by Jim Travis
In our study last week, we examined how God actually wants us to have power, and how Jesus has given us power, both through His redemptive work on the cross and through the sending of His Spirit (one act facilitating the other). These concepts are often not even touched in many Christian circles, often seen as fringe. Indeed many people are afraid to take an honest look at the topic of the Holy Spirit in connection with the power given to us because they have been jaded by past experience or the horror stories that people tell about what happened in some charismatic group previously.
Yet these things are spoken of in scripture and so they should not and can not be ignored. And so today we will continue with Part 2 of our study on living in the power of the Spirit, by taking a look at the baptism of the Spirit – specifically what Jesus said about it, because His opinion is the only one that carries any weight, and as we see the truth from scripture, we will be moved from a place of weakness, to a place of great strength in the power of the Spirit through Christ Jesus.
by Jim Travis
It’s considered cliché these days to say Jesus is the answer. People upon hearing the phrase will typically react with an eye-roll, or say “Yeah, I know, but...” – as if to admit that they do not really believe that He is the answer at all. Believers continue to search for new truths, new ideas, new philosophies and theologies every day because they are still searching for answers. They are searching for something more, as if Jesus was not enough, and in the eyes of many, He secretly isn’t enough.
Now it’s okay to admit feeling that way. It’s okay to admit thinking that… because the honest admission that sometimes we feel or think that Jesus isn’t enough is a starting-point upon which to build the true Gospel foundation of Jesus Christ. I’ve watched many professing believers over the years, who were too afraid to make that admission, live their entire lives searching for answers, going from this thing to that thing, attending every conference they come across, reading every book, laboring in all kinds of works – so busy, yet still not finding their answer, because in all of their busy-ness, they have missed Jesus… never even truly realizing that He is the One and Only Answer that they need. Today, we will be taking a look at how Jesus is our true answer, and saying that will no longer be an empty cliché.
by Jim Travis
Take a moment right now and assess your life. Evaluate your needs. Go ahead… I’ll wait…
Now whatever your current needs are, whatever seems to be lacking, I want to tell you that the supply is already there. Whether it is a physical need in your body, such as healing, or whether it is a financial need, a mental need such as peace of mind, or even a spiritual need; the supply is there. The supply was paid for and done long before you ever had the need; long before you have even existed on the earth, your need has been covered.
Many times, we settle for mediocrity. We may receive one or two things from God, but then we think it is enough, we think that we have imposed upon Him too much already, or we simply accept things into our lives that are not needed… we tolerate things that need not be tolerated. There are many things that Jesus has paid to free us from that we have accepted as facts of life in our modern culture. I want to encourage you today that you don’t have to put up with these things any longer – there is a better way, made possible by Jesus Christ.
by Jim Travis
In our continuing study of who we are in Christ, one thing that tends to receive a lot of push-back from the traditionalists in the world today, is the truth that in Christ Jesus today, we are the manifestation of Him on the earth. We are the manifestation of Jesus to all of the people of the world today. This idea irritates those who believe that it is insolence to in any way liken ourselves to Jesus They believe that because He is so much greater than us, that it is an insult to even make any kind of comparison which connects Him with us. It may seem right to our human thinking, however, God Himself has a different idea than this traditionalist view.
That’s why as we study today, we are going to be taking a look at precisely what Jesus has to say about Himself and us, and what our relationship to Him actually is. And by seeing this truth, we will no longer have this perceived distance between us and God any longer. We will be able to embrace our true nature in Him; and live in the truth that He wants us to live in.
by Jim Travis
Many times when trying to determine the outcome of a situation, we look to our past experiences. I find that this is true in many places, but especially in Christian circles, and often in prayer as well. I have been in prayer groups, where we would pray for someone who had a debilitating condition, and we would pray, but then someone would say, “you know, there was a great Christian who had this condition, and they died”… and the moment that was said, it was as if it sucked all of the belief out of the room. People’s thoughts were moved from, “Yes God is a great Healer”, to, “Well if that great Christian died, I guess God doesn’t heal”.
We tend to allow our experiences to determine our future, even without being consciously aware that we are doing it. And we also are influenced by all of the negativity floating around from all of the other people who do the same. So today we will be looking at what God Himself says about your future, about His outlook and forecast for your life… unlike the weather, His forecast is always one-hundred percent reliable and trustworthy.
by Jim Travis
Ask a typical Christian to describe themselves, and you will likely hear one of a few answers, ranging from “sinner”, to “sheep”, to the more esoteric “nothing”. Likewise, if you ask them to describe their position, status or power, they will often tell you that they have none. Most believers think that they are utterly helpless and totally powerless today, due to a lack of understanding of what the Bible teaches regarding such things.
While it is true that we have no power, authority or position of ourselves, it is also true that we have great power, authority and position in Christ Jesus. The scriptures go into wonderful detail when explaining who we are in Christ and what we have in Him as well. This is what we will be studying today: the realities of the Holy Spirit of God on the inside of us, and what this has made us in Christ.
by Jim Travis
Last week in part one of this study, we saw how the heart of God is not for religion or even dutiful service, but for genuine intimate relationship. We also saw how this relationship with God is integral and necessary for good service, since without the foundation of receiving love from God, every work is a dead work.
Today as we continue with part two of our study, we are going to see the contrast between the behaviors of different people as they encounter the truth of God. How the truth of Jesus can and should affect us, and we will see what the heart of Jesus for everyone is, even if they do not realize it.
by Jim Travis
What is a curse? I am not referring to filthy or coarse language as the modern culture defines “cursing”. The Biblical definition of a curse is to “speak down” about a thing or person, and also the Biblical definition of bless is to “speak well” about a thing or person. So with this understanding of what it means to bless and to curse, we realize that most people invoke curses far more often than what is generally thought.
Now we have been studying this month about the authority of the believer in Christ and also about the power of the words that we speak. Today we are going to move beyond our own words and we are going to examine what the Bible says concerning the words that others – including the enemy – tries to speak into our lives, and how in Christ Jesus, we are safe and secure from such attacks.
by Jim Travis
This is a foundational study today. Now please do not be put-off by the word “foundational”. Because there are many people who when they hear this word they think that it is going to be boring or that God does not have anything for them to learn here; but we are doing this today because as believers in Christ, we are supposed to be living the supernatural life, yet many of us are still in bondage; but Jesus Christ has paid to get us out of bondage and into freedom.
God is a miracle-working, almighty covenant-keeping God, and it is when we trust in Him and release to Him fully that we begin to see these things in our lives. So in this study, we are going to be exploring this truth and how to obtain victory and live the abundant life which Jesus has come to give us.
by Jim Travis
Have you ever listened to people in church during a casual conversation? Many times what I have heard is not them talking about the victories that they are having in Christ, but instead they are talking about what the devil is doing in their lives. I often hear things such as “Oh, that old devil, he's just having a hey-day in my life.”, “he's just sifting me as he sifted Job.”, or “I guess I'm just his target this week.”
These are not statements of victory, and they are not even truly scriptural for the kind of life that we as believers should be living in Christ Jesus today.
That's why in this study, we will be examining what the Bible says regarding our reality today in Christ, and the truth of the defeated status of the enemy. By exposing the common lies being propagated among believers and shining the light of Christ on how utterly beaten the enemy truly is, we will be able to have confidence against the devil, instead of fear.