7/1 Welcome to Foundations: From Slave to Bride
Throughout history, great moves of God have rocked entire nations! Each outpouring of His Spirit has added necessary insights and experiences. These ‘new’ truths have been helped restore and build His people, the church into her eternal purposes.
However, along with the new truth, passion and conversion, there is always another element in play: an offensive move by the enemy against God’s new move. It seems the way of the Holy Spirit to allow the enemy’s forces to move against His people in order to separate the ‘wheat from the chaff’. He refines the passionate from the casual, the satisfied from the hungry. The Lord is building His people into His likeness through the fires of opposition, revival and fire.
One of the greatest mysteries the Creator will explain at the end of time is how He used the enemy’s tactics to refine us – if we will let Him guide us through the fires of this life. The enemy means to destroy us but our loving Father means to refine us!
With each outpouring of His Spirit, an increased awareness of our sinfulness and His healing power unfolds as well. From history, we can see that many revivals haven’t moved past the sinfulness aspect by allowing the holy fire to refine and therefore, haven’t sustained the move of God until His truth becomes a lifestyle. Trying to build something lasting on just the emotions or the negative aspects of sin doesn’t work. The other half of the equation must be present for a lasting truth – the part about His holiness and His loving plan for our healing – versus just self-effort to keep the outpouring going.
At some point, we must go beyond “sinners saved by grace”. We must learn to see ourselves as the Lord Jesus does: His children, friends, heirs and eventually, His bride! This is the revelation we must get deep, deep inside our Heart. This is the destiny for those whose heart is hungry to see God. This is where we are headed if we will allow Him to do the healing and renewing He so desires to do.
We all start out as ‘slaves’ when we come into God’s kingdom. Most of us still have some ‘slave thinking’ when it comes to handling the problems and pains of this life. We are still using the methods of a slave to resolve our frustration, whether in turning to ‘false comforts’ or using self-effort to gain what we think is the best for us. Some are still bound into the addictions of the world, whether alcohol or TV, whatever replaces our source of life is standing in the way of our growth.
The great news is that He hasn’t planned for us to stay in the thinking of a slave! We can progress through to being a Steward, the child adopted into His family. Then onto what it means to be a son in the household, with an identity and a unity with the Father than the slave or steward could never experience. This is one major difference between Christianity and other world views!
We will also introduce you to Jackson and his life’s journey as a practical example of the progression expected and planed for all new believers. His story illustrates many of the principles we shall explore.
The journey that you are facing here today will change and shape you more on that “divine sweet and fiery walk” that is based on His great plan for His people. Hopefully, this is part of your Heart’s cry too. May you be responsive from that place the Holy Spirit touches within you when you allow the Lord Jesus to be involved in your inner being, your Heart.
So welcome to the Journey “From Slave to Bride”!
Susanne Fengler, Blog Author
www.christianfoundations.mentorsnotebook.com
Tags: intro to journey of Slave
Filed under: From Slave to Sonship
Leave a Reply