Teaching Notes from Jessica’s latest message; Seated with Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10

“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.  All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our fleshand following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.  But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

V 4 BUT!

            1 Alive in righteousness

            2 Follow ways of Jesus-ruler of our hearts-obedient, His spirit at work in us

            3 Deny flesh-follow spirit desires & mind of Christ, FREE from wrath! 

V 4&5 God was motivated by Love, v6 is the outcome 

-Resurrection-Christ is seated at right hand of God.

Ephesians 1:20-22  “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way”. 

-Not only are we restored to right relationship w/God (reverse the curse) goes beyond walking in the garden

-Raised/quickened-accomplished in Christ-already took place, past tense

-Location & position of authority

-“Newness of life” KJV Rom 6:4  “ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life”. 

-Old testament priests-never sat down. God never told them to build furniture or chairs to have in the holy place- Hebrews 10:12-14:“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy”.  ONE SACRIFICE FOREVER!!!!!

-Operate from a place of rest. He reigns from a seated position, because of the “finished work of Christ”.

 Rom 5:17 “ For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!”

-God’s word is true, I’m only saying what His word says-so if you believe it you are a part of it!

-Exercise & demonstrate & proclaim w/mouths our authority –preaching the gospel, healing the sick, casting out

Demons. Acts 4:30, Luke 5:24

-Dependent on Him. He is seated; we are seated “in” Him.

Reign-“baileuo” basilica (court of law). It’s a judicial and kingly rule

-Participate in His work by doing same things He did and more. John 14:12 ^“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father”. Zechariah 4:6 ^“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.

Jessica Cienda

Springsoflifeministries;Bend Oregon 2011.

John 3:16 is perhaps the most quoted and memorized scripture of the Bible. It reveals the purpose that Jesus came to fulfill in this world. Let us read it and define the mission of Jesus in the world. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life”.

Jesus came in the world to give eternal life to whoever believes in him. This is very amazing. Jesus did not come to die for the world, or to take the righteous ones to heaven. He simply came to give eternal life. it is true that He died for our sins and that He will take us to heaven, but that was not his primary mission in the world. He died  on the cross  and spent three days and nights in the grave because that was the only way He could deal with our sin problem. But he did not come in the world to be tortured. John 3:16 says that He came to give eternal life.

It is saddening to know that many people have tried to make big philosophies out the mission of Jesus in the world. Why not just accept what Jesus himself said about the purpose of his coming in the world? He came to give eternal life. Further in John 10:10, He repeated the same word; “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly”.

The main question should be “what is eternal life”?  The bible gives us a good definition of eternal life. John 17:3; “And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent”. Eternal life is to “Know” God.

Notice that eternal life doesn’t mean “Living forever in heaven”. It doesn’t also mean “Dying peacefully”. Eternal life is “to know God”. To know God is not a mental ascent. It is not an intellectual knowledge of religion or theological terminologies. To know is to be intimate. Like Genesis 4:1 tells us that; Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the LORD.” when Adam knew Eve, life was released in the womb of Eve.to know God is to become intimate with Him so that His life, gets released in your spirit. It means to become one with Him.to be one Spirit with Him.to become a partaker of his nature. “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”.2 Peter 1:3-4

Jesus came to give us the ability to be intimate with God; the ability to become one Spirit with God. He came to give us the ability to live the “God kind of life”. If you have received eternal life, you are more than just a “Human being”. You are a son of God in a human body.one third of you is 100 percent God. You are no longer a wretched sinner saved by grace. You are now a new creature, a new specie. 2 Thessalonians 5:17.

Romans 6:23 tells us that Eternal life is a Gift of God. If you have never received eternal life, you can open your heart today and simply believe that Jesus rose from the dead; then with mouth confess that faith. Because Jesus rose from the dead, he is alive today. He is lord over death and Satan. He is the Son of God. Romans 10:9 declares that by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is the Son of God, and by believing in your heart that He rose from the dead, you have received eternal life.

Praise the Lord.

 Written by Eddy Cienda

for springsoflifeministries

GO AND SIN NO MORE

(The power to overcome sins and addictions)

“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.  Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” John 8:1-11

Most Christians who struggle with certain sinful behavior have a hard time overcoming them because they keep trying harder and harder to overcome them with their own personal efforts.The case of this adulteress woman sums up the message of the New Testament concerning overcoming addictions, personal struggles with certain sins, and walking in victory forever.This woman was struggling with immorality; the Pharisees caught her in the act and determined to stone her to death.Jesus did not Condon her actions or pleaded with her accusers to give her a second chance. He did not even counsel her like most religious people would. He didn’t do a background search on her to identify the incident in her past that caused this immorality. But he demonstrated the true nature of God for all sinners. Notice that the woman did not even plead with Jesus to rescue her. She was convinced of her sins and knew she deserved to die for it.let’s see how Jesus demonstrated the true nature of God in this case:

1, He saved her from the wrath of her accusers.

The biblical term for this action is: JUSTIFICATION. It means; to find worth inside a worthless person. To look at a miserable sinner through the lens of God’s love and grace. Romans 8:33-34.Jesus loved her in spite of her sins; He did not approve of her actions. He found her worth saving. Not because she was helpless, not because she cried and repented and begged him with tears. But because of His grace: Ephesians 2:8; Romans 5:8

2. He separated her from her accuser.

He bowed his head and wrote on the ground; then spoke to her accusers. His words were simple but yet strong that they caused her accusers to drop their stones andgo away in defeat . He fought her battle with the power of his words.He was her attorney in that minute. She kept quiet and beheld the deliverance of the Lord.

3. He delivered her from her guilty conscious.

She knew she was guilty and deserved to die. She was covered in shame and fear. Even though her accusers had left her, she still knew that Jesus respected the Law of Moses. Everybody called Him “Rabbi”. He still had the option to stone her to death. Though the accusers had left, she still faced the possibility of death. But he spoke grace over her. He did not condemn her; he was not upset with her; he still wanted to talk to her; but with love and grace. John 3:17. The biblical term for this action is: RIGHTEOUSNESS. It means; the ability to stand before the Lord without guilt, fear or shame

4. He empowered her.

When she left the temple that day, she was reminded that his love for her has given her power to overcome her sinful life. She didn’t have to go and explain herself to people to find their approval. She went home to live a new life from because his love gave her liberty and victory over sins. Romans 6:1-2; Galatians 5:1.

Many people still struggle with sin; they fear that someone may expose their filthy acts in public. I know many people who live with all kinds of guilt and shame because of their inability to overcome certain addictions. Some will even attend accountability groups and try to find the recipe to overcome sins. But John 8:1-11 shows us that the love of God is more than enough to liberate from sins. You just have to realize that the son of God took your place on the cross and died for you to be reconciled with the Lord. You don’t have to cry and plead to be forgiven. You just have to receive the forgiveness of your sins and refuse to live with guilt and shame.

Walk in the freedom that Jesus has given you. Now that you know that He doesn’t not condemn you, He is not mad at you, Go and sin no more.

Written by: Eddy Cienda

springsoflifeministries.org

Bend, Oregon

   Since 2009,I have been asked so many questions about the world ending between December 12th 2012 and December 31st 2012.The main source of this information is “The Mayan Calendar”.  It’s all over the internet and  television.Wealthy people have purchased bunkers around the world to be sheltered on that “Fatefull Month” of December 2012.

   My answer comes from Matthew 24:36: No one knows the day or the hour. December 2012 WILL NOT usher-in some catastrophe or Harmageddon as feared by millions around the world.If the words of Christ means anything to you,then you should not be preoccupied with December 2012.

   Since when did the Mayan calendar become the absolute authority of Christian faith?  Our master Himself said these words; “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only “.Matthew 24:36.(New King James version) And In Acts 1:6-7,it is written “Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”  And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (New King James Vesion) This should end the story.Instead of getting concerned and perplexed aabout December 2012 or any other dates, get back in the Word of God and find out what God says about you today.Acts 1:8 makes it clear that we should feed on the power of the Holy Spirit and take the good news of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth.Alleluia!

    How about feeding on God’s unconditional love and mercy today! how about sharing God’s unconditional love and grace with those who have offended you! How about thanking God about the finished work of Christ on the cross? how about rejoicing because the comforter (Holy Spirit) lives in you?

Don’t allow the speculations of men to shake your faith.

Praise the Lord!

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