Grace is the opening up of a new place so that we can live responsibly in alignment with the father, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit. Spiritual warriors perfect the art of bouncing back. They know that a crisis leads to elevation. What is trying to take us down will, in fact, cause us to rise up – in God! A crisis attracts the power and strength of God.
2 Corinthians 12:9 – he has said to me, my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Our cooperation with that is to enable the Holy Spirit to empower us, so that our attitude comes into agreement with God’s intention. Because they love the learning, warriors are released through joy to enter the right paradigm for personal growth.
We can gladly boast about who God is for us in the face of our own inadequacies. We can be satisfied and at ease with God’s process because of our delight in the Holy Spirit. What we are being shown about Jesus, and our place in him, is so thrilling to us; it takes us into a new dimension of response.
Jesus is everything to us. He is our place and our position before the father. We are in him. He is for us. The very core of our existence is made available through Christ. Everything comes to us from the father by Jesus. We exist for the father through Jesus.
1 Corinthians 8:6 – yet for us there is but one God, the father, from whom are all things in we exist for him; in one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through him.
We abide in Christ for the sake of the father. He gets to completely fulfill his heart for us, as he does for the Lord Jesus. I am loved in the same way that Jesus is loved. We cannot receive anything in and of ourselves. Everything is joyfully given to us by the father through Jesus – John 3:27.
Everything originates in God – 1st Corinthians 11:12, and it is the father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom – Luke 12:32. This is such an important truth, especially for performance – driven believers, who feel they need to earn their salvation (which actually is not of works, lest anyone become boastful) – Ephesians 2:9.
Romans 11:35 – or who has first given to him that it might be paid back to him again? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
It is describing a cycle. Everything comes from God, through Christ in us and goes back to God. We give to God the very thing he wants from us, which he gives us in the first place. This also is in our DNA. How many of us who are parents, when it is our birthday, have given our children money to buy us a gift?
This is exactly what the father is like. He freely gives us, what he most wants from us. We love him because he first loved us – 1 John 4:19. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow – James 1:17.
The father is consistent about everything He is and does. He will never act outside of his nature or character. There is no change in him. I am the Lord, I change not. He remains the same as he has always been – Hebrews 13:8. Every gift of God exemplifies his goodness to us. The Holy Spirit loves to emphasize the beauty of the Godhead. It is our role in the earth to be astonished among men. The good news is so astounding, so amazing; it often feels like were captured in a fairytale. It sounds and seems too good to be true. The truth is so overwhelming, so bright, and so glorious, we have to wear sunglasses in worship. The Bible is such a fabulous book; it reads like a fantasy novel – only one that is so enhancing, so fascinatingly thrilling, we have to keep smelling salts next to it, to revive us when were overcome by goodness. We read Scripture to discover what God is really, really like and when we do, we get filled up by his beauty and radiance. Worship is not a choice; it’s an explosion that pours out of us. It’s impossible not to worship, when the revelation we are receiving is so glorious, we cannot contain our response. We would have to strain and stress every muscle to be able to contain rejoicing. Try holding your breath for as long as you possibly can – it is utterly impossible… We explode from within. Real worship is like that: our inner man seeks a release, an expression towards God.
Every thought is drawn to him. We are pulled into his glory. His loving-kindness is so magnetic it pulls us towards him, like iron fillings to a magnet. Every fiber of our being is both challenged and captivated by his love. The glory of God is that he is so irresistibly beautiful, we are captured by the goodness that radiates out of him. He pulls love from our hidden places of the heart, soul, mind, and body – Luke 10:27. The best form of evangelism is to be a lover of God. Everyone loves a love story. To love others the way God loves you is the height of the gospel. It’s undeniable good news.
When we are fully and completely loved, we relax. It is so vital for us to win the internal battle of acceptance over performance. However we plan to serve God, we do so because we are radically love, not to try to earn his love. Love makes givers of us all. We must settle into the love of God; be warmed and filled by it; allow it to seep into every pore of our personality. Every cut, every gash of our wounded-ness, of mind and heart, needs to be refreshed by love. In this way we cease to be present/passed in our focus for life. Our past is not a rerun of our history. We are set free, delivered by love.
We can become present/future in our relationship with the father. Fully loved and accepted in the present with a great future to look forward to. As he is, so are we in this world – 1 John 4:17.
The reality and the experience of that love is so powerful it radically alters our complexion. Our character and personality are adjusted by love so completely, that we literally become a new person.
A whole, new powerful state of being emerges in our hearts and lives. We become content. That is, we enter a state of peaceful happiness by which we view all things. Two of the most powerful change elements in the universe are godliness and contentment.
1 Timothy 6:6 – but godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
An individual has arrived in the spirit when both of these are present and growing. Godliness in the Old Testament is used to describe a person who had a lifestyle that was a practical exhibition of loving-kindness towards people who are misfortunate, and whom it is in our power to help. Even at our own expense of time, money, convenience, religion, and national prejudice.
It depicts a person who consciously and deliberately reveals loving-kindness, steadfast love, grace, mercy, faithfulness, and goodness of the Lord. God’s kindness provides the power and strength by which our lives are to be directed. This is godliness, and the father has a special attachment to people who live this way.
Psalm 4:3 – but know that the Lord has set apart the godly man for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.
This means that God deals wonderfully with people who deal wonderfully! Being like God opens us up to him on an even more dynamic level. Thus, God is able to be more dynamic towards us which results in us being more radical in how we love others. Exponential growth is a factor of the kingdom and a King who adores abundance! When we have a Revelation of the Majesty of the Lord’s goodness, the experience of that impacts our lives in a deeply practical way. An experience of revelation must result in God’s words becoming works in us. The father shows his faith in Jesus by his works in us. He would never require it of us, that we demonstrate faith by works – James 2:18 – if he himself did not live by the same value – 1st Thessalonians 2:13.
In the New Testament, godliness marks the relationship in which we stand before God and he stands towards us. We are in Christ, and our position in him is secure. Of God are you in Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:30 by the fathers doing we celebrate life in the son. The father is the foundation of our promises and the provision for life. He has decreed that he will supply all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:19.
Spiritual warriors know their position in Christ and how to maintain their place of favor and anointing. They exercise themselves for the purpose of godliness. They practice their revelation through their experience of it, giving themselves to cultivating the right spirit at all times – 1st Timothy 4:7. Godliness refers to a person who has a reverence for the goodness of God. They believe in the father’s goodness implicitly; they depend on it. Anyone living in godliness as a lifestyle is going to prosper. Godliness holds all the promises of God both for the present life – today – and the life to come – tomorrow! – 1 Timothy 4:8.
Godliness is connected to our becoming like Jesus. We become heart focused and directed. Warriors have a sacred awe and a reverent lifestyle that demonstrates the nature of God. They have a Godward attitude that is focused on pleasing the father. This is what Jesus is like. He only said and did what the father was speaking and doing. He was a normal, righteous man who behaved perfectly before God. He was not God pretending to be a man; he was a man! He had a fabulous perspective on the father. He had a dynamic relationship with God that enabled him to be trusted and empowered. He had a Godward attitude that was focused on pleasing the father.
Godliness is something of a mystery to many people – 1 Timothy 3:16. It is the Revelation of the nature of God that provokes a powerful lifestyle and a spiritual focus from another dimension of reality – the kingdom pressing into us, a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, that calls forth an enlightenment so provocative that we are lifted into a different spiritual state – Ephesians 1:17 – 21.
Godliness is our opportunity to live a heaven sent life on earth, to live a life above, to be governed by the inner man and the disclosures of heaven. This is the doctrine of godliness that Paul is mentoring in Timothy – 1 Timothy 6:3. Doctrines are a set of values that govern our lifestyle and personality. We are wonderfully ruled from within and powerfully expressive of this life form without.
Godliness is a revelatory, experiential power that touches people bringing healing, restoration, and release. Virtue flowed out of Jesus when he was touched by a sick woman – Luke 8:43 – 46. Godliness is the tangible presence of God. People can observe it, be touched and overwhelmed by it. A doctrine teaches by example, and by a lifestyle observed. Paul often said,”… The things you have heard and seen in me…” Do. This is doctrine – exampled teaching – Philippians 4:9, not taught in a classroom but in life circumstances.
For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard what I’ve entrusted to him until that day.
Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.
Trust is a two-way street. We get to trust God with things that are of real value to us. He trust us with his own treasure which we guard with help from our heavenly friend. Only God could be as wonderful as this. He allows us to live within his own example. He is our model, he is our example, and therefore he is our guarantee. We live a life of conviction regarding his nature, character, and integrity.
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Our freedom means everything to the Holy Spirit. His role is to take the things of Jesus and show them to us – John 15:26/John 16:7 – 15. Godliness is the product, the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in us.
Warriors love the Holy Spirit as much as Jesus does. They lean into him for Comfort and Truth. Their love is revelatory intuition that takes their perception of the father to a higher level of experience. In all things the father has provided us with a life that transcends our difficulties. He comes to us; to be something for us that lifts us up to the place where he abides.
Assignment – describe the nature that most attracts you to him; that makes you feel most relaxed and accepted in him. In your areas of current struggle, how is the father viewing you personally? What plans does the father have for your freedom and success in these areas? How will you cooperate with the Holy Spirit in godliness?
Commission – Godliness is being the same to others as God is to you. Using Romans 11:35 – 36 as your guide, what are you currently receiving from the Lord? How is Jesus developing that in you? How will you release that back to the Lord so that he receives glory?