2008/09/10

The Actions that lead to a Reformed Life

07 September 2008 8AM
Teacher Chantal Pelser

Reform means: to change and improve something by correcting faults; removing inconsistencies and abuse; imposing modern methods or values; to adopt a more acceptable way of life and mode of behavior or persuade or force somebody else to do so; a change in molecular structure e.g. Petroleum: to subject petroleum to a chemical process such as catalytic cracking in order to convert it to gasoline; reorganization and improvement of something; reforms designed to prevent fraud.

Isn't this what Christ does for us? When we accepted Christ, we were adopted into His way of living. He changes our molecular structure, like changing the polarity of a magnet by stroking it with another magnet – this changes the molecular structure of the magnet. This is reformation.

Madame Guyon wrote in her book “Song of the bride” that your spiritual journey is a journey toward Christ. Your journey in life is not just to make ends meet. It is not just to put food on the table. Yes, that is important, but our spiritual life is a journey towards Christ, Christ possessing you more completely. To be filled with Him. You are filled with Him by the Holy Spirit, it is a process of realization of how much He possesses you, and how much He is in charge of you.
When you give your heart to Christ, there is an initial coming together with the Holy Spirit, and if your baptized into His death, you make a declaration that you no longer live, but Christ that lives in you and when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you receive tools to carry on with this building process. But this is not all there is to it. There is a constant drawing and unification – more of Him, less of me, making it a journey.
As we go through life, the circumstances, tests and trials that we face, reveal certain things that we didn't know were there so that we can lay it down, and He can possess that part of you as well. He is such a gentleman about it. If He had to reveal all our shortcomings and faults in one day, we wouldn't make it. God deals with us in layers, and the more you resist to this process, the longer it takes. Rebellion is not going to help, because you'll draw back and find the exact same thing somewhere else until you deal with it.

Rom 12:2
To transform according to Encarta means: to change into another form, to transform, or to transfigure. Whatever we do in our Christian life, this is the crux of it – becoming one with Him. Becoming one with the Father. That is why we are in a church. God put the church there as a structure, so that we can come together, to be part of His body, but to be one with Him.

Col 1:9
Apostle Paul uses the same words as Rom 12:2, but for 2 different churches.
...increasing in the knowledge of God.

Eph 1:17
... revelation knowledge of Him.

If we reform the church, and keep setting the standard, it will reform the land.

1.Identify with true spiritual leadership.
Certain of the kings in the Old Testament, called David their father, even thought they were 300 years removed form him. Spiritual technology does not age. They cut themselves off from the evil blood line they were born in, and took up the line of David, calling him their father, even though he wasn't really. What did we do when we came to Christ? We identified ourselves with Him, and by His blood, we were cut off from the wicked blood line we were born into, and therefore, we now find our identity in Christ, and we now walk according to the way He walked – in meekness and humility. We can decide not to walk in the inconsistencies of our family, by faith in Jesus' name. He can create a new generation from your blood.

2.Destroy the abominable images in your life.
One of the modern idioms in this century is the media. It throws images at us all the time. If Josiah lived in our time and he decided to cut down all the images, he probably would have cancelled all media broadcasting for a week. How would a nation react to that? It is good that you fast TV now and again. Don't get it wrong though – TV in itself is not evil, it is the images that are thrown before you. Obviously these images had such an effect on the land that Josiah had to destroy it and make dust of it.
Something else that you need to realize is that sometimes our spiritual image of God or of ourselves is warped – mostly due to circumstance, abuse or oppression. Our eyes of our understanding need to enlightened so that the image can be reformed. The wrong image of yourself or of the Father needs to be removed.

3.Remove and destroy the altars and high places in the land.
An altar speaks of a place of sacrifice, but it was also a place where people brought their money or gifts to. It was a place where people had to spend their money and bring something. It also was not the alter of God, it was false alters for false gods. In modern society, this means that people just spend money for the sake of spending. Part of reformation is that you stop doing that, that you work wisely with your money. Living moderately with much thanksgiving.
Once the altars were destroyed and reformation took place, people voluntarily gave the money they would've spent back to the church. Part of modern reformation is then that your money is invested in the things of God, and not in the things of this world. A change of direction in the flow of money – form the world, back into the church.
A high place is a false place of worship. Traditional, mind-only worship will give you a false sense of holiness whereas it is a conscience stroking work of the flesh. God has reformed our worship. It was Spirit filled, and it was Spirit led. Part of reform is the outflow of accurate worship being restored back to the church.

4.Fortifications of towns and cities for defensive purposes. Breaking down enemy cities and building new ones in their place. 2 Chron 26:5-6
What do we break down in our lives? Strongholds of the flesh, demonic activity and oppression. We break it down with the word of God, and also through deliverance. If you are struggling with a stronghold in your life that does not want to break, go to the body and get deliverance. We also break down these strongholds by receiving correction and rebukes. If you willingly receive correction and rebukes from spiritual leadership, you uproot and break down enemy territories in your life.
Madame Guyon also said “your spirit is perfectly made to be united and transformed into God”. Understand this: your spirit is made to become one with God. It was created that way, so it is only natural for your spirit to yearn to be one with Him. Deep union with God takes place only when you surrender your self-nature to exist only in God. There is a deep fellowship where you stop preserving the self, and lovingly and perfectly sink into God. Certainly this does not mean that you lose your own personality and become God e.g. A drop of water falling into a glass of wine. The water disappears into the wine, but stays H2O. It's one with the wine, but it stays H2O. This is the same concept, we fall into God and lose ourselves in Him. This is the journey. An change from within. No more external sacrifices, but an internal change. Becoming one with Him so much that your will is entwined with His and you automatically do those things that He wills you to do.

5.The implementation of judges.
Where were the judges in the first place? With the degradation of politics, there was bribery and corruption to such an extent that the people couldn't trust the judges anymore. Don't we also find this today? We can't really trust the governme

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