Seeking Jesus First - June 5, 2023

What is the predestination of believers? How much of your life is pre-written by God? Is it written in the book as a matter of foreknowledge? Is God pre-deciding everything about your life? Huge discussion. Let’s just look at that first question.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” (Romans 8:28–30, NKJV)

What is the predestination of believers? To be conformed to the image of God’s dear son that He (Jesus) might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Our destiny is to be conformed to the image of Jesus.

Does Christ have victory over darkness? Yes and so do we.

Does Christ have victory over sin? Yes and so do we.

Does Christ have victory over sickness? Yes and so do we.

Does Christ have victory over death? Yes and so do we.

“In this world you shall have tribulation but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Jesus overcame the world by faith and so do we.

“This is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith.” 1 John 5:4

Our destiny is to make sure that Jesus is not an only child.

Do you trust in your predestination? Then be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus. Your destiny is to:

• Exercise the authority and power of Jesus Christ.
• Walk in the power and anointing of Holy Spirit.
• Live in the Love of The Father and love each other as He loved us.
• Be the family of The Creator God.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:3–6, NKJV) “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,” (Ephesians 4:1, NKJV)

We were chosen in Christ. Christ was chosen and we were chosen in Him. This “choosing” predestines us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to the Father. This was what pleased God and why He and his grace are so praiseworthy - the fact that He did whatever it took to adopt us as sons and make us approved and accepted in His beloved family.

Think about it, we were not chosen as men because Jesus was not just a mere man.

We were not chosen as angels, because Jesus was not a mere angel.

We were chosen as sons of God because Christ Jesus is The Son of God.

We were mere men but He has made us into new creatures, old things being passed away and all things being made new.

God was not satisfied with merely forgiving our sins. He would not have been pleased with forgiving the sins of the world and leaving mankind as mere men. He was not going to be happy until we were made full-fledged sons of God. So He chose us in his Son.

God didn’t choose us in a mere man. He didn’t choose us in an angel or a demon. He chose us in His Beloved Son.

We are called to the vocation of being a son of God and we are exhorted and encouraged to walk worthy of that calling. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ Jesus. This is only possible if we are in Him - making us sons of God as well.

It is our destiny to be conformed to the image of Christ Jesus - God’s dearly beloved Son. He loves Jesus so much and is so pleased with what Jesus accomplished that we cannot mess it up. We have been placed into Christ and we are complete in Him.

We are in Him and He is in us. This is an ongoing principle or truth of the New Covenant found in Christ’s own teachings and throughout the teachings of the apostles.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18, NKJV). “that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” (Philemon 6, NKJV).

The destiny is to be conformed to the image of the Son of God. Our part is to stay face to face with Jesus acknowledging every good thing that is in us in Him. As we look on him, Holy Spirit does the transforming from one degree of glory to another degree of glory into His same image.

So, let us approach everything in life with the faith that it pleases God to work it together for our good to the end that we are conformed to the image of His Son. This means that we can respond to every situation with the same obedience, the same faith, the same authority, the same power, the same love, the same word of truth, the same wisdom, revelation, understanding and anointing as Jesus did; and we can overcome everything in the world -even persecution and death.