John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have ALL RECEIVED, all had a share and were all supplied with one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
I have asked myself, "Do I truly believe in what Jesus has done for me?" When I read the above scripture, I see many Promises of God that I must check my faith and trust in. The Spiritual Blessings that came to us through Jesus, includes our very salvation. Salvation is a Spiritual Blessing in itself, because mankind couldn't pay for his own sin and death, salvation came through and by the Holy Spirit.
Our righteousness is also a Spiritual Blessing, because "none are righteous, no not one." Man could never make himself righteous or able to stand rightly before God, by his own deeds and will. Our justification is a Spiritual Blessing. Through Adam's spiritual disobedience, mankind was made unjust in God's eyes. Jesus paid for our justification, when He paid the Price to restore us back to being justified by God's Own Laws. Even our reconciliation is a Spiritual Blessing, because no man could be reconciled to God, by his own merits.
Jesus' obedience to the Father, brought about so many things for us, but today's modern Christianity doesn't acknowledge them. Do you believe that Jesus made you righteous, by the Price He paid for you? This Spiritual Blessing was a Gift of Grace from the Father and must be received by faith, in the Finished Word of Jesus. When we don't accept this Gift of Righteousness, we're not fully believing in our salvation and what it really is to the Father.
Denying the Holy Spirit's Gifts and His continued work of Jesus, is the sin of unbelief in what Jesus has done. Many denominations contain the Gifts of the Spirit, as part of their charter, but many others don't. The Truth of God's Word says it's unbelief and denial of what God has done for us in Jesus. We've placed our trust in going to Heaven when we die, but we don't trust Jesus for all the things He has Blessed us with, for our time here on earth
How much of John 1:16-17 do we truly trust God for, in our walk with Him? This form of unbelief has so entrenched itself in the Church, causing us to mistake it for Truth. We don't trust in protection like Psalm 91 says, but we live in fear of the world and the enemy. We don't believe in the Blessing of Abraham to deliver us, because we've been taught about how the Curse of the Law is still applicable to God's people. There are many teachings in today's Church, that are responses to our not trusting the Father. We put our faith in something else, instead of trusting Him to do what He says He will do.
Jesus gave the "Parable of the Sower," where He taught about sowing and reaping. If you sow to unbelief instead of the Spirit and believe in the Law rather than Blessing, then you will reap the effects of the Law, even after you're saved. We will continue reaping from the seeds (words) of unbelief, that we've been speaking. Galatians 6:7-8 (Amplified) says, "Do not be deceived, as a man sows, also will he reap."
If a Christian sows corn and an unbeliever does the same, then both will reap (grow) corn. It's not the person sowing, but it's the seeds that are sown, that determine the harvest. We've somehow believed that we can "sow anything and God would determine the harvest." This isn't Truth. God's will is done by His sense of Justice and not by some whim. His will is forever settled in Heaven.
Believing you can sow anything and God will determine the harvest, is unbelief and sin. We can't sow (plant) poison ivy and pray for corn, because we will reap what we sowed. Some have disregarded Truth, for what they think is truth and don't do what the Word of God's instructions. The Church is subject to what we believe in, just like the world is subject to what they believe in. We became born-again by sowing seeds of trust in the scripture. Those who are unsaved in the world, remain unsaved, because they haven't sowed the seeds of belief in salvation. Both reap the harvest of what they sowed, one results in salvation and the others remain unsaved.
This same principal works in every area of our lives, both for the saved and unsaved. How far will you trust in God's Word for your life? The Spiritual Blessing that came through Jesus' Sacrifice, aren't just for the natural things of man and they came to us when we were born-again. John 1:16-17 (Amplified) again reads, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received and were all supplied with" these things. No one has been left out. We have all received and all been supplied with Grace, Spiritual Blessings, favor, Gifts and Truth, by the Same Jesus. Some have trusted in Him, for things that others haven't and have reaped harvests that other haven't, because they sowed the seeds of trust in what Jesus has done for them and in the Promises of God. Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) says, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed), of things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality, faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses."
When we sow a kernel of corn into the ground, it doesn't instantly become the harvest you hoped for, but it is the evidence of your crop. There is no stalk, no ear, no corn, but only a Promise of that which you sowed. We would never sow a kernel of corn, expecting a harvest of green beans. Even in our natural mind and faith, we know this won't work. Why would we believe that we can sow anything in the Spirit realm, and God will change the seed?
Jesus related this Truth in Mark 4, when He gave "The Parable of the Sower." Jesus related words to seeds and the heart (spirit) of man to the soil. Much of the crop coming from the Seed of God's Word, comes from the care of the soil (spirit) of those who believed and received it. If we plant the Seed of God's Word into our spirit and heed what we hear and say, then we will reap the Harvest of God's Promises. Unbelief will cause the seed from producing the desired harvest. God won't simply change the seed, in order to suit our unbelief. Remember what the scripture tells us, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked, as a man sows, that and only that, is what he will reap." If we sow to the lower nature of the flesh, then we will reap the corruption and rain of the flesh. If we sow to the Spirit, then we will reap Eternal Life of the Spirit.
The Eternal Life we have sown, doesn't begin when we get to Heaven. It begins when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We have Eternal Life now! As we continue sowing to the Spirit, we will continue reaping the Spiritual Blessings that "WE HAVE ALL BEEN SUPPLIED WITH." It's a matter of sowing and reaping, just like God said. Many have received healing, by trusting in the Promise (Seed) of healing from God's Word. God doesn't favor "certain" people. These people have sown seeds and trusted in the seed to bring harvest, while others didn't trust the seed.
This form of unbelief is sadly rampant in today's Church, which leads to our receiving only a small part of the Harvest God has laid out for us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the things that are needed in our lives and then begin sowing these things. We must trust in God's Provision for us. He can and will, take care of us, just like He Promised. We must learn to trust Him in areas of our lives, where we haven't trusted before.
No comments:
Post a Comment