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Grace lifts you up in life, to take you higher, to the place where God wants you to be. He seeks to bless you with life and good days, as you seek and pursue peace. It is written in His word that declares, The one who loves life, to see good days, let him refrain his tongue from lies, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil to do what is good; let him seek peace and pursue it. [1 Peter 3:10,11]
Grace and peace is often the combination of oneness and unity that the apostle Paul uses as a salutation or a benediction in his epistles. Grace leads to an experience of peace in your life. And peace that is true and complete, a wholeness in Christ, is connected to a relationship, to a Person, the Lord Jesus, and His Spirit, working in you, in your spirit, and in your mind. Paul establishes this truth of God very clearly in his letter to the Romans.
Governed and led by the Holy Spirit:
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [Romans 8:6] In other words, your mind needs to be governed by the Holy Spirit, for peace to become your experience. Another key player is your heart, in being led by the Holy Spirit, and it is where the relationship factor comes into play, a restoration of your relationship with God, that stood broken by sin. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry out, ‘Abba, Father’. The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit, that we are children of God. And if children, then heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. [Romans 8:14-17]
Reconciliation & Forgiveness- the difference:
Your sins and mine, the sins of the whole world were forgiven by God on the Cross of Calvary, where He gave His Beloved Son, who laid down His life in love, that you and I may live and not die. Thus, forgiveness of your sin happened two thousand years ago, on the Cross, much before you were even born into this world. But, reconciliation or a restoration of your relationship with God, happened on the day when acknowledging your sins you received Christ into your heart, as your personal Savior. And in Christ, through His perfect and finished work on the Cross, you were reconciled to God, to enter into a relationship with God, as your Heavenly Father, the right to be called a child of God. From being a slave under the law, you move to being a child of God under grace!
From slavery to being a child of God:
The greatest privilege, and the highest title that you can ever receive in this world, is to be called a ‘child of God’. And living in a world, that puts so much weight on the prefixes and suffixes that accompany your name, it is very true, that if you are not satisfied with being called a child of God, no other title can ever satisfy you. Even in the Christian world, when the calling of a person, is to be a prophet, pastor, teacher or apostle, one ought to remember that for it to be effective, and to be worthy of it, he has to be able to walk in the knowledge that being a child of God crowns it all!
In your life this day, the truth that matters more than anything else is the fact that you are a child of God. Life is all about relationships. And, it is when your primary relationship in life, is the intimacy and the sweet communion that you enjoy with God, as your Father, and all other relationships in your life, are a reflection of it, that they will bring joy and peace within you, to prosper in the manner that they are intended to. You can then live the God kind of life; it is much more than eternal life in heaven, which of course is one day going to happen in your life, for to be absent in the body is to be present with the Lord. It is the quality of your life here on earth, that is going to be the fruit of His love, joy and peace in you.
And, it is also so very true, that in the life of any one, big or small, it is relationships that matter more than anything else. But sadly, it is also the case that to many, coming to God is only to have their needs met, and not about having a relationship with Him that He so ardently desires. And what can be more precious, powerful, and privileged than having a relationship with the Almighty God, to be able to call Him Abba Father! A close relationship, but it is also one of reverence, and one that is fueled by the love of God, that has been poured into your heart through the Holy Spirit.
Sin and its consequences:
It was the entrance of sin in the garden of Eden, that ruptured man’s relationship with God. And the first Adam, who was blessed by God to have dominion, and be fruitful and multiply, ended up becoming a slave to sin and its vicious tentacles, that could be destructive circumstances, and ultimately the evil one himself, who comes into a person’s life, only to steal, kill or destroy. But the good news is that, the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross, His Blood that was shed for you, for the remission of your sins has set you free, as you come under it to be washed by its cleansing flow. But then, Paul warns against a return to bondage, a bondage to fear. And the question arises regarding how it can come about, when you are now a redeemed child of God.
Return to slavery- probing into its nature:
There is a principle underlying it; and in talking about false teachers the apostle Peter describes how it can work, to take you back into a bondage to fear. While they promise them freedom, they themselves are slaves of corruption, for whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. [2 Peter 2:19] And the verse prior to it, describes how they go about doing it, as they allure through lusts and fleshly desires, those who have been redeemed from slavery, back into bondage. It is why their talk is described to be ‘great swelling words of emptiness’
False teachers abound in society even today; and one can very easily identify with the apostle’s words. Hence the word of caution is a timely warning, not to drift back into the old pattern of thinking, a slave mentality that may still linger in a person who has been redeemed out of it, and is now a child of God. The Israelites reflected it in the manner and attitude in which they approached the wilderness journey, though they had been miraculously delivered by God, the Great I AM, from cruel bondage in the hands of the Egyptians. In your life too, it is a truth that can never be denied. You become a slave to that by which you are overcome, is the principle that operates. It could be anything, a habit, which could be even an innocent one to start with, a philosophy or view of life that is prevalent all around you, or possessions and money, and sometimes even people.
Slaves of people:
It may not be very obvious, for it is hidden within a person, but a bondage to fear is a very present reality, in the lives of many, even after they have received Christ as their Savior, to become a child of God. And once again, it is a mind set, a mental framework, from past bondage, the shackles of fear and death, the darkness out of which they have been set free, to be conveyed into the kingdom of the Son.
How does slavery happen in a relationship?
It has been observed that a strong person intimidates, while the one who is weak, resorts to manipulation in order to dominate and gain control over another person. And the one at the receiving end, succumbs to it, to fall back into a spirit of bondage to fear. So there may be people, who are in bondage in that sense of the word, even now, for words may have been spoken over them in a manipulative manner. Christian leadership though, is not about manipulation, but about Christ- like character transformation! The Lord Jesus is the good Shepherd who leads His sheep, going ahead, and His sheep know His voice, to hear from Him and follow Him. It is a model of leadership, very unlike what you and I see in our country, where the shepherd is at the very end, driving and not leading the flock, and a stick in his hand that is generally used more to strike them when they do not toe the line!
Enslaved by your possessions:
And in the modern day world, it has been found that people find the internet to be more important than even the air they need to breathe in order to stay alive. I t is a reflection of how much the innovations of information technology has enslaved the common man, and even the child of God. For, to that which overcomes you, you become its slave. And, it is more of a wrong mental framework, a slave mentality that then finds an entry in your thought process, to keep you in bondage to fear. A renewal of mind by the word of God, is the answer and the solution to it, one that immediately or progressively rids you of it. And it happens as you focus on the glorious truth of your present position in Christ, and to walk in the knowledge that you are a child of God now, and not a slave anymore!
You are a son, and not a slave:
It was Moses, who had grown up in the king’s palace as a prince of Egypt, all by the divine orchestration of God, who was called to deliver the chosen people of Israel from bondage and slavery in Egypt. He obviously would not have had any trace in him, of the mind of a slave. It serves to illustrate very well, the need for a renewal of your mind by the truth of the word of God. For it is knowing the truth that sets you free, to move on to experience the peace of God. And, even if there is no doubt in you that you are a child of God, there needs to be a removal of the slave mentality too. It could otherwise affect you in three ways – emotionally, in your relationships, and spiritually, when it rears its, ugly head once in a while, trying to lead you back to bondage, a slavery to fear once again.
Resting in Christ:
Exploring how bondage to fear can work in you, at various levels of your life, can shed valuable light in diagnosing the problem, and also subsequently lead you to the solution, which is the knowledge of who you are in Christ. You are a child of God. And it is where you find your rest and peace, to overcome and not drift back into a slave mentality.
Slavery to fear- 1. Emotionally:
The psalmist writes about trusting in God, when he is afraid. And, he was the chosen man of God, who had earlier slain the giant Goliath, killed a lion with His bare hands, and even a bear! It goes to show that fear can come in a person even after you have been saved. And you do not have to beat yourself up, bemoaning your lack of faith. For, you too may have done many things in your past courageously braving the odds without fear, having trusted in the Lord your God, but the present circumstance that you find yourself in, combined with your basic composition, may find yourself on the verge of being enslaved , to go back into bondage to fear, when you think of what lies ahead of you, the current situation that you need to grapple with.
The entrance of fear:
The first mention of fear, in the scriptures, is immediately after the entrance of sin in the first man. Adam sinned and hid himself from the presence of the holy God in fear and shame. [Genesis 3:10] After that though, there are ever so many instances, where fear is mentioned in the word of God, And the many promises of God saying, ‘Do not fear’, three hundred and sixty six of them in fact, goes also to acknowledge the reality of fear, even in your life and mine. Life’s troubling circumstances, can ever so often threaten to overwhelm you, to the extent of driving you into contemplating going back into slavery to fear. And it is then that you need to be reminded of the higher truth, to say to yourself, ‘I am a child of God’. Let your mind be renewed by this truth, to declare it with confidence, every time a frightening problem looms ahead, looking threateningly powerful. And confidence can be yours, for God, the Holy Spirit Himself, has attested that you are His child. Who else needs to?! [Romans 8:16]
Learning from the life of Job:
Troubles and struggles, is something that comes to all in this world, and a bondage to fear, and a spirit of slavery that is a wrong mental framework, may appear inevitable at such times. But the truth is that it can be withstood and overcome. Your life can be like that of Job; and his good ending can be yours too. His latter days were far greater than his former, after his time of great tribulation and pain. The book of Job is generally considered to be about suffering and trouble; but it is not so. For primarily, it is a book of faith. Job’s emotions went up and down, and understandably so. And of course, he was not helped in any way by his friends who were supposed to comfort him, but whose faulty reasoning and justifying of his troubles only drove him deeper into despair!
But, through it all, his faith stood firm. He believed and declared his faith in His Living Redeemer who would surely accomplish what He had purposed. God’s purposes can never be thwarted, was his confident conclusion. It can be your path to prevent a return to spirit of slavery to fear, and bondage to it, that your time of turbulence may threaten to bring to pass. For, it is when you can with faith and confidence declare to yourself, and to what is troubling you, that you are a child of God; and therefore, you now have a Spirit of power, love and sound mind, and not a spirit of slavery to fear.
Whatever the fear maybe:
What is a silly and irrational fear to the rest of the world, could be anything but trivial to the one who suffers from it. Phobias big and small, are very real, and can keep a person from reaching his full potential. Cowardice too is very much a fear, that keeps you from carrying out your responsibilities in life; the things that you know you need to do, but are unable to do. And it can all lead you back into bondage, and a spirit of slavery to fear once again.
Irrational fear could even prevent a person from drawing near to God, fearing rejection, or from reading His word, which is the solution, fearing misunderstanding the truth, and being led astray. But you are reading a letter of love, written to you by your Father. Resting in the truth of being a child of God, will see the irrational, unhealthy fear depart. He is never the author of confusion, but is always the God of order. Sometimes it is not the solution, but your attitude towards the solution that can be the problem. In your problem therefore, run to Him.
All about grace:
A fear of rejection also, can keep you from drawing near to God, and it is anything but the truth, For, the truth is all about grace. You approach therefore a throne room of grace, to find help in your time of need. For, the Lord knows your shortcomings. You have a High Priest who is able to sympathize with your every weakness, and in no way rejects anyone who comes to Him. ‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden…I will give you rest’, He says even today to every troubled and anxious soul, to come and be comforted in a relationship with God, as His child. There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear. [1 John 4:18]
It is the wonderful promise of God. Therefore, let all doubt and fear and unhealthy emotions, depart from you, and may His love be poured into your heart, through the Holy Spirit. Secondly, when you remind yourself that you are a child of God, there would be no insecurity and fear in your relationships with people, that could lead you back into slavery. For, it is those who are led by the Spirit of God, who are the sons of God. There is a connection between you and God, in a relationship of love.
Slavery to fear- 2. In your relationships:
There need no longer be any bondage to fear in your relationships, for when you are a child of God, you are a sheep of His fold. And He is the Good Shepherd, not a hired hand, The nature of the difference between the two, is in the Lord’s own words so very clear, ‘I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives His life for the sheep’. But a hired hand, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand, and does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known by My own. [John 10:11-13]
The hired hand is there for the money. He has no connection with the sheep, and hence it is his safety that he values, and not the sheep’s. But when the Lord is your shepherd, it is all about a relationship. And it is by trusting in the truth that you are a child of God, or a sheep of His flock, that you will find your rest, to not go back into slavery or bondage to fear.
And what does it involve on your part?
It is resting in the knowledge of who your shepherd is, in your relationship with Him, trusting that, whenever He gives is the right time, whatever He gives is right for you & however He chooses to give to you, is the right way, For, you have a good God, who loves to do what is good for you, give you His very best!
Therefore, what you need to avoid:
He is the God who has made all things beautiful, but, in His time.. And, your times are in His hands! It is the truth in which you find your rest. Giving the Lord God Almighty a deadline for your prayer to be answered, or a target that has to be met in your life, may be sound business principles, but will not work, when your trust is in the Lord, in a relationship with Him. And above all, it is in a relationship with Him, in love and gratitude that you give to Him, and certainly not as payment for services rendered, or expecting a return in proportion to what you give.
It is all about His LOVE:
Lord Jesus healed ten lepers, asking them to show themselves to the priest. And as they went, all ten of them were healed, though only one of them returned to give thanks. The Lord healed them in love and compassion, and not based on how they would react to it. God is love, and He works in love for you. He demonstrated His love, His goodness, as He gave His only Begotten Son, while you and I, were yet sinners. It was not based on anyone’s performance, but purely and wholly out of His love, for it was and it is His desire still, that none should perish, but that all should become children of God.
It is not about performance based religion:
Performance based religion, is of the world. It is one in which your spiritual activities, even fasting, giving to God, are all reward or result based, And this would ultimately lead to a slavish mind set in you. Whereas the truth is that you are a child of God, a son, and not a slave. He never gives up on you, or takes His hands off you, even when you stray; when your performance may not be what it should be; and all because of His love for you! His hand upon you is infinitely stronger!
Rejoice for you are a child of God! :
And, as a child of God, He is your Father, who knows all that is needed by you, to add them into your life, even as you seek Him and His Kingdom. You can wake up each morning with a joyful heart, and a song of thanksgiving therefore, for you have a Heavenly Father, who knows your every need. As the Lord has said, when you and I, even as wicked people, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more will be the good that we receive from the Father. And, as the apostle John has declared, how great a love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God. [1 John 3:1]
You are the precious child of the God who is not just your Creator, but also your Sustainer, Redeemer, and your Good Shepherd, who knows your every need, even before a word proceeds from your mouth. It is the glorious nature and power of the God, whom you are privileged to draw near in worship. He has declared to you in His word, that He has held you even while you were in your mother’s womb, to carry you thus far in your life, and will surely take you safely until the very end. For, ever so often we went our own way, but He never dropped us. He sustained us, and it is the reason you and I are alive today, seated in the house of God, as His children.
Therefore, may you never reduce the Lord Almighty, to some kind of formula or scheme, making Him a kind of broker, or someone you have conjured up in your mind, merely a figment of your imagination! Being the child of the Living God, has implications that are far reaching, to the depths of your being, even in your spirit, to set you free from the spirit of slavery, and bondage to fear.
Spirit of slavery- 3. the spiritual effect:
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what the master is doing, but I call you friends, for all things I heard from My Father, I have made known to you. [John 15:15] They are the redeeming, liberating words of the Lord, spoken in love. And it is knowing the truth that sets you free. It requires from you, a continual renewing of your mind, by the word of God, a progressive journey of increasing light in a mind that had until then been conformed to the pattern of the world. It in many ways could have been a slave mentality, or a spirit of slavery. And, to not go back into its destructive grip, is the counsel of God’s word.
Three aspects of a slave mentality, that need to be put away are guilt, shame and condemnation.
Guilt-
It is what Peter displayed, on denying the Lord three times; and it led him to shed tears in repentance, as he acknowledged his guilt within himself. It was genuine grief though, and later on led him to life.
Shame-
Adam hid himself in fear and shame, from the presence of the Lord. And in trying to cover up what he had done, he only revealed a truth – the truth that sin had stained him; and he knew it too. He knew that something had gone wrong, deep within him, a bondage and spirit of slavery to fear, being the result of it.
Condemnation-
It was the tragic end of Judas. For, he knew that he had betrayed innocent Blood, but also ended up condemning himself, as someone unworthy to live. He gave up on life itself, unable to turn to the truth, and find life. But, you and I, need never give up on life and succumb to the spirit of slavery, and bondage to fear. And, it is all because you have a Beloved Son of God through whom and in Him, you are a child of God. The prodigal son – the spiritual symbolism: The parable of the prodigal son, is familiar and so well loved. [Luke 15:11-32] It also depicts spiritual truth, and what can crown and adorn your life today, because you are a child of God.
The prodigal son, depicts the one who is dominated by the lusts of the world, and is a slave to it, but is deceived within him to think that he is the king of his world! The elder son’s outlook is the legalistic approach to God, a person who fulfills his obligations toward Him, all because he has to, and not because he has any relationship with God. And, it is all because he expects to receive something, for what he has invested, be it prayer or reading the word of God, and giving an offering. And sadly, to such a person, there will be no joy or exuberance in his walk with God. But, you have a third and another glorious option with which you can identify today. It is in Lord Jesus, the Beloved Son of God the Father, and it will see your life transformed.
The BELOVED SON:
This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. [Matthew 17:5] It is the attestation of God the Father. And when you are a child of God, it is yours too. And this is the awareness, and knowledge of truth, that will set you free of all slave mentality and bondage to fear. Christian life is nothing but living your life, everyday, in Christ and through Christ, who is the Beloved Son of God. And in the course of it, you will end up pleasing God, the Father, out of your love for Him. Love is the key, and you have a God who is love!
All out of LOVE:
And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left me alone, for I always do the things that please Him. [John 8:29] To the Father, He is the Beloved Son. And, with the Son , it is all out of love too; His love for the Father being reflected in Him always doing the things that are pleasing to Him. Thus it is a mutual reciprocation of love. And, this is what God the Father, who has so loved you that He has given His Beloved Son to die for you, desires for you. For Christ in you, is the hope of glory!
And with the anointing and empowering of the Holy Spirit in you, led in a relationship with God as His child, you will indeed love to do the things of God. And what you do out of love, in a godly way, is bound to prosper, because you are a son, a child of God, and not a slave. May your heart be focused therefore on the Lord Jesus. He is the Beloved Son; and when you are the child of God, the love of the Father for His Son, is upon you too. What is needed is a renewing of your mind, to be aligned to the word of God.
You are His child:
And even as you come to the throne of grace, in supplication and thanksgiving unto God, your Father, may His perfect love cast out all your doubt, fear, anxiety, every wrong mindset, and may the mindset of Christ, His Beloved Son be in you. Your Heavenly Father knows all that you need; and as you seek Him, and His Kingdom, they will be added unto you.
You are His child, You are accepted, you are forgiven, You are Fathered by the true and Living God. Have no fear therefore, or guilt, shame or condemnation in you. You are loved by the true and Living God.
Let joy and peace be your experience instead, as you draw near in worship, giving thanks unto the Father, for being His child, and for His provision that will see all your needs met in the days to come. And, may it all be for the glory and honour of His Name, and His blessing upon you and I, His children.
In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
