|
BACK TO DISCIPLESHIP BOOKLETS BOOKLET OUTLINE: Overview
God wants us to know Him, to be intimately aware of His desires and of His character and nature. He wants us to fear and reverence Him as God Almighty, and to know Him as our Loving Heavenly Father. Jesus prayed that we would be one in spirit with our Father as He was. (John 17:3, 21) God is Spirit. That is, He is a purely spiritual being, with no physical body. Man has a spirit that dwells within his body. When he is born, man’s spirit is not in tune with the Spirit of God. Man in his natural state is not seeking fellowship with God. He has lost that fellowship because of the sins of Adam, and by himself he is unable to enter into fellow-ship with God. Jesus Christ, God’s Son, entered the human race and became a man. He did not have a dysfunctional spirit like other men because He was Divinely conceived by the Holy Spirit rather than by a natural father. His spirit was in communion with God, and He lived in fellowship with His Father throughout His life. Since our sins have been paid for through His death, and since He took our sinful ways on Himself and bore the penalty for our sins, we now can be free from the ways of sin and death that we have inherited. Now that Jesus has been raised from the dead and lives in heaven at the right hand of the Father, He is able to impart His Spirit, the very Spirit of God, into our being. Through the Holy Spirit our spirits can be awakened to the things of God. We can now become free from the ways of Satan and free from the dominion of the demonic spirits that operate in Satan’s kingdom. The Holy Spirit can form a new life in us so we will want to be dependent on God, living in communion and close fellowship with Him as Jesus did. We can be restored to the original plans and purposes God had in mind for us when He created us. We can know God and live for Him. We can show forth His life and character to others as we meditate on Him, focus on His Word and the other means of grace He provides, and as His Holy Spirit enters all of our being. Our spirit can be free so that we become a "spiritual" being, one led by the Holy Spirit who influences our spirit. We can be freed from domination by our sinful desires and our own senses, freed from living for ourselves, doing what we want, what we think is best, or what we think will give us pleasure. We can know the joy and peace of living as Jesus did, knowing and doing the will of God as it was revealed to Him in each situation. Living in spiritual freedom means we no longer are dominated by the sinful ways of our old nature. I, for example, am no longer dominated by alcoholism. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus has set me free. I am no longer subject to the whims of drunkenness, but I am filled with His Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) Living in spiritual freedom means we are no longer dominated by our own pleasures or desires. I am no longer living for myself, but through the Holy Spirit, I am focusing on Jesus, Who is directing and leading me each day. (2 Corinthians 5:15) No longer do lustful imaginations or thoughts dominate my mind or actions as they once did, but now I have thoughts of seeing people come to know Christ and experience the joy of knowing Him. Living in spiritual freedom means we are now able to begin to know God’s voice as He speaks to us. We are able to have a love for His Word, His people, and His ways. We will know and experience the truth that we are created by Him, each with unique callings and gifts. We will know that He has always been with us, offering us help, wisdom, and affirmation, even though we did not know it at the time. We no longer have to be continually oppressed by the weight of depression or by the fear of failure, rejection, or abandonment. We no longer have to be driven by what people think or want, but now we can begin to know and do the will of God, knowing that what He wants and is able to do is far better that anything we might do. Living in spiritual freedom means that we can now receive revelation from God as to how to help people who are beset with problems. We can be part of God’s answer for a lost and needy world. We no longer have to figure out for ourselves how to meet the needs of others; rather we can listen to the voice of God, Who will direct us, showing us how to bring His help to others. We become a servant of God, rather than feeling responsible ourselves. We then know that we have something to bring others, rather than feeling inadequate or being weighed down with others’ needs. Living in spiritual freedom means that we now have a new perspective on life; we begin to see things from God’s perspective. We begin to see His plan and purposes in the affairs of life, both for ourselves and others. We see life as a series of circumstances orchestrated by a loving and caring God rather than as just a series of seemingly unrelated events. We begin to see how God is able to work good in situations which outwardly seem to be disastrous. We sense His will and know His ways, so that we can flow with what He is doing, rather than trying to get things changed around into what we think they should be. We learn that through prayer God can reveal His will and plan to us so that by our prayers we can affect our circumstances with the will of God. The Bible teaches us how to come into the spiritual freedom God offers so that we can participate more fully in His plan and purposes for us and for the world. We have found seven of God’s principles to be very helpful to us and to those God has brought to us, in coming into experiencing God’s freedom in Christ. BACK TO TOP Those seven principles are: A brief description of each of these areas follows. We are called saints, called to be children of God, called to live "in Christ," becoming like Him. We are accepted by God through Christ. We are called to fulfill special roles as children, parents, siblings, workers, church members, and the like. When we see our functions in life as "callings from God," we can feel fulfilled and know that because of the resources God has and is willing to impart to us, we can be what God wants us to be. We will experience, like Jesus, that whatever God calls us to be, we can be. Satan, or the temptations of the world, or the strength of our own sinfulness will be unable to keep us from being what God has in mind for us.Jesus is our example of one who was able through the power of God to fulfill His God-given calling. God delights in doing for us what He did for Jesus. He delights in imparting His life, His wisdom, His desires, His power, and His peace into our being so that we can be what He wants us to be. Fear, lust, addictions, physical infirmities, insecurities, complacency, inadequacies, problems of life, mental and emotional pains, and the like need not keep us from knowing and experiencing God’s calling and purposes for us. God’s life comes to us through His Holy Spirit, Who comes to us through Jesus. Jesus modeled a human life of one who was filled with the Spirit of God. Jesus is our example of one who was in continual communion with God through the Holy Spirit. He was obedient to God in all situations through the power of the Holy Spirit. He was obedient to God’s will, even when it meant undergoing the most painful and intense suffering any man would ever go through. He was obedient even unto death--the death on the cross. Satan was unable to stop Jesus from doing God’s will in all situations. Though the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, "No!" to Satan in every situation. Jesus won the victory over Satan, sin, and the world. He did it through the power of the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus reigns in glory, filled with all the glory of God, able to impart His Spirit to us. We are told to be filled with the Holy Spirit. We are told to walk in the Holy Spirit. We are told that the Holy Spirit has special names that describe His work and ministry among us. Our role is to receive the Holy Spirit into our being, to let Him fill us by letting Him influence all of our being. We need to let Him express Himself to us and through us to others. We need to let Him influence our mind through letting Him bring to us thoughts of God and visions of His will and desires. We need to let the Holy Spirit influence our emotions by receiving His emotions and feelings into our being. We need to let Him influence our desires by letting Him express His desires and purposes to us in each situation. When the Holy Spirit does this, He is communicating to us the desires, attitudes, feelings, thoughts, and expressions of Jesus. As we do this, focusing on Jesus and listening to the Holy Spirit, we will find ourselves becoming one with Jesus.As we embrace the ministries of the Holy Spirit, we become filled with the nature of Jesus, Who was also filled with the Holy Spirit. We need to know the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, as our Counselor, as our Wisdom, as our Power, as our Knowledge, as the Spirit of the Lord, as the Spirit of Truth, as the Spirit who will impart to us the fear and reverence of God. As we let the Holy Spirit do this for us, we become filled with Him as Jesus was, and we become free to live as Jesus lived. III. Living in Christ The Bible also says we are with Him as He lives in the heavenly places. We are to recognize that when we have committed ourselves to be dead to sin, as Christ was, we can also be alive to God as Jesus was. We are to reign with Him and to follow Him as God brings all things under His dominion through His cross. Being in Christ also means that we experience God’s forgiveness by receiving and giving the forgiveness God offers us through Christ. We no longer hide our sins but now bring them to the cross of Jesus, knowing that He is the Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world. The Bible says that if we confess our sins--that is, admit to God the wrongs we have done--He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. (1 John 1:9) We no longer retain bitterness and unforgiveness toward others, but we extend God’s forgiveness to those who have wronged us or treated us unfairly. In doing this we pray that those who have hurt us will also come to know the love of Jesus and His ability to cleanse and forgive. Being in Christ means that we can stop trying to improve ourselves. Now we can enter into a divine exchange, giving our wrong ways, attitudes, actions, etc., to Him, and receiving His Spirit Who brings us holy ways, attitudes, etc., so that we want to do what God wants. We no longer focus on our actions, but rather we focus on doing what Jesus wants, and we end up doing "good" things. It’s not that we ourselves become perfect, but by focusing on Him, doing what He wants, trusting in His power through the Holy Spirit, we do more and more perfect things. Being in Christ results in our beginning to think in new ways. Our minds become renewed so that we begin to focus on the things and purposes of God. We begin to receive vision and revelations from Him. We have new attitudes about ourselves, life, and God’s will for us. We have peace in knowing that He can show us what to do in each situation, no longer trusting in our abilities to think of what to do. IV. Breaking Down
Spiritual Strongholds Under the old covenant, man’s obedience was the determining factor in whether he would receive God’s blessings or be under His curse. Health and blessing were the promises to the obedient. Sickness, poverty, and other curses were the result of disobedience. Jesus paid the price of our sins. He redeemed us from the curse of the law. Under the new covenant the blessings God promised Abraham can come to us through Christ. Under the old covenant the sins of the fathers were visited on the children for up to four generations. Patterns such as alcoholism, divorce, anger, lust, and sexual immorality would appear in succeeding generations. Under the new covenant these sinful patterns can be broken. Jesus’ righteousness, His blood, and His Spirit offer us freedom from the generational sin patterns. V. Healing the
Wounds in Our Inner Being Many have been wounded in their spirit through rejection or guilt. Many have been made to feel ashamed of their very being because of their race, sex, size, or other uncontrollable characteristics. Many have been put down and mocked because of learning disabilities, speech defects, financial status, family situations, etc.. Jesus can heal these hurts as He removes the old and brings in the truth of His love, acceptance, and purposes. Many are plagued by fear. They are afraid of being abandoned, or of being rejected, or of not having enough to handle the cares of this life, or of not being able to meet the expectations of others, or of having to face a new day. Living in fear--being driven by fears--can be very debilitating. Jesus, through the presence of His Spirit, can bring healing and freedom to fearful people. He can make the reality of His presence with us so real and practical that we can confidently know that we know that we can handle the affairs of life. He can minister His wisdom and love to us in such a way that we begin to see life from His perspective, and are able to live by the truth of His being identified with us in each situation of our life. Still others are paralyzed in some areas of their lives because of having undergone tragic or deeply emotional experiences. Experiences such as sexual abuse, loss of jobs or stature, broken relationships through divorce or untimely death, or ridicule and put-downs of parents or close friends can render us incapable of performing well in some areas. The wounds we have suffered deep in our spirit can be healed through the healing presence of the Comforter, The Holy Spirit, whom Jesus sends to us. Our hurt, pain, and trauma can be lifted from our spirit, and the life of the Holy Spirit can resurrect our wounded, or slumbering, or fearful spirit. Jesus came to bring life to our spirit. VI.
Deliverance from the Oppressions and Presence of Demonic Spirits Jesus gives us authority to bring freedom to those who are being oppressed by demonic spirits. He said, "I give you authority over serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy." (Luke 10:19 NKJV) Under the authority of Jesus and the anointing and leading of the Holy Spirit, we can personally experience and bring to others the freedom of Christ. Those who have dealt in witchcraft, or who have dabbled in horoscopes, or who have gone to fortune tellers or card layers or others attempting to divine the future, have opened the door for demonic spirits to be involved with their lives. Involvement with spiritism, with the New Age Movement, or with non-Christian organizations such as Freemasonry, the Unification church, eastern meditation, and the like, likewise opens the door for demonic spirits. When demonic spirits gain a foothold we often see such things as rages of anger, or tormenting dreams, or chronic illnesses, or sleeplessness, or mental illnesses, or recurring accidents. As we let the Holy Spirit reveal the openings that have occurred, and let the power of Jesus enable the person to confess their sin or involvement with "Satan’s devices," the spirits have to respond to the command of Jesus to leave. People, their families, and even their communities can become filled with the presence of God, knowing His love and purpose in a deeper way as the demonic spirits are cast out. The power of God can be manifest and His liberating presence can be experienced more and more in this way. VII.
Reigning with Christ through Worship, Living for Others, Prayer, and
Warfare We will want to express our gratitude to God for the freedom we are experiencing; our hearts will become filled with thanksgiving. As we spend more time with God, thanking Him, our spirit will become more aware of the greatness of the character of God, and we will not just thank God for what He has done, but we will begin to worship God for Who He is. We will become awed by the very Presence of God. We will become a people who want to express our sense of worship of the very Being of God. We begin to say with David, "One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4 NKJV) Reigning with Christ also involves our becoming like Him. We who have known and received His love and freedom-giving ability will want this same thing for others just as Jesus did. Jesus lived for others. He came to give His life so others would know His Father. As we become filled with the Spirit of Christ we too will want to live so that others can know the love of God. We will be free from seeking our own desires and will follow Christ as He directs us in living out His life through us. Paul says he "dies daily" so that the life of Christ can come forth to others. As we grow in our spiritual freedom we too will find ourselves wanting to live so that others can come into finding their life "in Christ" as we have. Prayer will become a primary focal point in our life. As we become free from being bound up in ourselves, we can know God and know what He is doing and what He desires of us. God will impart His desires to us as we spend time with Him, and we can ask Him to do what He has revealed to us through prayer. God will show us His will for particular situations so that we can ask Him to act in them. We will begin to see our life as Divinely ordered, rather than as a set of seemingly unrelated circumstances. We will come to know that, through prayer, we can influence each circumstance we find ourselves in with His presence and will. We can change the world through the revelations God gives us, and through our participation with Him in prayer. Finally, we will come into a deeper understanding of our real enemies as we grow in our spiritual sensitivity. We will be able to discern the presence and activities of Satan’s demonic spirits. We will be able to know our position in reigning with Christ over Satan’s powers through the work of the Holy Spirit. We will be able to execute our God-given authority over Satan’s spiritual forces as we learn to bind and loose (Matthew 16:19), and as we learn to declare God’s judgments to the spiritual strongholds and to others. We will know the privilege we have been given in declaring God’s truths to ourselves, to God, to others, and to the evil powers in the heavenly places. We can participate with God as He brings all things under the dominion of Christ. (Psalm 149:4-9; Psalm 110:2, 2 Corinthians 10:6) The principles cited above represent some areas of ministry God has given us and called us to give to others. We have more detailed information on each of them. If you would like personal prayer for ministry or to have these things imparted to you, please call us. BACK TO TOP |
