‘For all creation is waiting eagerly for that
future day when God will reveal who his children really are’ (Rom. 8:19, NLT).
Manifesting The God-Nature - Lord Jesus, our perfect example
He is always referred to,
throughout the Scripture, as the Son of God. As new creations in Christ Jesus,
we occupy the same position of children with the father that Jesus does. There
are certain rights and privileges that come with being a child of God;
1) Authority and
Power.
You get to exert dominion over Satan’s entire kingdom. Luke 10:19 says, ‘Behold I
give unto you power (authority), to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy….’ This power He is speaking of is the positional
power as His child.
2)
Enjoy every
promise of God.
This comes as part of your inheritance as a child of God. You don’t have to
pray for it, or fast for it, or be good enough for it, or earn it. You just
have to take your place as His ‘child’ and receive it.
2 Peter 1:4-5, NLT says, ‘And
by that same mighty power, He has given us all of His rich and wonderful
promises… So make every effort to apply the benefits of these promises to your
life…’.
Manifesting
the God-nature, Live the Jesus Lifestyle!!!
1) Through
Righteousness
= Right standing with God. Right standing with God means being restored to the
position Adam originally had in the garden as a scion of God. Luke 3:38, KJV, lists out the genealogy
of Jesus; ‘Which was the son of Enos,
which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.
And Beloved Now are we the Sons of God’.
Did Jesus live a
righteous life? O yes, He did. That is why He came to teach us how to do just
that. Titus 2:11-12 tells us, ‘For the grace of God that bringeth
salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world';
2)
Through Excellence = the quality of being outstanding or extremely good. ‘Then this Daniel was preferred
above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and
the king thought to set him over the whole realm’
(Daniel 6:3).
Excellence is a spirit
and it is given to an individual by God. Daniel
possessed an excellent spirit and it brought him authority, influence, power,
favour, promotion, character, recognition, and elevation. Jesus is an example
in excellence. In His conduct and teaching, he radiated excellence.
Are you
manifesting excellence – in word, in conduct, in your talents, etc?
3) Through Wisdom
= the ability to use knowledge to
discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting. True wisdom comes from God (James 1:5, 3:17).
The Lord Jesus possessed divine wisdom (Matthew 13:54, Mark 6:2).
Psalm 111:10
tells us, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal
praise’.
Divine wisdom is expressed in obedience to
God.
4)
Through
Commitment = Commitment is a strong
belief in or devotion to an idea or system. If you make a commitment to do
something, you promise faithfully that you will do it. The Bible teaches that the
chief commitment of our lives is to God Himself. Jesus said: “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and
first commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38).
John 14:15 says, ‘If you love Me, keep My
commandments’.
In
essence, the true cost of commitment to Christ is one’s total self-denial,
cross-bearing, and continually following Him. These imperatives call us to sacrifice,
selflessness, and service. The Lord Jesus was completely committed to the
things of God. He believed in them and He was devoted to achieving them (John 4:34, 9:4).
5) Through Service = the action of helping or doing something for someone. Christian service is the act of doing
work for God with a willing heart. The Bible is replete with the good works of
the Lord Jesus (Matthew 9:35, Acts 10:38)
and how we should replicate the quality of His service (1 John 2:6).
Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because
you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in
love, in faith and in purity” (1
Timothy 4:12, NIV).
6)
Through
Courage
= bravery, boldness, fearlessness, or fortitude;
the ability to confront fear, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Courageous
people
are those who not only have opinions, but develop convictions as well. When their
convictions are threatened, they deal with their anxiety and fear and live out
of their convictions anyway.
Daniel was a young man exiled in Babylon (modern-day
Iraq), in the inner circles of the King’s palace with all of its perks of power
and lavish living. But when he was asked to essentially stop practicing his
religion, to stop being Jewish, he refused to obey the order. He chose to risk
losing material wealth, being in the right circles, and eventually he endured
torture. But through it, his integrity became an example for other people.
As a teenager, you need
godliness to live and defend your Jesus-lifestyle, including the conviction to
say ‘No’. You may end up being unpopular, lose your friends and fans, and be virtually, ostracized. Truly, the road to righteousness can be very lonely. But just because other people are doing the wrong thing doesn't make it right. You must choose to do the right thing even if you are the only one.
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