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Intimacy
Knowing Who You Are In Christ
Brokenness
Holiness
Faith
Victory
Peace
Mt. Zion School of Ministry - In Righteousness
In Righteousness Thou Shalt Be Established
Each of us was born for a specific reason with a God-appointed purpose to fulfill. God’s Word proves that He has been faithful to man since the beginning of time. His faithfulness in our lives is what enables us to fulfill His purposes, and accomplish the perfect work of our divine calling.
To perform this calling, God begins to teach us of Himself and establish an intimate relationship with us. Growing in this intimacy and the knowledge of who we are in Christ, we learn to yield our hearts to Him fully and allow Him to break off the ways of our “fleshly” man that hinder us and cause pain. This process births the fruit of holiness in our lives because His character becomes intertwined with who we are. Christ teaches us to walk with Him by faith and not be moved by adversity or circumstances. His Word becomes reality in our lives and we begin to trust in Him and in His faithfulness to us. This simple child-like faith carries us through to victory and joy. When Christ gives us joy, we stop striving to find it in other things and as we rest in Him, we discover the place of perfect peace.
Intimacy
"Now it came to pass, as they went, that He (Jesus) entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)
As Mary beheld the beauty of Jesus, she saw that He was a treasure worth laying hold of. Christ had shown this family love and compassion that went beyond what they had ever before experienced. This may have only been a glimpse of the glory of Christ, but it was enough for Mary to forget everything else and just sit at His feet to hear His word.
Mary developed intimacy with Jesus by spending time in His presence studying His ways. She took advantage of every opportunity when Jesus was near. Mary poured her heart out to Christ and listened as He opened His heart to her. The more she came to know Him, the greater her heart of worship became. Mary recognized Christ as the “Pearl of Great Price.” She passed the boundaries of superficial religious works and entered into a very real and intimate relationship with the living God. As she came in contact with God, face-to-face, person-to-person, her life was transformed.
Jesus Christ longs for us to open our hearts to Him, for us to learn to love His presence as we discover the very heart of who He is. He wants to lavish His love upon us as He imparts His character into us. Today we must respond to His call in our hearts the way Mary responded; our greatest desire must be just to sit in His presence. As our love for Christ and our trust in Him grows, we will walk alongside Him by faith, loving Him simply for who He is.
Knowing Who You Are in Christ
When we’ve experienced the beauty of being at Jesus’ feet we begin to learn the place and rights given to us in Christ. We learn by seeing ourselves through the eyes of God that though our conditions change, we will always be "...accepted in the beloved." (Ephesians 1:6)
As we spend time in prayer, God’s love for us is revealed. Jesus said, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him and will manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21) We were created to have a personal relationship with God—this has always been His greatest desire because He is our Groom and we are His bride. As we grow in this love relationship and Christ manifests Himself to us, we learn what our rights in Him are.
We have freedom through the blood of Jesus that was shed for us—freedom to worship, freedom to love, freedom to obey and freedom to rise above every lie of the enemy. John 3:17 says, "For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved". In John 10:28-29, Jesus stated, "And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father’s hand". God does not desire to destroy His people, but to keep them. Our walk with God is one of faith, and at times it is hard to see past our circumstances. As we believe these promises, we will persevere through the circumstances and trials we encounter in life, for all our sufficiency is found in Christ. Paul went through many trials including being shipwrecked, beaten and stoned, yet his revelation of Christ gave him the ability to endure them all and remain faithful to the Lord. He counted all things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ; therefore, he knew who he was in Christ.
At times, our feelings will tell us we are far from God, but the revelation of who we are in Him will keep us. We must draw close to Jesus and stand on the truth. We are His children, kings and priests seated in heavenly places in Him; He is our righteousness and our peace. Nothing "...shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:39) It is this revelation of God that will cause us to remain strong in the faith when trials seem unbearable.
Brokenness
In our human reasoning we may not completely comprehend why God allows certain things into our lives, yet nothing that comes our way ever escapes His eyes. God is righteous in all His ways; we can be assured that He is not out to harm or destroy us. Psalm 11:5, 7 says, "The Lord trieth the righteous...for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness: His countenance doth behold the upright". God has an ultimate purpose in allowing us to encounter trying situations. That purpose is to bring forth the lasting “fruit” of Christ in our lives.
"Brokenness" is the process of yielding our hearts and wills completely to Jesus. Brokenness in a life always brings forth the fragrance of Christ. In Luke 7:36-50, we read that Mary took her precious possession, an alabaster box of ointment, and broke it at Jesus’ feet. As she did so, the aroma of the ointment filled the room. This is a type of what happens when we come through the process of brokenness. We begin to radiate the life of Christ because our own lives have been broken in surrender to Christ, and now He can live His life through us. It is not an easy process, but the temporary pain we feel is forgotten as the fragrance of Christ emanates from our lives.
Paul experienced this process of brokenness and expressed it this way, “When I am weak, then am I strong.” (II Corinthians 12:10b) Paul understood that God was doing a work in his life and therefore he could glory in his infirmities so that the power of Christ could rest upon him. He knew what it was like to come to the end of himself and allow God to give him strength to go on. He learned that it is at the place of surrender where God works the most.
God wants to demonstrate this same power in our lives. He does not want us to pull away from sorrow and suffering but to embrace and rejoice in them. Trials mold and shape us into the image of Christ. Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. When we have learned to bear the cross of Christ in our lives we will begin to see Jesus living His life through us. The life of Christ is what brokenness is all about and what God desires to accomplish to bring forth His fruits of righteousness and holiness in us.
Holiness
"Be ye holy for I am holy." (Leviticus 11:44, I Peter 1:16)
What is holiness? When we hear the word "holiness" we may think of an untouchable standard that must be achieved in order to please God. Holiness is nothing more nor less than the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus had the Holy Spirit of God without measure (John 3:34). The fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance—were perfectly evident in His life. Jesus embodied these fruits, showing that true holiness is more than outward action; it is a state of the heart.
Holiness is birthed in the heart and manifested through the lifestyle; yet outward actions alone do not dictate holiness. When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, the children of Israel were not able to come near Mt. Sinai because of the holy presence of God. They could only strive to be holy by outward actions and standards found in the Mosaic law. Common people did not have access into the holiest place in the temple. Only the high priest could enter once a year to offer sacrifices for sins. Yet the law and the sacrificial system only proved that human nature can never produce the characteristics of holiness.
The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ day were still under the Mosaic law. Their system of tradition was an added effort to gain right standing with God. Yet Jesus condemned them saying, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matthew 23:23)
If holiness then is not a set of rules to be followed but an innate characteristic, how can we ever be holy? The same Holy Spirit that dwelt in Christ is in us today (I John 4:13) and imparts the perfect character of God into our lives. Our greatest works are "filthy rags" in the sight of God (Isaiah 64:6), but when we are "born again", we are born into Jesus’ holiness. Our sinful character is removed and replaced with the character of Christ. That is how we know that it is no longer us who live, but Christ who lives in us (Galatians 2:20). Christ’s holiness in us allows us to appear blameless before God.
Paul found grace through Christ, and revealed this truth to us: "For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:2-4) "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." (Hebrews 7:19)
To inherit the kingdom of heaven, that is, Christ in His righteousness and holiness, we must approach God in the same manner children come to their father—with simple faith, knowing that their father loves them.
Faith
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) “For without faith, it is impossible to please God; for he that cometh to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
Faith is choosing to believe and trust who God says He is and His Word of promise. Christ is the promise of God which dwells in us and it is His faith through us that causes us to believe Him. People try to please God by doing "good" things, but the work God desires from us is to simply believe Him. Jesus was asked, "...what shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" He replied, "...This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He hath sent." (John 6:28-29) God imparts faith into us so that we are able to have a relationship with Him. He is the Author of our faith and has given each of us the measure of faith necessary to please Him. (Romans 12:3)
No other expression of love can compare with the eternal work of Calvary. We as believers have put our faith in this completed work. Therefore, God should be trusted with everything else we encounter in life. Fear crushes faith because it shows we are not trusting in Christ’s love for us. Our faith demonstrates our love for God because in it we are giving Him complete trust and confidence. Trusting in Christ will dispel all our fears.
True faith goes beyond what we can see, but not beyond what God has revealed in His Word; faith must be founded on the Word of God. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." (Romans 10:17) "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) Jesus is the Word of God, and must be the object of our faith. If we are searching the Word for something other than Christ, our faith is being misplaced. We can believe in many things that may be "good", but if our faith is not first in Christ we will be disillusioned. Christ becomes the tangible substance of our faith through the workings of the Holy Spirit in our life.
Victory
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John 5:4)
To be born of God means to be born of His Holy Spirit. Victory cannot be obtained in our own strength but comes by God through the power of His Spirit in our lives. "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." (II Corinthians 10:4) Victory is gained through the revelation of walking by faith because faith conquers doubt, confusion, fear and unbelief.
When the death angel passed over Egypt, God promised victory to the children of Israel through the shed blood of a lamb. The salvation was in the blood, but if it was not applied to the door posts it would not bring protection to the household. Their faith in the blood had to produce an action.
We take on victory in our walk with Christ when we come to the reality of the cross. The work has already been finished, the victory already won. For us to see this victory evident in our daily lives, we have to apply it daily by faith. Victory cannot be earned or added to, and is not dependent on how victorious we feel. As we grow in faith in Jesus and walk in obedience to Him, the finished work of the cross is brought to pass in our lives, and we see the evidence of walking victoriously because of the Spirit of Christ.
Joshua, leader of the children of Israel, led a life of victory. The Lord spoke to him saying, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." (Joshua 1:8)
Joshua was told to meditate on the Word and in this process his mind was renewed. Philippians 2:5 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus". Joshua was also told to observe to do according to all that was written. Part of the application process is obedience to God’s Word, because faith without works is dead. (James 2:17) If you walk in obedience, then God will prosper your way with His presence.
To apply what God says to our lives takes faith. We must choose to believe God and choose to obey what He says to do. When these things are active in your life, you are walking in victory.
One of the most notable victories of the children of Israel was the battle against the city of Jericho. It was won supernaturally because God had promised victory. To see Jericho’s walls fall, Joshua had to believe and then obey God’s spoken word to march around the city seven times. The victory was his for the taking. The one thing he had to do was obey the instructions God had given. His faith in God produced the action of marching around the city. When the walls came down on the seventh day, the victory was seen, but during the seven days of marching, the victory was walked in.
As Joshua and the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, the Ark of the Covenant went before them. In the same way, Christ has gone before us. He said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matthew 16:24) In order for us to walk in this obedience, we must be willing to deny ourselves. The liberty and victory comes through the cross. Christ has gone before us, but we must follow Him in the path that He walked, because no servant is greater than his master. The joy and victory set before us is in the cross.
Peace
Before Jesus faced the agony of the cross, He left His disciples with a special promise that would comfort and encourage them once He was gone. This promise was there, holding them up once tribulation and persecution arose for their belief in Christ. Jesus knew that they would face trials and sorrow, but He wanted them to know that He had overcome the world and had finished God’s work on the cross. (John 19:30)
The promise that would be with them throughout the rest of their lives was the promise of peace and rest from the torments of this world. Their peace was in knowing that God was pleased with them through the shed blood of Jesus. Their rest came because Jesus finished the work of Calvary and sat at the right hand of God showing all the host of heaven and the demons of hell His work on earth was done. We, as the children of God, must come to the realization that all the work was done on the cross. We cannot merit eternal life; it is given to us freely. We have chosen to believe the truth of the Gospel and live by faith knowing God is pleased with us because of what Jesus has already accomplished.
We cannot work to attain the favor of God. God is only pleased with Jesus Christ in us. When God the Father beholds His children, He sees the image of His Son. Jesus dwells within every one of us through the Holy Spirit; that is why God is pleased with us. We must see ourselves through the eyes of God and realize that though our hearts at times seem as black as coal, He sees them as white as snow through the blood of Jesus Christ. When we receive this revelation, we can rest and have peace in God. He loves us with an everlasting love that will never change. We are His children, joint-heirs with Christ, purchased with the blood of His Son and sealed with His Holy Spirit. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ". This peace comes only as we realize all we will ever need comes from Him.
Hebrews 4:9-10 says,"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from His". "For He spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, and God did rest the seventh day from all His works." (Hebrews 4:4) In this portion of Scripture we see that we enter into the rest of God as we stop striving. We must learn to rest in the finished work of the cross. Peace only comes after a war has ceased. Likewise, it will come in our hearts when we stop striving in the flesh and begin to rest in what our Lord and Savior has already done.
"And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children. In righteousness shalt thou be established: thou shalt be far from oppression; for thou shalt not fear: and from terror; for it shall not come near thee. Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by Me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake."
Isaiah 54:13-15
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