Gtcotr/ws061720
Isaiah 46
9 Remember the former things
of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like
Me,
10 Declaring the end from the
beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My
counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure.”
Review: In the first lesson
we established that virtually every creation of God experienced a beginning and
would also experience an end. Whether angel, human, animal, tree, heaven, earth,
satan, hell, space as we know it, and even time as we understand it. We
discussed:
·
The
limitations built into everything we see and understand
o Time
o Space
o Knowledge
o Power
o Authority
o Creativity
o Regeneration
o Reproduction
(like-kind with further limitations)
o God’s allowance of
access or restriction thereof
o Creation is limited as
opposed to God Who is unlimited.
·
God
exists outside of time and created time for His purposes
o Declares the end from
the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10)
·
God is not limited by time or space
o Jesus appeared in
locked upper room without warning
o Gabriel appeared to
Daniel, Zacharias, and Mary in private
·
God
is not limited to our understanding of the limited law of physics
o Jesus walked on water
and was able to share that ability with Peter
o Jesus ascended into
heaven on a cloud … Elijah & Enoch …
·
Man
is limited in ability to see and hear without God’s allowance
o Elisha’s servant in 2 Kings 6:16-17 saw the angelic armies
o The Apostle John in Revelation 1:10 heard a trumpet in heaven
o Saul of Tarsus, Acts 9:3&4, saw a light and heard Jesus speak
o John saw New Jerusalem
coming down in Revelation 21:2
o
God given breakthroughs into life off the
line
§ Dreams and visions and
angelic intervention
·
Peter
and the Joppa vision
§ Prophecies
o Paul described what he
saw in the spirit
2 Corinthians 12
1 ¶ It is doubtless not
profitable for me to boast. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord:
2 I know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or whether out
of the body I do not know, God knows — such a one was caught up to
the third heaven.
3 And I know such a
man — whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God
knows —
4 how he was caught up into
Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to
utter.
Paul
experienced a glimpse beyond the limitations of this present life. He either
saw or stepped off of the line for a moment in time and could not even describe
what he saw and heard. There is life beyond what we see.
Jesus
humbled Himself and placed Himself on the timeline for a short 33 ½ years and
limited Himself as a man in order to show the world the love God has for
mankind and to reveal God to us.
John
tells us that Jesus was in the beginning with God and that He was God. People
can get confused when reading various scripture verses or passages in the Bible
if they do not realize the Bible tells only one story. In order to correctly
interpret any verse or passage, it must be held in context with the overriding
one story and one theme of the Bible. God does not hold back or deny or even
shade the ugly facts of human history. It seems important to God for us to
remember from where we came and use those markers as evidence and encouragement
to grow closer to the goal.
One
of the three strengths we use to overcome the world is the word of our
testimony and our commitment to die before we repeat the sins or bow to the
winds of the past (Revelation 12:11).
God
has revealed Himself to us as:
·
God
the Father
·
God
the Son
·
God
the Holy Spirit
He
is a Triune God. Three in One as we have heard. Separate but completely unified
in every aspect and unable to be fathomed or limited to our understand or
definition. Nonetheless, we know God as a triune being, if you will, and we are
made in His image: Spirit; Soul; and Body.
The
progressive work of God in the life of a born-again believer who has become His
child sounds like:
·
I
am saved; I am being saved; I will be saved.
·
I
am Justified; I am being Sanctified; I will be Glorified.
o My spirit is saved and
living off the line already
o My life is being
cleaned up and pierces the veil at times
o I will be perfected
and receive a glorified body in the future
·
Spirit;
Soul; and Body (a glorified, incorruptible, immortal body)
o We are headed to a
fulltime life off the current timeline
o Eternity is not an infinite amount
of time but rather “Timeless”
These
things happen because I am a new creature “In Christ”
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have
passed away; behold, all things have become new.
A
new creature, spiritually created with eternal properties of life in Christ
Galatians 6:15 For in Christ
Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new
creation.
Living
life off the line – Life “In Christ” New Creation
Realities
·
In
Spirit
o I am raised and seated
with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2:6)
o My citizenship is
already in heaven
o Forgiven and Redeemed
o I have been spiritually
saved
·
In
Mind; Will and Emotions – Renewing our minds to life off the line
o Faith for healing can
pierce the darkness of sickness
o Faith for divine
intervention in this life beyond natural limits
o Faith to move
mountains and makes the impossible, possible
o Believing in the
impossible can become first nature
·
In
Body – which is to come
o If this body dies it
will be planted as a seed to be raised incorruptible with capacity to live off
the line, in Christ.
o If Jesus comes, this
body I now inhabit will be changed in a moment to a glorified body which will
have timeless capacity.
o Until I either die or
are caught up in the rapture, I have been given two goals to pursue in Christ.
Our Goals In Christ
1.
Philippians 3:14 I press
toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
2.
Colossians 1:28 Him we
preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may
present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.
Living
off the line in this life equals living above the world’s system and not
subject to the world’s view of life and limitations. This can only be achieved
by stepping out of this world’s confines and stepping into Christ. When we come
into Christ by grace through faith, (Ephesians 2:8&9), we are born-again as
a brand-new creation in Christ Jesus.
·
Our
spiritual DNA is changed
·
Our
citizenship and the address of our eternal residence is changed
·
Our
new life journey begins
·
Reservations
are made for us according to a predestined plan to bring us to the image of
Christ. Divine appointments and interventions
·
We
are assigned what many refer to as a guardian/ministering angel
o I cannot say for sure
when the angel is assigned to a believer, but a believer definitely has one to
serve and attend and escort
o Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent
forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
·
We
are expected to live in this world but not of this world.
o The just by live by
their faith
o We do not look at things
which are seen … (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Our Destiny In Christ – Fully Living Life off the Line.
John 17
20
¶ “I do not pray for these alone, but
also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
21 “that they all may be one,
as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in
Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22 “And the glory which You gave Me I have given
them, that they may be one just as We are one:
23 “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be
made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and
have loved them as You have loved Me.
You must be Born-Again
·
Those
who are not “In Christ,” you will die an eternal death
·
Those
who are “In Christ,” you will enjoy eternal life
Additional
Support Scriptures:
Romans
8:1 ¶ There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans
8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans
8
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor
life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things
to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
2
Corinthians 3:14 But their minds were
blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of
the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
Galatians
2:4 And this occurred because of
false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our
liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),
·
Liberty
to not be judged by the law
Galatians
3:17 And this I say, that the
law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant
that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of
no effect.
·
Confirmed
in Christ before the law
2
Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest
somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Ephesians
1:10 that in the dispensation of the
fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him.
1
Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord Himself
will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with
the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
2
Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to
live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
1
Peter 5:14 Greet one another with a kiss
of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. Amen.
