An Awakening of Sonship: Christ In Us
An Awakening of Sonship: Christ In Us - the Hope of Glory
Jeff Jansen
There is a strong emphasis coming in this season that will quickly become the hallmark theme of all we are to become as Believers. This Kingdom reality will be the cornerstone of truth that will anchor the Church of Jesus Christ to its original mandate, propelling the Church into a re-awakening of sonship marked with powerful displays of the miraculous.This awakening will bring forth the transformation of churches, cities, regions and whole nations. This awakening is "Christ in us" – the hope of Glory!We are Christ to the world. I don't mean that we just preach Christ to the world. I mean people should experience Christ when they meet us because it is Jesus who is being formed in us. As a matter of fact, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.When people experience Christians preaching the Word without us also becoming the Word, the Gospel gets reduced to a mere philosophy – principles to be argued and words that can be wrangled over. But when the Word becomes flesh and dwells among them, they find themselves pierced to the heart and convicted in the depths of their very souls. It is incumbent upon us, as the people of God, to preach Christ wherever we go and, only when necessary, use words!Ingestion Verses DigestionWhen Jesus said we must eat His flesh and drink His Blood He wasn't talking about cannibalism, but He was referring to ingestion that leads to incarnation. Christ is the Word that became flesh. It is important that we ingest the Word of God in a way that causes us to digest His life until Christ is formed in us. Ingestion without digestion will lead to feeling full but not being transformed. Digestion is more than just a taste test; it is the full meal of His presence that conforms us to His image. The old saying is true: "You are what you eat!"Many people ingest the Bible but don't digest the living, active Word of God. Religion fills their souls but never satisfies their longing for real life. Digestion requires assimilation, not just consumption. Truth was never meant to just be recounted; it was intended to be experienced. When we exchange the communion meal for a dinner commentary or a cookbook, we deprive ourselves of the privilege of abundant life and relegate ourselves to a meager existence in the Kingdom.Jesus never intended for us to be full of religion but desired us to be filled with His Spirit. Christ is the ultimate happy meal, and as we digest Him, we become one flesh with Him. That is why Jesus prayed:"That they all may be one, [just]as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me. I have given to them the glory and honor which You have given Me, that they may be one [even]as We are one: I in them and You in Me, in order that they may become one and perfectly united, that the world may know and [definitely]recognize that You sent Me and that You have loved them [even]as You have loved Me." John 17:21-23Christ is not talking about His disciples getting along with each other here. He was describing the unity between the Bride and the Bridegroom. When we come to the communion table and eat the flesh of our King, we become an inseparable unity that causes the world to experience His presence every time they encounter us. In other words, when they see us, they have seen the Father.Christ In UsAs stated above, we are Christ to the world. When people meet us they are meeting Jesus Christ. Through us His Word becomes flesh again as we reveal Jesus to the world around us. It's a beautiful mystery that we should be His body on Earth: Christ to the world."...Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the]glory" Colossians 1:27"It is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me." Galatians 2:20As we ingest Christ we are becoming like Him. Paul prayed for the Galatian Church and wrote, "My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you" (Galatians 4:19). There is maturing taking place. We are being changed, morphed, and transformed into mature sons and daughters of God who rightly represent Him in the earth. The world is looking for the real Jesus Christ. As we eat and drink from Him we are being changed.
My Notes to You - Meditate On The Word
Jacob Crawford
I am so encouraged by what Jeff has shared above because this is some of what the Lord has been putting on my heart. The Lord is calling us all into a life with Him that is abundant in Him. For many of us it is likely to look different than the Christianity we grew up with, I know it is for me. My personal faith life looks very different today than it did 5 years ago and different from what my parents faith life looked like but as I have come into my identity as a son of God it has changed my life. Now my whole family both with Anna and Keirsten but my parents and sister are also realizing that God is moving them into a deeper faith too.I write to further encourage you to read the Word of God and spend time really thinking and praying through what God is saying. Let the words rest in your heart and stir in your mind so that you would be transformed. In Romans 12:2 it says, “do not be conformed to the ways of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may know the good and perfect will of the Father.” I desire you all to by transformed into Christ’s likeness so that His light would shine through you into the world. I also desire us all to grow a greater love for our Heavenly Father and the man Jesus so that He would be glorified through us. Jesus desires us to love Him more than anything else so if you do anything today say this, “Jesus, I love you” and say it as many times as you can today, tomorrow and for the rest of your life. It is a simple statement but it will transform your heart as you make it the core of who you are in Him.I have been stressing meditation on the Word with our students and I also want to encourage it with our parents. The meditation I am speaking of is not some crazy weird empty your mind method, its taking the Word of God and really letting it sink in and really ‘chewing’ on it. The method of meditation that I use is this:I read a passage of Scripture. Then I pick a verse or two (typically the first verse or two and I will do this verse by verse throughout the whole passage). I take a piece of paper for this one verse and with that verse I do the following:1. Read The Verse2. Write The Verse3. Say The Verse…over and over and over…out loud I say it…I try to memorize it4. Sing The Verse or a version of it…I put instrumental music on (Without Words - Bethel Music is a greatresources for this)5. Draw It…if I get any pictures while I read the passage that help me understand it or apply to it I draw them onmy paper.6. Pray Through The Verse…I pray through the verse and ask God to reveal the mysteries of His word…I ask forGod to give me a deep understanding of His word. Then I write down all the thoughts and revelations Ihave during this time.This is a way to meditate on the Word of God. Its a way to digest the word like Jeff talks about above. It is an opportunity to get full on God. Our spirits are hungry for us to grow in the Lord and have more of the Holy Spirit within us and a way to feed this hunger is to meditate on the Word of God. It’s not just reading the word or doing devotionals. Those things are not bad but they don’t always allow you to get the most of what God has from His Word for you. Most devotional books are someone else's revelations that God has given them from the Scriptures so why not get your own?When we meditate on God’s word and allow it to be written on our hearts during our time with Him it will begin to transform our lives into the image of Christ. My desire is that every person you encounter would say something like, “wow that person really loves well” or “wow that person has some real power in their lives” because it would be Christ in you working through you.I encourage you all as parents, students and families to make this a priority within your homes and rooms. Dedicate yourselves to being transformed as a family for Christ. I believe that within a week of making this a priority within your homes you will see breakthrough in your life. Your faith with grow, your mind will be transformed and your heart will burn with love. Believe me I am telling you this from experience. I also know from experience that it can be an awkward thing to start in together as a family so here are some ways to help get around the awkwardness:
- WEEK 1 - Personal MeditationThis first week just take time as a family to meditate at the same time but separately. I am going to challenge you to do this 5 out of 7 days in the first week. I want to encourage you to do this daily not just weekly. The Church gathers once or twice a week in a service or small group but you are the Church that can meet and live together daily. So try to take 10 or 15 minutes before or after dinner to set aside time to meditate on the word this week and pick a passage as a family to study together.
- WEEK 2 - Personal Meditation - Weekly DiscussionDo week 2 the same way as week 1 but at the end of the week at dinner or after your meditation time come together for a time to just talk about what God revealed to you through a passage. Share your revelations and I am almost certain you will all build off each other creating even a deeper understanding for each of you.
- WEEK 4 - Personal Meditation - Constant ConversationsStart doing more and more times of coming together to talk about what God is revealing to you.
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