Transcription
There's a moment in every believer's life when Christianity stops being religion you practice and becomes reality you live. When faith stops being what you do and becomes who you are. When truth moves from your head to your heart and everything changes.
Most Christians never experience that moment. They spend their entire lives trying to make Christianity work instead of living from Christ within them. Today you're going to discover what triggers that moment. And when it happens to you, nothing will ever be the same.
Look at how most Christians live. They're trying to be good, working to be holy, forcing themselves to obey, reading their Bible out of obligation, praying out of duty, going to church out of routine, and they're exhausted because they're practicing religion instead of living from reality. They're trying to make Christianity work through effort instead of experiencing Christ living through them.
But there's a moment, a turning point, when everything shifts. When Christianity stops being external religion and becomes internal reality, when you stop trying to be a Christian and start being Christ's. And that moment changes everything. Today you're going to discover what triggers that moment and how to experience it for yourself.
Let's start by identifying why Christianity remains religion instead of becoming reality for most believers. The problem is simple but devastating. They're living from the outside in instead of from the inside out. They're trying to produce Christian behavior through external discipline instead of living from Christ's life within them. They're working to be like Jesus instead of letting Jesus live through them. And as long as Christianity remains external effort, it will never become internal reality.
Think about what external Christianity looks like. It's trying to love people you don't like. Forcing yourself to forgive when you still feel hurt. Disciplining yourself to read the Bible even though you don't want to. Making yourself pray even though it feels like duty. Going to church even though you'd rather not. Working to overcome sin through willpower. Striving to be holy through effort. Every aspect of Christianity is something you're trying to do. Working to produce, forcing yourself to accomplish and it's exhausting because external religion is always effort and effort always runs out.
This is exactly what Jesus condemned in the Pharisees. They had external religion perfected. They followed rules meticulously. They performed religious duties faithfully. They appeared righteous to everyone watching. But Jesus called them whited sepulchers in Matthew 23:27. Beautiful on the outside, dead on the inside. They had religion, but they didn't have reality. They practiced Christianity, but they didn't live from Christ. And that's exactly where most modern believers are. Religious on the outside, empty on the inside, trying to make Christianity work instead of experiencing Christ as life.
But there's a different way. The way Jesus modeled, the way Paul described, the way the new covenant is designed to function. And it's not external religion working from the outside in. It's internal reality flowing from the inside out. It's not you trying to be like Christ. It's Christ living his life through you. It's not effort producing behavior. It's identity expressing nature. And when you experience that shift, when Christianity becomes real instead of remaining religious, everything changes. Not gradually, suddenly in a moment.
EW Kenyon understood this perfectly. He wrote, "Christianity is not an external religion to practice. Christianity is Christ living in you as your life." The moment you understand that distinction, the moment you stop trying to produce Christian behavior and start living from Christ within you, religion dies and reality is born. You stop working and start abiding. You stop striving and start expressing. You stop trying to be like Jesus and start letting Jesus be himself through you. That's the moment Christianity becomes real.
"Christianity is not an external religion to practice. Christianity is Christ living in you as your life." That's the revelation. That's the shift. That's what transforms religion into reality.
So what triggers the moment when Christianity becomes real? What shifts you from external religion to internal reality? Let me show you precisely what has to happen.
First, you must see that Christ is your life, not just in you, your life. Colossians 3:4 says, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Christ who is our life not who gives us life who is our life not who helps us live who lives as us that's the revelation. Christ is not an external helper giving you strength to try harder. Christ is your internal life living through you.
Most believers see Christ as separate from them. They're here, Christ is there, and they're trying to bridge the gap through effort. They're working to be like him, striving to please him, trying to live for him. But that entire model is backwards because Christ isn't separate from you. Christ is in you. And not just in you as a guest, in you as your life.
Galatians 2:20 is the key. "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Not I, but Christ lives in me. Paul is saying it's not me trying to live the Christian life. It's Christ living his life through me.
When you see that, when you grasp that Christ is your life, not just your helper, everything shifts. You stop trying to produce and start abiding. You stop working to be like him and start letting him be himself through you. You stop striving through effort and start expressing through identity and Christianity stops being what you do and becomes who you are.
Second, you must recognize that you're dead to the old life. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin." Our old man is crucified, past tense, done, finished. You're not trying to die to sin. You are dead to sin. That's not something you're working to achieve. That's something Christ accomplished at the cross.
And when you're conscious of that death, when you reckon yourself dead to sin, as Romans 6:11 commands, sin loses its power, not because you fought it, because you're dead to it. Most believers are still trying to die to sin. They're working to crucify the flesh. They're striving to overcome the old nature, but the old nature is already crucified. You're not trying to kill what's already dead. You're reckoning the death that already occurred. And when you do, when you're conscious that you're dead to sin and alive to God, the struggle stops. Not because you fought hard enough, because you recognize truth. You're not trying to become dead to sin. You are dead to sin. And living from that reality produces freedom.
Third, you must understand that you have a new nature. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." You are a new creature, not becoming, are present tense, accomplished fact. Old things passed away. All things became new. That's not future. That's done. You have a new nature. God's nature.
Second Peter 1:4 says, "You're partakers of the divine nature." God's nature is in you. And that nature doesn't sin. That nature loves. That nature forgives. That nature is holy. And when you're conscious of that nature, when you live from your true identity, holiness flows naturally. Not through trying, through being.
EW Kenyon explained it powerfully. "The Christian life is not you trying to act like someone you're not. The Christian life is you being who you are in Christ." You have a new nature, God's nature. And when you're conscious of that nature, when you live from that identity, righteousness isn't something you work to produce. Righteousness is something you express. Holiness isn't something you strive to achieve. Holiness is something you manifest because it's flowing from your nature, not from your effort.
"The Christian life is not you trying to act like someone you're not." That's crucial. You're not acting. You're being. And being is what makes Christianity real.
Fourth, you must shift from trying to abiding. John 15:4-5 records Jesus saying, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." Abide in me. Not try to be like me. Abide. Stay connected. Remain. And fruit appears. Not through trying. Through abiding.
Think about a branch on a vine. The branch doesn't try to produce grapes. The branch doesn't work at being fruitful. The branch doesn't strive to be productive. The branch simply stays connected to the vine. And as it abides, as it remains attached, the life of the vine flows through it. And grapes appear naturally, effortlessly, automatically. That's exactly how Christianity is designed to work. You're the branch. Christ is the vine. You don't produce fruit through trying. You bear fruit through abiding. You don't work to be fruitful. You stay connected. And fruitfulness happens because it's his life flowing through you, not your effort producing results. And when you make that shift, when you stop trying and start abiding, Christianity becomes real. You're not working at being a Christian. You're living from Christ. You're not producing behavior through discipline. You're expressing nature through connection. You're not trying to be like Jesus. Jesus is being himself through you. And what was exhausting effort becomes natural expression.
Let me show you what this looks like practically. Imagine your day starts with trying. You wake up and think, "Today I need to be patient. I need to love people. I need to be holy. I need to pray. I need to read my Bible. I need to witness. I need to overcome temptation." Notice every statement is need, need, need. It's all on you. You have to do it. You have to produce it. You have to perform it. And before the day even starts, you're already exhausted because you're approaching Christianity as external religion that you have to work at.
But now imagine your day starts with abiding. You wake up and recognize Christ is my life. He lives in me. His patience is in me. His love flows through me. His holiness is my nature. His desire for prayer is my desire. His word living in me renews my mind. His witness flows through my words. His power over temptation operates in me. I'm not trying to produce any of this. I'm abiding in him. And all of this expresses through me naturally. Do you see the difference? One is you trying. The other is Christ living. One is exhausting. The other is effortless. One is religion. The other is reality.
Or consider how you handle wrongdoing. Someone wrongs you deeply. From external religion, you try to forgive. You force yourself. You work at it. You discipline yourself to let it go. And it's effort. Every time you see that person, you have to try again. Every time you remember what they did, you have to work at forgiving again. It never feels finished because you're trying to produce forgiveness through willpower. But from internal reality, you abide in Christ who is forgiveness. You recognize, "I can't forgive this in my own strength. But Christ in me forgives perfectly. I'm going to abide in him. I'm going to let his forgiveness flow through me." And you turn your focus to him. You remember how he forgave you. You're conscious of his nature in you. And forgiveness flows, not forced, natural, because it's coming from his nature, not from your effort. And it's settled, done, complete because it's his forgiveness, not yours.
Or think about temptation from religion. You try to resist. You fight with willpower. You discipline yourself not to give in. And sometimes you succeed. Sometimes you fail, and it's exhausting either way. But from reality, you're conscious of who you are. "I am dead to sin. I am alive to God. I am holy. This temptation doesn't fit my nature. I'm not trying to resist. This is contrary to who I am." And from that consciousness, from that identity, the temptation loses power. Not because you fought harder, because you knew who you are. And what you're conscious of determines what you experience.
Here's where everything converges into one life-altering moment. The moment Christianity becomes real is the moment you stop trying to live the Christian life and start living from Christ as your life. It's the moment you shift from external religion to internal reality, from working to abiding, from trying to being, from effort to expression. And that moment can happen right now. Not someday when you're spiritual enough. Right now, when you see the truth and choose to live from it.
And here's what happens in that moment.
First, the burden lifts. You're not carrying the weight of trying to be good enough anymore. You're not working to meet standards you can never reach. You're not striving to produce what only Christ can live through you. The yoke becomes easy. The burden becomes light. Not because the standards lowered, because you stopped trying and started abiding, because Christ is carrying the yoke through you instead of you trying to carry it in your own strength.
Second, obedience becomes natural. You're not forcing yourself to obey anymore. You're not disciplining yourself to do right. You're simply being who you are. And who you are in Christ is righteous, holy, and obedient, not trying to become those things. Already are those things. And when you're conscious of your identity, when you live from your nature, obedience flows, not through effort, through expression of who you are.
Third, love flows without trying. You're not working to love people you don't like. You're living from Christ who is love. And his love flows through you naturally, effortlessly to people who don't deserve it, to people who hurt you, to people who oppose you, not because you forced yourself, because Christ's love is your nature. And nature expresses itself without effort.
Fourth, joy returns. Not the joy you manufacture through positive thinking. The joy that comes from living from reality instead of trying to produce religion. The joy of knowing Christ is living through you. The joy of abiding instead of striving. The joy of being instead of trying. And that joy is independent of circumstances because it's flowing from Christ, not from your situation.
Fifth, power operates in your life, not power you're working to obtain. Power that comes from abiding in Christ. John 15:7 promises, "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." Abide and ask what you will. Why? Because when you're abiding, when Christ's words are dwelling in you, when you're living from him instead of trying in your own strength, your prayers align with his will. Your desires become his desires, and what you ask happens. Not because you prayed well enough, because you're abiding in him.
Sixth, fruit appears without striving. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Fruit of the Spirit, not fruit of trying, not fruit of discipline, fruit of the Spirit. When you're abiding, when the Spirit is living through you, when you're conscious of Christ as your life, love flows, joy appears, peace guards, patience expresses. All of it happens naturally, not through working to produce it, through abiding and letting it flow from the Spirit within you.
Seventh, you stop living for God's approval and start living from his acceptance. This might be the most liberating shift of all. When Christianity is external religion, you're constantly trying to earn God's approval, trying to be good enough, working to please him, striving to meet his standards, and you never feel like you measure up. But when Christianity becomes internal reality, you recognize you're already approved, already accepted, already pleasing to him, not because you earned it, because you're in Christ. And God sees Christ when he looks at you. You're not trying to become acceptable. You are accepted in the beloved according to Ephesians 1:6. And from that settled security, from that confident position, you live not to earn approval, from the approval already given.
This is the moment Christianity becomes real. When it stops being what you do and becomes who you are, when it stops being external religion and becomes internal reality. When you stop trying to live for Christ and start living from Christ. And that moment is available right now. Not through working harder, through seeing clearly, not through trying more, through abiding deeply, not through producing better, through being who you already are in Christ.
And here's what's beautiful. This moment isn't a one-time experience that you have and then it's done. This moment is a continual choosing. Every day you choose to live from reality instead of from religion. Every situation you choose to abide instead of try. Every challenge you choose to be instead of work. And the more consistently you make that choice, the more natural it becomes. Until abiding becomes your default. Until being replaces trying. Until Christianity as reality becomes your constant experience instead of religion as effort.
Let's bring this to absolute clarity. The moment Christianity becomes real is the moment you stop trying to live the Christian life through external effort and start living from Christ as your internal reality. It's when you see that Christ is your life, that you're dead to the old nature, that you have a new nature, and that abiding produces what trying never could. And when you live from that reality, Christianity stops being exhausting religion and becomes natural expression of who you are in Christ.
The practical application is profound. Every morning before you face the day, recognize the truth. Christ is my life. I'm not trying to be like him. He's living through me. I'm not working to produce Christian behavior. I'm abiding in him and his nature expresses through me. I'm not striving to be holy. I am holy because he's my life. Today, I'm not trying to live the Christian life. Christ is living his life through me. And from that consciousness, from that settled awareness of reality, you live your day. Not from effort, from abiding, not from trying, from being, not from religion, from reality.
When you're wronged, you don't try to forgive. You abide in Christ, who is forgiveness, and forgiveness flows. When you're tempted, you don't try to resist. You're conscious of who you are, and sin doesn't fit your nature. When you're facing challenges, you don't try to be strong. You abide in Christ who is your strength, and strength operates through you. Every situation becomes an opportunity to abide instead of try, to be instead of work, to express instead of produce. And Christianity becomes real, not what you do, who you are.
And when you fail, when you react in the flesh instead of responding from the Spirit, you don't go back to trying harder. You recognize what happened. "I stopped abiding. I started trying. I forgot who I am." And you return to abiding, to consciousness of Christ as your life, to living from your new nature, not through shame, through recognition of truth, and reality flows again.
Think about how this changes your entire approach to failures and setbacks from religion. When you fail, you feel like you've let God down. You've disappointed him. You need to try harder next time. You need to do better. And shame and guilt drive you back to striving. But from reality. When you fail, you recognize you simply forgot who you are. You started trying instead of abiding. You lived from effort instead of from identity. And you don't need to try harder. You need to return to abiding, to reconnect, to remember who you are in Christ. And from that place, from that consciousness of your true identity, transformation happens. Not through trying harder, through being who you already are.
This is the practical difference between Christianity as religion and Christianity as reality. Religion says, "Try harder when you fail." Reality says, "Abide deeper." Religion says, "Work more." Reality says, "Be more conscious of who you are." Religion says, "Produce through effort." Reality says, "Express through identity." And which one produces lasting transformation? Which one brings peace? Which one makes Christianity real instead of keeping it religious? The answer is clear. Abiding, not trying. Being, not working. Reality, not religion.
EW Kenyon's final word: "Christianity is real when Christ is living it through you. Christianity is religion when you're trying to live it for him." The difference between reality and religion is the difference between abiding and trying, between being and working, between expression and effort. Show me a believer experiencing Christianity as reality, walking in power, living in joy, and I'll show you a believer who stopped trying and started abiding, who stopped working and started being, who stopped practicing religion and started living from Christ as their life. That's when Christianity becomes real.
"Christianity is real when Christ is living it through you." That's the truth. That's the moment. That's what shifts you from exhausting religion to transforming reality. Christ is your life. Not trying to live for him. Him living through you. Not working to be like him. Him being himself as you. Not religion to practice, reality to live from. And the moment you see that, the moment you live from that, everything changes. Christianity becomes real.
If this teaching has revealed that Christianity is not religion to practice, but Christ living through you as reality, and if you're stepping out of trying into abiding, I want you to declare it. In the comment section below, type these words: "Christ is my life. I'm not trying to be a Christian. Christ lives through me. This is reality, not religion." Don't type it as something you're working toward. Type it as the settled truth of Colossians 3:4 and Galatians 2:20. You're not practicing religion. You're living from reality. This is the moment Christianity becomes real for you. Do it now. Type: "Christ is my life. I'm not trying to be a Christian. Christ lives through me. This is reality, not religion."
Now, understanding that Christianity is Christ living through you changes everything. But there's one habit, one daily practice that strengthens your spirit more than any other. It's not what most believers think. It's not lengthy prayer sessions. It's not extended Bible study. It's something simpler, more powerful, and often completely overlooked. And when you discover what that one habit is, when you make it part of your daily routine, your spirit becomes so strong that circumstances can't shake you, challenges can't overwhelm you, and difficulties can't defeat you.