Thursday, October 12, 2017

Lesson 275 The New Creation

     2Corinthians 5:17-18 (Amplified) tells us, "Therefore, if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed. Behold, the fresh and new has come.  But all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ has reconciled us to Himself (received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself) and gave to us the ministry of reconciliation (that by word and deed we might aim to bring others into harmony with Him)."
     Jesus said that, "The Kingdom of God has come close to you today," in Luke 10:8-9,19 (Amplified) which says, "Whenever you go into a town and they receive you and accept you, and welcome you, eat what is set before you And heal the sick in it and says to them, the Kingdom of God has come close to you."
     Today, the Kingdom of God has more than "come close to us," it has come INTO us, by this new creation experience.  We don't only have this Kingdom within us, but we're ambassadors from this Kingdom, in order to reveal it to the nations.  Jesus continues in Verse 19 telling His followers (who  weren't yet born-again people, but they did operate in the Authority of One Who was not under the usurped authority of the god of this world) saying, "Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and (physical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy (possesses) and nothing shall in any way harm you."
    This was delegated authority from One Who operated above the natural realm of fallen man.  Jesus delegated His authority to them, and it brought everything back into the first realm which the Curse had brought into this world system.  This brought back the power of the Blessing, because Jesus wasn't contaminated with the fall or sin.  Things now were beginning to come back into place on earth, at least in the place where a Man Who was above the Curse was walking.  Jesus didn't cast out devils throughout the earth, but only in the place where He walked on earth.  We cannot control everything that happens on this planet, but we can control what happens in the part and portions that belong to us.
     If the Church begins to understand and walk in our delegated authority, then can you imagine how much of this earth will change, because we occupy much of the earth.  Many of the storms that have been brought against us could have been calmed, if we had stood together as a collective Body, in dominion and authority.  We've been taught to accept these storms as "just the way things are," but Jesus didn't accept this.  Many have taught that "God sent these things to teach us a lesson," because of our sin.  God sent Jesus because of sin, not a storm.  If He was going to send a storm to judge sin, then it would be as "In the days of Noah."
     As individual Christians, we should take the responsibility upon ourselves to seek God, in a way that we've never done before.  Don't depend on your pastor to do the seeking for you, but do it yourself.  If we were so slack in doing things in the natural as we've been in seeking God's Word, then most of us wouldn't be able to read, write, talk or even walk today.  Everything we've learned to do, required diligence and patience to accomplish.  When it comes to God's Word, though, we might try it once and when it doesn't work like we think it should, we quit.  God is not slack in His Promises, but we've been slack in training ourselves in faith and patience.
     Jesus healed people, because He knew that "God's will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven," meant God wanted them to walk in health and healing on this earth.  This wasn't an afterthought on God's part.  God never intended for us to be sick and miserable, when He formed man in the beginning.  God had created a family for Himself and He never intended for that family to live on welfare, but in His Blessing.
     We've limited God's ability to do anything and have believed these are for "after we die and go to Heaven."  It's true that when we arrive at our destination with Him, we will all be whole and well, but He isn't limited to do these things after we die.  It's not God Who limits us, but it's we who limit Him.  God not only can do everything He ever did before, but He wants to do all these things He did before, for us.  We have limited the Holy One of Israel.  Hebrews 4:1 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, while the Promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered today, let us be afraid (to distrust it) lest any of you should think he has come too late and has come short of reaching it."
     No matter what God did for the Israelites in the Wilderness, they still wouldn't trust Him for the next that arose.  They were always distrusting and unbelieving, even when they witnessed the miracles God did for them, they doubted He could do the next miracle.  We've heard how "God tested the people in the Wilderness," but in Hebrews 3:4 (Amplified) God says, "It was the people who tested Him."  This has been another excuse for not believing God and His Word.  If God said He would do it, then He will.
     Our faith in the Super-natural God of all creation, has been limited to only "after we die and leave this earth."  If God can't do anything with us while we're alive, then why would we think He can do anything with us after we are dead?  If He ever was God, then He still is God, because "He changes not and is not a man that He should lie."  Don't cease in your quest for God in your life and don't simply get caught up in the status quo with Him.
     God is still looking for someone to be in a position to believe in Him and change this earth through Him.  God waited for someone who would believe what He said, while the people were in the Wilderness forty years.  Joshua and Caleb were the ones who believed what God said.  Did you ever notice that only those who would believe Him, are the ones we read about in God's Word"  God has a Hall of Fame list, counting those who believed Him and carried out His plans for mankind.  This list is found in Hebrews 11:39-40 (Amplified) which says, "And all of these, though they won Divine approval by means of their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised Because God had us in mine and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they (these heroes and heroines of faith) should not come to perfection apart from us (before we could join them)."
     God is still searching for people who will dare to believe Him and move into a place of faith, that will change the hearts of the unbelievers.  He's searching for those who will not only "talk about Him," but will "reveal Him" to the world.  This isn't a passed away Gospel, but is still the Good News of the Kingdom with the demonstration of the power of God to mankind.  As new creation people, we can do like Jesus did, having "the Father in Me that does the work."
    

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