Greetings,
Today I am writing once again from Bellingham. It is a blessing to be at home and yesterday was another wonderful day at ALife. Pastor Jonathan did a great job and God was in the house. We are having some great times in our Christ Life Training sessions as well.
God’s mercy has given us peace with God through Jesus Christ. Our sins are forgiven and we have a Father who loves us. We also have access to God to find His grace that empowers us to stand in life.
Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The apostle Paul prayed that the eyes of the hearts of believes would see the hope of the calling of Christ, the riches of His inheritance that is in believers as His set apart ones, and the supernatural power of His Sprit within them. Christ made the church the fullness of Him and He and the church are above all principalities, powers, might, dominions, and names.
Ephesians 1:18 …the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Underneath the feet of the church, underneath our feet, are principalities, powers, might, dominions, and names This is true in every age. God has given us grace to stand! Standing implies overcoming and it implies inheritance. We are overcomers who grow up to be fathers. We mature to give life to the world and to live for the wellbeing of others. Our hope is the glory of God. We are standing to become sons and daughters of God. What does this process look like?
Romans 5:3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
The process includes tribulation, pressure, and resistance. We are standing to overcome things that don’t want to change, but seek to change us. These can be disappointing things that we are appointed to bring hope to. These things resists us, only so we can overcome them and bring life to the world around us. These things that resist us seek to remain seated in the high places of our hearts! They are not going to change! They are going to change you! But, we stand to find God’s grace to overcome. We boldly come to the throne of grace to find grace! The resistance is not really trying to destroy us, we have been sent to destroy the resistance. We are manifesting who we really are. We are sons and daughters of God. We are children, but we are also maturing sons and daughters. We are overcomers! We are like our Father! We must persevere!
The word preserver implies a cheerful endurance. It is not simply holding on. It is a cheerful endurance. It is an overcoming endurance. The Greek word for endurance is g5281. ὑπομονή hypomonē; from 5278; cheerful (or hopeful) endurance, constancy.
To overcome, we must cheerfully endure. We cannot just stand in the pressure and exist. We can’t just be strong. We must take on an overcoming attitude in our endurance. We persevere! This is what activates the grace of God in our lives. The grace of God is the presence of Holy Spirit in our lives that changes us. It is God in our lives and He gives us the power to overcome in every situation. The pressure of the world around us, or the way of the world within us, might be trying to get us to not act as a child of God, but God’s grace empowers us to manifest as sons and daughters of God in the midst of every pressure. The external pressures of our lives cannot outweigh the glory of the presence of Christ within our hearts. Grace is an overcoming power in our lives. He changes us from the inside out and then that change is manifest in our lives. Others can see it! Grace causes us to manifest who we are in Christ. Darkness is pushing against us, but we are light. Sickness is coming against us, but we are the substance of healing. This can even include the practical reality of sickness and healing. There is internal reality of the kingdom of God within us. It is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is an internal knowing that God is our God. There is an internal knowing that God and us are never distanced, thus heavenly things begin to manifest outwardly in our lives. An internal knowing of the joy of living with God’s presence in all things. He gives us life, and breath, and all things. Within our hearts we find the place where God shares His heart with us and we share our heart with Him. The power of Christ within us is a transforming power of life from within us. It is the power of God’s grace that changes our hearts and minds. He transforms our desires and our thoughts by the power of His presence. Grace is released through the supernatural power of Christ in our hearts!
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
