Meditation Chip Brogden

July 27

One Person Can Change the World

“I sought for a man among them who would make a wall,
and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that
I should not destroy it; but I found no one.”
EZEKIEL 22:30

The Lord searches the whole Earth, and when He has found a person who sees that Purpose, and daily orders their life according to that Purpose, and (here is the key!) consistently rises up to pray for the fulfillment of that Purpose, then God will move Heaven and Earth on behalf of that person; for He has found, at last, some ground to build upon.
That person is numbered with the Remnant because, I promise you, men and women like that are few and far between.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden


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July 26

A Predictable Path

“Indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of
the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:8

For the Christian, Christ is increasing, Christ is becoming larger and larger, Christ is becoming the focus. It is quite simple to see who is, and who is not, living up to this standard.
The more spiritually mature a person is the more Christ-centered they cannot help but become. This is the unavoidable and inevitable consequence of becoming a Christian, a disciple of Jesus. This is how the Holy Spirit leads each and every true believer, and there are no exceptions to the rule. It is as predictable and certain as the sunrise following after the darkness of night.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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Hi Elaine

Have you watched the news lately?

The world is going crazy.

If you look at what's happening around you it can be
overwhelming.

You have to stop looking around and start looking *UP*.

What does that mean?

It means you pray the Prayer of the Overcomer...

"...Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done, ON EARTH as it is in
Heaven..."

On EARTH is where Jesus taught us to pray for the Kingdom to COME.

On EARTH is where the Will of God needs to be DONE.

On EARTH is where we're groaning and travailing in pain, waiting
for the manifestation of the sons and daughters of God: Christ
preeminent in a remnant of Overcomers, preserving the Testimony of
Jesus and ensuring the continuity of a Christ-centered faith.

But we need a better understanding of what this Kingdom of God is
if we want to see it in the Earth.

It's the only hope we have for a messed-up, crazy world.

That's why we're posting a massive series of
chapter-by-chapter teachings from the Book of Matthew - so you can
get an in-depth, Biblical understanding of what the King and His
Kingdom is all about.

They will all be posted here:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/mp3/the-book-of-matthew

These teachings were recorded live a few years ago, but until now,
they haven't been available on the website.

So we're going to start posting a few at the time.

Feel free to listen or download the messages.

And if you like what you're hearing, please share the page.

Here's the link again:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/mp3/the-book-of-matthew

For Him!

Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


P.S. Unfortunately we can't seem to locate the recording from
Matthew 3 - but that won't stop you from listening to all the
other messages in the series.

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for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
Share this message with your friends!

July 25

The Return of the King

“This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached in all the world
as a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”
MATTHEW 24:14

Why does the Lord delay His return? Not for any lack of desire on His part to consummate His Kingdom, but because of His great love, and His compassion for all. Peter says He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. We have noted how the Gospel of the Kingdom is rarely preached today. Perhaps God is revealing this to His people yet again, re-emphasizing it to the Ekklesia so it can be proclaimed to all nations as His last invitation before the end of this age.
The fact that we do not know when He will return, the fact that we are to be ready at all times, means there is nothing to prevent Him from coming today. The next great event in the recovery of the Heavenly Order is the return of the King.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden


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July 23

Hindered by False Humility

“Stir up the gift of God which is in you
through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord.”
2 TIMOTHY 1:6-8

Paul does not tell Timothy to pray for a better opportunity, or passively wait for God to rise up within him and overwhelm him. Timothy needed to exercise the gift. He needed to stir it up. He had something to offer, something to contribute.
Paul’s exhortation was not to persist in false humility or passive waiting, but to be proactive, to stir it up, and serve the Body of Christ as a faithful steward. According to Paul’s assessment, it was not a spirit of humility that held Timothy back, it was a spirit of fear.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogdene.

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July 24

Christ My Righteousness

“But of Him you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption.”
1 CORINTHIANS 1:30

This is a very rich verse. We have already seen how the Lord Jesus is given to be our Life. Upon that basis we can lay claim to everything else. Here we see that to those of us who are in Christ, He is made to be our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It does not say that He gives these things to us, but that He is these things in us.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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July 22

Radical Repentance

“‘The stone which the builders rejected has become
the chief cornerstone,’ and ‘A stone of stumbling
and a rock of offense.’”
1 PETER 2:7,8

The people to whom Jesus preached already had their own ideas about what the Messiah would do, and what His Kingdom would look like. Unfortunately those ideas were utterly wrong. So Jesus said they needed to repent: to change their heart, to change their mind, to change their behavior, and to get ready to experience something that went totally against their preconceived ideas and notions.
To enter the Kingdom of God and to know the King around which this Kingdom is organized requires a radical change on many levels. The way you perceive things, the way you relate to things, the way you understand things – all of it has to be changed. At the very least it must be challenged.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 20
Spiritual Arrogance

“A dispute arose among them as
to which of them would be greatest.”
LUKE 9:46

Peter made a splendid beginning by frankly acknowledging himself as a sinner, and so the Lord took him just as he was and began to disciple him.
After making some progress, however, Peter started to lose touch with himself. He had followed Jesus for three years and enjoyed close fellowship with Him. He had both seen and performed miracles in Jesus’ Name. To all outward appearances he was no longer a “sinful man,” he was a “spiritual man.” Before, Peter considered himself unworthy to be in the presence of Jesus. In just a short period of time you find this “sinful man” arguing along with the other disciples about which one of them will be the greatest!
This ought to show us that there is a deeper death for us to die, and the more “spiritual” we become, the more easily we are deceived by our own spirituality.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 21

Preeminent Victory

“Whatever is born of God overcomes the world.”
1 JOHN 5:4

The Overcomer demonstrates the preeminence of Christ over sin, self, and satan. How is preeminence demonstrated if we are still trying to fight our way to victory? We must stand in victory, not battle for it. If we do fight, we fight FROM victory, not FOR victory. It must be to us an accomplished fact, not a future hope, and just there lies the difference between those who are still waging warfare and those who are quietly resting in Christ and steadily praying His Will into the earth.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
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July 18

I AM

“When He said to them, ‘I am He,’ they
drew back and fell to the ground.”
JOHN 18:6

When they came to arrest the Lord Jesus in the garden, He asked, “Who are you looking for?” And they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” He simply said, “I AM.” When they heard this they fell over backwards to the ground. No one can stand before I AM and retain any of their strength. To the ground we will all go, for that ground is holy. Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
This revealing of Christ is sufficient to bring saint and sinner alike into absolute surrender and submission. Friends and foes alike find themselves at His feet, quite unable to stand before Him. He does not have to raise His voice or call down fire from Heaven or do anything other than simply reveal Himself for Who He is. Every doubting Thomas eventually cries out, “My Lord and My God!” when they finally behold Him.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 19

His Life Cannot Fail

“I have been crucified with Christ;
it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
GALATIANS 2:20

The Law of Gravity brings objects to the ground. It does not matter to Gravity how large or small the object is. It works the same with acorns as it does with airplanes.
Likewise, I know today that it does not matter if I am called upon to wash dishes, mow the lawn, write an article, preach a message, cast out a demon, love my neighbor, forgive my enemy, or lay down my life. It makes no difference to the Life. It is not I, but Christ, Who does these things. The principle is the same, and the Life cannot fail. If I give up my life, if I give up my self-effort, then He begins to do what I cannot do. This is Christianity.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogde
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July 17

Stir Up the Life

“Our sufficiency is from God.”
2 CORINTHIANS 3:5

How will He do it? How will He demonstrate the sufficiency of His Life to do everything in your stead? Why, the next time you feel your temper getting out of control, or the person you resent is bothering you, or things are not going right, or you are tempted to quit, decide that instead of reacting the way you always do, you will trust in His Life, then stand back and just see what happens.
If you are a Christian the Life is there, it just has to be stirred up into activity. The things we call temptations, testings, and trials are the very means through which God desires to activate the Life He has placed within you! How else would we be able to rejoice in our afflictions? How else would we be able to count it all joy when we fall into many temptations and trials of faith? Humanly speaking this is impossible! But what is impossible with man is possible with God, and easily achievable when we trust in His Life to do what we cannot do.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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July 16

What Does God Want?

“I am the Way.”
JOHN 14:6

What is God after? What does He seek from us? What does He want? First and foremost, He desires a people who will be conformed to the image of His Son, that they may demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in all things. But how does He gain such a people for Himself? The first step is to reveal His Son to us. This is the narrow gate. We cannot begin to walk the narrow path until we have entered the narrow gate.
Upon entering the narrow gate He begins to change us from the inside out so that it is Christ expressing Himself through us. “Not I, but Christ.” This is the narrow path. This narrow path we call discipleship. It leads us somewhere. A path is not for standing still. It has a destination. Where does the path lead? What is the End? Christ as All in All. That is the End. All things work together according to this supreme purpose, His Purpose.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 14

Fear No Evil

“I do not ask that you take them out of the world,
but that you keep them from the evil one.”
John 17:15 ESV

This prayer of Jesus is answered when we embrace the Cross. The Cross renders us dead to the world so that we can bring Life to others who are in the world and not worry that we may become contaminated or polluted by the things we encounter. Jesus was not afraid of being around sinners. He affected them for good, and they were powerless to affect Him for evil. This same Jesus lives within us, and He is greater than anything we may encounter in the world.
So if we are to follow His example then we must be as dead to the things of the world as He was. How is this accomplished? God’s solution is for us to embrace the Cross so that we can be truly “dead” to the world’s temptations and “alive” to Him. God desires a crucified people who can represent Him in the earth and be faithful to Him even in the midst of a dark, rebellious world.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 13

The Kingdoms of Our Lord

“The kingdoms of this world have become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and
He shall reign forever and ever!”
REVELATION 11:15

God will establish an Irresistible Kingdom on the earth. This Kingdom does not rise up from the earth, but it comes down from heaven. This Kingdom will break to pieces and consume all the other kingdoms. And this Kingdom will increase from a single Stone into a great mountain that fills the entire earth (Daniel 2:35). It is an Irresistible Kingdom!
Not only can this Kingdom not be stopped, but when people see the King for Who He really is, they no longer desire to resist Him. This is why the Irresistible Kingdom continues to grow and expand, so that eventually the King and His Kingdom “fill all things.”
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 10
True Fellowship

“If we walk in the light, as He is
in the light, we have fellowship with one another.”
1 JOHN 1:7

True fellowship is grounded in Jesus first of all. Fellowship with others on THAT basis is neither forced, nor orchestrated; it is effortless, spontaneous, and full of Life. Fellowship naturally occurs because we have all seen and heard the same thing from the Lord – we are walking in the same Path towards Christ as All in all. We are in one accord not because we all look, think, and act just the same, but because we all, in spite of our differences, have God’s End in mind.
Source: The Church in the Wilderness by Chip Brogden

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July 11
Strategic Spiritual Warfare

“Thanks be to God, Who gives us the
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:57

Everyone has their own way of waging warfare. Some emphasize intercessory prayer, and believe the secret is in getting hundreds of people praying for the same thing. Others lean towards praise and worship. Some stress binding and loosing. Others believe the key is in locating and naming certain spirits which supposedly control different parts of the world. Still others think there must be some prophetic act to be performed or declaration to be made.
Here is the problem with virtually all of these things: they are just that – THINGS – methods, techniques, teachings, strategies, but they are not Christ. The one in Christ is seated with Him in the heavenly places. If we see ourselves in Him then we cannot help but understand that since the battle is already won, and Victory is ours, then we do not need a method or a technique designed to “get” a victory which we already possess.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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Hi Elaine

When Jesus started teaching deep truth, many of His disciples went
back and no longer followed Him.

It's very sobering, isn't it?

A lot of people say God "led" them to come out of church,
and soon they want to go back.

Or, they receive revelation meant to take them to a higher place in
the Lord, but then they soon regress back to where they were.

I want to share a story with you about how God taught me to
never look back.

You may find it speaks to you in your situation.

You can read about it here:

DON'T LOOK BACK
http://theschoolofchrist.org/articles/dont-look-back.html

And if you enjoy that article, you may enjoy this audio teaching
because it helps explain where many people are right now:

THE SPIRITUAL DESERT
http://theschoolofchrist.org/cd/the-spiritual-desert.html

Meanwhile, I want to thank you for your prayers. We have "good
news" in one area - for which we are thankful -  but we still
need your prayers for some other difficult issues.

So thank you for your encouragement, and for supporting
Christ-centered teaching!

In Him,
Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org

P.S. If you're still waiting to receive your book order, please
know that we haven't forgotten about you! We are getting them
out as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.

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for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
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July 9

Seeing is Changing

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
JOHN 1:14

Moment by moment, hour by hour, we are being changed. This transfiguration is subtle, but powerful. How is it effected? How does God change us? When we put on the Lord Jesus then we become what we have put on. When we see the glory of the Son of God then we are changed thereby. We become what we have seen.
When we see Him as He in fact is, when we behold His glory, we will be smitten to the ground. If what we have seen thus far of the Lord has not struck us dumb and blind then we have not yet touched upon His glory. Our vision is too small. May God illuminate our hearts and grant us further revelation into His Son, that we may be transfigured.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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July 7

In This Manner, Pray

“In this manner, therefore, pray…Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
MATTHEW 6:9,10

When we pray “in this manner” we are transported and elevated beyond flesh-and-blood, beyond the natural, beyond the earthly, beyond the seen-and-felt universe in which we live. We are at once brought into alignment with Someone larger than ourselves, Someone higher, Someone greater. This Someone has an agenda, and is working all things together in one accord towards this agenda. What is the agenda? It is the Will and the Kingdom. So what is the Will and the Kingdom? The Will is “all things in Christ” and the Kingdom is the fulfillment of that Will, when Christ has the preeminence. All of God’s movements are towards this End.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden
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July 8

Our Loss, His Gain

“Whatever gain I had, I counted
as loss for the sake of Christ.”
PHILIPPIANS 3:7 ESV

The Lord will allow Self to run its due course, just like the tree whose branches fill the earth and whose height reaches to the heavens (Daniel 4:10-12). But a day of judgment is coming.
Now, those who love Self will hate judgment; but those who hate Self will love judgment. If our heart is “not I, but Christ,” then we will rejoice whenever we are decreased and Christ is increased. We will submit to the Lord’s dealings with us. Our focus will not be on what Self loses, but on what Christ gains, for our loss is His gain.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden
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July 6

As a Little Child

“Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”
LUKE 18:17

Make no mistake, if it is the Kingdom you seek, the Kingdom you will find, but you must be changed in order to enter it. If you seek power from God you will have to accept weakness in yourself. If you want to rule with Him you must suffer with Him. If you want His Life you must give up your life. You can have either one you want, but you cannot have both. There is no increase without decrease, and there is no decrease without increase.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 5

Our Weapon of Choice

“We do not war according to the flesh.” 
2 CORINTHIANS 10:3

In the heat of battle it does not always seem as if the enemy is defeated. Goliath will oppose, curse, and threaten you with all sorts of taunts to convince you that you are defeated. If we listen to him long enough we will begin to doubt and this is enough to cause us to falter. We can simply ignore the lies of the enemy and stand in the truth. Our weapon of choice is the Cross. We simply return to the victory that is ours in Christ and we stand upon that finished work, and every time we do so, we demonstrate its power. Without the Cross we are naked and unprepared for facing Goliath or anything else that opposes us; but with the Cross we can no more fail than Jesus can fail.
“Not I, but Christ” defeats anything and everything that rises up to steal, kill, and destroy. It does not matter if we face Goliath, or a bad habit, or a difficult circumstance, or even the devil himself. Sooner or later, the Cross will shine forth in victory – as long as we embrace it until the very end!
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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July 3

Praying Through to Victory

“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit
indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 
MATTHEW 26:41

The purpose of prayer is to get aligned with the Mind, Will, Heart, Desire, Purpose, and Aim of God Himself.
It is a fight and a struggle just to get to Gethsemane. It is a battle to get your siblings to stay awake with you for even one hour; and it is an all-out war to “pray thrice” or ten times or twenty times or one hundred times, as the case may be, until you have gotten the victory over yourself, and come away soaked with the blood, sweat, and tears of that early morning wrestling. But once the outcome is decided in God’s favor, what awesome power and Life one receives, to drink that Cup that looked so impossible before, and to go forth bearing the Cross in the strength and power of God Himself, to do whatever He requires!
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 4

The Ultimate Purpose

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and
conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” 
COLOSSIANS 1:13

This Ultimate Purpose can be summed up into a single thought, a central idea, that you find weaving its way throughout the Bible and throughout human history. It is the theme of Jesus, the preaching of the apostles, and the understanding with which those first believers became followers of Christ. And this understanding of God’s Ultimate Purpose and Intention finds expression in something that the Bible refers to as The Kingdom of God.
At the center of this Kingdom of God is a Person. Everything that God has done, is doing, and will do is centered around this Person. The Bible says that all things come from Him, through Him, and unto Him. This Person is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God’s Will that the King and His Kingdom fill all things with His Light, His Love, and His Life; and so this Kingdom is constantly growing, expanding, and increasing.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 2
Ascending Prayer

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be Your name.’” 
MATTHEW 6:9 ESV

At once we are lifted up from the earthly situation and are made to focus upon a heavenly Father, a heavenly Kingdom, and a heavenly Will. I believe it is so important for us to see this. Prayer does not begin on the earth, it begins in the heavens. It does not begin with man, it begins with the Father. It does not begin with man’s need, but with God’s will.
Our praying is ineffectual because we pray as earthly men with an earthly perspective concerning earthly things. See how far and above this manner of praying is when compared to the hypocrite, praying in public to be seen of men! Prayer ought to bring us up into the heavenlies, not bring us down deeper into the earth. It ought to focus our vision on the Father, not on man, or the problems of man. Spiritual prayer begins in the Spirit; heavenly prayer begins in the heavenlies.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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June 30
The Fire Has No Power

“‘Look!’ he [Nebuchadnezzar] answered,
‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire;
and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth
is like the Son of God.’” DANIEL 3:25

Overcomers are those upon whose bodies the fire has no power (Daniel 3:27). Put them in the fiery furnace and they are not consumed, only refined, only purified. It only makes them that much more conformed to the image of the Fourth Man, the Son of God, the Lord Christ.
The fire has no power over them because the fire has no power over Him, and there He is in the midst. They do not seek the fiery furnace, but neither do they shrink from it when it comes. They do not ask for temptation and testing, but they are not afraid of it. They do not look for the devil behind every rock, but when they find him they demonstrate the preeminence of Christ over all things and call for his submission to Him. This is the Testimony of Jesus and the ministry of the Overcomers.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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July 1

His Government

“Of the increase of His government
and peace there will be no end.”
ISAIAH 9:7

He MUST increase. Isaiah tells us that there will be no end of the increase of His government and peace. In the beginning was the Word, and we can see how God has worked steadily from the beginning to increase Christ. From types and shadows in the Old Testament we see Christ coming into view. Then the Word is made flesh and dwells among us, and Christ is increased yet again. Next He comes to dwell within us, and this is a major increase. Finally, He begins to conform us to His own image through His indwelling Life.
If we are growing up into Him then He is increasing daily. Eventually every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Beyond this, we are told that God will continue to reveal His Son in the ages to come, bringing us into depths and dimensions of Christ that we cannot fathom.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdom by Chip Brogden

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June 29

Christ Fully-Formed in You

“Him we preach... that we may present
every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
COLOSSIANS 1:28

The word perfect there means spiritually mature, having reached the full measure of the purpose for which a person is created. This, in essence, is the purpose of all ministry, whether it is the ministry of an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher. It is to preach Christ, and to bring all men into a spiritually mature relationship with Him.
Paul wrote to the Galatians and said they were “my little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you” (Galatians 4:19). Christ was in them already, but He was not fully-formed in them yet: they were still children. Maturity in Jesus is what ministry is supposed to lead to. Christ is at the heart of everything; He is at the center of all activity; we begin with Him and we end with Him.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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June 27

Your Jar of Oil

“Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
2 KINGS 4:2

Every disciple of the Lord Jesus is at a different level of growth and spiritual maturity. But may I say that no matter how long you have walked with the Lord – be it several years or only a day – you have at least one “jar of oil” in your house.
Now what you do with that one jar of oil makes the difference between a victorious life and a defeated life. The single jar of oil is not much in and of itself. It is not sufficient to meet the demands of your creditors, nor is it sufficient to sustain your spiritual life. It is only sufficient when it is poured forth. The one who “saves” his life will lose his life, but the one who “pours out” his life will really have it in abundance.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden


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June 28

Fighting FROM Victory

“Thanks be to God, who gives us
the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:57

Those who embrace the Cross have inherited the victory of Christ over all the works of the devil. This is the spiritual principle. The practical expression of this principle is seen when I demonstrate this victory in the battles of everyday life. If what God says about us is true, then we are not fighting FOR victory, we are fighting FROM victory – and actually, we are not fighting at all; we are merely standing in a victory that was given to us in Christ: “Stand therefore” (Ephesians 6:14).
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden


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June 26

Dying to Live

“If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever
loses his life for My sake will save it.”
LUKE 9:23,24

Resurrection Life is that which has died, but now lives. It has the mark of the Cross upon it. It has passed through death once, and death can no more touch it. If we have not already passed through death then we are constantly fearful of dying, but the one who has already died and lives again has nothing more to fear from death. As we are decreased through the daily carrying of our cross, Christ in us is increased, and the strength of His Life is matured through our weakness.
Source: Embrace the Cross by Chip Brogden

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June 25

The Field of Treasure

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden
in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes
and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
MATTHEW 13:44

For too long we have contented ourselves with what God can do for us and what He can give us. We come to the Lord with a need in mind, and the next day we approach with another need, and the following day we return with yet another request. This pattern repeats itself continually. We return again and again to withdraw a little more from the heavenly bank.
Surely we should let our requests be made known unto God, and we must also ask, that we may receive. But think: if a man owns a field, does he not also possess the buried treasure in the field? Does it not stand to reason then, that if we receive HIM, we possess all He has? How shall He not, with His Son, freely give us all things?
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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Hi Elaine

People say our online discipleship course helps them REALLY deepen
their relationship with the Lord.

But the lessons (8 in all) were coming a little too quickly for
most people.

So we just opened up the course for new students and slowed the
lessons down to one per week.

Are you willing to take a few minutes once per week to go deeper
(or higher) with Jesus?

If so, watch the video here to learn more:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/etc

The lessons are delivered by email, and you can follow along at
your own pace.

By the way... the course really is FREE - but if you can give a
little something towards keeping it alive, it is most appreciated.

Here's the link again:
http://theschoolofchrist.org/etc

Thank you for supporting Christ-centered teaching!


In Him
Chip Brogden
http://TheSchoolOfChrist.Org


P.S. My new book, "Heart of Fire," has arrived and we
will begin filling pre-orders as soon as possible. Thank you for
your patience!



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for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.
Share this message with your friends!

June 24

Doing Flows From Being

“Put on the new man which was created
according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
EPHESIANS 4:24

What is the Christian Life? It is leaving our ground altogether and coming onto the ground of Christ. It is deeper than a changed life – it is an exchanged life. Over time we can accomplish a change, but we can do nothing to exchange our life for His Life. This, from start to finish, is God’s work, and it is a work of grace.
What, after all, is Righteousness? What is true Holiness? Christ is not righteous because He does righteous things; He does righteous things because He is Righteousness. Christ is not holy because He does holy things; He does holy things because He is Holiness. His “doing” flows out of His “being” – and OUR “doing” flows out of His “being” as well.
Source: Lord of All by Chip Brogden

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June 22

One Kingdom, One Master

“‘How hard it is for those who have riches to
enter the kingdom of God!’ And the disciples were astonished
at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them,
‘Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches
to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel
to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of God.’”
MARK 10:23-25

The point is not that every disciple must be penniless. The point is that in this Kingdom, Christ alone has the preeminence, and you cannot serve two masters. Why are riches such a stumbling block? It all relates to Self. For the rich man, Self is mostly represented in his riches. For the wise man, Self is mostly represented in his wisdom. For the good man, Self is mostly represented in his goodness. For the strong man, Self is mostly represented in his strength.
YOU are your biggest obstacle to entering in. Why? Because there is no room in the Kingdom of God for Christ and Self.
Source: The Irresistible Kingdmo by Chip Brogden


©1997-2014 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org. Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears. Share this message with your friends!