|
|
|
|
Chapter 2THE CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER
(Rev 1:4-9 KJV) "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; {5} And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, {6} And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. {7} Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. {8} I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. {9} I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
According to verse 9, John tells us revelation comes in times of tribulation by the Holy Spirit. All that we are going through today is to bring revelation of the Lord in our lives. He wants to bring revelation for every situation we face.
(Isa 11:1-4 KJV) "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: {2} And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; {3} And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: {4} But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked."
Back to verse 4 ‑ What are the seven spirits before the throne? These are the seven manifestations of the Spirit. What is the Spirit of the Lord? Verse 1 ‑ a Branch (from David) who is Jesus Christ. “And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him.” These are the different manifestations that rest upon those in Christ Jesus. Which one do you need today? If we are to be effective in the world, then we must know what it is we need to deal with for each area of life: wisdom = skill (the world lacks this) DISCIPLINE; TRAINING understanding = knowledge STUDY counsel = advice, purpose OUTSIDE HELP might = strength power EXERCISE knowledge = awareness, discernment INNER WITNESS fear = reverence, humility OBEDIENCE
None of this is natural! (Verse 3-4) All of this is worship to the Lord. Notice there are only six listed here. The seventh is after Christ came. He said :
(John 16:13 KJV) "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, where there is truth you will be free IN EVERY SITUATION. And that is what we have to offer the world. The spirit of truth!
That was the revelation of who the Holy Spirit is.
(Revelation 1:5) Now let’s look at seven - revelations regarding Jesus Christ:
Faithful witness ‑ What was Jesus’ purpose in coming to earth? To reveal the Father. Was He faithful? (Saduccees and Pharisees didn't know God, but Jesus said in John 14:9,“He is here. You see me you have seen Him.”) That is revelation!
Firstborn of the dead ‑ Wasn't Lazarus resurrected before Jesus? But he died again. Jesus didn't. He was resurrected, He ascended, He was exalted, and glorified. That did not happen to any other. When we are resurrected, will we be as Jesus?
Prince of the kings of the earth ‑ Who is in charge of this earth? Jesus! He rules now. He rules over you, now. Your employer does not rule over you. When you have a grievance, do you not go to the boss? Who is that? Remember Isa.11:4 "With righteousness shall he judge and reprove with equity for the earth.” When Jesus was unfairly treated, He committed Himself to Father God. Why? Because He knew He would get a fair trial. You say, “But it's not fair!” Who is in charge? Let Him be Lord. The natural tendency is to do whatever it takes not to be wrong. You will even lie so you will not be found to have made a mistake or to have done something foolish. That doesn't make Jesus Lord!
Peter told Jesus he would go to death with Him and never deny Him. In the garden when they came to take Jesus away, Peter pulled out his sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. Jesus had to put it back on. Jesus said the way to win is not to cut off their hearing. [People will hear but seldom listen and that makes us upset.] But just a few hours later Peter is lying about even knowing who Jesus was or being a part of Him. Three times he lied-‑to the point of swearing just to save his flesh. Isn't that what we do when our peace is disturbed? As long as you do all I want you to do and act just the way I want you to act, everything is cool. But get down to the truth of any matter that may affect my flesh and look out. "You're not going to tell me I am wrong." I must have the revelation that He is the ruler of my life, or I just might not make it.
4. To Him that forever loves us (not past tense). He still loves us. Is that real to you? We do not really know His love for us until we experience it daily (that's relationship). The natural will not accept this kind of love when we mess up. Agape is not based on what I do or do not do. Peter didn't have this revelation. After the cock crowed, three times the Lord turned and looked upon Peter, and then the revelation came! What was the outcome: (Luke 22:62 KJV) "And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.” It's called repentance. How long are you going to keep going without a revelation of God's love for you? I do not care how you failed in the past. It is a new day. He will not fail to love or accept you. Only in that revelation is there hope for the way you are feeling and acting.
There are times when I need to know He loves me. We must know it today because there will be many messes and mistakes through this transformation process. I am learning how to keep my mouth shut when I do not like something. I am learning not to react when I am come against. I am learning that I am not perfect in everything I do, and I have to accept that I am that way. The truth has set me free. I know He loves me. Agape is a continual pouring out of His love. It never fails. The biggest problem is that we do not accept it. It is flowing even now for you, but you are not apprehending it (yielding to it). Because you know your track record and what you did this week, your mind tells you, "If everyone knew what I did, no one would love me." BUT HE DOES IN SPITE OF YOU!
5. He has washed us from our sins in his own blood. This love is not only unconditional; it is also to free us from everything that enslaves us and from anyone who makes us feel inferior. We won't be able to escape this kind of love. He has come to free you from every control. (1 Cor 9:19 KJV) "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more."
I believe the Lord wants a body that can come together and love one another in spite of how we are or what we do. I can love you no matter what, and you can still love me, even when I grind you up. You see, love will speak truth to your life because the blood is washing you.
6. and 7. He has made us Priests and Kings. Verse 6 ‑We are being brought into a Kingdom where we will rule and reign with Him. He wants us to have the revelation of Him so that we will know what we will become - - Kings and Priests. He wants to teach us how to rule in this life, how to rule over situations instead of situations ruling over us. It's our walk. He wants us as Priests, those who will go to Him for help in all things, and those who will pray and seek His direction and be holy unto Him. Verse 7 ‑ Why will they wail? Because they will know even as they are known. Their eyes will be opened and they will know what they have rejected. Why does Jesus work to show us our hearts? So we will not reject Him. Does the process cause grief? If it doesn’t, we aren’t seeing yet!
Verse 8a ‑ He knows the beginning of my life and He knows the end. And He alone can get me through it all. Nothing surprises Him. Why do we get so excited at what we do or who we are? Because we get to choose how we write the end. He has the plan, but we get to choose how it will go. I can turn from Him because I do not like what He is doing. But (verse 8b) He will not change. He does care about the decisions you make because He will not change His will for your life, nor will He accommodate you in your self‑centered manner. He will wait until you submit to Him and to His ways. Self-centeredness is going to produce tribulations. That is why we must have the Holy Spirit and the manifestation of the Holy Spirit operating within, along with the revelation of Jesus Christ.
He is the Almighty. He rules it all. There is no enemy that can defeat Him. Do you not want to rely on one who cannot be defeated? He cannot be deceived. He cannot be caught off guard. What a comfort. The world has gone mad, but the Almighty remains forever true. He is our revelation for life. This is His character, given for us to live and not die. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
|
|
Copyright © 1995-2007 Living Word Christian
Fellowship, Inc.
|
