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Evidence that Surpasses Understanding

At the evidence locker we are encouraging each other to gather and present spiritual evidence of the Kingdom of God. Evidence can be anything that helps establish the fact of the Kingdom. The key is that the spiritual kingdom is within us and therefore our evidence will most likely come from within us.

I am often reminded of a testimony by author C.S. Lewis who tells of a story about his brother who took a cigar can and built a little garden in it. He said when he looked at it was like a magical little world, totally different from the one he lived in. He would sneak and open the lid and peer into this world of wonder. Mr. Lewis recalls how the memory of the garden in the can inspired him and as an author and he tries to describe the feelings of people who have a life changed by spiritual experience but have no material evidence.  In the Chronicles of Narnia the main characters enter the kingdom of Narnia but when they return to the material world they are forever changed because of that experience.

Philippians 4:7 and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard you hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.

We also, who have seen into the Kingdom of God (KoG) have this quiet assurance and confidence of life in this spiritual world. Once you have experienced the kingdom and the presence of God within your being, you begin to live in a peace that does not have its source in this material world. It is this experience that marks the difference between the spiritual realm and the material realm. The feelings that accompany these experiences can be evidence and we must learn to present this evidence of the reality of Gods spiritual Kingdom.

 A lot of believers in Christ read scripture and it is nothing more than a recorded testimony of someone else’s experience. This is quite alright for new believers but this should not be the status of mature. Until the spiritual kingdom becomes real and personal to us the words of Christ remain as hearsay testimony which is inadmissible as evidence. In order for evidence to become real it must be experience by one’s spirit, soul and physical body.

 John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

 John 16:33 This things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.

  Like the garden in the tin can in order for that reality to remain we must continually peer in to the spiritual realm to keep the experience fresh and forefront in our minds and heart. If we forget allowing the memories of spiritual experience to fade, we drift back into the material world losing sight of spiritual truth. Even though our understanding may fail to grasp spiritual truth, nevertheless that truth will yet remain.

 Living spiritually is a choice we must consciously make every minute of our life. The material things of this world in and of themselves do not speak of the spiritual realm. If fact, spiritual things are considered foolish by the material world and this is the reason for a spiritual transformation.

 Once you have become spiritually awaken everything in the material realm can reveal truths of processes that are unseen by the natural eye. This awakening comes with a peace that is grounded in the Christ who first awakened us to these truths. After our awakening Christ’s mission then becomes our mission, and the awakening of others to the spiritual truth we now experience become top priority in our lives.

 1 Corinthians 1:25-26 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.

 Many believers in Christ proclaim spiritual reality, yet they never truly experience it. Their proclamations are simply statements of their faith. Their faith is reasonable and scripturally based.  They hold beliefs that they are new spiritual creatures and one day they will enter into a place of spiritual eternity in the presence of God. And that is all good.

 But if they could truly experience today the reality of God’s Kingdom they too could embrace the spiritual Kingdom of God. As ambassadors we enter and exit the spiritual realm proclaiming freedom to captives of the material realm. We proclaim that this is now the acceptable year of the Lord and we help reconcile people of the material realm with their spiritual Father the living God. So we are one with God, sent to aid in the same mission as Christ.

 Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” 

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Seeing Christ in the Mirror Pt. 3

 This is the 4th step in what I have termed the Theology of the Mirror.  In this step we allow ourselves to be changed by the image of the mirror. Now that you have developed the technique to see more spiritually, by seeing Christ in the mirror you can now see the two images that are trying to become one. This is the point where you must commit to becoming changed into the image of Christ and let go of the old material sensing person.

 Luke 4:4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

Luke 6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

 We must become individual manifestations of Christ that Father has sent. We are not to become mass-produced into the image put forth by the religious of the material world. Each person has a special call and all things work together for good.

 There are many techniques to help us find out what our spiritual call is. The study of God’s word is the foundation for getting the general vision of what is spiritually available. Contemplative prayer is a technique of focusing and chewing on portions of that spiritual vision. By turning over and over theses portions of scriptures in our heart and mind we can discover by God’s Spirit many nuggets of revelation that will help us become more like Christ.

 There is also the technique of being still or “taking no thought” that places us in total receiving mode. The moment we say to our heavenly Father within “I am here, your child is listening” we have moved into a conscious awareness of God’s presence. We are all called to be still and know that—the image in the mirror of the great—I am is God. This behavior of being still is a learned technique that is counter to the ways of the material world. It is true that this skill called meditation has been co-opted my many religions and groups in the material world, but that does not make this spiritual technique any less true.

 For us to change from a purely material conscience to a spiritual one we must get into a place where we can communicate with our Father’s spiritual voice. So I encourage you to take at a minimum 2 periods each day to be still. I suggest taking one of those periods right after you awake in the morning and take the other period right before you go to bed at night.

 Begin each period by reading a portion of biblical scripture or some part of a spiritual teaching. Then take 5 minutes to contemplate on what you have just read. After that still your mind, taking hold of no thought that comes by but listen for His still small voice on the inside of you. At first you may only be able to still your mind for less than a minute but with practice the time of stillness will increase. God’s words are Spirit and His Spirit within us will make contact in a way that we will gain a spiritual understanding.

If there is one place in general where the religions of this world can miss the mark it is making spiritual contact. Religion in my opinion becomes too easily invested in maintaining a material hierarchy of organizational relationships. For example as we learn to see and communicate spiritually with our Father you become a conscious carrier of God’s presence within. As Disciples of Christ (ones who are being transformed) we begin to help others achieve what we have learned. The common religious error is not humbling ourselves to the point where we can be changed by the Christ that has become awakened in these newly formed disciples. The religious organization is so invested in the organizational hierarchy that it ignores and even rejects the Spirit of God by not being able to receive form the image of Christ in the new mirrors.

 This lack of equality causes many to stumble and become prideful and perverted in their relationship with God’s Kingdom. In the Old Testament each household had a member that wore a prayer garment with tassels on each corner where the tassels had a single blue thread in each tassel. The dye of this thread was the same that colored the high priest garments when he entered the presence of God in the Holy of Holies each year. Our heavenly Father always wanted all of His children be in His presence. Today instead of a material thread for each household Father has placed His spiritual kingdom within us and He is continually making us aware of His spiritual presence within.

John 20:21-23  So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

In the beginning God breathed His Spirit into man and he became a living soul but his consciousness became separated from God. The entire ministry of Christ, the last Adam, was to awaken the spiritual nature of who we are as children of God and members of the Kingdom. Jesus presented plenty of spiritual evidence and He left a written record of that evidence He presented. Today we are able to read this testimony and inspect the chain of custody of this spiritual evidence. But all the evidence has a purpose. This evidence awakens our spiritual conscious and when we become awake we awaken others and the reality of our spiritual unity with our Father becomes the true reality. In our Master’s final prayers to our Father He sums up this ministry of transformation and reconciliation clearly.

John 17:22-23  And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

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Seeing Christ in the Mirror Pt. 2

 So let’s continue our discussion of gathering evidence of God’s Kingdom. In my last posting “Seeing Christ in the Mirror” I introduced you to the mirror as a tool for not only gathering evidence but for detecting the spiritual aspects of the Kingdom of God (KoG). Since we know that the KoG is within each person, then one of the images in the mirror must be looking inward for evidence of Christ.

 

Theology of the Mirror – 4 step process.

  1. How does a mirror work?
  2. What do you see in the mirror?
  3. Are you willing to be a mirror?
  4. Are you willing to be changed by the image you see in the mirror?

 As we continue with step 2 of this process which I have titled the Theology of the Mirror, let us take a closer look at how we are able to see spiritually. To see spiritually simply means we are awake to the existence of the spiritual realm to the point that we can interact with it. Anyone can simply believe in something they cannot see. However, it is only when we change our behavior in relation to the things of the spirit realm that we show true evidence for the existence of the things that are invisible to the material realm.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 Our ability to see spiritually depends on our ability to see Christ. Jesus is the way between the material world and the spiritual world. To unlock any door or mystery you need a key and Jesus is that key as well as the door. Jesus is the icon of Christian faith but sometimes He is limited only to the role of figure-head for the religious and material kingdoms of this world.

 As we learn to live a more spiritual life we must use the tools found in the spiritual Kingdom of God. As we use them we provide additional evidence establishing the existence of the KoG to the jury of our peers. The more we make contact with Christ that lives on the inside of us the more we remain conscious and connected to God and His Kingdom.

 Philippians 2:4-6 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

 Matthew 14:35-36 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.

  The mirror is a metaphor for the Word of God who is also the person of Jesus. As Christians we understand that God, His Spirit and Jesus the Son are one. Therefore since God has place His Spirit in us we are being made one with God as we give up our hold on living out our desires more than the desires of our Father in heaven. The Word of God shows us an image and an example of how our Brother Jesus, who was the first human after the fall of Adam, first live for God will more than His personal interest.

 When we look into the mirror of God’s word we see the image of Christ and an image of ourselves that falls short of Christ Image. With an understanding of God’s love we begin to get a vision of our self as Christ. We take that image and go into the world and try walk in a way we envision Christ would walk today. A good example of this is when Michael Jordan was at the top of his game all the basketball players would try to imitate him. The circumstances in life give us plenty of chances to do what we would imagine Christ to do. By faith we attempt to walk in the truth of the Word of God and we study the image of Christ so we can so we can take our life to the level of Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

At the moment of our new birth “It is no longer the little “I am” that lives, but it is the great “I am of Christ” that has become available to our conscious” At that moment the transformation process begins. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 says we start out as children beholding dimly the images of Christ, our self and others. But as we move to maturity our understanding increases and by faith we begin to see spiritually until we stand face to face with Christ which is our destiny.

 God loves has been revealed as “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” As we walk in forgiveness, repentance and the other strategies of love we become transform and are able to move closer towards the image of Christ and able to partake in the resource of the Kingdom of God.

 Finally as members of the Kingdom our goal is to bring forth spiritual truth as evidence into manifestation in this material realm. We are known for our love because we can see the spiritual Christ in ourselves and in others. We are not looking for material icons like buildings, jewelry or Sunday morning people who are all in their places with bright shiny faces. We behold the Christ that this world knows not of.

Luke 17:21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’[a] For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Theology of the Mirror — YouTube Video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lux0hHEHais

 

 

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