(This message series is inspired and excerpted from Heaven is Now by Andrew Farley)
“I remember as a young Christian sitting and listening to many altar calls and ‘rededicate yourself’ sermons. Time and time again, the speaker would exhort us to be salt and light in this world. He would tell us to do more for those around us. He would encourage us to spend more time in the Word, to share Christ more with others, and to plug in and serve more at church.
More, More, More!
Loving others, reading the Word, and sharing Christ—these are all good things. But I remember walking away from those ‘motivational’ talks with a sense of distance from God, a sense that I was currently not doing enough to be close to him. Closeness was always around the next corner. And in all of this, the implication was that closeness comes from doing.” (loc. 1764 of 2138)
“The good news of Christianity is that on the first day of our relationship with Jesus Christ (at salvation), we are as close to him as we will ever be. Yes, we get to know Christ more over time. But we are raised and seated right next to him and one spirit with him on the day we first believe. We cannot get any closer to Jesus than we already are.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9 ESV)
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:17 ESV)
Once we acknowledge this union with Jesus, our motivation for every action taken in life changes. We are no longer doing to be close; instead we are acting out of a closeness we already enjoy. This is what it means to smell the fragrant aroma of Christ.
[How has your understanding of God matured over time?] How does this radical spiritual union with Jesus Christ affect the way you think about your everyday relationship with God?
“God is not up in heaven waiting for us to place our long-distance phone call to him for help. He doesn’t soar down out of heaven to stand beside us and help us through our trouble. It’s better than that:” (loc. 1775 of 2138)
Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. [5] For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. [6] But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code. (Romans 7:4-6 ESV)
But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. (1 Corinthians 6:17 ESV)
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5 ESV)
What is this test? Consider James as he said, “faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:14-26), and Paul in his letter to the Romans (above) when he said that “we may bear fruit for God” (Romans 7:4). It’s not the works themselves that save you (James 2:18-20). You can’t keep Christ locked away inside you. He will show himself to those around you.
“Lots of Christians seem to be on a hunt to get more of God in their lives. But as we have our spiritual senses awakened to the Jesus we already possess, the search comes to an end. We have everything we need:
His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, [4] by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. (2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV)
The greatest discovery we can make about this Christ-life within us is that we now possess all the qualities we need for any and every aspect of life. Take love for example. Do you believe you need to have more love for others, or have you realized that the love of God himself has been poured out in your heart through God’s Spirit?
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5 ESV)
One belief system leads to trying to be more loving. The other involves acknowledging that God has already re-created you as a loving person by nature. Did you catch that? By nature. This means we don’t have to wait for God to zap us with more love. Instead, we are to count ourselves as dead to sin and alive to God, a God who is love. We are alive to love. And that love is the person of Christ.” (loc. 1791 of 2138) Describe, and celebrate, some of the ways you know you are dead to sin and alive to God?
“Our union with Jesus Christ means that our deepest needs are met in him and by him. Let’s face it: there’s not a soul on this planet who can really meet our needs. There’s only One who can.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19 ESV)
So when we look to the church community to meet our needs, we will inevitably be disappointed. That’s looking to the creation rather than the Creator. It’s the same in marriage. The Bible never tells us to look to our spouse for our needs to be met. That too will result in disappointment. Our spouse is the creation, not the Creator. When we angle our soul mirror toward those around us, we will certainly be frustrated in seeking to meet our needs. The error lies in the angling of the mirror. We are designed to angle our soul mirror toward heaven, where we are seated with Christ. We’re designed to receive the life we need from Christ himself.” (loc. 1803 of 2138) Does it always feel like God is supplying our every need?
“We don’t always understand where the events in our lives are taking us or what God is doing in the midst of them all. The route God takes us on may seem as though it makes no sense at times. We may feel stalled or stuck, wondering why there seems to be no ‘progress’ (however we might measure that!). But this we can know for sure: we are predestined to arrive at conformity to Christ’s image via one route or another.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [29] For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28-29 ESV)
The Person who began this trip with us will carry us on to completion (Phil. 1:6). And no matter what the route, God is always on time! A destiny has been set before us, and our growth is a sure thing (Col. 2:16-19).” (loc. 1828 of 2138)
Heaven Speaks: (What Jesus might say if He were sitting right here)
I don’t want you tossed back and forth by every wind of teaching that comes your way. I want you to steadily grow and be built up into maturity in me. Just as you received me, continue to live in me, rooted and grounded in me and strengthened in your faith, overflowing in thankfulness to me – not because I require your thanks but because you are designed to live in gratefulness. It is both healthy and natural for the creation to look to the Creator and give thanks to me for all. I have called you into fellowship with me, and I will sanctify you through and through so that your spirit, soul, and body are all set apart and blameless at my coming. My Spirit is your deposit, your guarantee that all of this will happen. You will know both the fellowship of my sufferings and the power of my resurrection life. Know that you are being transformed into my image with a glory that comes only from my Spirit. Though physically you are wasting away, inwardly you are being renewed each day. And the afflictions you bear now do not compare to the glory I am working in you. So fix your eyes on what is invisible and eternal, for that is what matters most. I love you, and I’m so enjoying this journey with you. – Jesus
(Eph. 1:14; 4:14; 5:20; Col. 1:15; 2:6-7; 1Thess. 5:18, 23; Rom. 1:25; 8:18; 2 Tim. 2:13; 1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:22; 3:18; 4:16-18; Phil. 3:10-11.)
Awakening:
Thank you, Jesus, that I need not wander into worry about my growth and my future. Thank you for promising to carry me through to maturity, conforming me to your image and your glory. I am willing to know your sufferings so that I may also know the power of your resurrection life in me. You alone meet my deepest needs. You are my steadfast anchor, my great hope in a sea of trouble. You are my everything. I love you, Jesus.
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