Christ-likeness Is A Decision

Christ-likeness Is A Decision

Paul wrote alot about putting off the old self and putting on the new self (Col 3:5; 3:9-10).

Living by the Spirit is the same as living by the Word OR living in our identity OR living by faith. They are all the SAME. We don't have to be 'charismatically' flaky about each of them, unless we have not studied the Word thoroughly.

Paul had a deep encounter with God on the road to Damascus. But he didn't teach all his disciples to go after encounters. He taught them truths on the New Creation because he knew that it is the only Way for Christ-likeness.

He didn't shout, "Let the Holy Spirit touch you. I tell you... your life will never be the same again. Your life will be transformed by this encounter!!!"

Because it is both untrue and not the truth.

Paul had a deep encounter. But that encounter didn't change him. That encounter changed his mind about who God is. With all the knowledge of the Word that he already had as an ex-Pharisee, he went on to study further in the Word for many years and understood the New Covenant through revelations.

He understood what it meant to PUT ON the New Self so that he could become like Christ in all aspects.

To put on the New Self is to live according to the Spirit (aka identity, or Word, or faith). In the Spirit, we are created in God's image, like Christ. When the Bible talks about you in the New Covenant, it refers to your spirit. You are not your soul (mind, emotions, will) and your body. You are your spirit.

Alot of people get confused with this. When God sees you, He sees your spirit. Hence, when you see yourself, you must see in the Spirit too.

Since you have been made complete in Christ (Col 2:10), what is left for you to align to that completion is your soul and body. When Paul wrote that you should put on the new self or new man, he referred to your soul and body, because your spirit is already a new creation (2 Cor 5:17).

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another... - Col 3:12-13

Since you and I can put off something and put on something, it is something that is meant to be done on our part. God has done His part to change you ---- made you a new creation. Now, we need to do our part.

If we can PUT ON compassionate hearts, it means that in the Spirit, we already have compassionate hearts. We are made compassionate since we are made complete in Christ.

In other words, every time when we PUT ON the characteristics of Christ, it is a DECISION. You DECIDE to put off and put on. You DECIDE to put on kindness, humility, meekness, love, etc.

A decision will eventually become a habit, a commitment and a lifestyle. When it becomes a lifestyle (natural), it proves that your mind is renewed (Rom 12:2) to the knowledge of the image of the Creator (Col 3:10).

What if you are not waiting for God to change your mind, emotions, will and actions? What if God is waiting for you to make a decision to change your mind, emotions, will and actions?

What if putting on the image of Christ in every aspect is all about you making a decision to do so?

Identified with Him

Identified with Him

The greatest mystery that God ever revealed to us is this... Christ IN you (Col 1:27).

The whole Christianity sums up in that.

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. - Col 3:3

The most powerful defence against the enemy is to reckon ourselves died. A dead person cannot react or respond to anything that tries to come against him.

The enemy can throw anything at you. But if you are dead, he doesn't get any response back. This frustrates him because all that he does is to try to get a reaction/response from you.

This is why Galatians 2:20 is the only way to live a victorious Christian life in every area. Whichever area we struggle is the area that we are still trying to be alive in the flesh. Only the flesh will struggle.

Only when we are dead will His life flow through us.

...your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Col 3:3b

The word 'hidden' in Greek means 'laid up with God in heaven.' Christ is now in heaven.

Hence, our lives are not just laid up with the Christ on earth, but the Christ in heaven. Your life is laid up with the glorified Christ.

I have heard from so many pulpits that preach that 'your life is hidden IN CHRIST; so you hide yourself IN Christ; let Him be seen.' The principle is true but it is not what this verse talks about.

The verse doesn't say 'your life is now hidden IN Christ.' It says, 'your life is now hidden WITH Christ in God.'

The word 'with' in Greek means 'to be closely identified together with'; 'to be associated with one, with its power or result.'

In other words, our lives are now identified together with the glorified Christ. What you see in the glorified Christ is what you should see in you (1 John 4:17). We are so united with Christ that Christ and us are inseparable.

When the enemy sees us, he should see Christ. He cannot differentiate if it's you or Christ because of the inseparable union. Unless you suddenly decide to come alive in the flesh. This is why Paul reminded us that we have died.

Because your life is so identified and associated with Christ, you get to walk in the same power and result He has.

The more we identify our lives with the glorified Christ, the more we walk in His power and result. This is the most powerful offense against the enemy.

By power and result, I am referring to ALL that Christ walks in. This does not just refer to healing and health, but also love and character. The mainstream likes to choose the latter. The charismatics like to choose the former. We cannot pick and choose because Christ walks in BOTH of them.

People ask, "How is this possible?"

This is why we need to keep going after our identity in Christ. We never stop because we haven't reached perfection until we walk exactly like Christ.

Dominion Over Sickness

Dominion Over Sickness

The Word of God remains true even if someone experiences otherwise. The Word remains faithful even if someone is going through the exact opposite of the Word.

Once I preached on forgiveness, and someone who just went through a divorce came up to me after the session. She rebuked me for talking about forgiving your spouse. I listened to her rebuke, but I did not apologise. I make no apology for what is in the Word.

Hurt people hurt people. Because people are going through challenging and difficult stuff in their lives, they might not be ready to listen to the Word. They are already hurt. So they will react to what you say to protect themselves.

But we must not back down. The Word cuts but the Word also heals. There is no other way to heal completely. If we back down because someone is hurt, he/she will stay that way many years down the road.

Dan Mohler (senior) once said, "Sensuality will say, 'Oh... let's be nice to her. She is hurt.' Well, she's already hurting. Give her the truth! Yes, the truth might hurt, but she's already hurting. As long as our motivation is love, truth will eventually set her free."

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. - Rom 6:14

We believe that sin indeed shall not have dominion over us. In other words, we have dominion over sin. We accept this truth, but might be experiencing otherwise. Yet we do not reject this truth.

Since death (every form including sicknesses and diseases) came through one man's sin and spread to all men (Rom 5:12) and life came through one Man's righteousness and spread to all believers (Rom 5:17), we know that if we have dominion over sin, we have dominion over death.

It is incomplete in theology to believe in dominion over sin if you don't believe in dominion over sicknesses and diseases. Because you can't deal with one without the other.

Sin and sicknesses go hand in hand as a package, just as righteousness and life go hand in hand as a package. Religion, however, has taught us to separate each of them, just as it has taught us to separate faith alone from water baptism.

The early disciples understood the truth way more simply. Keeping the Word simple is the best way to receive it's power in simplicity.

You don't reject the truth that you have dominion over sin, even if you are not walking in 100% victory over sin. Neither should you reject the truth that you have dominion over every sickness and disease, even if you don't experience it.

If physical death is the only way to be free from sin, then death is our saviour, not Jesus. On the same note, if physical death is the only way to be free from sickness, then death is our healer, not Jesus.

In 2024, I believe that we will see greater personal health and healing by simply receiving the truth of God found in His Word, without needing to seek after the laying on of hands from any minister, which is primarily meant for unbelievers.

Know This & You Will Truly Be Empowered

The Christian Walk

The Christian Walk

The Christian Walk is a walk of faith. Faith, Spirit and Word are all co-related and interchangeable in the Word.

To walk by faith is to walk by the Word. When we choose to walk by the Word regardless of what we see, feel and experience, we are walking by faith.

When we received Christ, we are made complete in Him (Col 2:10). This is called the New Creation (2 Cor 5:17).

Jesus didn't come to change you. He came to kill you so that you become a New Man in Him (Gal 2:20).

We are not trying to become better.

We are not trying to get more from God. When Christ cried, "It is finished!", His works are perfectly completed and completely perfect.

Hence, we begin completed in Him (Col 2:10), which means that we are already made like Christ and we already have all that Christ has, when we are born again.

Therefore as you 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 Christ Jesus the Lord, so 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐦. - Col 2:6

All that is left for us is to walk out who Christ is, because who He is, we are (1 John 4:17). 

This is the Christian Walk ----- walking by faith in everything that He said we are.

If we have received Christ, we have received everything Christ is and has.

Christ is Healing and Health. So you and I do not need to try to get healing from God. We already have it. As He is, so are we in this world. By His stripes, we WERE healed (1 Peter 2:24).

The default mode of believers is "healed and health." That is our natural identity. 

In other words, if we simply do nothing, healing and health flow within us by default, just as peace flows within us by default.

If you cut your finger, it heals by default. You don't think about it. But if you keep pressing/touching/scratching it, it actually hinders the healing.

The Bible says that "as you have received Christ, so walk in Him." You can translate it like this, "as you have received healing/health, so walk in healing/health." You can insert alot of principles in this verse and it will still be true. For Christ is salvation/abundance/peace/health/love, etc.

To walk in something is simple and effortless. It's by grace through faith. If you are walking, you don't stop just because you see/feel/experience stuff.

What stops us from walking in healing & health (by default) is what we see, feel and experience in our mortal bodies. When we react to our bodies instead of responding to who we are and continuing with our walk, we stop the flow within us.

The Christian Walk is a walk because you have already received everything you need in Christ. But to experience the benefits of the Kingdom, it takes you to walk them out by faith.

How To Increase In Knowing Him

How To Increase In Knowing Him

The typical SG Christian culture is to grow in knowledge. We are zealous to grow in knowledge. We desire to have more and know more.

We go for more bible studies, more seminars, more conferences, better pulpit teachings, etc. We are constantly seeking for more knowledge disguised as revelations of God.

This is but mere knowledge, which is not what the Bible talks about.

The Bible talks about knowing His will, leading to doing His will.

...you may be filled with 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐲 of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him: bearing fruit in every good work and 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐆𝐨𝐝. - Col 1:9-10

The knowledge of His will leads to walking (aka doing) in His will. And doing His will causes the INCREASE in the knowledge of Him.

To know Him more, it's not about getting more knowledge and going for more bible studies. It's about finding out His will and doing His will.

When we search out His will (through His Word), there is a demand for response if we want to grow in knowing Him. That's to walk it out. That's to do what we know ---- His will.

The real quest of knowing Him is not found in knowledge. It's found in doing.