CFTN 2018 - Lecture 3

Recap: Redeemed to Shine

0 - Recap - Restored to life - What did we establish in the last couple of days? The whole reason that God sent His Son is so that He could put His life back inside of us - so that we could be restored back to the truth that we were created in. That’s why we’re Christians - little Christ-like ones. And Christ in you is the hope of glory.

0 - Restored to shine - We’re not serving doctrine. We’re not even serving Him. He’s in us. And He’s transforming us and we’re becoming more like Him so that we shine as lights in the world.

1 - Born into the aftereffects of sin - We established that the attitudes that we grew up in - the emotional expression - the reactionary stuff - none of the came from the Lord. That came from Adam. God didn’t make us that way. We became that way when man sinned and fell away from God.

1 - For instance, nobody had to teach you to be angry, discouraged, disappointed, self-conscious, self-focused. That happened through sin - through separation from God.

1 - Born into neediness - There was a tremendous perversion that took place. God made man to love. But when man got cut off from God, he became in need of love. And we were all born into that deficit. We all were born NEEDing to be loved because we were disconnected from Him - our source of love.

1 - Redeemed to shine - So when we get grafted back in - when we get hooked back up to our source of love, the whole goal is that we become that love - the very thing that gives us life.

2 - And then, all of the sudden, people don’t owe me any more. Nobody ever again is going to break my heart - because it’s not for me to get broken. I’m going to love people, lay down my life, carry my cross and follow Jesus. He’s my Lord. That’s what Jesus did.

2 - Born into twisted thinking - FYI - “Analytical” defined - It’s not from the Lord. It’s different from intellect and IQ. It’s human reasoning that talks you out of truth and makes simple things appear to be complicated. Analytical is what happened to Eve when the serpent just kept speaking and she kept listening and thinking - and resulted in her eating. Paul talks about this complication of simple things in Corinthians - But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. - 2 Cor. 11:3. God never gave you the ability to talk yourself out of Him. To think so deeply that you took something simple and made it complicated. That came from the fall of man.

3 - Born into selfishness - No selfishness in love - Love lays down it’s life. But we’ve lived at the expense of each other. Do you see how things got perverted? There’s no selfishness in love and no love in selfishness. Love doesn’t seek its own. And selfishness can’t love because it’s all about itself.

3 - Born into identity crisis - Identity from life - So we’re born into Adam. Totally no identity - We don’t know who we are. Life is teaching us who we are and it’s always a lie. Most of us (most people walking around in the world) aren’t even the real us. When truth comes that’s when we’re really born and revealed.

3 - Identity from life - A lot of us are just products of what we’ve been through. We hold tight and cling to our story - our upbringing - what I’ve been through. They become a product of their life lived instead of His life now in them. It’s a trap. And the church actually ministers to (inadvertently reinforces) that trap through understanding (sympathetic acceptance).

4 - Love of a father vs Love of the Father - For instance - We say, “Oh wow, you can’t receive the love of the Father because your father never loved you.” What does that have to do with God loving you as seen in giving His Son to die for you? Why do I have to have a loving father to be able to relate to His Son crucified? That shouldn’t even matter. Why does it matter? Because we call them both “father”?

4 - Identity from the Father - If your father didn’t love you it means that he was a dry cup. No wonder you’re still thirsty. You’re still trying to drink from a dry cup! But just one drink from Jesus - living water - and you will never thirst again. What was He saying? “You’ll know who you are from that point on. And you won’t identify yourself through the way that life has treated you. You’ll identify yourself according to who I am inside of you. I have love you from the beginning.”

5 - A strong, healthy place - Do you see how confident this thing is in me. Nobody in the world owes me a thing. And you can’t stop this train - it’s rolling! You’re not going to post something and break my heart - hurt me - make me insecure. You are way too late! The truth of the gospel endures. It’s the same every day. No matter what you are going through, no matter how you are tempted to feel, when you open that Bible, it says the same thing that it did when you were doing well.

6 - Purpose: To shine - We’re not on the earth just to survive. You’re not even on the earth to have what we consider a “good life”. You’re on the earth to shine. You are the light of the world.

6 - Impediments to shining have to go - Any mindset, any motive, any perspective (any distraction, any appetite) that cuts into the light (that shining of light) is a devil and a deception. It’s a distraction and it’s deceived. You are a light in the world.

6 - Impediment to shining: False identity from my past - “But you don’t know what I’ve been through.” I get that. But what has He been through? When is that finally going to matter more? When does faith say that what He did matters more than what I’ve been through? When does faith say that the real me is found in Him, not my yesterday. If you don’t find identity through God then your identity will always be based on what you’ve been through. You’ve been to church and sung lots of songs but you’re allowing life the way it’s been to decide who you are - even as you are singing that He’s amazing.

6 - Don’t get caught just becoming good at doing church and yet miss becoming her. He paid a price for you to shine.

6 - Reject outside influences on identity - Guard your heart because out of your heart flows the issues of life. You don’t give anyone access to who you are from the inside. That belongs to Him. If the inside is clean, the outside shall be clean.

7 - Identity - Healthy being paves the way for healthy doing - If you make the tree good - if the tree realizes what kind of tree it is, the fruit is evident and obvious. You’re not trying to do better. You’re becoming something. If your being is healthy, your doing will also be healthy.

7 - Healthy Identity - Be to do - Not do to be - Apple trees don’t produce apples to prove that they are apple trees. They produce apples because they are apple trees. You don’t do Christian things to prove that you’re a Christian. You don’t do Christian things to be accepted or “spiritual” or qualified. You’re already all of those things through the blood. You do righteous things because you’ve been made righteous. You live in holiness because you’ve been made holy, blameless and above reproach.

8 - Truth crushes impediments to shining - I’ve found these scriptures in my Bible and I believe them. And do you know what they’ve done? They’ve crushed feelings and sensuality and wrong believing.
8 - Living by fallen feelings - We’ve had emotions that were twisted our whole lives. And we’re still living according to them if we’re not careful. We’re only doing good if we’re feeling good. No. You’re only doing good if you believe good. Your believing will overtake your feelings, I promise you.

8 - Ministering to feelings - We inadvertently reinforce living by feelings - We spend so much time being ministered to based on how we feel - what it seems like. We minister to flashbacks, memories, impressions. And by this we teach people to continue to live sensual (by how they feel) instead of by truth. They learn that if I’m not feeling good, I’m not OK. What a lie from hell. He’s inside of me and He’s not leaving (regardless of how it might feel). He’s as close as the mention of His name (regardless of whether I feel Him or not). He’s right there.

9 - Dan’s hotel room. We’ve got to laugh a little. I’m intense but I smile the whole time. Why?...

9 - What I’m here to tell you - Who you are - Why you’re here - Avoid the traps - I’m not here because you’re messing up. I’m not here to tell you what you’re doing wrong. I’m here to tell you who you are, what He paid for and to say that you are worth this - you are in this race - Let’s run it well. Let’s not get distracted, get any other idea or look back. We don’t have time to live up and down. We’re in Him. We’re ascended in Him. We’re seated in heavenly places. Christ is in us. Come up hither. Come out of darkness into light.

10 - Up and down - cycling - is not Christianity.

10 - Lot’s wife - Let’s not fall short of living out who we are and why we’re here. Lot’s wife looking back. Got stuck in between where she was delivered from and where she was called to. Christians do the same thing - they live right in between. They are forgiven of the sins they committed but never reach what they are called to. Because they see the gospel as their survival kit. They look for provision and breakthrough and feeling better. And when things aren’t going well they question in their hearts - I thought He loved me - What am I doing wrong? - What’s blocking my prayers? They’re just driven to get prayers answered instead of shining and being an example - productive in their work place and in their spheres of influence. And the quandary of their soul quenches what they are called to and what they are here for.

11 - It’s simple. If a child can’t understand what you’re preaching it’s probably not the gospel.

12 - I’m not mad at you. I’m crying out who we are - how He sees us.

12 - Meaning of the cross - I used to think that the cross was all about our sin. No, it’s all about our restored value. It’s about our purpose and our destiny. It’s about restoring legacy and the potential and purpose of living in Him. He didn’t just die on the cross because we’re sinners. He had to die because we sinned. But He didn’t die because we’re sinners. He died because we’re lost sons and daughters. He became a lie so that we could walk in truth.

12 - Marred more than any other. - Is. 52 - Description of crucifixion and whipping. He didn’t change His mind. That’s intense and that makes me intense.

13 - All things become new - New wineskins to hold new wine - Do you think I am going to believe that He did that for me and yet get caught up in other things - selfish bickering - arguing for my rights - living by feelings - being hurt? Jesus didn’t teach me that through His life. I didn’t get it from Him. Where did it come from? If Jesus said let no one be your teacher, why am I letting that teach me? If I have new life in Christ, why is the old way still in me? If old things pass away and all things are new… all things… become new, then He’s talking about all things. He’s not talking about being forgiven for all of the things you wish you hadn’t done. He talking about being totally transformed and new - so that He can take and pour His new wine into a brand new wine skin ready to contain that wine. And then God can pour that wine (out) into the souls of men (around you). As the scriptures say… out of his belly will flows rivers of living water. Living water - not offense, discouragement, questioning, frustration.

14 - Being hurt keeps you from shining - If your heart is getting hurt, you’re rendered unproductive. You can’t shine. If you are spending time trying to get past people (what people say or do to you) then you’re missing the point. You’re getting deceived. It doesn’t mean that you’re evil. You just don’t understand. If you’re concern is all about how people are treating you, you are never going to run well.

14 - It’s not about orchestrating life not to hurt you - It’s about being in such a healthy place that those things won’t hurt - If you think that Christianity is just special dibs on God and you have this avenue of prayer to get Him to orchestrate everybody like puppets to get them to do and say what you need them to do and say then you are way deceived.

15 - In fact, if you ask Him about who to be around, He might tell you to be around people who challenge you so that you would grow up into Him in all things.

15 - Church shopping discussion. Catering to the shoppers vs. preaching the gospel and becoming like Christ. Emphasizing heart activity.

15 - Lacking intimacy - All of the outward “Christian” trappings - ringtones etc. but never have intimate contact with the Lord. You let what you do “Christian” define Christianity instead of what you become through knowing Him. Don’t get tricked.

Commune with God

16 - Talk with Him - Communicating in the car. Why do we play worship music but not commune those heart cries to Him. Example.  That sure beats wondering if He loves you - listening to songs and wondering if they are true.

17 - Engage your heart with Him - Don’t ever get caught just listening to something about God and not participating / interacting with God. You’ll teach yourself religion. You’ll have all of this knowledge about God but it won’t be the revelation of your life. So the knowledge will turn on you and condemn you. “If I didn’t get it by now…” “I know all of this and still…” That happens to good people all of the time because we fail to one simple thing - the very thing Jesus paid for - go back to the Father.

17 - Jesus is not just the way to heaven. That’s impersonal. He’s the way back to the Father.

17 - “Father” - makes you son or daughter.

Interference from the Enemy

18 - Thoughts from the enemy - Replace lies with truth - Springboard into intimacy - when communing - stop believing the lies - the accusations - the things that you’re not. Don’t be threatened. Flip it - turn it into truth. Declare where you’re at in the Lord. Who cares if you have a demonic thought. It’s only a problem if you believe it. Let it springboard you into communion.

19 - The enemy is used to us believing him. Even good people often believe the enemy. They feel bad about a thought that goes through their mind. If they feel bad about it it’s probably a good sign that they are not producing the thought. They don’t need prayer. We think that we’re not free until the thought goes away. No, you’re not free until you stop believing it (the suggestion of the thought).

19 - Skit - Condemning thoughts skit with participant. Condemning thoughts, accusations. You can do one of two things: Listen or ignore. The devil is a cut off withering branch coming to nothing.

23 - Fighting the devil? - Good fight of faith - Don’t put him on a stage - rebuking him, binding him, breaking his power. The only way that you defeat a lie is with truth - not spiritual phrases that you shout in frustration. Shine light into darkness for darkness to flee. Don’t fight the devil. You fight the good fight of faith. You don’t even resist the devil. You submit to God and your submitting is your resisting.

23 - Skit (cont.) - Communing truth. Accusations make Christians discouraged and cause them to call others for prayer.

25 - Responding to accusations - 2 choices. Feeling condemned and dirty. Wondering if I’m saved. Wondering why this stuff is still in my mind. OR...

25 - The thoughts aren’t coming from you - Have you ever heard a preacher say, “If your thoughts could be put on a bulletin board would you be ashamed?” You realize, I have thoughts that I would never want on a bulletin board. But here’s what you don’t realize: the thoughts aren’t coming from you. They’re not coming from your heart. They’re either coming from memories, suggestion or demonic influence.

26 - Stand in the truth - The way that you respond to the thought defines who you are from the heart. So if the thought bothers you, it’s not you. Don’t repent for something that you’re not. Stand in the truth of who you’re becoming.

26 - Example of standing in truth.

27 - Let accusations springboard you into intimacy - If the devil keeps coming with these accusations and you respond that way then the devil is actually springboarding you into knowing God better. The devil is sure that he can defeat you. But he’s running the risk of making you if you are a believer.

27 - If you are not believing… “I’m really bummed out - all these crummy thoughts. I wish they could go away. I think I need deliverance - I need something that can make these thoughts get out of my head.” And then you go through the thing and the thoughts still come into your head. You are so conscious of getting rid of that thought that the thought keeps popping into your mind.

27 - This is not a matter of psychology. It’s spiritual and powerful. It’s you guarding your heart. Example: Communing the truth to the Father - rejecting lies.

28 - Don’t sell out (accept as your own thoughts) what’s not you (- those thoughts that bother you).

Feelings of Condemnation

28 - The trap of condemnation - People get into condemnation a lot. The peculiar thing is that you can’t condemn a man who isn’t alive in his heart. It’s a perverse trap of the devil. If you weren’t alive inside you couldn’t be condemned. You wouldn’t care - “Oh whatever!” The fact that you’re condemned means that you still have a conscience that’s living. You’re processing (thinking) is being perverted.

29 - Counseling feelings of condemnation - Person in condemnation scenario. “I’m so excited to see how the gospel is purifying your heart.” “Purifying my heart? Didn’t you hear what I just said?” “I heard what you said you did - and we’ll talk about that in a minute - but I see who you are. I see who you’re becoming. If you start identifying yourself through what you did you’ll forget who you are through what He did and you’ll be deceived. Your tree won’t be good and you’ll keep cycling in this lie because this isn’t you - because look what it’s doing to your heart. You’ve got more than hope. You’re alive inside. Now let’s talk…”

30 - Cycling in condemnation - Wrong believing, producing wrong living, producing wrong believing... - It’s like a rat race. You do something. You think it’s you so you identify yourself as such. You believe that about yourself - “Oh dumb me - bad me - I must be a hypocrite - I wonder if I’m even saved.” So the desire comes along again… “Oh well that’s who I am anyway.” And you cycle again. Now you are in the torment of wanting God but doing differently. It’s tormenting you. It’s making you cry yourself to sleep. That means you are in a bondage, a lie, a deception. You are believing wrong things about yourself and your own heart. (And you’re living down to that belief. You’re producing the fruit of that belief.)

Healing Prayer

30 - In the first year after salvation all the gifts flowed through my life. Words of knowledge. I didn’t know what to call it. Hernia closes. I didn’t have to know the terms. I just had to know love. The word of knowledge is in love. The hernia gets healed in love. I didn’t have to know how to pray right. I might have prayed wrong but my heart was right.

31 - Prayers of healing - I don’t think there are right and wrong prayers. I don’t think your prayers heal anyone anyway. It’s His finished work.

32 - We get self-conscious when we pray. We try to pray right and powerful. And that’s why a lot of time things don’t happen because it’s all about you. And if they are answered then you’ll become a super-Christian instead of a believer.

32 - “Be healed in Jesus name” is probably plenty when there is a revelation (in your heart). When you start waving a different colored flag etc. we’re probably into works. Just praying harder. “Hey, let me try.” Probably none of that heals the sick.