As we finished the fast last week I thought, I don’t want to go back to being the same as I was before the fast. I don’t want to retreat back into old mindsets, old habits and old unbelief. Using that image of the expanding tent and the scripture from Isaiah 54:2 I want to drive the new tent pegs deep into the ground and consolidate the gains made. In the military there is the understanding that you are at your most vulnerable to counter attack straight after gaining ground, but before you’ve had time to consolidate and establish your new territory.
A few years ago I believe God gave me a picture of how his life flows through us. I’ve tried to diagram the image as I’ve preached on it in a few places.
Ephesian 1:3 tells us that God “has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” Our job is to demonstrate Gods love to the world around us, the physical realm, by using those spiritual blessings to reveal him. When we do this His light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome his light. I’ve used light bulbs to represent us. The amount of God’s light that we can radiate is determined, limited or enabled, (represented by the collar at the base of the light bulb) by our revelation of our identity in Christ and our obedience to God’s general will and specific commands. We also remember that it’s not just a matter of identity & obedience because a) the powers of darkness resist us and try to stop God’s light radiating, but Jesus has overcome our enemy and b) we live in the now of God’s present Kingdom and simultaneously in the not yet of God’s future Kingdom.
What did God change in you last week? What unbelief got ousted? What lack of expectation got moved aside? What wrong understanding of who you are and how much God loves you got squashed in his Presence?
What is he asking you to do with that changed mindset?
Here’s a tool we give people after prayer ministry which may be useful for some of you in establishing new truth in your mindset. It’s written for The Adopted Course, but just substitute the fast where it says Adopted Course for a helpful tool to use in renewing your mind.
Link to Adopted Course mind renewal tool
I look forward to what God is going to do in us and through us as a result of this fast.
Love
Paul
