THE REAL THING

THE REAL THING

                Today Bonnie and I head south to Eugene/Springfield area to sing for the funeral of a friend who has gone to meet his Maker. As friends and loved ones pass away it gives us pause as we stare into the unknown. What lies beyond the grave and are we ready to face it.

                Still, it is not a fear of death that grips me these days. I have spent a lifetime studying the mysteries of God and of creation. Even in the darkest hours of my life I studied Him from afar… and certainly there are enough mysteries in the universe to keep our minds blown for eternity.

                But as time goes on I find myself turning from the things of God to God Himself. I want to know Him. I want to experience the kind of relationship with Him that Bible writers talk about. It is not enough to know about Him… I want to know Him. I want to know His voice. I want to know what it means that He actually dwells in me. And if God dwells in us should we not know it and experience it.

                Jesus was given authority and not just any authority. He was given ALL authority for He said in Mt. 28:18:

                “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples…” There is a direct tie between His great authority in heaven and on earth and our authority to make disciples. Jesus made disciples and now He has given us authority to make disciples as well. It is easy to worship Yeshua as our King of kings and Lord of lords, but not so easy to understand how His authority has been placed in us.

                Well, first of all we need to realize that His authority dwells in us because He dwells in us. In other words, He hasn’t given me authority to go out and use His authority according to my flesh, or according to my carnal mind. “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves… we are always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.” 2 Cor. 4:7, 10.

                “And for this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.” Col. 1:29 We are made complete in Him. Col. 1:28

                Paul called it a mystery among the Gentiles which is Christ in you the hope of glory.” Col 1:27. So why was it a mystery among the Gentile Christians and not among the Jewish Christians? Well, the Jewish Christians had a legacy in the Tabernacle of Moses and the temple. They knew that the glory and presence of God dwelt in the Most Holy Place of the temple. It was easier for them to understand the nature of man as body, soul and spirit and that at our New Birth the Spirit of God came to dwell in our spirit. Our spirit is represented by the Most Holy Place in the temple.

                Well, we can look at these things theologically and bat these ideas around forever without ever experiencing them as real, but we need to embrace these things as being our reality.. After all, the indwelling Spirit of Christ in us is the real thing. We are Christians not because we have embraced a theory about Christ, but because we have actually invited Him in to dwell in us and to become one with our spirit.

                So why is it that we keep trying to pray to a God way up there in heaven somewhere when in fact He is right here inside of us? Yes, Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “Our Father who art in heaven, but heaven is non local. That is to say that heaven is not far off across the galaxy somewhere. We need to better comprehend the fact that God is omnipresent. He is just as present here in our hearts as He is present in any other point of the universe. He is bigger than the universe. He dwells outside of time and space… and being infinite, He can walk and talk and fellowship with each one of us as if we were the only one He created. “We don’t need to bring Christ down. He is near us, even in our mouths as we speak.”  Rom. 10:6-11

                That being the case then, why do we keep feeling like our prayers don’t get through the ceiling sometimes? They don’t need to get through the ceiling. He is near us even in our mouths as we speak.

                Friends, we need to begin to tune into His actual bonding with our spirit. He is in our thoughts. We have the mind of Christ. 1`Cor. 2:16. We need to grasp these things and learn to walk in them.

                Paul said in 1 Cor. 2:12: “Now we have received not the spirit of the world but the spirit who is from God that we might know the things freely given to us by God which things we also speak not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.

                Now we don’t have too much trouble identifying the spirit of this world. He is the one telling you to go to the mall and buy that new pair of shoes. He is the one telling you to look and act and dress in a certain way to be accepted by the crowd. He is always telling you to conform to the world and its ways. He is always telling you to please your flesh… to give in to that which is sensual, self-pleasing. Oh yes, we know him well. But there is another voice inside of you as well and He says:

                “Come to Me all who are weary and heaven-laden and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My load is light.”

                Paul tells us in 1 Cop. 3:16, 17: “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are.”

                Now growing up we were always taught that this was the reason for not smoking and drinking and taking drugs. And certainly that applies, but we never actually discussed what it means that we are His temples and that we are holy. We always tend to place these messages outside of ourselves. So we go to church and we walk softly and we sing, “The Lord is in His Holy Temple” when in reality that is an Old Testament view. They rejected God in their hearts at Sinai, and so He had them make a Sanctuary so that He could dwell among them. But even in the sanctuary He taught us exactly what He planned to do through Jesus Christ. And HE promised them a New Covenant in Jeremiah 33:31-34.

                Someday He was going to abandon the temple made of brick and mortar and He was going to take up His abode in our hearts. Man is a triune being made up of body, soul and spirit. But when Christ enters into us and we are born again the order is reversed, or at least it is supposed to be reversed.          When Christ, who has all authority in heaven and on earth comes to dwell in us, the order is changed from body, soul and spirit, to Spirit, soul and body. We begin to operate out of our spirit again rather than out of our carnal mind and body. We become Spirit controlled beings. We move from being intellectual Christians to being Spirit filled Christians. We have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live, yet not us, but Christ lives in us and the life that we now live in the flesh we live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave His life for us. Galatians 2:20.

                So, given the definitions of the Real Thing, how much of the church population is really Christian? How many actually operate out of their spirit? How many hear the voice of God? How many are pressing into the Most Holy Place to sit at His feet and to operate out of that place of His presence?

                I believe that we are at a point in history in which the Remnant people of God are literally being formed. The Remnant people are not a church or a denomination, for indeed churches and denominations are filled with people who are not Christians at all, by the Bible’s definition. They have just added a little Christianity to their carnal lives in order to feel good. But in every church and denomination there is a Remnant that is pressing in to know God… to know Him personally and to be known. They want to live by His Spirit and not by the flesh.

                Galatians 5:24, 25 says: “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit let us also walk by the Spirit.”

                This way may sound negative to some, but in truth it is like cutting off a thousand pounds of dead weight. Serving self is pitiful and living apart from Christ is a sorrowful dead end. I have never been as happy as when Jesus kicked the devil out and came in to be my new life.

                Ephesians 1:13, 14 says: In Him you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation- having also believed,  you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance…”

                By grace we have been raised up with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Eph. 2:6 “And (we are warned) do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Eph. 4:30. Are you sealed by the Holy Spirit?

                You need to study the books of Galatians, Ephesians and Philippians. These three are a treasure trove of priceless promises. Accept them for yourself. Place yourself in every scene. Embrace what God is saying about you. Until you have made these things a part of your own identity, you can’t do much to help others. We must operate out of a place of assurance and authority. Our influence is no longer just us… it is the Spirit of Christ in us and surrounding us… it is rivers of living water flowing out of our innermost being that blesses others.

                This is why Jude told us saying: “But you beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God…” Jude 20, 21a

                Everything we have talked about here is done by God as we allow His Spirit to empower our lives. “For by Grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. Not as a result of works that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Eph. 2:8-10

                “Be still (cease striving) and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalms 46:10

                Learn to rest in Christ. He is at work in you fulfilling His purposes, in and through your life. Learn to live each day by divine appointment and you will fulfill your destiny on this earth. It is indeed time for the real thing.