Bulletin

Weathering the Storm

There In Him

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Philemon 1:6 (AMPC) 6 [ And I pray ] that the participation in and sharing of your faith may produce and promote full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [ thing ] that is ours in [ our identification with ] Christ Jesus [ and unto His glory ].

There are some gifted folks who can go into a room and right away notice everything in that room, its size and color, where it’s located in relation to everything else, and how many of them there are. Investigative agents are trained in this skill, as recognizing specific details can be critical for safety and acquiring necessary clues. For many of the rest of us, though, it’s possible to be in a room for an extended period of time and never really notice or appreciate much of what it there. Especially in some places like museums, for instance, there is a description about items that adds significant meaning and understanding to its exhibition. To fully absorb what is offered in a place such as that, it requires a commitment of time and focus. I remember going to the Smithsonian with a limited amount of time, and just walking through it as fast as possible while glancing quickly from side to side. I went in, saw most of it, but experienced but a small portion of what was there for me to experience.

In receiving Christ there is reception of His very life and presence with specific access to the place in Him where everything is new. To be in Christ is to lose all reference to the things from our old residence. Efforts to do so will just veil the reality of these new things and inhibit full appreciation of an identity to be acquired with them. For those who commit to more than just a quick walk-through of being in Him, there is something for every aspect of life that will completely transform it by what He’s provided. With each progressive commitment to absorbing the details of that thing in Him, there is further growth to its mature and fruit-bearing potential. To enter in is great, but to fully experience everything there is so much better.

Notes

When we enter the door into Christ, we are sealed into the protection of the secret place by the work of the Spirit as the door is closed behind us.

God secures us in Him

Genesis 7:16 (NIV) 16 The animals going in were male and female of every living thing, as God had commanded Noah. Then the LORD shut him in.

Sealed by the Spirit until…

Ephesians 4:30 (TPT) 30 The Holy Spirit of God has sealed you in Jesus Christ until you experience your full salvation. So never grieve the Spirit of God or take for granted his holy influence in your life.

In Him we begin to discover the new creature He has made us to be. With each discovery, there is release of its nature into our experience of life.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV) 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

House of Mirrors

1 Corinthians 13:12 (NIV) 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

Activated faith – experience of every good thing

Philemon 1:6 (AMPC) 6 [ And I pray ] that the participation in and sharing of your faith may produce and promote full recognition and appreciation and understanding and precise knowledge of every good [ thing ] that is ours in [ our identification with ] Christ Jesus [ and unto His glory ].

There In Him:

Righteousness – free from sin and its consequences

2 Corinthians 5:21 (TPT) 21 For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us, so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.

Healing – He bore it so we don’t have to

1 Peter 2:24 (NIV) 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."

Rich – He became poor so we could be rich

Philippians 4:19 (NIV) 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Wisdom – He became wisdom for us

1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV) 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Victorious – triumphed with Him

Romans 8:37 (NIV) 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

We’ve been invited in – the experience is up to us.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 (TPT) 11 With this in mind, we constantly pray that our God will empower you to live worthy of all that he has invited you to experience. And we pray that by his power all the pleasures of goodness and all works inspired by faith would fill you completely. 12 By doing this the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you will be glorified in him, by the marvelous grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

By faith all that is there in Him will be released and lived.

Ephesians 3:17 (TPT) 17 Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of his love will become the very source and root of your life.