Made in His Image

MADE

IN HIS

IMAGE

Scott Clampitt

AuthorHouse™ LLC

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: 1-800-839-8640

© 2013 by Scott Clampitt. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 08/27/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0659-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0658-6 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4918-0657-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013915779

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 Sowing the Word

Chapter 2 Secrets of Prayer

Chapter 3 Made in His Image

Chapter 4 Inheriting Abundant Life part 1

Chapter 5 Inheriting Abundant Life part 2

Chapter 6 Peace of Mind

Chapter 7 Operating In the Fruit of the Spirit

Chapter 8 Strong in the Lord

Chapter 9 Dream Bigger

Chapter 10 The Trinity

Chapter 11 The Holy Spirit

Chapter 12 Our Confession

Unless otherwise noted, all scripture is from the New King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version of the Bible © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Publication. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Visit Scott’s website @ www.scottclampitt.com

On Facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/scott.clampitt

Made In His Image

Table of Contents

Introduction

I. Sowing the Word

• When The Word is Stolen

• When The Word is Stumbled Over

• When The Word is Choked

• Bearing Much Fruit

• Planting The Word Seed

II. Secrets to Prayer

• Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep

• The Kingdom of Heaven

• Believe You Receive

• Angels, Our Support Team

• Heirs of Salvation

• The Desires of Our Heart

• Put Our Faith Where Our Mouth is

• Planting Word Seeds For Our Desires

III. Made In His Image

• Image is Everything

• Jesus, The Image of God

• Endless Possibilities

• Agreeing With God

IV. Inheriting Abundant Life part 1

• God Commanded an Inheritance

• How Do We Inherit?

• The Anointing Enforces The Authority

• The Authority Prevents

• The Authority Empowers

V. Inheriting Abundant Life part 2

• Members in High Society

• Our High Priest

• Kings and Priests

• Full Authorization

• The Authority in Jesus’ Name in Prayer

VI. Peace of Mind

• Trusting in The Lord

• The Mind of Christ

• Don’t Panic

• Thoughts Of Peace

• Watch Over Our Thoughts

VII. Operating In The Fruit Of The Spirit

• Love –Walking in Compassion

• Joy –Banner of Strength

• Peace –Calm in Chaos

• Patience –Resting in The Lord

• Kindness –A Sympathetic Heart

• Goodness –Helping The Helpless

• Faithfulness –Trained in Righteousness

• Gentleness –The Meek Inherit

• Self-control –Wisdom in Life

• Skillfully Operating in The fruit

VIII. Strong In The Lord

• How to Take Strength

• Mighty Man of Valor

• The Power Working Within Us

• Evolutionary Process

• Grace Abounds

IX. Dream Bigger

• God, The Dreamer

• The Sorrow of Success

• The Birthright Sold

• Greater Things

X. The Trinity

• Was Jesus God?

• In Our Image

• Only Begotten Son

• The Son of Man

XI. The Holy Spirit

• Abba, Father

• Holy of Holies

• Arrival of The Holy Spirit

• Speaking in Tongues

• Wisdom Teacher

• Baptism of The Holy Spirit

• Desire Spiritual Gifts

XII. Our Confession

• Let the Word Do Its Work

• What Does It Take?

• High Priest of Our Confession

• Making Better Decisions

• A Step Forward

INTRODUCTION

I like a challenging game as much as anyone. A few years back I started playing games on my PC. Soon I found myself stuck in a battle for the ages. It was a long hard fought battle. I has enemies coming at me from all directions until I’d finally gotten myself into a defensible position with little health left and no way to heal myself. I was down to the last few bad guys but was out of supplies, out of ideas and most importantly out of health. I did what anyone in my position would do, I hit the save button.

There was no way I could go back to my last saved spot and start over. That would take me at least an hour to redo and there were no guarantees I would fare any better a second time through. Not to mention the close calls I had endured just to make it this far. I could see the light at the end of the tunnel but no way to get there. So close yet so far away. After saving my work and trying to fight my way through several times I finally gave up and figured I’d ask a friend who was more familiar with the game than I. In the world of PC games this was my introduction to God-Mode.

I typed in the cheat code before I started playing and suddenly I was invincible. Finally I would laugh in the face of those last few bad guys who had been ending my game, taunting me as I hit the restart over and over and over again. Oh, things were different now. No matter how many times they’d hit me, I’d take zero damage. This God-Mode would be a one-time thing I vowed, after all, where’s the fun in accomplishing something if there is no challenge to it? Then I found replaying the same scenes over and over tiring and cumbersome. Over time God-Mode became more and more frequent especially as my time available to play games became scarcer and scarcer.

The more I played games this way to more I discovered God-mode was fun. God-mode was easy. God-mode was dominating in every way. There was absolutely nothing to be worried about with every assurance that victory was eminent. Then I began to ask myself why can’t life be this way? As Christians we should be dominating life. We should be moving mountains without doubt or hesitation. As for fear…….there’s no such thing in God-Mode. In God-Mode no weapon formed against me shall prosper.

They would call me arrogant I thought but I didn’t care. This way of living would be better than anything I had ever experienced. Life in God-Mode had a nice ring to it and I was more than happy to adopt it into my way of thinking. I’ve never fit into the cookie cutter mold of what people have told me a Christian should be anyway and there was no point in trying now. Putting away anxiety, doubt and distress was definitely the way to go. So it is with these lenses I would start viewing the Bible and my role going forward from now on.

CHAPTER 1

Sowing the Word

In the parable of the sower, Jesus gives us understanding of how everything grows in the kingdom of God. Understanding the law of sowing and reaping is the key to understanding everything else. If we look back at the things we have gone through in life, and where we are today, we can see how sowing and reaping has impacted our surroundings, our circumstances, our relationships, and our outlook on life.

¹³ And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶ These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

–Mark 4:13-20

The seed is the Word of God, and the soil is a person’s heart. There are three things that will keep a person from bearing fruit, once the Word has been sown in their hearts:

• The Word is stolen when sown by the wayside

• The Word is stumbled over when sown on stony ground

• The Word is choked out when sown among thorns

When the Word Is Stolen

Parable

And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.

–Mark 4:4

Explanation

And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

–Mark 4:15

Many times when ministering Gods Word, it is done among crowds. If it’s in a church or a camp meeting, there are usually people there as someone’s guest. If the ministering is done among family, co-workers, friends, or out in public, there are usually witnesses around who are not the least bit interested in hearing God’s Word.

While the Word goes forth and is sown in each and every heart present, it may never have the opportunity to penetrate ones heart if they have already decided against it. This is the seed that is sown by the wayside, and it is stolen immediately. You can usually spot these hearts because they are often scoffers and mockers of the Word.

This should never discourage the sower because there are always those by the wayside who have a heart conditioned to resist the Word of God. However, a heart that has been conditioned to resist God’s Word is also a heart that can be conditioned to receive God’s Word. So, we do not want to give up on anyone with our prayers, and our sowing of the Word.

Does this mean we continually harass those who have no interest? No, it does not. It means we continue to pray for them, and to be led by the Holy Spirit, and through love, we continue to sow the Word of God when opportunity presents itself. I emphasize the words through love. Too many times we come across as eagerly judgmental, and that approach is not God’s approach.

Any word that is sown outside of love will only reaffirm the beliefs in a heart that is closed to receiving anything from God. One believer is not better than any other believer. One believer is not any better than any non-believer. In many non-believers minds, if God exists, He is cruel, cold and unsympathetic.

This is an example of someone who hears the Word by the wayside. A person who either believes that God does not exist or that God plays favorites, or that God can never be known has closed their hearts from receiving God’s love. When a person’s heart is closed, then it becomes very easy for Satan to immediately steal the Word once it is sown.

When the Word Is Stumbled Over

Parable

Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.

–Mark 4:5-6

Explanation

These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.

–Mark 4:16:17

Let’s focus on verse 17 which states they have no root in themselves. This is relative to the stony ground in which it was sown. Anyone who has ever tilled a garden knows that just as you start tilling, you begin to see little rocks that come to the surface. You may not see those little rocks and pebbles before you start tilling, but if you don’t get them out of there they will keep your seed from taking root.

Jesus said they have no root in themselves. The soil of the ground is the garden of our heart, and we are the ones to decide whether we remove the rocks that will prevent the word from taking root, or whether we will not. Seeing that we are the gardeners of our own heart, I liken this person to a lazy person.

This person wants the fruits that come from a well-kept garden, but they do not want to spend the time or the energy required to reap the fruits of a well-kept garden. These are the people who will also say, I tried believing God, but it didn’t work.

When the word is first sown, they spring up quickly and happily believing they have found their genie in a bottle until opposition comes and they lose heart. Once they realize that God is not some genie who will instantly take away all their problems, they stumble and become offended at Christians, at God, and at the word that was sown.

When the Word Is Choked

Parable

And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

–Mark 4:7

Explanation

Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

–Mark 4:18-19

If a garden is not continually watched and cared for, weeds sprout up alongside of the flowers or the plants. If the weeds are not routinely monitored and pulled up, they will eventually take over the entire garden. Often times, weeds grow faster and taller than a flower or plant.

One of the reason weeds grow faster is they steal the nutrients and the water from the soil that are needed for flower and plant growth. Weeds will also reseed themselves much faster than flowers and plants reproducing themselves at a much quicker pace.

We plant a garden every spring in our back yard. One year I had to work out of town for most of the summer. I was home on weekends only, which gave me little time to care for the garden. After just a couple of weeks, I noticed the weeds were trying to take over the garden. I finally broke down and made myself go weed the garden, especially after I began thinking about all the hard work I had put into planting it. A few more weeks went by and I had to do it again.

As we neared the end of summer we weren’t getting much rain. This meant the garden wasn’t getting watered, since I wasn’t home to do it. This was the point in which I decided to just let the garden go. However, what amazed me was how little water the weeds needed in order to keep growing.

While all of my plants were drying up and withering away, the weeds still seemed to be going strong. After a few weeks of watching this, the garden had become nothing but weeds that were tall, and still multiplying. Then I thought this is how it must look like when thorns choke out the word.

Eventually I had to go into the garden and chop down all the weeds. While I was doing so, I came across some withered plants that were hidden in the weeds. I came across some rotten tomatoes that had never fully matured. Gardening takes a lot of care and patience in order to produce developed fruit.

There is no doubt that the fruit produced by the seeds I planted, is much more desirable than the weeds that took over my garden. In life, we liken the weeds to the things that we are not willing to let go of in order to receive the fruits that will come from the word of God.

We need to be mindful that we do not become impatient while waiting for the Word of God to bear fruit. Otherwise, we become enamored with the idea that we shouldn’t have to wait for anything we want. To put it bluntly, we will become spoiled and selfish, desiring things more than we desire God. Then the cares of this world will end up choking out our crop.

This could easily be a person who speaks the Word of God around believers, and speaks negatively around non-believers. Eventually that person will start to wonder why the Word of God doesn’t work for them. They haven’t realized that weeds have crept in, and are choking the very Word of God they are wondering about.

If any of these depictions describe us, don’t fall into condemnation about it. We are going to find out how to properly care for our garden. We know from John that God desires that we bear much fruit. God is not the one keeping anything from us. Sometimes we just haven’t focused ourselves properly on God’s Word.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. ⁸ By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

–John 15:7-8

Bearing Much Fruit

Parable

But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.

–Mark 4:8

Explanation

But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.

–Mark 4:20

In the three scenarios above, in which the word sown is unfruitful, we see a negligent gardener. We see cases in which the word was sown once and no additional care follows. When this happens no fruit is produced. Sowing the word once is only the first step in caring for the garden of our heart.

Everything begins or is sown with the Word of God. Likewise, the Word of God is also watered with the Word of God. So, every word seed we plant springs up with the Word of God. Then the fruit or the increase is also given by