We all have a different view or opinion about what the Christian life should look like or be like. Well, what is the scriptural truth about the Christian life. We’ve already seen in John 10:10 what God says about life for us. We’ve seen that it is Christ’s life in us the hope of glory. What causes problems in this belief area is the fact that many have the Egypt mentality.
The Egypt mentality cannot receive the promise of the promised land. It cannot receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. It cannot understand that God has already given to us all that pertains to life and godliness. It cannot believe that we have been given and cannot lose or have stolen from us the truth that we are sons and daughters of the most high God. We are heirs and joint heirs with Jesus.
The Egypt mentality is a life mentality that one never has enough and we can never be enough for God. They act or believe that Jesus was not and is not enough. They cannot receive that it is ALL finished. They believe that they have to do more than what Jesus has already done. They live in a land of not enough rather than in the truth of more than enough. I heard an evangelist say “God is not enough, He’s too much”. It is impossible for the religious/legalistic belief system to understand that grace is not justice, because it’s above fair.
When you have an Egypt mentality, your not set free from the tyranny of others nor the tyranny of yourself. You will constantly beat yourself up for not being able to live up to what others say you “have to” DO. You’ll fail in your attempt to use willpower in your life to try and change your behavior.
A revelation of the truth will reveal to you that is not who you now are in Christ. You are a new man/woman in Christ (Romans 6:6; 2 Corinthians 5:17). You are righteous (Romans 5:19; Ephesians 4:24; . You are holy (Romans 11:16; Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 1:22; Colossians 3:12). You are perfect (Colossians 1:28). You are totally redeemed (Galatians 3:13). You are an heir and joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:27). You are complete in Him, who is the fullness of the godhead bodily. (Colossians 2:9,10).
Those who will not receive all that the paragraph above reveals will live a life believing they have to do more in order to get God to do more for them. Let me say that God is not doing anything for you anymore. He is not moving, He’s sitting down. Why? Because IT IS FINISHED!
When something is finished, it’s done. There is nothing left to do. God has already done everything for you and provided everything to you. It’s now up to us to occupy, possess, or go and get what He has already provided.
What did Jesus say about works or performance? What did He tell us to do instead of living under the burden of a taskmaster that arises when we try to perform or work for Him to accept us. He told us to come to Him.
Matthew 11:28-30.
28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Notice this. When you come to the Truth (Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life), you will always be given rest. John 1:17 says “Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ”. Grace and Truth are always together. When you come to Him, you get rest. Truth will never put a burden on you or present a taskmaster to you.
His yoke is easy and light. Take that yoke not the yoke religion, legalism, rule keeping and tradition will put on you. What makes it easy is it’s His yoke and He will give you rest in His Truth. His yoke is perfectly formed to fit you.
This thing called religion is very easy to detect. If you’re walking around worrying, feeling condemned, guilty, or frustrated, it simply means you’re listening to the wrong voice, the wrong truth. You are operating under the law and not under grace. Whatever those voices are telling you about work, performance, and rule keeping, turn those lying statements around 180 degrees and you will find Truth.
In verse 29 in Matthew 11 Jesus says He is meek and lowly in heart. That does not mean He is weak. When someone is meek and lowly in heart, it means they will not put pressure on you. Meek does not mean weak. It means absolute power under control.
I heard a story that explains this nicely. There was this grand Stallion that was free and roamed the western plains. Many had tried to capture this great steed and many failed. One day, this young cowboy managed to get a rope on this horse and brought him to a well built corral. After much time, the stallion was finally broken and could be ridden. That did not mean that the stallion was weak. It had the same power. The same authority. The same spirit. However, now all of the characteristics of the stallion were under control.
Also in that verse 29, it says “learn of me”. The more you learn or know about God, the more rest you will enjoy. Okay, but how do we know how God feels about us if we don’t work and perform to live up to a set of standards?
We don’t get His love by living up to His or others standards. We find His love in the broken places of our lives. We let him love us there. It’s called relationship.
Ya but how can that be? Don’t we have to walk away from sin and work hard to be good enough for God to accept us and love us? Walking toward Him is walking away from sin. See, we get it backwards. Quit focusing on the negative. Start to live and declare the truth. As we learn to live with Him, we get to cooperate with all that He has done and is doing. It is the abundant life that is available to us in Christ Jesus. Grace and Peace.
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