“My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.” (Proverbs 3:1-2 NKJV)
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10 NKJV)
“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord.” (Psalm 118:17 NKJV)
Where do I start today? Daddy, what do you want me to share? Holy Spirit, what do you want to say?
“Thank you Father for choosing to partner with me in bringing life to those that come to me and those that you send me to. Help me to live visibly and vocally the life that you have placed within me so that all who see and hear will experience the abundant life that Jesus made available. Help me to be a “living epistle” so that others will be able to imitate me as I imitate Christ.
Holy Spirit, I need you to empower me to work out from my spirit into my soul and body, and then to all that my life touches, all that I possess in my salvation with the strength that you give me.
I pray and claim this in Jesus’ Name.
Amen (so be it!)”
I am still attempting to answer Question # 1: ”What is your life expectancy Eric?” As I stated, my overall Answer # 1 is, “My life expectancy is to live a strong, long life worth living, without limit or end, with nothing missing or broken; therefore I was designed to live a life filled with purity, passion, power, and purpose; regardless of current age or condition.”
“Life Expectancy” consists of two major elements…
…Element # 1: “Length of Days” – this is the “quality of life” element. This is the primary aspect of what the Bible calls “eternal life.” It is the core value of the “abundant life” that Jesus came to give us. The promise of “length of days” is intended to build within me a fervent expectation that my life experience will remain robust until I draw my last breath. The Holy Spirit is the author of the Scriptures. He chose individuals to work with in writing his book and together they put into words the message of the Father for you and me. This book describes the Father’s desire and design (will) for us in every aspect of life. It clearly reveals that our Father desires for us to live a full and rewarding life and designed us (spirit, soul, and body) to live in complete victory over everything that sin and Satan throw at us. Life has the potential to be a daily growing manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (here and now). I am able to live from faith to faith, victory to victory, and glory to glory one day at a time (obviously that implies that I will be confronted with tests, battles, and temptations each day). It is in my study of this element that the Holy Spirit has been challenging my understanding of what “aging” was intended to look like for me living in the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (here and now) as a child of the King (son of God). This is life without limit regardless of my current age or condition.
Element # 2: “Long Life” – this is the “quantity (length) of life” element. This element has not only challenged my view of aging, it has also forced me to take a fresh look at death itself. This is best described in Scripture as “everlasting life.” It is life without end. This is commonly applied to the idea of being “saved” and living spiritually beyond the grave. The mind boggling challenge that the Holy Spirit gave me was to apply what I knew about “everlasting life” to “physical death.” I have shared this line of questioning before, but I feel compelled to share again. These are questions that have been bubbling up from my spirit with increasing frequency and intensity…
…If it is God’s design and desire for everyone to die then why does Scripture make it clear that in an environment/setting in which sin and Satan are absent there is no death (Garden of Eden, New Jerusalem, Heaven)?
…If Scripture clearly states that I have been freed from the “curse of the law” in Christ, and physical death is part of that curse, why do I believe that physical death is imminent and inevitable?
…If Scripture gives me the choice between life and death (spiritual and physical) and directs me to choose life, why do I think that I have no authority or participation in the length of my life including physical death?
…If physical death is my “last enemy” then why don’t I stand against it in the same way that I do every other enemy revealed in Scripture (sin, Satan, sickness, lack, oppression, injustice, etc.)?
…”If everyone is going to die then why did the Holy Spirit purposely share in Scripture that Enoch and Elijah bypassed physical death?
At first, when these questions (and more just like them) started coming into my mind I wrote them off as foolishness. After all, everybody dies. As they persisted I began to take notice. However, I pushed them away thinking that I was just being silly. But as time went on and they intensified, I started thinking that maybe they weren’t silly or foolish after all. That is when I asked the Spirit to assist me in “testing the message” and “trying the spirit” of what I was hearing. After some intense searching of Scripture and listening to the Holy Spirit I came to the conclusion that what I had believed about aging and death were simply wrong. That brought me to the next challenge.
How in the world can I tell anyone else that I do not believe that aging has to include the “normal” effects of getting old? How can I even think about publicly sharing that I do not believe that physical death is inevitable? The Holy Spirit clearly told me that I was to step out in faith and begin speaking what I believed. That is when I began making statements on social media, in blogs, and in videos that it is time to take a fresh look at aging and death. This wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be and was received better than I thought it was going to be received . But the Spirit did not stop there. Here is the next set of questions that I began hearing…
…Eric, in your current condition that contradicts what you believe and mirrors the common aging and death cycle all around you, do you have the faith to fervently expect to live and not die, to embrace renewed youth, reject the “normal” aging process, and defy physical death?
…Do you trust me enough to take the next step before any of this becomes visible and publicly announce that you have no expectation of aging or death?
…Are you willing to take a risk and begin telling others that your youth is renewed and you are not going to age as the world ages?
…Are you willing to lay down your pride and start decreeing that you will not die physically?
…Are you willing to “put your money where your mouth is” and share what you have come to believe with others regardless of the consequences even though you are going against the flow and it feels like you are standing alone?
To each of these questions, after some deep soul searching and heavy emotional battles, I say a resounding, “YES!”
Tomorrow we will keep moving forward from…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 422: Grace Expectations – Life Expectancy Kingdom Style: Part 4