Lessons from Easter: A Hotheaded Moment

There is no clearer enemy to walking in the Spirit, than impatience. Part of being a successful trader and just walking in the prosperity of God altogether is refusing to make impetuous decisions based on emotions, and choosing to act with patience and discernment instead. Since it is April and we are leading up to Easter- or Resurrection Day- let's continue to delve deeper into the true story of the Christian holiday.

For you have need of patient endurance [to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising], so that when you have carried out the will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised. Hebrews 10:36

Guilty as Charged

We have all acted rashly without thinking at one time or another. Perhaps it was a day of spending too much time on Instagram which led to an impulse buy of something you really didn't need. Or maybe it was a poor investment that you got yourself into based on emotional hype and fear, before doing your own research. Maybe road rage went too far. Doubtless, we have all acted irrationally and spoken words that we wish we considered before speaking them out to another. Whether it was in handling money, marriage, a friendship, a job, or your own children, these hotheaded moments never produced any good fruit in our lives. We've all done it, and we all saw that it didn't reap anything good!

The Spirit or the Flesh

When we move through life only speaking and acting based on our emotions we are not walking in the Spirit, but in the flesh.

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Galatians 5:16-18

What are these scriptures saying? When we walk in the Spirit, we do not fulfill sinful carnal desires. Will we still be temped with them? Absolutely! Temptation will rear it's ugly head as long as we live in these physical bodies, and as long as the devil is prowling around like a devouring lion (1 Peter 5:8).

When we live our lives for all that is carnal, we are living under the flesh. In other words, we are servants to the wants of our flesh instead of servants to the Spirit of God. We choose who and what we serve. Living by our own performance, our own righteousness, our own works, and our own merit in life is to live by the flesh. This doesn't work. There's no real power in the flesh. And the Mosaic Law that was given to Israel all throughout the Old Testament has already shown us that no man can fulfill this standard in himself.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

John 6:63

Here is the Good News- Jesus has already fulfilled the law, in His flesh. Every jot and every tittle (like dotting every "i" and crossing every "t") has been perfectly completed by Jesus Christ. And when Jesus went to the cross, He fulfilled all of God's wrath and punishment for all sin and every failed attempt of man in trying to keep the law. Jesus did it all. And now He takes His righteousness- His perfect performance of fulfilling the law- and gives it to us (born-again believers). Our righteousness is not based upon our performance. It's based upon Christ's. This is the righteousness we now walk in! And this is how we walk in the Spirit!

By walking in our new identity- as born-again, new creatures in Christ Jesus created after righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24)- we walk in the Spirit. This is the ROOT:

• our identity in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)

• our righteousness based on what JESUS did and not anything we have done (2 Corinthians 5:21)

• our new spirit that is sealed, blameless, sinless, and perfect because it is one with the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:17)

• living no more with a sin-consciousness as was required under the law, but instead living with a consciousness of the perfect righteousness of JESUS CHRIST

For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?

Hebrews 10:1-2

The Fruit Comes From the Root

Our identity in Christ and knowing what Jesus accomplished for us is the ROOT of walking in the Spirit, and no longer fulfilling the lusts and desires of the flesh is a FRUIT of that! This is where full dependence upon God begins, and dependence on the self ends. Hallelujah!

The Spirit and the flesh are opposed to each other. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24). The only way to do so is to be born again and to receive the Spirit of God within you. When that happens- when a person experiences the new birth of the Holy Spirit through their faith and confession in the LORD Jesus Christ- they become a living spirit being that is now capable of worshiping and communicating with God in spirit and in truth. That worship and communication is no longer based on our performance of the law or our sinlessness. It is merely based upon being born-again. Praise JESUS! This is GOOD NEWS! There is no other way. You must be born again of the Spirit.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision [in following the law] avails anything, but a new creation.

Galatians 6:15 (emphasis mine)

This scripture is telling us that it is not our works that put us in right-standing with God. It is not our need to ask for forgiveness after every sin we remember that makes us able to communicate with God. It is the new birth that makes us sons and daughters of God and righteous in His sight, and that was all made possible by Jesus Christ, and Him alone. This revelation must be at the ROOT of our identity.

We can still walk carnally, even after being born again. Most of the church is living and worshiping in the flesh without even realizing it because they are trying to earn the blessings, promises, and right relationship with God through their own works. The minute we go back into performance mode, is the minute we stop walking in the Spirit and begin walking in the flesh.

How many of us have heard sermons or read books with a tagline like, 5 Steps to Getting God to Answer Your Prayers;

or how many of us have been told that every time we sin we get out of communion with God and that we aren't put back into that spirit and truth communion until we name the sin and ask for forgiveness?

This is all propagating a relationship with God that is earned by merit. God communicates with us in prayer and hears all of our prayers now, because of JESUS. We don't earn it. Jesus earned it for us, and gave us His merit. To say that we must work in order to earn God's love, and that we must do more in order to have a right relationship with God, is the exact opposite of what the WORD teaches. Asking God to forgive us of our sins is never wrong, it is good! But it is not a work that must be done to get us back in right-standing with the LORD, and there is no sin that Jesus hasn't already died for. Jesus died once, for all the sins of all mankind. And now all who believe receive the power of His atonement, once for all! And ALL MEANS ALL!

Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer daily sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people; He sacrificed for sin once for all when He offered up Himself.

Hebrews 7:27

By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Hebrews 10:10

Jesus already did it all! When our relationship with God becomes based on our own performance, we go back to living in the flesh. The bottom line is this:

Jesus came to set us free from the failing cycle of self-dependence so that we can now depend on Him, understand and receive what He has already done, know who He has made us to be in Him, and walk according to the leading of the Spirit.

The Power of God

On the night Jesus was taken from the Garden of Gethsemane, John writes that a cohort of soldiers along with officers of the chief priests and Pharisees came to take Him. A cohort is anywhere from 300-600 soldiers. This shows that these men had some sort of grasp on the power of Jesus, but not quite. Whether 300 men or 300 million men, no flesh can stand against the power of Jesus Christ the LORD GOD.

So Judas, having obtained the Roman cohort and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus therefore, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, came out into the open and said to them, “Whom are you seeking?” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” He said to them, “I am He.” And Judas also, who was betraying Him, was standing with them. Now then, when He said to them, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

John 18:3-6

Jesus was referencing Exodus 3:14, when the LORD said to Moses,

“I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

Jesus was absolutely, emphatically identifying Himself as the "I AM" of the Old Testament. This unleashed an explosion of God's power that was so strong, it caused these soldiers and officers to fall backwards and hit the ground! Truly, even the most powerful cohort of the flesh does not even hold a candle to the power of the Spirit.

Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.” John 8:58

A Mistake Redeemed

Perhaps Peter saw this as his chance- to strike while the soldiers were in disarray. Or perhaps so many emotions rose up within him, that he wasn't even fully aware of what he did next, and he acted without really thinking. Either way, Peter went for it:

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.

John 18:10

Peter grabbed his sword and chopped off the right ear of the high priest's servant, Malchus, all in one swoop. If you take into account all four gospels, you read in Luke that Peter actually asked Jesus, "...Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" (Luke 22:49). Before Jesus had an opportunity to respond, Peter swung his sword, acting on his own impulse, and a man's ear was on the ground. Imagine the shock on Malchus's face as he swiftly reached up to put his hand over the side of his head as it gushed blood. It must have been quite the scene, to say the least.

Immediately, Jesus told Peter to put his sword away, and He healed the man's ear. This was the last miracle that Jesus performed before His death, burial and resurrection. He healed a man who came to arrest Him. What a statement that makes about our Lord and Savior. He showed genuine love and care even to those who opposed Him and were leading Him to His crucifixion.

This hotheaded moment could have put Peter away in prison for life. To injure a servant of the high priest was not just against the law, but it was a criminal act with repercussions that could have ruined Peter's entire life. How many of us have made impulsive decisions that have, or could have, changed the course of our entire life?

And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

Luke 22:50-51

Jesus was basically saying, Let Me just do this last thing before you guys take me away. And He healed the man's ear. Not only did this alleviate Malchus' pain, but it took away any chance of Peter facing the repercussions of this. This last miracle of Jesus spoke immensely of what He came to do.

Peter was guilty of a crime, and worthy of punishment. But Jesus, Who was innocent, was the One arrested. Peter was the one who made the mistake, but not only did Jesus pay for it, He erased the evidence of Peter's mistake as well. This is what happens when we come to Christ! Jesus already paid the price for all of our sins- past, present, and future. He already took the wrath and punishment for all sin upon Himself. He served our sentence. But Jesus went beyond that. Not only did He save us from the punishment of sin, but He gave us His perfection and His innocence. He gave us His righteousness. And when we receive His performance, His perfection, His righteousness, then the sins of our past can no longer have any hold on us. The mistakes of the past can no longer accuse us, because our righteousness is no longer of our own merit, but it is of Jesus Christ. And His merit is perfection. This is the heart of the Gospel. Jesus is our Redeemer. And because of Him, God does not even remember the sins of our past.

And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

Hebrews 10:17, Hebrews 8:12

A New Creation

This is the essence of the New Birth. The past is gone, and the new is come. The cuts we made are behind us, and Jesus has already served their punishment. He dealt with every sin, every mistake we ever made, 2,000 years ago upon the Cross. And now we walk in newness of life, in Him. We do not have to live in the past, because we are made new. And when the devil tries to use the past to slander and accuse us, we can remind him that the old person we used to be was dead and buried with Christ. The man of sin is not who we are anymore. And we are resurrected, new creatures in Christ Jesus.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

2 Corinthians 5:17

Because of Jesus, we can now walk in newness of life. Our hotheaded moments do not have to drag us down, but we can walk free as we walk in the Spirit. We do not have to be led by emotional impulses, but we are now led by the Spirit of God because we are the sons and daughters of God (Romans 8:14). We no longer are ruled by a fallen sin-nature, but we have a new nature. In the new birth, we become one-third, wall-to-wall Holy Spirit. We now have the nature of God. And just as Jesus is, so are we now in this world (1 John 4:17).

This Easter, we can remember that we are not just flesh and blood anymore, but we have been reborn of the Spirit, of an incorruptible seed. We are not subject to the things of the flesh- emotions, circumstances, feelings- but all of these things are subject to the WORD of God and the Spirit of God within us. Just as the large cohort of soldiers in the Garden was thrown to the ground by the WORD; just as a bleeding hole on the side of a man's head was restored to a perfectly formed ear by the power of God- so too can we walk in the power and authority of God's WORD and the Spirit, if we choose. It is our choice. It is a conscious decision we make, every moment of every day. But praise Jesus this Easter, because,

He is Risen.

And we are risen with Him!

And God has not only raised the Lord [to life], but will also raise us up by His power. 1 Corinthians 6:14

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

Romans 6:4-5

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the 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.

Colossians 3:1-3

In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead. When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against 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.

Colossians 2:11-15

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might display the surpassing riches of His grace, demonstrated by His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

Ephesians 2:4-10

Today's blog was made possible by Rick Renner's book, Easter- The Rest of the Story. If you enjoyed this Easter blog, we recommend digging even deeper into Rick Renner's book here, Easter- The Rest of the Story.