Legacy Church Blog

Root To Fruit

While the war of the mind is a personal war for everyone, it doesn’t have to be an individual war. It’s helpful to know that the ultimate Helper—God the Spirit—and those in your close community are in the foxholes with you, fighting on the front lines for your holiness. In chapter eight of Gospel Fluency, Jeff writes:

When I am teaching people how to fight with gospel truths, I introduce some cues to help them discover the aspect of the gospel they may need to press into. For instance, if someone is struggling with guilt or shame for what he been done, I encourage him to go to the cross where Jesus died and remember his words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). We need the reminder that Jesus’s death paid for all our sin, past, present, and future. He atoned for our sin, removed our guilt, and covered our shame. 

If someone is struggling to overcome sin, I might encourage her to remember and believe in the resurrection, where Jesus condemned sin’s power. He gives us the same power to overcome by the Spirit who raised him from the dead.

Some are dealing with feelings of inadequacy in their behavior and lean toward performance-based acceptance. If so, I direct them to remember Jesus’s life, perfectly lived in their place, and the Father’s words spoken over Jesus (words that are now ours in Jesus): “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 3:17).

Whatever the struggle, the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus gives life, hope, and power. And by faith in Christ, every attribute, characteristic, and blessing that belongs to Jesus is available to us because of our unity with him.

In essence, fighting with gospel truths is trusting in and putting on ourselves all that is true of Jesus, and therefore also true of us in Jesus. This week’s group exercise puts that into practice as you consider going from “fruit to root” to “root to fruit” together. If your group is larger than six people, you might want to divide into groups of three or four to make sure everyone gets a chance to participate. We’ll encourage you to “let your group in”—especially if there are areas you’re having a hard time reconstructing right belief. It can feel shameful, but by God’s design you need each other in those areas especially!

Credit to saturatetheworld.com for the graphic and great teaching. 

Stepping off the track: Consolation / Desolation

Whenever it is a good time to “step off the track” and meditate on what I’m feeling, what that means about how I see Jesus, and how I can respond. Very simply I ask these questions…

• Consolation: These are moments we're easily able to focus outside and beyond ourselves. We can see the joys and sorrows of other people. We bond close in community. We're inspired to foster new ideas and innovations. We feel overall refreshed and energetic. We easily sense God's activity in our lives - and enjoy it. 
  • Good Questions
  • Where did I feel most genuine and rested today?
  • Where did I feel the most joy and peace?
  • Who was God to me at that moment?
  • Can I thank God for this?
• Desolation: These are moments we turns in on ourselves. They drive us down the spiral ever deeper into our own negative feelings. We feel cut us off from community. We want to give up on the things that used to be important to us. We ignore all our landmarks [the signs of our journey with God so far]. We feel drained of all energy. 
  • Good questions
  • Where did I feel most disjointed today?
  • Where did I feel the greatest tension or anxiety?
  • Who was God to me at that moment?
  • What does trust look like here?
  • Can I repent and celebrate God’s answer for this?

As you build a steady practice of this, you’ll notice an increased awareness of when it’s happening in real time. You’ll be quick to pray, and quick to apply the good news of how God sees you and what he has done. 

Try this once a day, then move to twice a day. Feel free to try this in written or spoken prayer. Feel free to change the questions according to you personality and needs. Hope this is helpful.