16 Aug ‘Dear John’ | Part 6 ‘As Jesus Is, So Are You’

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John 3:12

Jesus tells us that there are earthly things and there are heavenly things. Earthy things are subject to heavenly things.

John 3:31, 36

He who comes from above is above all. All things are in the hands of Jesus. He is above everything we are going through right now.  Everything we see right now is subject to change by the power of Jesus because he is above everything.  The things we see are temporary, and the things unseen are eternal.

Q. What comfort do you take in knowing that Jesus has the power to change your situation?

1 John 4:7-12; 16-17

The Bible’s definition of love is, God is love.  Love is not our love for God, but God’s love for us in sending Jesus to bear in His body the punishment due us for our sins, hence satisfying God’s demand that sin be punished.  We now share in the life of Jesus. We live through Him.  We respond to God’s love to us by displaying His love in us to others. We forgive, just as in Christ, God forgave us (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13). We now dwell in God because of the love of Jesus.

Q. Why are you having a difficult time loving and forgiving a particular person even though you are loved and forgiven by God?

This truth gives us confidence in the day of Judgement.

What is the day of Judgement?

There are 2 types of judgment. The first is the Judgement Seat of Christ.  It is for rewards (2:Corinthians 5:10; Romans 14:10-12).

John 5:24

We have eternal life right now as believers, we do not come into judgment.

The second is the Great White Throne Judgement.  This is for unbelievers, those who have rejected Christ and the message of the Cross.

Another secondary application of the “day of Judgment” in the life of a believer is the time of trial or testing.  Another word for Judgement is crisis, adversity, or scrutiny.  Believers can have confidence in the day of adversity because as Jesus is right now, so are we in this world.  As Christians, we should have a vested interest in knowing Jesus and having him exposed to us. We should seek to behold him and to make Him our primary focus.

Q. How are you making Jesus your primary focus in the days of crisis and adversity?

1. Jesus is Sitting Down at the Right Hand of Majesty

If He is seated at the right hand of Majesty, we are we.

Hebrews 1:3 (NKJV)

We should be measuring our identity to the Person on the Father’s right hand, not where we are physically.  The devil will always point us to ourselves and/or to others (horizontal). The Holy Spirit will always point us to Jesus (vertical).  God is looking at Jesus to assess us, judge us, and favor us. The question is not ‘Am I good enough’, the question is, ‘Is Jesus good enough at the Father’s right hand.’  We should have the same ‘Throne life’ attitude as Jesus.

Qa. What does it mean to measure yourself positionally and not physically?

Qb. How can you start having a ‘Throne life’ attitude (what will you do to stop measuring your identity to others rather than Jesus, etc.)?

2. Jesus is Our High Priest

Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)

Our High Priest is accepted by God, so we are.  Our High Priest is Righteous, so we are.  Jesus is representing us before the Father/Principle of Representation.

2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV)

Q. How does it encourage you to have Jesus as your High Priest?

3. We are parts of Jesus’ body—of his flesh and of his bones

Ephesians 5:30 (NKJV); John 14:19 (ESV)

There is not any disease or degeneration in His body.  As Jesus is in His health, so are we in this world.  As Jesus is in his body, without sickness or disease so are we in this world. As Jesus is young, healthy, and vibrant so are we in this world.  These heavenly truths impact our current reality.

Q. What physical or mental condition can you hand over to God right now and believe you are as Jesus is?

4. Jesus is the Wisdom and the Power of God

1 Corinthians 1:24 (ESV)

Jesus is full of God’s wisdom and power, so are we in this world. We should desire to apply the wisdom and power of God through Jesus in our everyday life. in business, career, relationships, decision making etc.

Q. How do you apply the wisdom and power of God in business, career, relationships, decision making, etc?

5. Jesus is the Overcomer

John 16:33 (NIV); 1 John 5:4 (ESV); 1 John 4:4 (NIV)

We have the overcomer Spirit within us.  As Jesus is the overcomer, so are we in this world.  Seeing Jesus leads to transformation.  Whatever it is, look to Jesus.  Our power is our identity.

1 John 4:18

Perfect love is not our love for God. It is God’s love for us. The more conscious we are of how much we are loved by God in Christ; the more fear dissipates out of our lives.

This is important:

There is conquering power in confessing the word of God that “As Jesus is, so are we in this world”. Only through Jesus do we have access to and find favor with God.

Hebrews 4:12; John 6:63

Q. How will you apply this message to your life so that you will no longer measure your identity to anyone other than Jesus?