Every week we go through our Proclamation, but I spent the first three years of my time at the church not really thinking about what I was saying, or thinking about how it was formed, or where the statements came from. For the next several weeks I will be sharing what I learned when I dove into it, head first.

Here’s the video of week 2. If you’d like to follow along with my notes, you can see them all below the video. You can also download the file, print it out and keep it for yourself.

 

My notes

Greeting

Reminder of what we’re doing, and why.

Breaking down the proclamation. Because I wanted to understand it, so I’m sharing what I learned.

 4-6 weeks will be like a class, rather than church.

encouraged to study, encouraged to connect things, and see new things.

each week we’ll build on the previous week, but you won’t be left behind.

 

For each statement, we’ll see 4 parts.

   back it up

   break it down

   restate it

   call to action

1) This is my Bible: I am what it says I am.

This is the foundation. If we can’t believe this statement, if we can’t stand behind it whole-heartedly, then the rest of this is completely negated. Jerry said last week that we can’t use circular logic, but only faith. Faith that the bible is the Word of God. Faith that the bible is right, even when it contradicts and confuses. It has to be the way we light our way, and it has to hold our truths.

Back it up: Psalm 119:105, Hebrews 4:12

Break it down:

Bible: the Christian scriptures, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments.  any authoritative book.

Am what it says I am: A statement of faith.

Restate: This is the book of my authority, and I believe the things it says.

Call to action: The Word of God is your light, your blade, and your complete authority. Study is the only way to make sure you use it to its full potential.

 2) I am the child of the living God. 

Every person that’s come up here has spoken about the parental relationship, but this is different. We are not trying to understand, when we say this, that we are the child. We are stating. We are proclaiming. So what, exactly, are we proclaiming?

Back it up: Galatians 4:6, Romans 8:16 (really, 12-17) (Lead by the spirit)

Break it down:

Child: offspring.

Living God: the resurrected Christ.

It means more than just saying we are a follower of christ.

… we’ve given ourselves to him.

… we know and believe he loves us.

… we love him, and accept our responsibilities.

What responsibilities?

… to love. and keep the commandments. Everything else is supplementary.

Restate it: I give myself over to the God who loves me enough to allow his son to be killed, so that I may be saved, and I promise to love him back.

Call to action: love.

3) I am the body of Christ.

Back it up: 1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 4:1-16

Break it down:

be: verb. Exist

Body: a physical form, or a church.

Christ: anointed (but let’s break that down, too) smeared or covered, generally in oil or mud.

“People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or god.”

Restate it:

I am the embodiment of the one that was smeared, covered in divine spiritual influence.

Call to action:

Now that we understand what the words all mean, what is the commitment?

We are saying (to ourselves and the world)

that we (as we are, act, feel, react, say) embody Christ!

And this is what God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit tell us.

Paul said “WE are the body of christ”

not a series of buildings.

People. connected, joined, irrevocably, in love for the smeared one.

If this is all true, there’s only one thing to do: Matthew 22:36 – 40

And Jesus even showed us how to do it:

Luke 22:19 : Show your love of people through service.

4) I am made the righteousness of God because of Jesus’ sacrifice on my behalf.

Back it up: 2 Corinthians 5:21, Romans 5:20-6:4, Galatians 2:16, 3:11

Break it down:

righteousness of God: to be as pure, sinless, and morally right, as God.

Jesus’ Sacrifice: to live a sin-free life and then die a horrible, tortured, painful death, and spend three days in hell as payment for all of OUR sins.

There’s nothing we can do, or have done, to atone for our sins,

nothing that makes us right with God.

Jesus did that.

Restate it:

Jesus sacrificed himself, body and soul, lived a sinless life, died a tortured death, and spent three days in hell, so that I could be considered as clean as God, and righteous enough to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Call to action:

Live as sinless as you can. Because think about it:

If you committed an act of murder, and your sister, who had done nothing wrong, said “I will pay the price for your misdead”.

tortured/taken/killed

would you kill again? and again?

5) Therefore, I am the head and not the tail; above only and not beneath.

Back it up: Deuteronomy 28:13

Break it down:

head: leader. head of an animal. I think of a snake, reguardless of the implications.

Jesus warns us not to SEEK to be the head, only to accept it. (Mark 10:44-45)

tail: end, last, rear, butt.  … follower.

above / below: … duh. restatement, right?

but! while I was reading, I thought of this.

He’s not restating, he’s telling us something else.

He’s promising we will be above our sicknesses. Above our hardship. Above our defeat.

Context:

The context of this promise is crucial, but to us it’s simple.

deuteronomy 23:13 (read context)

Faith in Christ, maintaining our relationship with god.

all we need to claim these promises.

Restate it:

With God, I will be a leader, not a follower. I will see the good in my situation, and be happy in spite of my troubles, because God has promised that it won’t last.

Call to action:

Remembering this is the hardest part, but I’m going to say your call to action here is forgiving yourself. REMEMBERING God’s promise in the heat of your problems is beyond difficult. Give yourself a hug, and let it go. You’ll do better next time, and if God doesn’t condemn you, you have no right to.

6) The Lord has given me authority over all the power of the enemy.

Back it up: Luke: 10:19, Acts 1:8, Ephesians 3:20

Break it down:

Authority: boss.

Power: abilities, influence, movement/travel/transportation

enemy: anything that takes your focus from God, or disrupts your walk,

but it depends on the context.

1 Corinthians 15: 26 — death

1 Timothy 5:14-15 — Devil

Exodus 23:22 — opponents of Israel

Psalm 25:2,19 — David’s aggressors

Romans 5:10: — EVERYONE OF US.

So, now let’s expand on power. If WE are included in the potential definition of enemy?

Proverbs: 24:17-18, 25:21

Matthew 5:43

Our power includes responsibility, concern, consideration, compassion for our enemies.

Restate it

The Lord has required me to show concern for the influence of anything that would come against me. I have the ability to control its very movement, and its effects on me.

Call to action

Claim your authority over the “enemies” you see, have, experience, and treat them with concern, consideration, and compassion. But…. Side note: Acts 19:13-16

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