Levels of Change Part Seven

Foundations Class #2

Levels of Change

Bob Hamp

Class can be seen on GatewayPeople.Com

Part Seven

Identity Solution VS Old Problems ReMixed

Salvation is not about behaving correctly. It's BEING a new person on the inside. Being a Christian is not about new sets of behaviors. Salvation is not about trying harder and asking for forgiveness. It's replacing my old nature with your new nature. Jesus takes our death and gives us HIS Life.

Take a moment and ask God: "God, salvation is replacing my old nature with your new nature. Have I done that?" 

The words don't matter as much as the intent of them. If you haven't; pray something like this: "Jesus, I'm dead inside. I ask you to exchange my dead nature for your free-life nature. Make me new inside." 

You don't get free from what you do until you get free from who you are. 

The old you is crucified on the cross and the new you is raised from the dead.

Whether you did that 10 years ago or 10 seconds ago, Christian Leaders often makes the mistake of going right back to behavior. Right after taking someone through this they take the person to a room and give them a list of new behaviors, and it doesn't stick. It's like going back to arm wrestling yourself. 


This doesn't work. They assume that you can behave differently just because you have Jesus in you. This is not true. This is legalism. The old patterns of thoughts, feelings, behaviors, experiences, and environment is still there, limited by beliefs and capabilities.

• "The Righteous shall live by faith..." = Translation "As you believe in your heart so are you..."

 

 

 

 Rather what must be done it not to try to become a new person. You already ARE a new person. You must now allow the new person you already are to be realized. It's not about doing, it's about surrendering to the new you. As you renew your heart to WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST, your beliefs will change as a by product.


As your beliefs change your capabilities will change, impacting how you think, act, and feel, which will change the relationships around you which creates a new environment.

Does this mean reading your bible, going to church, doing other "religious" activities is not important? No. But these things are not meant to address your need at the level of behavior. They are not so that you will "Act Better". These things are meant to renew your heart to who you are IN HIM. As you renew your heart you will belief better, which gives you higher orders of capability, which affect your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which impact the world around you for the better. Your environment (Job, Marriage, Relationships, Habits, Etc) will be affected positively for the better as a result of renewing your heart to who you are In Him. It will not require you to work or do better, nor will it require effort. It will be the natural by product of believing your new identity, and discovering what that identity is.

What do I mean by this? Let's say you find out that you are a new creation In Christ, and you have not been given a spirit of Fear but of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind.

Let's say insanity or lower versions of it, run in your family and you've spent generations worth of time as a family in and out of therapists offices. You've had an Identity of "Clinically Depressed" for so many years, maybe since childhood, that you see yourself this way. You don't Believe that you could be different, so your Limited (inCapable) of change, therefore you Think, Feel, and Act depressed, which create experiences and therefore the Environment around you confirms that you are this way.

Now you realize that YOU are not Identified with depression, but rather Identified as In Christ, a new creature full of Power, Love, and a Sound Mind. This identity allows you to Believe that you are free, freedom is not something you work for, it already belongs to you. You simply need to enforce your right. As you believe you see yourself Capable of change, Capable of living with Joy and Fullness. Because of this new found capability you Think, Feel, and Act differently. This creates new Experiences  in your relationships with people and places and therefore the Environment around you begins to confirm this change has taken place.

Identity Solution: Allow the NEW YOU to change you from the inside out

 

*The teachings of this class are not my own, they are derived from notes I took during a class at Gateway Church. You may view the class on their website by following the link at the top of the page.

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Have questions about anything I said here? Want to share your story? Comment Below!

I call you empowered 2 prosper with good success!

N2 Good SuccessDarrell G. Wolfe
Blog: http://n2gs.blogspot.com/
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See Also:
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