Saturday, March 28, 2009

Christ In You - Light of Influence (More Varner)

CHRIST IN YOU THE LIGHT OF INFLUENCE
This month we are learning more about "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). Now we want to release the One who is the Light of influence!
Matthew 5:14-16, KJV Ye are the LIGHT of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth LIGHT unto all that are in the house. Let your LIGHT so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
The Christ within is a River and a Rock. He is also the Light that shines forth, influencing every one and every thing in our lives. Synonyms for "INFLUENCE" are: authority, pressure, sway, weight, effect, inspiration, impact, and encouragement.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, NIV And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the LIGHT of the gospel of the glory of CHRIST, who is the image of God.
Jesus Himself is the Light of the world (Jn. 8:12). Jesus is God (Jn. 1:1), and God is light; in Him is no darkness at all (1 Jn. 1:5).
We are His followers and disciples. We, too, are light in the Lord, and are to walk or live as sons of light, sons of the day (Eph. 5:8; 1 Thess. 5:5)). So James calls our heavenly Father "the Father of lights" (Jas. 1:17).
The Apostle Paul sat in a darkened Roman prison, but his natural bonds were no limitation to his worldwide spiritual influence. He boldly admonished us all to be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom (we) SHINE AS LIGHTS in the world. The dark cave of Adullam did not hinder the power of the Song of the Lord within David. Running for his life from angry King Saul, his influence never waned as he continued to sing:
Psalms 27:1, KJV The LORD is my LIGHT and my salvation; whom shall I fear?....
The City that John saw in Revelation 21 was the Lamb's wife. The end-time Church has global influence, for the nations shall walk in the "light" of it (Rev. 21:24)!
Isaiah 9:2, KJV The people that walked in darkness have seen a great LIGHT: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the LIGHT shined.
Do you know God? Has He lit your candle (Prov. 20:27; Jn. 1:9)? Has He brought you out of darkness and death into His marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9)? Whose lives-in your family, your neighborhood, or your church-have you impacted for Christ? What dark corner have you enlightened? What is the measure of your influence?

Monday, March 23, 2009

Christ In You - The Rock (Varner)

CHRIST IN YOU IS THE ROCK OF STABILITY
All this month we are exploring the depths of "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). This week we rejoice that the Spirit within is the Rock of stability!
Psalms 105:41, KJV HE (the Lord) opened the ROCK, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places like a river (compare Deut. 8:15).
1 Corinthians 10:4, KJV And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual ROCK that followed them: and that Rock was CHRIST.
Last week we talked about the River from the Rock. This week we want to look closer at the One known as the "Rock of Israel" (2 Sam. 23:3). The Psalmist said much about Christ, the Rock of our stability; his personal testimony was that the Lord is:
1. "The Rock of my STRENGTH" (Psa. 62:7).
2. "The Rock of my SALVATION" (Psa. 89:26; 95:1).
3. "The Rock of my REFUGE" (Psa. 94:22).
The hymn-writer knew this well: "On CHRIST the solid ROCK I stand; all other ground is sinking sand (Matt. 7:24-27)."
Our STABILITY is in and by the Spirit. "Christ in you" is the Source of our being "ESTABLISHED" in the Lord. The primary Hebrew word for this means, "to be erect (to stand perpendicular); to be firm, to be stable; to be fixed, to be securely determined; or to be settled." Those who know the secret of Christ within are firmly anchored like a pillar, established in His grace and love (2 Sam. 7:16; Psa. 40:2; 89:2,4,21,37; 93:1-2).
The Greek word for "ESTABLISHED" is sterizo, and it means, "to set fast, to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm; to make stable, to place firmly, to fix, to strengthen, or to make firm (Rom. 1:11; 16:25; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 5:10)." It is derived from the word sterix (a prop)-the Lord is our Support and Stay.
David ran to Rock that is "higher" (Psa. 61:2)-in the time of trouble, who do you run to? What is the source of your strength? What props you up? The Christ within is also your Teacher and Guide (Jn. 14:26; 16:13; 1 Jn. 2:27). Do you understand His Word? Has He "established" you in the "present truth" (2 Pet. 1:12)?
Deuteronomy 32:4, KJV He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.
The Rock that followed God's people throughout their wilderness pilgrimage sprang up every morning with refreshing strength for the journey.. Is He your Rock?

Friday, March 20, 2009

Christ In You - Varner continues

CHRIST IN YOU IS THE RIVER OF LIFE
Last week's chronicle introduced "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27). This week we learn that the indwelling Christ is the River of life!
Psalms 46:4, KJV There is a RIVER, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
The CITY of the living God is the Church, the Lamb's Wife (Matt. 5:14; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 21:1-10). The prophet Isaiah added that Zion would also be a "place of broad RIVERS" (Isa. 33:21).
Moreover, the River from the Rock is a major Old Testament theme-that "Rock that followed them was Christ" (1 Cor. 10:4 with Ex. 17:1-6; Deut. 8:15; Psa. 78:15-20; 105:41; 114:8; and Isa. 48:21).
John 7:37, KJV In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink.
38 He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall FLOW RIVERS of living water.
39 (But this spake He of the SPIRIT, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the HOLY GHOST was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Jesus makes it abundantly clear in this awesome passage that one of the major symbols for the indwelling HOLY SPIRIT in the life of the believer is a RIVER!
I shared with you in last week's Chronicle that "Christ in you" bears the marks of a prophet, a priest, and a king. Likewise, out of your innermost being flows:
First, a PROPHETIC RIVER, the river out of the "belly," for the word "flow" in John 7:38 is rheo (compare rhema), from which we get our English word, "rhetoric."
Second, a PRIESTLY RIVER that flows out of the Sanctuary, the House of the Lord, His Temple (Ezek. 47:1-12).
Third, a KINGLY RIVER, pure and living, that flows out of the Throne of God and of the Lamb Rev. 22:1-2).
Are you thirsty? Are you searching for strength from an external source, or are you drinking deeply from the Christ within? Have you, like David in his exile, found the refreshing waters of Engedi, the oasis of the leaping fountain (1 Sam. 23:29; 24:1)?
Is your life, your family, your business, or your ministry a "broken" (wrecked or ruptured) cistern, or is your Source "the Fountain of living waters" (Jer. 2:13)?