PASTOR DARRYL BAKER

Colossians 2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

In the preceding verses of this scripture Paul states that as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him. How did we receive Jesus? By faith in what He has done for us. Paul is saying that you began this walk with Him by faith, and that you should continue to walk in Him by faith. In other words, you did not earn your salvation and therefore after being born again, don’t try now to earn what you have been given through Christ Jesus.

In the above verse he warns that you must beware of being cheated out of this new life of faith through philosophy, and through empty deceit. Philosophy as he tells us is based on the traditions of men. The religious traditions of man are going to try and get you to earn what you have in Christ, instead of putting your faith in what Jesus has done. It will be all about earning what you have instead of learning what you have in Christ.

The other warning refers to empty deceit, which he tells us is according to the principles of the world. Worldly principles teach you that you won’t be complete and truly happy unless you obtain what the world has to offer, but true happiness and contentment is found in the only One that completes you, Jesus Himself. So, beware of those who may think they are helping you in life but will in fact lead you away from a life of faith in Christ, knowing in Him you already have all that makes you complete.

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1 Corinthians 1:30
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

What Jesus became for us we now have because we are in Him. In Christ Jesus we have wisdom from God (the mind of Christ), the ability to know and see things the way God does. We have righteousness (right standing with God), and with knowledge of our right standing with God we have the right to all He has provided for us.

We also have sanctification (set apart to pursue God), the ability to now know Him through an intimate relationship as we pursue Him. We also have redemption (deliverance from evil and all its works) for we have been redeemed from the curse of the law, which includes spiritual death, sickness and disease, and poverty. Jesus bore all these things for us, and in doing so He purchased our freedom from them.

Get to know Jesus through the Word, and the more one who is born again does so, the more you get to know the new you, because we have become one spirit with the Lord. Reading and meditating on the Word of God is spending time with the unseen Christ, for He is the Word that became flesh. The written Word reveals to us the living Word Jesus Christ, and as you get to know Him, you get to know this new you because we are now “in Christ Jesus”.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

2 Peter 1:3
God’s divine power has given us everything we need for life and for godliness. This power was given to us through knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and integrity.

Did you know once you are born again that everything you need in this life has already been given to you through the power we have received through salvation. Many do not realize this as they are always looking to God, asking Him for what He has already provided. What we need to realize is that our Heavenly Father will reveal how we can receive and walk in the light of all He has already given to us through Christ Jesus.

The key to how we can come to know what we have, and how we can partake of what He has already provided for us is through the knowledge of the One who has made all things available to us. This reference Peter makes about the knowledge of the One is referring to knowing Him, not just knowing about Him. You see if we have the desire to “ know Him” and pursue that desire, we will have no problem learning from Him how to become partakers of what He has already made available.

When we develop an intimate relationship with the Lord, we not only come to know what He has done for us, but we will also in getting to know Him have no problem believing in what He has promised to us, for we will see Him for who He is. Scripture reveals that He is a good God, from whom come all good things. It’s not hard to put faith in God when you learn of His love and desire for you to receive all He has provided. The more you get to know Him through the Word, the more you will experience the priceless privilege of relationship with God, and what He desires for your life.

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Romans 12:5
so we, being many, are one body in Christ, …

The key here is “one body in Christ”. Jesus is the head; we are the body. Whatever is true of the head is true of the body. When you look at a person you don’t look at their head and body as separate, and so it is with us, for we are one with Christ. We are in Him and therefore we have become one spirit with the Lord. As He is, so are we in this present world.

See yourself as one with Christ. Everything Jesus is we have become. We are more than conquerors because He is more than a conqueror. We are to rule and reign upon this earth as earth warriors, trampling upon all the powers of darkness, knowing the works of evil are no match for us because they are no match for Him. He became wisdom from God, and therefore we have the mind of Christ.

We can come boldly to the throne of God’s grace and never be afraid to approach our Heavenly Father just as Jesus would never be afraid to do so. He is our healer, so we have been healed. Who Jesus is we have become because we have been made one with Him. When we walk in this reality by faith in our hearts, we can walk in all that He is, for we are the body of Christ.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Psalms 119:105
Your word is a lamp to walk by, and a light to illumine my path.

Years ago, I had the opportunity to go down into a mine shaft that was quite deep. We took some very bright lights to find our way down into the inner part of this mine. We reached a point where there was no longer any light coming from the entrance of the shaft. We turned off all our lights. Surrounded by pitch darkness, you could not even see your hand before your face. You become completely disoriented and lose all sense of direction. I felt completely lost and had no idea which direction to go. Then we turned on the lights and headed back to the surface. It was a great feeling to have that light to lead us, and to eventually see light coming from the entrance of that shaft as we were then able to return to the top.

God’s Word has so many benefits to our life, and here in the above verse we find more truth of how it can help us in this life we are living. God’s Word is a lamp to walk by, and it will illuminate the path we are to focus on ahead of us. Like the lights we were carrying in that mine shaft, they made it possible for us to navigate each step we were taking going through that darkness. God’s Word will help you each and every day, giving you the daily steps to take as you are walking through this dark world.

Not only will it help you with every step you are to take, but it will also illuminate to you the very future of what God has ahead for you as you learn of all He has already planned for your life. This is another reason why living in God’s Word is so important living in this world filled with darkness. With God’s Word you will not become disoriented, nor be overtaken by the darkness. Darkness is nothing more than the absence of light. Live in God’s Word and you can walk in the light and walk free from darkness.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

The word for law here means “rule”. Before Christ we were under the rule of sin and death (separated from the God-kind of life). But in Christ Jesus we are now under the rule of the Spirit of life, which is translated as a life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, and blessed. The old nature of sin leading to death has been removed. As you receive a new spirit within you, your spirit now has residing in it the Spirit of God Himself. His Spirit is where this “Zoe” life comes from.

To walk in this new Zoe life within us we must as Paul states a few verses after this, get our mind focused on the spirit man, and not on the flesh. Simply put, we must renew our mind to see ourselves through our new spirit, the new nature within. You renew your mind to this new you by looking at the in Him, in Christ, in Whom scriptures in the New Testament that reveal this new you. If we will start getting this new view on life from the spirit man within, and we follow the leading of the inward man, we will experience the freedom we have been given from the rule of sin and death.

When we follow the leading of our spirit, we are being led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit man. We need to listen to what our heart is leading us to do. Our conscience is the voice of our new spirit. When you have an inward peace within you are in agreement with God, but when you have an agitation within your spirit, you are not following after God. Follow this inward witness and start seeing yourself for who you really are, a spirit man, a new creation. As you do you will experience the rule of the Spirit of life over you, free from the rule of sin and death.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Romans 3:27
Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

Faith is a spiritual law. The reference in the above verse to the word “law” means that which is established. For example, there is the law of lift, which was established by God and has always been in existence here on earth. Man did not invent it, so he cannot take credit for the law of lift. God created this law. Once man began to understand this law and how it works, he was able to make use of this law to our advantage.

To try and explain this law in simple terms, when an “airfoil” (wing of a plane) goes through the “air” it redirects and “forces” the air to follow a path that goes downward. This change in direction causes a downward force applied to the air. This results in the air causing an upward force on the airfoil (wing), and that creates lift. It works whenever these elements are applied. So it is with faith. Faith is a spiritual law and therefore it always works. It is not something we take credit for because we did not create it, God did. Our part, like the law of lift, is to figure out what it takes to see this law work.

Faith has three elements that when combined works, just like the air, airfoil, and the force created causes lift. Faith believes in the heart, not the head, faith speaks in line with that belief, and then faith acts upon that belief. When applied faith always works, for it is a spiritual law. We never boast about faith, because we did not create the law of faith, God did. Our part is to believe in the heart, which comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God; to speak in line with that belief, and then to act upon what we are fully convinced of in our heart, turning our faith loose. When we do, just like the law of lift, we will see faith work.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Romans 8:1
THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Once you are born again there is no condemnation for the believer who does not denounce Jesus Christ. The word condemnation is defined as a damnatory sentence or judgement of guilt. The reason we are free from condemnation is because the old sinful man within has been done away with and we are made new. Jesus on the cross not only bore our sin, but He also bore the punishment our sin deserved.

This is why in Isaiah’s prophecy about Jesus he said that Jesus was stricken and smitten of God. Jesus after His death on the cross went into hell itself paying the full price for our sin, and the judgement that is to come for the sin of man. So, the damnation (separation from God) that man deserved has been taken away for those who receive Christ as their Savior, as long as they do not lose their confidence steadfast to the end as revealed in Hebrews 3:14.

If we still focus on and see ourselves through the old fleshly man on the outside, we will feel condemned. But if we see what God sees, our new spirit man on the inside, and we choose to not live according to the flesh but live in accordance with this new nature within us, we will not feel condemned for we will see our new nature. Become spirit conscious and spirit led, governed by your new nature, and you will not fall prey to feeling condemned.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas

Malachi 3:6
“For I am the LORD, I do not change;”

In this day in which we live we have certainly seen things change very quickly in our world today. I have seen things happen I never thought I would see in my lifetime. In the midst of this ever-changing world, there is one thing we can secure ourselves to that never changes, our God. Here in Malachi God stated the fact that He does not change. In Hebrews 13:8 we are told Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Let me share a couple of powerful truths about our never changing God.

First of all because God never changes, we don’t have to keep buying a new and different Bible to try and figure out how God does things. All we have to do is go to His Word, learn of God and His ways, and adapt our life to Him, and see our lives change for the better. Many times people say certain things that happen are from God or are His doing, but once you get in the Word and learn of Him, you can know what is of God and what is not of God. Many are deceived because they have not come to know Him through His Word.

Another powerful truth about our unchanging God as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:20 is that every promise He has provided in Christ is available to us. Some still do not know that all the promises of God are for everyone, to which we are to exercise our faith to receive. We simply have to believe in what Jesus has already done for us. He does not change His mind about any of His promises. So, in this ever-changing world choose to look to and walk with our unchanging God, who never changes. You will be glad you did.

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John 14:13-14
13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.

In the verse right before this Jesus had declared that those who believe in Him could do what He Himself had done. In these above two verses many think this is referring to making a request to God, but in fact that is not what these verses actually say. The word “ask” here in the original Greek language means to make a demand. In John 16:23-24 Jesus teaches us about asking the Father in prayer for answers we need. Here in John 14, He is revealing how we can do what Jesus did.

We are not making a demand of Jesus nor the Father for anything, as these scriptures do not say anything about directing this demand to them. When you look at Jesus’ example of what He did, He never prayed to the Father when dealing with the works of satan. Jesus simply used His authority and demanded change. He demanded sickness and disease to go. He demanded demons to leave. When it comes to dealing with the works of satan you don’t pray to the Father, you use your God-given authority and demand it to go.

We do this by using the name of Jesus. Notice Jesus said whatever you ask (demand) in my name, I will do it. When you use the name of Jesus and demand the works of our enemy to go, it’s the same as if Jesus is right there Himself, and therefore it will be done. What God has already done for us through Christ we don’t ask Him to do. We go and enforce His victory by demanding the works of satan to go in Jesus name, for His name is above every name.

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Christian Faith Fellowship – Ponder Texas