Although subtle, we can buy into phrases that are contrary to our true identity of being citizens of the kingdom of heaven. We are brand new creations as children of the King of Kings that have been washed spotless in the blood of God Himself. Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (NKJV) Let Him transform your thinking from the old sin full patterns, into the new creation kingdom reality that is now your true identity. 1 Corinthians 2:16 …But we have the mind of Christ.
As this glorious repentance comes into being in our thinking we begin to see the world through the lens of knowing God’s will. The word for ‘prove’ in this verse in the Greek is ‘dokimazo’ – approve, put to the test to reveal what is good, Strong’s Concordance. How would we be able to approve His will, unless we first know his will? It’s simple, the Word of God has fully revealed His will, the biggest mystery being revealed is “Christ in us the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) So let’s take a look at some things here…
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
I understand this is a nursery rhyme, but this is a perfect example of how we can sink into thinking that is completely counter to Truth. Sticks and stones sure can break your bones, but words can actually produce death. Proverbs 18:21 The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences. (NLT)
There is a reason Paul said this in Ephesians 4: 29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. (Message) Look at your words as seeds, because they are. In Matthew 13 Jesus gives us the parable about seeds and them growing. Later in the chapter He explains the parable and calls the seeds, “the word of the kingdom.” Let your words be seeds that produce life, not death, and know that your words are far more powerful than you think. Let’s use the power of our words to produce life, not death.
“Everything happens for a reason.”
This is actually true, but not Truth. There is a huge difference between what is true and what is Truth. Everything does happen for a reason… but the way most people use this cliché is to suggest that God is in control, no He is not! I’m not suggesting that He couldn’t be in control if He desired to be, He simply has chosen not to be in control because love doesn’t control. God is love, and love does not have us like puppets on strings controlling our every move. Yet many of us think that God is in control.
If God is in control then why do you even pray? He has everything in control and He has chosen when and why everything is going to happen. Why would He tell us to pray His will to earth (Matthew 6:9-10) if He has it all mapped out and we have no say in the matter? There is a massive difference between being in control, and being in charge. Love doesn’t control, God loves us into change (Romans 2:4). He doesn’t control us into changing. Being in charge is His position, and His way of taking charge is sending His Son to die on behalf of a world that wanted nothing to do with Him when He did it. His Son died once, so we could live forever. Love doesn't control, Love takes charge.
“What goes around comes around”
Our actions definitely produce consequences. Consequences that are both positive and negative, but this statement is a Buddhist teaching not a Kingdom mindset of grace and Truth. Yes, we reap what we sow, but if we got what we deserved we’d all be going straight to hell. What’s coming around is called the Good News, and it’s the free gift of salvation to any and all who will call on his name. There is the curse of the law on anyone’s life until they simply say yes to Jesus and all that He paid for on everyone's behalf, but once a person confesses with their mouth and believes in their heart (Romans 10:9) that curse is broken (Galatians 3:13) and His grace is their portion.
Grace doesn’t just set us free from what we deserve, God's grace has given us what Jesus deserved. Because of our sin nature He had to become what we looked like on the cross, so we could become what He looks like in the here and now. Now we get to look like Jesus in this world, 1 John 4:17 … because as He is, so also are we in this world. When God sees you He sees the perfection of Jesus, He extends what Jesus deserves to you.
“The grass is always greener on the other side.”
2 Corinthians 6:2 … Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (ESV) The word for ‘salvation’ in the Greek is ‘sozo’ or ‘sótéria’ - welfare, prosperity, deliverance, preservation, salvation, safety, Strong’s Concordance. We often think of salvation as a prayer we pray and that gets us to heaven. It's unfortunate that the Gospel is presented and looked at this way so often, but here is the Truth. Jesus got us to heaven, us confessing with our mouth and believing in our heart is us receiving what Jesus paid for on our behalf, and He paid for complete and total wholeness in the here and now. The prayer is not an end ticket that gets us to heaven one day. The confession and believing in our heart is the beginning of us experiencing heaven on earth and its increase for eternity. Jesus didn't just pay for us to get to heaven, He did do that, but its far more than that. Jesus paid for heaven to live inside us in the here and now.
Yes, obeying God will always lead you from glory to glory and it being ever increasing in nature (2 Corinthians 3:18), but the grass is outrageously green right where you are standing. This cliché is almost always used in a train of thinking that suggests that the big thing is never where you are now. This is not truth, enjoy the journey. The big thing is Jesus, and He is fully alive with all His goodness right here and right now inside the believer.
“Better safe than sorry.”
Is this cliché true at times? I suppose so, but it is used in a manner that is most often promoting fear. John Wimber had this to say about faith, “Faith is spelled R-I-S-K.” Many people want more of the Holy Spirit, I understand we already have Him, but Jesus would not have told us in Luke 11:9-13 to keep seeking and knocking for more of Holy Spirit if there was not more of Him then we have already experienced. So do you want more of the ‘Comforter’? Would it make sense then that you will have to step out into situations that may make you uncomfortable in order to receive the revelation and experience of more of the ‘Comforter’?
God calls us to big things. He calls us to be Light in dark places. If what you feel He is calling you to do can be accomplished in your own strength then I can assure you that you are not hearing the greatness of the calling He has for you. The cliché, “Better safe than sorry,” unfortunately dominates a lot of our thinking when it comes to stepping out in our true identity of bold faith. We are so focused on the possibility of failing because we don’t realize that we already have succeeded in Christ Jesus, 2 Corinthians 2:14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. (ESV) Failure is not possible when your seeking to obey His word. You may not see it happen right away but if you step into your true identity and believe His word over your experience, then your experience will become His word.
There are many more clichés we could look at, I simply wanted to provoke thinking that continually finds itself falling short. We have been bought with the price of God’s very Son bleeding to death on our behalf, we cannot afford to degrade our value. The value of something is determined by the price paid for it and God paid an extremely high price to restore us to our true value. Let’s let Him weed out silly things we buy into with our thinking, so we can be freed up to dream and think with the mind of Christ.
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