have a complete change in our identity in God's eyes. Romans 8:14-15 We are God's children calling to Him as Abba Father which means daddy. Paul refers to Christians as saints in Ephesians 1:1 We are changed from sinners to saints who still have the ability to sin. . In 1 Corinthians 6:19 Paul tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Colossians 1:27 tells us Jesus lives in us! Ephesians 1:3-4 tells us we have all spiritual blessings in Christ!!
B. God’s goal for us is to learn to trust Him. The Christian journey is a life of faith. Rom 16:26 refers to the obedience of faith. Romans 1:17 tells us that the righteous (Christians) live from faith to faith. We become a Christian by faith and we are to live our lives by faith. Acts 26:18 indicates we are sanctified by faith. Hebrews 11:6 says it is impossible to please God without faith. The Christian life is sometimes referred in the bible as "the faith" for a good reason.
C. We are to practice trusting Jesus with child like faith. In Matthew 18:3-4 Jesus reminds us that child like faith is a key aspect of the Christian life.
D. As a good parent, God disciplines His children. Hebrews 12: 5-13 Psalm 89:30-33 implies that God discipline us if we don't listen to Him but will never break off His loving-kindness and faithfulness to us.
E. As parents part of
discipline has nothing to do with punishment but with training. We train them to make them
responsible members of the family. This training can be painful at times. As
God’s children, we learn the obedience of faith through suffering. God trains
us through trials and difficulty to develop character and prepare us to enter
into the family work. Read Hebrews 5:7-9. God often takes his children
through a dark night when it appears He is destroying us only to discover that
He is leading us to discover Him as our life source for all aspects of our
lives.
Part 4 - WHAT GOD CALLS US TO BE
As a child of God we are called to be holy for I AM holy in all our behavior says the Lord.(1 Peter 1:15) The church means called out ones. As we learned we are justified and sanctified to live in a Godly, loving manner as God’s children. We are called to be Christ like—to exhibit the love of Christ toward one another and exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Our Christian life is a relationship and a process toward maturity. We have been created to participate in allowing God to bear His fruit through us. We are to practice allowing Jesus Christ to use us to participate in good works in building up His body--- to encourage our fellow Christians in their growth and help non believers to know Jesus. These good works can be many and varied according to God’s customized plan for us. Each of us has unique abilities, talents, resources, temperaments, spiritual gifts, desires, passions etc. Our levels of spiritual maturity, knowledge, backgrounds, life circumstances, and available time are all different. Only by trusting in God’s leading can we discover God’s plan that weaves our complex daily life to develop Christ like character and do good. Good works done in God’s love let us participate in building the body of Christ. In the midst of life’s difficulties God’s character is forged in us by practicing a life of trust.. The good works God may lead us to do may be unnoticed by man but precious in God’s sight. A kind word, a note of encouragement, generous giving, a meal, caring for the needy and sick, physical labor, prayer, etc. all directed and done in God’s love to build up fellow believers and help win the lost to Christ.
Bible verses to think about
A. Read Ephesians 2:10, (Greek word for "workmanship" can mean "work of art"). God has a unique plan for your life to bear His fruit. He has created good works for us in advance for us to do. . Romans 8:14 tells us those led by the Holy Spirit are acting as mature children of God. We need to pray that God would lead us into those good works He has created for us to do
B. From Part 1 we discovered that the fruit of Holy Spirit is a reflection of God’s character that results in doing good. Ephesians 5:8-9.tells us the fruit of the Lord is all goodness, righteousness and truth. John 15:7,8,16 implies loving character and loving deeds, Colossians 1:9,10, doing good by God's power Hebrews 13:15, fruit can be praising God Proverbs 12:14 wholesome words from our mouth , 2Corinthians 9:9-10 giving with proper motives John 4:34-38 saving souls. These are some biblical example of fruit bearing.
C. John 15:5 describes Jesus as the vine and we are the branches. Jesus tells us that apart from Him we can do nothing to produce the fruitful life He desires. Only by abiding which implies continuing to trust and rest in the Jesus as the vine can we as branches bear fruit.
D. 1 Corinthians 13 :1-8 is often called the love chapter of the bible. This passage is describing agape love which is God's love. Without love our good deeds profit nothing. God is telling us that our good works need to be guided and motivated by the power of God working thru us. In John 6: 28-29 Jesus tells us that we need to believe Jesus to lead and direct us to produce good works pleasing to God. God is interested in a Godly life of doing good but done in a new way Jesus living thru us. .