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| JAMES LESSON #35 READ James 1:20-21. These two verses go together. If you are receiving the Word you will begin to put off all filthiness because the two will not agree with one another. The Word of God, the �Perfect Law of Liberty� will set you free from 1) anger and 2) wickedness. Anger often comes from wickedness or filthiness that we have not dealt with in our hearts. Oftentimes harbored anger, bitterness or wickedness lodges itself in our hearts through experience that�s brought the �conditioning� of a lie. The lie has been so convincing through the experience that we own it and give Satan opportunity to root himself in that area of our lives. I want to camp on James 1:20-21 for a few days and continue looking at who we are in Christ, our authority, and how to use it. I�m learning much of this about as fast as I can write it, so I�m praying that God will give me clarity as I give it to you. The understanding of what I�m about to give you is critical to your freedom. So mark your Bibles well and go over the next few lessons carefully. First key: It�s important that you understand that the victory has already been won. The battle rests in understanding that and in implementing our authority. Huh? Most of us walk around as follows: The battle has been won. We�re in the enemy�s campground and we ask permission/cower/walk in fear/and hide..making sure that the battle really IS won � and then wonder some more �NOT KNOWING WHO WE ARE, or how to explain with authority to the enemy, we�re taking over. Remember, that all along we�ve said that our confrontations with the enemy are �truth encounters,� not NOT �power encounters.� Jesus said, �If you hold to My teaching, you are really My disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32 Truth about what? Truth as to whether or not your wife or husband has slept around? Truth about whether or not your best friend betrayed you? Truth about whether or not�no no no. Truth about 1) YOU and truth about 2) God. What is the �truth about you?� What�s God have to say about you? I want to put some of the lies next to the truth so they are exposed by the Word. Take the time to look up these references and mark them. LIE: You are a sinner because you sometimes sin. You�ll never be clean. You�ve blown it so many times � same old same old- you�ll never overcome this. TRUTH: I want you to say this one out loud. I had real trouble owning this � because I bought the lie. Say this one out loud and see how it effects your heart: I am a �saint� who sometimes sins, but who�s been declared �righteous� � not by anything I�ve done or not done � but by God Himself. Read I Corinthians 1:2 (To those who have been �sanctified� � made holy, set apart where? In Jesus Christ: not by anything they have or have not done: and their title is what? �saint� -Man I had a hard time owning that title�why? Because of �guilt� �guilt that I�d owned that didn�t belong to me�we�re going to talk about that in a minute- �saints� how? By calling: God called me into that position � it�s not about anything I have or haven�t done. Phillipians 1:1 -mark the word �saint� Colossians 3:1-10 All that you once were died with Christ when you asked Him to take control of your life. Just as He was raised from the dead, so, you were raised with Him � a new creature. We�re supposed to keep seeking things that are above: How do you do that? WITH YOUR HEAD: You �set your mind� � fix it- position it in the Word: not on what surrounds you. For you have died � the old you � the crud you wished had never happened � the you out of control �with Christ, and the new you is owned and operated by Christ who dwells in you (Galatians 2:20) � so � we�re to be dead to (Colossians 3:5) a list of several things because those things call for the wrath of God: - Colossians 3:7 � we used to live in those things but now : vs.8 But now you also, put them all aside: in the Greek: putting off clothes � take them off: take what off? Anger: in the Greek: orge: refers to long lasting deep seated anger, wrath, malice: in the Greek: kakia: vicious mind, slander: in the Greek: blasphemia : blasphemy, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you laid aside (this is NOT telling you to lay it aside now- the laying aside of your old self with it�s evil practices already happened at Calvary; mark that) �and have put on the new self who IS BEING (mark that) � this is a process: you will sin, you will fall down, but it will no longer be the habit of your life � WHO IS BEING RENEWED to what? A TRUE KNOWLEDGE ..a true knowledge about what? Who I am � and who God is: according to the image of the One who created him- Read I Peter 1:1-5 In verse 5 � who are protected by what? The power of God through faith: --the battle isn�t yours. It�s already won. The victory is in your lap. Where�s the problem? You don�t know how to utilize what�s in your hand. Stay with me. READ AND MARK I Peter 2:9 You are a: chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God�s OWN POSSESSION, that what? You may proclaim � proclaim what? To who? Proclaim who you now are- proclaim the authority God has given you � proclaim ownership and position � proclaim all that God has accomplished where? In you � to whom? The enemy. Doesn�t he already know that? Yes- If you�ve ever trained a dog you know that the dog isn�t the one being trained, the trainer is the one being trained. The dog fully understands that the owner is in charge � but won�t respond to the owner with submission until the owner TAKES charge. The owner gets busy- gets distracted � meanwhile, the dog is digging holes in the yard, chewing the siding off the house, chewing the hose in half � silently going about the business of destroying Until- The owner stops what he�s doing � and takes authority. So it is with us. Nothing changes with the enemy � he�ll continue digging holes, and destroying the backyard until we get a hold of his choke chain and exercise our authority over him. Lie: You get your identity from what you have done. Truth: You get your identity from what God has done for you. Ephesians 1:7 � What we owe has been paid for in full � and we are completely forgiven. II Corinthians 5:17 � we�ve been made completely new Galatians 2:20 Christ lives in me � and at this point I trust His heart: - I live by faith: believing that when I do fall down, He�s faithful, even when I�m not- Lie: You get your identity from what people say about you. Truth: You get your identity from what God says about you, �in Him.� (We�re going to look at a whole list of what God says about you � so hold that thought) Romans 6- I want to carefully go through this chapter and I want you to mark it well. I have much to give you in the next few lessons, so be patient with the process ok? Romans 6: What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? (Are we saying then that we can just go out and sin and ask for forgiveness later? That grace is just �there� as insurance- so that I can just go out and do what I want to do and then run back under the umbrella of grace and have everything be ok?) May it never be! How shall we who DIED to sin, still live in it? Or, do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death. (Mark the word �baptized� � this is not referring to water baptism. The word baptized means to be �identified with � united with-� just as a cloth is dipped into dye � when it is pulled out of the dye, the material is �united with, or has taken on the characteristic of� the dye. The two are forever �united� � We too, are �identified, or united with� His death) � Therefore (so) we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that (that is a purpose clause: the whole purpose of this was because�) as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father so we too might walk (how we live proves the reality of our faith) in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection � Knowing this: That our old self (all we once were)was crucified with Him �that� � a purpose clause: the whole purpose of this was because� our body of sin might be done away with: (get this: �done away with� does not mean �annihilate� � it means �to render inoperative: our bodies go on living, but they no longer have the power to control us as they once did) �that� � a purpose clause: the whole purpose of this was because�we should no longer be slaves to sin. (just because our body screams give me � we don�t have to respond in obedience any longer) -for he who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised form the dead is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died He died to sin, Once� For, all. �one time � for everybody. But the life that He lives, He lives to God. Evens so consider yourselves to be dead to sin (because His Spirit lives in you) � but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore (so) do not let sin reign (rule) in your mortal body(your flesh) that you should obey its lusts, (don�t run after all your desires with a yes mam� and a yes sir�) and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead (you�re part of Him now) and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master: kurieuo: to rule or to be Lord over you � for you are not under law, but under grace. (true faith is not lawless) What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? (So � can we just do what we want and ask for forgiveness later?) May it never be! Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, - either of sin, resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been FREED FROM SIN you became slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification. (walk in truth � and respond in obedience � the Word will make you holy) � For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. (When you lived in sin, you just progressively went deeper and deeper and deeper � there was no conscience) So � what benefit ( what fruit � what did you gain?) from the things of which you are now ashamed? � the things you did before you knew Christ? For the outcome of those things is death. But now: having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit: you are gaining ground � producing fruit � resulting in sanctification � you�re growing strong in holiness � and the outcome, eternal life. For, the wages of sin is death � death to what could have been, death to what was, death to what is..not just eternal death: - but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The work we will be doing in the next couple of days will get a little �tedious� � but STAY WITH ME: because what I�m giving you is critical to your freedom. I have a lot of material to put into your hands: and I want to do it carefully, and �piece by piece� so that you get all of it thoroughly. Make sure you mark well and stay with me. Tomorrow we�re going to go into Ephesians and mark several things � and then into Hebrews � to look at �guilt� - If I�ve asked forgiveness and have been cleansed�why do I still feel guilty � what truth am I missing? And what am I believing? -stay with me. Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
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