I THE STAFF AND SWORD MINISTRY
PART 13C
April 2014
MANIFESTING CHRIST A CLOSER WALK WITH JESUS
WALKING THE WALK — N—N
--'►/--PSI---
Imo/ ---NAI
by Nancy-TONI Youngbrandt There are times in everyone's walk in the Lord where they experience a dry period, a time when Jesus feels farther away and no new insight or revelation comes. Unfortunately, there are times when that happens due to a sin area in our lives that has come between us and God, but if that is not the case, then it is likely a period when the Spirit of God simply wants us to apply the things we have already learned. So often we fall into the trap of wanting `new' prophecy, new revelation, new things to learn, which can be exciting but we may not have fully absorbed and learned to apply the things we have already been given. We haven't really exercised our faith muscle and applied and walked in what we have from Jesus already. We haven't actually prayed to understand and know things for ourselves, ifthey are of God or not, and then taken them in ourselves if they are, but rather we remain simply hearers of the word only. In the dictionary it says the word `do' means to take action; to deal with as required; to have as one's work. So, if we are to be doers of the word of God, then we are to not just take action but to deal with God's Word as required; to have as one's work the Word of God. For some, this automatically means outward works such as feeding the poor and homeless, taking care of the sick, doing for others -- which is certainly a dimension of `doing' the Word of God. However, it first should begin with inward actions with the outward actions to follow, it means taking to heart, within ourselves, letting the Word of God take root and bear the fruit of the Spirit of God in our lives, from which our outward actions flow. I recently read something by Oswald Chambers that perhaps helps to explain my point best. He wrote; We are not saved only to be instruments for God, but to be His sons and daughters. He does not turn us into spiritual agents but into spiritual messengers, and the message must be a part of us. The Son of God was His
own message — "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are fife"
I PAGE 2 MANIFESTING CHRIST — WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
Oswald Chambers continued
(John 6:63). As His disciples, our lives must be a holy example of the reality of our message. Even the natural heart of the unsaved will serve if called upon to do so, but it takes a heart broken by conviction of sin, baptized by the Holy Spirit, and crushed into submission to God's purpose to make a person's life a holy example of God's message. There is a difference between giving a testimony and preaching. A preacher is someone who has received the call of God and is determined to use all his energy to proclaim God's truth. God takes us beyond our own aspirations and ideas for our lives, and molds and shapes us for His purpose, just as He
worked in the disciples' lives after Pentecost. The purpose of Pentecost was not to teach the disciples something, but to make them the incarnation of what they preached so that they would literally become God's message in the flesh. "... you shall be witnesses to Me ..." (Acts 1:8). Allow God to have complete liberty in your life when you speak. Before God's message can liberate other people, His liberation must first be real in you. Gather your material carefully, and then allow God to "set your words on fire" for His glory.
RECEIVING THE WORD The Holy Spirit first showed me the importance of receiving His Word into my heart back when I first started working with Chuck-JOHNEL in the ministry. I didn't realize it at first, but when I received a word from Jesus, I tended to just write it down and then inwardly back off to see if it was actually from Jesus or my own spirit, by either seeing if Chuck-JOHNEL had a witness to it or if it came to pass. In a lot of ways it felt more like I was secretary for the Lord, just making notes but not involved personally. After awhile, the Holy Spirit showed me that I was not just an observer but an active participant, and for me to grow and gain the benefit of His Word, I needed to take His Word within myself, to let it become a part of me. The other thing the Holy Spirit showed me was that God's Word included not just those Words I was receiving at the time, but the Bible and any other insight, prophecy or revelation that God, Jesus and His Spirit gives us. Each is a golden nugget or seed which is to be taken in, planted and allowed to grow and bear fruit within us, in our walk in Christ. This is what it says in James 2:19-21. He tells us: "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let
every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save y our souls."
PAGE 3 MANIFESTING CHRIST — WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
RECEIVING THE WORD continued In the New International version of the Bible, this last verse reads: "Therefore, get rid of all moral faith and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in ou Lwhich
can save you."
Back in the King James version it goes on to say in verses 22-24 -- "But be ye doers of
the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass (mirror): For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. " From these last 3 verses, I take away that if we are hearers only of the word, it is easier to deceive ourselves into thinking that we're just fine, and can justify sin in our lives. It is only when we take it into ourselves, humbly accepting the word planted in us, that we have to see and confront what is at work in us as it flairs up. I believe this is what James meant by his example of a person who is a hearer but not a doer, as like one who looks in the mirror and sees his or her self, but then just walks away, forgetting the truth of our own inward sinful condition. It is like the Truth that God would show us simply bounces off of us, like a reflection, without entering into us_ We see God, we see momentarily what His Spirit reveals to us, but then we walk away, forgetting that moment and going back to the way we were. Perhaps an easier analogy to understand is the parable of the sower. I know I have shared on this before, but a refresher is always good. In Mark 4:1-20 we see Jesus' parable of how a farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of the seed fell off to the side and the birds came and devoured it up. Some fell on stony ground, where there wasn't much soil so it sprang up but then withered away in the heat of the sun. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seed so it couldn't grow and bear fruit. Lastly, other seed fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased, providing varying amounts of fruit. Jesus then explains that the seed is the Word of God. Again, this Word from God is Scripture, but also Holy Spirit insights, revelation, Words to us personally or prophetically through His Prophets, or even a dream from God. Jesus also showed me that it is also not a one-time thing -- like one big seed — but a vast storehouse of seeds, all from God, to which there is no end. The ground, that is us — our hearts, our soul — we are the ground for the Word of God. As His ground, there are several possible outcomes. The first Jesus explained are those who are those receiving His Word by the wayside. These hear the Word but immediately Satan comes and takes away that Word before anything can come of it. Next are those whose ground is stony: they hear the word, immediately receiving it with gladness, but the seed takes no root in themselves so they endure for a time but when hard
PAGE 4 MANIFESTING CHRIST -- WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
RECEIVING THE WORD continued times, afflictions or persecutions come their way, they are offended and the Word withers and dies, not having taken root within them. Then there are those who are as thorny ground, who allow the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the lusts of other things to enter in and choke out the Word, and it becomes unfruitful. Lastly, are those which have good ground within themselves, which have heard the Word, and received it into that good ground, and brought forth fruit, "some thirty fold, some sixty, and some an hundred. " So, then the question could be raised, how do I apply this in my own life? Well, this takes some introspection and honesty in prayer. First of all, you need to be aware of what is going on in your heart, and treat it like your own personal garden. Are there hard patches in your heart from unforgiveness and bitterness? Are there weeds like jealousy or covetousness that seem to choke out the Word of God being manifested in your life? Are you taking to heart the Word of God and fully receiving it and living it, or do hardships and trials seem to bring out the worst in you? `Good ground' is a heart full of God's love, forgiveness and healing. This is a heart that will live and walk out of God's Love, which is patient, kind, not jealous, or boastful and doesn't take offense. The opposite of those fruits; being impatient, unforgiving, unkind, jealous, envious, taking offense — these are all the things that make our ground hard, that give the enemy opportunity in our lives, and can grow as weeds and thorns which choke out His Seed. The good news is that Jesus has given us healing and victory over these things if we repent of our sin and forgive those who have hurt us, putting all under the Blood of Jesus and giving ourselves to Him wholly, receiving God `s Love and Spirit into our hearts. It is as David wrote in Psalm 51:10 --- "Create in me a clean heart, 0 God; and renew a right spirit within inc. "
A PREPARED VESSEL I find it fascinating how many Scriptures speak of having a prepared vessel into which the Spirit of God is to reside. A couple of examples can be seen in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, in Ezekiel 36:25-27 it says, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will1 cleanse you. A new heart also will give you, and a new spirit will Iput within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. "
PAGE 5 MANIFESTING CHRIST — WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
A PREPARED VESSEL continued Then the Holy Spirit brought me to this Scripture in Jeremiah 2:13 —
"For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water," Wow, here it actually mentions two EVILS the people of God committed. One, they had forsaken God and Jesus, who is the fountain of living waters. And two, their inward condition spiritually was such that they had no vessel (no cistern) that could hold the living water without breaking and losing it. In the New Testament, Jesus made certain things very clear. One was that He was the source of the living water to us. In John 4:4 He said, "But whosoever drinketh the
of
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Jesus also taught that this water, the Spirit of God, the new wine which He was sharing, had to be put in a new bottle, a new vessel, and not the old vessel of our fallen, sinful nature and carnality. He taught in Matthew 9:16-17
"No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put into fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles; else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved." So, what is our `old garment'? Our `old bottle' or `broken cistern'? I would describe it as our old nature, our soulish way of doing things before we accepted Christ into our lives. Therefore, a way that someone puts the new wine into an old bottle is like when one gets a word from God, but then wants to take it and run from there, operating out of one's own knowledge and abilities without any fu rther leaning on Jesus, and letting God work it out and bring it to fruition. You see, our old, fallen nature wants to do things on its own; wants to do for God; wants to earn its righteousness, to earn God's Love; tends to use God for what it can get from Him; and tends to be full of self, willful, controlling and independent. However, as Oswald Chambers wrote,
"We are not sent to do battle for God, but to be used by God in His battles." This applies not just to battles but to everything with God. We are not here to do for God but to be used by God for His will and purposes. This is why it is important to learn to put
PAGE 6 MANIFESTING CHRIST — WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
A PREPARED VESSEL continued. God's seed, God's new wine, into a new vessel, a vessel born of the Spirit of God, yielded and surrendering to His Spirit, His Love, His Will. As Jesus said to God, the Father, "NOT MY WILL, BUT THY WILL BE DONE." This is why Jesus told Nicodemus, `.. . Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). Jesus went on to explain, "... Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit" (John 3:5-6). Next, if we apply Jeremiah 2:13 then the water is the living water that flows from Christ Jesus, and the Spirit is the new cistern, the vessel which will hold the living water. The flesh, the old bottle, will not be able to contain the new water, for the new water, the new wine needs a new bottle, a Spiritual vessel to hold this new Spiritual life.
EXERCISING CHRIST'S AUTHORITY Jesus has paved the way for us as Christians to live and walk, out of our relationship with Him, a truly victorious life, and yet so many of God's people seem most reluctant, even fearful, when it comes to applying Jesus Christ's power and authority in our lives. Jesus has a whole new life for us, if we choose to receive it, accept it, and walk in it. However, we have seen time and again, that many believers are under attack from the Devil and his demons, and are failing to take action, to apply and exercise Christ's authority which God has given to us through Jesus Christ. So what is the extent of Jesus' Power? Well, in Matthew 28:18 Jesus tells us, "... All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. " And in I Corinthians 1:24 it says that Christ is
"the power of God, and the wisdom of God." Then in John 5:26-27, Jesus says, "For as the Father hath life in Hiinself; so he hath given to the Son to have life in Himself• And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man." So through Christ, when we are being used by Him according to God's Will and Purposes, then we too have all power in Heaven and in earth, as well as authority to execute judgment (for better or for worse). The key is being in Christ, for in Him we not only have power but the wisdom of God as well, which is necessary to rightly use His power in the first place. We also have through Christ and His shed blood, victory over the power of sin and can
PAGE 7 MANIFESTING CHRIST --- WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
EXERCISING CHRIST'S AUTHORITY continued walk in His righteousness. And when we walk in Jesus' Righteousness then we become as Jesus when He said in John 14:30, "... for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. "In other words, the prince of this world, Satan, had no way to get at Jesus due to any sin within Him. For us, when the enemy is harassing us, or we think they might be, it is always a good time to check to see if there is something that needs to be put under the Blood of Jesus. Once done, then the enemy has no grounds to keep troubling you; and it's time to take authority over the enemy and command them to leave once and for all, in the Name of Jesus.
WE HAVE THIS TREASURE As the Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:6-7, "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power ma y be of God, and not of us."
The point being that God has given us Jesus Christ, who has made it possible for us to be filled with God's Light, Spirit and power in our physical bodies (we don't have to die to receive it.) As Jesus said in John 15:5, "I am the vine, ye are the branches...", so what life, power and authority is in Him, is in us also. When we abide in Him, then we too should acknowledge as Jesus did in John 5:30:
"I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, Ijudge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will but the will of the Father which bath sent me." Then we have Jesus' Word to His disciples. He told them in Luke 10:19-20 -"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject to you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.
And in Matthew 10:1 — "And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples. He gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. " Jesus also appeared to Paul and told him — `:.. I am Jesus ... for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness ... To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. " (Acts 26:15-18)
PAGE 8 MANIFESTING CHRIST — WALKING THE WALK
APRIL 2014
WE HAVE THIS TREASURE continued While Jesus appearing to Paul was quite unique and direct, Jesus's call to him is much the same as it is for all who believe on Him, to some degree or another. Regardless of Jesus's call on each of our lives and how different we all are, there are some things that are for all of us, namely those things He told all twelve disciples. These are the things we all have in common: to have "power over all the power of the enemy," to have "power against unclean spirits to cast them out," and to "heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease." For this article, my focus is on the power Jesus has given us over the enemy. This is an area that the Holy Spirit has shown me to focus on, that many of us are failing to fully apply this authority in our walk in Christ.
"BEING STRONG IN THE LORD" In Ephesians 6:10-12 the Apostle Paul wrote his brethren, telling them: "Finally, my
brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not againstflesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. " However, he did not mean that we were to just go out looking for demons and principalities to deal with, but rather that God was equipping us, to be able to stand and withstand against the wiles of the devil. It is a mistake to presume to do anything outside the leading of the Holy Spirit, or without God's commission and Jesus' direction to deal with the Devil and his minions in this world. That can bring trouble on you because you may be giving the enemy grounds or opportunity to attack you in return. This whole subject can be involved and will have to wait for another time, however, in your life, as you do your daily prayers and go about your day, there are areas that you do have power and authority over. So if you believe and know by the Spirit of God that you are being attacked by the enemy, I would suggest you consider praying as follows: 1. Come before Jesus, surrendering yourself to Him, praying to put all sin under the Blood of Jesus, and asking for His leading and guidance in how to pray. 2. Put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:13-18) 3. Pray asking Jesus to set God's Holy Angels around you, your loved ones and in your home, removing all demons, in Jesus' Name. 4. If you are still having troubles, you can also (A) pray Psalm 91; (B) pray, in Jesus' Name, to take authority over the enemy, pleading the blood of Jesus on them, binding them and commanding them to depart; (C) pray asking Jesus to rebuke the Devil that he flee from you. I pray this will be a help to you all. God bless you!
jT,
'j_ 0 i