Christ Within : 2

This is part 2 of a 2 part message 

Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it” Colossians 1:27 TPT 

In the previous message I shared how we can ignore what we have already been given in Christ. That which is right under our nose. We can be looking for a supernatural encounter with God to change our lives, but the answer is to have our eyes opened to realise what we have it already. Believe. 

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

We don’t need to go to the Temple to find Jesus; nor do we need to go to Jerusalem for the anointing or to a big Jesus Conference either, for Christ has been raised from the dead for us and we have Him here with us right now. If this is the case then why don’t we enjoy Him as we should? Paul gives us a clue in the book of Ephesians. 

 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,” Ephesians 3:20 

This revelation is for those who believe. Believe what? Believe that there is a God? It must be more than that for even the Devil believes in God and trembles, but He isn’t a friend of God. Does it mean believe in the existence of Jesus? Mormons believe in Jesus and so do the JWs and they are both considered to be cults. The Mormons believe He is the brother of Satan and the JWs say that Jesus is merely a creation of God and isn’t actually God. The Muslims believe that Jesus was a great Prophet, so believing must be more than that. 

You can believe that God’s eyes are upon you 24/7.You can also believe that God is interested in you or standing by your side right now or holding your hand or is even closer than a brother. Believing is more than that too. You need to believe that He is in your heart/spirit, and the ultimate is to believe that His life is in you. Paul said “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;” Galatians 2:20 and he also said in the Book of Philippians. 

 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13 

Paul said to the Philippian Church that God was working in them. God was in them, the answer was in them. You have within and are the answer. The trouble is we keep looking elsewhere for the answer when we have it within us. 

A reading from Bob Gass speaks of the spider and this ties up with my message.  Everything a spider needs to survive and succeed in life, God has put within it. Swipe it with a broom and before it hits the ground, its fall is broken. It just reaches inside, releases another protein-filled silk-like thread, slides down, finds a safe place, then comes back stronger than ever and builds a new web. What's the message of the spider? Everything you need, God has placed within you! The Bible says, 

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and Godliness… He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:3- 4 NIV) 

What has God given us? "Everything we need." What has God made us participants in? "His divine nature." Wow! Your future is not determined by who you know and who you don't know or who likes you and who doesn't. The power to fulfil your destiny is within you! The warfare over your life and the struggle you're in, is about what you were born for, called too and gifted to do. So stir up the gift within you. In other words - start producing! 

"Stir up… the… gift of God… that is in you" (2 Timothy 1:6 AMP). 

Life may have knocked you down, but it hasn't knocked you out. What's at work within you will triumph over what's at work around you. Stand on God's Word, draw on your faith, hold on, and when the smoke clears, rise up and announce, "By the grace of God, I'm back!" You say, "But I've lost so much." As long as you still have what God put within you, you can make it! 

The story is told of a farmer who had lived on the same farm all his life. It was a good farm with fertile soil, but with the passing years, the farmer began to think, maybe there’s something better for me. He set out to find an even better plot of land to farm. Every day he found a reason for criticising some feature of his old farm. Finally he decided to sell it. He listed the farm with a real estate broker who promptly prepared an advertisement emphasising all the advantages of the acreage; ideal location, modern equipment, healthy stock, acres of fertile ground, high yields on crops, well kept barns and pens, and a nice two storied house on a hill above the pasture. When the real estate agent called to read the ad to the farmer for his approval prior to placing it in the local paper the farmer heard him out. When he had finished he cried. “Hold everything! I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to sell. Why I’ve been looking for a place just like that all my life!” 

The Devil doesn’t want us to realise what we have in Christ and makes us look everywhere else for the answers except to the God within. God has shown me that the more I look to the God within the happier I will be. So can you for, “The Kingdom of God is within you.”  

Living within you is the Christ who floods you with the expectation of glory! This mystery of Christ, embedded within us, becomes a heavenly treasure chest of hope filled with the riches of glory for his people, and God wants everyone to know it” Colossians 1:27 TPT

We need to realise and believe that Christ is in us. The more we become aware of this reality the more we will draw from it and begin to live from this reality towards the issues of life. I cant help but believe for miracles in the future because the Spirit floods me with an expectation of this kind of life. I have Christ within me and this is His life, His nature that is working in me.