Copyright Š 2016 Nathaniel D. Frye and Paul R. Foster All rights reserved under the international copyright law. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express, written permission of the authors or the publisher. The exception is reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review. Christian Living Books, Inc. P. O. Box 7584 Largo, MD 20792 christianlivingbooks.com We bring your dreams to fruition. ISBN Paperback 9781562293017 ISBN eBook 9781562293024 Unless otherwise marked, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scripture quotations marked CEV are taken from The Contemporary English Version (CEV): Copyright Š 1995 by the American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. ______________________________________________________________________________ Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Frye, Nathaniel D., 1975- author. Title: Competing realities : walking in the full measure of a Son of God / Nathaniel D. Frye & Paul R. Foster. Description: Largo, MD : Christian Living Books, Inc., 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2016046834 (print) | LCCN 2016052410 (ebook) | ISBN 9781562293017 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781562293024 (eBook) Subjects: LCSH: Christian life. Classification: LCC BV4501.3 .F78 2017 (print) | LCC BV4501.3 (ebook) | DDC 248.4--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016046834
ten Con
ts
Dedication
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Contents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Foreword
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Introduction
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Section 1
The Identity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Chapter 1.
Identity is Everything. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2.
The Sons of God. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Chapter 3.
Christ Incarnate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Chapter 4.
Becoming the Word You Read . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 5.
First Person Importance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Section 2
The Mission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 6.
Rediscovering the Mission. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Chapter 7.
The Kingdom is Here and Now. . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Chapter 8.
Destroy the Works of the Devil. . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Chapter 9.
You Do It!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Chapter 10. Why God Does Not Heal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Section 3
The Equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Chapter 11. We Have Everything we Need . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Chapter 12. Revelation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 v
Competing Realities
Chapter 13. Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Chapter 14. Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Section 4
Repository of Revelation. . . . . . . . . . . 109
Chapter 15. The Power of Revelation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Chapter 16. Lies and Truth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Chapter 17. Competing Realities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Chapter 18. The Sin that Many Christians Practice. . . . . . . 127 Chapter 19. The Finished Healing of Christ. . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 Chapter 20. Ready for Anything . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Chapter 21. Compelled by Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Chapter 22. The Imagination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Chapter 23. Healing without Conscience. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Chapter 24. Be the Answer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 Section 5
The Ultimatum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Chapter 25. Are You Fed Up?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Chapter 26. If You Really Believed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Chapter 27. Go! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171
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Competing Realities seeks to bring us to “the root that determines the nature of a man’s life – the heart.” Competing Realities is written that every person be empowered through the new birth to “conquer the contradiction we face in this world” and close the “gap” between present experience and the reality set forth in the empowered life revealed in Christ and manifest in the flesh. Nathaniel Frye and Paul Foster contrast the reality of the kingdom of God and “the prison of mere existence.” True reality, they say, is framed by the boundless Word of God. It is not an artificial reality framed by human senses alone. And it all begins with identity. Competing Realities encourages us to “rediscover” Christ’s commission and to demonstrate the power of heaven, an existent alter-dimension, now. While seemingly living in a condition of “paradise lost” the departure of man from God lost more than the beauty of Eden: we lost our identity. In everyday ways in our everyday lives, we can recover true identity as we realize our journey in this life is training for our ultimate destiny – to rule and reign with God through time without end. Drawing from personal and professional experience, the authors challenge us to identify our “sacred calves of religion”, varied long-standing beliefs, customs, and traditions. Though sacred and sentimental, they are unjustly made authoritative as scripture, which defy the image of God we are purposed to transmit to our world. vii
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Jesus who knew who He was, lived outside the “prison” of mere natural experience as He went about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed.” While religion may inform us of certain truths, they say, it’s like a caterpillar fumbling along the ground in contrast to the creature of flight contained in its living DNA. The authors note, “you will never see a butterfly hanging around on the ground with caterpillars.” A metamorphosis must take place – a change brought about through a process of recreation. Competing Realities draws us toward living in the awareness that whatever we need is within. Furthermore, as we meet the conditions for receiving what has been granted to us, things will begin to manifest as God has ordained. In the new creation Christ provides we gather our bearings and consult with God, keeping in mind that when things are not happening, things are yet happening! We do not need more faith. We need to develop the faith we’ve been given and forgetting “those things which are behind” to “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:13-14). Bonnie Chavda Co-Pastor All Nations Church Fort Mill, SC
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rom our beginnings in Eden, we have been juxtaposed between two competing realities. One has the preeminence and frames the other. The other continually competes for our attention and deference. The higher and ultimate reality is the Word of God while the lesser is the world perceived by the limited, natural man. Our struggle occurs when the “world of the senses” contradicts the “world of the Word.” How are we to respond when we these two worlds clash? Fight the good fight of the faith. (1 Timothy 6:12a)
Competing Realities was written to empower us to be “in the world,” but not “of the world.” Not only must we “be” sons of God, but we must walk in the full measure of our potential to live above the World as Christ modeled. It is living above this world while in it that advances the Kingdom of God on the earth. Over the years, we have subjected ourselves to the limitations of men rather than the expectations of Christ. A pure faith walk without an intellectual ability to fathom faith’s mode of operation, whereabouts, or time schedule is what has been expected by Jesus Christ. Our faith is only to be defined by the creator thereof, which is why we will look at what it means to walk in the full measure as sons of God. It requires the faith of God to walk as sons of God and conquer the contradiction we face in this world. If while in this world we live by the means of this world, we render the power of the new birth useless.
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The victory that overcomes the world system and overcomes the natural man’s primal instinct to live by sight is faith. The foundation of our faith is God and His Word which are one. In reading the sacred scriptures we are immediately confronted with a “gap.” The gap is the distance between our present experience and the model exhibited by our Master, Jesus. Many have generated creative discourse to explain why the gap must remain, but there is a company of believers who are not content with powerless, commonplace Christianity. When Christ’s disciples enquired as to how He did the works, He always pointed to total trust in God – faith. The victory in this intense battle is faith in the Word – the ultimate reality. We are persuaded that Jesus is the absolute truth which is why our resolve when writing this book was not to settle for anything less than divine truth. This book has been sculpted to destroy all doubt and to empower believers to walk as Christ. •
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Chapter
1
A
n old Chinese proverb states, “We sow a thought and reap an act; we sow an act and reap a habit; we sow a habit and reap a character; we sow a character and reap a destiny.” The thoughts are at the foundation of our destinies; accordingly, our present results are a direct reflection of our present thinking. If we are to transform our destiny, our thinking must be shifted. The question is, “Why do we think the thoughts that we think?” The answer is… because of the identity we choose. Our thinking is symptomatic of our identity. Our identity generates the grid or paradigm through which we perceive ourselves and the world around us and causes us to think the way we do. Our present thinking is a direct indicator of our self-identity. The identity we choose is critical and is the foundation that leads to our destiny. The full measure of our potential can only be realized where there is a full measure of the revelation of our identity. If I wanted to impact the destiny of a people for good or for bad, I would influence their identity. If I could convince an individual that they are a leader, they would begin to think like a leader. If a family is convinced that they are a lower caste, they will think accordingly; and if a nation embraces that it is third world, the populous will think corresponding thoughts. This principle can be applied to the individual, the family, the community, the nation, and society. It is no wonder that the ultimate test that Satan leveraged against Jesus Christ was a challenge to His identity. If Christ were to compromise His identity, He could never achieve His destiny – the 3
Competing Realities
ultimate destiny that brought about the ultimate transformation to our world. The ultimate test from the powers of darkness is the same today as it was for Christ; will we compromise our identity or will we fully embrace who we are? Satan robs our identity and renders us powerless by disseminating lies and enticing us to believe and receive them. Christ destroys The full measure of our potential can this work of Satan by proclaiming the truth only be realized and compelling us by His Spirit to believe where there is a and receive the truth. Satan knows his idenfull measure of the tity and Christ certainly knows His identity. revelation of our It is man that does not know his identity, identity. and this is where the battle rages. From where did Christ get His identity and from where do we get ours? Our true identity is a matter of reality. It comes from God and is made known to us by His Word. In Eden, the truth/reality was that Adam came from God and was His son. This truth was revealed to Adam by the Word of God. Adam had no way of knowing who he was (identity) except by revelation from God by His Word. Adam heard the Word of God, believed and received the Word and thus experienced the reality (truth) of the Word. There was the truth (Adam was God’s son); there was the Word that is witness to the truth (the message told to Adam); there was a choice to believe the Word (faith/trust), and there was the fruit of the choice (what Adam experienced). From our beginning in Eden, we lived by faith in the Word of God and it is faith in the Word of God that births our identity. In His incarnation, Christ received the Word from the Father through the written Word, direct revelation from God, and revelation from others (Mary, Joseph, Simeon, Anna, John the baptizer) which was a witness to the absolute truth: Christ was the Son of God. Jesus 4
Chapter 1 Identity is Everything
believed and received this truth regarding His identity and it was confirmed to many at His baptism by the prophet, John. Ever since the tragic deception and rebellion in Eden, mankind has since been living in a condition of “paradise lost.” Not only did we lose the beauty of Eden, but more critically, we lost our identity. Jesus Christ is the ransom from God given to restore and redeem that which was lost. The mission of Christ was not a spontaneous reaction to an unanticipated action but was an eternal reality finished before the creation ever was. The glorious destiny of Adam (mankind) has always been even before the beginning began to begin. It is the journey of this life that serves as the training for our ultimate destiny – to rule and reign with God. Christ taught and emphasized who we are and who He is. The foundation of our faith is the revelation of who Christ is. The revelation of Christ’s identity generates a spontaneous transformation in our own identity – a new birth. The new birth is the initial door to knowing Christ and knowing who we are. God reveals Christ to us not only so we can know God, but also that our own identity can be restored. The two are inextricably interwoven. A deeper knowledge of Christ is a deeper knowledge of our own identity and a deeper knowledge of our identity is a deeper knowledge of Christ. We may modify the Chinese proverb, “God sows the truth, we reap an identity, we sow an identity, we reap a way of thinking, we sow a way of thinking, and we are ultimately transformed.” And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2a)
What is the ultimate revelation that generates the ultimate identity? It is the revelation of Jesus Christ and who we are in Him and who He is in us. It is this ultimate identity that unlocks the ultimate destiny – inheritance of the Kingdom of God. 5
Competing Realities
Suffering from Familiarity Familiarity with people we know can be the precursor to a lack of production and ineffectiveness. What do I mean by this? When we observe Christ we learn that His effectiveness was hindered “receptively” by those who knew Him best. The word familiarity is derived from what is familiar. Unlike our westernized understanding of the word, biblically its meaning often carried negative connotations. Some of these were… a source of defilement, sorcerers, mediums, witches. Oftentimes it may be those who are closest to you who will not recognize the changes within your life or the identity of Christ that you have assumed. Their familiarity and willingness to treat you in a certain way may yield a kind of identity defilement even if it is unintentional. An example of this is seen when Lazarus’ sister said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lazarus would not have died.” Though in this case, his sister ended up with what she wanted, it wasn’t without the teaching of Christ’s identity to override the absence of her revelation. Jesus reminded her of who He was when He said, “I am the resurrection” and this was hard for her to grasp. It was unintentional defilement through familiarity. Throughout the Bible, from the Old Testament patriarchs Moses, Joseph, and David until the New Testament people of faith, we see this epidemic: the refusal to accept a person’s change due to familiarity. The effectiveness of Christ in the lives of people was mainly realized by those who were not the closest to Him. On the contrary, the familiar ones were those who believed they knew who He was but were unacquainted with His true identity. This is one of several reasons why Christ asked this life-changing question to His disciples: “Whom do you say that I am.” Up until that time they may have called Him Lord, Master or Rabbi, but the response He was looking for is the one Peter gave: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus was His name, but Christ the Son of God was His identity. For various reasons, we often see Christ telling people, 6
Chapter 1 Identity is Everything
“Tell no man who I am.” He came bringing the gospel unto His own and many were acquainted with “Jesus” but none recognized Him as the Christ, the Son of God because of familiarity. There is a difference between what you call a person and who they are to you. If I say, “Hey this is my co-worker, “Bear”; what I call him is subsequent to the place in which I recognize him in my life. In this case, it would be “my co-worker.” This is the place in which I regard him in my life. It is not determined by Bear; it is determined by me. Although he may want to be more or less than my co-worker, if I do not perceive him differently, then he cannot be more or less. He could potentially have a greater value in him to be a friend or brother. But that value can only be experienced by what I choose to see in Bear. What you see me as categorically will determine what you can extract from me. Christ was probing to see how His disciples spoke concerning His identity when He wasn’t present. In other words, “Who are you telling people that you are following?” If you notice, when He asked them, “Whom do men say that I am?” they had several answers. But it was when He asked them whom they were telling others that He was that Peter received a revelatory answer from God as to Christ’s identity. This permitted him to extract more from Christ.
A New You I believe that one of the most overlooked scriptures in the Bible pertaining to our identity is 2 Cor. 5:16. I have often read and heard quoted the scripture which proceeds after it, verse 17. But never had I heard verse number 16 explained until some years ago when the Holy Spirit revealed it to me while studying. Being a new creature in Christ can only be truly “realized” when an individual “knows themselves no more.” This realization is a manifestation that is known and an awareness that is apparent and/or actualized. In the Greek it is the word “ginosko” which means “divinely revealed.” 7
Competing Realities
When this is so, your actions will aid and support this new paradigm and awareness of yourself. Paul states that there was a point in time where they may have known Christ according to the flesh. Yes, we knew His family. Yes, we knew His trade as a carpenter. Yes, we knew He was studious and a learned individual. But Paul says from now on we will not even consider we knew Him if it refers to the flesh. What I like about this text is that it expresses the order in which I am to think. From now on we are a new species not associating ourselves with the “beings” we once were. This is not only to eradicate the mind from condemnation but to ascend unto a greater place within our identity in operating in the power of God. You will never see a butterfly hanging around on the ground with caterpillars. Although it may not deny what its existence once was, a From now on we metamorphosis has occurred that has tran- are a new species sitioned its lifestyle. This is likewise the case not associating for you. Our emergence into His identity is ourselves with the a metamorphosis, translating us into the very “beings” we once Kingdom of God (Col. 1:13). The translation were. into His Kingdom is not just to say, “Going in to” His Kingdom as in to enter; but “into” as to “become” the Kingdom of God. Both dynamics are applicable to our divine experience. We enter and we become the Kingdom of God. Christ said in Luke 17:21 that the Kingdom of God is within you. Anything in your spirit is part of you. Your spirit is you! This had absolutely nothing to do with our flesh receiving any witness to the transformation. But as Christ is, so are you now! What makes this Kingdom transformation attainable is simply that the Word says we attain it. In 1 John 2:6 it states, “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk, even as he walked.” I have had to tell myself that this is not a “suggestion.” The Word is not saying that I have the option of walking like Christ. The Word also says that they which live should no 8
Chapter 1 Identity is Everything
longer live unto themselves, but unto the one who died for them and rose again. Again, no options! That word “ought” in another translation says “must”, which gives me no room for consideration. If I were to say that the whole room that you were presently in was engulfed in fire and that you needed to vacate immediately, there would be zero discussion about exiting. This must be our adopted and adamant approach when considering this commandment to assume our identity. It must be implemented with zero discussion from anyone, including ourselves.
Forget About It There is no longer a need to recall the person we once were when the value of our new identity is arrayed in priceless glory. We have wings now! Furthermore, what is beautiful about this text is that it says, “Know we no man” after the flesh. We are not to even regard ourselves after the flesh. This is without question the most important individual to forget. My friend, forget “you!” We have the ability to restrict ourselves by recalling yesterday’s identity. In our recollections of yesterday, we deprive the new creature the right to emerge from its cocoon and settle into the new birth’s identity. The Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting those things which are behind, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13a-14) Is there a greater prize to assume than the identity and nature of Christ? This is not to dispute us having the nature of God presently. But while we have the nature of God, we are encouraged to mortify the deeds of the body and to put on the mind of Christ. It is a daily dying to self and a daily diet of the Word of life that maintains the wings of one’s transformation. To regress would be to clip our own wings and condescend to the state of the caterpillar again. This would be equivalent to assuming our old nature. •
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9
The
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Man possesses the ability to procreate. We have children whom in many ways and in varying degrees look like us, act like us, think like us, and ultimately “are” like us. It is always fascinating whenever I watch my kids and see my characteristics in them. From a biological perspective, our DNA is transferred to our children during the procreative process. DNA is a microscopic component within our anatomy that carries the detailed instructions in an enormously complex code that generates all of our biological characteristics. In general terms, our image and likeness is transmitted to our offspring via DNA in the procreative process. And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth. (Genesis 5:3)
The question is, if we have the power of procreation, meaning we give birth to offspring rather than create offspring, does God also possess that ability? Or did God create us through Adam the way we “create” automobiles, computer systems, and other things? Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God. (Acts 17:29a)
Do we have deep and meaningful relationships with things that we “create?” Neither does God! We are not merely beings that God created. Instead, we are “procreated” or birthed by God. We are the offspring of God!
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Competing Realities
But what about the creation account in Genesis? And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. (Genesis 1:26a)
While Genesis chapter one gives us a general account of where we came from, chapter two zooms in and provides more detail from which we can see that Adam’s immortal body was formed from the substance of the earth. The body that God formed from the earth substance (although a masterpiece crafted in divine wisdom) initially had no life. It is only when the LORD breathed into his nostrils the breath of life that man became a living soul. The body that God formed from the earth was not Adam. Adam came into being when God breathed into the body He formed. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (Genesis 2:7)
Certainly, God does not breathe in the manner in which we understand breathing as He is self-existent and does not breathe in order to live. This is not referring to an oxygen/nitrogen mixture that we call air which we continually breathe in order to live. Instead, this was an impartation of the substance of God into the body He formed. This impartation was a procreation/birthing through which God’s very own substance was transmitted into Adam. This Spirit-to-spirit birth cuts far deeper than the biological flesh-to-flesh birth that we are familiar with. The breath of God is the very wisdom, ingenuity, and intellect of God deposited into Adam. God’s breath into Adam enabled him to make informed decisions about creation. Without having taken Creation 101, Adam begins to appropriately deal with all matters of life just as His Father, God. It was not learned or taught to Adam but was inherited through God’s inbreathed Spirit. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: Which were born, 12
Chapter 2 The Sons of God not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13)
As Jesus told Nicodemus, flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit. Although mankind has the power of procreation, it is merely the vehicle employed for our incarnation. Man’s spirit is yet imparted by God at the moment of conception. If our biological offspring are like us biologically, how much more are God’s Spiritual offspring like Him spiritually which is the deepest essence of who we are? As the gospel of Luke’s genealogy affirms, Adam was “the son of God.” …which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. (Luke 3:38b)
Adam had God’s DNA and looked like God, acted like God, thought like God, and “was” like God because he was God’s offspring. Just ask yourself, “Where did I come from?” When I did the research and realized that I did not come from “momma and daddy” but was literally from God, my self-perception, my attitude, my confidence, my speech, my outlook, and every component of my life underwent a major shift. When the weight of this revelation hits you, it will radically shift the grid of your thinking and revolutionize your life and destiny.
Nature of Sons of God Naturally speaking, sons are like their father. Simply stated, as sons of God, our anatomy is like our Father, God. God is spirit; we are spirit. God is holy; we are holy. God is righteous; we are righteous. God is a creator; we are creators. Man is an invisible spirit from God who has been incarnated in a material body strategically positioned on earth to subdue it and colonize it. This means we bring it into subordination to the Kingdom of God where our Father is King. In Eden and through Adam, we were born holy, righteous, pure, creative, innovative, fun, brilliant, glorious, immortal, and powerful! How did Adam obtain this lofty status? The answer is simple; he was born 13
Competing Realities
into it just like your children were born into everything they have from you. God-likeness inclusive of holiness, righteousness, power, dominion, greatness, and glory was never something we were to earn; instead, it was God-likeness inclusive of holiness, always something we were born with. Workrighteousness, ing to please God, earn God, attain unto power, dominion, God or gain good standing with God was greatness, and never part of the equation of our lives; not glory was never in Eden and not today. Our growth and something we were development come when we intensify our to earn; instead, awareness of these realities and embody it was always them. something we were
Now Sons
born with.
As believers, when we see each other, we are beholding a vessel of Christ. A son of God speaks to the very person of Christ in the fullness of His Spirit being, being alive in you. When we choose not to believe that we see Christ incarnate or that we are seeing the extension of the literal body of Christ when we see another believer, we are choosing to be deceived. I pray that you may know you are immersed in His existence. John the Apostle understood that Christ multiplied Himself manifold times through and by us. We see this wonderful fact expressed in 1 John 3:1-2. This concept and thought are seldom realized within our minds, so sons may seem mediocre sounding to some believers. But it does not get any better than a son! It is the pinnacle of our relationship. When we arrive in the opulence of heaven and receive the rewards and eternal blessings God has prepared for us, nothing will eclipse the grace of being a son. The day you were born or if you have children; the day your child was born, they were 100% your child. They did not gradually become more of your child as they grew older. They were the complete fruit and product of who you are the moment they entered into this world. So it is with God; we will not become more a part of Him, 14
Chapter 2 The Sons of God
though we will one day put off this flesh and put on immortality. We get that position as sons now. It is also the enabler which qualifies us to do anything in His name here on earth. Without sonship now, we would be foreigners, imposters and, at best, acquaintances of the Godhead body. The suffix, “ship” denotes the state or condition of an object’s being and existence. Thus, sonship is the sole existence of an individual, characterized by the status of a son. Unfortunately, everything in this life wants to discourage the truth of the fact that we are sons. We wake up facing imposing issues that want to deny the truth of our sonship. It does not help that society does not view you in light of your sonship. There is no alarm that reminds you in the Our body competes morning that you woke up an heir of God. to be normal Even your very body’s lethargic unwilling- while our spirit ness to shake off the sleep creates a chal- continually lenge in our persuasion of sonship. Our body testifies, “You are competes to be normal while our spirit con- supernatural!” tinually testifies, “You are supernatural!” It is good for us to search and see the entirety that a son truly possesses in their abilities. We should do this if we expect to attain to full sonship. In so many words, it is possible for those who are connected to the vine not to partake of the fullness of the vine. Christ is the vine and we are the branches. But those who dry up and bare no fruit, the Father will have no pleasure in them (John 15:1-2). As we are aware of this truth, let us also walk in this truth. Our Father has rolled out many benefits that are readily available to those who will seize hold of them. But He requires His children to have faith and boldly hold fast to the promises. If we can understand the office and responsibility of the president of the United States and regard it as the highest executive position and voice, how much more shall we comprehend being sons of God? There 15
Competing Realities
is a certain degree of expectation that we hold to our president. He also understands that we hold him to the highest standard of those expectations, yet he seeks to live to the fulfillment our expectancy. God has made great declarations! They have been spoken from the eternal core of His divine being. These declarations by God, penned by many sons, speak to His immutability. Our Father exclaims that the Word of God will never fail. He fervently tells us to bank on what He says in spite of how many situations portray themselves. Over and over we are encouraged to take Him at His Word. He esteems His Word above His name (Psalms 138:2). Friend, our expectation from the Word of God must equal the guarantee of the speaker. We should not declare God is able and then harbor one molecule of “if He chooses” within us. As sons, we absolutely “look” to possess what He expressly states we should obtain when we pray. Even God understands talk is cheap and that we should prove His Word. We are encouraged to try every spirit to see whether it is of God. Certainly, God would not place such a mandate on other sons and not expect His sons today to prove His Word to be infallible. We do not dare suppose that He may be mistaken in any way of the truth by “declaring” we are sons verbally and “making” us sons here on earth. Never will we insult the integrity of His wisdom and ability by assuming mistakes are even capable with God. It was with the desirable intention that He made you a son now. As Christ, the author of our faith, displayed for us the model for total believing in that He spoke with total assurance, we should also speak with the same tenor and confidence. So let us prove that He delights in exercising loving-kindness to His sons by walking in the light of this truth. There is no rivalry in our position with Christ. We cannot usurp authority over Him; neither should we ever want to. But He generously shares His identity to all who will receive Him. This unselfishness to share His very identity is what identifies Him as a true Savior. 16
Chapter 2 The Sons of God
He strips me of my tainted identity and imperfection and lets me have His. Yes, His identity is now mine! Just look at the love and unselfishness displayed in these verses: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. (Hebrews 2:10-12) I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
Simple Acceptance When you pray in faith and God performs what you were believing Him for, you cannot explain the science of how the blessing or miracle was performed and made manifest. So if we cannot fathom how it happens when it happens, we are never to entertain “it” not happening. In other words, why would one consider the possibilities of how “it” could not happen, when there is no intellectual understanding of how “it” does happen? When believing God for anything I like to always ask myself if I am in agreement with God’s Word. Am I walking by faith in pure love? Have I forgiven others? Now when we know that the Word has already licensed us to speak, we simply have faith and speak. And when we are walking in forgiveness, we cannot afford to entertain any other voice. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? (Acts 19:15)
If we do not know who we are then the enemy will lie to us. He will and unfortunately does deceive believers from walking in the truth of their identity. If you were to ask most believers who they were they could tell you what the Word says about them. But sadly 17
Competing Realities
many of us do not respond to matters in life, as the identified person that we say we are in His Word. I have prayed with individuals who were believers and spoke with lips of confidence about what they knew God can do. But within seconds of concluding prayer, they spoke contrary to what the Word of God said or how we prayed. I do not even believe that several of these individuals intended to speak contrary, but inadvertently spoke negatively. It is because of a lack of awareness of who they are that this does not resonate with them. You and I do not determine our level of belief by what we are able to say when we pray, but by what we are willing to do after we have spoken. For some reason, it is seemingly a harder task to get the believer to believe he can move the mountain than it is to actually move the mountain. When a person finally understands who they are, then what they can do will be limitless. The unmovable object is not hard for sons, but the concept of knowing we are truly sons with divine power has been the area of difficulty. A son “now” cooperates with his Father. He is one who is not looking to enter the family of God once he gets to heaven but understands that the relationship has begun now. Are you waiting to be an heir of God? He’s already said you are an heir now. Why would God say that you have access to a Kingdom in which you were not a citizen of, or more prevailingly an heir by sonship? Are you waiting to die to take advantage of your sonship? You have already died in Christ and now possess everything a “God’s son” shall possess besides a renewed body. We have to deprogram our minds from thinking we are the same creature searching for approval to be liked, loved, or accepted by God. He loves you so much until “He” made the choice to reside within you. We are not waiting to have a wonderful relationship with our divine family. Our Father seeks to reveal Himself by His Spirit and through the gateway of His first Son Jesus. You are His second son. Now as the second son, do as the first! We can complicate things if we look 18
Chapter 2 The Sons of God
at things that have no bearing on the outcome or truth of God’s Word. Never mind others; “you” are the second child in the family. Your influence is as the first son. Your Father is saying to you today, “What do you desire son?” The transfer of authority has been handed to you like a baton in a race. Although there were others who carried it, it is in your hands now. As a matter of fact, the second son is the one who is responsible for bringing it home in this race. There is a great cloud of witnesses watching and we cannot afford to question why we are in the race. Out of all the sports I played, track was the most nerve racking. It was something about waiting for the gun to go off and the anticipation of it all. But ironically I loved running the relays. I would often run the second or third leg of the race. I would get excited seeing my teammate coming with the baton, and I would give it my all on my turn. Once I handed it off I would root for the next person carrying the leg of our race. I say that to say I can only imagine those siblings who have gone on before us who look with great anticipation on how we will finish. They are cheering! Just as you would for your sibling or child, they are rooting you on to the finish line. Now “son-up” and run! •
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From our beginnings in Eden, we have been juxtaposed between two competing realities. The higher and ultimate reality is the Word of God while the lesser is the world perceived by the limited, natural man. Our struggle occurs when the "world of the senses" contradicts the "world of the Word." How are we to respond when these two worlds clash? Competing Realities answers these and many more questions regarding the believer's identity and overcoming life's challenges. Nathaniel and Paul have provided a guidebook to walking in the full measure of our potential as modeled by Christ. Be empowered to be "in the world," but not "of the world". Learn how to advance the Kingdom of God on the earth. Rediscover the Words of Christ when He commissioned believers to the greatest initiative of all. Be reminded of the incredible, supernatural equipment given to those called to be overcomers with Christ. As a battalion is inspired by its commander, receive an ultimatum that leaves no room for mediocrity. Be freshly commissioned to "Go!" and break the orbit of the natural and exercise dominion in a higher reality with Christ. R. FosTER is the founder of Source Connection, a church located in the greater Charlotte, NC area. His 20 years in active ministry include church leadership, marketplace evangelism, and community outreach. He has a deep passion for the lost to be reconciled, the Kingdom of God to be demonstrated, and believers to walk in the full measure of their potential. Paul resides with his wife, Kasha, and four children in the Charlotte area. PAUL
NATHANIEL D. FRYE
is the founder of Oracles of Life Ministries and i-Nation Outreach. He has traveled globally as an evangelist and witnessed hundreds of healings on the streets and at his conferences. He is gifted and anointed, delivering a powerful message of the Kingdom of God and teaching Christians about their identity in Christ. He and his wife of 17 years, Rita, have two children and also reside in Charlotte. 90000
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