Conformed To The Image Of Jesus From The Inside Out

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).

Once we’re born again, God wants us to be conformed to the image of His Son. This word conformed is the Greek word ‎summorphoo‎, which means to bring to the same form with. The root of this word is morphe which means an outward expression of an inward essence or nature.

In the New Birth, our spirits are made new creatures in Christ. Old things pass away; all things become new. And what should take place is that what has been placed on the inside should begin to show up in our daily behavior; in our actions, our words, our speech, our habits, and in our attitudes. Years ago we sang a song, “I’ve got something on the inside working on the outside…”  That’s the idea here.

Paul prayed for the Galatians believers, My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you (Galatians 4:19). This word formed in this verse is the Greek word morphe which again means an outward expression of an inner nature. He was praying that the New Birth experience would begin to show up on the outside in the daily lives of these believers.

Paul travailed in prayer for these believers. Travail is intense prayer. It denotes agony and tears much like a woman giving birth to a child. So instead of complaining about the lack of Christ likeness we may see in others, we should pray as Paul did that Christ may be formed in them.

All of us are the process of being conformed to the image of Jesus. What’s on the inside is rising up to be seen on the outside! Let’s pray for each other today that this process would be completed. We’re morphing!

                     

Establish Your Heart Life In The Word Of God!

Psalm 112 explains the blessings of the person who chooses to be a doer of the word. This is the person who has an established heart.

An established heart is not blown by the winds of adversity. It is not motivated by fear but by faith in God’s unfailing promises. It has the patience to stand its ground when tests and difficulties come. It doesn’t cast away its confidence, but knows that being a doer of the Word brings results (Hebrews 10: 35-36).

A person with an established heart will attract the blessings of God upon his home and his family. His obedience will affect his family for generations to come.

The established heart gives generously and is kind and considerate of others. It is not moved when difficulties come because it is grounded in the Word.

The person with an established heart is a light and example for others to follow. He gives encouragement to faint and to the weak, and becomes a source of  hope in times of great need.

An established heart gives a sense of righteousness, peace, joy, hope, rest, health, and prosperity. An established heart breeds optimism in the darkest test. It is surer of the promises of God’s Word than the rising sun!

Your heart becomes established by daily meditating on, confessing, and practicing the Word. Take time today to establish your heart in the Word. You’ll gain inward strength and outward stability. The blessings of God will be upon you, and you will be a source of light and aid to all around you.

Psalm 112 -- New Living Translation

Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord  and delight in obeying his commands. (2) Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. (3) They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. (4) Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. (5) Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. (6) Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. (7) They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. (8) They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. (9) They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. (10) The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.

Your Faith Is Like Your Muscles

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. (Romans 12:3)

When we are born again, God places in us a measure of faith. Jesus told us to have faith in God (Mark 11:22). The Greek there in Mark actually says have the faith of God. God has given us the same kind of faith that He has; a measure of it. He expects us to take the faith He gave us and develop it so that it produce more and more fruit!

Our faith is what overcomes the daily challenges that life brings. Until Jesus returns or we leave this planet in physical death, we will always need to exercise faith to receive from God and stand against Satan’s attacks.

Your faith is like your muscles. You have all the muscle you will ever have in your body when you’re born, but as you grow, they develop stronger and stronger. A baby has to crawl before it can walk because muscles all over the baby’s body have to mature and develop to be able to support and balance its’ body.

Similarly, faith grows a little at a time. Faith comes by meditating on the Word of God, but your faith muscles only become strong when exercised against the problems of life.

Too many believers don’t exercise their faith enough for it to be strong and then find themselves greatly disadvantaged when difficulties arise. Often their faith is overwhelmed by the challenge. This does not have to happen.

Start now to exercise your faith in small things. Believe for your lunch money this week. Believe for the headache to leave without pain medication. Believe for the upset stomach to be healed without intervention. Believe for a parking place when you coming into a full parking lot! Look for small ways to exercise your faith, and before you know it, you’ll be able to believe for big things!

Be prepared when a 500 pound problem comes by starting to lift small 10 pound problems with your faith. You or someone you love will be glad you took the time to develop strong spiritual faith muscles when acute challenges land at your door. Be ready.

The Word OF God Can Drive The Bad Habits From Your Past Out Of Your Life!

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell (Numbers 33:55).

 

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Corinthians 10:11).

 

God’s dealings with Israel in the Old Testament are filled with truths that help us in our walk with God today. Israel being led out of Egyptian bondage by way of the Red Sea is a type of our being delivered from the bondage of sin and being born again.

The land of Canaan, the land God promised to Abraham and his offspring, is a type of the born again, Spirit-filled, abundant life of the child of God today!   When I was a boy we sang about Canaan’s land in church and the song referred to Canaan’s land as a type of heaven for believers. But that’s just not true! There are no inhabitants that oppose us that we must run out of heaven! Heaven is a place of rest from our labors. But here, we must fight the good fight of faith every day.

These inhabitants of Canaan were to be destroyed by Israel. They were gross idolaters whose habits were vile and repulsive. Israel was to run them out of every city as they conquered Canaan. In the above verse, God told Israel that if these inhabitants remained, they would be irritants in their eyes and thorns in their sides. God told them that these inhabitants of their land would harass them and make their life miserable!

These inhabitants of the land point to the habits of the flesh in our lives as believers. When we come out of the bondage of sin through the New Birth, there is a residue of the old man that is left in our souls. Our minds and emotions have inhabitants embedded in them from our old life before Christ. It’s our job to run them out.

These inhabitants include selfishness, envy, greed, pride, stubbornness, rebellion, anger, lust, bitterness, malice, gossip, self-pity, and a host of other things. Our responsibility as a new creation in Christ is to run these inhabitants out with the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God! If we don’t confront these inhabitants, they become irritants in our eyes and thorns in our sides. They hinder our growth in God, and quench our joy. Don’t tolerate them in your land!

Israel did not conqueror these inhabitants all at once, and neither will you. Israel inhabited their promised land city by city. And it’s line upon line, precept upon precept that we grow in God and run these habits from the past out of our lives.

Be diligent to stay in the Word and keep your sword sharp. And when you come upon some inhabitants of your promised land from your old life, don’t put up with them. Run them out! Conquer your promised land little by little and you’ll walk in the peace of God and experience the best God has for you!

How To Stop Worrying

Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail) (Psalm 55:22 - Amplified).

We are not designed to worry. Worry is really faith in reverse. Worry is allowing the spirit of fear to dominate and rule the situation. Fear attracts the demonic the way that faith attracts God! Don’t allow worry to rule any area of life. Worry is a weight that drains energy needed for productive activity!

 

The antidote for worry is releasing faith in God’s Word about the situation at hand. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh, and strength to your bones (Proverbs 3:5-8).

We’re to refuse worry just as we would refuse the temptation to sin. Worry is the enemy seeking intrusion into your life. So Peter tells us: Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully (1 Peter 5:7 - Amplified).

Paul gives us the practical side of replacing worry thoughts with faith. Don’t worry over anything whatever. Tell God every detail of your need in earnest and thankful prayer (Philippians 4:6 – J.B. Phillips Translation).

 

To release worry and the spirit of fear that motivates it, go to the Father and tell Him every detail of what bothers you. Itemize it in detail. Tell Him what concerns you about the issue and what fear is seeking entrance. Tell Him every detail of your need. Once you do this, ask Him to intervene and to solve the problem. And right there believe that you receive the answer. If you believe you receive, then act like you receive the answer by praising and thanking the Father for working out the details of the situation.

Then every time the issue comes to mind, and every time the spirit of fear seeks to come back, don’t pray about it again. You’ve already cast the care of the thing over on the Lord. Just simply remind the Father of what you’ve already prayed and believed for, and then spend time in praise and thanksgiving instead of worry. Do this every single time the thought of the situation comes back.

You’ll find that the peace of God will guard your faith like a company of soldiers. And if you do this day after day, the day will come that you will see the manifestation of the answer to your prayer!

You Must Believe That God Has Answered Your Prayer Before The Answer Is Seen

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them (Mark 11:24 - NKJV)

 

So then I tell you, whenever you pray and ask for anything, have faith that it has been granted to you, and you will get it (Mark 11:24 – Williams NT).

For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will get it (Mark 11:24- Amplified).

That's why I tell you to have faith that you have already received whatever you pray for, and it will be yours (Mark 11:24-God’s Word).

Believe that you receive. That’s God’s method of giving us what we need. Faith (believing that you receive) is the way God provides to us what He has promised!

Believing you receive means that the moment you pray, you believe that God has answered your prayer. If you believe He has answered then you will act as though He has answered. Faith does not believe that one day He will answer in the future, but it is believing that God has answered or is answering right now.

Faith is never future tense. It’s either past tense or present tense. Anything that puts my receiving off into the future is hope and not faith. And hope is just not strong enough to receive from the Lord!

Our responsibility is to believe that we receive. God’s responsibility is to see that we have it. There is a period of time between the time that you believe you receive the answer to your prayer, and the actually physical manifestation of the answer. And what happens in this in between time is crucial!

 

When I believe that I receive an answer to prayer, I usually spend a lot of time praising and thanking the Father for meeting the need. Every time the issue that I’ve prayed about comes to mind, I verbally acknowledge that I believe the Lord heard and answered my prayer. This adds action to my faith!

Doubt thoughts may come to mind and tell you that God hasn’t answered the prayer. When they come, don’t speak them! When doubt thoughts come, say out loud that you believe you receive the answer to your prayer, and then spend some time praising the Lord. Praise Him and thank Him for the answer to your prayer the way you would if you actually had the manifestation of the answer! This drives the enemy nuts and boosts your confidence in the Father. Faith must be expressed in words to be most effective!

Faith expects. We say that a pregnant woman is expecting. She’s expecting a child to be born at a certain time. Likewise,  when I’m standing in faith, I’m expecting the manifestation of the answer at any time. Faith is a confident expectation that what you’ve asked the Father for has been granted. And this expectation produces joy!

Stand in faith today and believe that you receive. The day will come that what you believe is manifested! Faith works!

It Is The Will Of God For Every Believer To Be Healed And Walk In Health

When He had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him. And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately his leprosy was cleansed (Matthew 8:1-3).

 

Faith begins where the will of God is known. If you are uncertain as to the will of God for your healing, you will not be able to exercise the faith necessary to receive the healing that belongs to you.

 

As a young boy in a denominational church, I always heard the sick prayed for with the faith destroying prayer, Lord if it be Thy will. If a person was healed, then it was the will of God. If a person was not healed, then it must not have been the will of God to heal that particular person.

This kind of behavior takes all responsibility off of the individual, and makes God totally responsible for everything that happens in life. And this type of believing is a dangerous fallacy! When the will of God is determined on a case by case basis, there can be no faith on the part of the individual to be healed by the power of God.

But we can know the will of God through His Word. God’s Word is His will! If you want to my will about a matter in my life, then simply listen to what I say or write! If you want to know God’s will in a matter, go to His Word! His Word is His will.

 

Jesus words to this leper in the above verse clearly show the will of God to every person in need of healing. I am willing, be cleansed is God’s will for every person touched by sickness and disease. How do we know this?

The character of God never changes. For I am the Lord, I do not change (Malachi 3:6). Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). If it was Jesus’ will to heal this man in Matthew 8, then it is still His will to heal today.

God has no favorite children. He loves us all the same! What He will do for one, He will do for all! For there is no partiality with God (Romans 2:11). Jesus healing this leper is proof positive that it is His will to heal all!

Never pray if it be your will when praying for healing. If it be your will cancels faith! I never put an if in my prayer when praying the prayer of faith! In fact, the only time I put an if in any prayer I pray is when praying the prayer of consecration to do the will of God.

Jesus prayed if it be Your will in the garden of Gethsemane when facing His hour of greatest trial. And it’s ok to pray this way where we’re seeking to find God’s will for our lives. But this is not necessary in matters where His will is clearly stated!

Faith begins where the will of God is known. Let Jesus’ Word to this leper be His Word to you concerning your life. Here Jesus say to you today, I am willing, be healed! And exercise your faith in Him to heal you by believing you receive your healing the moment that you pray. It’s the prayer of faith that heals the sick! God’s wills you to be healed!

Your Faith Will Activate God's Healing Power In Your Body!

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction” (Mark 5:25-34).

  

Faith releases God’s healing power into our bodies! There were crowds of people touching Jesus the day this woman was healed. The multitudes were thronging Him. They were pressing upon Him. Their touch released no power from Jesus into their bodies. But the moment this woman touched Jesus with faith in her touch, healing power went out of Him and into her. She was completely healed.

 

Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the Father. He promised that when He left and went to heaven, the Holy Spirit would take His place and be for us everything Jesus was to the disciples. That same healing power that was in Jesus is available to us as believers by the Holy Spirit! But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).

  

Remember that it was faith that activated the healing power to flow out of Jesus into this woman who was ill and that power healed her. And it takes faith now to activate the healing power resident in you in the person of the Holy Spirit. If you’ll act your faith,  then you will activate the healing power of God that is in your spirit by the Holy Spirit.

 

Mediate on the scriptures that promise healing, then act your faith. Pray in the name of Jesus and command the sickness to go! Then, believe that you receive the answer to your prayer of faith! Say it out loud, Lord I believe that I receive healing for my body in the name of Jesus. According to God’s Word, I believe I’m well and healed. Thank you so much Lord for healing me. Remind the Lord all day long of what you believe. Look past the symptoms to the promise of God’s Word!

Years ago, I was seriously attacked with terrible flu symptoms. My fever was high and I was aching all over. I called my secretary that morning early and cancelled my appointments for the day at work. As I lay in bed, listening to the scriptures on healing from a cassette tape (like I said, years ago!), the Lord spoke to me. He said that if I believed that I had received my healing, then I should get up and act like it. I immediately got up and began walking around my bed praising God for healing me through Jesus sacrifice for me. I walked around and around my bedroom praising God for about 10 to 15 minutes praising God for my healing. Suddenly, I felt God’s power come upon me, and every single symptom left! I was totally overjoyed and astounded! I called my secretary and told her that I was coming to work after all, and to please confirm all my appointments. That day, I learned the importance of acting your faith. I was healed!

Remember that faith takes the place of what God promises until it shows up in physical manifestation! Act your faith and give the Holy Spirit what He needs to manifest God’s healing power in you today!

Healing Is Provided For Us In The Atonement Of Christ

Healing is provided for us in the atonement of Christ. Let me show you the evidence.

 

The Passover sacrifice offered by the Israelites the night that the firstborn of Egypt died is a type of Christ. Notice 1 Corinthians 5:7: Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

In Exodus 12 you find that the Israelites were instructed to eat the flesh of the Passover lamb to give them strength for their journey out of Egypt. This is a type of Jesus being the life and health of our physical bodies!

 

In 2 Chronicles 30, the Israelites were healed while partaking of the Passover sacrifice:  But King Hezekiah prayed for them, and they were allowed to eat the Passover meal anyway, even though this was contrary to the requirements of the Law. For Hezekiah said, "May the Lord, who is good, pardon those (19) who decide to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors, even though they are not properly cleansed for the ceremony." (20) And the Lord listened to Hezekiah's prayer and healed the people (2 Chron 30:18-20 -NLT)

In Numbers 21: 8-9, the Israelites were healed while they looked at a serpent that God had Moses put on a pole and hold up for all to see. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Jesus referred to this serpent on a pole as Himself being made our sin in John 3: 14: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. If the type, the serpent on the pole, brought healing to every Israelite that gazed upon it, how much more will Jesus, the anti-type (the fulfillment of the serpent on the pole), minister healing and life to those who come to Him!

 

Then in Isaiah 53, the great redemptive chapter, we find healing clearly shown in the sacrifice of the Messiah:  He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows (pains) and acquainted with grief (sickness). And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains); yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5)

 

The words sorrows and griefs should be translated respectively pains and sicknesses in these verses! Any concordance will bear this truth. When Jesus bore our sins, he also bore our sicknesses. He dealt with both the sin and sickness problem with the same sacrifice at Calvary!

 

Some folk tell us that Isaiah 53: 3-5 is speaking figuratively of our spiritual sins and our spiritual sickness. And that he healing mentioned in Isaiah 53:5 is really spiritual healing. But we don’t need spiritual healing, we need spiritual transformation! We don’t get healed spiritually; we become new creatures in Christ Jesus!

  

The Father obviously knew that some people would try to spiritualize the healing mentioned in Isaiah 53 and He left us a Divine commentary. Notice Matthew 8: 16-17. It refers directly to Isaiah 53:4! When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

 

Exercise your faith in the Father to heal you today! Believe you receive the healing that Jesus provided in His sacrifice for you. With His stripes you are healed!