In Summary

A summary of what I learned this summer at Ellerslie…

Knowing my position in Christ… I have reckoned the fact that I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, my old self is dead, and my flesh is no more. It is now Christ who lives in me. I am in Christ, and I go where Jesus goes. I went to the cross with Him, I was buried with Him, and I am resurrected unto new life with Him. He is seated in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father with all things under His feet. I am seated with Him in heavenly places with all things under my feet. I have authority in Christ and am therefore untouchable. Nothing can be taken away from me, not even my life because I have already died. I have eternal Life. I am immovable in Christ because He is steadfast and never changing. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. I count all things loss for the sake of knowing Christ.

Reckoning that my life is not my own… Being a follower of Christ means I must pick up my cross daily and follow Christ. I must go to the cross. I must die to myself, my vain ambitions, and pray that His will be done. I must surrender and yield to the Spirit of God, so that there is nothing I hold onto anymore. My time is not my own, my money is not my own, I have no more resources of my own – everything belongs to Jesus. I am merely an empty vessel for Him to fill with His Spirit and live in this body and do His will through it. I want to be wholly given over to the glory of Jesus Christ. I want to live as a living martyr – one who dies a thousand daily deaths. If it will bring glory to my King, I want to be willing to die well for Him, a martyr’s death. Martyrdom is the highest privilege and a beautiful way to bring glory to Christ if that is His will. He gave His life for me, suffered and died; will I not do the same for Him? I want to be dead to the world, to human praise and approval, to my reputation, to my dreams and desires, to accomplishment, fashion, relationships, etc. I want to be all about the Father’s will. I want to seek only the applause of heaven. I want to live in light of the cross, as if in the throne room, before the judgment seat.

Overcoming fears… I battled through the giants of fear and doubt. Any apprehension of my future and what the Lord is leading me into with tearing down strongholds in the lives of trafficked victims, is melted away because I know He will be faithful to work out what He has begun. The more I know Jesus, the more I trust Him and know He is good, therefore the less fear I have because I know who is leading me, whose presence goes with me. His perfect love casts all my fear away. Even though I feel so weak and inefficient for what He is calling me to, I know who my strength is, I know the Spirit that lives in me, I know He provides provision for the impossible. He will give me everything I need for what He calls me to do. My job is to yield, to say “yes, Lord” and to obey. The spirit of unbelief in my life has been overcome. Unbelief is crippling. A prayer without faith goes nowhere. Unbelief has faith in the enemy. I know how big my God is. There is nothing He cannot do. I believe every word of scripture. I have prayed, “Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief.” He has given me faith to believe in His promises. God has given me a taste of the burdens of His heart. I have begun learning how to pray His prayers, prayers born of the Spirit, how to wrestle in prayer, how to throw my grappling hook into the heavens and pull until the breakthrough comes. If God promises something, He cannot lie. I will travail in prayer until His answers.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus, resting, abiding… Intimacy with Jesus is everything. It’s the reason I live. It’s why I was created. I want to KNOW Jesus, not just know about Him. It is a joy to suffer for Christ and share in His burdens. Fellowshipping with the Lord in His sufferings always leads to knowing Him in the power of His resurrection. I want to be taken in to the deep places of His heart. If He’s in Gethsemane weeping, then I want to be there too. All “cost” pales in comparison with the joy of obedience to Christ and equally yoked partnership with Him. The Lord is giving me a heart for the fatherless. I am motivated not by the need itself, but by the One who is Lord over the harvest. My highest calling and the ministry that must take first priority in my life is my ministry to God’s heart in the place of worship and prayer. I want to worship in spirit and in truth. I want to do everything for the glory of Christ. I want to shower Him with the praises and gratitude He deserves.

The Word of God… The Lord has given me fresh hunger for His Word. I need to know scriptures and the context to know truth. My life needs to align with fact, not my experience or emotions. I need to stand on God’s Word and know what it says. I am so privileged to have the freedom to read and study His Word. He has provided me with everything I need to know for life and godliness. In a world filled with false counterfeits, I need to know the truth. I need to study the Word to find out what true Christianity is. I want no part in “conditional” or “comfortable” Christianity. I want to be a “crucified” Christian. I have stepped over the line, no turning back. I choose the harder way.

Grace… Grace is where He sees me in my broken state, but He loves me too must to leave me there. He pulls me up out of the miry clay, washes me clean, and puts me on solid rock. Grace is enabling power. It is the power of God to save us from our state of sinfulness and to transform us into His victorious reflection. With His grace, I can walk in purity and righteousness. I have overcome sin. I am no longer a slave to sin, but am a bondslave to Christ. God is faithful and will not let me be tempted beyond what I can bear. He will provide a way out because all things are under my feet. I do not have to give in to my flesh, it has no hold on me, the enemy has no grip on me, because I am in Christ. Jesus is teaching me to take every thought captive. To be constantly vigilant, always watchful and guarded over what enters my life. If I am fortified, the enemy has no breech to enter in by.

This has been a season of the Lord bringing me low, humbling me, and bridling my tongue. I am absolutely nothing without Jesus. I can do nothing apart from Him. But in Christ, I can do even greater things than Jesus. He has been teaching me to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Every idle word I speak will be judged and I want nothing to come from my mouth that is not from Him. I have so far to grow in this area still. I want to surrender my voice and take on His. I am a work in progress and will continue each day growing more into His likeness. I have so much more to grow in. I have only just begun. I will continually be walking into deeper spiritual maturity. My walk with Jesus is an endless frontier. There is always more to be had. I am to look onward and upward, never pitching my tent. Today, the day I am presently living is to be the best day of my life because there is always more of Jesus to be had. Each day should be deeper and more rich. The Lord is training me in integrity in the small things. I need to continually be refined by the fire of the Holy Spirit. I am being trained now in smaller areas and I need to be faithful with the range the Lord has given me. If I prove faithful with what He has entrusted me, then He will multiply it. I cannot expect to go change a nation if I cannot keep my own soul fortified. Revival needs to begin in me and in the lives of those in my range before I am ready for greater things.