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True Life Counseling, Inc. P.O. Box 871831 Wasilla, Alaska 99687-1831
Telephone/Fax 907.357.2777 zumcross@mtaonline.net |
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True Life Counseling, Inc. P.O. Box 871831 Wasilla, Alaska 99687-1831
Telephone/Fax 907.357.2777 zumcross@mtaonline.net |
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FREEDOM TALK |
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Links we like: Association of Exchanged Life Ministries |
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Giving Essential Guidance in Forging Strong Relationships |
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FREEDOM TALK April 2008 by Cheryl ZumBrunnen
WHO AM I?
Lets set the stage for what I want to talk about:
Everything you do or think or feel has to do with God. Every person you meet has to do with God.
Israel had a wrong concept of their God. They wanted him to be their “sugar daddy” and do for them as they wanted, and to let them do as they wanted. Unfortunately this is a wrong concept of God today as well. Believers are blinded to the complete CENTRALITY OF CHRIST in the life of a Christian. Why? Because some don’t know, others know but don’t know how to implement the truth into their daily lives, and some know but have decided that the cost is to great to give Christ His rightful place of sovereignty in all they are and all they do.
Lets look at Colo 3:15-17. In the original languages there punctuation was vastly different then in our modern English. This passage is a good example of the run-on sentences in the Greek. We see periods in the English text, with the next sentence beginning with the word AND. We got marked down on our school English papers if we did this, but the translators of the scripture did this to break up the length of the sentences, but to also show that this was a whole thought, not several different thoughts.
This passage begins with the implication that we have a choice to make:
“LET the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of ONE body you were called to peace. AND be thankful. AND LET the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, AND as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in you hearts to God. AND whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Remember I just said that, “Everything you do or think or feel has to do with God.” How does this apply to our identity? Romans 8:17: “Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and CO-HEIRS with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory.”
What is a CO-HEIR? CO = prefix meaning with; together; joint; in or to the same degree; complement (something that fills up, completes, or makes perfect; counterpart [pendant = perfect match]);
HEIR: legal heir; heir apparent (an heir whose right to an inheritance is indefeasible in law if he meets all requirements of the law; indelible [permanent]);
So, how do we become an heir? BY BIRTH: In the Jewish culture, the first born son, or oldest living son at the time of the death of the father automatically inherits all the father owned and possessed. BY CHOICE OF THE BENEFACTOR: Someone who is not related by blood can be chosen by the benefactor to inherit all or part of his estate upon his death. BY DEFALT: In the event of a person’s death, with no will in place, the closest living relative that can prove the relationship will inherit that person’s wealth.
How do we become a co-heir with Christ? COHEIR in Christ: Indelible counterpart and perfect match with Christ in all that is His by having met all the spiritual and legal requirements in becoming a true Christian.
We choose Christ, and He gives back ALL that He is and ALL He possesses. He holds nothing back from us! His desire is that we hold nothing of ourselves back from Him. But, being a true benefactor, He does not deny us our inheritance if we do not perform in a certain way. Our son-ship, daughter-ship, if you will, is the only requirement He set for us to have to meet in order to be full beneficiaries of all He is. And yet, along the road of life, His goal is to convenience us of the ALL ENCOMPASSING COMPLETENESS OF WHO HE IS – THE CENTRALITY OF CHIRST IN OUR LIVES, that we may experience more and more of Heaven on earth.
COHEIR in Christ: Indelible counterpart and perfect match with Christ in all that is His by having met all the spiritual and legal requirements in becoming a true Christian.
I believe this statement of relationship with Christ is the foundation of our identity. If we believe, as an act of faith, that we are CO-HEIRs with Christ in absolute completeness, we will also believe all the other things that define who we are: i.e. child, branch, saint, witness, temple, righteous, adopted, redeemed, forgiven, citizen of heaven, anointed, sealed, rescued…
MIND SET IS THE NAME OF THE GAME! Choosing to LET these truths RULE (control and govern) our thinking no matter what our emotions, relationships, or circumstances are doing around us. Then and only then will we be able to do what Colo. 3 says and do it ALL in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Living the truth that: “Everything I do or think or feel has to do with God. Every person I meet has to do with God.” Because we are a co-heir with Him in all we are and all we do.
Who am I? I am everything Jesus Christ says I am, no performance strings attached! His gift to me is my true identity. I am a Siamese twin with Christ! What ever is true about Him is true about me (only one exception: I am not part of the God-Head). Who I am is the one and only thing that is never in flux in my life because it has nothing to do with me! My circumstances, moods, emotions, relationships, looks, knowledge, finances...NOTHING in all of creation can separate me from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus!
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What is FREEDOM TALK?
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