Join us as we continue our journey through spiritual growth, revisiting key concepts like the spiritual growth curve and the power of truth reproducing within us. We explore the vital distinction between focusing solely on "Christ in us" versus living in "us in Christ," which is essential for overcoming the world and experiencing power and peace. Dive deep into the concept of self-surrender as the remedy for our "selfaholic" nature and its place as the heart of the universe, reflecting God's own surrender.

This session tackles major hurdles to maturity, including the spiritual stuckness caused by holding onto offenses. We confront the desire for control and the temptation to seek credit, learning how relinquishing control brings glory to God. The discussion transitions to understanding our universal and unique callings, highlighting the crucial role of the laity and the truth that we are God-crafted masterpieces, created for good works prepared beforehand.

Discover the difference between tests from God (for growth and promotion) and temptations from Satan (for failure). Gain perspective on suffering, not as outside God's will, but as a privilege that produces character and hope. We challenge the "cruise ship Christianity" mentality and the heresy of defining abundance in material terms, contrasting it with the true abundant life found in flourishing in God.

Learn why success and failure are irrelevant compared to obedience to God's call, even when results aren't visible. Understand the critical difference between limiting expectations and living with open-handed expectancy. Explore the transformative power of the greatest trade – all of us for all of Him – and the profound reality that God Himself is our reward. Finally, grasp the liberating truth of God's unconditional love and how self-surrender leads not to loss, but to self-realization and communion with God for His glory.

Get handouts and slides - https://tinyurl.com/InChristReferences 

Struggling with Addiction, Hurts or Hangups? Checkout Thrive at https://www.discoverthrive.org

0:00 Review of Previous Weeks 

9:10 Overcoming Offenses 

11:22 Relinquishing Control 

13:48 Calling, Mission, and Abundance Introduction 

14:16 Universal vs. Unique Calling 

17:40 The Importance of the Laity 

22:50 Tests vs. Temptations 

24:58 The Role of Suffering 

31:28 Not Called for Comfort 

33:14 Misunderstanding Abundance (Material vs. In Christ) 

34:56 Obedience is Key, Success/Failure is Irrelevant 

42:51 Expectations vs. Expectancy 

45:40 Learning to Let Go ("Be Still") 

47:00 The Greatest Trade: All of Us for All of Him 

55:21 Understanding Abundant Life (John 10:10) 

58:22 Tests for Living In Christ 

61:05 God is the Reward 

65:19 God's Unconditional Love 

67:56 Abundance for His Glory & Self-Surrender

#Christianity #SpiritualGrowth #FaithJourney #SelfSurrender #InChrist #ChristianCalling #AbundantLife #Suffering #GodsPlan #TestsAndTemptations #Obedience #Expectancy #GodIsEnough #UnconditionalLove #BibleStudy #Discipleship #LetGoLetGod #SpiritualTransformation #ChristianLiving #CommunionWithGod

Are you busy doing all the 'shoulds' but still feel exhausted and defeated? Many of us feel like we're constantly striving, yet lack the power, peace, and fruit the abundant life promises. This deep dive into spiritual maturity and fruitfulness challenges the conventional focus solely on "Christ in us" and explores the transformative power of "us in Christ".

Learn how dying daily to self is the path to greater life and freedom from things that hold you back. Understand that the greatest ability we have is not our gifts or callings, but our ability to love Him and set our entire life's purpose on Him alone. This session reveals that true spiritual growth means growing up in every way into Christ, becoming mature in Christ, not just mature in a system or your own understanding.

Explore the revolutionary concept that God sees you as a finished work in Christ right now, not based on your worst day or your sin. Grasp how this perspective can radically transform your view of yourself and, more importantly, how you treat others, seeing and responding to the Christ identity they are becoming. This teaching calls the church to unity around Christ alone, highlighting how division over doctrine makes us "babes in Christ," hindering our witness to the world. It challenges the "to be or to do" mentality, showing how doing God's work our way, even good things, can be subtle disobedience.

Finally, understand that spiritual warfare is not just about putting on armor, but about stepping back and surrendering into God's mighty power as your covering. Get rooted deep in Christ and rooted together in community to stand strong and bear fruit. This video offers powerful insights to move from striving and exhaustion to resting and living from the finished work Christ has done in you.

Get handouts and slides - https://tinyurl.com/InChristReferences

Struggling with Addiction, Hurts or Hangups? Checkout Thrive at https://www.discoverthrive.org

1:00 - Review: The spiritual growth curve and the contrast between "Christ in us" and "us in Christ"

2:30 - The struggle: feeling beat up, busy with "shoulds," and not living in the abundant life

4:00 - Surrender as the remedy for the unsurrendered self and the heart of the universe

6:00 - True enjoyment through death to self and the call to "die daily"

8:00 - The greatest human ability is to love God and set our lives upon Him

10:00 - Growing up in every way into Christ; the goal is maturity in Him

12:00 - Christ as the Uniter of all things in the universe

15:30 - Understanding "work out your salvation" as working from God working in you, not straining at it

17:00 - Powerful truth: God sees us as a finished work in Christ, transforming how we see ourselves

21:30 - Casting anxiety by humbling ourselves and letting God take control

23:00 - The danger of false humility (self-doubt/criticism) and the call to agree with God's view

30:00 - The "to be or to do" question: finding where God is working instead of just doing good things (Mary vs. Martha)

46:00 - God's definition of "good": being conformed to Christ's image through the trials we face

58:00 - Strength through being rooted deep in Christ and rooted together in community

#spiritualgrowth , #christianlife , #biblestudy ,#faithjourney #surrendertochrist #fruitfulness #christinus #UsInChrist #DyingDaily #LoveGod #finishedwork #identityinchrist #overcominganxiety #FalseHumility #churchunity #spiritualwarfare #abidinginchrist #transformation #jesuschrist

Many believers struggle with discouragement, feeling like the promised "easy yoke" or "abundant life" is elusive. Often, this stems from a fundamental misalignment – asking God to bless our agenda rather than submitting to His and joining where He is already working.

We might focus heavily on Jesus as Savior, but not fully embrace Him as Lord of every area of our lives. This can lead to striving through our own works, rather than resting in and appropriating the completed work of Christ.

This video presents the counter-intuitive truth that true victory in the Christian life comes through surrender. Drawing from E. Stanley Jones, we delve into the idea that the "self-centered self is the disease," and "self-surrender is the only remedy".

Discover that surrender is not passive resignation – a weary giving up based on lack of faith or unbelief. Instead, real surrender is an active, intentional act of entrusting your life, will, and desires to God. It is deeply rooted in love, faith, and hope, motivated by deep trust in God's sovereignty and goodness. It's about aligning your will with God's will and yielding control so that Christ can live fully through you.

Learn how this transformative surrender enables believers to experience renewal and profound spiritual growth, leading to peace, joyful abandonment, and freedom from the burdens of worry and frustration. It allows us to truly apprehend and live out the abundance and identity that is already ours "in Christ".

We also touch on practical aspects of living a surrendered life, including George Mueller's steps for discerning God's will, the importance of cultivating a life of purposeful prayer and intentional offering of our lives and gifts to God, and the distinction between resignation and real surrender.

Whether you are a new believer exploring the meaning of Jesus' Lordship, a seasoned Christian struggling with self-reliance, or someone seeking a deeper intimacy and peace in your faith journey, this message offers profound biblical insights for experiencing the paradoxical victory found in surrender.

Get handouts and slides - https://tinyurl.com/InChristReferences

Struggling with Addiction, Hurts or Hangups? Checkout Thrive at https://www.discoverthrive.org

0:33 - Introduction to Victory in Surrender

1:29 - Spiritual Growth Curve & Promised Land Analogy

2:21 - The Battle to Appropriate "In Christ"

3:32 - The Problem of Asking God to Bless Our Agenda

4:25 - Working to Appease vs. Christ's Finished Work

5:37 - Focusing Only on "Savior" Not "Lord"

7:01 - Surrender is Primarily a Trust Issue

9:35 - The Self as the Disease, Self-Surrender as the Remedy

10:13 - Self-Surrender is at the Heart of the Universe

10:42 - Romans

12:1: The Demand is an Offer

12:12 - Ignoring Self-Surrender Inoculates Christianity

22:49 - Resignation vs. Real Surrender

24:31 - Real Surrender is Active, Intentional Trust

28:04 - Surrender Allows Renewal and Spiritual Growth

34:51 - George Mueller's Steps to Ascertain God's Will

#VictoryInSurrender, #EStanleyJones, #ChristianLife, #SpiritualGrowth, #ChristianJourney, #PromisedLand, #InChrist, #SpiritualWarfare, #ChristianIdentity, #WillOfGod, #SurrenderToGod#WorksVsFaith, #Grace, #LordshipOfChrist, #Faith, #ChristianLiving, #LivingSacrifice, #Resignation#SpiritualRenewal, #Galatians220, #GeorgeMueller, #KnowingGodsWill, #JoyfulAbandonment#Meekness, #HeartOfTheUniverseIsSelfSurrender, #Worry, #Fear, #Frustration, #AngerAtGod#Believer, #Seeker, #StrugglingChristian, #NewBeliever, #ChristianTeaching

Who am I? Why am I here? What is the meaning of Life. Where do I find peace. All of these are promises of being In Christ. The Christian faith too often focuses on Christ in Us, yet all of the promises for identity, peace, sanctification are In Christ. Welcome to Week 2 of our Identity in Christ series! Building on last week's overview, this session explores the profound truth of being "in Christ."

We often focus on "Christ in us," but the source material emphasizes that the realm of "all of the promises are" is found in being "in Christ". This is where we exercise our full rights as children of God through adoption by choosing to "move in" through surrender.

Drawing from 172 scriptures highlighting our identity in Christ, the session covers core truths like being God's child, Christ's friend, and justified. It highlights that being "in Christ" signifies a "fundamental change of being," a "deep inward transformation". This is a gift of God received through faith, not something achieved by our own efforts.

Surrender is presented as the key to living this transformed life and experiencing recovery, peace, and patience. Sin is discussed as "missing the mark" or even "missing the point" of unity and communion with God.

A central message is the assurance of "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus". This is described as a liberation from shame and "the greatest contribution of the Christian faith".

Being in Christ also means we are sanctified and justified. The session stresses the importance of unity and relationship with other believers, stating there is "no such thing as a Christian in isolation or insinuation insolation". It addresses common struggles with church attendance and division, offering perspective on negative feelings about fellowship. The discussion also delves into the divinity of Jesus through his "I Am" statements in John's Gospel.

A significant practical section demonstrates how to use generative AI, specifically ChatGPT, as a powerful Bible study tool. Learn how to set up custom instructions to act as a scholar, perform word-for-word transliterations, generate faith-filled prayers rooted in God's promises, and optimize results using prompting techniques (Role, Context, Objective, Style, Tone, Audience, Response).

Get handouts and slides - https://tinyurl.com/InChristReferences Struggling with Addiction, Hurts or Hangups? Checkout Thrive at https://www.discoverthrive.org

1:27 - Identity Resources and “In Christ” Verses

3:29 - Christ in Us vs. We Are In Christ

5:02 - Own It All, Co-Heirs with Christ

6:00 - Surrender Means Moving In

7:25 - Eternal Life Is in Christ

8:25 - Belief in God’s Character

9:03 - Surrendering “It” Not Just “To Him”

10:24 - New Creation in Christ

11:39 - Justified by Faith in Christ

12:13 - Eternity Starts Right Now

13:08 - Outside Christ = Outside Life

14:08 - Destined to Be in Him

15:05 - Prayer as Communion with God

19:30 - Unity Found Only in Christ

26:15 - No Condemnation in Christ Jesus

#inchrist #identityinchrist #securityconcerns #SanctificationInChrist #meaningoflife #findpeace #suicide #suicideprevention #whyamihere #justificationbyfaith #nocondemnation #surrendertochrist #transformationinchrist #BeingInChrist #christinus #biblestudy #scripture #christianteachings #newtestamentstudy #christiangrowth #spiritualgrowth #findingfreedom #overcomingsin #overcomingshame #ChristianIdentity #fellowship #christianity #faith #grace #gospel #jesus #bible

Welcome to “The Ultimate IN Crowd.” In this episode, Greg shares how delving into E. Stanley Jones' book, "In Christ," has radically transformed his life. Moving beyond a background of shame and "to-dos" taught in his Roman Catholic upbringing, Greg introduces a powerful understanding of what it means to be "in Christ," contrasting it with the more commonly taught concept of "Christ in us".

Drawing on the insights of E. Stanley Jones, described as "Billy Graham before Billy Graham", Greg explores the distinct perspectives of the Western gospel view, heavily influenced by the book of James and often works-related, versus the Eastern view, which is more mystic and surrender-focused.

Discover the immense power and abundance available when we truly grasp that we are in Christ. Greg uses vivid metaphors like the "car wash mentality" (settling for a Camry when Jesus wants you to be a Bugatti) and owning a dream home but only tending the yard instead of living in it, illustrating how we often fail to appropriate the full riches available to us in Christ. We have access to His glory, strength, His dwelling in our hearts, a life rooted in love, and the fullness of God.

This episode highlights that the abundant life is found in Him, not necessarily through earthly possessions. It's about surrendering our own efforts and even our virtues, recognizing that our greatest idol is often our self. The power lies in Christ living through us, a double abiding where He is in us, and we are in Him.

Explore scriptures that underscore this reality, emphasizing that all of God's promises are "Yes in Christ" and that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. The message challenges the idea that repentance must involve shame, asserting our right to be shameless in Christ because He came to eliminate shame.

Learn how surrendering daily to Christ can bring peace and dissolve worry. Ultimately, being in Christ means sharing in everything He has, and the love of Christ is presented as the one place the devil cannot go.

Join the discussion on how this truth leads to genuine transformation and the abundant life Jesus promised.

Get handouts and slides - https://tinyurl.com/InChristReferences Struggling with Addiction, Hurts or Hangups? Checkout Thrive at https://www.discoverthrive.org

1:27 - Introduction & E. Stanley Jones

3:01 - Judas vs. Peter & Spiritual Crash

4:12 - “Christ in Us” vs. Life Beatdown

5:48 - Don’t Settle for Camry Christianity

6:57 - Not Moving Into the Kingdom

8:11 - We Are in Christ (Not Just Christ in Us)

10:39 - Christ Believes in Us

12:24 - Power of Preposition “In”

14:55 - “I Can Do All Things” in Him

17:49 - Riches & Fullness in Christ

20:06 - Abundant Life & Eternity Now

22:49 - Seek the Kingdom = Seek Jesus

25:56 - Double Abiding & Surrender

30:00 - Freedom from Shame in Christ

33:07 - Victory Over Darkness & Addictions

36:50 - Unity Only in Christ

#seekfirstthekingdomofgod #inchrist #abundantlife #spiritualtransformation #whoami #whyamihere #suicideprevention #celebraterecovery #loveofGod #encouragement #transformation #gospeltruth #faithjourney #christianliving #biblicalteaching #EStanleyJones #DevotionalStudy #overcomingshame #surrendertochrist #kingdomofgod #celebraterecovery #aa #thrive #recovery #sin #discoverthriveorg