RELIGION CHANGES THE OUTSIDE BUT CHRIST CHANGES THE HEART

 WHEN RELIGION CHANGES THE OUTSIDE BUT CHRIST CHANGES THE HEART

Text: Mark 7:1–23

Theme: God is more concerned with the condition of our heart than the appearance of our religion.

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INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM IS NOT THE HANDS—IT IS THE HEART

In Mark 7, we meet a group of very religious people—the Pharisees and scribes.

They knew Scripture.
They knew religious traditions.
They knew how to wash their hands.
They knew how to wash cups, pots, vessels, and tables.

But there was one problem:

They had clean hands but unclean hearts.

They looked religious on the outside, but something was wrong on the inside.

They came to Jesus not because they wanted to know Him, but because they wanted to criticize His disciples.

They asked:

“Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders?”
—Mark 7:5

But Jesus did not become distracted by their religious question. He went directly to the real issue—the condition of their hearts.

He said:

“This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
—Mark 7:6

This is one of the greatest dangers in Christianity:

We can be close to religion and far from God.

We can attend church and still have a distant heart.

We can sing worship songs and still have a heart full of bitterness.

We can know Bible verses and still refuse to obey God's Word.

We can look holy before people while secretly being controlled by sin.

Jesus is teaching us:

GOD DOES NOT WANT MERELY CLEAN HANDS—HE WANTS A CLEAN HEART.

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1. RELIGIOUS TRADITION CAN BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR GOD'S WORD

Jesus said:

“Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
—Mark 7:7

The Pharisees had traditions.

Tradition itself is not necessarily evil. Traditions can sometimes help us remember important things.

The problem comes when human tradition takes the place of God's Word.

Jesus said:

“For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men.”
—Mark 7:8

And again:

“Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”
—Mark 7:9

Think about that.

They were so committed to their tradition that they were willing to reject God's commandment.

There is a warning here for the Church.

We must never allow:

Tradition to become more important than Scripture.

We must never say:

“That's the way we have always done it.”

Instead we should ask:

“What does the Word of God say?”

The question is not:

“What does my culture say?”

“What does my denomination say?”

“What does my family say?”

“What does my religious tradition say?”

The ultimate question is:

“WHAT DOES JESUS SAY?”

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2. RELIGION CAN MAKE US LOOK RIGHT WHILE OUR HEART IS WRONG

Jesus quoted Isaiah:

“This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
—Mark 7:6

Notice the contrast:

Lips were near.
Heart was far.

They were saying the right things, but they were not living from a heart surrendered to God.

This is called hypocrisy.

Hypocrisy is not simply making a mistake.

Hypocrisy is presenting one image outwardly while living another reality inwardly.

A person may say:

“I love God,”

but hate his brother.

A person may say:

“I forgive you,”

but continue carrying bitterness.

A person may worship loudly in church but secretly live in disobedience.

A person may preach about holiness but refuse to deal with pride.

Jesus is not impressed by religious appearance.

God looks at the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 says:

“For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”

God sees what people cannot see.

People see our Sunday appearance.

God sees our Monday heart.

People hear our public words.

God knows our private thoughts.

People see our ministry.

God sees our motives.

Therefore, the question is not merely:

“How do I look before people?”

The deeper question is:

“How am I before God?”

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3. WE CAN USE RELIGION TO AVOID OBEDIENCE

Jesus gives the Pharisees a serious example.

Moses commanded:

“Honour thy father and thy mother.”
—Mark 7:10

But the religious leaders had developed a tradition called Corban.

A person could declare his possessions to be dedicated to God and then use that religious declaration as an excuse not to help his parents.

Jesus exposed the problem.

They had found a religious way to avoid a clear commandment of God.

This teaches us something powerful:

RELIGION CAN SOMETIMES BECOME AN EXCUSE FOR DISOBEDIENCE.

We can know Scripture and still manipulate Scripture.

We can quote verses and still avoid obedience.

We can become experts in explaining God's Word while refusing to surrender to God's Word.

James 1:22 says:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.”

Christianity is not merely knowing the Bible.

Christianity is allowing the Word of God to transform our lives.

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4. THE REAL BATTLE IS INSIDE THE HEART

Now Jesus moves from religious tradition to the deepest issue.

He says:

“There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him can defile him.”
—Mark 7:15

Then He says:

“That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.”
—Mark 7:20

This is revolutionary.

The Pharisees were concentrating on what entered the body.

Jesus was concentrating on what came out of the heart.

The Pharisees were saying:

“Wash your hands.”

Jesus was saying:

“Let Me deal with your heart.”

The Pharisees were concerned about external contamination.

Jesus was concerned about internal corruption.

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5. WHAT IS INSIDE EVENTUALLY COMES OUT

Jesus gives a frightening list:

“For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.”
—Mark 7:21–22

Notice the words:

“From within.”

Jesus is teaching us that sinful behavior does not begin with the behavior.

It begins in the heart.

Before murder appears in the hand, hatred can live in the heart.

Before adultery appears in the body, lust can live in the heart.

Before theft appears in the hand, covetousness can live in the heart.

Before lying comes from the mouth, deceit can live in the heart.

Before pride appears publicly, pride has already taken root internally.

The external action is often the fruit.

The heart is the root.

Therefore, if we only deal with behavior, we may never deal with the source.

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6. JESUS DOES NOT SIMPLY WANT TO IMPROVE OUR BEHAVIOR—HE WANTS TO TRANSFORM OUR HEART

This is where the gospel becomes beautiful.

Jesus did not come merely to teach us how to behave better.

He came to give us a new life.

Jeremiah 31:33 says:

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.”

Ezekiel 36:26 says:

“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you.”

And 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares:

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature.”

The Christian life is not:

“I will try harder to become a better person.”

It is:

“Christ lives in me, and His life transforms me from within.”

Paul said:

“Christ liveth in me.”
—Galatians 2:20

This is the answer to the problem Jesus identifies in Mark 7.

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7. WE NEED MORE THAN EXTERNAL CLEANSING—WE NEED INNER TRANSFORMATION

Imagine a dirty glass.

You can polish the outside of the glass until it shines.

But if the water inside is polluted, polishing the outside has not solved the real problem.

That is what Jesus is addressing.

You can change your clothes.

You can change your vocabulary.

You can change your appearance.

You can change your religious activities.

But only God can transform the heart.

David understood this.

After his sin, he did not simply say:

“Lord, help me look better.”

He prayed:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”
—Psalm 51:10

That must become our prayer.

“Lord, don't merely change my circumstances. Change me.”

“Don't merely change what people see. Change what You see.”

“Don't merely clean my hands. Clean my heart.”

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8. THE HOLY SPIRIT DEALS WITH WHAT IS INSIDE

The Christian life is an inward work of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:13 says:

“If ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”

The Holy Spirit exposes what is hidden.

He reveals:

• bitterness,
• pride,
• unforgiveness,
• jealousy,
• lust,
• greed,
• anger,
• selfish ambition,
• deceit,
• wrong motives.

Why?

Not to condemn us.

But to transform us.

God exposes what He intends to heal.

When the Holy Spirit reveals something in our heart, we should not defend it.

We should surrender it.

Say:

“Holy Spirit, search me.”

Psalm 139:23–24 says:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts.”

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9. CHRISTIANITY IS NOT ABOUT APPEARING HOLY—IT IS ABOUT BECOMING HOLY

There is a difference between:

Religious appearance
and
spiritual transformation.

Religious appearance says:

“Look at me.”

Transformation says:

“Look at Christ.”

Religious appearance says:

“I know the rules.”

Transformation says:

“I know Jesus.”

Religious appearance says:

“I can control my behavior.”

Transformation says:

“I surrender my heart to the Holy Spirit.”

Religious appearance says:

“I want people to think I am holy.”

Transformation says:

“I want God to make me holy.”

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10. JESUS WANTS THE HEART, NOT JUST THE HANDS

The greatest message of Mark 7 is this:

God wants the heart.

Proverbs 4:23 says:

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Your heart determines the direction of your life.

If the heart is filled with Christ, Christ will increasingly be expressed through our lives.

If the heart is filled with bitterness, bitterness eventually comes out.

If the heart is filled with pride, pride eventually comes out.

If the heart is filled with love, love eventually comes out.

What is inside eventually finds a way outside.

Therefore:

WHAT IS JESUS FINDING WHEN HE LOOKS INTO YOUR HEART?

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11. THE CROSS DEALS WITH THE OLD LIFE

The answer to the heart problem is not simply better discipline.

We need the cross.

Romans 6:6 says:

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him.”

Galatians 2:20 says:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”

The gospel does not merely say:

“Control your old nature.”

The gospel says:

“Your old life has been dealt with through Christ, and you now live in union with Him.”

That is why the Christian life is not merely moral improvement.

It is new creation life.

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12. THE FINAL QUESTION: WHAT IS COMING OUT OF YOUR HEART?

Jesus said:

“All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”
—Mark 7:23

So today, we should ask ourselves:

What comes out of me when I am under pressure?

What comes out when someone insults me?

What comes out when I am disappointed?

What comes out when nobody is watching?

What comes out when I do not get what I want?

Because pressure does not necessarily create what is inside us.

Pressure often reveals what is already inside us.

Therefore, we need Jesus—not merely religion.

We need transformation—not merely tradition.

We need the Holy Spirit—not merely human effort.

We need the Word—not merely religious customs.

We need the cross—not merely self-improvement.

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CONCLUSION: FROM CLEAN HANDS TO A CLEAN HEART

The Pharisees were concerned about unwashed hands.

Jesus was concerned about unclean hearts.

The Pharisees focused on the outside.

Jesus focused on the inside.

The Pharisees wanted to preserve tradition.

Jesus wanted to restore the heart.

And today Jesus asks us:

“Is your heart close to Me?”

Not:

“How religious do you look?”

Not:

“How many Bible verses do you know?”

Not:

“How many services have you attended?”

Not:

“How impressive is your ministry?”

But:

“IS YOUR HEART CLOSE TO ME?”

Psalm 51:10 should become our prayer:

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”

And the good news is this:

Jesus does not merely expose the heart—He can transform the heart.

He forgives.

He cleanses.

He restores.

He gives new life.

He fills us with His Spirit.

He makes us new.

Therefore, let us not settle for religious appearance.

Let us seek Christ-like transformation.

Let us not merely have clean hands.

LET US HAVE A HEART THAT IS FULL OF CHRIST.

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CLOSING PRAYER

Heavenly Father,

We come before You today recognizing that You see beyond our outward appearance. You see our hearts.

Forgive us whenever we have been more concerned about human tradition than Your Word, more concerned about appearance than holiness, and more concerned about what people think than what You think.

Search our hearts, O God.

Remove pride.
Remove bitterness.
Remove unforgiveness.
Remove deceit.
Remove selfishness.
Remove every thought and desire that does not please You.

Create in us a clean heart.

Renew a right spirit within us.

Teach us to walk according to Your Word and not merely according to human tradition.

Thank You that through Jesus Christ we are not condemned but can be transformed.

Let Christ live in us.

Let the Holy Spirit govern our hearts.

Let the fruit of the Spirit become visible in our lives.

May our worship come from a genuine heart.

May our words come from a genuine heart.

May our service come from a genuine heart.

And when people see our lives, may they see Jesus.

In the mighty name of Jesus Christ,

Amen.

Your circumstances are hinderance to see the ability of Almighty God

 Romans 8:35-39: -  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

 “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

What ever trials, troubles , problems ,circumstances you are facing, today speak over them as per above Romans 8:35-39. Do not look to the bigness of your need. Look to the bigness of your God! Your circumstances are hindrances to seeing My abilities God says. If you keep your eyes on your circumstances, the devil will use your circumstances to defeat you and accuse the Word of God—the written and the living Word. Your victory is in keeping your eyes on the bigness of your God and His ability to keep you victorious in all circumstances. He has promised to take you step by step—not all at once, but step by step, and each step will be a miracle!

 

Demonic control of the Christians/believers

 Demonic Control of the Saints. It is critical that Christians understand their vulnerability

to demonic influence. Those who say a demon cannot influence an area of a believer's life have left us with only two possible culprits for the problems we face: ourselves or God. If we blame ourselves we feel hopeless because we can't do anything to stop what we're doing. If we blame God our confidence in Him as our benevolent Father is shattered.

 Either way, we have no chance to gain the victory which the Bible promises us. In reality we are in a winnable war against principalities and powers from the defeated kingdom of darkness. But their lies can gain a measure of control if we let them.

 Here are several indications in Scripture that believers can lose control or come under bondage.

 Luke 13:10-18. While Jesus was teaching in the synagogue, "there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all" (verse 11). Verse 16 states that her physical disability was caused by satanic bondage.This woman was not an unbeliever. She was "a daughter of Abraham" (verse 16), a God-fearing woman of faith with a spiritual problem. As soon as Jesus released her from bondage, her physical problem was cured.

 Notice that this woman wasn't protected from demonic control by being inside the synagogue. Neither the walls of a synagogue nor the walls of a church provide a sanctuary

from demonic influence. If plaster walls are not a barrier to Satan, do you think your skin is? The spiritual world is not subject to such natural barriers, nor is it limited by the laws

of physics. Admittedly, this event occurred before the cross. But it is an indication that believers are subject to demon control.

 Luke 22:31-34. The apostle Peter is an example of a believer who temporarily lost control to Satan. Jesus said to him, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat" (verse 31). What right did Satan have to make such a demand? Peter had apparently given Satan a foothold through pride when he debated with the disciples about which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:24). Even though Peter wholeheartedly intended to stand by his Master to the death (verse 33), Jesus announced that Peter would deny Him three times (verse 34), which he did. It's encouraging to note, however, that Jesus had already prayed for Peter's successful recovery from the incident (verse 32).

 Ephesians 6:10-17. This passage contains Paul's familiar exhortation to believers to "put on the full armor of God, 176 * The Danger of Losing Control that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil" (verse 11). What is the purpose of armor? To

prevent the enemy's arrows from penetrating the body and injuring the soldier. If it is impossible for Satan's arrows to penetrate us, there would be no need for us to put on the

armor. The instructions regarding spiritual armor suggest that it is possible for the enemy to penetrate our lives and gain a measure of control.

 James 3:14-16. James indicates that if we yield to jealousy and selfish ambition, we may open ourselves to being controlled by wisdom which is "earthly, natural, demonic" (verse 15).

 1 Timothy 4:1-3. Paul wrote, "Some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons" (verse 1).The need to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ cannot be overstated (2 Corinthians 10:5).

 We must be able to discern the difference between true guidance from God and the incredible amount of counterfeit guidance that is everywhere in our world.

1 Corinthians 5:1-13. This passage contains Paul's instructions concerning a man in the Corinthian church who was living in an incestuous relationship with his father's wife (verse 1). He was a man so deluded by Satan and controlled by immorality that he apparently flaunted his illicit relationship before the whole church. Paul's judgment on the matter was severe: "I have decided to deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (verse 5). Paul was ready to allow Satan to have his way with the man for awhile in hopes that he would finally say "I've had enough" and repent.

 Some wonder if a person at this level of immorality is really a Christian. But if this man were a non-Christian Paul would not have disciplined him, because the church is only required to discipline those within its membership. This man was a believer (at least Paul treated him like one) who had allowed himself to become trapped in immorality. Paul's hope was that he experience the natural consequences of his sin, repent, and be set free from his bondage.

 Ephesians 4:26,27. Paul instructed, '"In your anger do not sin, Do not let the sun go down while you are stil  angry, and do not give the devil a foothold" . The word "foothold" literally means a "place." Paul is saying that we may allow the devil a place in our lives if we fail to speak the truth in love and manage our emotions. Anger which turns to bitterness and unforgiveness is an open invitation to demonic control (2 Corinthians 2:10,11).

1 Peter 5:6-9. Peter warned, "Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (verse 8). The word "devour" means to consume or to swallow up. It is the same word used in 1 Corinthians 15:54: "Death is swallowed up in victory." To be swallowed up by something certainly conveys the thought of being controlled by it. If believers are not vulnerable to being controlled by Satan, Peter would not need to alert us to the possibility.

The context of Peter's warning suggests two conditions which may predispose a believer to vulnerability. In verse 6 we are encouraged to humble ourselves before the Lord. Perhaps with the painful memory of the consequences of his own self-exaltation in mind, Peter indicates that whenever we resist pride we resist Satan. And verses 7 and 8 suggest that if we don't learn how to cast our anxieties on the Lord, we make ourselves easy prey for Satan.

Acts 5:1-11. This is perhaps the most definitive passage on Satan's ability to control believers. At the close of Acts 4 we discover that members of the young Jerusalem church

were voluntarily selling property and giving the proceeds to the apostles for use in ministry. "But a certain man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and kept back some of the price for himself, with his wife's full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back some of the price of the land?... You have not lied to men, but to God'" (verses 1-4).

The issue was not that Ananias and Sapphira withheld part of the proceeds, but that they lied about it, apparently saying that what they gave was the total amount they received.The consequence of the couple's sin was immediate and sobering: They died on the spot (verses 5,10).

Some who have difficulty with satanic control of believers have argued that Ananias and Sapphira were unbelievers. I don't buy that argument. First, Acts 4:31 states that this event took place within the context of the Christian community, of which Ananias and Sapphira were obviously members. Second, Acts 5:11 records, "And great fear came upon the whole church." If God were judging someone outside the church, why would great fear come upon those within the church? There was great fear among believers because God had dramatically displayed His attitude toward believers who live a lie. Third, the severity of

the punishment indicates that God was underscoring the importance of truth in the community of believers. Unbelievers lie all the time, and they usually are not as swiftly and thoroughly judged as were Ananias and Sapphira. I believe that God was communicating early in the church's history that our major problem is not communism, drugs, or false religions; it's giving in to Satan's deception.

 Ananias' problem was that he had allowed Satan's deception to fill (control) his heart. The word "filled" in Acts 5:3 is the same word used in Ephesians 5:18: "Be filled with the Spirit." It is possible for the believer to be filled with satanic deception or filled by the Spirit. To whichever source you yield, by that source you shall be filled and controlled. When you allow Satan to deceive you in any area of your life, you are vulnerable. God had to dramatically intervene in the early church to reveal what the primary battle would be

 If Satan could go undetected into your church or your marriage or you personally and get you to believe a lie, could he control your life?

RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESISTING CONTROL: -We should not say, "The devil made me do it." No, he didn't make you do it; you did it. Somewhere along the line you chose to give the devil a foothold. He merely took advantage of the opportunity you gave him. You have all the resources and protection you need to live a victorious life in Christ every day. If you're not living it, it's your choice. When you leave a door open for the devil by not resisting temptation, accusation, or deception, he will enter it. And if you continue to allow him access to that area, he will eventually control it. You won't lose your salvation, but you will lose your daily victory.

Many Christians today who cannot control their lives in some area wallow in self-blame instead of acting responsibly to solve the problem. They berate themselves and punish themselves for not having the willpower to break a bad habit, when instead they should be resisting Satan in an area where he has obviously robbed them of control. Anything bad which you cannot stop doing, or anything good which you cannot make yourself do, could be an area of demonic control. 

Romans 6:6 is Death certificate of Christians

 Yes, Romans 6:6 can be understood as a spiritual "death certificate" for believers. In this verse, the Apostle Paul declares that the believer's "old man" (their former self or sinful nature enslaved to sin) was crucified with Christ.

Breaking Down Romans 6:6In the New American Standard Bible, the verse reads: "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin."

Here is what that "death certificate" means in practical terms:The "Old Man" is Dead: This refers to your unredeemed identity that was bound to sin. Just as a dead person is completely unresponsive to their previous life, your old self's legal bondage to sin has been terminated.

Crucified with Christ: Your death to sin is tied directly to Jesus's death on the cross. It is a past, completed event (a finished "certificate").

Freedom from Slavery: The purpose of this spiritual death is that you are no longer a slave to sin's control. Sin is no longer your master.

How to Apply This "Death Certificate"While God declares this spiritual death fully accomplished, believers are instructed to actively put this truth into practice in their daily lives:

Count Yourself Dead: Paul explains in Romans 6:11 that believers must "count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God." This means acting based on God's truth rather than your own feelings.

Do Not Yield to Sin: Because you have a new spiritual nature, you do not have to obey sinful desires. You are to offer your body as an instrument of righteousness.

You are one spirit with Christ

You've been trying to fix a person who doesn't even exist anymore. The "you" that you are so worried about actually died two thousand years ago. Many do not know the Mystery of Identification—the total identity swap where your old criminal record was destroyed and you were joined to the Master Himself.

Let us discover the  identification:-

1 : Your Old Self Died: The Identity Swap: - You know, I was thinking the other day about how most of us live our lives. We spend so much time trying to improve ourselves. We go to the gym to fix our bodies. We take courses to fix our minds. And in the church, we spend years trying to act like better Christians.

But what if I told you that you've been trying to fix a person who doesn't even exist anymore?

What if the you that you are so worried about actually died 2,000 years ago? And I need you to understand something before we go any further.

See, we've been taught that Christianity is a self-help program. But in the Supreme Court of Redemption, it's not about self-help. It's about a total identity swap. It is called the law of identification. And this isn't just a nice thought to make you feel better on a Sunday morning. It is a legal reality.

You aren't just a better version of your old self. You are a new species; someone the world has never seen before.

You are one with Christ legally, spiritually, and even in your very nature. If you've been feeling like you're not good enough or like you're still a sinner just trying your best, this revelation is going to change everything for you. We are going to look at how your old criminal record was destroyed and how you were joined to the Master himself. Let's look into the mirror of the Word together.

We must begin with the legal dissolving of the old self.  Most people think the cross was just a place of pain, but it was a place of execution. Romans 6:6 is the death certificate of the human race. It says, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him."

This is not a future hope. It is a past-tense judicial fact.

When Jesus was nailed to that tree, your old man, that spirit that was joined to the first Adam, was nailed there with Him. 

Identification means that in the eyes of eternal justice, you were there. When He died, you died. When the spear entered His side, your old identity was terminated. But why was this necessary?

2: The Legal Dissolving of the Old Self: - It was necessary because a repair job wouldn't work. You didn't need a better version of yourself. You needed a new self.

In Identification it is clear that the spirit of man had become a partaker of spiritual death through the Fall. You couldn't just behave your way out of that nature. You had to be legally replaced.

When Jesus was made sin with our sin, He was identifying with our condition so that we could identify with His standing. This is the great exchange. He took our sin nature and gave us His Son nature.

Now we must enter the darkest part of this mystery, the substitution in the underworld. This is a revelation that most of the modern church has completely missed.

Just want to explain that The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption that the work of   identification did not stop when Jesus breathed His last breath on the physical cross.

Physical death alone could not pay the price for a spiritual rebellion. To legally redeem a spirit that was dead, the substitute had to enter the realm of death. He had to be made sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin." This was the moment of absolute identification.

Jesus was not just carrying your sins like a backpack. He was made sin with your sin. He took upon His own spirit the very nature that made you a rebel.

He went into the dark regions of the grave, into the very heart of spiritual death. And in that place, as the substitute, He paid the full penalty for man's high treason. He suffered the second death so that you would never have to see it.

In the mind of the High Court, you were there. You were paying that debt in Him. You were suffering that penalty in Him. Every blow that justice struck against the substitute was legally striking against you.

This is why the victory is so total, because the law has nothing left to demand from you. You have already served your time in the person of your substitute.

But then the scene shifted. The debt was paid in full. The claims of justice were satisfied, and from the throne of the universe, the Father spoke. He looked down into the dark regions of the grave and said,

"Thou art My Son. This day have I begotten Thee."  This was the justification of the spirit.

Jesus was born again in the tomb. He was the first person ever to be raised from spiritual death into life. And because you were identified with Him in His suffering, you were identified with Him in His rebirth.

1 Peter 1:3 says, "We were begotten again by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Do you see it?

You were born again when He was born again. You were raised when He was raised. This is the mystery of oneness. You didn't just receive a new life later on. You were legally birthed out of that grave at the same moment as the Master.

You are a reproduction of the resurrected Christ. You carry the same DNA of the Spirit that walked out of that tomb.

3: Substitution in the Underworld: - Now, let's look at the biological reality of this spirit union. Most people think of oneness as a poetic idea, but in the spirit realm, it is a structural reality. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, "He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit."

Notice it doesn't say two spirits working together. It says one spirit.  When you were born again, your spirit was not just cleaned up. It was fused into the Spirit of the living God. You were grafted into the very life of the Master (Roman 11:17-24).

Let me show you what this looks like.  Think about a graft in a tree. The life of the trunk flows into the branch. The branch no longer lives by its own power. It lives by the Zoe life of the tree.

Zoe is the Greek word for the life that makes God who He is. It is an uncreated life. It is a life that cannot fail. It is a life that cannot be sick. And that life is now the life of your spirit.

You are a partaker of the divine nature ( 2 Peter 1:4). This is the end of the human limitation.  Identification means that the life of the Master is currently flowing through your spirit, and it is pushing out the old life of the Fall.

But here is the struggle for many believers. They have a self-consciousness instead of a Christ-consciousness.  They are always thinking about "I."

"I am struggling."
"I am weak."
"I am poor."

But in the mystery of identification, the "I" has been legally replaced by "He."  Galatians 2:20 is the ultimate legal statement of the new creation: "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me."

Notice those four words:  Not I, but Christ. This is the end of the old self-awareness.

You know, I was thinking the other day about how most of us live our lives. We spend so much time trying to improve ourselves. We go to the gym to fix our bodies. We take courses to fix our minds. And in the church, we spend years trying to act like better Christians.

But what if I told you that you've been trying to fix a person who doesn't even exist anymore?  What if the you that you are so worried about actually died 2,000 years ago? And I need you to understand something before we go any further.

See, we've been taught that Christianity is a self-help program. But in the High Court of Redemption, it's not about self-help. It's about a total identity swap. It is called the law of identification. And this isn't just a nice thought to make you feel better on a Sunday morning. It is a legal reality.

You aren't just a better version of your old self. You are a new species; someone the world has never seen before.

You are one with Christ legally, spiritually, and even in your very nature. If you've been feeling like you're not good enough or like you're still a sinner just trying your best, this revelation is going to change everything for you. We are going to look at how your old criminal record was destroyed and how you were joined to the Master Himself. Let's look into the mirror of the Word together.

We must begin with the legal dissolving of the old self.  Now stay with me here because this is crucial. In the mind of the Father, there was a moment in history where your history ended.

Most people think the cross was just a place of pain, but it was a place of execution.

Romans 6:6 is the death certificate of the human race. It says, "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him." This is not a future hope. It is a past-tense judicial fact. When Jesus was nailed to that tree, your old man—that spirit that was joined to the first Adam—was nailed there with Him.

Identification means that in the eyes of eternal justice, you were there. When He died, you died. When the spear entered His side, your old identity was terminated. But why was this necessary?

Chapter 4: The Justification of the Spirit: Born Again in the Tomb

You don't have to fight the curses of the old family because you are no longer in that family. You have a new Father. You have a new name. You have a new identity.

Most people spend their lives trying to break generational curses. But the truth is that the cross didn't just break the curse. It killed the person who was under it.

If the person who was under the curse is dead and a new creation has taken his place, then the curse has no target. It has no legal ground to land on.

You are standing on redemption ground.  You are standing in the family of the King. Now let's look at how this oneness affects your righteousness.  Most believers think righteousness is something you achieve by being good for twenty years. But the truth is that in New Creation Realities that righteousness is a status that comes from your union.

If the Head of the Body is righteous, then every finger and every toe on that Body is righteous. You don't have to feel righteous to be righteous. You are righteous because you are in Him.

You can walk into the presence of the Father right now, and He doesn't see a struggling believer. He sees His Own Son. He sees the same beauty, the same perfection, and the same love in you that He sees in Jesus.

This oneness also affects your communication with the throne.  Most people pray as if God is millions of miles away. They shout and they cry trying to get His attention. But when you understand identification, you realize that you are praying from within the union.

Jesus said in John 14:20,  "At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." This is a circle of life.  When you speak the Word, it is the Father speaking through the Son speaking through the Body.

Your words carry the weight of the throne because they are not your words. They are the words of the union. You are the voice of the Head on the earth.

5: Biological Reality: One Spirit with the Lord: - Think about the judicial enforcement of this oneness.  When a sickness attacks your body, it isn't just attacking a human. It is attacking the Body of Christ. Would the Father allow a disease to sit on the Head of the Master in heaven? Never. Then He will not allow it to sit on the Body on the earth.

You must learn to say, "Sickness, you are touching the Body of Christ. I am identified with the resurrected Lord (Roman 6:5). There is no disease in Him. Therefore, there is no legal place for disease in me."

This is not a mental trick. It is the enforcement of a legal verdict. You are refusing to identify with anything that is not in the Master. We must move beyond identification with the cross and into identification with the throne.

Ephesians 2:6 says, “We are seated together in heavenly places."  Notice the word seated. It is the position of rest. It is the position of authority. You are not fighting for victory. You are occupying a victory that has already been won. You are looking down at the world from the throne. You are looking down at the devil from the throne.  From the throne, every problem looks small. Every mountain is just dust.

You must develop a throne-consciousness., We must make it a habit of importance of se eing yourself from heaven's perspective. You are not crawling on the earth begging for mercy. You are seated with Christ in the place of all authority.

As we continue to look into the mirror of the Word, I want you to see the substitution of the senses. Most of our lives are lived through sense knowledge. We believe what we feel, what we see, and what we hear.

But identification demands that we believe what the Word says about our union. If your senses say you are weak, but the Word says you are strong in the Lord, which one is the truth? Identification says that the Word is the higher reality.  You must identify out of the senses and identify into the Spirit.

Stop saying, "I am sick." That is a lie against the union.  Christ is not sick, and you are one spirit with Him.  Therefore, you cannot be sick in your spirit, and that spirit-life is trying to manifest in your body. 

Stop saying, "I am a failure." Christ is not a failure, and you are one with Him. Therefore, you are a success.

You must learn to agree with the Head. When the Head says you are blessed, the Body must say, "Amen."

When the Head says you are healed, the Body must say, "Amen."  This is the law of oneness. Now I want to talk to you about the spirit reproduction of the new creation.  Let is see that God literally reproduced Himself in our spirits.

This is the most shocking part of the revelation. You are not just a follower of God. You are a partaker of His life. John 1:12–13 says, "We were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, but of God."

6: Self-Consciousness vs. Christ-Consciousness :- You have the zoe DNA in you. You are a God-begotten being. 

(Zoe is the Greek word for the life that makes God who He is. It is an uncreated life. It is a life that cannot fail. It is a life that cannot be sick. And that life is now the life of your spirit)

This is why the world doesn't understand you. They are looking at a human, but there is a Spirit inhabitant inside that human body. You are a mobile throne room for the living God.  In The Two Kinds of Knowledge, let s understand that there are two sources of information available to man.

There is sense knowledge, which comes through the five physical senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch), and there is revelation knowledge, which comes directly from the Spirit of God dwelling in your recreated spirit.

The unregenerate man only has access to sense knowledge. He can only know what he can see, taste, touch, hear, and smell. But the new creation has access to a higher source. You have the mind of Christ. You have the Spirit of truth living in you, guiding you into all truth.

This means you are not limited to what the natural world tells you. When the doctor gives you a bad report, you have access to a higher report.

When the bank account says, "Insufficient funds," you have access to the covenant that says, "My God shall supply all your need."  When your emotions say you're going to fail, you have access to the Word that says, "I can do all things through Christ."

This is the advantage of the new creation. You are operating from a superior source of information. The world is operating from the basement, but you are operating from the penthouse. They are getting their signals from the earth, but you are getting your signals from the throne.  This oneness is the secret to effortless ease.

Most people are working hard to be spiritual, but the branch doesn't work hard to grow grapes.

It just rests in the vine.

Identification is the end of the struggle. 

It is the end of trying.

It is the beginning of being.

You don't have to try to be a son.

You are a son.

You don't have to try to have authority.

You occupy authority.

The moment you realize your oneness, the struggle stops.

You just let the life flow.

You just let the Word speak.

7: Legal Release from the Adam Family:- Romans 6:11 says, "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

To reckon means to count it as true. It means to take an accounting. It's a bookkeeping term. You are looking at the ledger of redemption and counting what belongs to you. You reckon that the old man is dead.

You reckon that you are alive in Christ. You reckon that you are righteous. You reckon that you are healed. You reckon that you are blessed.

This is not positive thinking. This is legal accounting based on the finished work of Christ.

When you reckon correctly, your life begins to align with the truth. Your body begins to respond to the fact that you are healed. Your finances begin to respond to the fact that you are blessed. Your mind begins to respond to the fact that you have the mind of Christ.

We are moving into the final enforcement of the revelation. Authority is useless if it is never spoken.

Psalm 103:20 says, "The angels are waiting for the voice of the Word." When you speak the Word of God, it is not just a man talking. It is the voice of the union. If a man's head decides to walk, the feet carry out the decision.

Jesus is the Head, and He has decided that you are free. Your job is to be the feet and the voice that enforce that decision on the earth.

Stop waiting for God to do something about your situation.  He has already done everything at the cross.  He has already paid the price in the grave.  He has already birthed you into the resurrection.

Now He is waiting for you to realize that you are one with the Master. Every time you say, "In the name of Jesus," you are declaring your union.  You are saying, "I am acting as an extension of the King."

You are not a visitor in the Kingdom. You are a permanent resident.  Think about the judicial power of your words in the marketplace. When you speak the truth, you are enforcing a contract that was signed in blood two thousand years ago.

8: Righteousness as Status from Union:-  When you say, "I am the head and not the tail “Deuteronomy 28:13".  you are enforcing the legal verdict of the new creation. 

When you say, "No weapon formed against me shall prosper Isaiah (Isaiah 54:17) " you are serving an eviction notice to every work of darkness.

As we close this message, I want you to look into the mirror of the Word one more time.  Stop looking at your mistakes.  Stop looking at your past.  Stop looking at your limitations. Look at Christ. And then realize that everything you see in Him is true about you.

He is your identity. He is your life. He is your all in all. You are a master over the senses. You are a ruler over the darkness. You are the light of the world. Not because of what you have done, but because of who you are in Him.

The old you is gone forever. The new you is alive in the glory. Now, let's do a practical exercise in identification. Right now, whatever is troubling you, I want you to see it through the eyes of the Substitute. If you have pain in your body, see Jesus on the cross carrying that specific pain. See Him going into the grave with it.

And then see Him coming out without it. If He came out without it, and you are in Him, then you have come out without it too.  That pain is a legal trespasser. Say out loud:  "I refuse to identify with this pain. I identify with the resurrected Christ. I am one with Him, and He is well."  This is how you master the senses.

You refuse to agree with what you feel, and you insist on agreeing with what you are. You are not a human being trying to get to heaven.  You are a heaven-born spirit being dominating the earth. Identification is your victory.  It is the secret of the ages revealed to you today.  Let me give you another example.

If you are struggling with financial lack, see Jesus on the cross being stripped of everything.

9: Substitution of the Senses: Mastering What You Feel :- He was made poor with your poverty.  He became the curse of lack so that you could become the blessing of abundance.  In that moment of substitution, your poverty was nailed to the tree with Him. Now see Him in the resurrection. He came out of that grave clothed in glory. He came out with all authority.

He came out as the Owner of everything. And because you are identified with Him in His resurrection, you came out with Him. Your poverty stayed in the grave. Your lack was left behind in the tomb. The you that was broke died. The you that is alive right now is joined to the Supplier of all things.

You are not a poor person asking God for money. You are a wealthy heir reminding yourself of what you already own in the covenant. The same applies to fear. If fear is gripping your heart right now, understand that fear is not from the union.

2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." If God didn't give it to you, then it's an illegal immigrant in your spirit. Where did fear come from? It came from the old man. It came from Adam's nature. But that nature is dead. You are not identified with the fearful one anymore. You are identified with the Lion of the tribe of Judah. You are identified with the One who said,

"Fear not. I have overcome the world." John 16:33 Stop saying, I’m so scared." That's the old man talking.  The new man says, “I am more than a conqueror. I am seated in heavenly places. I am one with the Fearless One."

Take a deep breath. Feel the life of God in your spirit right now. That life is more powerful than any disease.  It is more powerful than any addiction.

It is more powerful than death itself.  You are one with the Victor. You are one with the King. Identification has made you a joint heir.  Everything that belongs to Him is yours. His righteousness is yours. His authority is yours. His peace is yours.

10: Practical Exercise: Identifying with the Substitute: - His courage is yours. His strength is yours.  His victory is yours. Walk out of the mindset of the slave and into the mindset of the heir.  Stop talking about what you can't do. Start talking about what He can do through you.  Philippians 4:13 says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

That Christ is in you. He is identified with you. You are His hands.  You are His feet. You are His voice.

Go out today and represent Him well. Every morning when you wake up, before your feet hit the floor, remind yourself:  "I am not the old man. I am not the failure. I am not the sick one. I am not the poor one. I am not the fearful one. I am one with Christ.  His life is my life. His nature is my nature.  His victory is my victory."

When you live from this consciousness of union, the struggle stops. The striving ends. You are not trying to become something.  You are simply being who you already are in Him. Say this with your mouth : "I am one with Christ. His life is my life. His victory is my victory."

Establish it in the atmosphere.  Let the world know that you have found your identity. We are moving out of the realm of religion and into the realm of the Spirit.

11: Closing Decree: I Am One with Christ: -The old you is dead.   The new you is alive.  The change is inevitable.  The power is yours. Walk in it. Stay in the mirror of the Word every single day.  Let the Word do the work in you.

God bless you.  We are the Body of the living Christ. The case is closed. The court is adjourned.

Why Spiritual Attacks Keep Coming Back Again and Again

Many believers sincerely pray, fast, rebuke the enemy, and seek spiritual help, yet they continue experiencing the same spiritual attacks. According to this teaching, the primary reason is not the power of Satan but an open door within the believer—an unrenewed mind and unrenewed desires that allow the enemy to gain access.

James 1:14 explains that temptation begins when a person is "drawn away" (exelko – dragged from safety by bait) and "enticed" (deleazo – caught by a hook). Satan cannot force his way into a believer's life; he first appeals to unrenewed desires within the soul. The real battlefield is therefore the mind, not external circumstances.

 Most of the Christians fight spiritual warfare at the wrong address. They focus on rebuking demons while neglecting the inner conversation of their minds. Fear, anxiety, unbelief, and negative self-talk continually feed old desires, keeping the door open to the enemy. Proverbs 23:7 reminds us that as a person thinks in the heart, so they become.

The solution is not greater willpower or religious effort, but the renewing of the mind through God's Word (Romans 12:2). Instead of suppressing sinful desires, believers must replace them with revelation knowledge of their identity in Christ. As the mind is transformed, the old desires lose their power, and Satan's bait no longer finds a response.

James 1:14–15 further explains that temptation becomes destructive when unrenewed desires unite with Satan's thoughts, producing sin and its consequences. The enemy only presents the bait; the "conception" occurs within the unrenewed soul. Therefore, renewing the mind closes the doorway before temptation can take root.

The teaching illustrates this with the story of an heir who legally inherited a vast estate but continued living in poverty because his thinking never changed. Likewise, believers possess every spiritual blessing through Christ (Ephesians 1:3–14), yet many continue living in fear, lack, defeat, and anxiety because their minds have not caught up with their covenant inheritance.

A major practical step is to starve old desires by refusing to continually speak and meditate on problems. Constantly rehearsing sickness, lack, fear, or failure strengthens the very appetites that open the door to the enemy. Instead, believers should consistently confess God's promises and align their thoughts and words with Scripture.

The believers also warn that after receiving God's truth, familiar thoughts of fear, doubt, and unbelief will return disguised as "common sense." These thoughts should not be entertained or debated but immediately rejected and replaced with God's Word. Spiritual warfare is the daily discipline of maintaining agreement with God's covenant rather than with sense knowledge.

Finally, this message emphasizes God's grace. The blood of Jesus cleanses every past failure, and His name carries authority over every power of darkness. As believers continually renew their minds, feed their recreated spirit with God's Word, and stand on their covenant identity, the enemy gradually loses every point of access. The goal is to reach the place Jesus described: "The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 14:30).

Key Message

Spiritual attacks often continue not because Satan is stronger, but because an unrenewed mind and unrenewed desires leave an open doorway. Lasting victory comes through renewing the mind with God's Word, replacing sense knowledge with revelation knowledge, feeding the recreated spirit, and consistently living according to one's covenant identity in Christ. When the mind is transformed, the enemy loses his entry point, and the believer walks in the victory already secured through Jesus Christ.