I started this Rant series with the idea of setting our affection on things above and not on the earth. And I wanted us to think about "above" as higher, not necessarily physically, but of higher importance. And then we saw that the way to do that is to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. To stop trying to GET something and start exploring what we've GOT. Testing the height, and length, and depth, and breadth of God's love for us. Which, of course, means to receive and release God's love for us. That's how you test it; you love others as He loves you. You love bigger than you ever thought possible. And that's when you find yourself in a "higher" position. Because as He is, so are we in this world. And as He is is seated at the right hand of the Father. Seated, in a posture of rest, at the right hand, which is the position of power. Our power flows from rest. Not from trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole. Not from running around like chickens with our heads cut off looking for love in all the wrong places. I think what I'm trying to say is this: God is all-powerful, right? Which doesn't mean MOST powerful. It means God has ALL of the power. And God is love, right? So LOVE is all-powerful. When we heap burning coals onto our enemies heads, what we are really doing is melting their hearts. Killing them with kindness. Destroying our enemies by making them our friends. Until we truly understand what it means to all be parts of the same body. Different parts, certainly, but that's ok. That's important. Because if we all only do the one same thing, a lot of things aren't going to get done. The first thing I realized when I lived by myself for the first time is that if you don't do it... it's probably not going to get done. And when we're talking about this collective ONE new man there are things that I can do that you can't. And things that you can do that I can't. So do what you can do. Don't try to be someone you're not. Upward and Godward is not about fitting into a religious box or being a "Christian robot." We are all unique. On purpose. Upward and Godward is really inward and love-ward. Up is in. God is love. We have everything we need inside of us. And when we know that, and believe that--when we let the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, lead and guide us into all truth--that's when what's inside comes out naturally. That's when love stops being just what we do (or try and fail to do) but it becomes who we are. The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. And then, through the cross, the Word took up abode WITHIN us. He's already in there. We're already complete in Him. We don't need to become "better" Christians by trying really hard to obey an unkeepable set of rules. We simply need to know Him as He truly is. Because in that way we will know ourselves as we truly are. And when we know ourselves as we know Him--as we are KNOWN by Him--we will stop trying to be someone else. We will be able to rest. We will find that we "go" upward and Godward by being still and knowing that He is God. Knowing that God is love. And letting God love us so much that we can't do anything else but love Him back by loving each other. That's when our Divine Nature will allow us to be who we are. Our Divine Nature will allow God to express Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. LOVE will express Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us!

Upward and Godward is actually INWARD. It is the never-ending life-long journey into the heart of the matter. And the heart of the matter... is the heart. God's heart beating with love in our chests. It's the realization--just like in the Wizard of Oz--that we already have everything we need. We ARE complete in Him. Seeking the Kingdom (first and foremost, as a priority) is not about finding something you don't have. Rest is not about getting what you lack. It's about exploring what you do have. It's about living out of the abundance that God has given you. And, for the record, what makes the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God (which IS the gift of God) abundant... is love. It's all about love. "Upward and Godward" really means "inward and loveward." Because that's where love is. It (HE) is inside us. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. And when we go inward--when we "find" what we've been looking for at the source--it comes out. Naturally. All on it's own. Because it's too good and too big to keep in. Even if we tried. Which, when we start to understand, and quite honestly be overwhelmed, by God's love we won't WANT to keep it in. There's a song lyric that says, "What you got if you ain't got love? The kind that you just want to give away..." And that's what love is all about. Receiving and RELEASING. Because love IS giving. You can give without loving, right? But you can't love without giving. Giving everything you have and everything you are. Gladly. Laying your life down for your friends. And destroying your enemies by MAKING them your friends. Heaping coals of fire on people's heads, not to burn them or hurt them, but to melt their hearts. Guys... God is love. Upward and Godward is simply another way of saying, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19). Again, we're not trying to get God to love us. That's not what it means to go upward and Godward. It's not about getting something you haven't got. It's about understanding, and experiencing, what you HAVE got. God has already blessed us with all Spiritual blessings. He has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. I already said this but we are COMPLETE in Him. We can't get any closer to God than having Him live inside us. We can't get anymore perfect than having the perfect One living in us, and through us, and as us. The point is not to get "more." Or "better." I don't believe in "good" Christians or "bad" Christians. I believe we're all Christ-like because when He came to earth to show us the Father He showed us ourselves. A man, just like you and me, filled with the Holy Spirit, who loved people. That's what divinity is all about. Being God-like. And that's who we already are. As He is, so are we in this world. This journey is simply about God revealing Himself to us, and in us, and through us, so that we might KNOW how He is, and KNOW how we are! And we see this most clearly when we look in the mirror, and when we look INTO each other. The Christ in you connected to the Christ in me. We go "up" by going IN!

What you see is what you be. What you magnify is what will manifest in your life. That's why it's so important to set your affection on things above. And, as we saw yesterday, that doesn't necessarily mean things up in the sky. It means things of upmost importance. And, believe me, there is nothing more important than love. When we magnify love in our lives, it will manifest in our lives. When we see love... we will be love. Remember, we ARE the Son(s) of God. We're just not completely sure what that MEANS. That's what the maturation process is. That's what it means to come into the unity of faith and the knowledge of the perfect man--Jesus. When He appears (to us, and in us, and through us, and as us), when we see Him as He is... we will BE like Him. Because we are ALREADY like Him. This idea of moving upward and Godward isn't about becoming something (someONE) we're not. It's about understanding who we REALLY ARE. Who we are in Christ. Which is who Christ is in us. That's the mystery--Christ in you the hope of glory--and because of the cross... because of the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth)... the mystery has been revealed. Christ IN you coming out THROUGH you. LOVE in you coming out through you. Because that's who God is. That's who JESUS is; God in the flesh. Love in body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. It's not about making others look smaller so you can make yourself look bigger. It's about filling yourself to overflowing with what you've already been filled with. It's about knowing and believing the love of Christ. Receiving it and releasing it. It's about seeking FIRST the Kingdom of God. Not in the sense of trying to find something we don't have, but in the sense of exploring what we DO have. Look at Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." We seem to focus a lot on the idea of, "Speak life." And rightly so. There is power in the tongue. Confession--what you say--is important. But it has to start somewhere. A witness tells others what he has experienced. The good report. The gospel. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. The Word about Jesus. The Word that is love. So I'm not telling you to try to conjure up some "good things" to think about, or focus on. I'm telling you there ARE good things to think about and focus on. I have a friend that, every day they write down one good thing that happened that day. Or one thing they are thankful for. And they put all of those things in a jar. Then, at the end of the year, they go back and read them. Or if they're having a rough day they'll pull one out and look at it. Just as a little reminder that things are NOT bad and getting worse. And even if you're going through a struggle... remember, it came to pass not to stay. "This too shall pass." What we need to do is shift our focus OFF of the negative and ONTO all of those good things. We need to SET our affection. We need to purposefully think on the "good stuff." Because what you feed is what grows. You can dig a hole if you want to, and a lot of people spend a lot of time and energy doing just that. OR you can go upward and Godward!

Here's where I want to make kind of a pretty important distinction about the word "above." Because my key passage for Scripture for this Rant series uses it twice: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). It is number 507 in Strong's Greek Concordance both times. And it means, "upward or on the top:- above, brim, high, up." I think this is kind of why we always look UP to the heavens. Or why we speak about the "Big guy upstairs." There's this idea that when we die there is an elevator that either takes us up or down. Like a physical "above." But, like the title of this Rant series suggests, it's both upward and GODward. And, as we know, God isn't on a planet somewhere three miles south of Mars. God is in... us. So "on the top," to me, referes to something more than just a physical location. And I have to admit, I got this revelation from my son, Logan. Because I always quote Stone Cold Steve Austin when I'm trying to get my point across: That's the bottom line. And one day I said that to Logan. And he looked at me a little funny and said, "Don't you mean the TOP line? Because that's where you put what's most important. On the top." All I could do was smile. Because in that moment Colossians chapter 3 made a lot more sense to me. It's not about "getting" to the top. Jesus said, "But many that are first shall be last; and the last first" (Mark 10:31). When the people of earth tried to build a tower up to heaven... God wasn't having it. He doesn't want us to try to climb the ladder, in that sense. He wants us to focus on those things that are MOST IMPORTANT. "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Matthew 23:23). Priorities. What's most important. What's at the top of the list. And notice, He didn't say not to do the others. We all have to take care of business. My pastor always uses the example of, "When your cable bill is due, call up Comcast and tell them how much you love Jesus. See where that gets you." Spoiler alert: It won't get you very far. But the point is, there are more important things than cable. The point is, "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:31-33). Which, by the way, is HOW we set our affection on things above. We seek FIRST the Kingdom. We make righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost our priority. Not in the sense of seeking it to get it because we think we don't have it. But in the sense of seeking it to discover what we DO have. We make LOVE the priority and then everything else falls into place. Because God is revealing Himself to us. We don't have to "figure Him out." We simply ought to let Him show us who He is. Reveal Himself to us, and in us, and through us, and as us. Reveal LOVE to us, and in us, and through us, and as us!

If you watch the news--which, admittedly, I don't--you see a lot of doom and gloom. A lot of, "It's bad out there, and it's getting worse." Because that's all the world knows. It's dog eat dog out there. Everybody trying to make others seem small so they can look a little bit bigger by comparison. Everybody kicking everybody else when they're down, trying to climb up the ladder. But here's where it falls apart: If you win the rat race... all you are is king rat. And who wants that, really? So here's my point, and the point of this Rant series: There's something better available. We are IN the world, but we are not OF the world. In fact, God "...hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Revelation 5:10). Here's the key though: Reigning on the earth doesn't mean ruling people with an iron first. A true king--and we ARE kings. Jesus is the King of kings--is a servant. I know that's backwards to our natural minds. We want to get stuff. We want to have people serve us. But I've found... the more you get, the more you want. It's never enough. There's always something else to pursue. The rat race is really a hampster wheel that goes around and around in circles but never gets you anywhere. So. What we OUGHT to do, instead of just going on the way we've been going, is we should realize that a change has taken place. We WERE dead in our trespasses and sins. But we have been quickened. Made alive. And not just "life" but Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. We have been given the gift of God. Which  means we know Him as loving heavenly Father and we know ourselves (and each other) as His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased. Let me quote my Scripture for today. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). Because there IS something else available to us. We may be IN the world, but we ARE the Kingdom! You know, the realm where the King rules and reigns. We reign on the earth, because Jesus rules through us. He is the King of kings. And understand that we are not just IN the Kingdom, but we ARE the Kingdom makes all of the recources of the Kingdom available to us. Because they are INSIDE us. The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy, right? And it's in the Holy Ghost. And the Holy Ghost is in us. And what's inside comes out, when you know and believe that it's in there. Now let me bring this home. 1 John 4:17 says, "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." There's a lot there, and we're gonna look at some of it in this series, but I want to focus on the "as He is, so are we in this world" part. Because in order to BE as He is, we need to KNOW how He is. And we find that truth out by seeking the things above. By setting our affections on the things above. Because that's WHERE He is. Jesus is seated at the right hand of the Father. And the more we seek Him, the more we find Him, as He reveals Himself to us, and in us, and through us. Not doom and gloom... not the "facts of life." But the glorious truth about who we really are. Not starting at the bottom and working our way down... but upward and Godward!

Being incorruptible means nothing can corrupt you. That makes sense, right? And since LOVE is the incorruptible seed that has been planted in our hearts--since love is what's inside of us--that means that when we know and believe that we are loved, when we receive and release the love of God, WE are incorruptible. Let me say it like this, if it's not too controversial: Love wins. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. The fire in us--the Holy Ghost wildfire that consumes everthything except Himself--is ALWAYS hotter than the fire we're in. That's why, when we are planted on the Rock, we will not be shaken. CANNOT be shaken. That's why one born from God CANNOT sin. Because sin is unbelief, and so by definition a believer can't unbelieve. That's why we can be a thermostat instead of merely a thermometer. We don't have to just take the temperature. We don't have to let outside factors dictate to us. We can SET the temperature. A long time ago I preached a message called, "Contagious." And the point was that Jesus wasn't afraid to touch lepers--even though they were highly contagious--because He knew what HE had was stronger than what THEY had. He knew He wasn't going to catch anything from them. He knew they were going to catch something from Him. Something called forgiveness. And healing. Mercy. Grace. Love. He knew it didn't matter what came at Him from the outside. What matters is what's inside. That's why, when Peter was walking on the water (or, again, on the Word of God), and then started to sink, Jesus asked, "What's gotten into you?" Because that's what's important. What's INSIDE comes out. Every time. Or, more accurately, what you BELIEVE is inside comes out. Because you can believe one of two things; the world's report of doom and gloom, or the Word of the Lord. Which is Jesus. Which is love. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." You can't believe the Truth AND the lie. You can't let what's outside come in AND let what's inside come out. Joshua said it like this, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, of the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" (Joshua 24:15). I'm telling you: When you know (and believe) the truth... you can ignore the lie. It has no power over you. When you know who you are (Jesus, not Adam), you'll stop trying to be someone you're not. When you know WHERE you are (the Kingdom of God), the grass won't look greener on the other side. When you know what's INSIDE, you won't let anything corrupt you. You'll stop looking for love in all the wrong places, because you'll KNOW (with a knowledge that passes knowledge) that you're unconditionally loved. You'll know that you're connected to the source. And from there you can begin to love others. You can share the gift you've been given. You can receive it... and release it. You can live (love) fearlessly. Because you know you're not going to get disqualified if you "mess up." You know God isn't out to get you. He already got you. He's not mad AT you. He's mad ABOUT you. And His love... is incorruptible.

An incorruptible seed produces fruit. And not perishable fruit, either. Fruit that remains. Now watch this: "Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit" (Matthew 12:33). Stick with me, because we're not talking about "good" people vs "bad" people. In the garden of Eden there were two trees, the Tree of Life and the tree of death (the tree of knowledge of good and evil). Jesus came to take away the sin of the world--unbelief. "And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away" (Matthew 21:9). I believe the tree of death was a (THE) fig tree. Right after Adam and Eve ate from it they covered themselves with fig leaves. So when Jesus came to take away the sin of the world, He came to cast that corrupt tree into the fire. So that there would only be one tree left. Which is what we see in the New Jerusalem. Only the Tree of Life remains. And we have been grafted into that tree. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. He planted the incorruptible seed in us when He was lifted up from the earth on the cross and drew us all into Himself. Now here's where I really wanted to get to: "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). A tree is known by it's fruit. We are known by our love. The fruit of the Spirit... the fruit of the Tree of Life... is love! The incorruptible seed grows into the unstoppable, unconditional love of God! And the best part is that, "...So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear" (Mark 4:26-27). This is NOT something WE "do." This is what happens naturally. A seed can only produce after it's own kind. And a seed produces--not because it tries really hard to be something it's not--because it's a seed. As long as it's in the right soil, and as long as it is nurtured, it WILL grow. Because that's it's nature. But here's the problem we sometimes get into: We plant a seed and then immediately dig it up and get frustrated because it hasn't produced fruit yet. And we blame anything and everything for this "failure." When, really, maturation is a PROCESS. This everlasting life is a journey without end. A journey into the heart of the matter. Which is God's heart beating with love in our chests. Which is how people will know that we are who God says we are. When what's inside comes out. Naturally. When the seed grows until it is too big to keep inside. We learn how to love by learning how God loves us. We let what's inside come out by filling ourselves to overflowing with what we've been filled with. By letting God love us. By knowing and believing, receiving and releasing, His love. Not by fighting the darkness, but simply by letting the light shine. By fighting the good fight of faith and laying hold of the gift we've been given, which is that eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life of God! That incorruptible life of love. Living and loving because we are alive. Because we are loved...!

I don't want to fight with anybody. If you follow my ministry at all, I think you know that. In fact, besides my daily Rant, and my videos, I usually just keep my opinions to myself. But since this IS my daily Rant, I want to talk about 1 Corinthians 15:51-52. With the disclaimer that I'm NOT going to argue or fight about it. The King James Bible reads like this, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." And here's why I don't want to fight about it: I think a lot of people are waiting for this last trump to sound. And I'm ok with that. If you want this to be in your future... so be it. I think when you put ANYTHING out in the future it can be dangerous. Because, "Hope deferred maketh the heart sick..." (Proverbs 13:12). But, again, I don't feel as if it's my place to convince you that what I think is right. I just try to listen to my Daddy and tell you what I think He's saying. So. What I think He's saying is, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). We will see Him as He is... in the twinkling of an eye. And then we we BE transformed into what we have already BEEN transformed into! The incorruptible seed--which is Jesus, which is love--that was planted in us will begin to bear fruit in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit, which is love. Remember now, a seed can only produce after it's own kind. An incorruptible seed of love can only produce love. But remember also, the problem sometimes is the soil the seed is planted in. What you feed, or nourish, is what will grow. My point is: The mystery is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And it's when that mystery is revealed--to us, and in us, and through us--that what's inside comes out; when we know what's in there. I think we HAVE all been changed. But I think the people perish because of a lack of knoweldge. We don't know THAT we have been changed, or we don't know WHAT we have been changed into. So we keep going along, waiting for something to happen. I've said this many times: We don't need a move of God. 2,000 years ago on the cross God moved. What we need is a revelation of Jesus. We need to know what that move of God WAS, and we need to know what it means for us RIGHT NOW. Because when He appears--or when He reveals Himself to us, and in us, and through us--that's when the truth (that is already true) manifests in our lives. That's when we--who already ARE incorruptible--begin to BE who we ARE. We stop trying to be someone we're not when we know and believe that we ARE the Son(s) of God. Because when we know who we really are, we won't NEED to be anyone else. When we know God as loving heavenly Father we won't need to look for love in all the wrong places. We'll be able to look inside. And when we know (and believe) that love is inside--the incorruptible seed that Jesus planted in us when He was lifted up from the earth on the cross and drew us all into Himself--that's when we can receive and release the love of God. That's when what's inside WILL come out. Naturally. That's when the seed will produce fruit!

When I think of something that is corruptible--or worse CORRUPTED--I think of something that has been weakened. Something that has been overtaken by an outside force. Something that, despite it's best efforts, just wasn't strong enough. That's mankind before the cross. Mankind under the Law. Trying our very best to (somehow) become better than we started off. And that's mission impossible. It's like the seed that the sower planted in Mark chapter 4. Some of the seed sprang up immediately in the stony ground, but it had no depth of earth. Notice now, there was nothing wrong with the seed in any of Jesus' examples. The seed was INCORRUPTIBLE. Because the seed was the Word. Which is Jesus. Which is love. It was the outside forces that were the problem. The environment. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you struggle with alcoholism... a bar probably isn't the best place for you. At least not at the beginning of your journey. Because, remember, we are not trying to turn over a new leaf. We are beginning to realize that we are connected to an entirely different tree. And if we want the seed--the incorruptible seed that is love--to bear fruit... we need to nourish it. What you feed is what grows, right? We need to stop trying to be someone we're not, and we need to start to figure out who we really are. We need to stop letting the outside affect us, and we need to start letting what's inside come out and affect everything else! I always use the example of a thermometer and a thermostat. One just TAKES the temperature. The other SETS the temperature. But the most important thing to remember about the seed is that THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH IT. There is nothing wrong with YOU. You are who your heavenly Father created you to be. I'm just trying to help us see how easy it can be--doesn't HAVE to be, but CAN be--to let the external sway us. Look at this example: Peter is literally "walking on water" (I always contend that he was REALLY walking on the Word of the Lord, when Jesus said, "Come.") and then this happens, "But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, 'Master, save me!' Jesus didn't hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, 'Faint-heart, what got into you?' " (Matthew 14:30-31 MSG). If ever there was a time when you're faith was at an all-time high... that had to be it. But then, just like that, something got into Peter. Something from the outside. The water churned. And that was that for Peter. Let me say it another way: Why do we let the smallest inconvenice absolutely wreck us? I think it's because we do what James 1:24 describes: "For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was." We look at what's on the surface and we forget about what--WHO--is deep inside. We listen to the world screaming at us instead of that still, small voice of love that lives in our hearts. We, if I can put it like this, corrupt the incorruptible. We forget the truth and let the lie dictate to us. Because we are trying to do it on our own. We try so hard to "hang on to Him" that we lose sight of the truth that HE is hanging on to us! And, listen, I understand that those are somewhat honorable intentions. They are just backwards intentions. Outside-in will never work. Because the love is already inside. And it works from the inside-out!

I feel like I've been working on this idea for a while, but I guess I haven't preached it all out of my heart yet, so here we go again: Through the cross a total and complete transformation took place. From old to new. From bondage to freedom. From death... to life. And this change was so complete that instead of merely turning over a new leaf, we were grafted into an entirely new tree! No longer the tree of death (the tree of knowledge of good and evil) but the Tree of Life! Look at 1 Peter 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." A new seed. Not the old man polished up and made to (try to) shine. Because the old man was from the earth and he was earthy. I've heard it said, "Adam was a dirtbag," because he was made from the dust of the ground. He was connected to that earth realm. He tried to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. But that old man died in the watery grave of baptism. Actually, he died over 2,000 years ago on the cross. But in our individual lives, there is a powerful act of identifying with Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. It makes what is already true true for YOU, if I can say it that way. It is the laying aside of the sin that so easily besets us. The letting go of all of that "stuff" that would try to drag us down. And without all of that "stuff" tripping us up and dragging us down... we can walk in newness of life. Look at 1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." Ok. Right now I'm going to say what I think is the most important thing I'm going to say today: A seed can only produce after it's own kind. Apple seeds can only produce apple trees. So when we understand that Jesus IS the incorruptible seed, and when we understand that if the root is holy then the lump is holy, then we can begin to see OURSELVES as incorruptible! Because He is the vine and we are the branches. His seed remaineth in us because He lives in us. And because He lives in us, we live in Him! So what I'm saying is, the ONLY thing that can come from the Tree of Life... is life. A good tree can't bring forth bad fruit. And since we are "merely" branches of the tree anyway, it's not "us" doing the producing at all. We simply partake of the fruit that HE has produced, and we simply bear it; we share it with those who we come into contact with. Now watch this: "Incorruptable" in 1 Peter 1:23 is number 862 in Strong's Greek Concordance and it means, "undecaying, immortal." Remember when Jesus said whosoever believed in Him would not perish? But have everlasting life? That's what we're dealing with here. When we were drawn out of Adam and into Christ... out of death and into life... we were drawn into JESUS' life. The incorruptible, everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life of God. Something better, in both quantity and quality, than we could ask for or even think about. My point is, "This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). He is the light of the world. And YOU are the light of the world. There is no darkness in YOU at all. No matter what it might feel like sometimes. Because ALL of the time, as He is... so are we in this world. Absolutely incorruptible!