He Is – I Am
Living Out of My Identity in Christ
by
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He is holy – I belong exclusively to him.
Holy, Just Like My Father
God, my Father, is holy.
He is exclusively holy. This means that he is above his creatures and separated from sin. There is no one holy as he is, and the holiness that he has is unlike any other. He is perfect in holiness, to the point that his love, his power and his will are regulated by his holiness. He is righteous in all his ways, and “holy in all His works.” (Psalm 145:17) Everything about my Father is consistent with his holiness.
The unique factor about my father, however, is this: he is also inclusively holy. This means that, while he is completely and separately holy, he desires also to communicate in holiness with me and convey his holiness to me. He wants me to commune with his in holiness and to be like him also in holiness. He wants me to know by experience the very same holiness which he is.
I was made to live where he lives: glory! So, I must be made to be what He is: holy!
It is only in the state of holiness that I can know him. And, by the way, he really wants me to know him. He wants to walk with me and to live with me. He so desires this that, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, his Son, and the giving of his Holy Spirit, he has removed every barrier that would keep us apart. Now, In Christ, I can enter his presence absolutely and totally untainted by sin.
But he not only removes the barrier, i.e. sin, he re-creates me holy in his image and he enters me, as a holy God, to live in me. Now I can live with a confident boldness, first, that I both have utter and unhindered access to him, and second, that I carry his holy presence into every situation I face. God’s holiness is a condition I live in; it is a state in which I exist.
The Psalmist declared, “Lord, where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7) Everything I am, everywhere I go and everything I do is holy, accepted by you and includes your favor and protection.
He is passionate about this and, the fact is, he is so “madly” in love with me, his creation, and so hungry for fellowship with me that he has chosen to move in my direction, to remove all sin from me and to re-make me into the person he designed me to be.
Set Apart unto the Lord
I have been chosen by my Father and now, in Christ, I belong to him, exclusively to him. No other person or power has any claim on me whatsoever, and no other entity, no matter how powerful it is, has jurisdiction over me beyond what my Father allows. No thing or no one has rights over me. I am his. He picked me, made me his royal priest, and I have become his “special possession.” (1 Pet. 2:9)
I have been set apart for his pleasure and purposes. His Spirit in me guides me into his ways and gives me a passion to do his work, and to do my work – his way. His holy person and presence are part of all I am and do.
All intruders are prevented from entering my household by his presence. Every enemy of my soul looking for an entry point must contend with my Father. In fact, all evil contenders are forbidden, and all those who previously occupied places of authority in my life have been expelled and permanently barred. Their position no longer exists.
I am holy because my Father is holy, and he has set me “apart from the nations to be his own.” (Lev. 20:26) I have been sanctified by him and for him.
• I am different and distinct from the world. While I participate in and engage fully with my society, I remain distinct in spirit, motivation and attitude.
• I am unlike any other. My design is unique. I have been shaped by the one who is holy, I have been cut from his holy fabric and I have been sewn together with his holy hands.
• I am alike in nature with him. I resemble no one but him. His mark is on me and his holy nature is within me. I am the same “holy” which he is.
I am pure and separated from all sin. There is no barrier to isolate me in any way from my Father, because every offense has been removed, and he lives in me. I have been purchased and purged by the holiest of sacrifices, the purest Lamb of God, and presented holy in his sight, “without blemish and free from accusation.” (Col. 1:22)
I am separate, not only "from" sin, but "unto" my Father God. I am in him, I am held by him, I am owned by him, and I am made pure and holy, just like him. In holiness, I am not only separated and removed from sin, I am also freed from its consequence: i.e. sickness, oppression, bondage, etc. That’s why, when he re-creates his holiness in me, I am complete, in need of nothing, absolutely nothing.
The wages of sin have no hold on me for they have lost their foot hold. There is no common ground for them to occupy and there is no place to latch onto. The holiness that I am in Christ is impenetrable and resistant to all evil.
Herein God holds me. The claim that Satan once had on me is gone and the rights and privileges of his evil empire have been renounced. I have been purchased and purged by a holy God with the holiest of sacrifices, the purest Lamb of God, his Son, Jesus Christ.
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About the Book
Fundamental to my life is the fact that, no matter what I feel or how it appears to me, I am in Christ and he is in me. The conditions of life do not define who I am. Christ is who I am. I am in him, and I will never be moved from here, for it is my place, and will remain so in all environments, stations and conditions. He is my constitution. He is my station. He is the place I live in.
Because he is – I am!
My book is different compared to others for several reasons.
First, it is based on a life-long study and a tried-and-true life application of God’s Word, the single and most trustworthy and authoritative source of all truth.
Second, I have had the privilege of serving God both in a full-time capacity and as a typical, day-in-and-day-out, nitty-gritty “common” citizen of the world, and I believe this book will impact the reader spiritually, intellectually and pragmatically. It will help him or her encounter God in the midst of the “stuff” of life.
Third, I serve a real God. He is within every reality of my life. He makes sense where I live. Whether the season is adverse or calm, God is in it – to be there, to influence my decisions, to transform the way I view each situation and to influence each outcome. He is also beyond everything. His rule, authority and power astound me. He is the “bigness” in all of life. He is the limitless supply when I am overwhelmed with my limitations; the transformative power when I am unable to change; the delivering force when I am confined by my weakness; the resurrection and the life when I need to live!
Fourth, I am a real person. I am nothing apart from God’s grace, yet complete and free in it. Holy Spirit is current and relevant to each and every situation I may encounter. My life’s experience and ministry have been real. I have seen cancer, failure, joblessness, poverty, suicide, sickness, and drug addiction. I have spent time with those in prison, the bereaved, the hospitalized and the dying. I am acquainted with people from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds and vocations and I know what it is to work hard for a living.
About the Author
Born and raised in rural Newfoundland, Laurie moved to Ontario and entered college, where he met Edith. They were married in 1981, and today they have two lovely daughters who are now married to two wonderful men and are raising five incredible and brilliant individuals who call Edith and Laurie “Gramma” and “Poppa!”
Laurie has served God in ministry in the southern Ontario area all his married life. He is an avid studier of God’s Word and loves to teach it.
Laurie believes every person was created by God and for his glory, and in his presence, they discover the phenomenal persons they actually are and become equipped to live life as they have been designed to live.
Whether it is in the context of a Sunday morning worship experience, a small group, a one-on-one visitation or counseling situation, a local newspaper article, a Facebook posting, an email campaign, a coffee shop, or over a neighbor’s fence, he is active and ministering whenever, wherever and however the need arises.