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Life Around "The Fire"
Life Around "The Fire"
From Death to Life: Understanding the Power of Christ's Crucifixion
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ represents much more than a religious symbol or historical event—it stands as the central pillar of God's kingdom. Through powerful teaching and an extensive reading from Colossians 2-3, we explore how the cross fundamentally transforms our relationship with God through blood covenant.
When we place our faith in Christ's sacrifice, something extraordinary happens: God takes our old sinful nature that was in rebellion against Him and gives us His divine life in return. Our old self with its practices isn't just improved—it's literally "nailed to the cross." This divine exchange isn't about following religious rules but experiencing a complete renewal of our nature.
The love demonstrated at Calvary proves stronger than death itself. Jesus wasn't defeated at the cross; He triumphantly made "a public spectacle" of the powers of darkness even in His seemingly weakest moment. This victory wasn't just to secure our afterlife but to empower us as kingdom citizens right now. We're called to "colonize planet Earth with the kingdom" through supernatural demonstrations of God's power until Christ's return.
Most profoundly, we discover that the cross enables us to live "upright" instead of "upside down." No longer bound by patterns leading to death, we can embrace God's kingdom culture and walk in resurrection power. Has God been drawing you toward Himself? The divine life that conquered death is available to you today—you don't need to wait for heaven to experience the supernatural reality of God's kingdom.
Loving Yeshua/Jesus, Loving people... Come as you are and you will be loved!
Feel free to check out our website by typing in lifearounsthefire.com or Life Around The Fire ... We think you'll find some beneficial stuff to look at and apply to your life.
Shalom to you and your home.
As many of you know, we are in the midst of a series right now, in this particular podcast, concerning the kingdom of God. That's our focal point and in looking at the kingdom of God, god's rule, his reign, the kingdom of God and that piece is the cross, the very crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and that is where we are currently. And that is where we are currently. We are looking at the cross of Jesus, the crucifixion of Jesus, and we're looking at it from a variety of different angles, and the reason being is that it remains to be central. In fact, it's important for it to be central. Jesus Christ, and him crucified on our behalf, is central to us, proclaiming any good news concerning God's kingdom and the fact that we have relationship or we can have relationship with God, a covenant relationship, and so it's important for us to look at it. It's important for us to see what took place after the cross his resurrection and his ascension, and the mysteries that are found all throughout the very life of Jesus, that are given for us to have as experiences. But without the cross, without Jesus being crucified on the cross, we have nothing, and sometimes, you know, I'm going to say a couple things right here, right now, just to kind of set the table a little bit further, I'm going to be taking some time in this episode and reading a pretty big chunk from the Scriptures from the New Testament, specifically in the book of Colossians. I'm going to be reading from Colossians, chapter 2, the entire chapter, all the way through chapter 3, verse 17. And you know, the Bible of myself is an amazing book but but if it's put in the wrong hands it can be really a confusing set of writings. If it's put in the hands of someone who is completely against anything to pertain to God, the Bible is turned into a mockery. If it's put in the hands of someone who is completely without any understanding and they are cherry pickers. They just pick and choose from a verse here, a verse there it can be actually again not only confusing. There, it can be actually again not only confusing, but it can be misleading as well. As if it's put in the hands of people that are far too intellectual, because you find they start quoting from so-and-so who said such-and-such, and they're quoting each other and they are caught up in their appreciation for how much knowledge they have. And then and then there are others who previously, like myself, had a horrible speech impediment.
Speaker 1:I had a very, very, very severe stuttering problem, and so for me to speak publicly in any way, shape or form was excruciating. The thought of it would just cause me to just break on a sweat. My mouth would get dry and I would inevitably at least feel like a fool, not look like one, and so I wouldn't. In private conversations, people that understood me they would get the fact that periodically I'd stutter. But if I could just relax, I could communicate, until until one day God put his hand upon me it's the best way I can describe it. He put his hand upon me and gave me peace, a peace that went beyond my own understanding, and it captured my heart and got me focused. I was finally able to focus, even though there's still a temptation to try to communicate everything all at once. Now I'm able to slow down and have some peace, and in so doing I'm able to read with feeling and with clarity.
Speaker 1:I am able to read the writings of other people, of all things. In college I was requested periodically to read other people's essays because they liked the way that I put things man, coming from a person who couldn't speak publicly at all to being asked to share things on a collegiate level. Oh, that's a hand of God. And so this particular portion of Scripture is very germane to the cross of Jesus Christ. And the Bible preaches better than any other book, and the Apostle Paul preaches as good, if not better, than any other writer, as good, if not better than any other writer. And so I'm going to let the Bible preach or teach, or both, for a while, because sometimes also we only periodically, we only get little snippets of the scriptures, and we love the scriptures around here, unapologetically. They're our baseline for what we do, how we think. They're the measuring stick, the yardstick Keeps us in line, the written word of God.
Speaker 1:And so the Apostle Paul is writing to this group of people in Colossae, or Colossei, however you want to say it, and he's. He said in chapter 2, verse 1,. He starts off by saying I want you to know how much I'm struggling for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may have the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge? I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by blind-sounding arguments, for though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith, as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Speaker 1:For in Christ, all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is head over every power and authority. In him, you were also circumcised in the putting off of all sinful nature, not with the circumcision done by the hands of men, but by the circumcision done by Christ. Having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature. God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all our sins. Having canceled the written code with its regulations that was against us and that stood opposed to us, he took it away, nailing it to the cross and, having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them by the cross.
Speaker 1:Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink or with regard to religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. They are shadows of the things that were to come. The reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God caused it to grow Since you died with Christ, to the basic principles of this world. Why, as though you still belong to it, do you subject to these rules or submit to them? Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch. These are destined to perish with use because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgences.
Speaker 1:Since then, you've been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature—sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways in the life you once lived, but now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge and the image of its creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, scion, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
Speaker 1:Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dutifully loved. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive, as the lord forgave you, and over all these virtues, put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of christ rule in your hearts and be thankful. Let the words of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God, songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the Father, through him. That is the word of the Lord.
Speaker 1:And in that particular portion of Paul's letter to the church at Colossae, to the Laodicean people, we find him giving us some real, important points concerning the cross of Jesus Christ and the fact that our old way of thinking has actually been nailed to the cross. You see, covenant is a very unique thing and we have a covenant relationship with God and the cross is part of God cutting covenant with us, and the covenant that we have with God is a blood covenant. It's the highest form of covenant that there is, and that's blood covenant. In a blood covenant, the two parties come together and agree that what they have as their own becomes also the property of the one that they're cutting covenant with and the other the same. So for us, we cut covenant with God and he takes our old nature that was in rebellion toward him and by the act of Jesus Christ going to the cross on our behalf, us looking to him and we saying to God I believe, because you've given me faith to believe, I believe it's enough, I believe he is enough, he is sufficient.
Speaker 1:God considers that righteousness and relationship, real relationship, is not only restored, but he gives to us his life. He takes our old nature and its trajectory into outer darkness. Death upon death upon death, the death that keeps on dying, the torment that keeps on tormenting, because that's the antithesis of relationship with God. It just is. But in relationship with God there is eternal life.
Speaker 1:Now, jesus, by anybody, the apostle makes it very clear that he gave his life as a sacrifice for many, and you being one of those many, you see you hearing this right now, if this is your first time ever hearing this and it's captivating you. It's because God is drawing you to himself. It's not because you made a decision that one day today being that day you all are going to be like spiritual. Now, something's been going on for quite some time drawing you. It's been God, drawing you to himself, giving you the ability to change your mind and change your ways, giving you the ability to have faith in him, because by your own, we were dead. We were dead in our transgression. We were dead. We were dead in our transgression. We were dead. We were caught in a cycle of death. Everybody, everybody. But Jesus broke that at the cross and covered the sins of all humanity for those who would believe upon him.
Speaker 1:Now, if there's people that absolutely choose not to believe on him, well, the trajectory of your life or of their life has already been set. If they refuse and they blaspheme the Spirit of God and refuse to believe, there's nothing left. But even if you have believed and you have fallen into sin, deep sin, the life of God has not left you. He is still within you, drawing you back to himself, and his love is stronger than death. Song of Songs, chapter 8, verse 6, says that Love is stronger than death. God's love is stronger than death. See, if life was in the blood and the blood was shed, well then what happened to the life? The life was sustained by love, if God's in it. If not, what was in that being goes into outer darkness, goes into the trajectory that it was set on. It goes to the one who they believe and place their faith in.
Speaker 1:Whether Jesus gave his life, it was not taken from him. He gave it the love that he had for his father to be with his father, the love that they experienced together, the love he had for the Spirit of God, holy Spirit, the love that they share, the love that God shares was greater than death. But the love that he has for you and me, the love he has for us, is we were the joy set before him. He endured the cross, and the cross, the cross, the cross. What a heinous torture mechanism. Whole system, whole system. We're going to take one more episode and look at that system, because it's important to really see what it was that Jesus did and how he triumphed over that and made a public spectacle of it. Even in his weakest state, he overcame the powers of darkness. He overcame the powers of darkness.
Speaker 1:As I said, you might be hearing this for the first time and it's really laying a hold of you, and it's because God wants relationship with you and wants you to place your faith in him. He wants you to believe that he loves you that much that he would lay down his life so that you could have his life, so that he could take your old way and kill it, have it nailed to the cross, so that you have the ability to put it down daily. It doesn't put you down daily, hallelujah. There's a difference between struggling with something and being victorious over it than continually struggling with something and being beat up by it under it all the time. That was us before we come to know Jesus, or we came to know him, praise God. There's something about us also reflecting back on the fact that Jesus loves us so much that he laid his life down for us on a level that is beyond the level of just any human being. It took divine love, the love of God. You and I are recipients of this, recipients of this, and so this life, this life, this life that's been released to us, is the very life of God.
Speaker 1:It's from this point that we're able to move forward and begin to understand the ways of God, the culture of his kingdom, the way things function, learning to talk upright instead of upside down. Right, because prior to life in the kingdom we were living a life that was upside down. Now we're living an upright life and we have to learn a new way of living. But praise God, he instructs us and also there are things that are available to us. There are things that we are capable of doing in the area of miracles, signs and wonders that God has given to us as his children, as his people, as his citizens, the citizens of his kingdom, as members of the body of Christ for us to function in, for us to understand things, for us to understand things in which we are able to exercise and make declarations over situations that bring remedies into very complex problems, to undo the works of darkness and bring about the establishment of God's kingdom until Jesus comes. When he comes, he will do the fulfillment of the kingdom of God on the earth, and then the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea, and the government of all the nations will rest upon the shoulders of Jesus. But until then, we are to colonize planet Earth with the kingdom.
Speaker 1:It's not just for us to be good, try to do good and wait until we get to heaven and then we get to do stuff. We are called to be involved in kingdom activity and kingdom life right now. We are involved in eternity right now. And what time is it in eternity? It's always now. When's a good time for us to be demonstrating the life of God in us? Now, not waiting, waiting for what? We'll wait forever waiting, waiting for things to be perfect, not wanting to stick out. Hey, we're going to shine with glory. We're going to be cities on a hill that can't be hid, both individually and collectively.
Speaker 1:Jesus shed his life, gave his life, poured out his blood. Shed his life, gave his life, poured out his blood, shed his blood so that we could have it eternally. And we do when we have faith in him, and we do when we are baptized in his name. We're immersed in the very name and nature and power of God. When he fills us with his spirit and the demonstration of it, we can see who we are and so can the world around us, and especially when they see us joined together in love, functioning together in love, taking care of each other in love, with the love of God. The divine life that's in us, the love that conquered death, the love that is stronger than death, that lives in us, is to be shared with each other. It's to be the motivating thrust for us to worship God.
Speaker 1:Hallelujah, we're in a good time, folks. We're in a good time, folks. We're in a very good time. Get ready, get ready, man. Things are going to continue to increase. The demonstration of God's glory, his presence and his kingdom are going to continue to increase. Let's be ready. Hallelujah, let's pray. Father, yes, yes, yes, your kingdom come. Your will be done in the earth as it is in heaven. Thank you, thank you, thank you in the earth as it is in heaven. Thank you, thank you, thank you, holy Spirit, I ask that you would manifest Jesus, make him real to us and through us, and in so doing, we stand here and we declare his name, and we stand here in his name and we say amen, amen, amen, amen. All right, folks, I love you. If you have any thoughts, questions, concerns, once again, please feel free to drop us a line at lifearoundthefire, at gmailcom, or type in lifearoundthefire and look us up on the web. We would love to hear from you in the meantime. God bless you, adios amigos.