Gregory Dickow - A Divine Disruption
That’s a powerful verse that Abe shared: we’re called to inherit a blessing. Amen! We’re called to be a blessing, to inherit a blessing. You can’t be what you haven’t first become. You have been made by God. You’ve been blessed by God. We are blessed. We have the blessing. Amen! We’re redeemed from the curse. The Bible says Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us, for cursed is anyone who hangs on a tree. Jesus hung on the cross to take the curse for us, to become cursed for us-the curse that Adam and Eve earned humanity. Jesus becomes that curse on the cross. He goes on to say in Galatians 3:13 and 14 that we might receive the blessing of Abraham.
Who’s ready to receive the blessing of Abraham? You might say, «What’s the blessing of Abraham?» Because Abraham is the father of our faith. The Bible says that because Abraham listened to and believed God, God would keep His promise. When God said, «Give me your son,» Abraham not only received a miracle in having a son while he was 99 years old and Sarah was 90-they had Isaac. It was a miracle, obviously. But the thing about Abraham is that at one point, with this blessing that God gave him through his son Isaac, God asked for that blessing back. He said, «Give me your son, your only son. Take him up to Mount Moriah and offer him there as a sacrifice.» The Bible says that Abraham woke up early and went exactly where God told him to go. He didn’t argue with God saying, «No God, you gave me this blessing, I’ve got to hold on to it.» Abraham was so willing to give it back to God because he knew that whatever he gave to God, God always had something better. Whatever you give to God, there’s always something better on the other side.
We’ve probably all seen the little picture on social media-the little girl holding a small teddy bear while Jesus, with a huge teddy bear behind His back, asks her to give it to Him. She hesitates because she doesn’t want to part with it. But when she gives it, He has something bigger and better for her. A picture paints a thousand words, doesn’t it? What God has for you is so much better than what you’re holding on to. By holding on to it, you’re missing out on the greater thing. That’s why God raised up Abraham so that through Abraham’s seed, Jesus would come. Then, by Jesus coming, the Bible says if we belong to Christ, in Galatians 3:29, that we’re Abraham’s seed, we’re Abraham’s descendants, and we’re heirs according to the promise. Whatever God gave to Abraham, whatever God did for Abraham, God will do for you because we belong to Christ. If you belong to Christ, think about that word «belong.» One translation says, «If we be Christ’s.» If we’re His, if we belong to Him, how do we belong to Him? Well, how did the sweater that you wore today belong to you? You bought it. How did the car you drove today belong to you? You bought it-or stole it; I’m not sure which-but you bought something, that’s why it belongs to you. Jesus paid for us not with silver and gold, which perishes, but with the precious blood of the Lamb. Therefore, we belong to Him because He paid for us. If we belong to Christ, we are Abraham’s seed, and we are heirs according to that same inheritance.
Now let me back up for a moment and clarify what we mean by the way Abraham was blessed so that we can set our expectation upon the same blessing. If we belong to Christ, we’re Abraham’s descendants, right? And what are we heirs of? Whatever his inheritance was, our inheritance is. Amen! And whatever Jesus' inheritance is, He shares it with us. But I love what he says here to make it clear: how blessed was Abraham? In Genesis 24:1 it says, «Now Abraham was an old man.» One translation says he was advanced in age, and it says, «The Lord had blessed Abraham in every way.» Now leave that verse up for a moment so that it can sink in. First of all, who is it that blessed Abraham? Are you sure? It says it right here: «Now Abraham was old, advanced in age, and the Lord had blessed Abraham in how many ways?» What we’re going to get into today is how the systems that controlled this world before Jesus-that those systems have been destroyed-and we’ve been given a kingdom that cannot be shaken. What we have here is evidence of what we can begin to set our expectations for. Abraham was old; that means he lived a long life. He was advanced in age; that means advancing is better than retreating. Come on, somebody has to say amen to that! And the Lord, it was the Lord who had blessed him in every way.
Now, if God blessed Abraham in every way, does that include spiritual ways? Why? How do you know it’s included? Because it says it: in every way. Does that include emotional ways? Does that include relationship ways? Because the Lord blessed Abraham in every way. Does that include financial ways? Yes, because the Lord blessed him in every way-every way a person can be blessed; that’s what God did for Abraham. And if we belong to Christ, we’re Abraham’s seed, we’re Abraham’s descendants, and we’re heirs of that same inheritance.
The other, the real, more important thing that Abraham was called to do-he was called to be a father of a multitude of nations. God multiplied Abraham. One of the things we started the year with was the three focuses of our church and our lives this year: to know God intimately. Remember that? To know Him intimately. This is the most important thing: to know God intimately. And then what will flow from knowing God intimately? We’ll love one another generously. Love flows when love is given; love can be given back. God first loved us; we love Him because He first loved us. We love others because He first loved us. So we’re going to love one another generously. Love is not selfish; it’s not conceited; it’s not arrogant, inflated with pride. No, it is kind, it is generous. It never fails, it never fades out, it never becomes obsolete. It never comes to an end. So we’re going to love one another generously, and we’re going to multiply ourselves exponentially. This is something that Abraham did in his life, even though he got a late start. He was 99 years old when he received the promised child that God had made to him and Sarah.
You think about it: Methuselah was, I think, 300 years old before he walked with God, before he knew God, before he had a relationship with God. You see, it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish. It’s never too late! Amen! It’s never too late! Boy, that song just hit me when we were singing — one of the parts of that song: «He’s not done with me yet.» I was thinking, «Oh, you know, I thought of a couple of people that I thought, 'Wow, Lord, you’re not done with that person. You’re not done with that person! ' That’s really good news.» And the Lord said, «I’m not done with this person,» referring to me. «I’m not done with you.» «Oh, you’re right, Lord. That’s where it all starts: you’re not done with me yet. I’m still a work in progress.»
I remember there have been times in my life, you know, if you live long enough, you fail enough. You don’t fail enough in your first 20 or 30 years, but once you’ve been into your fifth, sixth, or seventh decade in life, you find out what you thought was finished is not finished. Where you thought you had achieved or arrived at is nowhere near where you’re going. Amen! So I want you to take that personally: He’s not done with me yet. I’m taking that personally: He’s not done with me yet.
We can’t settle with how we see things now because the Bible says we only see through a glass dimly. We only see a glimpse; we see a shadowy picture. We don’t see ourselves as we truly are; we don’t see God as He truly is. That’s why every day we should be asking God to reveal Himself to us. I’ve been praying this prayer for weeks, months, maybe even for a few years, two or three years. It’s just a really simple prayer. I didn’t even know where I got it until I heard Grace say, «Wow! That’s such a great song you referenced.» I didn’t know it was a song, but then when she said it, I remembered the song. I grew up in the 70s when that song was made: «Day by Day, remember?» And «All day long, three things I pray.» These are the three things I started praying. I didn’t even know; I couldn’t even remember the song. And then I realized that’s where that came from: «Lord, I keep asking the Father, 'Help me to see Jesus more clearly so I can love Him more dearly, and then I can follow Him more nearly.'»
You might think that’s such a simple prayer, but what if you prayed that every day for the next month? I bet you’d start seeing Jesus a whole lot clearer. Because you have not, because you ask not. There’s so much more God wants to reveal to us. There’s so much clearer pictures that God wants to give us. There’s so much more clarity about our purpose in life.
We learned something that we shouldn’t skip over. We learned through that verse that Abe shared in First Peter chapter 3 that we were born to be a blessing. We were called to be a blessing and to inherit a blessing. We’re called to inherit a blessing and to be a blessing. Amen! It’s a calling. It’s a calling; it’s a purpose. It’s too easy to just skip over that. Oh, he was just sharing that for the offering. No, we’re sharing that for life. This is a way to live. This is how we think; this is what makes us breathe.
What gets me up in the morning is I’m called to be a blessing. I’ve got to find where to pour that blessing. I’ve got to find where to show that blessing. I’ve got to find where to give that blessing. And when I realize that, you know, as long as God can get it through you, God can get it to you. Amen! But the moment God can’t get it through you anymore is the moment that God can’t even get it to you anymore. We put limitations on God; He doesn’t put any on Himself. We put limitations on God, but He doesn’t have any limitations. He’s not bound by time; He’s not bound by space; He’s not bound by quantum physics or any laws of thermodynamics or any scientific formulations. God’s not limited to those things-those are human things, not divine things.
Jesus said, «If I can’t talk to you about earthly things and you don’t understand them, how am I going to be able to talk to you about heavenly things? You don’t even understand the earthly things, the simple earthly things I’m telling you about!» Boy, if we could just realize how big God is! If we could get rid of our small God, stop idolizing a small God — God’s not small! Our thinking is small; God’s not small! God is big enough to save me; He’s big enough to save you! He’s bigger than time! Although He involves Himself in time, He also lives outside of time. He lives within time, and He lives outside of time.
He lives within creation, and He lives outside of creation. He’s eternal! He’s not limited to this creation on earth! He’s not limited to the creation in the universe! He is above all of creation! He has existed before the universe was even started; He has existed before time began; and He will remain after time comes to an end. There will be a point at which time is no longer a factor in how we measure things. When you get to heaven, you’re going to be worshiping Him for thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years without you even being able to measure it or without you realizing how long we’ve been up there worshiping Him.
Day after day after day, year after year, decade after decade, millennium after millennium before Jesus' return, more and more people are going to be ushered into the kingdom of God. There’s a revival happening in the earth today. We’re seeing it in our churches, we’re seeing it in our families, we’re seeing it in our cities, we’re seeing it in sports, we’re seeing it in the entertainment industry. We’re seeing more and more people singing about Jesus, more and more people giving glory to God, more and more people preaching the gospel, more and more people talking about Jesus, more and more people expanding.
I’m excited about all the ways! I’m happy with all the ways! Even though I don’t like all the ways, I don’t agree with all the ways. It’s not my personal taste in all of the ways that the gospel is being spread, but I’m just grateful that it’s being spread. And I’m grateful to be used by God in spreading it and preaching the gospel.
Now that’s a lot of introduction. In fact, we can’t even count it as an introduction because it didn’t really introduce anything other than introducing us into some higher realms of thinking, which I really want you to begin to experience. We began to celebrate the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus last week, and we started on Good Friday. We talked about how you could not write a more tragic story than the story of Jesus' death. There is no more tragic death. There is no worse death than the way Jesus died.
In fact, if you tried to write a more tragic story, you would come up short because no matter how dramatic you could make it, no matter how drastic and how tragic you could make a death sound or seem or feel, it would be impossible to technically achieve a worse death than what Jesus experienced. The reason He experienced such a terrible death is that He had to become sin for us. He didn’t just die for our sins; He became sin for us. That’s why we have the tragic ending of His life on this earth as a man.
It’s so tragic; it’s a story of everything people are afraid of. We shared out of Isaiah 52:14, one of the translations in the marginal renderings of this verse, that just as many were amazed over Him, and princes on His account shuddered, they were astonished and appalled, amazed and frightened. His face was so marred, it was so scarred, it was so damaged-more than any man, unlike a man. The cross-reference of this translation says, «And His form unlike the sons of man; he was so deformed, so deformed was His appearance not to be a man, and His figure no longer resembled a man.»
There is no death more painful than crucifixion; that’s why the Romans invented it! It was a slow, agonizing death by suffocation, dehydration, and exposure, executed by being nailed to the cross. Every time Jesus had to lift Himself up to breathe, it caused the pain to go further and further into His body. It caused the suffocation to begin in His effort to get air and to get breath. It was killing Him even more quickly. And that’s why He didn’t die just from the nails in His hands and the spears in His side, like others who would be crucified; rather, He died of suffocation, dehydration, and exposure. And the suffocation was the particularly most brutal, gruesome one of all.
He did all of that because by doing that, by suffocating, He suffocated sin. By suffocating, He suffocated the devil. By suffocating to death, He revived us to life. Amen! But it was also with a broken and damaged heart that Jesus died because not only did He die with the worst pain that any human being could take, but He also knew it was coming. That’s part of the story. Plus, His best friend betrayed Him; remember, we talked about this. Plus, all of His people turned against Him. Plus, He became the victim of the Roman Empire that He wasn’t even a part of. Plus, He was completely innocent. Plus, everybody knew He was innocent. Plus, they chose to release a criminal instead of Him, knowing how guilty the criminal was and knowing how innocent Jesus was.
In the same way that you cannot write a more tragic story, you cannot write a more beautiful story of love. It’s a story of being freed from everything that you’ve ever been afraid of. There is no life more beautiful than life with Jesus. Amen! There is no life more beautiful than a life with Jesus. In Christ, we are in the bosom of our Father. We learned in John 1:18 that no man has seen God at any time except the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father; He has explained Him; He has declared Him.
Jesus has explained the Father by being born; by Jesus coming to this earth as a man, He explains the Father. Jesus' life explains the Father. Jesus coming into existence on earth always existed in eternity as the Son: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But when Jesus comes to earth, just His mere presence explains the Father. He loves us so much. Jesus coming to this earth and humbling Himself as a man explains the Father. Becoming a man to the point of death-that explains the Father. Death on a cross, obedient to the point of death on the cross-that explains the Father. Innocent, yet taking our condemnation and our judgment that we deserve-that explains the Father.
Jesus even said later in His life, «If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father.» What do we see Jesus doing? We see Him healing people; we see Him feeding people; we see Him forgiving people. All of that explains the Father. We see one woman touching the hem of His garment, saying, «If I just touch His garment, I’ll be made whole; I’ll be healed.» That explains the Father- His power is available to anybody who will reach out and receive it. He doesn’t pick and choose; He doesn’t say, «I think I’ll show this person My power, but not that person.»
That’s why Jesus explains the Father when this woman gets healed after touching the hem of His garment, and He turns around and says these words: «Who touched Me?» The disciples are like, «Lord, there are thousands of people around You right now! You say, 'Who touched You? ' Tons of people touched You, and You want to say, 'Who touched Me? '» He said, «No, I felt power leave My body.» He said, «I felt virtue.» One translation says, «Someone touched Me, for I was aware of the power that went out.»
Everybody knows when the power flickers-the lights flicker, the power’s going in and out. There’s a drain. There’s a greater drain on the power, and that’s why the lights dim, or even the electricity goes out, because there’s been a power surge — a demand placed on the power of electricity too great for what it can handle. So the lights go out. Jesus could handle this, but He felt it. He says, «Someone did touch Me because I felt power go out of My body. I felt virtue.» Power, strength.
He said, «So she looked and she seemed feeble about it, and she said, 'I… I’m guilty.'» He said, «Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace!» Amen! This explains the Father. This explains what God wants. He wants you to live with power. He wants you to live in His virtue. He wants you to live in His strength. He wants you to live in His grace. He wants you to live according to His faith, out of His faith.
He doesn’t want you having faith in your faith; He wants us to have faith in His faithfulness. You know, the one who perseveres doesn’t persevere because of their ability to persevere; the person who perseveres perseveres because of the goodness of God. We persevere because we know God is good. We don’t persevere because we’re so disciplined; we persevere because He’s so good! He’s too good to give up on; He’s too good to quit on. In fact, if you do give up on Him, if you do quit on Him, He will never give up on you. He’ll never quit on you.
What a beautiful story the death and resurrection of Jesus really is! When the Bible says, «No man has seen God at any time, but Jesus, who was in the bosom of the Father, has explained Him,» He has conveyed the eternal, intimate communion between the Father and the Son, and He invites us to this same intimate communion with Him. Jesus gives you His life. You accept Jesus, and you’re saved. Plus, you know He’s making a home for you in heaven. Plus, you know He’s coming back for you one day. Plus, He now considers you His best friend. Plus, you are no longer a victim of this world’s system or Adam’s sin. Plus, you are now completely innocent, even though you were completely guilty.
There is now therefore no condemnation for you because you’re in Christ Jesus! Amen! And you are now the righteousness of God. Plus, all the demons in hell know it, and all the demons on earth know that you are the righteousness of God. Every demon knows that you are the righteousness of God! In fact, the devil knows you’re the righteousness of God more than even you know! That’s why he fights it so hard. That’s why he wants you to be religious rather than in a relationship of righteousness by which you are made righteous based on nothing that you can do, but based on everything that Jesus did.
And that is so easy! It’s so good! It’s so powerful! It’s so errorless; it’s perfection! It is finished means it is perfect. Now Jesus' death perfected us. You don’t see perfection in your life, but God sees you as perfect! We know we have human limitations, flaws, sins, failures, and mistakes, but that’s not how God sees us! He sees us through the cross. When He says, «It is finished,» we know the meaning of that word; we go over that every time.
But we also need to know it means perfect. It is perfect! It’s been perfected now! Now, I want to move into the glory so we can experience the glory of God. The glory of God is the arrival of God’s power. The glory of God is in Romans 3:23–He says this: «For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.» For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Now the word «short» there is the word «inferior.» So, all have sinned, all have sinned and become inferior to the glory of God.
The glory here in this verse means and it’s defined as to become or to be all that you were intended to be. Do you know the word glory here? All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God because of sin-because of Adam’s sin and then our subsequent sin as a result-because we were made sinners in Adam, just as we’re made righteous in Christ.
We’re no longer sinners; we’re the righteousness of God! We weren’t sinners because we sinned; we were sinners because Adam made us sinners. Adam, through one man’s sin-Romans 5:17, you can write this down later, the Bible says: «Through one man’s sin, we were all made sinners.» We were made sinners through Adam’s sin. By the transgression of the one, death reigned! And much more, those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.
Look back; let’s show it. So then, as through one transgression, that resulted in condemnation to all men, even so, through one act of righteousness, there resulted justification of life to all men. Then the next verse, verse 19: «For as through one man’s disobedience"-through one man’s disobedience, whose disobedience is he talking about here? Adam’s! «Through one man’s disobedience, the many were made sinners.» We were all made sinners because of Adam! Even so, through the obedience of the one-who’s the one here? Jesus! «Even so, through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.»
There is a divine identification; there’s a human identification with Adam and then there’s a divine identification with Jesus. Through Adam’s sin, through Adam’s disobedience, Adam and Eve, we are all made sinners! And through the obedience of the one of Jesus, we are made righteous. This is the greatest reality in the universe! And when you get it, it affects you; it changes how you see yourself. It changes how you see others! But he’s saying because all have sinned-go back, going back to Romans 3:23. All have sinned and become less than. The word «short» there is to be less than, to be inferior.
So, all have sinned and become less than they were intended to be. God created us, just as we heard today-He created us to be a blessing! He created us as the righteousness of God! He created us in His own image. But because of Adam’s sin and our sin after Adam’s and in Adam’s likeness, we became inferior to everything God created us to be. But when we are justified as a gift through His grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, we become what Jesus was before He became what we were.
Why is this so important? Because we have to understand that everything that happened through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus affects every area of our life. It doesn’t just affect every area of our life on this earth; it affects everything in eternity! After this life is gone, after this world is gone, we’re going to exist forever and ever! And it’s all because of one man’s obedience and one man’s resurrection, because His crucifixion and burial was illegal.
Spiritually speaking, it was illegal for Him to die and become sin. It was illegal for Him to die; He was innocent! It was illegal for Satan to crucify Him! This world system crucified Jesus. And the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2 that had the spiritual forces of darkness — the rulers of this age-known what they were about to do, they would have never crucified the Lord of glory! He’s not referring to the rulers of this age; he said, «For if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.» It’s not that if they had understood it they wouldn’t have crucified Him for that; it’s that they wouldn’t have crucified Him had they known what was going to become of us!
Had the rulers of this world known what was going to become of us by them crucifying Jesus, what was going to become of us, they would have never crucified the Lord of glory! Had the devil known that by crucifying Jesus, the earth was going to end up with millions upon millions upon millions, billions of kings and priests, millions and billions of Jesus’s made in His likeness! Had the rulers of this world known what was going to happen — how great and wise is our God? He hid the plan of redemption. He hid it from the enemy and from the enemy’s understanding, and it resulted in our justification, our being made the righteousness of God.
So, we go back to the resurrection for a moment. In Matthew 28, it says in verse 1, because we want to lay hold of the kingdom that cannot be shaken, we must know what must be shaken. We must know what was shaken, and we must know what remains! As long as we’re in alignment with what’s been shaken-how God shook the earth and the universe through Jesus' death and resurrection-it shook several things. If we remain aligned with the things that have already been shaken, we fail to experience the kingdom that cannot be shaken.
So many Christians are still in alignment with ways of this world system that have been shaken and proven to be unworthy of our dependence. Okay, there’s a lot to unpack there, but look at Matthew 28. After the Sabbath, at the first day of the week, began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake. There was a great earthquake! This was at Jesus' death and His resurrection.
An angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone from the door and sat on it, and His countenance was like lightning, and His clothing was white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of Him! The guards shook! This shook everything! The guards represent imprisonment to a system that has been defeated by Jesus.
The guards being shaken here-these guards shook! Everything that can be shaken will be shaken! These guards are trying to keep you in the grave. These guards are worldly spiritual guards that are trying to keep you in the grave, trying to keep you limited, trying to keep you from experiencing God’s ultimate will for your life-to become all that He intended for you to be. All these guards represent keeping you from something amazing, above and beyond what you can ask or think! But at the resurrection, when we identify with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection, when we realize His resurrection wasn’t just so we can go to heaven; it was so we can live in the unhindered, unlimited power and glory of God — where we walk through a crowd of people, and there is power that is available!
When you go to the hospital to visit somebody, you’re carrying the power to lay hands on them and see them healed! You’re carrying the power when you talk to somebody about Jesus! You’re carrying the power of words of wisdom, words of knowledge, prophetic words, miracles, and healings! All the gifts of the Spirit are dwelling inside you because there are no more limitations anymore! Because the guards that were holding you back-the guards that were trying to keep you in the grave, this world system trying to keep you dead — have been shaken by the resurrection of Jesus!
Whatever can be shaken will be shaken! But the angel answered and said to the women: «Do not be afraid! For I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen.» What was this? Back to verse 2: And behold, there was a great earthquake! What was this? Now, I know I told you what this was last week, but I cannot let you get out of here without knowing what it is! What was this? It was a divine disruption! The shaking of every system that stood in the way of closeness with God!
The earthquake that took place at Jesus' resurrection was a divine disruption! The resurrection of Jesus was symbolized by an earthquake-it was a divine disruption, a shaking of every system that stood in the way of intimacy with God! It was a divine disruption, a shaking of every system that stood in the way of closeness and intimacy with God! What was it? It was a divine disruption, a shaking of every system that stood in the way of intimacy and closeness with God!
In Hebrews 12, we see this, verse 25: «See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks now from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth. But now He has promised, saying, 'Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also heaven.'» Verse 27: «Now this’yet once more' indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.»
We have to understand and interpret the signs of the times in this world today! We’re not going to understand the signs of the times by watching the news! We’re not going to understand the signs of the times through a political lens! We’re not going to understand the signs of the times! Politics is a small matter in comparison to the things that cannot be shaken versus the things that can be shaken!
He said, «Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken"-this kingdom cannot be shaken! It means no matter what comes against it, it cannot and will never stop! It will never cease to exist! It will never be unstable! It can’t even be shaken! Amen! It’s too big for any demon to shake! Amen! It’s too fixed! It’s too permanent! It’s too finished! It’s too perfect! It is everything so that it cannot be moved! It cannot be shaken! It cannot be disrupted!
You know, this is what needs to anchor us. It’s been said-and we know this scientifically now-that there are great storms on the surface of the ocean-tidal waves, tsunamis, hurricanes, wind, and waves that just destroy anything that gets in the crosshairs of that tempest, that incredible storm on the surface of the water. But if you go all the way to the bottom, everything is still, and everything is the same, and everything is unmoved.
This is who we are in Christ! We’re at the bottom of the ocean! When there are storms raging, we can have peace! When there are demonic things happening, we remain unmoved because we are a part of something that cannot be shaken! We see the shaking up, up, up, up above us, but we don’t participate in it! Because we have received a kingdom that cannot be shaken!
What is the kingdom of God? In Romans chapter 14, Paul says, «For the kingdom of God is not about what you eat and what you drink, but the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.» Romans 14:17. The kingdom of God is righteousness, which can’t be shaken; peace that cannot be shaken; and joy that cannot be shaken! No matter what’s going on in this world, we are still the righteousness of God! We’re anchored to that!
We still have the peace of God that surpasses all comprehension! And we still have the joy of the Lord, which is our strength! These things cannot be shaken! Amen! Your temporary happiness can be shaken; you can feel anxious at times, but don’t identify with that because that’s not who you are anymore! You’re at the bottom of the ocean where there’s beauty and where there’s order, and where there’s a system that cannot be disrupted by anything above it!
That’s who you are! Now, everything that can be shaken-what are the systems that Jesus has shaken once and for all? Well, we know the system of death and decay. This is the first system that Jesus dismantled in His resurrection-the system of death and decay! In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 54 says, «Death is swallowed up in victory! Death has lost its power! Death has lost its sting!»
Death used to be, in people’s minds, the end of something! But now we know through Christ that death is the beginning of something better! «Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting?» The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! The first system that you need to understand has been shaken out of your life and has no rule and authority over you anymore is the system of death and the system of decay!
The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, though our outer man decays, the inner man-the guy inside-though our outer man decays, our inner man is being renewed day by day! That’s the «you» at the bottom of the ocean! This is the «you»! The inner man is the «you» at the bottom of the ocean!
That’s why we say in the next verse: «For momentary light affliction " — who’s ever heard of that? «Momentary light affliction „usually don’t go together! Affliction doesn’t seem momentary, and it certainly doesn’t feel light, but that’s what it is! And it’s producing something for us. For momentary light affliction is producing for us! Life is happening for us!
The light affliction-the affliction that you’re feeling-the thing you’re going through is producing something for you! We have to stop being afraid of affliction! Stop being afraid of negative things! Stop being afraid of what other people have done to us! Stop being afraid! All of these things that afflict us are producing something for us! Amen! Hallelujah! Amen! That is an eternal weight of glory beyond all compare!
The system of death and decay has been shaken forever, and it has been removed from your life! So that when you die physically, you do not remain dead! You do not even experience the consciousness or the unconsciousness of death! For the Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord! You are immediately present with God and in His presence in an unlimited way at the moment of death! Even as Stephen was dying after they stoned him, he looked up and he saw the Son of God standing, and he said, „Forgive them, Lord, for they know not what they do.“ And it says, „And then he went to sleep.“ It’s so beautiful!
They couldn’t kill him with stones, so he went to sleep! And Jesus took him before the stones could take him! In the blink of an eye, you’re going to be gone, and you’re going to be in heaven. Let’s get things sorted out right while we’re on this earth! Amen! Let’s live for the glory of God until He returns!
The system of death and decay has been shaken! The system of distance from God has been shaken! The system of distance from God-the old system was distance, fear, and a ceremony to get near to God-though veiled and unapproachable. But the resurrection of Jesus made God approachable!
Actually, it made you innocent so that God could be approachable to you! He didn’t change, but you changed! You were born again through the blood of Jesus! And now you can approach God at any time! The resurrection, John 20:1-17, Jesus says something very powerful: „I ascend!“ Now that He is risen from the dead, He says to the disciples, „I ascend to my Father and your Father.“ Wow!
„I’m ascending to my Father and your Father! To my God and your God!“ Through the resurrection of Jesus, the system of distance from God has been completely dismantled and destroyed! „I’m ascending to my Father and your Father! My God and your God!“ He immediately tells us about His union with God and our union with God. The system of distance has been shaken! It no longer controls you! Now we have access to God!
In Ephesians 2:18, „Through Him, through Jesus, we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.“ Wow! Through Him, Jesus, we now both have access-the Jews that believe and the Gentiles that believe! We both have access! Now we are no longer strangers! This is so beautiful, this verse! We’re no longer strangers and we’re no longer foreigners! We’re no longer aliens, but in Christ, we’re fellow citizens with the saints, and we’re members of God’s household and we’re built upon the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone!
What is God doing now? In whom the whole building-He goes on to say-being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord! In whom you are also being built together for a dwelling place of the Spirit! In John 14:6, Jesus said, „I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man goes to the Father except through Me!“ When He said „I ascend to my Father and your Father,“ He immediately ends the separation between us and God! There is no distance anymore!
He dismantles furthermore the system of legalism. The old covenant operated based on performance, but Jesus' resurrection validated the new covenant! It’s not by works! It’s not by striving! It’s not by keeping the ceremonial law or the Mosaic law, but it’s by grace! It’s by faith in the finished work of the cross! I love what Romans 10:4 says: „Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.“
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness! There’s nothing legal you can do to become righteous! Jesus is the end of the law! He’s the completion of the law! The law has been fulfilled! We don’t live by the law anymore; we live by the righteousness of God! No longer a system of legalism; it’s no longer a system of performance or do’s and don’ts! That system has been dismantled! That system has been destroyed! That system has ceased to exist! That system has come to an end! Jesus Christ is the end of that system! He’s the end of our righteousness being based on law! And now everybody is righteous based on faith-through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, we’re made the righteousness of God in Him! The system of legalism has been shaken!
The system of identity has been shaken! There is such a demonic force attacking the identity of every human being! That’s why there’s all these experiments — people are trying to experiment with this identity and identify with this. Now, everybody — in a system of chaos and confusion — has lost the sense! Not everybody, but many have lost the sense of our true identity!
While it’s true that we’re either male or female because God created man-male and female-we also know that there are genetic irregularities that can cause us to question. But the real question that’s going on is not whether you’re man or woman, because that is scientific and biological. But what’s really going on is there’s a war inside of you for who you identify with. And the absence of understanding who you are in Christ causes you to begin to try to tinker with and modify and change all these external things so that you can find your identity.
And yet none of those things ever reveals your true identity; it just screws it up even more! Yes! And God’s not interested in you trying to change on the outside to find your identity! He’s interested in you discovering on the inside who you are in Christ! For in Ephesians 1:11, in the Message Bible, we have this great promise: „For it is only in Christ that we find out who we are and what we’re living for.“
It is only in Him that we find out who we are and what we’re living for! This is such a beautiful passage of scripture! It is in Christ-and I would add, for emphasis, in Christ alone-that we find out who we are and what we’re living for! In 2 Corinthians 5:17, „If anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creature; the old things have passed away, and all things have become new.“ The system of identity based on the outward identity based on sin has been dismantled!
We don’t operate on this world’s identity system anymore! We don’t identify as what our political party, gender, or economic status-those fluctuate! I’m not saying that we fluctuate between male and female, but those things that we’re trying to get our identity from will never solve the mystery of who you are in Christ! There’s only one way to become who you are in Christ, and that’s being born again! And if anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creature!
The reason why people are questioning their identity-they think it’s because of this, because that’s what others might be telling them -but the real reason they’re questioning their identity is because God is starting a work in them that they do not understand! And it’s bigger than what they realize! And if they’ll just go to God, if we’ll just go to Him, He will sort out for us all the confusion, all the chaos, and in the process, we’re going to end up finding our true purpose because it’s only found in knowing Christ and being known by Him and understanding who we are in Him!
And finally, for today, there’s more, but I’ll leave with this thought: the system of Satan’s dominion has been forever shaken! The system of Satan’s dominion! The Bible says that when Jesus died, He dismantled the principalities and powers! In Colossians 2:15, it says, „Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them.“ Oh, Jesus rubbed it in on the devil’s face! He disarmed them! He took their weapons and their powers from the principalities and the powers! He took the weapons!
The devil has no power over you except what you allow yourself to be deceived by! The devil doesn’t own you anymore; he’s not your father anymore! He’s not your friend anymore! You’re not going to have a better time partying in hell with your buddies than you are in heaven! That’s a lie! That’s deception! And everything that’s trying to keep you out of the kingdom, everything that’s trying to keep you from God’s best, is not because God’s holding back something from you! It’s because Satan is deceiving you into believing a lie!
That’s all he’s ever had! Until he finally got Adam’s authority! But Jesus dismantled that authority, disarmed that authority, took the keys of the kingdom back from every principality and every power, and made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it! Resurrection stripped Satan’s dominion over mankind! He no longer operates with rightful authority-only with deception! You are no longer under the power of the devil! Satan had rightful dominion over man through sin and death, but by Jesus' resurrection, Satan no longer has authority! And he can only use deception!
Jesus said in Luke 10:19: „Behold, I give you authority to trample upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means injure you, hurt you, or harm you!“ These are the systems that have been defeated and destroyed-shaken forever! And we will discover next time those things that remain!
What is this kingdom that cannot be shaken? We need to live by the things and live in the things that cannot be shaken! And then we will truly live in the life God created us to live! And others will become aware of it! And they’ll feel the power around you, and they’ll put a demand on you through a question or a request, or through just feeling something’s different about you! And they’ll ask you, „What is it about you?“ and you’ll be able to tell them, „It is He who is risen from the dead, living in me now, and He can live in you also!“
Let’s stand together. I want you to declare today Jesus' resurrection! Just say that out loud: „Jesus' resurrection!“
Jesus' resurrection has shaken the old systems-the old system that I’m no longer in bondage to! I’m no longer under the control of the system of death and decay! I’m no longer under the control of the system of distance from God! I’m no longer under the control of the system of legalism! I’m no longer under the system of identity based on sin! I’m no longer under the system of Satan’s dominion! It’s been defeated! It’s been destroyed! And I have been given authority in this life, seated with Christ in heavenly places, ruling and having dominion through the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness! I reign in life through Jesus Christ! Amen and amen! Give glory to God today, and let’s thank Him! If you’ve never had that life but you want that new life, come to the altar! If you’ve never been baptized in the Holy Spirit but you want to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, come to the altar! If you’ve never experienced the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, giving life and healing to your mortal body, come to the altar, and one of our team members will pray for you! Otherwise, you’re dismissed! Enjoy the rest of your day and walk in the power and authority that belongs to you in Christ Jesus! Amen! Amen!