Blog In Audio:
Greetings,
As leaders we live our lives to bear witness of Christ in us. We lead others to do the same. Our dependency in all things is a dependency upon the manifest presence of God in, upon, and with us. Our leadership is testified in how those we lead exhibit their connection to God in Christ in all things. Bearing witness of Christ is bearing witness of Him in the face of all that opposes His life in our lives. This was true for the first disciples and the first century church and it is true in our lives today. Jesus told His disciples that this would be their way of life in Christ and Christ in them.
John 16:1 “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. 3 And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. 4 But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. “And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.”
Jesus made a way to be more than merely with His disciples. He made a way to be in them, upon them, and with them in every situation and every moment of their days. These disciples, and the first century church, were put out of synagogues, persecuted, and even killed for their personal testimonies of Christ in their lives. They lived, moved, and had their being in God through an intimate and powerful connection to Jesus by His Spirit. This same testimony is true for us today. The witness of Christ in the birthing of the church is true in every new thing that is birthed in and of Christ in this world. There is persecution, resistance, and pressure that resists the life of Christ, but the life of Christ is the life of Christ! Christ is more powerful than anything that is anti-Christ. As leaders, we lead others in knowing this truth as a daily reality. We have the gift of Christ in us, upon us, and with us in all things.
John 16:5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”
When Jesus said these words to his friends, He was physically with them in the room. His greater promise to them was that He would still be with them, but in a greater and more powerful way. When we live with Jesus in this greater way, we become qualified to lead others into that greater way also. It is through this greater way that we bear witness of Christ to the world around us. We are not the witness of Christ for others, but we are examples that others can see so they too can embrace a life fully connected to Christ in them, upon them, and with them in all things.
When we experience Holy Spirit in our lives, we discover freedom from all sin. Sin is a disconnection from God who is our true life. Holy Spirit is our connection to God who is true life. It is through that connection that we find the freedom of being sons and daughters of God. Holy Spirit in our lives also empowers us to know the true righteousness found in Christ. It is a righteousness of personal connection to God in our hearts who gives us a true testimony of life. A visible change in our character, nature, way, power, and authority is made known by the work of Holy Spirit in us. We also experience the victory of reigning in life. The written judgments of God become manifestly true in our lives as we become the increasing testimony of praise that comes by a partnership with God in all things. Holy Spirit is God and as leaders it is for a knowing of Holy Spirit in each life that we lead.
John 16:8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
The focus is not sin, righteousness, or judgment. The focus is a connection to God by His Spirit in us, upon us, and always with us. It is because of the testimony of Holy Spirit in these things that we find ourselves exhibiting the testimony of Christ in us. If we live in this, we can inspire others to embrace the life of Christ also. It is not about right information. It is the testimony of a life of transformation.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
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House of Bread Ministry
3210 Meridian St.
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