The Foundation Of The New Creation (CCL, msg 4) – July 26-27, 2025 (268/365)

Saturday, always a rest day. While I was going through what I defaulted to, I was reminded of something that I used to do before I even started working: That is, to drain myself completely, to allow revelations to flow in. To break my resistance, and let what naturally comes, just, well, come.

I remember I tried doing that when I used to report in as early as 5am – I would intentionally wake up, do some steps, do my stretching, throw in burpees and punches, get as many steps as I could, all before a cold bath, hot coffee, and, if time permits, a reading of Psalms and Proverbs.

Now I’m reminded, if I could do it back then, surely I could do it now that I report for work much later in the day, around before noon, even.

Ever since the beginning of this week I’ve observed my mind, apparently needlessly struggling with the fact that I work for so long and straight, when I should just try to get at least one session of ‘draining’ my body and mind (through workouts and writing) before then.

I’m reminded of Naval Ravikant’s wisdom, where he states that the best actions are those that compound – the ones that build towards something. I now remember that these words and these actions all compound towards further toning and clarity, again, of body and mind. It’s not a bad use of my time.

Yeah. Just thought I’d put this in here for the record, for my retention. Michael Scott tells the Dunder Mifflin Office to ‘always be closing’… Well, I’ll ‘always be compounding‘…

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until the full day. Proverbs 4:18

…I’ll always be compounding, that is, physically, mentally, and, most of all, spiritually. Remembering Christ through the Living Word, and the Word of Life, through Christ. Through all these workouts and the writing, one thing ought to just stay in my mind, repeated as much as possible, so it’s just so natural and so real – What I shared in my last post:

These are our absolutes. This is our reality, bought by the blood of Christ:

Our names are written in the book of Life.
God is our Father who is for us and not against us.
Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God.
We have the mind of Christ.
We have the Holy Spirit – The Spirit of Truth, Adoption, and Comfort; The Spirit of Power, Love, and of Sound Judgment.
We are loved by an everlasting love, and by this love we are willing and able to love one another.
All of our Father’s promises are ‘Yes’, and ‘Amen’!

I have a feeling I’ll be sharing this tomorrow, in our series of Christ-centered Living. We touched base on how, if we do value Christ-centered Living, we would rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything.

Now, we go for the rest of Paul’s call to action: 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

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It’s the next day, and it’s hours before the service where I share this message… but why, as early as now, am I feeling a sense of dread for my shifts the next day? Why am I gearing myself up, why am I mentally psyching myself as early as now for those 10-hour shifts?

I call them as I say them, and in my mentioning, I say what grieves me the most – it’s 10 freaking hours. I thought I could take it, but I never thought it’d be 10 heavy hours – like 10 hours on edge. Or is it still because I’m not used to the grind? Should I be worrying about how to slip in a break in between to ease the long hours? Or should I be figuring out how to lighten up the 10 hours? Or should I think of what else could be done while I’m working? Or should I be acting towards all of these things?

I’m reminded that the promises I mentioned above – the promises FULFILLED, mind you – should be the foundation; I should be looking at that 10 hour shift from the perspective of Christ in me, and not purely on how I believe it impacts me. In other words, I ought to let myself be impacted by the eternal and infinite Creator of the Universe (who happens to be my Father by the finished work of Jesus Christ), more than I see myself affected by situations and circumstance.

I suppose it’s real-time application of not quenching the Spirit, not despising prophecies, testing everything, holding fast to what is good, and abstaining from every form of evil.

Sorry, I thought I’d throw this in before I kept going with this.

Before I get ahead of myself, I suppose I should follow my weekly formatting:

Welcome to the Good News Aces, where the girls sing the boys’ songs, the boys sing the girls’ songs, and we all just have a good time.

Welcome to the Good News Aces, where we realize the winds, the waters, and even the back-to-back typhoons obey Christ.

Worship insights: ‘Though He sees all of me, He loves me forever’ – ‘Though I have not seen Him I love Him completely’

Communion insights:

Giving insights: You are a Temple of the Holy Spirit. Back then nothing mattered, no matter how excellent your performance, no matter how good your intentions. Now, all you do is a ministry.

The story of the mites – The Law demands all.

Recap:

We’re drilling down on Christ-Centered Living, which is our believing in the One whom God has sent (Jesus Christ), and loving one another as He loved/loves us.
For purposes of discussion and learning, we’ve also considered 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 to be a good basis for what Christ-Centered Living is:
- Christ-Centered Living means to rejoice always – and we DO rejoice all the time, we have joy no matter what, because underneath it all, and over everything, Christ has guaranteed our names are written in the Book of Life. We rejoice always in our salvation.
- Christ-Centered Living means to give thanks in everything – and when we give thanks (for provision, for revival, for salvation), let us not be surprised if breakthroughs follow.
- Christ-Centered Living means to pray without ceasing – and this is no burden to us, because when we give thanks, we naturally rejoice, just as we naturally give thanks when we are rejoicing, and all this time, we’re communicating to our Father…
  - …and if we aren’t actively praying, the Holy Spirit is present, praying on our behalf, in groanings and intercession. The Holy Spirit prays with us, and for us.
So far, we also realize that the Holy Spirit is central in Christ-Centered Living:
- He convicts us of our righteousness in Christ, causing us to always give thanks, and to always rejoice.
- Again, He also prays for us and He prays with us.

July 27, 2025 – Jesus Discerns – Understanding First From The Heart (1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, Mark 7:14-23, Psalm 51:10, 1 Corinthians 1:22-25, 1 Corinthians 2:14-16)

9 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast what is good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22

How would you know what is of the Spirit?

How would you know which prophecies are legit?

What are the baselines for you to test everything?

How would you know what is good, and what is evil?

How would you know what to hold fast to, and what to abstain from?

A Blast In The Past

We’re told to follow your heart. We’re told to rely on our gut feeling. We’re advised to go for what feels natural. But is this really something that we should immediately go for?

The more experienced of us here in the body of Christ would absolutely disagree. And rightly so – for here is what we have, from Scripture:

7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.

8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

10 “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”Jeremiah 17:7-10

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.” 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”Mark 7:14-23

A Cry, And A Promise

David was fully aware of this, and much so when he sinned against the Lord, Uriah and Bath-Sheba.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.Psalms 51:10-12

We see David and a whole bunch of other individuals, up to entire nations (Nineveh, Israel, Judah) regretting their sins, and additionally, realizing how hopeless we are as a species, with all the sin we’re infected with… But even as early as the Old Testament, the nation of Israel was given a promise:

25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. 26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28 You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.Ezekiel 36:25-28

A New Covenant, A New Creation: A New Heart, A New Mind

6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

8 For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt.

For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord:

I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”Hebrews 8:6-12, Jeremiah 31:33-34

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.2 Corinthians 5:17

⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.Romans 6:4

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ¹⁶ “For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.1 Corinthians 2:14-16

The Foundation Of The New Creation

How would you know what is of the Spirit?

How would you know which prophecies are legit?

What are the baselines for you to test everything?

How would you know what is good, and what is evil?

How would you know what to hold fast to, and what to abstain from?

Why are we able to rejoice always?

Why is it possible for us to pray without ceasing?

Why are we able to give thanks in all circumstances?

We give thanks to God, through Christ! For the Holy Spirit is our Helper in all of this!

We have the Holy Spirit – The Spirit of Truth, Adoption, and Comfort; The Spirit of Power, Love, and of Sound Judgment. (John 16:13, Romans 8:15, 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, 2 Timothy 1:7) He glorifies Christ (John 16:14-15)
Our names are written in the book of Life. (Luke 10:20)
God is our Father who is for us and not against us. (Romans 8:15, 31)
Nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:38-39)
We have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:14-16)
We are loved by an everlasting love, and by this love we are willing and able to love one another. (Jeremiah 31:3, John 13:34)
All of our Father’s promises are ‘Yes’, and ‘Amen’! (2 Corinthians 1:20)

We don’t worship worship. We realize how power is overrated and control is underestimated. Our trust in not in anything else but the Holy Spirit, who points to Christ, who is the demonstration of our Father’s everlasting love.

To Him be all the glory and honor, forever and ever. Amen.

Questions:

How does the reality of your being a new creation in Christ help you in your actions?

How does the reality of your having the Holy Spirit help you in your reaction?

God bless you!

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