You Are Not Of The World

You Are Not Of The World

Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As you sent Me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate Myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. - John 17:17-19

The word for 'consecrate' and 'sanctified' is simply to 'set apart'.

Jesus said that we are in the world, but NOT of the world. He prayed to the Father to set His disciples apart in the Word. This also applies to us as it is a timeless truth.

In other words, the more we are IN the Word (truth), the more we are set apart from the world.

Jesus set Himself apart, that the disciples might be set apart in the Word, which is Him. The disciples did not have the New Testament when they were with Jesus. But they had the Word, because Jesus is the Word made flesh.

The disciples caught how the Word set Himself apart from the world. Therefore, they could set themselves apart in Him.

If people see us (believers) the same as the world, it proves that we are not in the Word. There is no difference. There is no separation aka consecration.

You and I are not different just to be different. We are set apart when we get into the Word and let the Word get into us. It becomes a natural thing that people see us and realise that we are not of the world.

Reflection: Do people see us the same as the world? If they do, it's time to question what we have truly believed in.

Authority for Eternal Life

John 17:2-3 - Jesus had authority to give eternal life.

- Eternal life is that they know the only true God and Jesus Christ.

- Jesus' authority over all flesh was meant to reveal who God is.

- Luke 10:19. We have been given authority over all devils. This authority is meant to reveal who God is (Matt 28:18-20) so that people can know Him (eternal life).

Faith That Endures

Faith That Endures

"For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” - Matt 17:20

The mustard seed is so tiny, yet Jesus illustrated faith with it. This means that faith has nothing to do with quantity. Faith has to do with standing firm and endurance.

With a mustard seed of faith, Jesus said that we will say to the mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move, AND nothing will be impossible for us.

There seems to be a progression. The mountain moves; AND nothing will be impossible for us. For us to see the impossible done, we must first see what seems to be impossible done. If we can see the mountain moved, our faith has grown to see the impossible.

Every miracle you see empowers you to overcome a bigger problem. I used to be a body builder many years ago. When I overcame 60 kg of bench press (my weight was 50-ish), I could take on 70kg, then 80kg and so on.

Jesus said that you will say to the mountain and it will move. But He didn't say WHEN it will move. How fast we expect it to move depends on the mustard seed of faith that we have sown in.

Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. When it is sown, it will grow to become like a tree (Luke 13:19). He illustrated this by cursing the fig tree before teaching the faith principle (Mark 11:22-23).

Once you have sown the mustard seed of faith, it will GROW and it will WORK, whether instantly or progressively. How fast you want it to work depends on whether your seed has become a tree.

Once you have sown the seed, you endure/persevere to the end. This is the only way for it to grow and work.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved (sozo-ed). - Matt 24:13 (emphasis added)

...knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result... - James 1:3-4

The word 'endurance' in James 1:3 and 'endures' in Matt 24:13 come from the same root word 'hupomenó', which means to abide and remain steadfast.

It is similiar to Ephesians 6:13 when you have done all, 'to stand'. In the Greek, it means 'one who does not hesitate, does not waver; of one who vanquishes his adversaries and holds the ground.'

You are not enduring because God is testing you. You are enduring because the enemy is the one attacking you. Each time when you let faith endure, you defeat the enemy.

For you to see the result of faith, you sow the mustard seed and endure/persevere it to the end. By remaining steadfast, you are letting the seed GROW into the tree. 'Nothing will be impossible for you' becomes your reality.

The problem comes when you doubt (aka double-minded). You cannot mix faith with unbelief. It is like sowing the seed and digging it up from the ground again. In this case, it will NEVER grow. It will NEVER produce result.

Alot of believers know how to sow the mustard seed of faith. But it is enduring to the end that they can't. You will have to align your words, your thoughts and your actions to who and what Christ is, regardless of your situation. This is where you become perfect (mature) and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).

The faith that endures to the end is the mustard seed that grows to become a tree. The faith that endures to the end is the one that gets sozo-ed (saved, healed, delivered, protected, preserved, made whole, kept safe and sound).

The Mustard Seed of Faith

People's unbelief cannot stop my believing.

But my own unbelief can stop my believing.

Little faith = unbelief = double-minded

- It means that I mix believing with unbelief.

- I believe, but it doesn't endure; I have doubt again.

- Believing + doubting doesn't work.

- It's like sowing the mustard seed of faith and then digging it up again

By His Stripes, The Work of God

By His Stripes, The Work of God

By His stripes, you were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

If it is BY His stripes, it has to do with the work of God. It has to do with what He had done. This means that it has NOTHING to do with what we have done or will ever do.

If you think that you can do anything to get healed OR miss your healing, you have focused on the wrong thing.

The work of God has nothing to do with your behaviour, your lifestyle, your actions, etc. To think that there is something you must have done wrong when you didn't get your healing is to think that healing depends on your works.

It is His stripes that got you healed. Focus on His stripes. Focus on that. Focus on the free gift. Focus on His work.

Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” - John 6:29

This is the simplest but hardest truth. Only believe. Believe in Him. Believe in His stripes. Believe that He took them for you. This is the only work you 'do'.

Strive to enter that rest (Heb 4:11). That rest in context is about believing (Heb 4:2).

When you strive to enter the rest of faith, you cease striving in every other area. You cease from ALL your works (Heb 4:10).

Only when you stop believing in any of your own work will you start believing that it is ALL about His work.

If egg yolk is the position of believing, you need to get rid of the shell and egg white that are hindering you from believing.

Those are unbelief. It is unbelief (Matt 17:20) that prevented the disciples from seeing the demon cast out from the boy.

When we mix believing with unbelief, it hinders the work of God.

Unbelief has to do with anything about you.

Believing has to do with everything about God.

The day you stop trusting in yourself and your works is the day you start trusting in Him and His work.

It is BY HIS STRIPES that you were healed.

The Conviction of The Holy Spirit

The Conviction of The Holy Spirit

And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐢𝐧, because 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 do not believe in Me; 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬, because I go to the Father, and 𝐲𝐨𝐮 will see Me no longer; 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, because 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 is judged. - Jn 16:8-11

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of three things:

1) Sin 

2) Righteousness

3) Judgment

But the target audience for each category differs. There are three target audience who are in the world:

1) Unbelievers

2) Believers

3) The enemy

𝟏) 𝐔𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬

The Holy Spirit convicts them of sin. This is not the sin of doing what is wrong. If it is, it will be plural. Since the context is about believing, it has to be the 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 (because they do not believe in Me).

𝟐) 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬

The Holy Spirit convicts the believers of righteousness. This is because Jesus has returned to the Father and thus, we no longer have a perfect Example to watch and follow. Now that the Spirit of the perfect Example lives in us, He convicts us of righteousness ----- 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠. This empowers us to have a god-conscience that is above the world's good conscience.

𝟑) 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲

The Holy Spirit reminds the enemy that he is 𝐀𝐋𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐘 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬. The enemy's head was bruised by Christ (Gen 3:15); the enemy was disarmed and put to shame (Col 2:15); the power of death was destroyed (Heb 2:14).

As believers, we continue to enforce that judgment through the works of the Spirit (Luke 10:18-19; Mark 16:15-18). Each time when we heal the sick and deliver the oppressed, the enemy gets a reminder that he is judged.