Posted on by Sami M

Let Go >>> Let’s Go Pt. 16

Letting go of the old life

So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord that He may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:3c

We are divinely chosen and planted by God, grown up in His Son, Christ Jesus, so that He may be glorified. Isaiah is speaking through the presence and power of Jesus in this prophecy where the Believer is defined as an oak of righteousness. Every oak belongs to the One who is righteous and holy, eternal perfection in every way. All of Isaiah 61 speaks to the coming of Christ and who He is, and how He will transform the believer into an eternal planting of the Lord. Jesus breathes life onto the page describing how the Believer who is planted in Him will become a mature oak, unwavering, standing in beauty and glory for the Kingdom of Heaven for the world to see. In reading Isaiah 61:4, we as Jesus people are described as those who build up, raise up, and repair the people around us. We are defined by these Christlike characteristics when we grow in maturity of the Spirit of God, and are obedient to the call on our lives. In our obedience, we are able to step into the blessings God has for us, which enable us to shine even brighter for the world to see. We are called to be more than flowers which fade as spoken in Isaiah 40:6-8, but rather perennial trees which exude the strength, longevity and majesty of God.

In 1 Peter 1:22-25 it is spoken of how the believer is planted of imperishable seed because we are born again and called to walk out that new life. We are then found purified through our obedience to the Truth of God, and revelation of what it means to be a believer. The righteous oak who is planted of imperishable seed by God, is one who is found holy, redeemed, obedient, set-apart, and steps out of their old ways and passions of the flesh. To be grown up into a mature believer, we must truly lay down all of our old ways which do not bear the image of Christ in order for growth to happen, straining towards maturity. When we pursue a mature spirit in line with the beckoning of the Holy Spirit, our nature in Christ shines so that to the world we are different, no longer blending in, but set apart so that God may be glorified. Practically this is so difficult, but to yield fruit in all seasons and prosper in our ways, maturing in a way that we call others to maturity, we have to live out the gospel to its fullest and allow for the sanctification to happen daily in our lives.

In looking at chapter 61 of Isaiah calling Believers to be called oaks of righteousness, there are important details to be seen under the surface when looking at the Hebrew of the text. We don’t see elsewhere in the bible believers being called oaks of righteousness, but based on the context of the chapter being about Christ, prophetically spoken by Christ through Isaiah, we know that the passage is extremely significant. For me personally, Isaiah 61 was spoken over my life prophetically when I was a brand new believer calling me into maturity and I’ve held onto the passage ever since. When you look at the Hebrew word for oak in Strong’s Concordance, it is the root word, Ayil; you will see the immediate context of the word usually means is ram, as in the animal used frequently for sacrifice in the old testament. Other meanings include tree, lintel, pillar, and leader. I don’t believe there is any coincidence in the more frequent meanings of the word Ayil, the most frequent (over 50x), use of Ayil is the meaning ram. Rams were used for frequent sacrifice and for cutting covenants in the Hebrew church. Sacrifice was used to help maintain right standing with God despite unintentional sin, it was a profession of faith believing God would forgive (future forgiveness through Christ) and repentance to God for the sins committed because of the flesh. Sacrifice signified faithful believers desiring to be in right standing with God which is relevant to us, because when we see that this root word ram is used for oak, you will see that you can not be an oak without the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. This scripture looks forward to a day when you don’t need a ram to stand tall before God but rather, Jesus Christ, and His finished work on the cross. Two other similar meanings for Ayil are lintel and pillar; lintel is a horizontal beam over windows and doorways, and pillars are upright structures which also bear weight. Both of these pieces are important parts of structures which bear weight and hold everything standing upright, bearing the major loads in buildings. Who is the one who bore the weight of our sin on the cross, and continues to bear the weight of our lives on His shoulders? Jesus. We can’t be oaks without allowing Christ to bear the weight of our sin and mistakes every day. We can not shine His glory without laying down the weight of our lives on His shoulders. In that we can then lead like Christ. The final definition of Ayil, is mighty man or leader, which is our ultimate call. Jesus went before us as the mighty man who could lay His life down for us, the ultimate leader, making the ultimate sacrifice for us. Every single one of us are called to lead just as Jesus did, bear the burdens of fellow believers, and live a sacrificial life before God, serving well, pouring out the love of Christ on the people around us. The true Righteous One is Jesus; His perfection and sacrifice is what calls us out of our old ways to become an oak of righteousness just like Him. Jesus righteousness is imputed to us when we are made new in heavenly places, therefore we are able to carry His righteousness before God and to the world around us.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Psalm 1:3

We are called up out of our old ways, planted in new waters, and meant to be watered by the Holy Spirit. When we are watered in this way, we strive towards maturity, towards the upward call of Christ, and pressed to turn away from our passions of the flesh. The mind of the believer is continually renewed, which allows the believer to continually grow and mature in faith. Mature believers are called to bear fruit prospering for the Kingdom of Heaven. I think a major struggle for many of us in pressing forward and attempting to leave the old self behind, is our timeline. An important detail to remember is that the Son of God spent thirty years in preparation for only three years of ministry. Curiously enough, the oak trees we are compared to in Isaiah on average take a minimum of twenty years to bear fruit, aka produce acorns. Most oak trees reach best acorn production between fifty to eighty years. We have to be reminded that maturity takes time to cultivate, and in that maturity, only then will fruit be found. The most and best fruit comes with a deepening of maturity. We are not flowers, which come quickly for a season, and then fade out after reaching their peak. Unlike flowers we do not grow faint or weary as we become more mature. Instead we are given supernatural power and strength in our weakness, because our maturity and building is not from our own might, rather from our humility and submission to Jesus. We are planted oaks, maturing over time, deepening roots, and aging with measure.

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. The still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 92:12-14

In order to reach maturity for bearing fruit and continue to grow in maturity throughout our lives we have to submit to the sanctifiction of the Spirit. What this means is we need to be in submission to the Spirit of God, through intimate relationship with Him in obedience to His shaping of our life. Submission requires us to turn from sin, and repent in humility when we fail to turn from it. We are also called to pray, fast, worship, read the Word, and be involved in active community with other believers. We have to forgive frequently and renounce lies of the Enemy regularly. We are called to be generous with our time, finances, and skills for our community. We have to walk in our gifts, and actively cultivate them for the benefit of the body. We have to be set apart from the world, being cautious with what we read, listen to, and watch. In order to defeat the Enemy daily, build up the body, and raise the next generation we have to be willing to not conform to the comforts, opinions, and sins of the world around us. Coming under the authority of what God says about our identity and what we do with our true identity is what rebuilds, raises, and restores the nations. When we step into our calling, in complete submission to Him, and fill our lives with every facet of Him, then we begin to reach maturity, and continue bearing fruit in old age. Rejoice in Jesus, bear His image and cast off those old habits, sins, and dirty rags. Allow yourself to be clothed in new garments worthy of the King. Allow Jesus to renew your mind daily so you can grow, fill your life with Truth, even when it isn’t easy. Pursue the heart of the King and you will find you will become more like Him than you ever thought you could. Beauty and strength in Jesus is the manifest glory of Him. You are called to flourish in an undeniable way, putting off your old self, and taking up your new self, righteous and holy. Stand tall as you are called an Oak of Righteousness a planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, my soul will exult in my God; for He has clothed me with garments of salvation and wrapped me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom wears a priestly headdress, as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the earth brings forth its growth, and as a garden enables seed to spring up, so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

Isaiah 61:10-11
Posted on by Sami M

Let Go >>> Let’s Go Pt 14

Letting go of distrust

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 

Jeremiah 17:7-9

Do each of us truly trust the character of God? When life is found wanting, do we truly trust in His person that He will bless us, provide for us, and make a way? Do we believe Him and His promises? Do we believe in who He says we are? Do we believe that the most difficult or empty places in life can be filled with His glory if we trust that He’s in it with us? Do we trust Him with our everything? I think those questions are our greatest test of faith of whether or not we are truly trusting God with the whole of our lives. The supernatural joy we carry day in and out is fully dependent upon our trust and faith in His character. As soon as we are found not believing what God says to us, about us, or our life, we are allowing this lie in that He isn’t enough to guide us and be our provider. The prophet Jeremiah talks about what our lives can look like when we trust in the Lord with our whole heart in daily surrender. He makes this analogy of being rooted in God’s promises and character; they are like being planted by streams of water which never dry. He will continue to provide all that we need, no matter what we are facing. Jeremiah warns that we are to be careful in trusting in our own strength and operating out of our own ‘heart’ to make decisions. We are corrupt by nature, because of the sin in the world, which should make us much more cautious not to make decisions based on how we feel and what we see. The heart can be reckless and ride like a roller coaster when confronted with difficulties. We are meant to soak our hearts and minds in the fountain of living water, Jesus. We are called to trust in Him for everything, big or small. In this trust we can live in the imperishable blessings God wants to bestow on our lives. There’s more to be seen and understood when we know Jesus intimately enough to know He has our back no matter where we are at. Our trust in God’s will for us is directly impacted by how well we know Him. We have to understand who God is, and how He’s formed this complete eternal foundation which we can rely on. We have to be able to understand with our whole being who Jesus is to us, His work on the cross, the significance of His Holy Spirit within us, and how God orchestrated the entirety of the Living Word to help us know Him completely. There are four big characterizations of God which help us see and understand who he is to us. We will walk through how these descriptions of God is our Everlasting Rock, Living Water, Good Shepherd, and High Priest are so significant to us trusting in His character completely. Having a depth of understanding of God’s character helps fan that passion for living a Christ filled life. Knowing HIM will bring you to your knees and face in awe and wonder of what He’s done uniquely for YOU. We can only get there by deepening our relationship with Him by getting to know Him.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is an everlasting rock.”

Isaiah 26:3-4

Our Everlasting Rock, what a powerful description of our mighty God, our solid foundation. A good builder always builds on a solid foundation, and from the foundation up thinks through every detail of the structure in order for it to last and stand strong no matter what the structure may face. Our Builder & Creator has made everything in perfection, and is the foundation which holds up the world, people, creatures, plants, the seas, anything, and everything. We forget that the One who Created everything, upholds everything every minute, and is the Everlasting Rock because He sustains literally everything surrounding us, including us. We can have an unshakeable peace, that if God upholds the universe every second, how much more will He uphold you personally if He is your foundation and the One who builds your life. Jesus confirms all of our trust we put in God because of His work on the cross. His saving work of our souls is proof on its own that He is our steady foundation upon which we build our lives and upon which we make our decisions. We tend to try to be our own builders thinking that we can build our lives in our own way in our own strength, that somehow we can each attain this perfect life that looks incredible to the people we encounter. We are not perfect; our thoughts, ways, and plans are certainly not perfect because of the sin we fight. Somewhere in the midst of our building, crumbling, building, and repeating, we have to turn around and look to the One who is perfect, and can build the life that shines in the world. We can attain peace and steadiness when we are relying wholly on Jesus to guide our lives, rooted in Him, and poured out on the world around us by His Spirit.

“On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified..” 

John 7:37-39

Jesus’ Holy Spirit as our Living Water is what builds our lives upon the foundation of God Himself. We regularly miss the greater depth behind the Living Water we receive from God; the Water pours out the fountain of eternity which feeds everything Jesus touches and in turn raises from the dead. The sin in the world causes everything to die, which is one of the many reasons we thirst for what brings us to life in the world around us. We are constantly seeking what makes us feel joyful, secure, and alive. We many times miss the first step into resting in that security and joy, we miss God’s Spirit, which He gave us to help continually direct us to eternal joy and security. God’s Spirit raises us, our souls, from the dead when we take that step to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior who was raised from the dead by the same Spirit, and ascended to heaven to be seated, ruling and reigning at the right hand of the Father. Jesus provides our living water, His Spirit, to us to provide constant access and connection to Him. The Holy Spirit fills each of us believers and is meant to be a means of watering us so we can grow up into Christ’s image. We are gifted access to Living Water, pure Truth, in order to feed our minds and souls the best way. We should be seeking the Living Water to bring us to life, find our deepest unwavering joy, and our complete security in our identity. There’s this struggle against our flesh though, a struggle that distracts and divides us from the watering of the Spirit on us. We struggle with the world feeding us lies that puff us up, beat us up, or break us down, trying to constantly defeat our spirit at every corner. The world feeding you will make you work hard in every direction to grow, but inevitably will not last and land you covering up the mess or crumbling to the floor. The narrow Truth is an intentional truth, and if we widen our eyes to all of the worldly options for filling us up, the easy options, we will find ourselves adrift from the Truth which is narrow and unyielding to the world. We drift into the ocean around us and it dries us out. The world will certainly leave us out to dry and bake us in the hot sun, crumbling. The Holy Spirit beckons us to walk in His crystal clear waters, which refresh us, but they are narrow and we have to keep our eyes and complete focus on where He leads. When we soak in the Truth, and the direction of the Spirit, instead of drying out, we become so full, we operate out of a supernatural overflow. The overflow reaches out and touches everything we touch, and then the world gets touched by eternity, by the all powerful and unyielding King of Kings. When we soak in his waters, filled by His refreshing breath, and grown by His direction we truly see with clarity how we can trust the Father with everything. His waters are clearer than crystal, nothing to hide, never petty, or scheming, just pure loving Truth.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

John 10:14-16

We see Jesus as our Shepherd who guides us on this path of life, helping us stay straight, building our lives in a good Godly direction. First we have to trust Him to guide us in our daily decisions, which can be hard. Do you truly believe that Jesus knows you intimately, every fiber of who you are? I think most of the time we miss the part where God truly KNOWS you, better than you know you. He created you, wove your spirit into His perfection in the heavenly places, and then placed you here uniquely in perfect timing. He built you perfectly in His image and has plans for you to carry His mission out in the world. He knows your strengths, weaknesses, sins, struggles, things you hate, things you love, your passions, your gifts, your insecurities, your motives, and every other thing about you, and who you are. He knows that despite how fragile you are, sinful you are, and how much you struggle, that He can do a work in you, through you, which will reach the world around you. God is not reliant upon us to get anything done, but He does desire to partner with us in all He does so we can be used for a much greater mission. He desires for us to bring the gospel to the people around us, and to help build up the Church around us if we will partner with Him. More than anything, God desires us to delight in Him and desire HIM. In order for God to work within us, we have to trust in Him as our Shepherd. Jesus our great Shepherd sought each of us out individually calling us by name to bring us into His flock. There was a day in your life where you really met Jesus for the first time, the day He called you up from the ashes. You believe in Him to save you from yourself, and accepted Him as your Lord and Savior. You believe He died for you, and was raised, so that one day you will rise again when Heaven meets earth. How much more, if you trust Him with your eternity, will you trust Him with your daily life? The challenge is to trust Jesus as your daily shepherd, your guide to this life, going before you and making a way. He deeply desires to go before you in all you do making a way so that each decision you make is a part of the divine calling on your life. We are described as sheep in comparison to Jesus. Sheep need a shepherd desperately because they cannot fend for themselves and get into all sorts of trouble. Sheep are unable to survive on their own, which is why you never really hear of wild sheep. Sheep need to be shown the way to food and water; their daily lives managed so that they are kept healthy and safe from harm. We would like to think that we can shepherd ourselves and follow others we idolize for direction, and somehow people will satisfy us, keeping us healthy. If you have lived for more than 5min or are just honest with yourself, you will know that anyone who is not driving you to Jesus and the foot of the cross for guidance is not a great shepherd, nor are you. None of us can lead ourselves, and the only way we can lead others in a bountiful way, is through our Shepherd, Jesus. He’s the only one who has it right because He is God, your Creator, infallible, all knowing, the whole truth, and knows you intimately. Jesus is looking for you every day, calling on you every day to come into His sheepfold and be filled with Him. You are the one He leaves the ninety nine for when you drift from His presence. He deeply desires your complete reliance on Him for every single day of your life, even when it is going great and “You got it covered, and don’t need no help!”. Trust me you still need help, because you’re still a hot mess sheep who can’t be your own guide. When you are at your bottom and hopeless, you are still a sheep and He is still your Shepherd. He will pick you up, put you on His shoulders and carry you back to where you are meant to be. Either way, you are meant to call out to Him daily when He calls your name, and focus your eyes on Him, listening for Him, allowing Him to lead you to greener pastures. Jesus as your Shepherd is a daily surrender to Him as the one who cares for you and leads you. Laying down your wild, I can handle it, independence and focusing on the One who makes you whole. We are meant to be healthy sheep flocking together as one with Jesus, so we can reach the one who has gone astray.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Hebrews 4:12-16

Jesus is our high priest, our intercessor, the One who stands before God the Father making a way for us, so that every need and prayer is brought before Him. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father ruling and reigning making way for every believer so that our prayers are met with mercy, grace, and God’s eternal goodness. Jesus is so much more than some man who died (He is God who laid down His life for us as fully man and fully God). He is our advocate before God, so that we can draw near to the heavenly throne and be heard. Jesus understands every struggle, pain, temptation, and loss we will encounter in this life, because He experienced every pain this world has to offer, yet remained sinless. He knows exactly where you are at every time you come to Him with your weaknesses, because He understands the weakness of man, without himself being weak. God sees you through and through, knows exactly what is going on whether or not you tell Him. There is nothing hidden in His eyes, because He is all knowing and all seeing, but despite God knowing our ugliest of ugly, He gave us Jesus. Jesus is worthy of all of our praise for being our advocate before God knowing full well how messy we are, yet meeting us with mercy and grace. Jesus has a complete understanding of what you are struggling with, and can sympathize with your inadequacy. We can have complete confidence that Jesus is on our side, fighting the good fight along side us. What we struggle with is coming to the throne of grace and admitting that we have struggled and need help from the heavenly places. We try so hard to be the strongest people we know, when really we are weak, and Jesus is just waiting to meet us in our weakness and breathe life back into our bones. We are challenged daily to submit our strength to Christ’s throne, because the world shouts daily that we are to be strong, perfect, and adequate in all seasons. Really the only on who is strong is Christ, because He was able to live out a human life with eternal strength and wisdom, die for us, walk through hell, be raised from the grave, and then ascend to heaven. Only HE had the strength to defeat sin and hell, so we have to sit in a reality, that we need HIM to defeat sin and hell in our own lives. There is no other way, only He is perfect and able to get you through life, because He did it with eternal heavenly perfection. He is who we focus our eyes on when we want to hide our mess, because instead of being torn down for our inadequacy, Jesus brings our need to the Father. Jesus meets us in our need with heavenly help of the Holy Spirit and gives us every heavenly resource to march forward with a bold confidence in our identity. He places His stamp upon us, where we are found adequate, whole, and holy. We can’t hide from God, He knows, He’s waiting, and He wants to meet your needs and exceed your expectations. God wants to see you walk a life in communion with him, continually being sanctified by His Spirit. First surrender your strength to the High Priest who advocates for you, pursues you, grows you, loves you, and pours out every spiritual blessing upon you. Just posture yourself to receive what you already have as a co inheritor of the kingdom of God.

We see that our foundation, food, guide, and advocate in this life are all found completely in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is described as our rock, living water, shepherd, and high priest. He is our rock, steady foundation, immovable, impervious, able to withstand anything. He provides our living water through the presence and power of His Holy Spirit, that which provides life to us, filling us, and growing us. He is our shepherd, our guide, the one who rights our path, and makes our way safe. He is also our high priest, the one who stands before God on our behalf, as our mediator, bringing to the Father all of our needs. When we are able to grasp the gravity of who He is, only then can we truly trust in Him to be there for us in every way. Jesus life is testimony to His character, His character is testimony of who God is. We constantly wrestle with unbelief of who God is, because we see the brokenness of our own lives and the mess of the people around us. We constantly battle this idea that we are our own problem solvers, and that in our own strength we can do anything. Only in Jesus’ strength can we walk through this life with full confidence and assurance of who we are and where we are going. Jesus heart for us, is what sustains us in every season, a firm foundation, always watering us, guiding us, and advocating for us in the heavenly places. We are not promised an easy life, we are actually promised struggle and pain because of the state of the world. BUT Jesus does promise us that we have access to every resource of heaven as He did, and that He is with us and for us. We just have to trust His character, knowing Him intimately, and surrender our ways for His ways. In this surrender and trust in Him, we can face anything coming our way with bold confidence as a Holy people.