I’ve just been listening to a Katherine Ruonala (KR) sermon about James 1:25 entitled “Be doers of the Word”. I always find KR very uplifting, because she focuses attention on the love of God, which we can never, ever hear enough about, most especially because Satan tries to convince us of the opposite, that God is harsh, severe 7 only tolerates us - what a liar the Devil is!
James 1:25 (ANIV) - ‘But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.’
One of KR’s many (brilliant!) points was that we often get confused; we tend to forget what we have learned about ourselves (our new nature in Christ, since becoming a Christian) & we inadvertently fall for Satan’s lie about our supposed “default nature”.
If you’re anything like me, then you believe that you have to work hard to maintain your positive thought life. And when you grow tired, hungry, get distracted, etc, you seem to slow down, you sort of forget who your new nature is, & you wrongly believe that you are settling back into your old, pre-conversion, pre-Christian nature.
If we accept & agree with the lie that we have a “default nature” that is corrupt & bad, then we will behave in accordance with that view. We have to see the TRUTH that our very nature’s have changed. That our “default nature” is, in fact, the nature of Christ Jesus.
Quoting part of KR sermon:
[we might say:] ‘ “Oh God, I don’t feel like people are encountering you when they encounter me all the time” God doesn’t say, “Well, you know that’s just pretty rotten, you need to try harder, you need to get your act together. Sort yourself out.” You say, “Yeah, that’s right”. That’s not the voice of God, that’s the voice of the enemy, that’s trying to convince you that you have a default nature that you have to wrestle against, whereas God says, ‘you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities & powers’ [1]. So don’t buy into the lie that your wrestling this default nature that’s always wanting to be bad, you are not.’
Just to reiterate that point, we don’t have a bad, “default nature”, that we continually have to wrestle against. The FACT is this, we now (since conversion) have a new nature, & not only that, it is the nature of Jesus the Christ - how fantastic is that?! Galatians 2:20 reads, ‘I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.’ Remember that point, ‘I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.’ [2]
That single sentence should convince us that any “default nature” which we had BEFORE we became Christians, which may well have been bad, unholy, rotten, etc, has now gone, is dead, is buried, & will never, ever return. How could it, it’s dead & has been replaced by Christ’s own nature?! The TRUTH is, we NOW (& for ever more!) have the nature of Jesus living within us, by the power of his Holy Spirit.
Once we realise & accept this truth, and when we now get tired, distracted, discouraged, tempted, etc, we need no longer think, “Uh-oh, I’m returning to “type”, my old nature is returning!” Because that is not true. In fact, our “default nature” is now JESUS’ nature!
KR pointed out in her sermon:
‘It’s very easy just to imitate what you’re continually beholding. Therefore, we need to ‘Set our minds (& keep them set) on things above.’ [3]
The point being that we need to be very careful exactly what we CHOOSE to behold! Concentrating on violent films & computer games, being around negative people who seem to suck out the happiness & faith from us, dwelling on the past with regrets, etc, all these things can be the very things we are beholding, which are helping Satan to convince us that our old nature is alive & well & that is our “default nature.” This is a lie.
2 Peter 1:3-4 has some great words to encourage us, & to prove the truth to us:
‘His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.’
We have EVERYTHING we need to live a life pleasing to God & packed full of goodness!
It is through the knowledge of God that we live out a good Christian life. Keeping our minds fixed & focussed on Jesus keeps us in His will, encourages our confidence, encourages our faith, etc.
The promises in the Bible are for US, here & now. It is when we take those promises seriously, AND apply them to our own lives, that the power of the Bible & the power of the Holy Spirit come to bear on us & bring it all alive to us. By applying the promises to ourselves & living within them, we then, ‘participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.’
That’s all pretty fantastic news in my book, how about you?!
Many thanks to Katherine Ruonala.
You can hear/download her sermon’s here:
https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/newday-ministries-audio-pastor/id292205049
Katherine Ruonala Ministries, iTunes web page
Note: You’ll need iTunes to be able to hear these sermons.
You can get some of these sermons via Dropbox & in an mp3 format here:
http://www.katherineruonala.com/?page_id=1897
Katherine Ruonala Ministries, mp3 podcast web page
[1]
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
An interesting emphasis of the same passage in The Message version reads:
Ephesians 6:12 (MSG)
12 This is no afternoon athletic contest that we'll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
[2]
Galatians 2:20 (ANIV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
[3]
Colossians 3:2 (ANIV)
2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
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