By pastor Josh Ogle

One of the stories in Scripture that has captivated me in recent years has been the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The reason is two fold.

First, Jesus had a greater plan than anyone could have imagined. He was going to do something that Mary and Martha never imagined. They had an idea of what Jesus would do, but Jesus was about to help them see that He was much more than they realized. He was leading them to see that He is the resurrection and the life. Not just that He has power to raise the dead (which He does), but that He is the resurrection. That there is life in Him and Him alone.

Second, Jesus indeed raises their brother Lazarus from the dead and at the end of the narrative we hear Him give the direction to “take off the grave clothes and let him go” (John 11:44). This final call of the narrative is easy to dismiss, but part of my GFI training has helped me to see the power in this call. Jesus is the giver of life. We find that life in Jesus alone through our identification with Him. Unfortunately, there are too many Christians who are alive in Christ, but still walk around bound by grave clothes. They have never been told to take them off and walk in freedom. My time in the Grace Fellowship International training has helped me to articulate not just the saving power of Jesus, but the living power of Jesus to loose us from the grave clothes of our flesh. This narrative provides a wonderful example of the life Jesus gives and the means by which we experience this life in our everyday walk.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. The GFI Training has given a way to articulate and describe the need to find everything in Jesus alone. The Wheel & Line diagrams have been so helpful to leading folks to see that there is life in Jesus. Simply shifting from “doing in order to be” into “being in order to do” is a life changing dynamic for the Christian life. As a seminary trained pastor, I knew that Jesus gives us eternal life. I knew that He saves us from our sin. I knew we needed Him. Those were clear, but I had a nagging question, “Does Jesus really make a difference today?” The training I’ve received has allowed me to confidently answer, “YES HE DOES!” because of our union with Him. I’ve found my teaching and preaching shift from a moral, behavioral management into a surrendered, Spirit-empowered step of faith. The reality of our union with Christ rather than a symbolic, or poetic phrasing has been life changing for me. I spend more time pointing people to the need to “be with Jesus” and receive His love for them.

While there is life in Jesus through our identification with Him, I have been so blessed by knowing that Jesus gives us power over sin as well. Those grave clothes of the flesh are no longer things that hold us back. Because of Jesus, we can recognize them and respond in faith to His truth rather than simply react in our flesh. The training that walked slowly and diligently through Romans 5-8 and Colossians 3 have given me ways to lead people into the freedom that Jesus brings. It has been so good to walk others through the Wheel diagram to help them see themselves clearly. I have seen Holy Spirit open their eyes to the grave clothes that He has called them to put off.

It is a wonderful blessing when this has happened! Prior to this training, I spent so much time teaching people to live in gratitude for their justification in Christ. I talked about sanctification, but only as a means of doing Godly acts out of gratitude for Jesus saving a sinner like me. Through this training, I can biblically articulate for others why we are no longer sinners, but saints. I can point them to see the truth that they can experience victory of their sin one step of faith at a time as they walk by the Spirit instead of working in their flesh (Galatians 5). That has been a great shift for counseling purposes and application in preaching the gospel.

As I look ahead, I want to grow in how to utilize this training for a whole hearted discipleship model. I was particularly impacted by the book A Deeper Walk: A Proven Path for Developing a More Vibrant Faith by Marcus Warner on this topic.[1] He integrates many of the GFI training into a whole person discipleship path using the acronym FISH (Freedom, Identity, Spirit, Heart-focused Community). This was compelling to me and provided a means to easily lead others into this truth in a discipleship setting. I have spent time praying over this and have developed a different acronym based off of Galatians 2:20. I want to use LIVE because it seamlessly fits into the statement, we are called to live by faith in Jesus as believers. LIVE: Love. Identity. Victory. Empowered. My hope is to describe it in this way…

• Live in the LOVE we have received in Jesus and extend His love to others.
• Live in the IDENTITY we have been given in Jesus.
• Live in the VICTORY Jesus has won over our flesh, our enemy, and our sin.
• Live EMPOWERED by the Holy Spirit.

While I’m still building this out in my mind, I think Galatians 2:20 gives us a good framework for this principle. I’ve found myself using this as a simple daily prayer path and hope to find a way to use this in discipling others to live by faith in Jesus. As I come to the end of this practicum training, I’m excited to continue growing in my ability to utilize the GFI tools and see the Lord use them to lead people to find life in Jesus alone.

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[1] See DeeperWalkInternational.org
Previously International Center for Biblical Counseling (ICBC), founded by Mark Bubeck. They have a “phase 3” / freedom in Christ emphasis. – JBW

Josh Ogle currently serves as pastor of Hillcrest Baptist Church in Morristown, Tennessee.

This paper is shared by permission. See the Exchanged Life Counselor certification track here.