Genesis 2:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them." Verse 2 goes on, "And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done."
God didn't rest because He was tired. He rested because He had finished all His work. Hebrews 1:3 (Amplified) says that, "He (Jesus) is the sole expression of the glory of God (the Light Being, the out-raying or radiance of the Divine), and He is the perfect imprint and very Image of (God's) nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and propelling the universe by His mighty Word of power. When He had by offering Himself accomplished our cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt. He sat down at the right hand of the Divine Majesty on High."
Hebrews 10:12-14 (Amplified) says, "Whereas this One (Christ) after He had offered a single sacrifice for our sins (that shall avail) for all time, Sat down at the right hand of God." Verses 13&14 say, "Then to wait until His enemies should be made a stool beneath His feet for by a single offering He has forever completely cleansed and perfected those who are consecrated and made holy."
The term "sat down" indicates that His work on our behalf was complete and there was no need for anything else to be done. Now come the real test of our faith in His finished work on our behalf. In Hebrews 4:9-10 (Amplified we read that "There is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath rest reserved for the (true) people of God. For he who has once entered (God's) rest also has ceased from (the weariness and pain) of human labors, just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His Own."
This is the "rest" that our Father has provided for His children. Jesus has done everything needed to bring us into a complete and unbroken relationship with God. In Jesus, there is no more need of human labors to complete this salvation. If we can, by faith, accept what Jesus did on our behalf, then we can rest from all guilt, all condemnation, all shame, all rituals and all doubt about our being made in right standing with God.
Ephesians 2:5-6 (Amplified) says that, "Even when we were dead (slain) by (our own) shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; (He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation)." Verse 6 goes on, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
When God "sat down" or rested, it was because His work was complete. When Jesus sat down, it was because His work was done. It was complete. When we were made to sit down together with Him, it was because (through Him) our work was done (for us). God rested from His complete work, Jesus rested from His complete work and we're to rest in the complete work too.
This is the "rest" of salvation that God wants us to enter into. We're to finally realize there is nothing left for us to do, but to believe in what Jesus has already finished. He caused us to "sit down" together with Jesus and when His work was done, our work was done. For years, we've worked at our salvation in our own minds and labors of the flesh. We keep trying to do good things in order to be blessed or to receive blessings from God. We are still judging our works instead of His.
Our works and labors of the flesh aren't only of no avail, but are also proof of our unbelief. The more we try "working for our righteousness," the more we show our lack of "rest" in GOd's ability to make us righteous.
We keep condemning ourselves because of failures instead of resting in the truth that they're already paid for by Jesus' sacrifice. We follow customs of dressing, fasting and many other religious traditions, to be what we think God wants us to be instead of just resting in the truth that He has already made us to be what He wants us to be.
You can't improve upon perfection. God, through Jesus, has made this new birth (this new creation) so perfect already that He, Himself has declared our body to be His temple. Is it wrong to do good works? No, it isn't. But, to doing good works and trying to make your salvation more pleasing to God, is wrong.
When we don't rest in the finished work of Jesus (whatever that work was) isn't faith in God. This is what the Israelites did in the wilderness that displeased God so very much. If God brought them out of Egypt, then how could they doubt Him? God delivered them from being slaughtered by Pharaoh when they were afraid he would kill them, God saved them from drowning in the Red Sea when they were afraid of drowning, He provided them with water from a rock when they feared dying of thirst, and He gave them manna when they doubted He could give them meat.
It seemed like no matter what God did, they still doubted what He could do. When we were lost, we doubted God could save us. When He saved us, we doubted He would really accept us. When God forgave our sins, we doubted that it covered all of our sin from the past, present or future. When He did away with sin, we doubted our righteousness. When He said He'd heal us, we doubted that "By His stripes we are healed."
Like the Israelites, we've put so many limitations on His salvation that no matter what He says He has done, we still doubt He will (or already has) done it.
Actually, we're not even sure of the forgiveness of our sin. Every time we do the least things wrong, we act like and feel like we have missed it all over again. It seems as though we cannot even rest in the fact that "our sin and iniquities He remembers no more." We can't rest in the fact that "By His stripes we were healed or that "He bore our peace (that which was needful to our peace of mind and well being). We find it hard to rest in the fact that "He bore the curse of the Law and that the blessing of Abraham could come upon us."
The "rest" of salvation is the complete trust in the finished work of Jesus when He sat down.
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Lesson 13 The REST of Salvation
While living in the wilderness, the Israelites murmured and complained because they didn't believe God would take care of them in every way. Every time something happened, they thought God had failed them. When they arrived at the Red Sea, they believed God couldn't deliver them. When they ran short of water, they thought He failed. When a food shortage occurred, they thought God brought them out into the wilderness to die. When He rained down manna from heaven upon them, they complained because they had no meat. Even when Moses called them to Mt. Sinai to make them a nation of priests, they refused to go.
Hebrews 3:19 (Amplified) says, "So we see that they were not able to enter (into His rest) because of their willingness to adhere to and trust in and rely on God (unbelief had shut them out)."
God showed them His willingness to be their Everything they'd ever need. Still, after He's shown them not only His ability to do it, but His willingness to do it as well, they doubted His heart for them. He had been everything they could need, but they still refused to believe. No one got sick, no one died and no one went hungry or thirsty, but their unbelief still stopped them from entering into "resting" in His love for them to be their everything.
Our salvation included everything we could ever need or want. I know they you have need of clothing, shelter, food and other things. Jesus asked, "If I take care of the birds, then will I not take care of you?" God didn't just intend for us to be His children when we get to heaven. He intended to be our Father even now.
The forgiveness of our sin was in order to reinstate us to a place of right standing with God. Now that we're brought back into His family by justification, then we can now expect our Father to be a Father. When God brought us back into His family as His children, then God Himself made the decision to be fully responsible for us. Every Father who brings life to his children is supposed to take responsibility for them. Can our Heavenly Father do any less?
The "rest" that God spoke of in Hebrews, referred to our trusting by faith that He will accept His place as Father and will meet our every need. This is what gives Him the most pleasure in His Own family. He desires that we trust Him to do that which He wants to do for us. That's His will for us. James 1:18 (Amplified) says that, "And it was of His Own (free) will that He gave us birth (as sons) by (His) Word of truth, So that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures (a sample of what He created to be consecrated to Himself)."
It was by His Own will that God gave birth to us by His Word and His Spirit. He'd intended to by our Father and provide for us when He gave us sonship rights with Him. The thing that displeased God in the wilderness was the people's not believing He would do it. They wouldn't rest in His promise to care for them.
Hebrews 4:7 (Amplified) says, "Again He sets a definite day (a new day) today (and gives another opportunity of securing that rest) saying through David after so long a time in the words already quoted, Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts."
This promise of full protection and security is still being offered to those who would hear. If we do hear or don't hear, then it doesn't remove us from being His children. You're saved through your faith in Jesus as your Sacrifice Lamb. But, we're most pleasing to God when we believe that as our Father, God will take full responsibility for us.
To "rest" in this kind of faith is what God wants most from us. When we "rest" in this, then we have stopped relying on our own efforts in our flesh and become totally dependent on Him.
For many years we have relied on our own works to gain favor with Him. We have set up rules and rituals to prove ourselves worthy of His grace. His grace is a gift and it cannot be earned or manipulated by our own righteousness. We still try depending on our own works in order to gain God's approval. Jesus was the One on Whom He approved of and all who are in Christ Jesus have already met God's approval.
If we can finally come to the place in our faith where we can allow Him to be a Father, then He will be our Father. We keep trying to lift Him so high as to lose the very thing that He sent Jesus to do. Knowing Him as Father, doesn't diminish His Own greatness, but only enhances it. Jesus came to give us His Name and they hated Him for it. The Name He came to give us was Father. Every Jew knew His Name was Yshway or Jehovah, so it wasn't these names He revealed. No one would dare call God Father. Even in what we refer to as "The Lord's Prayer," Jesus began by controversially saying, "Our Father." He prayed, "Lead us not into temptation (trials, tests), but deliver us from evil or the evil one."
Many of us haven't even trusted God in this. In many worldwide churches, they still teach that it's our Father God Who tests and tries us. They pray for God to deliver them from evil, but still believe that God not only doesn't deliver us from evil, but that He uses satan to test and prove His family.
This is a prime example of not "resting" in His promise of Father. This is what they did in the wilderness. Does the devil still test and try the Church? Of course he does. But, didn't Jesus tells us that He (through the permission of our Father) gives us authority over the devil? When the devil came up against Jesus or any of His disciples, they simply used the authority of Jesus' Name and pushed him back. They used this authority over sickness, death, hunger and even eternal death and bondage over the people. They used Jesus' Name not just to change a government or anything we understood, but to change the entire world by allowing God's will and His Kingdom to come here and rule.
As individuals, you and I don't have authority over all that goes on in this earth. But, if the whole of the family would allow God to do what He wishes in our lives, then we could have the same said about us that the disciples did in Acts 17:6 (Amplified) which says, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also."
There was something about the early Church that proved to have more faith than what we witness today. This faith was produced in them because the Name of Jesus held full power and authority in their hearts. Today, we believe that the Name of Jesus will forgive sin (maybe). Many still consider themselves to be sinners even after being born again. We don't always believe in the "rest" and the full protection and provision of our Father. We believe everything will be alright when we arrive in heaven. We wait for our place in the eternity of God. When you got born again, you already entered the eternity of God. Rest in your place with Him now.
Hebrews 3:19 (Amplified) says, "So we see that they were not able to enter (into His rest) because of their willingness to adhere to and trust in and rely on God (unbelief had shut them out)."
God showed them His willingness to be their Everything they'd ever need. Still, after He's shown them not only His ability to do it, but His willingness to do it as well, they doubted His heart for them. He had been everything they could need, but they still refused to believe. No one got sick, no one died and no one went hungry or thirsty, but their unbelief still stopped them from entering into "resting" in His love for them to be their everything.
Our salvation included everything we could ever need or want. I know they you have need of clothing, shelter, food and other things. Jesus asked, "If I take care of the birds, then will I not take care of you?" God didn't just intend for us to be His children when we get to heaven. He intended to be our Father even now.
The forgiveness of our sin was in order to reinstate us to a place of right standing with God. Now that we're brought back into His family by justification, then we can now expect our Father to be a Father. When God brought us back into His family as His children, then God Himself made the decision to be fully responsible for us. Every Father who brings life to his children is supposed to take responsibility for them. Can our Heavenly Father do any less?
The "rest" that God spoke of in Hebrews, referred to our trusting by faith that He will accept His place as Father and will meet our every need. This is what gives Him the most pleasure in His Own family. He desires that we trust Him to do that which He wants to do for us. That's His will for us. James 1:18 (Amplified) says that, "And it was of His Own (free) will that He gave us birth (as sons) by (His) Word of truth, So that we should be a kind of first fruits of His creatures (a sample of what He created to be consecrated to Himself)."
It was by His Own will that God gave birth to us by His Word and His Spirit. He'd intended to by our Father and provide for us when He gave us sonship rights with Him. The thing that displeased God in the wilderness was the people's not believing He would do it. They wouldn't rest in His promise to care for them.
Hebrews 4:7 (Amplified) says, "Again He sets a definite day (a new day) today (and gives another opportunity of securing that rest) saying through David after so long a time in the words already quoted, Today, if you would hear His voice and when you hear it, do not harden your hearts."
This promise of full protection and security is still being offered to those who would hear. If we do hear or don't hear, then it doesn't remove us from being His children. You're saved through your faith in Jesus as your Sacrifice Lamb. But, we're most pleasing to God when we believe that as our Father, God will take full responsibility for us.
To "rest" in this kind of faith is what God wants most from us. When we "rest" in this, then we have stopped relying on our own efforts in our flesh and become totally dependent on Him.
For many years we have relied on our own works to gain favor with Him. We have set up rules and rituals to prove ourselves worthy of His grace. His grace is a gift and it cannot be earned or manipulated by our own righteousness. We still try depending on our own works in order to gain God's approval. Jesus was the One on Whom He approved of and all who are in Christ Jesus have already met God's approval.
If we can finally come to the place in our faith where we can allow Him to be a Father, then He will be our Father. We keep trying to lift Him so high as to lose the very thing that He sent Jesus to do. Knowing Him as Father, doesn't diminish His Own greatness, but only enhances it. Jesus came to give us His Name and they hated Him for it. The Name He came to give us was Father. Every Jew knew His Name was Yshway or Jehovah, so it wasn't these names He revealed. No one would dare call God Father. Even in what we refer to as "The Lord's Prayer," Jesus began by controversially saying, "Our Father." He prayed, "Lead us not into temptation (trials, tests), but deliver us from evil or the evil one."
Many of us haven't even trusted God in this. In many worldwide churches, they still teach that it's our Father God Who tests and tries us. They pray for God to deliver them from evil, but still believe that God not only doesn't deliver us from evil, but that He uses satan to test and prove His family.
This is a prime example of not "resting" in His promise of Father. This is what they did in the wilderness. Does the devil still test and try the Church? Of course he does. But, didn't Jesus tells us that He (through the permission of our Father) gives us authority over the devil? When the devil came up against Jesus or any of His disciples, they simply used the authority of Jesus' Name and pushed him back. They used this authority over sickness, death, hunger and even eternal death and bondage over the people. They used Jesus' Name not just to change a government or anything we understood, but to change the entire world by allowing God's will and His Kingdom to come here and rule.
As individuals, you and I don't have authority over all that goes on in this earth. But, if the whole of the family would allow God to do what He wishes in our lives, then we could have the same said about us that the disciples did in Acts 17:6 (Amplified) which says, "These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also."
There was something about the early Church that proved to have more faith than what we witness today. This faith was produced in them because the Name of Jesus held full power and authority in their hearts. Today, we believe that the Name of Jesus will forgive sin (maybe). Many still consider themselves to be sinners even after being born again. We don't always believe in the "rest" and the full protection and provision of our Father. We believe everything will be alright when we arrive in heaven. We wait for our place in the eternity of God. When you got born again, you already entered the eternity of God. Rest in your place with Him now.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Lesson 12 The REST of Salvation
We've concluded that salvation through Christ Jesus was not only eternal, but also temporal. When our sin was removed (which was the barrier between God and us), we could begin walking in a new covenant of grace and truth.
In our Blog "The Law of the Kinsman Redeemer," we found that a brother or relative who had enough wealth could redeem or restore everything that his king had lost into bondage. Our Redeemer, Who is Heir of all things, hasn't only paid the price for our sin (the wages of sin is death), but also restored everything that was lost through the fall of our brother Adam. This included all of the temporal things as well as the restoration to the eternal life of God.
Adam was made to be in total authority over all of the earth and everything on it. Until the fall of Adam, there was no sickness, no lack, no heartache and no danger that Adam didn't have authority over. When Jesus died, or better yet, rose from the dead, He said in Matthew 28 that "All authority has been given unto Me, both in heaven, and in earth. Now go in My Name (He gave us the power of attorney in His Name), to make disciples of all nations, To proclaim the good news that the debt had been paid, restitution was now done, and all things had been restored."
We've centered in on the sin being done away with and man could now be born again (which is the most important thing), but all of salvation was important to God. If our temporal restoration (healing, peace of mind, justification and right standing) had not been that important, then Jesus wouldn't have had to suffer everything He did on the cross. If healing wasn't that important, then the stripes on His body would have been for nothing. The Word tells us that "By His stripes we were healed."
If our peace wasn't important, then the chastisement needful to obtain our peace of mind and well being wasn't needed either. It's true that the greatest miracle was receiving the price for our sin and being born again. Luke 10:17-20 (Amplified) says, "The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your Name." Verses 18-19 say, "And He said to them, I saw sate falling like a (lightning) flash from heaven. Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and (physical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy (possesses), and nothing shall in any way harm you." Verse 20 goes on, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rejoice that your naems are enrolled in heaven."
Jesus didn't say, "Don't take this authority into consideration," but to be rejoicing about being enrolled in heaven. This was what gave the power and authority to do all the other things. Without being endowed with the authority and power of heaven, there was no power over demons and sickness. So, when we say that being born again is the most important thing, this is true, but being born again places us in a position to stand in His authority. This is not to be overlooked.
It wouldn't be much different than a mother giving birth and saying, "I've done my part. If he's strong enough, then the baby will survive or if he's not strong, then he won't make it." God didn't give us new life only for us to subjugated to His arch enemy, but to deliver us from all satan's bondage. This body is now the temple of God. Do you really believe He would leave it in the hands of the devil to be made into a ghetto?
The Word says that the temple is holy and belongs to God. It wasn't only to be free from sin living in it, but it wasn't to have the results of sin in it. That includes all of the things our Kinsman Redeemer redeemed us from.
Salvation was to be complete in us the way it was in the One Who redeemed us. Through Jesus, we have become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. Romans 8:17 (Amplified) tells us how God intended for His sacrifice to be so complete that satan would have no hold on us at all. Salvation was to be our total protection from everything that was lost. When the Passover Lamb of Exodus was killed, the enemy had to pass over all who were under that blood. If there was enough power in the blood of a lamb to turn away the death angel, then how much greater power should there be for us who are under the Blood of Jesus?
We have a problem entering into the "rest" of our salvation mostly because we didn't know about it. The entrance of the Word brings light. Romans 10:14 (Amplified) says, "But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed (in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance)? And how are they to believe in Him (adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him) of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?"
We've learned to believe in Him as far as we have heard. We've heard that He will remove our sin and give us new life by being born again. We've heard this and we believe God for this. The reason we don't believe in all the rest of what Jesus did for us, is that we haven't heard it. The reason we haven't heard it is mostly because it hasn't been preached. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So then, faith comes by hearing (what is told) and what is heard comes by the preaching (of the message that came from the lips) of Christ (the Messiah Himself)."
According to this scripture, did Jesus preach "temporal" healing as well as a new life? If He did (and He did), then this was to be the Gospel (the Good News) that we're to preach. People can't place their faith in God's healing them if they haven't heard that He will. Mark 5:25-29 (Amplified) says, "There was a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years And who had endured much suffering under (the hands of) many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse." Verse 27 goes on, "She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment." Verse 28 says, "For she kept saying, 'If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.'" Verse 29 says, "And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and (suddenly) she felt in her body that she was healed of her (distressing) ailment."
When did the women receive the faith to be healed? When she heard about Jesus. For twelve years, she was subject to this disease, but when she heard about what the Messiah was doing, her faith came by hearing. How could she believe without hearing and how could she hear until "It came from the lips of the Messiah?" What she heard was the message or Good News that Jesus Himself was preaching. When she heard it was God's will to heal her, then her faith in healing was restored and by faith, she received her healing.
If we don't preach it, then they won't hear it. If they don't hear it, then there is no faith in it. And, if there's no faith in it, then we still never believe in it even after everything Jesus did for us. We'll never believe in it and it remains a part of our lives that satan can still rule over. Once we know God's will for us, then "rest" will come. Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
Did you know that the Israelites living in the wilderness lived there for forty years. Not one of them died, their clothes and shoes never wore out, manna fell from heaven for them to eat, they received water from a rock, they had shade by day and heat from a pillar by night, but they still wouldn't rest in God's promise to Abraham to provide for His people.
Praise God for His message about the new birth, but now that we're part of His family again, don't forget the other parts of His salvation. Psalm 103:1-5 (Amplified) says, "Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is (deepest) within me, bless His holy Name!" Verses 2-3 says, "Bless (affectionately, gratefully, praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not (one of) all His benefits Who forgives (everyone of all your iniquities), Who heals (each one of) all your diseases." Verse 4 says, "Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies." Verse 5 says, "Who satisfies your mouth (your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation) with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's (strong, overcoming, soaring)!"
This is our God and Father. He is the One Who is now watching over as a Protector and Shepherd for now and for always. His arm is not shortened that He cannot save and His strength has not diminished so that He cannot heal. Trust in His Word and His covenant of promise. Dare to step out in faith when you have heard. Walking in the "rest" of His promise is the most exciting thing you'll ever do.
If you are bored with ritual and complacency, then walk in truth and faith. I can promise you will never be bored.
In our Blog "The Law of the Kinsman Redeemer," we found that a brother or relative who had enough wealth could redeem or restore everything that his king had lost into bondage. Our Redeemer, Who is Heir of all things, hasn't only paid the price for our sin (the wages of sin is death), but also restored everything that was lost through the fall of our brother Adam. This included all of the temporal things as well as the restoration to the eternal life of God.
Adam was made to be in total authority over all of the earth and everything on it. Until the fall of Adam, there was no sickness, no lack, no heartache and no danger that Adam didn't have authority over. When Jesus died, or better yet, rose from the dead, He said in Matthew 28 that "All authority has been given unto Me, both in heaven, and in earth. Now go in My Name (He gave us the power of attorney in His Name), to make disciples of all nations, To proclaim the good news that the debt had been paid, restitution was now done, and all things had been restored."
We've centered in on the sin being done away with and man could now be born again (which is the most important thing), but all of salvation was important to God. If our temporal restoration (healing, peace of mind, justification and right standing) had not been that important, then Jesus wouldn't have had to suffer everything He did on the cross. If healing wasn't that important, then the stripes on His body would have been for nothing. The Word tells us that "By His stripes we were healed."
If our peace wasn't important, then the chastisement needful to obtain our peace of mind and well being wasn't needed either. It's true that the greatest miracle was receiving the price for our sin and being born again. Luke 10:17-20 (Amplified) says, "The seventy returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your Name." Verses 18-19 say, "And He said to them, I saw sate falling like a (lightning) flash from heaven. Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and (physical and mental strength and ability) over all the power that the enemy (possesses), and nothing shall in any way harm you." Verse 20 goes on, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rejoice that your naems are enrolled in heaven."
Jesus didn't say, "Don't take this authority into consideration," but to be rejoicing about being enrolled in heaven. This was what gave the power and authority to do all the other things. Without being endowed with the authority and power of heaven, there was no power over demons and sickness. So, when we say that being born again is the most important thing, this is true, but being born again places us in a position to stand in His authority. This is not to be overlooked.
It wouldn't be much different than a mother giving birth and saying, "I've done my part. If he's strong enough, then the baby will survive or if he's not strong, then he won't make it." God didn't give us new life only for us to subjugated to His arch enemy, but to deliver us from all satan's bondage. This body is now the temple of God. Do you really believe He would leave it in the hands of the devil to be made into a ghetto?
The Word says that the temple is holy and belongs to God. It wasn't only to be free from sin living in it, but it wasn't to have the results of sin in it. That includes all of the things our Kinsman Redeemer redeemed us from.
Salvation was to be complete in us the way it was in the One Who redeemed us. Through Jesus, we have become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. Romans 8:17 (Amplified) tells us how God intended for His sacrifice to be so complete that satan would have no hold on us at all. Salvation was to be our total protection from everything that was lost. When the Passover Lamb of Exodus was killed, the enemy had to pass over all who were under that blood. If there was enough power in the blood of a lamb to turn away the death angel, then how much greater power should there be for us who are under the Blood of Jesus?
We have a problem entering into the "rest" of our salvation mostly because we didn't know about it. The entrance of the Word brings light. Romans 10:14 (Amplified) says, "But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed (in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance)? And how are they to believe in Him (adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him) of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?"
We've learned to believe in Him as far as we have heard. We've heard that He will remove our sin and give us new life by being born again. We've heard this and we believe God for this. The reason we don't believe in all the rest of what Jesus did for us, is that we haven't heard it. The reason we haven't heard it is mostly because it hasn't been preached. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So then, faith comes by hearing (what is told) and what is heard comes by the preaching (of the message that came from the lips) of Christ (the Messiah Himself)."
According to this scripture, did Jesus preach "temporal" healing as well as a new life? If He did (and He did), then this was to be the Gospel (the Good News) that we're to preach. People can't place their faith in God's healing them if they haven't heard that He will. Mark 5:25-29 (Amplified) says, "There was a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years And who had endured much suffering under (the hands of) many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse." Verse 27 goes on, "She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment." Verse 28 says, "For she kept saying, 'If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.'" Verse 29 says, "And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and (suddenly) she felt in her body that she was healed of her (distressing) ailment."
When did the women receive the faith to be healed? When she heard about Jesus. For twelve years, she was subject to this disease, but when she heard about what the Messiah was doing, her faith came by hearing. How could she believe without hearing and how could she hear until "It came from the lips of the Messiah?" What she heard was the message or Good News that Jesus Himself was preaching. When she heard it was God's will to heal her, then her faith in healing was restored and by faith, she received her healing.
If we don't preach it, then they won't hear it. If they don't hear it, then there is no faith in it. And, if there's no faith in it, then we still never believe in it even after everything Jesus did for us. We'll never believe in it and it remains a part of our lives that satan can still rule over. Once we know God's will for us, then "rest" will come. Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
Did you know that the Israelites living in the wilderness lived there for forty years. Not one of them died, their clothes and shoes never wore out, manna fell from heaven for them to eat, they received water from a rock, they had shade by day and heat from a pillar by night, but they still wouldn't rest in God's promise to Abraham to provide for His people.
Praise God for His message about the new birth, but now that we're part of His family again, don't forget the other parts of His salvation. Psalm 103:1-5 (Amplified) says, "Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul; and all that is (deepest) within me, bless His holy Name!" Verses 2-3 says, "Bless (affectionately, gratefully, praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not (one of) all His benefits Who forgives (everyone of all your iniquities), Who heals (each one of) all your diseases." Verse 4 says, "Who redeems your life from the pit and corruption, Who beautifies, dignifies, and crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies." Verse 5 says, "Who satisfies your mouth (your necessity and desire at your personal age and situation) with good so that your youth, renewed, is like the eagle's (strong, overcoming, soaring)!"
This is our God and Father. He is the One Who is now watching over as a Protector and Shepherd for now and for always. His arm is not shortened that He cannot save and His strength has not diminished so that He cannot heal. Trust in His Word and His covenant of promise. Dare to step out in faith when you have heard. Walking in the "rest" of His promise is the most exciting thing you'll ever do.
If you are bored with ritual and complacency, then walk in truth and faith. I can promise you will never be bored.
Friday, April 25, 2014
Lesson 11 The REST of Salvation
We've struggled for so long trying to know the truth about our walk and relationship with God. Many things we've heard and learned throughout the years, haven't been true according to His Word. We've walked in a false sense of humility for years because we didn't want to seem arrogant and boastful concerning our walk with God. Any hint about the fact we're righteous would instantly draw reproach and disdain from our elders.
We learned to pray "Our Father," but we're reluctant to call ourselves God's sons. We were taught that our sins were forgiven, but our sins weren't necessarily forgotten. For some reason, we've lived in fear of not living up to what God said. We were made more aware of our failures as mere men rather than the image we are now in Jesus.
It always seemed like the old man was magnified and the new man was for when we died. We were always fearful of walking in the flesh rather than in the spirit. We were constantly being told our making any small mistake would break our fellowship with the Father and bring us back to square one.
We were taught so many negative things about our covenant with God, that it's nearly impossible to be in His rest. Some have been mistakenly taught that God might do any awful thing, at anytime, to test us. We never seemed to be at a place where we could simply be at peace and rest in what Jesus has done for us.
Because we didn't really know about God when we were first saved, we depended on others to teach us. Jesus said that we were "the blind, leading the blind." We had no way of knowing that the persons teaching us, didn't know either. They only knew what they were taught and most of that was wrong. So, we've been mostly taught that we just had to hang on until the end and then everything would be alright in heaven.
As we dig deeper in the Word, we find that not only will it be alright when we died, but it was supposed to be alright now while we're living. We discover that Jesus is Lord now as well as when we reach heaven. We've heard a lot about what God used to do and what He's going to do, but nearly nobody can say what He's doing now.
I used to hear about Moses' parting the Red Sea and about David slaying Goliath and about Lazarus being raised from the dead and Jesus' walking on water. I heard about Paul and Peter and about the Holy Spirit and I heard about the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lake of Fire, But, for some reason, I didn't hear about God doing much of any of the things He'd been doing for nearly two thousand years.
I saw mega churches being built all over the place, but I didn't see much of the power or presence of God in most of the. As a lost man and sinner, I often wondered where God was. People told me to stop drinking and go to church. I tried to do that, but I was powerless to achieve any success at it. I was mostly left with a set of rules that I couldn't keep.
There was no power or trust because one could "never know what God will do." It was hard to trust a God Who could change at any second without our ever knowing why or when. It was impossible to try to rest or enter into the rest that the Word talks about.
As I began searching for the truth of God and a relationship with Him as my Father, I learned many things that are still foreign to many believers. When I try sharing some of the things the Holy Spirit has shown me over the years, I still run into opposition from the brethren.
I don't mean to imply that our walk with God is without opposition because it is not. But, the opposition comes from the enemy and not from God. If God wanted to get me for the mistakes I've made, then He would have destroyed me before I got saved and not after. If He loved me even before I knew Jesus, then would He love me less now? If God sent Jesus to pay for my mistakes and sin while I was still lost, then why would He try to punish me now that I've received Jesus?
I found in God's Word that Jesus bore my sins and my punishment. He was separated from God so that I could be united with Him. He was made sick with my sickness and was bruised for my transgressions. Why, then, would God put on me what He put on Jesus for me? I suddenly began seeing some light for me to live by and some strength for me to hold onto. I began to see that only God's Word was what I could live by and in and not the traditions of man. Living in God's Word isn't a popular thing even in the Church, but it's the only things I can rest in.
We read about this rest in Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) which says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
As I looked into the Israelite's unbelief and disobedience in the wilderness from Numbers 13-14, I found there were only two men (Joshua and Caleb) who believed God. The rest of the people, remained in the wilderness until their deaths. A whole new generation had to take up trust in Him and go into the Promised Land. Are we the generation destined to stay in the bondage of unbelief? Or, are we the generation who will believe God and enter into the "rest" (belief in God's Word) of triumph and His glory? Do we dare believe or not believe?
God told Joshua in Joshua 1:6-7 (Amplified) to, "Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." Verse 7 goes on, "Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded you (In our case, it's the Law of Love that Jesus commanded, faith works by Love) Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go."
The new covenant isn't based on the Law of Moses, but on the Love and grace given through Jesus. The main principle, though, is still the same. We're to stay strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (not in ourselves). We're to be of good courage because everything around you will look like that giants Joshua and Caleb saw. You must be courageous and realize that whether they're Goliath or those in the Canaan Land, the giants never change. It's the same deception of the enemy.
It still takes courage to walk with God. Everything around you will tell you that you can't do it. But, remember that with God, "All things are possible." Labor to rest in His rest and not our own.
We learned to pray "Our Father," but we're reluctant to call ourselves God's sons. We were taught that our sins were forgiven, but our sins weren't necessarily forgotten. For some reason, we've lived in fear of not living up to what God said. We were made more aware of our failures as mere men rather than the image we are now in Jesus.
It always seemed like the old man was magnified and the new man was for when we died. We were always fearful of walking in the flesh rather than in the spirit. We were constantly being told our making any small mistake would break our fellowship with the Father and bring us back to square one.
We were taught so many negative things about our covenant with God, that it's nearly impossible to be in His rest. Some have been mistakenly taught that God might do any awful thing, at anytime, to test us. We never seemed to be at a place where we could simply be at peace and rest in what Jesus has done for us.
Because we didn't really know about God when we were first saved, we depended on others to teach us. Jesus said that we were "the blind, leading the blind." We had no way of knowing that the persons teaching us, didn't know either. They only knew what they were taught and most of that was wrong. So, we've been mostly taught that we just had to hang on until the end and then everything would be alright in heaven.
As we dig deeper in the Word, we find that not only will it be alright when we died, but it was supposed to be alright now while we're living. We discover that Jesus is Lord now as well as when we reach heaven. We've heard a lot about what God used to do and what He's going to do, but nearly nobody can say what He's doing now.
I used to hear about Moses' parting the Red Sea and about David slaying Goliath and about Lazarus being raised from the dead and Jesus' walking on water. I heard about Paul and Peter and about the Holy Spirit and I heard about the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lake of Fire, But, for some reason, I didn't hear about God doing much of any of the things He'd been doing for nearly two thousand years.
I saw mega churches being built all over the place, but I didn't see much of the power or presence of God in most of the. As a lost man and sinner, I often wondered where God was. People told me to stop drinking and go to church. I tried to do that, but I was powerless to achieve any success at it. I was mostly left with a set of rules that I couldn't keep.
There was no power or trust because one could "never know what God will do." It was hard to trust a God Who could change at any second without our ever knowing why or when. It was impossible to try to rest or enter into the rest that the Word talks about.
As I began searching for the truth of God and a relationship with Him as my Father, I learned many things that are still foreign to many believers. When I try sharing some of the things the Holy Spirit has shown me over the years, I still run into opposition from the brethren.
I don't mean to imply that our walk with God is without opposition because it is not. But, the opposition comes from the enemy and not from God. If God wanted to get me for the mistakes I've made, then He would have destroyed me before I got saved and not after. If He loved me even before I knew Jesus, then would He love me less now? If God sent Jesus to pay for my mistakes and sin while I was still lost, then why would He try to punish me now that I've received Jesus?
I found in God's Word that Jesus bore my sins and my punishment. He was separated from God so that I could be united with Him. He was made sick with my sickness and was bruised for my transgressions. Why, then, would God put on me what He put on Jesus for me? I suddenly began seeing some light for me to live by and some strength for me to hold onto. I began to see that only God's Word was what I could live by and in and not the traditions of man. Living in God's Word isn't a popular thing even in the Church, but it's the only things I can rest in.
We read about this rest in Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) which says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
As I looked into the Israelite's unbelief and disobedience in the wilderness from Numbers 13-14, I found there were only two men (Joshua and Caleb) who believed God. The rest of the people, remained in the wilderness until their deaths. A whole new generation had to take up trust in Him and go into the Promised Land. Are we the generation destined to stay in the bondage of unbelief? Or, are we the generation who will believe God and enter into the "rest" (belief in God's Word) of triumph and His glory? Do we dare believe or not believe?
God told Joshua in Joshua 1:6-7 (Amplified) to, "Be strong (confident) and of good courage, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them." Verse 7 goes on, "Only you be strong and very courageous, that you may do according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded you (In our case, it's the Law of Love that Jesus commanded, faith works by Love) Turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go."
The new covenant isn't based on the Law of Moses, but on the Love and grace given through Jesus. The main principle, though, is still the same. We're to stay strong in the Lord and in the power of His might (not in ourselves). We're to be of good courage because everything around you will look like that giants Joshua and Caleb saw. You must be courageous and realize that whether they're Goliath or those in the Canaan Land, the giants never change. It's the same deception of the enemy.
It still takes courage to walk with God. Everything around you will tell you that you can't do it. But, remember that with God, "All things are possible." Labor to rest in His rest and not our own.
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Lesson 10 The REST of Salvation
We've thought of our salvation mostly as having our sins forgiven and our going to heaven when we die. According to The Strong's Concordance, the word "salvation" or "saved" means so much more than this. It's true that we're forgiven and made new in Christ. It's also true that we can be and are united with our Father through Jesus. But, being saved, as in Romans 10:9 and our salvation, as in Romans 1:16 takes on a whole new light as we study it out.
Romans 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Good News) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation (for deliverance from eternal death) to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also the Greek."
As we go into the next verse of Romans 1:17 (Amplified), it reveals that once we believe in the Lord Jesus, this "salvation" entails a deeper and more immediate work as our faith grows in Him. We've only scratched the surface of what God has done for us as far as His salvation is concerned.
One of the most used verses in the New Testament for leading someone to the Father is Romans 10:9 (Amplified) which says, "Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
The word "saved" in the Greek, takes on a whole new light as we understand it more. Strong's Concordance #4982 says that the word "saved" means "Deliver, protect, heal, preserve, be safe, be whole, make whole."
The word "salvation" as read from Romans 1:16 means in the Greek to "Save, saving, defender, defense, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, save." From #4983 it means "the body (as a sound whole) bodily, body, slave." From #4991 it means to "rescue, or safety, (mor. or phys.) deliver, health, salvation, save, saving."
All of these things are implied in the words saved or salvation. This isn't just something God will do when we died, but something God has already done because now, we live.
Once the Church understand what the full power of our salvation through Jesus means, we will learn to rest in His power when the trials of the enemy come. We've mostly just tried holding on until the end of the trials. Jesus was more than just a knot in the end of our rope to hand onto. He is the whole deliverance of our Father. We weren't saved in order to simply put up with things until we get to heaven. We were saved and delivered in order to reveal the glory and power of our Father here on this earth. Remember this prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We haven't even rested in the full assurance that we will get to heaven. We've been told so many things about the Gospel, that we're unsure of the power of our Lamb. Some in the Body of Christ aren't even sure of our right standing with the Father. 2Corinthians 5:21 (Amplified) says that, "For our sake, He (God) made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
It's been difficult for God's family to actually take their place in His house because we don't know the truth of the Gospel. We've been left with the sense of our guilt more than the understanding of our deliverance. We're still dealing more with who we were rather than understanding who we are now.
When Jesus entered into the very presence of the heavens, He placed His Own Blood on the altar and He became our mercy seat and the Supreme Sacrifice for all men and for eternity. There will never be another sacrifice for sin and death ever again. When God sees us, He sees us through the sinless Blood of His Son and that we're now in Him. We can never be separated from Him, ever again!
We've heard so many storied about our Heavenly Father, that we don't know who to believe. We must believe the Word of God. God isn't our problem, but our answer to every problem in life. It's been hard to rest in our salvation because we never understood it. We've believed in man's testimony rather than the Word.
We read in Isaiah 53:1 (Amplified) that, "Who has believed (trusted in, relied upon, and clung to) our message (of that which was revealed to us) and to whom has the arm of the Lord been disclosed?"
Whose report will we believe? Who has dared to believe the fullness of what Jesus has done for us through the Father. We have trouble "resting in our salvation" because we really don't trust Him. "O, but Brother Him, I trust Him with all my life." Well, your life is already in Him, so I reckon that's okay.
Do we really trust Him? I sometimes stop and check myself by His Word. I don't check with someone's testimony, but by His Word. His Word says that, "He bore my sickness and my disease" in Isaiah 53:3-5 and Matthew 8:17.
I hear testimonies from God's people of how God gave them (or allowed the devil) to give them a sickness in order to teach them or humble them. Then I read God's Word about how Jesus took away my sin and sickness. Whose report am I to believe? If I can't believe the testimony, then I can't believe the Word. If I believe the Word, then I cannot believe the testimony. Now, where do I stand?
If I believe the testimony over the Word, then I can never again "rest" in the fact that Jesus, God is my Healer. If I believe that God allowed the devil to torment me, then I can never "rest" in the fact that the Name of Jesus can cast out a devil because "A house divided cannot stand."
The "rest" referred to in the Word, is trusting in the fact that our Father isn't a dead beat dad. He will never allow His children to go without. He takes care of the birds, the lilies of the field and everything else and He will take care of His children who He paid such an awesome price for. We've heard so many conflicting things about Him, that we don't even know who we can trust. Stay with the Word because it never changes.
Once we actually know Him instead of knowing about Him, we can no longer be deceived. All of us who've made Jesus our Lord, have the same privileges that He has, but not everyone knows what these privileges are. That's why I love Romans 1:17 (Amplified) which says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed. Both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosed through the way of faith, that arouses to more faith) as it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith)."
We have the Word of His promises to lead us deeper (by faith) into the mystery that was hidden, but now is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. These things are still mysteries to the natural mind and the unrenewed mind, but through the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ has revealed them to those who will seek them out.
Every time the Holy Spirit reveals something new to me in the Word, I get the same excitement I had when I first met Jesus. I suppose that's why David said, "I love Your Word." Religion has made God seem boring by its observing the same things all the time as though that all our Father knows. God's Word is so exciting to those who will seek and listen and every day is a whole new beginning in it.
How can we possibly be in fellowship with a Father Who can speak and entire universe into existence and ever be bored? Rest in what He has done and keep excited about what He is still doing. All He has left for us to do in the new covenant of His Love, is to believe that Love has already done everything and has provided everything for His children from before the foundations of the earth. God planned and created everything and saw that "It was very good." He has now made a nursery for His expected family to enjoy.
Romans 1:16 (Amplified) says, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Good News) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation (for deliverance from eternal death) to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance, to the Jew first and also the Greek."
As we go into the next verse of Romans 1:17 (Amplified), it reveals that once we believe in the Lord Jesus, this "salvation" entails a deeper and more immediate work as our faith grows in Him. We've only scratched the surface of what God has done for us as far as His salvation is concerned.
One of the most used verses in the New Testament for leading someone to the Father is Romans 10:9 (Amplified) which says, "Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
The word "saved" in the Greek, takes on a whole new light as we understand it more. Strong's Concordance #4982 says that the word "saved" means "Deliver, protect, heal, preserve, be safe, be whole, make whole."
The word "salvation" as read from Romans 1:16 means in the Greek to "Save, saving, defender, defense, deliver, protect, heal, preserve, save." From #4983 it means "the body (as a sound whole) bodily, body, slave." From #4991 it means to "rescue, or safety, (mor. or phys.) deliver, health, salvation, save, saving."
All of these things are implied in the words saved or salvation. This isn't just something God will do when we died, but something God has already done because now, we live.
Once the Church understand what the full power of our salvation through Jesus means, we will learn to rest in His power when the trials of the enemy come. We've mostly just tried holding on until the end of the trials. Jesus was more than just a knot in the end of our rope to hand onto. He is the whole deliverance of our Father. We weren't saved in order to simply put up with things until we get to heaven. We were saved and delivered in order to reveal the glory and power of our Father here on this earth. Remember this prayer, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We haven't even rested in the full assurance that we will get to heaven. We've been told so many things about the Gospel, that we're unsure of the power of our Lamb. Some in the Body of Christ aren't even sure of our right standing with the Father. 2Corinthians 5:21 (Amplified) says that, "For our sake, He (God) made Christ (virtually) to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become (endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of) the righteousness of God (what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness)."
It's been difficult for God's family to actually take their place in His house because we don't know the truth of the Gospel. We've been left with the sense of our guilt more than the understanding of our deliverance. We're still dealing more with who we were rather than understanding who we are now.
When Jesus entered into the very presence of the heavens, He placed His Own Blood on the altar and He became our mercy seat and the Supreme Sacrifice for all men and for eternity. There will never be another sacrifice for sin and death ever again. When God sees us, He sees us through the sinless Blood of His Son and that we're now in Him. We can never be separated from Him, ever again!
We've heard so many storied about our Heavenly Father, that we don't know who to believe. We must believe the Word of God. God isn't our problem, but our answer to every problem in life. It's been hard to rest in our salvation because we never understood it. We've believed in man's testimony rather than the Word.
We read in Isaiah 53:1 (Amplified) that, "Who has believed (trusted in, relied upon, and clung to) our message (of that which was revealed to us) and to whom has the arm of the Lord been disclosed?"
Whose report will we believe? Who has dared to believe the fullness of what Jesus has done for us through the Father. We have trouble "resting in our salvation" because we really don't trust Him. "O, but Brother Him, I trust Him with all my life." Well, your life is already in Him, so I reckon that's okay.
Do we really trust Him? I sometimes stop and check myself by His Word. I don't check with someone's testimony, but by His Word. His Word says that, "He bore my sickness and my disease" in Isaiah 53:3-5 and Matthew 8:17.
I hear testimonies from God's people of how God gave them (or allowed the devil) to give them a sickness in order to teach them or humble them. Then I read God's Word about how Jesus took away my sin and sickness. Whose report am I to believe? If I can't believe the testimony, then I can't believe the Word. If I believe the Word, then I cannot believe the testimony. Now, where do I stand?
If I believe the testimony over the Word, then I can never again "rest" in the fact that Jesus, God is my Healer. If I believe that God allowed the devil to torment me, then I can never "rest" in the fact that the Name of Jesus can cast out a devil because "A house divided cannot stand."
The "rest" referred to in the Word, is trusting in the fact that our Father isn't a dead beat dad. He will never allow His children to go without. He takes care of the birds, the lilies of the field and everything else and He will take care of His children who He paid such an awesome price for. We've heard so many conflicting things about Him, that we don't even know who we can trust. Stay with the Word because it never changes.
Once we actually know Him instead of knowing about Him, we can no longer be deceived. All of us who've made Jesus our Lord, have the same privileges that He has, but not everyone knows what these privileges are. That's why I love Romans 1:17 (Amplified) which says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed. Both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosed through the way of faith, that arouses to more faith) as it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith)."
We have the Word of His promises to lead us deeper (by faith) into the mystery that was hidden, but now is revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. These things are still mysteries to the natural mind and the unrenewed mind, but through the Holy Spirit, the mind of Christ has revealed them to those who will seek them out.
Every time the Holy Spirit reveals something new to me in the Word, I get the same excitement I had when I first met Jesus. I suppose that's why David said, "I love Your Word." Religion has made God seem boring by its observing the same things all the time as though that all our Father knows. God's Word is so exciting to those who will seek and listen and every day is a whole new beginning in it.
How can we possibly be in fellowship with a Father Who can speak and entire universe into existence and ever be bored? Rest in what He has done and keep excited about what He is still doing. All He has left for us to do in the new covenant of His Love, is to believe that Love has already done everything and has provided everything for His children from before the foundations of the earth. God planned and created everything and saw that "It was very good." He has now made a nursery for His expected family to enjoy.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Lesson 9 The REST of Salvation
We read in Hebrews 7:26-27 (Amplified) that, "(Here is) the High Priest (perfectly adapted) to our needs, as was fitting-holy, blameless, unstained by sin, separated from sinners, and exalted higher than the heavens." Verse 27 says, "He has no day by day necessity, as (do each of these other) high priests, to offer sacrifice first of all for his own (personal) sins and then for those of the people, because He (met all the requirements) once and for all when He brought Himself (as a sacrifice) which He offered up."
Hebrews 8:1 (Amplified) says, "Now the main point of what we have to say is this; we have such a High Priest, One Who is seated at the right hand of the Majestic (God) in heaven."
The old covenant priest was always standing before the altar offering sacrifice "for himself and for all of the other people." Our High Priest, once He offered Himself, sat down at God's right hand, the place of power.
Just like God rested on the seventh day of creation, Jesus sat down and rested. It wasn't because They were tired, but because They were finished. There was nothing left to be done.
Ephesians 2:5-6 (Amplified) says that, "Even when we were dead (slain) by (our own) shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; (He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him) for it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation)." Verse 6 continues, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Father rested on the seventh day because His work was finished. Jesus sat down as High Priest because the sacrifice and offerings and the old covenant work were finished, so He rested. We are raised up together with Him. We can be seated as He is seated and we can rest in our salvation because it is finished.
There's nothing left for the believer to do, but rest in what Jesus has done. John 6:28-29 (Amplified) says, "Then they said, what are we to do, that we may (habitually) be working the works of God? (what are we to do to carry out what God requires)?" Verse 29 says, "Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you; that you believe in the One Whom He has sent (that you cleave to, trust in, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger)."
When we believe in the One Whom He has sent, we can rest in our Salvation. Everything that was needful to life and godliness has been already made available. The only thing we're required to do, is rest with Him and in Him.
What can we done ton improve on what Jesus has already done? Can we do any works or anything by our own efforts to make our salvation more complete? Can we read more, pray more, study more, do more good deeds, light more candles or dress more in a certain way or abstain from more meats or foods to make our salvation more complete or even more assured? Our salvation in Jesus is already so complete and eternal, that Jesus sat down. There is no longer anything required to make us in right standing or give us more grace and mercy with God. We only need to believe and rest like He has rested.
2Timothy 2:5 (Amplified) tells us to, "Study and be eager and do your upmost to present yourselves to God approved (tested by trial) a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly) handling and skillfully teaching the Word of truth."
We are called to study and to understand the Word and not to be in bondage to traditions. We're called to understand what our Lord has done so we can live in it and thereby give Him glory in it. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and God has become our Father, our salvation is settled in heaven forever. The only difference in God's people is some have studied to know what has been given to them and some have not. One is no more saved than the other and none are more the children of God than the other. The only difference between God's children is that some have studied the covenant out of respect for Jesus and some have not studied.
Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) says that, "The Spirit Himself (thus) testifies together with our own spirit, (assuring us) that we are children of God." Verse 17 says, "And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His inheritance with Him); only we must share His sufferings if we are to share His glory."
If we rest in our salvation and do not constantly be fearful of being rejected, then we can begin studying what is included in our inheritance in Him. When we receive what He's given us by faith and not works, we glorify Him in His perfect sacrifice. Some have learned that healing is provided in our salvation and some haven't. Some have learned that peace is part of our salvation and some have not. Some have learned that power and authority were part of our salvation and some have not.
For all those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, all these things have been freely given. We all share in this inheritance equally as joint heirs with Christ. The only difference in our lives is that some study to know (not because we must do something to obtain them), but in order to honor Him in those things He gave His life for me to have. If it was important enough for Jesus to die for, then it should be important enough to receive.
Hebrews 8:1 (Amplified) says, "Now the main point of what we have to say is this; we have such a High Priest, One Who is seated at the right hand of the Majestic (God) in heaven."
The old covenant priest was always standing before the altar offering sacrifice "for himself and for all of the other people." Our High Priest, once He offered Himself, sat down at God's right hand, the place of power.
Just like God rested on the seventh day of creation, Jesus sat down and rested. It wasn't because They were tired, but because They were finished. There was nothing left to be done.
Ephesians 2:5-6 (Amplified) says that, "Even when we were dead (slain) by (our own) shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; (He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him) for it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation)." Verse 6 continues, "And He raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The Father rested on the seventh day because His work was finished. Jesus sat down as High Priest because the sacrifice and offerings and the old covenant work were finished, so He rested. We are raised up together with Him. We can be seated as He is seated and we can rest in our salvation because it is finished.
There's nothing left for the believer to do, but rest in what Jesus has done. John 6:28-29 (Amplified) says, "Then they said, what are we to do, that we may (habitually) be working the works of God? (what are we to do to carry out what God requires)?" Verse 29 says, "Jesus replied, This is the work (service) that God asks of you; that you believe in the One Whom He has sent (that you cleave to, trust in, rely on, and have faith in His Messenger)."
When we believe in the One Whom He has sent, we can rest in our Salvation. Everything that was needful to life and godliness has been already made available. The only thing we're required to do, is rest with Him and in Him.
What can we done ton improve on what Jesus has already done? Can we do any works or anything by our own efforts to make our salvation more complete? Can we read more, pray more, study more, do more good deeds, light more candles or dress more in a certain way or abstain from more meats or foods to make our salvation more complete or even more assured? Our salvation in Jesus is already so complete and eternal, that Jesus sat down. There is no longer anything required to make us in right standing or give us more grace and mercy with God. We only need to believe and rest like He has rested.
2Timothy 2:5 (Amplified) tells us to, "Study and be eager and do your upmost to present yourselves to God approved (tested by trial) a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly) handling and skillfully teaching the Word of truth."
We are called to study and to understand the Word and not to be in bondage to traditions. We're called to understand what our Lord has done so we can live in it and thereby give Him glory in it. When we receive Jesus as our Lord and God has become our Father, our salvation is settled in heaven forever. The only difference in God's people is some have studied to know what has been given to them and some have not. One is no more saved than the other and none are more the children of God than the other. The only difference between God's children is that some have studied the covenant out of respect for Jesus and some have not studied.
Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) says that, "The Spirit Himself (thus) testifies together with our own spirit, (assuring us) that we are children of God." Verse 17 says, "And if we are (His) children, then we are (His) heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ (sharing His inheritance with Him); only we must share His sufferings if we are to share His glory."
If we rest in our salvation and do not constantly be fearful of being rejected, then we can begin studying what is included in our inheritance in Him. When we receive what He's given us by faith and not works, we glorify Him in His perfect sacrifice. Some have learned that healing is provided in our salvation and some haven't. Some have learned that peace is part of our salvation and some have not. Some have learned that power and authority were part of our salvation and some have not.
For all those who have received Jesus as Lord and Savior, all these things have been freely given. We all share in this inheritance equally as joint heirs with Christ. The only difference in our lives is that some study to know (not because we must do something to obtain them), but in order to honor Him in those things He gave His life for me to have. If it was important enough for Jesus to die for, then it should be important enough to receive.
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
Lesson 8 The REST of Salvation
When we were born again, it was an eternal life that we received. The very life of God Himself was placed in our spirit. We have become one spirit with Him. In God's heart and mind, we were translated when we were born again according to Colossians 1:13 (Amplified) which says, "(The Father) has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love."
As far as God's concerned, we're already there. It's not something He's going to do, but something that's already done. We're still acting as though we're unsure about whether or not we're going to heaven. God's brought heaven here to live in us. Everything He has laid up in heaven, He has given for us to use and enjoy now. Colossians 2:9-10 (Amplified) says that, "For in Him (Jesus) the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form (giving complete expression of the divine nature)." Verse 10 says, "And you are, in Him, made full and having come to the fullness of life (in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-and reach full spiritual stature) And He is the Head of all rule and Authority (of every angelic principality and power)."
We sometimes read into the Word that the things it says about us are for a time in the future. God, Who is outside of time, has already done what His Word has declared. We keep waiting for another time and place in which we can be made holy, righteous and pure before God. As far as God's concerned; it is finished. What more can He do to make us clean that He hasn't already done in Jesus?
We insist on trying to make ourselves more holy by implementing rules and regulations on one another. We don't believe the truth of God's Word and rely on religious teachings about making ourselves holy. Paul writes in Colossians 2:18-23 (Amplified), "Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions (he claims) he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit." Verse 19 goes on, "And not holding fast to the Head, from whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God." Verses 20-22 say, "If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world's crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as though you still belong to the world? (why do you submit to rules and regulations)? -such as Do not handle (this), Do not taste (that) Do not even touch (them), Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines." Verse 23 says, "Such (practices) have indeed the outward appearance (that popularly passes) for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature) (Instead, they do not honor God but were only indulge the flesh)."
We read what God's Word says concerning the forgiveness of sin, but continue allowing ourselves to be treated (or even treated and spoken of ourselves) like we're still sinners. God's Word says that we're been made righteous with His Own righteousness and yet, we still act like it didn't happen. The Word tells us that we're able to use the very power of His Name and authority and yet, we live like it isn't true. We've allowed ourselves (or put ourselves) in a place where it's for some time in the future.
All of the religious things we've inistituted to make us feel like we still have something to do with our salvation and it's the very reason we have no rest in His finished work. The only thing left undone with Jesus' work on the cross, is for us to believe in it. We cannot rest in the fact that it's already done. If we will only trust in what Jesus has done, then it's really very easy to live for God.
Walking with God is easy, whereas, walking in religion and tradition is not. As we learn through God's Word all that has been made available to us through Jesus' Name, we walk in a place of rest. The struggles we have on this earth are mostly from those who wish to impose (or oppose) their own ideas of Christianity on us.
The moment we begin walking in an area of the truth that others don't understand, the trial of our faith is enhanced. We either conform to popular opinion or we suffer persecution at the hands of others. The closer you walk with the Lord, the more opposition you encounter.
It's been this way ever since Jesus came and will probably be this way until He comes again. There will always be those who won't recognize the power of the Holy Spirit. This doesn't mean that they haven't received salvation, but that they don't understand what all it means to us for the here and now. The thought of heaven and being in His presence forever is the things all of us have faith in. But, being in God's presence now is something we should all have our faith in.
This is what His "rest" has promised. It's not just heaven, but heaven on earth as His children. Surely, His Name has as much power in it as it did when Jesus told His disciples to go and heal the sick, cast out devils and complete all the works He told them to do. These weren't even born again men. Surely, there must be more power now that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us and now that He, Himself has taken up resident within us. It's "Christ in us, our hope in glory."
We've allowed the world, man's idea of religion and our own prideful flesh to rob us of what we're inherited in Him. From that day in the Upper Room, until now, heaven has been poured out on us by the very presence of the Spirit of God Himself. The love of God, the power of God, the Spirit of God, the righteousness of God, being made heirs of God and being joint heirs with Jesus have been poured out on us from the Spirit of God. About the only thing we've yet to inherit, is a glorified body and that's not far off by the signs of the times.
Just rest in what Jesus has made ours by His sacrifice. Don't be concerned about what men might say about you. If they persecuted Him for saying that He was the Son of God, then they will persecute you for saying the same thing. Satan would rather have you in a place where he can accuse you, then have you rest in the truth that you've been delivered from him. Remember, whosoever the Son has freed, is free indeed.
As far as God's concerned, we're already there. It's not something He's going to do, but something that's already done. We're still acting as though we're unsure about whether or not we're going to heaven. God's brought heaven here to live in us. Everything He has laid up in heaven, He has given for us to use and enjoy now. Colossians 2:9-10 (Amplified) says that, "For in Him (Jesus) the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form (giving complete expression of the divine nature)." Verse 10 says, "And you are, in Him, made full and having come to the fullness of life (in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead-Father, Son and Holy Spirit-and reach full spiritual stature) And He is the Head of all rule and Authority (of every angelic principality and power)."
We sometimes read into the Word that the things it says about us are for a time in the future. God, Who is outside of time, has already done what His Word has declared. We keep waiting for another time and place in which we can be made holy, righteous and pure before God. As far as God's concerned; it is finished. What more can He do to make us clean that He hasn't already done in Jesus?
We insist on trying to make ourselves more holy by implementing rules and regulations on one another. We don't believe the truth of God's Word and rely on religious teachings about making ourselves holy. Paul writes in Colossians 2:18-23 (Amplified), "Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions (he claims) he has seen, vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual thoughts and fleshly conceit." Verse 19 goes on, "And not holding fast to the Head, from whom the entire body, supplied and knit together by means of its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God." Verses 20-22 say, "If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world's crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as though you still belong to the world? (why do you submit to rules and regulations)? -such as Do not handle (this), Do not taste (that) Do not even touch (them), Referring to things all of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and doctrines." Verse 23 says, "Such (practices) have indeed the outward appearance (that popularly passes) for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature) (Instead, they do not honor God but were only indulge the flesh)."
We read what God's Word says concerning the forgiveness of sin, but continue allowing ourselves to be treated (or even treated and spoken of ourselves) like we're still sinners. God's Word says that we're been made righteous with His Own righteousness and yet, we still act like it didn't happen. The Word tells us that we're able to use the very power of His Name and authority and yet, we live like it isn't true. We've allowed ourselves (or put ourselves) in a place where it's for some time in the future.
All of the religious things we've inistituted to make us feel like we still have something to do with our salvation and it's the very reason we have no rest in His finished work. The only thing left undone with Jesus' work on the cross, is for us to believe in it. We cannot rest in the fact that it's already done. If we will only trust in what Jesus has done, then it's really very easy to live for God.
Walking with God is easy, whereas, walking in religion and tradition is not. As we learn through God's Word all that has been made available to us through Jesus' Name, we walk in a place of rest. The struggles we have on this earth are mostly from those who wish to impose (or oppose) their own ideas of Christianity on us.
The moment we begin walking in an area of the truth that others don't understand, the trial of our faith is enhanced. We either conform to popular opinion or we suffer persecution at the hands of others. The closer you walk with the Lord, the more opposition you encounter.
It's been this way ever since Jesus came and will probably be this way until He comes again. There will always be those who won't recognize the power of the Holy Spirit. This doesn't mean that they haven't received salvation, but that they don't understand what all it means to us for the here and now. The thought of heaven and being in His presence forever is the things all of us have faith in. But, being in God's presence now is something we should all have our faith in.
This is what His "rest" has promised. It's not just heaven, but heaven on earth as His children. Surely, His Name has as much power in it as it did when Jesus told His disciples to go and heal the sick, cast out devils and complete all the works He told them to do. These weren't even born again men. Surely, there must be more power now that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us and now that He, Himself has taken up resident within us. It's "Christ in us, our hope in glory."
We've allowed the world, man's idea of religion and our own prideful flesh to rob us of what we're inherited in Him. From that day in the Upper Room, until now, heaven has been poured out on us by the very presence of the Spirit of God Himself. The love of God, the power of God, the Spirit of God, the righteousness of God, being made heirs of God and being joint heirs with Jesus have been poured out on us from the Spirit of God. About the only thing we've yet to inherit, is a glorified body and that's not far off by the signs of the times.
Just rest in what Jesus has made ours by His sacrifice. Don't be concerned about what men might say about you. If they persecuted Him for saying that He was the Son of God, then they will persecute you for saying the same thing. Satan would rather have you in a place where he can accuse you, then have you rest in the truth that you've been delivered from him. Remember, whosoever the Son has freed, is free indeed.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Lesson 7 The REST of Salvation
We've never really understood the full scale of what actually happened when our Lord was raised from the dead. Everything Jesus did was for us. Our Father gave up His only Son so that we could become His very Own family. Because we're His family, we must be in His very Image and Likeness. Some people still miss what we say when we say that we're like God. To the unrenewed mind, like we're being boastful or even blasphemous to declare such a thing. Even if we say that we're like Jesus, people get very funny in their thinking.
Jesus didn't think it was boastful to say that He and the Father are One. We read in God's Word that we've all been made into the Image and Likeness of Jesus. According to the Word, we have become joint heirs with Christ Jesus and heirs of God. This isn't for when we get to heaven, but for now. Now, we are sons of God. We've been mostly afraid to take our place in the family of God because we're afraid of offending Him.
Jesus didn't just have authority over the devil when He was raised from the dead. He always had authority over him. We were given authority over him when Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus didn't need to wait until His resurrection in order to put sickness and disease under His feet. He always had Divine health when He was here on earth. This was for us to be able to walk in at His resurrection. He didn't have to die and be raised in order to be sinless. He always was sinless. This was so you and I could be as sinless as He is.
Somehow, we've put off most of what Jesus did for us for until the resurrection. What we've failed to understand is that we were raised together with Jesus when He was resurrected. I certainly don't mean our natural body. I know that my natural body will still have to be resurrected, but in God's mind and plan, we're already been given eternal life when we were born again.
1John 4:17 (Amplified) tells us that, "In this (union and communion with Him) Love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of Judgement (with assurance and boldness to face Him) because as He is, so are we in this world."
According to this scripture, we're just like Him as He is now. Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) says, "And He raised us up together with Him, and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." You might say, concerning this scripture, "Yes, but this is only in the heavenly sphere." Didn't Jesus use His power from the heavenly sphere to walk out His earthly walk? How else could we ever hope to walk out what we're called to be without the power from on high?
When Jesus walked as a man on earth, He was the example of how God's Sons were to walk here. We watched as His Apostles walked in this power and raised the dead, healed the sick, took authority over demonic spirits and dealt with things on this earth. Were they any more sons of God than we are now? The same Holy Spirit they walked with is the same Holy Spirit Who is with us now and in us now. He is the same Holy Spirit Who empowered Jesus at the Jordan River when He started His ministry.
Paul made a very strange statement for us to comprehend in Philippians 3:10-11 (Amplified) where he said, "(For my determined purpose is) that I may know Him (that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly) and that I may in that same way come to know the power out flowing from His resurrection (which it exerts over believers) and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed (in spirit into His likeness even) to His death (in the hope) that if possible I may attain to the (spiritual and moral) resurrection (that lifts me) out from among the dead (even while in the body)."
Most of us gleaned from this scripture that we may "share in His sufferings." These sufferings weren't the sufferings that Jesus bore on the cross. The sufferings on the cross cannot be shared in. These sufferings were so that you and I could both be free from those things. We can't share Jesus' sufferings on the cross because that's where He bore our sins. We couldn't have done that because He is the Only One Who is sinless. We couldn't have bore the curse of the Law. Only Jesus could have done that.
The sufferings Paul spoke about were the things Jesus suffered as a man. Paul would need Jesus' help bearing up under the scorn and hatred of the people, withstanding the attacks of satan when he stirred up the people and enduring the hardships to preach what he was called to preach. Even Peter and the other Apostles didn't understand him.
In order to "finish the course and complete the race," Paul went through things that few of us would even dare undertake. To be conformed to Jesus' sufferings, didn't mean the sufferings on the cross. Only Jesus could endure that suffering and He did that (not for us to endure) so we wouldn't have to. Jesus died in our place so that we would never have to endure the penalty for our sins and trespasses. We can't do that.
Paul wanted to know and experience the power that Jesus' resurrection has now exerted over His believers. What power is that? The power we now have with Him in His seat beside the Father. When Jesus was raised, you and I were raised with Him in that power. When Jesus was given all power in His Name, you and I were given the power of attorney to use that Name in all its power. When Jesus was declared righteous, you and I were declared righteous. When He was justified, you and I were justified in His resurrection. When Jesus was raised, we were raised together with Him and in Him. When the Father gave Jesus authority in heaven and earth, you and I (in Him), were granted the authority too.
We've used very little of the legacy granted to us by grace in Jesus. Mostly, as Christians, we haven't dared believe that this grace and love have delivered us to this place with God. We keep forgetting that it was our Father Who did this in order to bring us back to His side like in the beginning. We had nothing to do with it. It was all His Own doing. He could have withheld part of our trespass if He wanted to. He could have left some of His wrath towards us if He chose too, but He didn't.
Until we understand that it was more that our sins Jesus bore, we will not enter into the "rest." We keep trying to be that which Jesus has already made us.
Jesus didn't think it was boastful to say that He and the Father are One. We read in God's Word that we've all been made into the Image and Likeness of Jesus. According to the Word, we have become joint heirs with Christ Jesus and heirs of God. This isn't for when we get to heaven, but for now. Now, we are sons of God. We've been mostly afraid to take our place in the family of God because we're afraid of offending Him.
Jesus didn't just have authority over the devil when He was raised from the dead. He always had authority over him. We were given authority over him when Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus didn't need to wait until His resurrection in order to put sickness and disease under His feet. He always had Divine health when He was here on earth. This was for us to be able to walk in at His resurrection. He didn't have to die and be raised in order to be sinless. He always was sinless. This was so you and I could be as sinless as He is.
Somehow, we've put off most of what Jesus did for us for until the resurrection. What we've failed to understand is that we were raised together with Jesus when He was resurrected. I certainly don't mean our natural body. I know that my natural body will still have to be resurrected, but in God's mind and plan, we're already been given eternal life when we were born again.
1John 4:17 (Amplified) tells us that, "In this (union and communion with Him) Love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of Judgement (with assurance and boldness to face Him) because as He is, so are we in this world."
According to this scripture, we're just like Him as He is now. Ephesians 2:6 (Amplified) says, "And He raised us up together with Him, and made us sit down together (giving us joint seating with Him) in the heavenly sphere (by virtue of our being) in Christ Jesus (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." You might say, concerning this scripture, "Yes, but this is only in the heavenly sphere." Didn't Jesus use His power from the heavenly sphere to walk out His earthly walk? How else could we ever hope to walk out what we're called to be without the power from on high?
When Jesus walked as a man on earth, He was the example of how God's Sons were to walk here. We watched as His Apostles walked in this power and raised the dead, healed the sick, took authority over demonic spirits and dealt with things on this earth. Were they any more sons of God than we are now? The same Holy Spirit they walked with is the same Holy Spirit Who is with us now and in us now. He is the same Holy Spirit Who empowered Jesus at the Jordan River when He started His ministry.
Paul made a very strange statement for us to comprehend in Philippians 3:10-11 (Amplified) where he said, "(For my determined purpose is) that I may know Him (that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly and more clearly) and that I may in that same way come to know the power out flowing from His resurrection (which it exerts over believers) and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed (in spirit into His likeness even) to His death (in the hope) that if possible I may attain to the (spiritual and moral) resurrection (that lifts me) out from among the dead (even while in the body)."
Most of us gleaned from this scripture that we may "share in His sufferings." These sufferings weren't the sufferings that Jesus bore on the cross. The sufferings on the cross cannot be shared in. These sufferings were so that you and I could both be free from those things. We can't share Jesus' sufferings on the cross because that's where He bore our sins. We couldn't have done that because He is the Only One Who is sinless. We couldn't have bore the curse of the Law. Only Jesus could have done that.
The sufferings Paul spoke about were the things Jesus suffered as a man. Paul would need Jesus' help bearing up under the scorn and hatred of the people, withstanding the attacks of satan when he stirred up the people and enduring the hardships to preach what he was called to preach. Even Peter and the other Apostles didn't understand him.
In order to "finish the course and complete the race," Paul went through things that few of us would even dare undertake. To be conformed to Jesus' sufferings, didn't mean the sufferings on the cross. Only Jesus could endure that suffering and He did that (not for us to endure) so we wouldn't have to. Jesus died in our place so that we would never have to endure the penalty for our sins and trespasses. We can't do that.
Paul wanted to know and experience the power that Jesus' resurrection has now exerted over His believers. What power is that? The power we now have with Him in His seat beside the Father. When Jesus was raised, you and I were raised with Him in that power. When Jesus was given all power in His Name, you and I were given the power of attorney to use that Name in all its power. When Jesus was declared righteous, you and I were declared righteous. When He was justified, you and I were justified in His resurrection. When Jesus was raised, we were raised together with Him and in Him. When the Father gave Jesus authority in heaven and earth, you and I (in Him), were granted the authority too.
We've used very little of the legacy granted to us by grace in Jesus. Mostly, as Christians, we haven't dared believe that this grace and love have delivered us to this place with God. We keep forgetting that it was our Father Who did this in order to bring us back to His side like in the beginning. We had nothing to do with it. It was all His Own doing. He could have withheld part of our trespass if He wanted to. He could have left some of His wrath towards us if He chose too, but He didn't.
Until we understand that it was more that our sins Jesus bore, we will not enter into the "rest." We keep trying to be that which Jesus has already made us.
Friday, April 18, 2014
Lesson 6 The REST of Salvation
In John 3:3 (Amplified) we read, "Jesus answered him (Nicodemus), I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew from above) he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with and experience) the Kingdom of God."
2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) says, "Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation ( a new creature altogether) the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come."
The "rest" that I speak about isn't an extension of who you were, but a new person altogether. We keep trying to be who we were with a better outlook on things. Our outlook on things now, is an inward look at who we are. It's not the old man doing better, but the new man doing right. Paul said that there is no good thing in our flesh and that's why our flesh had to die. We now live by our born again spirit and its leading and wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
We still try organizing everything the way we did before. We try, mostly by our old nature, treating people better, no longer cursing and appearing holy. These are still deeds of the flesh and willpower.
We don't need willpower. We need to do like Jesus did when He said, "Not My will, but Yours be done." When we surrender our will over to His will, we walk in His rest. We're constantly trying to make up for the past mistakes and failures of our old lives. These things are dead and belong to the old man who died.
We can never make up for the wrong things we've done. Only Jesus' death on the cross could do that. Jesus has gone to the cross, was buried and raised and so were you. We're no longer living on the side of the cross where Jesus died and was buried, but on the side of His resurrection. All of these things are new and all these things are of God.
As long as we continue trying to live on the "dead and buried" side of the cross, we are still trying to do it by our own works. Only the resurrection side of the cross can produce new life. That's what Jesus meant when He said that "we cannot see God's Kingdom unless we're born again." Why? Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
Only your spirit can see into the new life that we now have. Even after a man is born again, he cannot see or experience God's Kingdom unless he allows the Holy Spirit to reveal it to him. 2Corinthians 2:14-15 (Amplified) says, "But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless, nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them (of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them) because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated." Verse 15 goes on, "But the spiritual man tries all things (he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions and discerns all things) yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one (he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get insight into him)."
When we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the Kingdom to us, we can see and enter into the promises of the Kingdom. The carnal Christian puts off the Kingdom for when he dies and goes to heaven. The spiritual Christian will see and receive and bring heaven down to earth like Jesus did.
It's not difficult to walk in God's "rest" if we only let the Word by Spirit like Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the Life Giver) the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The words I speak (truths) to you are Spirit and Life."
We keep rationalizing the Word in our unrenewed minds and cannot see or experience the Kingdom of God because it's not just words, but it is Spirit. This Word can and does enter your spirit once you're born again. But, if we try bringing it up from our spirit into an unrenewed mind, then it makes no sense.
This is why we have so many varying opinions and denominations in the Body of Christ today. The Word of God is not open to opinions or debate. It is Spirit and works from the Spirit. It will invade the natural man's way of doing things because the dead body will receive ability from the Spirit. This body will only be a vehicle for the born again spirit uses for transportation from one place to another. It has very little to do with the born again man except for housing the new Spirit to live in.
2Corinthians 5:17 (Amplified) says, "Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation ( a new creature altogether) the old (previous moral and spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come."
The "rest" that I speak about isn't an extension of who you were, but a new person altogether. We keep trying to be who we were with a better outlook on things. Our outlook on things now, is an inward look at who we are. It's not the old man doing better, but the new man doing right. Paul said that there is no good thing in our flesh and that's why our flesh had to die. We now live by our born again spirit and its leading and wisdom from the Holy Spirit.
We still try organizing everything the way we did before. We try, mostly by our old nature, treating people better, no longer cursing and appearing holy. These are still deeds of the flesh and willpower.
We don't need willpower. We need to do like Jesus did when He said, "Not My will, but Yours be done." When we surrender our will over to His will, we walk in His rest. We're constantly trying to make up for the past mistakes and failures of our old lives. These things are dead and belong to the old man who died.
We can never make up for the wrong things we've done. Only Jesus' death on the cross could do that. Jesus has gone to the cross, was buried and raised and so were you. We're no longer living on the side of the cross where Jesus died and was buried, but on the side of His resurrection. All of these things are new and all these things are of God.
As long as we continue trying to live on the "dead and buried" side of the cross, we are still trying to do it by our own works. Only the resurrection side of the cross can produce new life. That's what Jesus meant when He said that "we cannot see God's Kingdom unless we're born again." Why? Because flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God.
Only your spirit can see into the new life that we now have. Even after a man is born again, he cannot see or experience God's Kingdom unless he allows the Holy Spirit to reveal it to him. 2Corinthians 2:14-15 (Amplified) says, "But the natural, nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly (meaningless, nonsense) to him; and he is incapable of knowing them (of progressively recognizing, understanding, and becoming better acquainted with them) because they are spiritually discerned and estimated and appreciated." Verse 15 goes on, "But the spiritual man tries all things (he examines, investigates, inquires into, questions and discerns all things) yet is himself to be put on trial and judged by no one (he can read the meaning of everything, but no one can properly discern or appraise or get insight into him)."
When we allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the Kingdom to us, we can see and enter into the promises of the Kingdom. The carnal Christian puts off the Kingdom for when he dies and goes to heaven. The spiritual Christian will see and receive and bring heaven down to earth like Jesus did.
It's not difficult to walk in God's "rest" if we only let the Word by Spirit like Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives life (He is the Life Giver) the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The words I speak (truths) to you are Spirit and Life."
We keep rationalizing the Word in our unrenewed minds and cannot see or experience the Kingdom of God because it's not just words, but it is Spirit. This Word can and does enter your spirit once you're born again. But, if we try bringing it up from our spirit into an unrenewed mind, then it makes no sense.
This is why we have so many varying opinions and denominations in the Body of Christ today. The Word of God is not open to opinions or debate. It is Spirit and works from the Spirit. It will invade the natural man's way of doing things because the dead body will receive ability from the Spirit. This body will only be a vehicle for the born again spirit uses for transportation from one place to another. It has very little to do with the born again man except for housing the new Spirit to live in.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Lesson 5 The REST of Salvation
As Christians, we've come to the Lord by the cross. We believe that Jesus died for us and we're forgiven and made clean through Him, but we still will not walk in the other side of the cross. Although we say we believe we're forgiven, we continue to walk in the same sin conscience we did before we were saved. The other side of the cross is the resurrection. That's where we were made free.
If Jesus hadn't been raised from the dead, then you and I would both be lost. Jesus became sin with my sin and I was made righteous with His righteousness. It was on the cross where Jesus was made a curse for me, but now through His resurrection, I can walk in the blessing. These weren't simply things that await me when I get to heaven, but that I can walk in heaven here on earth.
So often, we keep reminding each other of their sin when God has said that now (because we have accepted Jesus) our sin and trespasses "He remembers no more." We keep identifying with Jesus' bearing our sin, but we haven't actually taking it to the grave with Him. Jesus died, not being a sinner, but in the place of a sinner. Jesus died as a curse, but He was risen in glory. Everything I was, Jesus became. Now, everything Jesus is, I became. This great exchange was made in order that we would be born again as a new creation. Now, God expects us to walk in the cleansing glory of the Risen Christ.
We have been made so clean, so pure and so holy by Jesus' sacrifice that God Himself has now taken up residence in us. Of course, you know that a Holy God cannot live in a sinful temple. Even if the High Priest had sin in his life when entering the Holy of Holies, then he would die. But, now through Jesus, we've been made so pure by His sacrifice that we've become the temple of the Lord.
Was our past sinful? Of course, it was. That's why Jesus died for us to make us clean. Now that we've been crucified with Him and buried with Him in baptism, we should also live with Him in His resurrection. As Christians, we sometimes still identify ourselves more with the cross than in His resurrection. When Jesus died and was buried, we died and were buried. When Jesus rose from the dead, we were also raised with Him. This isn't some future event. It's a reality for us now. We're supposed to be living a life of victory and authority in His Name.
Easter Sunday is soon approaching and we celebrate as His day of glory in His resurrection. We should celebrate the truth that we were raised with Jesus. He wasn't the only One Who was raised from the dead that day. We were raised together with Him. If we weren't raised with Him in Life, then we're still dead in our sin.
Nearly all the sermons we hear in church are about Jesus on the cross. This is the fact that Jesus went to the cross for all who will believe. I hear very few sermons about us now being without sin and being pure in the Father's eyes. Somehow, we still act like God looks at us differently than He does Jesus. The only way God sees us is through Jesus. When God sees you and me, He sees us from the resurrection side of the cross and not the sin side.
Romans 6:10-11 (Amplified) says that, "For by the death He died, He died to sin (ending His relationship to it) once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God (in unbroken fellowship with Him)." Verse 11 says, "Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relationship with it broken, but alive to God (living in unbroken fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus."
Have you ever thought of yourself living in unbroken fellowship with God? Probably not. We still think that ever time we make a mistake, we are in broken fellowship with Him. We're depending more on our own ability to stay in fellowship than we are in living in unbroken fellowship because of Jesus.
And, because of this, we're still living (in our own minds) more under Law (based on our performance) than we are in His perfect performance from Calvary to the Throne Room. Very few Christians I know, are living a life of victory by His resurrection. We're still putting off our cleansing until we reach heaven. It is true that, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God," according to Romans 3:23 (Amplified). But, what he was saying is that even those under the Law, as well as the Gentile nations, have sinned. But, in the very next verse Paul says, "(All) are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus," Verse 24.
We have a covenant of Grace and Faith with God because of Jesus. The Law was fulfilled by the One and last Great Sacrifice Who is the Lamb of God. There is now, no more sacrifice that can or will be accepted to God on our behalf. The sacrifice of God's Son on the cross took care of everything and anything that can ever come up on our behalf.
Because this is a covenant of faith, all grace was made available to every believer when he receives Jesus as his Lord. However, everything must still be received by faith. What I mean by this is, even though it's available to every believer, if we won't receive it by faith, then it does not profit us.
Romans 5:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God) through faith (it is already done, but we must have faith in it to enjoy it) let us (grasp the fact that we) have (the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." Verse 2 goes on, "Through Him also we have (our) access (entrance, introduction) by Faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we (firmly and safely) stand. And let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God."
The "rest" we refer to in our new covenant is that we were made righteous with His righteousness and it can bring peace to us, but only if we accept it by faith. Even though it's already ours through Jesus, we still must receive it by faith in order to enjoy it. We have right standing with God through Jesus. But, if we won't receive it by faith, then we will never enjoy it because we never feel worthy enough to enter into this rest.
Even though it's ours in Christ, each portion of our inheritance must be accepted by faith in order to enjoy it. Our forgiveness comes if we, by faith, only believe what Jesus has done. Then we can enjoy our walk with God as sinless in His eyes like Jesus is. We can enjoy our ability to stand in God's presence as clean and as pure as Jesus Himself, because it isn't based on our performance, but His. Now I can enter His rest. I no longer have to try and become righteous because I can rest, by faith, in His righteousness.
If Jesus hadn't been raised from the dead, then you and I would both be lost. Jesus became sin with my sin and I was made righteous with His righteousness. It was on the cross where Jesus was made a curse for me, but now through His resurrection, I can walk in the blessing. These weren't simply things that await me when I get to heaven, but that I can walk in heaven here on earth.
So often, we keep reminding each other of their sin when God has said that now (because we have accepted Jesus) our sin and trespasses "He remembers no more." We keep identifying with Jesus' bearing our sin, but we haven't actually taking it to the grave with Him. Jesus died, not being a sinner, but in the place of a sinner. Jesus died as a curse, but He was risen in glory. Everything I was, Jesus became. Now, everything Jesus is, I became. This great exchange was made in order that we would be born again as a new creation. Now, God expects us to walk in the cleansing glory of the Risen Christ.
We have been made so clean, so pure and so holy by Jesus' sacrifice that God Himself has now taken up residence in us. Of course, you know that a Holy God cannot live in a sinful temple. Even if the High Priest had sin in his life when entering the Holy of Holies, then he would die. But, now through Jesus, we've been made so pure by His sacrifice that we've become the temple of the Lord.
Was our past sinful? Of course, it was. That's why Jesus died for us to make us clean. Now that we've been crucified with Him and buried with Him in baptism, we should also live with Him in His resurrection. As Christians, we sometimes still identify ourselves more with the cross than in His resurrection. When Jesus died and was buried, we died and were buried. When Jesus rose from the dead, we were also raised with Him. This isn't some future event. It's a reality for us now. We're supposed to be living a life of victory and authority in His Name.
Easter Sunday is soon approaching and we celebrate as His day of glory in His resurrection. We should celebrate the truth that we were raised with Jesus. He wasn't the only One Who was raised from the dead that day. We were raised together with Him. If we weren't raised with Him in Life, then we're still dead in our sin.
Nearly all the sermons we hear in church are about Jesus on the cross. This is the fact that Jesus went to the cross for all who will believe. I hear very few sermons about us now being without sin and being pure in the Father's eyes. Somehow, we still act like God looks at us differently than He does Jesus. The only way God sees us is through Jesus. When God sees you and me, He sees us from the resurrection side of the cross and not the sin side.
Romans 6:10-11 (Amplified) says that, "For by the death He died, He died to sin (ending His relationship to it) once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God (in unbroken fellowship with Him)." Verse 11 says, "Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relationship with it broken, but alive to God (living in unbroken fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus."
Have you ever thought of yourself living in unbroken fellowship with God? Probably not. We still think that ever time we make a mistake, we are in broken fellowship with Him. We're depending more on our own ability to stay in fellowship than we are in living in unbroken fellowship because of Jesus.
And, because of this, we're still living (in our own minds) more under Law (based on our performance) than we are in His perfect performance from Calvary to the Throne Room. Very few Christians I know, are living a life of victory by His resurrection. We're still putting off our cleansing until we reach heaven. It is true that, "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God," according to Romans 3:23 (Amplified). But, what he was saying is that even those under the Law, as well as the Gentile nations, have sinned. But, in the very next verse Paul says, "(All) are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus," Verse 24.
We have a covenant of Grace and Faith with God because of Jesus. The Law was fulfilled by the One and last Great Sacrifice Who is the Lamb of God. There is now, no more sacrifice that can or will be accepted to God on our behalf. The sacrifice of God's Son on the cross took care of everything and anything that can ever come up on our behalf.
Because this is a covenant of faith, all grace was made available to every believer when he receives Jesus as his Lord. However, everything must still be received by faith. What I mean by this is, even though it's available to every believer, if we won't receive it by faith, then it does not profit us.
Romans 5:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God) through faith (it is already done, but we must have faith in it to enjoy it) let us (grasp the fact that we) have (the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy) peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)." Verse 2 goes on, "Through Him also we have (our) access (entrance, introduction) by Faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we (firmly and safely) stand. And let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God."
The "rest" we refer to in our new covenant is that we were made righteous with His righteousness and it can bring peace to us, but only if we accept it by faith. Even though it's already ours through Jesus, we still must receive it by faith in order to enjoy it. We have right standing with God through Jesus. But, if we won't receive it by faith, then we will never enjoy it because we never feel worthy enough to enter into this rest.
Even though it's ours in Christ, each portion of our inheritance must be accepted by faith in order to enjoy it. Our forgiveness comes if we, by faith, only believe what Jesus has done. Then we can enjoy our walk with God as sinless in His eyes like Jesus is. We can enjoy our ability to stand in God's presence as clean and as pure as Jesus Himself, because it isn't based on our performance, but His. Now I can enter His rest. I no longer have to try and become righteous because I can rest, by faith, in His righteousness.
Friday, April 11, 2014
Lesson 4 The REST of Salvation
Hebrews 4:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, While the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered (today) let us be afraid (to distrust it) lest any of you should think he has come to late and has come short of (reaching) it." Verse 2 says, "For indeed we have had the glad tidings (Gospel of God) proclaimed to us just as truly as they (the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them); but the message they heard did not benefit them because it was not mixed with faith (with the learning of the entire personality of God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness) by those who heard it. Neither were they united in faith with the ones (Joshua and Caleb) who heard (did believe)."
Here we find the answer to His rest that is promised through Jesus. Just like them, we haven't allowed our faith to move us into a place of rest. They did hear, but would not put faith in what they heard. For whatever reason they doubted, makes no difference. All that matters is they doubted.
As new covenant people, we have heard the Good News that came to us by God's Word and His prophets. Even Jesus Himself preached the completion of the Law through His Own sacrifice. At one time or another we've read about the cross in His Word from the prophets. Isaiah 53:1-12 (Amplified) says that, Jesus bore our sins (with the consequences) in Verse 11. We also read in Isaiah 54 :1-17 that Jesus bore our sickness, our oppression and our entire penalty that was due us, came upon Him. God declared in Verse 9 that, "For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
When God swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth, did they? Why then, do we have a problem believing God will not be angry with us or rebuke us? Is it not the same God Who swore? Why can we believe one part of His promise and not the other? This lack of faith in God's promise is why we don't enter into His rest.
God declares in Isaiah 54:14 (Amplified) that, "You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order) You shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you." Verse 15 says, "Behold; they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you."
God has plainly state that because of Jesus, He won't be angry or rebuke us. He won't stir up strife against us and even oppression won't be for us. Through Jesus, we are to establish ourselves in righteousness. Why then is not the "rest" of His truth living in the heart of God's people? Because, we haven't mixed what God's told us with faith.
We've used a million excuses why God's Word isn't working in our lives. We've said that, "None are righteous, no not one" and "healing has passed away" and "God is using this sickness or oppression to teach me" and the age old foolishness of, "You can never know what God may do."
There isn't any faith in any of these man made excuses that will stand up to the truth of God's Word. Like the Israelites, we've refused to put faith in His covenant of peace.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified) says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways yours ways, Says the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts."
God didn't says that we're stupid and He is so much smarter than us. He says that we need to understand what His promises are by the mind of the Spirit. In his carnal thinking, man still tries understanding these verses concerning Jesus. But, God says that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and we should allow our thoughts to be His thoughts.
Isaiah 1:18-19 (Amplified) says, "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, thought your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool."
Let me ask you this....If my sins are red like crimson, then what happens to my crimson sins when the red Blood of Jesus covers them? They are blotted out and are completely invisible in Jesus' Blood.
Colossians 2:14 (Amplified) says that, "Having cancelled out and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bone) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force against us (hostile to us) this (note with its regulations, decrees and demands) He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to (His) cross."
The Blood of Jesus covered the crimson and it flowed together so there was no trace of it left. We've had this same promise preached to us like (like they did), but we haven't mixed faith with what we've heard. Fear has risen up in our minds and just like they did, we see the giants in the land of rest and are to fearful to go into it.
God says in Isaiah that fear and terror would rise up against us, but not by Him. We've been afraid to trust His Word for anything other than going to heaven when we die. If that part of the Word's true, then it's all true. Learn to let His Word be true in your life.
Here we find the answer to His rest that is promised through Jesus. Just like them, we haven't allowed our faith to move us into a place of rest. They did hear, but would not put faith in what they heard. For whatever reason they doubted, makes no difference. All that matters is they doubted.
As new covenant people, we have heard the Good News that came to us by God's Word and His prophets. Even Jesus Himself preached the completion of the Law through His Own sacrifice. At one time or another we've read about the cross in His Word from the prophets. Isaiah 53:1-12 (Amplified) says that, Jesus bore our sins (with the consequences) in Verse 11. We also read in Isaiah 54 :1-17 that Jesus bore our sickness, our oppression and our entire penalty that was due us, came upon Him. God declared in Verse 9 that, "For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
When God swore that the waters of Noah would never again cover the earth, did they? Why then, do we have a problem believing God will not be angry with us or rebuke us? Is it not the same God Who swore? Why can we believe one part of His promise and not the other? This lack of faith in God's promise is why we don't enter into His rest.
God declares in Isaiah 54:14 (Amplified) that, "You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order) You shall be far from even the thought of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you." Verse 15 says, "Behold; they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you."
God has plainly state that because of Jesus, He won't be angry or rebuke us. He won't stir up strife against us and even oppression won't be for us. Through Jesus, we are to establish ourselves in righteousness. Why then is not the "rest" of His truth living in the heart of God's people? Because, we haven't mixed what God's told us with faith.
We've used a million excuses why God's Word isn't working in our lives. We've said that, "None are righteous, no not one" and "healing has passed away" and "God is using this sickness or oppression to teach me" and the age old foolishness of, "You can never know what God may do."
There isn't any faith in any of these man made excuses that will stand up to the truth of God's Word. Like the Israelites, we've refused to put faith in His covenant of peace.
Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified) says, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are My ways yours ways, Says the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts higher than your thoughts."
God didn't says that we're stupid and He is so much smarter than us. He says that we need to understand what His promises are by the mind of the Spirit. In his carnal thinking, man still tries understanding these verses concerning Jesus. But, God says that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts and we should allow our thoughts to be His thoughts.
Isaiah 1:18-19 (Amplified) says, "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, thought your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool."
Let me ask you this....If my sins are red like crimson, then what happens to my crimson sins when the red Blood of Jesus covers them? They are blotted out and are completely invisible in Jesus' Blood.
Colossians 2:14 (Amplified) says that, "Having cancelled out and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bone) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force against us (hostile to us) this (note with its regulations, decrees and demands) He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to (His) cross."
The Blood of Jesus covered the crimson and it flowed together so there was no trace of it left. We've had this same promise preached to us like (like they did), but we haven't mixed faith with what we've heard. Fear has risen up in our minds and just like they did, we see the giants in the land of rest and are to fearful to go into it.
God says in Isaiah that fear and terror would rise up against us, but not by Him. We've been afraid to trust His Word for anything other than going to heaven when we die. If that part of the Word's true, then it's all true. Learn to let His Word be true in your life.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Lesson 3 The REST of Salvation
Hebrews 4:10-11 (Amplified) says that, "For he who has once entered (God's) rest also has ceased from (the weariness and pain) of human labors, Just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His Own." Verse 11 says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
God made a covenant and a promise to Abraham and his seed (which is Christ). Galatians 3:16 (Amplified) tells us that, "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his seed (his offspring, his Heir)." God didn't made a covenant with Abraham and his seed, his descendant and Heir. God didn't make the covenant with Abraham and his seeds as if referring to many persons. God's covenant obviously referred to one individual, Who is none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Because of His covenant with Abraham, God would and did bring deliverance to all who were in bondage in Egypt. God didn't deliver them because of their crying, but because of His covenant with Abraham according to Exodus 2:24 (Amplified) which says, "And God heard their sighing and groaning and (earnestly) remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob."
Those in bondage in Egypt were delivered simply by God's grace and covenant with Abraham. Although His promise was actually made through Abraham for Jesus, God honored it even at that time. This covenant with Abraham was made 430 years before the Law of Moses for the people. His deliverance came strictly by grace and His promise. It wasn't based on their works or their keeping the Law (which wasn't in existence yet).
This promise of the Holy Spirit given o Abraham, was the promise of Life again to a spiritually dead people. Now, through the covenant of promise based on faith, God can once again walk united with His children like in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden, there was no need, no shortage, no fear, no sickness and no labor was required to make things work. Everything was provided by the Father.
What God wanted the people to do once He brought them out of Egypt, was to trust Him to meet all of their needs and simply rest in His provision.
Although God provided everything the Israelites needed, they still wanted to do it on their own. Genesis 2:2 (Amplified) says that God rested because His work was done. What He wants us to do presently, is to realize that through Jesus, our work is done. There's no need to work for favor from the Father because it's already been given. There's no need to try doing good works to receive His blessings because He's already given them. We don't need to strive to be righteous and have our conscience condemn us over past sins, because Jesus has already provided for our past, present and future.
We don't need to do good works and make sacrifice to be blessed and pure. We do good works because we are blessed and pure. We don't need to give in order to impress God. We give because we are impressed by God to do so. We were to "labor" to enter into His rest and not labor to gain a rest from our works. What God wants us to know is that everything we can ever need to be back where we belong with Him, has already been provided in Jesus. 2Peter 1:3 (Amplified) says that, "For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that (are requisite and suited) to life and godliness, through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His Own glory and excellence (virtue)."
God has left nothing for us to do but rest in His finished work. This doesn't mean that we don't do good works, but we don't do so to gain something (blessings, healings, favor or exaltation) from Him. All of these things (and many more) have already been provided in Jesus. All we're required to do now, is to rest in what He has done by faith.
This covenant of His grace and mercy was made long before man ever thought he could please God by his own efforts. No matter how hard we might try, we can never please God outside of our faith in Christ. Our forgiveness isn't based on how hard we try staying out of sin, but on how much faith we place in our sin sacrifice, Jesus. Our righteousness isn't based on how hard we work to become righteous, but on our faith that Jesus has made us righteous. We may do good works, but not to become good. We do good because God has made us good by His grace.
It's not what we do, but why we do it. This is the rest that God has called us to enter into. If we try entering by any other means than grace, then we are back under Salvation through our own efforts. Self effort doesn't mean no effort, but it's not our self effort that gets the job done. It's by grace and His efforts.
Many of us had said that we would die for Him. He doesn't want us to die for Him. He wants us to live for Him. Romans 6:5 (Amplified) says that, "For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be (one with Him in sharing) His resurrection (by a new life lived for God)." This resurrection life is to be lived for Him now and not when we leave here. We're already living the life of His resurrection here on this earth.
Romans 6:11 (Amplified) says, "Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin, and your relationship to it broken, but alive to God (living in unbroken fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus."
Did you notice how this scripture says we now live in unbroken fellowship with Him? This is the rest God wants us to realize. Even when we mess up (and we do), our fellowship with God remains unbroken by faith and rest through Jesus. Don't beat yourself up with condemnation and futility for your failures. Rest in His victory and complete glory.
Romans 5:10 (Amplified) tells us that, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more (certain), now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin's dominion) through His (resurrection life." This is the rest God has given. It's our daily deliverance from sin's dominion through Him.
God made a covenant and a promise to Abraham and his seed (which is Christ). Galatians 3:16 (Amplified) tells us that, "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his seed (his offspring, his Heir)." God didn't made a covenant with Abraham and his seed, his descendant and Heir. God didn't make the covenant with Abraham and his seeds as if referring to many persons. God's covenant obviously referred to one individual, Who is none other than Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
Because of His covenant with Abraham, God would and did bring deliverance to all who were in bondage in Egypt. God didn't deliver them because of their crying, but because of His covenant with Abraham according to Exodus 2:24 (Amplified) which says, "And God heard their sighing and groaning and (earnestly) remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob."
Those in bondage in Egypt were delivered simply by God's grace and covenant with Abraham. Although His promise was actually made through Abraham for Jesus, God honored it even at that time. This covenant with Abraham was made 430 years before the Law of Moses for the people. His deliverance came strictly by grace and His promise. It wasn't based on their works or their keeping the Law (which wasn't in existence yet).
This promise of the Holy Spirit given o Abraham, was the promise of Life again to a spiritually dead people. Now, through the covenant of promise based on faith, God can once again walk united with His children like in the Garden of Eden. In the Garden, there was no need, no shortage, no fear, no sickness and no labor was required to make things work. Everything was provided by the Father.
What God wanted the people to do once He brought them out of Egypt, was to trust Him to meet all of their needs and simply rest in His provision.
Although God provided everything the Israelites needed, they still wanted to do it on their own. Genesis 2:2 (Amplified) says that God rested because His work was done. What He wants us to do presently, is to realize that through Jesus, our work is done. There's no need to work for favor from the Father because it's already been given. There's no need to try doing good works to receive His blessings because He's already given them. We don't need to strive to be righteous and have our conscience condemn us over past sins, because Jesus has already provided for our past, present and future.
We don't need to do good works and make sacrifice to be blessed and pure. We do good works because we are blessed and pure. We don't need to give in order to impress God. We give because we are impressed by God to do so. We were to "labor" to enter into His rest and not labor to gain a rest from our works. What God wants us to know is that everything we can ever need to be back where we belong with Him, has already been provided in Jesus. 2Peter 1:3 (Amplified) says that, "For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that (are requisite and suited) to life and godliness, through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His Own glory and excellence (virtue)."
God has left nothing for us to do but rest in His finished work. This doesn't mean that we don't do good works, but we don't do so to gain something (blessings, healings, favor or exaltation) from Him. All of these things (and many more) have already been provided in Jesus. All we're required to do now, is to rest in what He has done by faith.
This covenant of His grace and mercy was made long before man ever thought he could please God by his own efforts. No matter how hard we might try, we can never please God outside of our faith in Christ. Our forgiveness isn't based on how hard we try staying out of sin, but on how much faith we place in our sin sacrifice, Jesus. Our righteousness isn't based on how hard we work to become righteous, but on our faith that Jesus has made us righteous. We may do good works, but not to become good. We do good because God has made us good by His grace.
It's not what we do, but why we do it. This is the rest that God has called us to enter into. If we try entering by any other means than grace, then we are back under Salvation through our own efforts. Self effort doesn't mean no effort, but it's not our self effort that gets the job done. It's by grace and His efforts.
Many of us had said that we would die for Him. He doesn't want us to die for Him. He wants us to live for Him. Romans 6:5 (Amplified) says that, "For if we have become one with Him by sharing a death like His, we shall also be (one with Him in sharing) His resurrection (by a new life lived for God)." This resurrection life is to be lived for Him now and not when we leave here. We're already living the life of His resurrection here on this earth.
Romans 6:11 (Amplified) says, "Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin, and your relationship to it broken, but alive to God (living in unbroken fellowship with Him) in Christ Jesus."
Did you notice how this scripture says we now live in unbroken fellowship with Him? This is the rest God wants us to realize. Even when we mess up (and we do), our fellowship with God remains unbroken by faith and rest through Jesus. Don't beat yourself up with condemnation and futility for your failures. Rest in His victory and complete glory.
Romans 5:10 (Amplified) tells us that, "For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more (certain), now that we are reconciled, that we shall be saved (daily delivered from sin's dominion) through His (resurrection life." This is the rest God has given. It's our daily deliverance from sin's dominion through Him.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Lesson 2 The REST of Salvation
Man's idea of salvation and God's idea about salvation are two totally different things. Man thinks that if he can be good, accept Jesus as their salvation, stop cussing and attend church, then maybe he can be good enough to get to heaven. God's idea of salvation is that no matter how hard man works at it, he can never be good enough to get to heaven.
God purposed that He Himself will remove the barrier of sin that holds man back. God purposed that the penalty for man's sin must be paid and that He Himself will pay it. God said that He will give life back to a dead spirit and then will restore the communication lost when Adam sinned in the Garden. God said that He will not only make man able to reach heaven, but that He Himself will restore heaven back to earth.
God says that He will take care of the people He made to be His family. He says that He will break the bond of death and sin and restore His family to grace, life and blessing. God never intended heaven to be man's home and thus He created the earth. Heaven and earth were to be one in God's mind. And, now God and man could inhabit the same space together.
We've been taught for much of our lives that God is a Holy God and because man is sinful we can never approach Him. This is very true. But, God didn't leave us sinful men. He did away with sin altogether for those who will believe in the finished work of His Son, Jesus. Somehow, though,we still act like we're not made righteous in Him. We say we're forgiven and then spend over half of our time trying to be forgiven. We confess that God made us righteous through Christ Jesus, but then say that "none are righteous."
That makes it impossible to enter into the rest spoken about in Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) which says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God) to know and experience it for ourselves that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)." Disbelief in God was all that was needed for the Israelites to perish in the wilderness and never enter into the Promised Land. Psalm 105:37 (Amplified) says that, "[God] brought (Israel) forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes."
God was their Provide, Protector, Deliverer, Healer. He provided shade for them in the daytime as a cloud and heat at night as the pillar of fire. He made manna fall from heaven and provided water for nearly three million people and their livestock too. The Israelites lived in comfort in the middle of a desert and lacked for nothing.
The covenant we now have with God is the fullness of His promise to Abraham for Jesus. In his carnal mind, man still separates God and man. When he reads with his carnal mind that the fullness of the promise is the Holy Spirit, he doesn't understand the new covenant and separates himself into two places.
Religion separates the Spirit from the man. God's plan is to unite man back by the Spirit. The fall of Adam in the Garden separated man's spirit from the Holy Spirit. It separated the life of God from man because "the wages of sin is death." Adam's transgression shut God out of man's spirit. The promise of the Holy Spirit that God promised Abraham through Jesus, was to unite man and God as one again. Jesus was to be all that was needed to bring all things back to order.
Now, by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, by faith, we have the very Spirit of God within our own spirit. We now have no longer need to sacrifice for our sin. We no longer need the Law because we live by grace. And, the Holy Spirit lives in the very heart (spirit) of God's people again. We don't need words carved on stone to tell us what is right or wrong because we have their very Author living in our spirit. Hebrews 5:13-14 (Amplified) says, "For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought and action) for he is a mere infant (not able to talk yet)." Verse 14 says, "But solid food is for full grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law."
The Holy Spirit will reveal to the spirit of man, the very thoughts of God Himself. When God reveals His thoughts and heart to us, it's not to say how we're to live in heaven, but how heaven wants to live in the earth. This was God's plan from the beginning and He doesn't have a plan B. Plan A is still working and will work much better once we stop fussing over going to heaven and allow heaven to be manifest again on earth.
Jesus was, and still is, the bridge connecting God and man, heaven and earth. God didn't send the Holy Spirit to remind us of our sinful past, but to reveal our sinless future. The Holy Spirit isn't to help us get to heaven, but to allow heaven to walk the earth (through us) once again. The earth isn't a sinful place, but because the enemy's lies, man has manifested it here. This earth was created as our home; not heaven. Romans 8:19-21 (Amplified) says, "For (even) the whole of creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known, (waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship)." Verse 20 says, "For the creation (nature) was subjected to frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration) not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of him who subjected it-(yet) with hope." Verse 21 says, "That nature (creation) itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption (and again and entrance) into the glorious freedom of God's children."
Adam subjected the earth to a bondage of corruption when he turned his authority into the hands of satan. This earth was made to produce all of the beauty, supply and comfort that God's children would ever need according to Romans 8:19 (Amplified). It tells us that all of creation is waiting to do what it was created to do. It's waiting for the "revealing, the disclosure of the sonship of God's children and for God's sons to be made known."
"Yes, but Brother Jim, that's for when we get to heaven." NO! It means that the earth is waiting for God's sons to be revealed. "Well, yes Brother Jim, that's what I mean. When we get to heaven we will be God's sons." NO! When we got born again, we became God's sons. Now we are called to do what His Son Jesus did and bring heaven to bear on this earth again.
When are the sons of God to be manifest? When we get to heaven? To whom are we then to be revealed? Everyone who is born again will be made manifest already. We are to reveal the manifestation as God's sons here on this earth.
God wants His children to walk with Him and He will walk with them like He did with Adam before his fall. If we will rest in His finished work and allow the truth of His Word to truly be made manifest in our lives, then the whole of creation will rejoice at the liberty of what Jesus has done.
The only hope for the manifestation of His glory being made manifest here for us, is when we enter into His rest. As long as we are determined to keep this separation of spirit and flesh, we will never see His glory in all of its majesty. Before his transgression, Adam walked in his flesh and blood body with God in the Garden of Eden. Jesus walked with God here on this earth in His flesh and blood body. God and Jesus were One. You and I are now one with God and He is one with us in these flesh and blood body. Now, it's no longer me, but the Father in me, Who does the work.
The Father can reveal Himself through His children again by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) says, "To the end that through (their receiving) Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy) Spirit."
The promise of the Spirit is the born again promise Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about in John 3:3 (Amplified) where He said, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (a new, from above) he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with and experience) the Kingdom of God."
Now that we're born again, we're back in the family of life through Jesus and restored to what our Father planned in the beginning. Once again, God and man can walk together as one. God Himself can once again walk this planet like He did through Jesus. John 10:30 (Amplified) says, "I and the Father are One." Now, because of Jesus, a man can be born again and his spirit can receive the life of the Father once more. Now, through the new birth, God's very Spirit is united with man's born again spirit. We've now become one with God on this earth because God's very Spirit is united with man's born again spirit.
Jesus said in John 17:21 (Amplified), "That they all ay be one, (just) as you, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, So that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me." John 14:17 (Amplified) says that, "The Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart) because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you (constantly) and will be in you."
This doesn't mean we must go to heaven to receive this blessing, but now heaven has come to earth in the presence of the very Spirit of God and all of heaven's blessing and abundance are made available to man by His presence. The curse has been fulfilled in Jesus. The sin debt has been paid, the death penalty was met and now, through Jesus, the blessing can flow unrestricted from the very presence of God's Spirit from within. Grace and mercy reign now through our accepted Lamb Who has become the door to all the Father has.
God purposed that He Himself will remove the barrier of sin that holds man back. God purposed that the penalty for man's sin must be paid and that He Himself will pay it. God said that He will give life back to a dead spirit and then will restore the communication lost when Adam sinned in the Garden. God said that He will not only make man able to reach heaven, but that He Himself will restore heaven back to earth.
God says that He will take care of the people He made to be His family. He says that He will break the bond of death and sin and restore His family to grace, life and blessing. God never intended heaven to be man's home and thus He created the earth. Heaven and earth were to be one in God's mind. And, now God and man could inhabit the same space together.
We've been taught for much of our lives that God is a Holy God and because man is sinful we can never approach Him. This is very true. But, God didn't leave us sinful men. He did away with sin altogether for those who will believe in the finished work of His Son, Jesus. Somehow, though,we still act like we're not made righteous in Him. We say we're forgiven and then spend over half of our time trying to be forgiven. We confess that God made us righteous through Christ Jesus, but then say that "none are righteous."
That makes it impossible to enter into the rest spoken about in Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) which says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God) to know and experience it for ourselves that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)." Disbelief in God was all that was needed for the Israelites to perish in the wilderness and never enter into the Promised Land. Psalm 105:37 (Amplified) says that, "[God] brought (Israel) forth also with silver and gold, and there was not one feeble person among their tribes."
God was their Provide, Protector, Deliverer, Healer. He provided shade for them in the daytime as a cloud and heat at night as the pillar of fire. He made manna fall from heaven and provided water for nearly three million people and their livestock too. The Israelites lived in comfort in the middle of a desert and lacked for nothing.
The covenant we now have with God is the fullness of His promise to Abraham for Jesus. In his carnal mind, man still separates God and man. When he reads with his carnal mind that the fullness of the promise is the Holy Spirit, he doesn't understand the new covenant and separates himself into two places.
Religion separates the Spirit from the man. God's plan is to unite man back by the Spirit. The fall of Adam in the Garden separated man's spirit from the Holy Spirit. It separated the life of God from man because "the wages of sin is death." Adam's transgression shut God out of man's spirit. The promise of the Holy Spirit that God promised Abraham through Jesus, was to unite man and God as one again. Jesus was to be all that was needed to bring all things back to order.
Now, by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior, by faith, we have the very Spirit of God within our own spirit. We now have no longer need to sacrifice for our sin. We no longer need the Law because we live by grace. And, the Holy Spirit lives in the very heart (spirit) of God's people again. We don't need words carved on stone to tell us what is right or wrong because we have their very Author living in our spirit. Hebrews 5:13-14 (Amplified) says, "For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought and action) for he is a mere infant (not able to talk yet)." Verse 14 says, "But solid food is for full grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law."
The Holy Spirit will reveal to the spirit of man, the very thoughts of God Himself. When God reveals His thoughts and heart to us, it's not to say how we're to live in heaven, but how heaven wants to live in the earth. This was God's plan from the beginning and He doesn't have a plan B. Plan A is still working and will work much better once we stop fussing over going to heaven and allow heaven to be manifest again on earth.
Jesus was, and still is, the bridge connecting God and man, heaven and earth. God didn't send the Holy Spirit to remind us of our sinful past, but to reveal our sinless future. The Holy Spirit isn't to help us get to heaven, but to allow heaven to walk the earth (through us) once again. The earth isn't a sinful place, but because the enemy's lies, man has manifested it here. This earth was created as our home; not heaven. Romans 8:19-21 (Amplified) says, "For (even) the whole of creation (all nature) waits expectantly and longs earnestly for God's sons to be made known, (waits for the revealing, the disclosing of their sonship)." Verse 20 says, "For the creation (nature) was subjected to frailty (to futility, condemned to frustration) not because of some intentional fault on its part, but by the will of him who subjected it-(yet) with hope." Verse 21 says, "That nature (creation) itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and corruption (and again and entrance) into the glorious freedom of God's children."
Adam subjected the earth to a bondage of corruption when he turned his authority into the hands of satan. This earth was made to produce all of the beauty, supply and comfort that God's children would ever need according to Romans 8:19 (Amplified). It tells us that all of creation is waiting to do what it was created to do. It's waiting for the "revealing, the disclosure of the sonship of God's children and for God's sons to be made known."
"Yes, but Brother Jim, that's for when we get to heaven." NO! It means that the earth is waiting for God's sons to be revealed. "Well, yes Brother Jim, that's what I mean. When we get to heaven we will be God's sons." NO! When we got born again, we became God's sons. Now we are called to do what His Son Jesus did and bring heaven to bear on this earth again.
When are the sons of God to be manifest? When we get to heaven? To whom are we then to be revealed? Everyone who is born again will be made manifest already. We are to reveal the manifestation as God's sons here on this earth.
God wants His children to walk with Him and He will walk with them like He did with Adam before his fall. If we will rest in His finished work and allow the truth of His Word to truly be made manifest in our lives, then the whole of creation will rejoice at the liberty of what Jesus has done.
The only hope for the manifestation of His glory being made manifest here for us, is when we enter into His rest. As long as we are determined to keep this separation of spirit and flesh, we will never see His glory in all of its majesty. Before his transgression, Adam walked in his flesh and blood body with God in the Garden of Eden. Jesus walked with God here on this earth in His flesh and blood body. God and Jesus were One. You and I are now one with God and He is one with us in these flesh and blood body. Now, it's no longer me, but the Father in me, Who does the work.
The Father can reveal Himself through His children again by the promise of the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) says, "To the end that through (their receiving) Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy) Spirit."
The promise of the Spirit is the born again promise Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about in John 3:3 (Amplified) where He said, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (a new, from above) he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with and experience) the Kingdom of God."
Now that we're born again, we're back in the family of life through Jesus and restored to what our Father planned in the beginning. Once again, God and man can walk together as one. God Himself can once again walk this planet like He did through Jesus. John 10:30 (Amplified) says, "I and the Father are One." Now, because of Jesus, a man can be born again and his spirit can receive the life of the Father once more. Now, through the new birth, God's very Spirit is united with man's born again spirit. We've now become one with God on this earth because God's very Spirit is united with man's born again spirit.
Jesus said in John 17:21 (Amplified), "That they all ay be one, (just) as you, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, So that the world may believe and be convinced that You have sent Me." John 14:17 (Amplified) says that, "The Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart) because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you (constantly) and will be in you."
This doesn't mean we must go to heaven to receive this blessing, but now heaven has come to earth in the presence of the very Spirit of God and all of heaven's blessing and abundance are made available to man by His presence. The curse has been fulfilled in Jesus. The sin debt has been paid, the death penalty was met and now, through Jesus, the blessing can flow unrestricted from the very presence of God's Spirit from within. Grace and mercy reign now through our accepted Lamb Who has become the door to all the Father has.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Lesson 1 The REST of Salvation
For as long as the Church has been in existence, we've been struggling to find a place where we feel like we're at peace with God. We read what the Word says and we confess to believe God's Word. We also, say that God's Word is truth, but yet we still struggle trying to live up to what we think is expected of us to make us acceptable to God.
Hebrews 4:10-11 (Amplified) says that, "For he who has once entered (God's) rest also has ceased from (the weariness and pain) of human labors, Just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His Own." Verse 11 goes on, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
The rest that God offered to the Israelites in the wilderness, was the same offer that's being made to us today. The rest God offers through Jesus today, though, is far better. When God brought His people out of bondage in Egypt, it was before the Law of Moses was in effect. He brought them out under the grace given through Abraham. None of the laws that came through Moses were in effect yet. With all of their murmerings and complaining, God still took complete care of them. They were never satisfied with what God did though, and they believed they could do better on their own. They wanted to do things through their own works and not through God's grace and mercy. The Israelites could have obtained all God had in store for them if they only allowed Him to do like He intended.
The promise God made to Abraham was what He used to deliver them out of Egypt. Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) says that, "Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for us, for it is written (in the scriptures) Cursed is everyone Who hangs on a tree (is crucified) to the end that through (their receiving) Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come on the gentiles; so that we, through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy Spirit)."
If we only believe that what God did in and through Jesus was all that was needed to fulfill the promises, then we can walk in what God promised Abraham.
The promise God made to and through Abraham was for Abraham and his seed according to Galatians 3:16 (Amplified) which says, "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham, and his seed (his offspring, his heir). He (God) does not say, and to his seeds (descendants, heirs) obviously referring to One individual, Who is (none other than) Christ (the Messiah)."
So, ultimately, the promise was made to Jesus and about Jesus. Abraham was allowed to walk in this blessing and promise until the fullness of the promise could be made manifest in Christ. Everything that God promised Abraham is ours through faith in Jesus. Galatians 3:29 (Amplified) says, "And you belong to Christ (are in Him Who is Abraham's seed) then you are Abraham's offspring and (spiritual) heirs according to the promise."
This promise of the Holy Spirit wasn't just for speaking in tongues and having better church services. This promise of the Spirit was reconciliation with the Father like it was before the fall of Adam. It was for complete union with God like it was intended in the beginning.
I taught in a previous teaching about "The Return to Eden." This promise of the Holy Spirit was so we can be one with the Father the way He intended from the start. This means that every blessing the Father had for His children in the beginning, is now ours. We keep trying to separate spiritual things as belonging to heaven and fleshly things as belonging for here on earth.
When God created the earth, He made it to be inhabited. Isaiah 45:18 (Amplified) says, "For thus says the Lord-Who created the heavens, God Himself, Who formed the earth and made it. Who established it and did not create it to be worthless waste; He formed it to be inhabited-I am the Lord, and there is no one else." God never intended for us to walk with one foot in heaven and one foot on the earth's ground. He intended for heaven to come to earth and He would supply all of the blessings He had with Him to be poured out on the earth.
The promise to Abraham of the Holy Spirit we read about in Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) , wasn't something that was to separate the heavenly from the earthly, but the very thing that would reunite heaven and earth. It would be what released everything the Father had in store for His family when He created them to them. We were to be once again united with heaven and still be on this earth to inhabit like God intended.
In his great quest to be religious, man made the same separation Adam did in the Garden. We have tried to acquire by works what only faith can achieve because we don't enter into the Rest God has promised. Through faith in the finished work of Jesus, we have been restored back to the beginning. Everything that was blocked by the sin of Adam, could now be released from heaven to God's people. w
Don't mistakenly separate what Jesus has done as only pertaining to your spirit when your walk here is done and you go home. God created the earth to be our home and so it shall be. They things of this world aren't the things of this earth. The world is the system that is now operating on the earth. The earth is still the Lord's and the fullness thereof according to Psalm 24:1 (Amplified) which says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it, the world and they that dwell in it." Both the earth and God's people who dwell on the earth are now restored together through Jesus.
Psalm 25:12-14 (Amplified) says, "Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord? Him shall He teach in the ways He shall choose." Verses 13&14 say, "He himself shall dwell at ease, and his offspring shall inherit the land (earth). The secrets (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner meaning)."
We have a difficult time understanding what Jesus really did when He went to the cross. Religion has dimmed our eyes to the fullness of His sacrifice. We keep trying to be right with God (and that isn't wrong), but in order to really be right with Him means to accept what Jesus has done and rest in it. Nothing else is acceptable to Him nor will ever be.
Hebrews 4:10-11 (Amplified) says that, "For he who has once entered (God's) rest also has ceased from (the weariness and pain) of human labors, Just as God rested from those labors peculiarly His Own." Verse 11 goes on, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fall or perish by the same kind of disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
The rest that God offered to the Israelites in the wilderness, was the same offer that's being made to us today. The rest God offers through Jesus today, though, is far better. When God brought His people out of bondage in Egypt, it was before the Law of Moses was in effect. He brought them out under the grace given through Abraham. None of the laws that came through Moses were in effect yet. With all of their murmerings and complaining, God still took complete care of them. They were never satisfied with what God did though, and they believed they could do better on their own. They wanted to do things through their own works and not through God's grace and mercy. The Israelites could have obtained all God had in store for them if they only allowed Him to do like He intended.
The promise God made to Abraham was what He used to deliver them out of Egypt. Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) says that, "Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for us, for it is written (in the scriptures) Cursed is everyone Who hangs on a tree (is crucified) to the end that through (their receiving) Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come on the gentiles; so that we, through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy Spirit)."
If we only believe that what God did in and through Jesus was all that was needed to fulfill the promises, then we can walk in what God promised Abraham.
The promise God made to and through Abraham was for Abraham and his seed according to Galatians 3:16 (Amplified) which says, "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham, and his seed (his offspring, his heir). He (God) does not say, and to his seeds (descendants, heirs) obviously referring to One individual, Who is (none other than) Christ (the Messiah)."
So, ultimately, the promise was made to Jesus and about Jesus. Abraham was allowed to walk in this blessing and promise until the fullness of the promise could be made manifest in Christ. Everything that God promised Abraham is ours through faith in Jesus. Galatians 3:29 (Amplified) says, "And you belong to Christ (are in Him Who is Abraham's seed) then you are Abraham's offspring and (spiritual) heirs according to the promise."
This promise of the Holy Spirit wasn't just for speaking in tongues and having better church services. This promise of the Spirit was reconciliation with the Father like it was before the fall of Adam. It was for complete union with God like it was intended in the beginning.
I taught in a previous teaching about "The Return to Eden." This promise of the Holy Spirit was so we can be one with the Father the way He intended from the start. This means that every blessing the Father had for His children in the beginning, is now ours. We keep trying to separate spiritual things as belonging to heaven and fleshly things as belonging for here on earth.
When God created the earth, He made it to be inhabited. Isaiah 45:18 (Amplified) says, "For thus says the Lord-Who created the heavens, God Himself, Who formed the earth and made it. Who established it and did not create it to be worthless waste; He formed it to be inhabited-I am the Lord, and there is no one else." God never intended for us to walk with one foot in heaven and one foot on the earth's ground. He intended for heaven to come to earth and He would supply all of the blessings He had with Him to be poured out on the earth.
The promise to Abraham of the Holy Spirit we read about in Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) , wasn't something that was to separate the heavenly from the earthly, but the very thing that would reunite heaven and earth. It would be what released everything the Father had in store for His family when He created them to them. We were to be once again united with heaven and still be on this earth to inhabit like God intended.
In his great quest to be religious, man made the same separation Adam did in the Garden. We have tried to acquire by works what only faith can achieve because we don't enter into the Rest God has promised. Through faith in the finished work of Jesus, we have been restored back to the beginning. Everything that was blocked by the sin of Adam, could now be released from heaven to God's people. w
Don't mistakenly separate what Jesus has done as only pertaining to your spirit when your walk here is done and you go home. God created the earth to be our home and so it shall be. They things of this world aren't the things of this earth. The world is the system that is now operating on the earth. The earth is still the Lord's and the fullness thereof according to Psalm 24:1 (Amplified) which says, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness of it, the world and they that dwell in it." Both the earth and God's people who dwell on the earth are now restored together through Jesus.
Psalm 25:12-14 (Amplified) says, "Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord? Him shall He teach in the ways He shall choose." Verses 13&14 say, "He himself shall dwell at ease, and his offspring shall inherit the land (earth). The secrets (of the sweet, satisfying companionship) of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its (deep, inner meaning)."
We have a difficult time understanding what Jesus really did when He went to the cross. Religion has dimmed our eyes to the fullness of His sacrifice. We keep trying to be right with God (and that isn't wrong), but in order to really be right with Him means to accept what Jesus has done and rest in it. Nothing else is acceptable to Him nor will ever be.
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