INTERNALIZING OUR CROWN
As a citizen of God's Kingdom here on earth we have certain privileges and responsibilities. Isaiah states it well in (Is 32:17) AMP "And the effect of righteousness will be peace [internal and external], and the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever". Therefore, we must embrace the ongoing and costly process of "internalizing" our crown in several key areas. 1/ Joy and personal freedom; we can not fake it, either we have it or we don't have it. Fake joy is nothing less than a "hidden agenda". Real joy involves freedom from fears, habits, and all kinds of unhealthy attachments. If it is missing, do something about it! 2/ Contentment without strain; living in contentment means resting in a state of peace, happiness, and satisfaction regardless of our circumstances, and do not be afraid of the process.
3/ Increase in prosperity; this includes spiritual, intellectual, financial, and social prosperity. Some seeds sleep in the hope of spring coming to bring them new life. God wants to develop our ability to think, reason, and act. When we internalize the crown, we grow spiritually and socially, and in every area of our lives, and the culture changes. 4/ Fulfillment; God satisfies, and like joy we can't fake fulfillment either, we have it or we don't have it. Certain secular or religious voices can disturb our peace and fulfillment, so we must learn to "abide in Christ". 5/ Generosity; we find ourselves wanting to give rather than to receive, and to become "lenders" rather than "borrowers" and part of the answer, and not part of the problem. Jesus said is better to give than to receivee.
6/ Relational maturity; this involves every kind of relationship, but especially marriage. They say that lids are not needed on crab buckets, because if one crab tries to escape, the other crabs grab him and pull him back! Internalizing the crown delivers us from the "crab bucket" mentality! 7/ Proclamation, evangelism; an internalized crown of life teaches us to rule, and we discover an increasing desire to share what we have learned with others. People then become important and not just souls to be won to Christ and added to a church roll.
The above information is taken from Bob Mumford's book called "Mysterious Seed" reading # 82, on page 210-11. This book by Bob was published in 2011, and explains in more detail the truth presented a few years before in his series of teaching called the "Agape Road". It is available in both DVD and CD format from his website, and I highly recommend it as an excellent tool to help someone who has just come to faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior, to understand what a "changed life" of being a follower of Jesus is all about. This teaching by Bob is the best overall explanation of what is involved in coming to know Jesus personally, as the one and only perfect sinless "God/Man" who alone was qualified to forgive our sinful lifestyles!!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer 27/11/13
No comments:
Post a Comment