The Prophetic Word- Days 71 Thru 76: There is More

The Prophetic Word

Day 71: There is MORE.

In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on the following scriptures:

“And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back.”

1 Corinthians 15:16-23 NLT

“But someone may ask, “How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?” What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed.”

1 Corinthians 15:35-38 NLT

“Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like the heavenly man.”

1 Corinthians 15:47-49 NLT

“What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 NLT

“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.”

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 NLT

“Therefore, come out from among unbelievers, and separate yourselves from them, says the Lord. Don’t touch their filthy things, and I will welcome you. And I will be your Father, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.””

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.”

2 Corinthians 6:17- 7:1 NLT

“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

2 Peter 1:2-4 NLT

Through the work of Jesus Christ we will live on past our sojourn here. We truly are more than meets the eye. And, our life is about more than what we are experiencing here.

But what about NOW? Is there MORE to be obtained in this life?

Next time we will begin our investigation into the “more” available to those who are in Christ.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Days 72 & 73: We are on the path of MORE.

“May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

2 Peter 1:2-4 NLT

I think we have all probably—

at one time or another—eaten what is known as “s’mores.” As you might have guessed, the name for that gooey deliciousness came from the phrase “I want some more.”

Now, whereas wanting more of some awesome treat may stand to only hurt your waistline, an attitude of always wanting more of what the world has to offer, can lead to disaster.

Indeed, the s’mores mentality is a product of the world system. That is to say, the spirit of the world cries out continually for more pleasure, wealth, power, any number of things, associated with satisfaction by the world’s standards. The irony is, people who are living their lives according to the dictates (desires) of the flesh, never seem to be satisfied. So s’more is never enough!

We have recently discussed the fact that by worldly standards the Christian walk is one of less and less. But, the truth (which can only be seen through the transformed mind) is that—to the contrary—we are walking a path of more and more.

“The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, which shines ever brighter until the full light of day. But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.”

Proverbs 4:18-19 NLT

Given, we are not ignorant of the fact that we will face struggle in this life; but our inward person, is being renewed and improved (becoming more!), as we are faithful through our affliction.

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 ESV

Additionally, Jesus promised that there is great reward (more!) in Heaven awaiting those who suffer because of their allegiance to Christ.

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

Matthew 5:11-12 NLT

However, if our affection and our hope still rests in the things this world can offer, even if we were to try to remain faithful, we are living with the toxic mindset of less and less. As such, it is only a matter of time before our steadfastness is compromised.

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.”

1 John 2:15-17 NLT

In our opening scripture we see Peter referencing the more and more grace and peace we will receive as we grow in the knowledge of God through Jesus Christ. Yes, we can share in the divine nature now.

Far from living a life of less and less, we are living a life of more and more NOW. And, we will look into this MORE tomorrow.

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 74: We will be/are being transformed into MORE.

“What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.”

1 Corinthians 15:50-53 NLT

Paul stressed to the church at Ephesus the importance of the five-fold ministry (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher) in terms of building the body of Christ (the Church) into the full stature of our Lord.

“This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church.”

Ephesians 4:13-15 NLT

As we began discussing yesterday the Christian walk should be characterized as a path—or process—of more and more. Whereas the Church is to grow into the full stature of our Lord (that is, directly reflecting Him and walking in steadfast obedience), the individual believer is also being transformed. Indeed, it is the transformation of the individuals that makes possible the transformation of the Church.

“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 NLT

The Law ironically served to illustrate the impossibility of Fallen man attaining righteousness. Our Sin stain separated us from our Righteous Father and there was nothing we could do about it!

Then Jesus—the perfect Sacrifice—atoned for our Sin. And, through identification with His death (recognizing He paid the debt we could not pay), His righteousness is imputed to us.

Now, being righteous, we can have access to the Dynamo (Holy Spirit) of God and be transformed into our Lord’s image and have His righteous mind (His way of being and doing).

Whereas connection, or access, to His mind is complete with our coming to Faith and being filled with His Spirit, the transformation of our person, is a PROCESS of conforming to Him. This happens by “putting off” (renouncing) the things of sin and shame while allowing the Holy Spirit to direct the “putting on” of Christ (righteousness and peace through obedience to His will).

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.”

Romans 13:11-14 NLT

In our opening scripture we see a glorious description revealing the mystery of our transformation at the coming of our Lord.

But dear child of God—make no mistake—the MORE of our transformation has already begun in us NOW as we follow HIM!

“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.”

1 John 3:1-3 NLT

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 75: We are a new creation.

“It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 15:42-45 NLT

You may have heard people make the comment, “That’s putting lipstick on a pig.” Now, this is generally used to reference a bad situation being shown in a positive light. In terms of politics, this lipstick on a pig thing is referenced as “spin.”

With “spin,” a situation that is bad for your cause or candidate, is “reframed” in a way to make it either neutral or good for your cause.

Sadly, in terms of the condition of our inner person before the work of Jesus Christ, any of our attempts to improve or hide our actual fallen state, were just a basic cosmetic application and did not change our sin-sick souls. Truly, a lipstick-on-a-pig scenario, as no “frame” could hide the ugliness in the portrait of our soul.

Through the work of Jesus Christ our inner person did not receive a “makeover,” but rather, a radical transformation brought through being transferred into the rule of Christ.

“always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”

Colossians 1:12-14 NLT

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.”

2 Corinthians 5:17-18 NLT

Although we still live in a fallen vehicle, our inner self is now alive to God and capable of saying no to sin!

“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”

Romans 6:1-6 NLT

Truly, through the work of Jesus Christ, we are transformed and are capable of living a new life. We don’t have to settle for some Cinderella-like transformation that disappears at midnight. We have become MORE than we were. We have become heirs, God’s children, through Jesus Christ!

In our opening scripture Paul is explaining what the resurrection of the dead will look like. He explains that we will have a glorious new body. But—the additional good news is—newness of life, the MORE of sonship, has begun NOW! Indeed, our new and eternal life has already started!

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!

The Prophetic Word

Day 76: More now and more later.

“For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.”

Philippians 3:18-21 NLT

Jesus and His disciples were traveling and came to Samaria (where the interaction between Jesus and the Samaritan woman happened with which you’re probably familiar). The disciples left for a while to get supplies. Upon returning, they were encouraging the Lord to eat something:

“But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” “Did someone bring him food while we were gone?” the disciples asked each other. Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.”

John 4:32-34 NLT

Truly, the Lord lived His earthly life being energized by doing the will of His Father. Indeed, He was able to endure the suffering of the cross by continuing to see His reward as doing what He was sent to do.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

Hebrews 12:1-2 NLT

These last several days we have been discussing the fact that the life of a Christian is a life of more and more. But—as we discussed earlier—you will perceive your life as being anything other than more and more if you still look for fulfillment and satisfaction in the things of this world.

As well, we must remember that those who live according to fleshly lusts will never understand that we are living a life of more and more.

“You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.”

1 Peter 4:2-4 NLT

Think about some of the philosophies the world embraces as reflected in saying things like, “you just need to let your hair down,” or, “you need to sow your wild oats,” or even, “you’ve earned this,” and the “this” is some sort of debauchery.

Yes, our life is one of more and more, but the world will never understand how that is the case.

Paul, speaking to the church at Corinth, as part of his assertion that they have proven that they are true ministers of the gospel, offers this:

“Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything.”

2 Corinthians 6:10 NLT

Indeed, though by worldly standards, we may lack, we actually have everything!

In our opening scripture we see Paul contrasting those who live according to sinful lusts with those who regard their citizenship or allegiance to be in Heaven.

In his description of those who are looking to Heaven for their more, we see that there is an eagerness for the coming of the Lord and to experience the more that is yet to come when we are given our glorified bodies.

Yes, my friend, the world may see us as having less and less; but the eternal truth is, life in Christ, is one of MORE NOW and MORE LATER!

Peace to you.

Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!