Tuesday – May 3, 2016
Greetings and welcome to The Three Minute Word teaching for this Tuesday. God is so good to give his Word, a detailed instruction manual telling us how to be just like Jesus. How to walk in faith, love, and hope successfully. On Tuesdays I remind us all to pray for the many governments across America. Today I am honoring Arizona. Arizona was the 48th State admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912 during the administration of our 27th President, President William Howard Taft. An older Gallop polled showed only 36% of the people in Arizona considered religion very important to them (37th place) but a more recent Pew Research poll finds 53% saying that religion is very important to them (27th place). Something is happening in Arizona. The picture shown is a map showing the state of Arizona in the United States. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Also in keeping with demonstrating that we, America, is a nation in Covenant with God let’s look at the preamble to the Constitution for Arizona.
CONSTITUTION OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA
Preamble
We the people of the State of Arizona, grateful to Almighty God for our liberties, do ordain this Constitution.
Now let us get back to our study from the Book of Colossians.
Colossians 2:6-9 (KJV)
6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. 9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
We have received Christ Jesus the Lord by faith (believing Him) and we are walking in Him (with Him) by faith. We are diving deeper and deeper into the Word of God with our ear tuned to the Master (Jesus, The Word) to hear and follow. This builds our root system and we are a stronger tree, we can withstand the winds of trial and temptation. Our Heavenly Father wants us not to even bend in the face of any wind the devil brings our way. We are in the earth as representatives of the Kingdom of God. Like ambassadors in this natural world who have diplomatic immunity so do we as Ambassadors for God. That immunity holds so long as we walk with Him, so long as we think as He thinks, so long as we speak as He speaks, and so long as we do as He does (includes body language).
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 (KJV)
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
We are in a constant state of thanksgiving because we are more than conquers as the children of the Most High God. When temptation comes or a storm arises our very next thought needs to be a condescending “is this your best shot?” If we will stay in Him, walking with Him, we are indistinguishable from Jesus, even from the Father, the devils want to see if they can draw us out into our own reasoning into the flesh, if they can, we are toast so to speak.
Romans 8:37 (KJV)
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
All of this is so that we are not corrupted, spoiled, by worldly philosophy, deceit that plays to our flesh, traditions of men that are familiar and comfortable (except as we listen to Him) in which there is no power for none of these are of Christ (Jesus, The Word). The ‘Christ’ in Colossians 2:8 should be translated as the Anointed One (Jesus). The One who by His actions, obedience, at Calvary and beyond, paid the price and paved the way for the Holy Spirit to come back into the earth. More specifically to be legally operational and available to all people, free to quicken and make alive.
Galatians 3:13-14 (KJV)
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Galatians 3:27-29 (KJV)
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
The Blessing (verse fourteen) is the Holy Spirit and that is made clear later in the same verse and again He is received by faith. We must purpose to be clothed and filled with the Holy Spirit. Saints we are heirs, joint heirs with Christ, of all the Kingdom of God. Jesus was the first born from the dead. In Him we share in the double portion, we are unique creatures far above all who came before us.
By Pastor David R. Wood
