Copyright
© 1994
Warren Litzman. Adapted from the book "The Believer's Secret of Happiness".
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The Believer's Secret of Happinessby Warren Litzman
The six areas of study in this book are derived from a time when the Holy Spirit was teaching me the difference between being "in Christ" and enjoying the full liberties of union with Christ. Now, I see that all of the spiritual growth of a believer comes as he moves from one level of understanding to another. This book is written especially for a hungry heart that is ready to go on into the fullness of Christ -- in other words, ready to move to another level of understanding.
The Christ-life message has but one intention: to fulfill what the Father has always wanted in believers by opening new and greater understandings of who we are in Christ that we might go on into the fullness of union. The written Word is a key to the study of this book. It is only as you see Christ in the scriptures that you can be what you are by Him in you. As you study these truths you will sense, by the Holy Spirit, Christ-life surging through you. In time the "surge" will bring perfect union with Him.
Our whole concept of Christian living has been false. One of our greatest spiritual laws in the Christ-Life is "If you don't start right, you can't end right." Almost every believer began his spiritual walk with the concept, "I've accepted Jesus -- I let Jesus come into my heart."
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The false idea is that Jesus is not in charge of my spiritual life (heart) and that I can go on living as usual. This leaves a tremendous part of our lives still under our own control. Satan, of course, knows this and continues his attacks, causing the believer to suffer. Often, this makes the believer seek healing for his suffering by turning to carnal means.
Because the newly saved believer is so damaged by Satan, even though he has Jesus, he begins to feel the hopelessness which so many are feeling in Christianity. We must do something to get them into New Testament truth. We know the Father has a better plan than most believers are experiencing now.
The best place to start is to get the believer out of the vulnerable-to-Satan position and into an invulnerable position in Christ. Ephesians 1:4 says that we were elected "in Christ" before the foundation of the world was laid.
In the past twenty years, all over the world, the Father has been raising up truth-bearers of the "in Christ" position. The early Church, taught by Paul, lived in this glorious position. Only in the past two decades has Christianity in America begun to press into this life "in Christ."
Spirit-filled circles in America have promoted the notion that the believer is separated from Jesus and that, through his own self-effort, he must find the Lord -- he must find healing or faith or a miracle. All of this self-effort on the believer's part has caused him to put more faith in men (particularly healers) and in man-made organizations rather than seeing how he is "in Christ." This is the essence of the modern "faith movements." I call it the gospel of "separatism."
This "gospel of separatism" hinges on someone being able to get these two together. Consequently, the more successful a ministry is in getting the believer to Christ, the more powerful and rich that ministry becomes. Thus, we have the rise of notable ministries today which say, "Do what we say and you will get more of Jesus."
The apostle Paul taught that the believer was "in Christ" immediately when born again. The New Testament never suggests "separatism." Through the centuries, the great truth that the believer is in Christ has been hidden from us by the existing ministries of the day. Probably these ministries could not help themselves, as the Lord had not yet revealed these truths to them, but they are in the New Testament, and the Holy Spirit will reveal truth to anyone who seeks Him (I Corinthians 2:9-10). So, multitudes of believers have never come to a vibrant life in Christ. They remain easy prey to Satan when -- if they only knew they were "in Christ" -- Satan could not hinder them. When Satan attacks an in-Christ believer, he must first break through Christ and His finished work at Calvary. There is never a moment of separatism; the believer is in Christ.
Now, this "in Christ" position is perfect on the Father's part. The Father sees the believer as "Christ in human form." This does not mean that we are Christ, or that we are deity, but that we express the life of Christ by our own unique personalities. On the believer's part, the knowledge of this "in Christ" position is new. The great awakening is at hand. Thousands are having Christ revealed to them, and the full gospel is coming to our generation.
Paul called Christ, as the believer's life, a mystery -- not an unattainable mystery, but a mystery not attainable by the carnal or natural man. This mystery, when revealed, places the believer on a plateau of living that goes beyond any comprehension.
II Corinthians 5:17 says that we are "new creatures in Christ Jesus." It is this new creation life that this study addresses. It remains to be seen what could happen to an ordinary person when he really sees himself in Christ. Gone forever would be separatism religion. Gone forever would be doubt, fear, unbelief, and all other attacks of Satan. Gone forever would be the self-pity derived from sickness, shame, sin, and misfortune. Creatively, we would work out our salvation in victory. This study is not to help you to victory. You are already victorious. You are in Christ; Christ is the real you to the Father. You simply do not know this yet. This study is to help you, the new creature, to begin creative Christ-living.
The Christ-life should be a fruitful growing adventure for all of us. God created His children with the highest intelligence on earth. Adam was told, in the garden, that he had dominion over everything (Genesis 1:26). Before sin, God planned that man should enjoy and replenish the earth. The Lord gave man a mind that could accomplish all of this. That mind was to be fed only with knowledge from God. But, through Satan's lie, Adam accepted a lesser knowledge -- the knowledge of good and evil -- from the forbidden tree. Since then, mankind has been at the mercy of this lesser knowledge.
A greater knowledge came to mankind through another tree: Calvary. It is here that divine correction is given to the lesser knowledge, and the greater knowledge is restored. Just as the greater knowledge for living came from the Father to Adam before the fall, so does Calvary knowledge come from the Father. Man with all his invention, genius, discovery, and effort, has not given himself any new hope for the greater knowledge. This knowledge belongs only to the Father.
Even though there is a curse upon the world, even though man's (Adam's) knowledge has failed, you can have the new mind! As a believer, you have available the mind of Christ, and with this mind you can create a meaningful life upon earth, even though some of the lesser knowledge remains. You make the choice for victory in your own mind.
You owe it to yourself to avail yourself of God's "Calvary knowledge." You have an obligation to bring light to a darkened world by the renewing of your own mind. What sets you free, frees others around you. God's eternal plan will never function through believers if they live without a renewed mind.
Too many people have renounced happiness. Too many feel that living has lost it's thrill for them. Too many find no purpose in their life. Why is this? Why do people give up on life? Why do they give up on themselves? Christians are not exempt from those feelings any more than others.
Three popular stumbling blocks are:
- "The pace is too fast," some say. They point to cars that speed
down the highway and to jets that whiz through the skies at 600 miles per hour.
They speak of the hustle-bustle of city life and the speed with which people
move around on working days. They lament the changes in our ideas about sex,
art, and dress. "Who can keep up with these revolutions in thought?"
- "Individuality is dead," others say. "Large corporations dominate
business. The small businessman is losing out. Automation is hurting people.
People are becoming mere data to be filed into the giant machine's hopper en
route to their dehumanization."
- "Mankind is doomed," still others proclaim. "Each year, more and
more nations possess nuclear weapons. Sooner or later, there may be a nuclear
holocaust. Even if we avoid this, radioactive fallout will kill us slowly."
There is some justification for men feeling this way. The lesser knowledge has brought all of this about. However, negative thinking wastes human potential. "In Christ" means everything is as eternal as He is. We are alive forevermore. The Calvary knowledge projects us to a positive feeling that everything will work out.
Man's Knowledge:
Pace is too fast.
Man dehumanized.
Man is doomed. |
Calvary Knowledge:
You are in Christ.
Christ is victorious.
You are alive forevermore.
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Life is no worse today than it has been from the beginning -- God's grace still keeps the world spinning until He gets through with it. It may not be much longer, but it doesn't really matter. Creative Christ-living has all things in control.
I am excited about communicating the truths of the creative Christ-life. I have written many books and articles on the subject, but I think I'm more enthused than ever. I'm excited because you can live this Christ-life now. I feel that I have a certain perspective. I have experienced, for a long time, the problems of a Christ person who wants to explore the depths of the Christ-life. I have been there, with my eyes and heart wide open, and I feel that you can experience what I have.
I want to share this great truth with you. This creative Christ-life can be yours today. You need not live according to the lesser knowledge any longer. So many people do not see this truth. Rationalizations obscure it. Defeat crushes it. Yet it is as real as the table at which you eat. Despite many examples to the contrary, truth can be pleasant.
For over ten years, I was the director of Christian Counseling Center in Dallas, and a Christian psychologist for many more years. I have worked to improve both the self and physical images of hundreds of people. Still, there is more to life than a good physical-or self-image.
There is another force that can sustain you amid the demands of living. It is a force that can remove scars from the mind. It is a force that can bring you a sense of security, even when every event in your world goes wrong. It is your Christ-life.
Since the day you were saved, you've been a Christ person -- literally, Christ in a human form. To live creatively, you must allow an operation on your mind. The Christ-person must have a Christ-mind (Philippians 2:5). The phrase, "You are what you eat," is applicable to the mind.
If you continue to feed from Adam's knowledge, it will feed your flesh and lead to defeat. Calvary knowledge, however, is compatible with Christ and makes a victorious Christ-person. You can, and must, have the Christ-image. There is a potency in the Christ-image that goes beyond all comprehension.
Don't let worries get you down. It is deplorable when negative thinking takes hold of you, dragging you down into despair. Worry dominates the thinking of so many people today:
- The college student who spends half of his time worrying about the world he lives in knows nothing of creative Christ-living. Certainly, he
can try to realistically improve the situation -- he can march, write his
congressman, and organize a discussion group -- but when he continues worrying,
this is self-destruction.
- The young mother whose thoughts are full of anxiety about her children
does not know herself as a Christ-person, and consequently wastes her days.
She should teach them about life's dangers, try to protect them, but after
that, why the self-torture? It will not help.
- The middle-aged businessman who is obsessed with money -- is something
in him not dead? Of course, money is important, but what good will
obsessive fears do? Positive, creative Christ-thinking -- now that is something
altogether different.
When you substitute worry for the knowledge of who you are in Christ, you will take the responsibility for it. It is a natural law. We must realize that negative thinking (Adam's knowledge) puts a burden today on all who do it, even as it brought a curse on the world in the beginning.
Still, if you have wasted some of your life moping, don't blame yourself for it. You are not perfect -- no one is -- and self-blame will not help you. Always remember that your greatest error will be in thinking you can improve yourself. It is not you becoming perfect -- it is you knowing that Jesus is your perfection.
To bring health into your life, you need a healthy Christ-image. You must see Jesus as your life -- your everything. Seeing Him as the real you is healthy. Jesus does not just give us health -- He is our health.
In psychology, we say, "People must learn to accept themselves." This, of course, is Adam's knowledge. It is not ourselves that we must accept; rather, it is Jesus we must accept as ourselves. When people see Jesus as their own life, then the world looks better. In fact, everything fits together.
Other people, however, hear these truths and react in a way that puzzled me until I came to understand what had happened to them. They had received a head knowledge of the Christ-life, but not a revelation of Jesus as their life. Often, these people are strong in faith and the Word, but they merely have faith in their faith, and faith in the promises they see. Yet awaiting them in the creative Christ-life is the faith of Jesus working in them and the work becoming Jesus, Who is life.
Then there are those whose background problems are severe, blocking hope for a renewed mind. Psychic doors must be opened or closed for these, and then they can see Jesus. Satan must be defeated before the Jesus image will come forth.
Remember that my objective is not to bring forth your image. It is Christ in you Who is the hope of glory. Bringing Him forth through your life as the real you is the only life the Father will accept in His children. It is also the only life of real victory.
This is no easy task and I am not saying that it is. Deeply ingrained negative attitudes permeate our culture, and every day, people you know may try to submerge you in them. You must not allow yourself to be railroaded into adopting stereotyped, humiliating attitudes toward your own Christ-life.
In your teens and twenties, you may hear that you are too young to get involved with Jesus. Voices of gloom may tell you of others who failed, but here you must be creative. The Jesus in you seeks an opportunity to overwhelm every obstacle in your life and keep you victorious.
In your middle years, you may hear that the world is too complex -- that this age places burdens on the individual's shoulders that are too heavy to be borne by simply saying "Jesus is the answer." It still remains to be seen, if a believer turns his whole life into Jesus, just how victorious he could be. It is interesting to see that the One who made the world and controls it all lives within the believer.
In your later years, you may feel that you are no longer useful. If the real you is the person you see in the mirror and the you who charts your life, then you could be overwhelmed by feelings of uselessness. If you know that the real you is Jesus, then you will be eternally useful to the Father and yourself. Can you think of Jesus as being useless? True, these are not easy years for people; no years ever have been. Still, there are wonders of the Christ-life to explore. There are good moments to live. We must bury our negative thinking and feel the exciting promise of each day.
There is so much hope for people today. There is hope for those who will learn of Christ and enter the better life.
You must, in order to live creatively, redouble your efforts to make Jesus Lord. Begin by giving all the glory to Him for everything. Your every accomplishment can be Jesus working through you. Your every word can be Jesus speaking through you. Your positive actions, your positive feelings, and your real life qualities can be Jesus' attributes coming through you. Accept your shortcomings and failures as testings pressing you more into Christ. Look upon your blunders as converging powers. Moreover, you must examine yourself daily as you search the Scriptures. See Jesus as the real you and the old you as crucified with Christ at Calvary (Galatians 2:20).
You must understand the incredible power of your mind. You, yourself, decide daily who you really are. Without your daily searching the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit cannot reveal Jesus as you (Acts 17:11). Your thoughts, your concepts, your vision -- these are tools that the Holy Spirit can use, proving Jesus in you.
The Christ-life is something different in each person. Sad to say, millions of born-again believers have hidden Jesus from their life, whether by ignorance or intent. They struggle along in their own version or denomination of Christianity, never coming to full victory. They seem to prefer their own interpretation of who they are to that of the Holy Spirit.
Many other believers take refuge in dull, religious activities, afraid to come out and say, I no longer live; Christ lives in me. I suppose there are many mechanisms by which people live out their days, enduring boredom, tensing themselves to absorb the pain.
The Christ-life should be an adventure for you -- today. The Christ-life should be exciting. Living the Christ-life is greater than any fiction. If you catch the vision that all you have ever wanted to do and every place you have ever wanted to go are in Jesus, wrapped up in Him, you will change to real creative Christ-living.
Copyright © 1994 Warren Litzman. The Bible text in this publication, except where otherwise indicated, is from the King James Version. This article appears on the site: http://www.peterwade.com/.
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