What Frequency Are You Operating In?

John 15:4
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.”

 Probably one of the most challenging aspects of a Christian’s life is living as the “new man”(2 Corinthians 5:17) we became after making Jesus the Savior and Lord of our lives. We tend to yield to the voices of our past and revert to our “old man” even though we are told in Romans 6:6 that that person is dead. We end up with one foot in each world which keeps us from living the life God desires us to have.

 A well-known minister of the gospel has given us a visual that enables us to stay grounded in the “new man.” Using the radio designations – AM and FM he makes a clear distinction between the old man and new. He refers to AM as “abiding mode” and FM as “failure mode.”

Living in the FM frequency has many drawbacks, but it is the easiest mode to operate in because in one sense it can be described as our comfort zone. It was the only option for living before we received Jesus. And, even after becoming born-again, it is still a comfy place to live simply because we know what to expect. (Think of a person who gets a brand-new robe for Christmas, yet continues to wear the old one because it is just “so comfortable.”) The major problem with living in FM frequency is that our relationship with God is based on behavior familiar to our old man. While we have been forgiven of our sins, past, present and future, we still participate in what this minister refers to as “sin habits;” those behaviors we grew comfortable with before being saved. Ultimately, when operating in FM frequency we are always going to God to fix what is wrong.

This brings us to a point that many Christians are not aware of; God only deals with the “new man.” He is not interested in fixing what is wrong with us because He does not see anything wrong. When He looks at us, He sees the finished work of the Cross and to find anything wrong would be an insult to the sacrifice Jesus paid. God only looks to give us more revelation of who we are in Christ. It is only in AM mode that we get to experience the type of change God is involved in.

What does that mean for us practically? It means that instead of going to God to fix what is wrong, we go to God and ask for help to understand our new nature better. For example, if we are dealing with anger issues, we don’t plead with God to help us get rid of our anger. Rather we go to Him and ask for a greater understanding of self-control, a characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit which we received when we were born-again. We don’t need to fix the old, we need to develop the new nature.

It is all about perspective, and God does not deal in negatives. So, we must learn to see our “sin habits” as simply opportunities for God to give us upgrades in our behavior and become more Christ-like. AM mode is operating when we take our place as a beloved child of God. It is the only place of lasting transformation.

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