Meditation Chip Brogden

August 29, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"These who have turned the world upside down have come here too" (Acts 17:6).
If God can find a man or a woman who will give Him the preeminence and will give Him the freedom to increase then there is no limit to what God can do through that yielded vessel. And if He can find a handful of people like that then He will use them to turn the world upside down. It has happened once before and I am positive that it can happen again.
The Father is seeking those who will worship Him in Spirit and in TRUTH. Has He found what He is looking for in you? Will you be the one? Will you be the chosen?


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 28, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"If you knew the gift of God, and Who I am, you would have asked Me for a drink, and I would have given you Living Water" (John 4:10).
We must know the Gift of God. The one who knows will not only be satisfied, but will have abundance of Life springing up from within. If we are mainly interested in being filled for ourselves then we will have little to offer anyone else. Yet when we know the Gift of God the Life will overflow. "You anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows" (Psalms 23:5b).
Are you an overflowing Christian, with all of God you can hold, and much leftover? Sadly, this does not describe many of us. To drink is a beginning, but God's goal is an overflow. How we need clear revelation into the Son! How we need to see just how precious and worthy He is!


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 27, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Of His fullness have we all received, blessing upon blessing" (John 1:16).
Just how full is "full"? How many people does "all" include? We have to believe that full means complete, and all includes each one of us. "Of His fullness we have all received." No one, no matter how "anointed" they may appear, has more fullness than anyone else. And if we have received it already then there is nothing for us to do to get it.
If I have already entered into a room and sat down in a chair then there is no need for me to try to get into the room anymore. I am there already. We entered into Christ when He entered into us: we do not have to enter into Him over and over again, we are merely abiding in Him.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 24, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me" (Galatians 2:20ff).
This is the difference between a living Christianity and a dead religion. Most of us are still trying to attain something and have not yet realized that we have already obtained it. We wear ourselves out in order to be Christ-like. We are hoping that through much effort we will one day reach some standard to which we can finally say we are living like Jesus. But this is not God's way. It is not a changed life that God seeks from you, but an exchanged life - that is, your life is to be given up in exchange for His life. That is the exchanged Life: my life for His Life.


August 25, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"The Father gives you the True Bread from Heaven... I am the Bread of Life" (John 6:32b, 35a).
The people were asking for Jesus to give them bread, but failed to recognize that He Himself is the Bread of Life. They worked and toiled for something which would perish, but were not willing to receive the True Bread that would not perish. Again, the significance of the Lord Jesus is not that He can give us bread, but that He is the Bread.

August 26, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth" (John 17:17).
I am frequently asked how do we partake of this fullness? How do we walk in it? What practical application exists for living according to this Truth? We see what God says, but we also see our situation. We see Jesus, but we also see ourselves. God says we are complete in Him, but we say we are incomplete. God says we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, but we say we still need this or that. What is the problem here? Is it not a glaring discrepancy between what God says and what we say? Whose word is more reliable?

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 22, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteous-ness: for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6).
Those who hunger and thirst after Righteousness (Christ) are filled continually. Those who hunger and thirst after anything else must be constantly looking for their next fill-up. We repeat a thousand times, the question of abundance or lack in spiritual Life relates to how we see the Son. If we clearly see the Son then we see all that God has, and all that God is. In Him is fullness. To leave where we are and seek out some man or woman or ministry at the ends of the earth in order to be filled or blessed is a serious tragedy. How much time I have wasted in that pursuit, before knowing Christ as All in All! Broken cisterns cannot hold water for long.

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August 23, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"It is of God that you are in Christ Jesus, Whom God has made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (I 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.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 21, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"If you knew the gift of God, and Who I am, you would have asked Me for a drink, and I would have given you Living Water... Jesus stood and shouted 'If anyone is thirsty, come to Me and have your thirst quenched! Anyone who believes in Me, as the Scriptures have said, will have rivers of Living Water flowing from within’" (John 4:10; 7:37b, 38).
As some pursue "rivers" and "watering holes" how refreshing it is to know that Christ is the Living Water. How can we know the difference between Christ and what is proclaimed as the manifest power or presence of God? It is quite simple: the one who drinks from a "meeting" must continually drink to stay full, but the one who knows Christ as Living Water has their thirst quenched altogether.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 17, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking" (Matthew 6:7).
Our pseudo-Christian culture is profane. I speak not of the profanity of foul language, but the profanity of treating divine things with a casual, apathetic, flippant attitude. We profane holy things by making them common, ordinary, usual, mundane, and routine.
Interestingly enough, only those who know the Holy are in danger of becoming too familiar with it. Unbelievers, those who are not yet acquainted with the Holy, cannot profane what they do not understand.



August 18, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
All we have and all that we are as Christians is based upon our union with Christ. Apart from Him, we have nothing, and we are nothing. But in Him we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. Think upon the ramifications of that. If this is true then we have very little to ask God for, and very much to praise God about.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 5, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"And she answered and said unto [Jesus], ‘Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs’" (Mark 7:28).
The ones who seek bread from the Lord will be temporarily filled, but all who seek the Lord as Bread will be constantly satisfied. What is more, they will have resources from which to feed others. It is a shame that many Christians only seek to be filled, and still they are never satisfied. They are content with a meager pittance, for a few crumbs from the table. They are constantly obsessed with being filled. To such ones we can only say that it is time to seek the Lord, not for what He can give you, but for Himself.
August 6, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"In my prosperity I said, 'I shall never be moved'" (Psalms 30:6).
It should be obvious that God will not give us grace while we are still proud. Why? Because He will allow no flesh to glory in His presence. He desires us to be thoroughly emptied of ourselves. When we cease doing what we cannot do then He begins to do what we cannot. The problem is that we still think we can do so many things. We must learn sooner, rather than later, that "apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5b). Nothing!
But it is human nature to try and do it ourselves. This human nature is the flesh. It prevents us from entering into Grace. God cannot save someone who is still trying to save themselves. Similarly, God cannot do what we are still trying to do. He will wait - weeks, months, or years - until we have exhausted our strength. When our strength is completely gone and we finally go to Him in weakness, He becomes our strength and we find Grace is there to do the impossible. Then we know it was not us, but the Lord. All praise goes to Him, and we retain nothing for ourselves.
August 7, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Martha, Martha. You are worried and troubled over many things: but only one thing is needed. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41,42).
We have written elsewhere concerning the One Thing which is needed. We will not repeat ourselves again, except to say that this One Thing relates to Christ filling all things as the Preeminent One. If we see that God is working all things together according to this Purpose of summing up everything into Christ, towards the One Thing, then we will naturally seek those things which are conducive to this, and we will naturally shun those things which are not.
Later we see Martha continues serving, but everything is all right - there is no complaining about Mary, and everything seems to go on as it should. It is not that service, fellowship, or preparing meals is a bad thing: it simply has to be in the right order. It is not that we cannot perform many good works and spiritual duties: but the work of the Lord must never have preeminence over the Lord of the work. In our experience, most strife and discord between Christians is the result of becoming embroiled in the "many things" and forgetting that "only one thing is needed."


August 10, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"God resists the proud" (James 4:6ff).
The automatic assumption is that anything which resists us or hinders us is of satanic origin. That is, if we encounter difficulty in our spiritual walk, our first reaction is to rebuke the devil, or ask the saints to pray for us to have a clear way. Certainly the devil will attempt to hinder us from anything we undertake that glorifies God and threatens the darkness. Yet we learn from James 4:6 that there is Someone else who can resist us. There is Another Who carefully watches what we do, and frequently hinders us from making progress.
It comes as a shock and surprise to some Christians to see one day that God, not the devil, is resisting them. The Lord Himself resists us, closes doors, causes things to be unfruitful, and spoils all our plans. How so? Because "God resists the proud." This resistance from God is insurmountable. It is a fearful thing to fight the Lord. We spend most of our lives wrestling with God instead of cooperating with God, and in the end we have nothing to show for it. So much time and effort is wasted because we proceed in our own, stubborn way. We attribute all difficulties to the devil, or to other people, or our circumstances, or our environment, and fail to recognize that the Lord Himself is resisting us.
August 11, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3).
Everything is upheld by His power, and all things are working together according to His Purpose. The Spirit searches all things and reveals them for what they are. Before Him everything is manifest, and there is nothing hidden from Him. There is no darkness that He does not penetrate, no deception that He cannot illuminate, no evil that He will not eradicate.



2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 2, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

""Watch and pray, that ye enter not 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 brethren 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!

August 2, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (II Corinthians 4:17).
There are some who want the full-knowledge of Christ and want to advance along the narrow path. But they resist the dealings of God which are meant to push them farther along and deeper into Christ. On the one hand they want more of God, but on the other hand they do not want to experience what they must experience in order to see Him. Hence, they unnecessarily delay the work of the Cross. They find fault with their circumstances, murmur, complain, and resist every contrary thing. After ten, twenty, or thirty years of being dealt with they are still as stubborn and headstrong as ever.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 2, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working in us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (II Corinthians 4:17).
There are some who want the full-knowledge of Christ and want to advance along the narrow path. But they resist the dealings of God which are meant to push them farther along and deeper into Christ. On the one hand they want more of God, but on the other hand they do not want to experience what they must experience in order to see Him. Hence, they unnecessarily delay the work of the Cross. They find fault with their circumstances, murmur, complain, and resist every contrary thing. After ten, twenty, or thirty years of being dealt with they are still as stubborn and headstrong as ever.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

August 1, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing" (Romans 7:18a).
Before he saw the Lord, Paul was self-confident and dangerous. Those who trust in themselves have neither seen themselves nor seen the Lord. I am afraid that many people have the idea that Jesus came only to lend them a hand and help them feel more successful and fulfilled. Today the most popular Christian books tell us how to have a better life, how to prosper, how to be a "winner", how to improve our circumstances, and how to think nice, positive, encouraging thoughts about ourselves.
The focus appears to be on making life here on earth more enjoyable and making believers more self-reliant and self-confident. This may not be the stated intention but it is the inevitable result - and if a few Scriptures can be used in the process, so much the better. It would be a mistake to equate holiness with misery and drudgery; but it is an even greater mistake to tell someone how wonderful they are until they have first despaired of themselves and learned the lesson that Paul learned: "In me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no good thing."

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 31, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners that they may be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have already received their reward" (Matthew 6:5).
Preachers are equally guilty of hypocritical long-windedness. It is interesting to observe how differently someone prays when standing upon a platform before others compared to how they pray in other places. They seem to believe that the spotlight calls for certain words and phrases to be used that they would not otherwise use. This, too, is done for the benefit of the listeners. "Oh, he can pray such powerful prayers!" they exclaim. But this does not mean they are necessarily powerful with God.
Particularly in a day when prayer meetings, prayer gatherings, prayer retreats, and prayer warfare is being emphasized, it is important to understand what the Lord is looking for so we do not fall into a trap of vanity. The experience of many saints seems to indicate that the more we pray in private, the less we will pray in public. The words will be fewer, but they will be far more weighty and valuable. One brother was so broken before God privately that whenever he stepped into the pulpit to pray publicly, all he could do was fall over the lectern and weep, "Oh God!" That is the proper spirit, and how I wish we had more of this kind of prayer.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 28th 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13).
If we wish to evaluate someone who claims to be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher, we can apply the same test: is this person centered on Jesus Christ? And when they do whatever it is that they do (preach, teach, prophesy, sing, plant churches, etc.), does it bring people into a deeper, more experiential knowing of Him?
Some may think that kind of test is too severe. Why, if we applied this criteria to every minister and ministry in the world (they say) then we would probably disqualify a majority of workers and works that are doing the Church and mankind a great service. Yes, we probably would. Yet in terms of value to the Kingdom of God, if the work is not Christ-centered and does nothing to bring people into a mature relationship with Him then it has no value to God and is worthless in His sight. If we are not preaching Christ then we are preaching something or someone else; and if we are not bringing people into the depths of Jesus with our life and work then we are either leaving them as they are or leaving them worse than when we found them. We become a distraction and a hindrance to the spiritual growth of others.

July 30, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"...Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil" (II Kings 4:2b).
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 "pot of oil" in your house.
Now what you do with that one pot of oil makes the difference between a victorious life and a defeated life. The single pot 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.
Click here to read source article.
http://www.theschoolofchrist.org/read/articles/the-infinite-supply-of-the-lord.html

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 28, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"...Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17).
Here, Jesus contrasts "flesh and blood" knowledge with Truth which is revealed by God (and of course, Jesus is Truth [John 14:6]). The two are as different as night and day. In the matter of flesh and blood knowledge obtained from human, earthly sources we may have reason to boast in our ability to study, investigate, reason, and decide. This is the Tree of Knowledge.
In the case of revelation, we have definitely no room to boast, for revelation is simply that which is revealed to us from heaven by the Lord. We cannot work to obtain it nor do we merit it. Additionally, no man may give it to us. Its source is God working in us through His Holy Spirit. This is the Tree of Life.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 27, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (II Timothy 3:7).
If in our quest for spiritual growth our idea is only to learn a few facts about the Bible, glean tidbits of information from this preacher and that teacher, fill our brains with facts and fill our libraries with more books and magazines, we run the risk of fooling ourselves into thinking that we know and understand God - when it could be that we are ever learning "truths" without knowing the Truth.
Have you met someone like this? They seem to have all the right answers, but they have the wrong spirit. They tenaciously cling to their minute opinions and cannot be persuaded otherwise. Their knowledge has not changed them, except to make them worse: for now they are puffed up in the vanity of their own mind (I Corinthians 8:1,2). True spiritual growth is characterized by grace (not works) and an increased knowledge of Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18). And, we maintain that this knowledge of Jesus Christ cannot be obtained by study, but is only granted by way of revelation.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 25, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Look! I am standing at the door, knocking! If anyone can hear Me, open the door! I will come in to you, and we will have fellowship with one another" (Revelation 3:20).
We have often quoted this verse in the context of salvation, but it should be noted that Jesus spoke these words, not to lost sinners, but to the Church of Laodicea. Even with His own people He does not force the door open, but He patiently knocks, and waits.
Before we can prepare a place for the Lord as a Body of believers, He must have ready and frequent access to us as individual disciples. In Laodicea the situation is so bad that the Lord makes His appeal to the individual heart to take Him in. We are in much the same condition today. The issue is not salvation, but fellowship and communion.
Click here to read source article.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears

July 24, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13).
We don't have to imitate His Life, we only have to trust His Life! Trust in His Life to do it in, through, and on behalf of us who cannot do it! And I will tell you something else: if you can Trust in His Life to keep you from losing your temper once, you can do it a million times. Hear what I am saying. If you have ever once trusted in His Life to keep you from losing your temper, you can trust in His Life every single time you are confronted with it, and He will bring you through. Without exception.

Along those lines, I can say with all confidence, that if you can trust His Life to overwhelm your temper, you can trust His Life for everything else. What do you need? Do you worry too much? Are you fearful? Are you bitter? His Life indwells you right now, and longs to make you into something totally new, to transfigure you into something entirely different than what you are now. Thank the Lord that I don't have to be the way I am, but there is hope for me, and there is hope for you, and there is hope for the worst sinner on the face of the earth, because it is not a question of my effort, but of His sufficiency!


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 22, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief... some will enter that rest, but they to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of their disobedience" (Hebrews 3:19; 4:6).
The Hebrews' immediate concern was to get out of Egypt, but God's concern was getting them to enter the Promised Land. It was relatively simple to get them out of Egypt, but only two men out of several million of that first generation reached God's goal and crossed the Jordan. I think the problem is this: we have "going to heaven when we die" as the ultimate goal, and Christ has "entering the Kingdom of God" as the ultimate goal.
Do we want to "just" go to heaven when we die, or do we want the preeminence of Christ expressed in "Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done, on earth [now] AS IT IS in heaven"? If we continue to preach an easy Gospel and bring sinners to an easy Jesus by having them pray an easy prayer then we are guilty of propagating another gospel, a false gospel, a Gate without a Path. Thank God for the Gate, but there is also a Path, and neither one of them are wide, and neither one of them are easy. But do we preach this?

July 23, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved" (II Corinthians 12:15).
Paul gave us an example to follow. Don't just look at his calling and his gifting and his revelation. Look at his heart of love. He gave all - not just for the Lord, but for the Lord's people. And they were a most carnal, unappreciative bunch of people. Even so, the heart of a father is demonstrated. That is the reason he had authority. I tell you his authority was not in his title, his position, or his status as having founded the church. His authority was not in his calling, gift, or revelation. His authority was in the abundant love he showed.
Make no mistake: I am not there yet. I still struggle with how to be a good brother, much less a spiritual father with abundant love for everyone. I obviously have a long way to go, but now I see the missing ingredient and I am following after love. How about you?

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 20, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6b).
The single requirement for grace is humility. But what is grace? Grace is more than just a theological term used to describe how we are saved. Grace is the power of God at work in my life to do what cannot be done in my own strength. Grace is energizing and proactive. When I have reached the end of myself then Grace Himself takes over and does what I am unable to do. In the first place, what I cannot do is save myself, and so I trust in the Grace of God, Jesus Christ, to save me.
But Grace will not only bring me through the Gate; He will bring me down the Path. Grace does not just get me started in the right direction, but goes along with me every step of the way. For Grace is a Man!

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 19, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7b).
We should see that Christ does more than restore what Adam lost. He goes beyond Adam, offering the Overcomers fruit from the tree of life, fruit Adam knows nothing about. Obviously this is symbolic language, but what does it mean? The tree of life represents the Cross, for from that Tree the Lord yielded up His Life for us all. Those who overcome have learned that fruitfulness and life come from death to Self, and that is what the Cross means. The Cross is a tree of life to those who embrace it.
Like Adam, we can choose to eat from either tree, but we cannot eat from both. Adam sinned when he fell into the flesh and yielded to his Self-life. He rejected the tree of life in favor of something that was "good... pleasant... and desirable" (Genesis 3:6ff). The Cross does not look like a tree of life at all. It is neither good, nor pleasant, nor desirable. It looks like death. Perhaps this is why Adam did not eat from it first. But God's End is not death, regardless of appearances: God's End is life out of death, which is resurrection. To eat of the fruit of the tree of life is to glory in the Cross of Jesus Christ and find life out of death. It is becoming popular to preach and teach about the Cross these days, but how many are eating of its fruit? Can we really see the Cross as the TREE OF LIFE, and are we eating of its fruit? We will know a true disciple of the Lord, not by words, but by fruit , and the Cross is the tree of life from which this fruit comes.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 17, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
A disciple of the Lord Jesus is someone who enters the narrow gate and walks the narrow path until they come to the end of the narrow path and are left with nothing but Christ. As you can see, this is a very, very narrow way, which is why few find it, and fewer still remain on it once they find it. Nothing of self can be retained. All of self must be lost in order to gain Christ.
As we walk the narrow way we are being changed from glory to glory. Today we should reflect a little more of the glory of God than yesterday; tomorrow we will reflect yet more than we did today. This is growth. Growth is not more knowledge or increase of years: it is simply more of Him and less of me. He increases as I decrease. This is what it means to be a disciple.


July 18, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me" (John 15:4).
It is never a question of how to get the Life to flow, or how to get the Lord to move. To tap into the Infinite Supply it is only a matter of being yielded to the Lord and emptied of ourselves. When this happens then the Life will flow of its own accord.
On the negative side, this Life answers to every assault of the Adversary and stops his harassment against us. On the positive side, this Life supplies us with all the spiritual resources we need to maintain our abiding relationship with the Lord Jesus. With less of me, there will be more of the Lord: this is a spiritual law. Therefore, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).
Click here to read source article.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 15, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Him that overcomes will I make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out" (Revelation 3:12a).
Overcomers are pillars in the temple of God. Like Anna, they do not depart from the temple, but they minister to the Lord day and night (Luke 2:37). Here is what makes someone an Overcomer. It is not a question of how many times can we "attend" something, but whether or not we are abiding at all times. Pillars are an integral part of the structure; if they were to suddenly "go out", the building would collapse.
What are we saying? That God's highest is not for us to come in and to go out, but to be a pillar. A pillar does not come in on Sunday morning and leave on Sunday night, but is always in the temple. And of course, we do not mean a physical building. Overcomers are pillars in the temple of God, and that is a heavenly matter. However you wish to interpret this, one thing is clear: they have learned how to minister to the Lord continually, regardless of time or place. It is Spirit and Truth worship the Father seeks, and they give Him what He is looking for. There is no holy day or sacred hour or special devotion. They do not have to "come into" the presence of the Lord because they LIVE IN the presence of the Lord continually. And so they overcome the earthly by abiding in the heavenly.

July 16, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them" (Ezekiel 34:10).
Let me ask you this question: what do you think the Lord will do to an undershepherd who rules the Lord's flock with cruelty, abuses the sheep, scatters them in all directions, and lets the enemy come in to tear them apart? Will the Lord just shrug His shoulders, or will He visit that undershepherd and avenge the sheep? It is such a holy trust. We must tread lightly with the sheep and minister to them in fear and trembling. We dare not entertain thoughts of doing as we please with the Lord's possession. It is not a frivolous thing.

2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 14, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Thanks be to God which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Corinthians 15:57).
When God is pleased to reveal His Son to us, we will learn that Victory is not a thing, but a Person; that Victory is not an experience, but a Man; that God does not give me a thing called victory, but has given me His Son in the place of victory in order to be my Victory. Then Victory will never be future-tense and far-away, but Ever Present and Now. For Victory is Christ. And Victory lives within you.
Thus, Victory has nothing to do with the devil, and everything to do with Christ. Since most Christians have more faith, assurance and reverence for the devil than they do for the Lord Jesus, it is easy to see why so many are defeated.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Not my will, but Your Will, be done" (Luke 22:42b).
The Cross demonstrates that we do not gain by trying to get, but by losing in order to gain. We cannot really receive from God until we have learned to give up unto God. It is the spirit which cries, "Not my will, but Thine be done" and "Father, into Thine Hand I commit my spirit."
These words are easily uttered, but we cannot appreciate them or really experience them until we have been through our Gethsemane experiences and our Golgotha experiences. Until that time we are merely reciting some words, but we do not truly know what it means to give ourselves up to God, to be completely consecrated and submitted to Him. The Cross prepares us to receive by first forcing us to give up. Therefore, the Cross is gaining through losing.
2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.

July 12, 2009
Infinite Supply
Today's Message from Chip Brogden

"Anyone who does not take up his own cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. The one who finds his life will lose it, and the one who loses his life for My sake will find it" (Matthew 10:38,39).
Like the child, we stubbornly refuse to relinquish our grip on our spiritual possessions. We tenaciously cling to things as a child would cling to a collection of broken toys. We collect teachings, experiences, and good deeds, pointing to these as proof that we are spiritually endowed. Until we are willing to part with our "riches" we will not be able to receive the true Riches of Christ in us.


2009 TheSchoolOfChrist.Org.
Permission is granted for non-commercial (free) distribution provided this notice appears.