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 Blessings and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
Few in the Church have unraveled the Truth of God's Word, to us through Jesus. Many things have been taught, but many other things haven't been taught or were taught through the carnal mind, which weren't Truth. Truth is only gleaned and understood, by the Revelation of God's Word and this only comes by the Holy Spirit. We can intelligently read and understood the words from God's Word, but only the Holy Spirit can reveal the Truth of God's Word.
The carnal-minded education we've been taught about the Word, directly opposes the Truth of the Spiritual meaning and Revelation of God. We have a true heart towards God and strive to walk in Truth, but Truth only comes by the Spirit, according to John 6:63 (Amplified) where Jesus says, "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life-Giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatsoever (there is no profit in it). The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life." God's Word brings Life to our flesh and blood bodies that we inhabit. It brings Life instead of death, healing instead of sickness and Blessing instead of calamity. The flesh and blood house we live in, will one day cease to move and function on this earth. If Jesus doesn't come first, then this mortal body will run out of time.
Time is the number one source satan uses to restrain the Church. We haven't yet understood fully, that we are born of the Eternal Spirit of our Father. We're no longer just flesh and blood, but we're forever in the Image of our Father. God's Word is Eternal in the heavens and earth. We have the ability to take God's Word of Life and apply it to these dying bodies and delay the aging of these bodies.
The world measures life by years and the calendar, but we see Life, through the Word of God. My spirit can absorb Life into it, by the Word of Life, to keep this body operating in its youthful energy, until my earthly job is done. The world might look at you through time and consider your flesh as being "old," but Jesus said "The Words I speak are Spirit and Life." God instructs us in Proverbs 4:20-23 (Amplified) saying, "My son, attend to My Words; and consent to My sayings. Let them not depart from your sight; keep them in the center of your heart. For they are Life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard: for out of it flow the springs of Life."
When you feed on God's Word, your flesh will draw Life from your spirit. The Life that flows out of your spirit, will bring Life to the flesh, even in old age. We might be old, according to the standards of time in this earth, but our flesh will still look and act like time hasn't affected our strength. I've found this throughout God's Word, including God's Promise to Abraham and Sarah.
Even though they had lived one hundred years and time had taken it's toll on their bodies, God's Word restored and rejuvenated their flesh. Their flesh was restored to a youthful state, to where they could conceive and produce a child. We see God's Promise in Proverbs 3:7 (Amplified) which says, "Be not wise in your own eyes, reverently fear and worship the Lord and turn entirely away from evil. It shall be health to your nerves and sinews, and marrow and moistening to your bones." This Promise from God is for when we're still in these bodies and for while we're still on earth, not just for when we're in Heaven.
I'm not saying that we're in a Glorified body or that we won't die physically. I'm saying that while we're in this mortal body, we can hold back the aging process of dying, by putting the overflow of Life into our spirits. Who said that, "You have to be old or sick, to die?" Why can't we finish our earthly race, strong and alert? Why can't we be as healthy at age 100, as we were at 30?
We find a Revelation in Romans 8:11 (Amplified) which says, "And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to Life your mortal, short lived, perishable bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you." Paul is writing about the Last Day, when those who have died will be resurrected, but I also believe he's talking about our mortal bodies being made alive, through God's Life. We have His Life in and through our union with Him, while we're here on earth.
During Jesus' earthly ministry, we see the Word of Life bring healing, Life, cleansing from disease and deliverance from unclean spirit. If the Word of Life did that to a mortal body two-thousand years ago, then it can still do it to a mortal body now, especially if that Word is Living in this mortal body. We exercise and eat correctly, in order to keep our bodies strong and vibrant. We must also feed God's Word into our spirit, because that's where our True Life is dwelling. Then, the Life that's in our spirit can flow into our flesh and blood body, bringing Life into it.
Your natural body wants to continue doing what the world trained it to do and yield to disease and failures of the flesh. We can only obtain Life and strength through our spirit. This will keep the physical body young and strong enough, to do the works of the Lord. I'm not condemning those who haven't learned this. I'm encouraging all of us.
Jesus told His followers in John 10:10 (Amplified), "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy." Satan will steal the Word of God, will kill the flesh before it's time and destroy your youth, strength and hope. In Psalm 91:15-16 (Amplified) God says, "He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him With long Life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation." Jesus went on to say in John 10:10 (Amplified), "I came that they may have and enjoy Life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)."
God's Word will heal our bodies and provide Divine health to our bodies. Jesus healed people by His Word and this can happen to our physical bodies, by the same Word that gives us Life daily. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 (Amplified), "I have been crucified with Christ (in Him I have share His crucifixion), it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me, and the Life I now live in the body, I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of god, Who Loved me and gave Himself up for me."
Our bodies are already dead and the only Life it has, that keeps our bodies going, is faith in "The Lord Who Lives in us." This Lord is the Living Word of God. Our spirit in Him keeps our bodies going. The more we connect with Him (the Word), the more and longer this body will function. Jesus will raise us up at the last day, but until then, the only Life this body has, is drawn from your spirit, The only Life our spirit has, it draws from the Word of God and it's connection with God's Spirit. "He is the Life-Giver", according to John 6:63.
We might have years, by the world's standards. But, we can still maintain youth and "the strength of eagles to soar high," by the Promise through your spirit. Most of us have never applied God's Promises to our natural bodies and our short-lived earthly lives. We are supposed to live out the God's Promise to Abraham of living 120 years, while being strong when we complete our earthly ministry and enter into His Presence.
Let's not determine our youth and strength, by the standards of the calendar, but by the Life-giver and Truth. Let's remain strong in our bodies, until we decide or God declares that we've completed our race. Even then, let's leave here strong. Don't try making the flesh walk differently, but use the Word to bring more Life into your spirit. Use God's Word to bring more Life into your spirit and that Life will translate into your body. Allow the Life-Giver to maintain Life, even to your natural body
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Lesson 71 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "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."
Most have understood that we were saved by Grace. Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) says, "For it is by free Grace (God's unmerited favor), that you are saved (delivered from judgment), and made partakers of Christ's salvation through your faith. And this salvation is not of yourselves (of your own doing, it came not through your own striving), but is a Gift of God."
We receive a glimpse of God's Grace, His favor and His Gifts, from the above passage. We were told about these Gifts, favors, Graces, Spiritual Blessings and Truth in John 1:16-17. In order to access these awesome, inherited Blessings and make them work in our lives, we must use the faith that God has given us. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that, "God's Grace has supplied His salvation to all who believe," but we must apply faith to the Promises. We all know that it's God's will that everyone should be saved. 2Peter 3:9 (Amplified) says, "The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He Promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance." The only thing that is holding up the Coming of the Lord, is His Great Love. As long as there is still time, more shall come to salvation.
Although the great offering of salvation came two-thousand years ago, we still see many people who haven't put faith towards God's Grace and received salvation. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him; For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out." Remember, it's by Grace through faith, that we are saved and Romans 12:3 (Amplified) says, "God has dealt to every man the measure of faith that it takes to partake of His Grace."
We learned from Ephesians 2:8 that Grace and faith, are both Gifts 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."
The Gifts, Graces, favors, Spiritual Blessings and Truth listed in John 1:16-17 are all appropriated by the same faith that caused us to believe in God's Gift of salvation. You couldn't see your salvation and you ca ot see His Grace, but you simply believed by faith that His Promise was True, even though it wasn't revealed to your senses. We now know that God's salvation was there already, but we had to put faith in God, in order to make it work. God is the Rewarder of our faith and He brought the Promise of salvation to pass in our lives, by Grace.
Every Promise for the new creation family of God, is appropriated by faith, in the same way. We can't always see or know His Spiritual Gifts or favor, by our senses. We must accept His Word as Truth. Even though these things were all yours when you received Jesus, you must still activate them by faith. Remember that, "we have all received, all had a part in and were all supplied" these things. No one was left out or given more than any other person. We were ALL supplied with these things.
If someone is functioning in more Grace or more favor than others, then it's because that person has, by faith, allowed God to lavish the fullness of His Promises upon him/her. Satan can't control God's Promises, but he can deceive us into believing that "God's Promises aren't for us today" or that "they're not True."
It's God's Grace that gives all these things, just like salvation was a Gift through Grace. Although Grace had already supplied salvation, it didn't become a reality in our lives, until we applied faith to it. The same is true for the other things in God's Promises. Healing, salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Blessing of Abraham, your righteousness, your justification and all the other great Promises of God, are already yours. By faith, they are believed and applied to our lives here on earth. Even though these things are True, you won't walk in them, if you won't believe and have faith in them.
John 3:16 (Amplified) says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, so that whosoever would believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We know that this scripture is True, but we all know people who are not saved. Why? They didn't apply faith to the Promise of Grace and are still lost in this world. We are saved by Grace through faith.
Many Christians aren't walking in their inheritance, even though they are God's heirs and fellow heirs with Jesus, according to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) says, "The Spirit Himself, thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are God's children. 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 suffering if we are to share His Glory."
Notice how God tells us in the above scripture that, "The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit." He doesn't bear witness to our senses or our flesh, but to our spirit. Walking in this inheritance will bring about His suffering and we'll draw reproach from both the world and the Church, at times. The world doesn't care if a drug cartel has money, but it does object to Christians having money. The cartel uses it's wealth to increase satan's kingdom, so the world and satan are content. A true Christian uses wealth to bless and increase God's Kingdom. A true Christian uses wealth to provide for the poor and to meet the needs of others. This is in direct opposition to the world. The world is without Revelation, so it persecutes those who believe the Promises of God. God says that, "The gold, the silver, and the cattle on a thousand hills, are all His, not the world's or the devil's...they are all His." They are to be used to Bless and be a blessing to others.
Jesus stood trial before Pilate in John 18:21-23,38 (Amplified) which says, "Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. See! They know what I said. But when He said this, one of the attendants who stood by struck Jesus, saying, is this how you answer the High Priest? Jesus replied, If I have said anything wrong (If I have spoken abusively, If there was evil in what I said), tell what was wrong with it; But if I have spoke rightly and properly, why do you strike Me?" Verse 38 says, "Pilate, after hearing and dealing with Jesus said, I find no fault in Him."
Your being persecuted and reviled, doesn't mean that you have done anything wrong, but that you are bearing His suffering and His Glory, for the Kingdom of God. It's good to pray for the poor and hungry, but it's better to pray for them and then feed them. If the Church is full of people who are poor and hungry, then we cannot take care of the needs of others. The gold, silver and cattle weren't placed here for the drug cartel and the ungodly, but for the furtherance of God's Kingdom and for caring for the poor. This is part of our inheritance but it must be appropriated by faith.
Money should never corrupt a Christian, but should be used as a tool to further God's Kingdom, on this earth. The Spiritual Blessings we've received should be able to provide for the hungry, even without money. In Luke 9:16 (Amplified), Jesus finished teaching a large crowd of men, women and children and He didn't wish to send them home hungry. There weren't any stores nearby to buy food, so Jesus asked if anyone had food. One boy was willing to share his five loaves of bread and two fishes. Thus, we read, "And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, Jesus looked up to Heaven and praising God, gave thanks and asked Him to Bless them for their use. Then He broke them and gave to His disciples to place before the multitude." If we're to provide for the poor and hungry, then God will supply it, however He wills. But, HE WILL PROVIDE!
Most have understood that we were saved by Grace. Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) says, "For it is by free Grace (God's unmerited favor), that you are saved (delivered from judgment), and made partakers of Christ's salvation through your faith. And this salvation is not of yourselves (of your own doing, it came not through your own striving), but is a Gift of God."
We receive a glimpse of God's Grace, His favor and His Gifts, from the above passage. We were told about these Gifts, favors, Graces, Spiritual Blessings and Truth in John 1:16-17. In order to access these awesome, inherited Blessings and make them work in our lives, we must use the faith that God has given us. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that, "God's Grace has supplied His salvation to all who believe," but we must apply faith to the Promises. We all know that it's God's will that everyone should be saved. 2Peter 3:9 (Amplified) says, "The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He Promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance." The only thing that is holding up the Coming of the Lord, is His Great Love. As long as there is still time, more shall come to salvation.
Although the great offering of salvation came two-thousand years ago, we still see many people who haven't put faith towards God's Grace and received salvation. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him; For whoever would come near to God must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out." Remember, it's by Grace through faith, that we are saved and Romans 12:3 (Amplified) says, "God has dealt to every man the measure of faith that it takes to partake of His Grace."
We learned from Ephesians 2:8 that Grace and faith, are both Gifts 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."
The Gifts, Graces, favors, Spiritual Blessings and Truth listed in John 1:16-17 are all appropriated by the same faith that caused us to believe in God's Gift of salvation. You couldn't see your salvation and you ca ot see His Grace, but you simply believed by faith that His Promise was True, even though it wasn't revealed to your senses. We now know that God's salvation was there already, but we had to put faith in God, in order to make it work. God is the Rewarder of our faith and He brought the Promise of salvation to pass in our lives, by Grace.
Every Promise for the new creation family of God, is appropriated by faith, in the same way. We can't always see or know His Spiritual Gifts or favor, by our senses. We must accept His Word as Truth. Even though these things were all yours when you received Jesus, you must still activate them by faith. Remember that, "we have all received, all had a part in and were all supplied" these things. No one was left out or given more than any other person. We were ALL supplied with these things.
If someone is functioning in more Grace or more favor than others, then it's because that person has, by faith, allowed God to lavish the fullness of His Promises upon him/her. Satan can't control God's Promises, but he can deceive us into believing that "God's Promises aren't for us today" or that "they're not True."
It's God's Grace that gives all these things, just like salvation was a Gift through Grace. Although Grace had already supplied salvation, it didn't become a reality in our lives, until we applied faith to it. The same is true for the other things in God's Promises. Healing, salvation, the Holy Spirit, the Blessing of Abraham, your righteousness, your justification and all the other great Promises of God, are already yours. By faith, they are believed and applied to our lives here on earth. Even though these things are True, you won't walk in them, if you won't believe and have faith in them.
John 3:16 (Amplified) says, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, so that whosoever would believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." We know that this scripture is True, but we all know people who are not saved. Why? They didn't apply faith to the Promise of Grace and are still lost in this world. We are saved by Grace through faith.
Many Christians aren't walking in their inheritance, even though they are God's heirs and fellow heirs with Jesus, according to Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) says, "The Spirit Himself, thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are God's children. 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 suffering if we are to share His Glory."
Notice how God tells us in the above scripture that, "The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit." He doesn't bear witness to our senses or our flesh, but to our spirit. Walking in this inheritance will bring about His suffering and we'll draw reproach from both the world and the Church, at times. The world doesn't care if a drug cartel has money, but it does object to Christians having money. The cartel uses it's wealth to increase satan's kingdom, so the world and satan are content. A true Christian uses wealth to bless and increase God's Kingdom. A true Christian uses wealth to provide for the poor and to meet the needs of others. This is in direct opposition to the world. The world is without Revelation, so it persecutes those who believe the Promises of God. God says that, "The gold, the silver, and the cattle on a thousand hills, are all His, not the world's or the devil's...they are all His." They are to be used to Bless and be a blessing to others.
Jesus stood trial before Pilate in John 18:21-23,38 (Amplified) which says, "Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. See! They know what I said. But when He said this, one of the attendants who stood by struck Jesus, saying, is this how you answer the High Priest? Jesus replied, If I have said anything wrong (If I have spoken abusively, If there was evil in what I said), tell what was wrong with it; But if I have spoke rightly and properly, why do you strike Me?" Verse 38 says, "Pilate, after hearing and dealing with Jesus said, I find no fault in Him."
Your being persecuted and reviled, doesn't mean that you have done anything wrong, but that you are bearing His suffering and His Glory, for the Kingdom of God. It's good to pray for the poor and hungry, but it's better to pray for them and then feed them. If the Church is full of people who are poor and hungry, then we cannot take care of the needs of others. The gold, silver and cattle weren't placed here for the drug cartel and the ungodly, but for the furtherance of God's Kingdom and for caring for the poor. This is part of our inheritance but it must be appropriated by faith.
Money should never corrupt a Christian, but should be used as a tool to further God's Kingdom, on this earth. The Spiritual Blessings we've received should be able to provide for the hungry, even without money. In Luke 9:16 (Amplified), Jesus finished teaching a large crowd of men, women and children and He didn't wish to send them home hungry. There weren't any stores nearby to buy food, so Jesus asked if anyone had food. One boy was willing to share his five loaves of bread and two fishes. Thus, we read, "And taking the five loaves and the two fishes, Jesus looked up to Heaven and praising God, gave thanks and asked Him to Bless them for their use. Then He broke them and gave to His disciples to place before the multitude." If we're to provide for the poor and hungry, then God will supply it, however He wills. But, HE WILL PROVIDE!
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
Lesson 70 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
The Church has been neglecting the Truth of the Super-natural (Super-natural Blessings) of the Gospel. The early Church walked in the Super-natural and preached it as part of the True Gospel, in order to lead others to Christ Jesus. When those persons were saved, they were simultaneously healed and delivered. This was a part of the salvation Message they brought to the Gentile world.
The people Jesus preached to, couldn't become born-again, until the Holy Spirit came after Jesus' Ascension to the Father. Jesus spent much of His ministry, healing and setting people free from satan's bondage. Jesus gave final instructions to His disciples about healing and deliverance and the authority the Church would receive.
Somehow, this portion of Jesus' teachings have been lost. This was the Super-natural ministry that set Jesus apart from the Law and the false gods of the Gentiles. The Father sent Jesus, as the Living Proof of the One True God of Heaven and earth. Today, even though we've been Blessed by His Grace and mercy, the Church has been moderately successful at getting people saved, but we've mostly left those people in the same condition they were in, before getting saved.
We've been trained by the world and the carnal mind to believe that the Super-natural is something from the "dark world" and that it's to be avoided at all cost. If the dark-side of the Super-natural is here, then the Bright-Side of this Super-natural isn't only here, but it's much more powerful. Today's Church is skeptical of healings and miracles, probably because we tend to avoid things we don't understand and are unfamiliar with.
The only way to understand it, is by faith in the Word of Promise and hearing the Holy Spirit. The Promises of healing and deliverance are just as True, as every one of God's Promises. We've been taught to believe on Jesus for salvation, but we've limited our believing to being only for the hereafter. We've been walking more by the natural senses, instead of by the Spirit. We cannot "see" Heaven from our positions on earth, nor can we dispute the Truth of Heaven, but we still believe in Heaven more than the physical manifestation of healings and miracles. This is a degree of believing, that we haven't developed our senses to walk in yet. The old saying, "Seeing is believing," still holds true, even for today's Church.
We don't deny that God can do it, but we continue consoling ourselves and saying, "You never know what God will do" or "Maybe it's not God's will." We concoct these excuses, rather than saying, "We don't believe." The limits of our believing have been established by those before us. We conform to their traditions and make the Words of Truth useless in our walk.
In these last days before Jesus returns for His Church, are going to be beyond even what the Church has dared to believe. Jesus is now looking for and preparing the Joshuas and Calebs, who will take the Land. Many will refuse the call to go forward for various reasons, but there will always be those who, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, will go beyond what seems reasonable to the masses.
We might preach to an entire congregation, but the Word is still determined by the individual. Some will hear and believe, while others will scoff at what is preached. Some will guard their hearts and only hear in faith, while others will allow whatever is preached, into their heart. Only the Good Seed (God's Word) can bring forth good things. Those who hear and received that, "These things are passed away" or "Healing and miracles were only for the early Church," will remain in the same place when the Presence of God is revealed to the world.
This is the beginning of the end for the "superstars" in the Church. This is when Jesus, the True Star, will reveal Himself. People we've never heard of before, will be performing miracles and healing in the streets of the world. Deuteronomy 28:10 (Amplified) says, "And all the people of the earth shall see that you are called by the Name and the Presence of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you." This will happen because, the world will be able to see the manifestation of God, like those in the days of Joshua. Joshua 2:10-11 (Amplified) says, "For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the east side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og; whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in Heaven above and earth beneath."
This will be the fear that comes upon the people. It's not because of us, but because God will show Himself strong on our behalf. The world will be able to see His Glory, in what He does even in the natural, through the Church. Deuteronomy 28:10 is known as part of the Blessing of Abraham. This Blessing has now come upon His people, through Jesus Christ, according to Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) which 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 Promise of the Holy Spirit."
Much of Abraham's walk with God, was the manifest Presence of His Spirit, which let men know "Who the One True God" is. Do you believe that God can show Himself to and through His Own children, in an even greater way than He did then? We're no longer servants, like Abraham was, but we're God's family. We're the desired recipients of His Glory, in these end times. It's no mistake that we're living at this time. For the first time since the very early Church, the actual fear of God, will be seen!
Those who boast about their so-called gods, will be in fear of the One True and Living God, as He reveals Himself to the world. The world will no longer just see denominations, like it has before, but they will see "the called out ones" and their Heavenly Father. Ephesians 3:10,11-12 (Amplified) says, "The purpose is that through the Church, the complicated, many-sided Wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be known to the angelic rulers and authorities, principalities and powers in the heavenly sphere." Verses 11-12 go on, "This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in the Person of Christ Jesus our Lord, In Whom because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness, courage and confidence of free access and unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear."
Hang in there Church, because like at the wedding in Canaan, Jesus is still saving the best for the last. The world will know Him, as He shows Himself strong through us and for us, in these last days.
The Church has been neglecting the Truth of the Super-natural (Super-natural Blessings) of the Gospel. The early Church walked in the Super-natural and preached it as part of the True Gospel, in order to lead others to Christ Jesus. When those persons were saved, they were simultaneously healed and delivered. This was a part of the salvation Message they brought to the Gentile world.
The people Jesus preached to, couldn't become born-again, until the Holy Spirit came after Jesus' Ascension to the Father. Jesus spent much of His ministry, healing and setting people free from satan's bondage. Jesus gave final instructions to His disciples about healing and deliverance and the authority the Church would receive.
Somehow, this portion of Jesus' teachings have been lost. This was the Super-natural ministry that set Jesus apart from the Law and the false gods of the Gentiles. The Father sent Jesus, as the Living Proof of the One True God of Heaven and earth. Today, even though we've been Blessed by His Grace and mercy, the Church has been moderately successful at getting people saved, but we've mostly left those people in the same condition they were in, before getting saved.
We've been trained by the world and the carnal mind to believe that the Super-natural is something from the "dark world" and that it's to be avoided at all cost. If the dark-side of the Super-natural is here, then the Bright-Side of this Super-natural isn't only here, but it's much more powerful. Today's Church is skeptical of healings and miracles, probably because we tend to avoid things we don't understand and are unfamiliar with.
The only way to understand it, is by faith in the Word of Promise and hearing the Holy Spirit. The Promises of healing and deliverance are just as True, as every one of God's Promises. We've been taught to believe on Jesus for salvation, but we've limited our believing to being only for the hereafter. We've been walking more by the natural senses, instead of by the Spirit. We cannot "see" Heaven from our positions on earth, nor can we dispute the Truth of Heaven, but we still believe in Heaven more than the physical manifestation of healings and miracles. This is a degree of believing, that we haven't developed our senses to walk in yet. The old saying, "Seeing is believing," still holds true, even for today's Church.
We don't deny that God can do it, but we continue consoling ourselves and saying, "You never know what God will do" or "Maybe it's not God's will." We concoct these excuses, rather than saying, "We don't believe." The limits of our believing have been established by those before us. We conform to their traditions and make the Words of Truth useless in our walk.
In these last days before Jesus returns for His Church, are going to be beyond even what the Church has dared to believe. Jesus is now looking for and preparing the Joshuas and Calebs, who will take the Land. Many will refuse the call to go forward for various reasons, but there will always be those who, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, will go beyond what seems reasonable to the masses.
We might preach to an entire congregation, but the Word is still determined by the individual. Some will hear and believe, while others will scoff at what is preached. Some will guard their hearts and only hear in faith, while others will allow whatever is preached, into their heart. Only the Good Seed (God's Word) can bring forth good things. Those who hear and received that, "These things are passed away" or "Healing and miracles were only for the early Church," will remain in the same place when the Presence of God is revealed to the world.
This is the beginning of the end for the "superstars" in the Church. This is when Jesus, the True Star, will reveal Himself. People we've never heard of before, will be performing miracles and healing in the streets of the world. Deuteronomy 28:10 (Amplified) says, "And all the people of the earth shall see that you are called by the Name and the Presence of the Lord, and they shall be afraid of you." This will happen because, the world will be able to see the manifestation of God, like those in the days of Joshua. Joshua 2:10-11 (Amplified) says, "For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the east side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og; whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in Heaven above and earth beneath."
This will be the fear that comes upon the people. It's not because of us, but because God will show Himself strong on our behalf. The world will be able to see His Glory, in what He does even in the natural, through the Church. Deuteronomy 28:10 is known as part of the Blessing of Abraham. This Blessing has now come upon His people, through Jesus Christ, according to Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) which 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 Promise of the Holy Spirit."
Much of Abraham's walk with God, was the manifest Presence of His Spirit, which let men know "Who the One True God" is. Do you believe that God can show Himself to and through His Own children, in an even greater way than He did then? We're no longer servants, like Abraham was, but we're God's family. We're the desired recipients of His Glory, in these end times. It's no mistake that we're living at this time. For the first time since the very early Church, the actual fear of God, will be seen!
Those who boast about their so-called gods, will be in fear of the One True and Living God, as He reveals Himself to the world. The world will no longer just see denominations, like it has before, but they will see "the called out ones" and their Heavenly Father. Ephesians 3:10,11-12 (Amplified) says, "The purpose is that through the Church, the complicated, many-sided Wisdom of God in all its infinite variety and innumerable aspects might now be known to the angelic rulers and authorities, principalities and powers in the heavenly sphere." Verses 11-12 go on, "This is in accordance with the terms of the eternal and timeless purpose which He has realized and carried into effect in the Person of Christ Jesus our Lord, In Whom because of our faith in Him, we dare to have the boldness, courage and confidence of free access and unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear."
Hang in there Church, because like at the wedding in Canaan, Jesus is still saving the best for the last. The world will know Him, as He shows Himself strong through us and for us, in these last days.
Friday, June 22, 2018
Lesson 69 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "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."
Notice, that God says, "We have ALL received these things," as an inheritance when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Most of us have never taken part of this inheritance, mostly because we never knew about them. These are Super-natural imputations, by and through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came into our lives at the new birth and we have all received these things through Him.
This is an inheritance that shows no partiality, but is equally shared by our union with the Father, by His Spirit. No one was given a larger or small share, but we were all supplied with these benefits equally. We've never used our faith in God to walk in these things, because we were never taught about them. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So faith comes by hearing what is told, and what is heard comes by the preaching of the Message that comes from the lips of Christ, the Messiah Himself."
One might ask, "Did the Messiah really say these things to us?" Let's look at Jesus' Words from Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) where He says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah); to preach the Good News (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who were down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound."
This was the Promise and these Promises became "Yes and Amen" at Jesus' resurrection. 2Corinthians 2:20 (Amplified) says, "For as many as are the Promises of God, they ALL find their Yes answer in Him (Christ); For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it), To God through Him (in His Person and by His Agency) to the Glory of God."
When we accept these Promises by faith and Trust in God's Promises, it brings glory to Him and Jesus' Sacrifice. We've mostly dared to believe in being with Jesus in Heaven, when we leave this earth. God intended to dwell in us and glorify Himself through us, while we're still on earth. The only way He can do this, is by our believing His Promises and allowing the Super-natural Power and Glory of God to shine in and through us.
It's always been God's will, to reveal Himself through His people. We must remember, first, that God is a Spirit, according to John 4:24 (Amplified) which says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being), and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth (reality)." When we believe God's Promises and allow Him to reveal Himself "Strong" on our behalf, this is a spiritual and reality worship. This is truly walking with God, in Spirit and Truth. This is the highest form of Spiritual worship.
God is a Spiritual Being and no on can see Him, except through His Body, which is us. When we reveal God in our natural bodies, we're revealing Him to the world, which can't see Him any other way. Jesus told the people that, "I and the Father One," in John 10:30 (Amplified). Jesus also told us, in John 6:63 (Amplified) that, "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 (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
Without our yielding to the Spirit and allowing His Promises to work through us, we can only reveal Him by our flesh and "the flesh has no profit in it." None of our rituals and traditions reveal God to the world, this comes only by the Super-natural Revelation through the Holy Spirit. The Gifts, Graces, Spiritual Blessings and favors weren't only for our benefit, but are more importantly for revealing God to the world.
Without having the Super-natural show of Him, our religious ceremonies are no different from other religions of the world. They all hold meetings and ceremonies and gather before their gods, just like we do, so there's nothing to reveal our Mighty God to the world, through these without the Super-natural power of the Holy Spirit. In most of our services, we do much the same things they do, with no proof to the world that our God is Greater than their gods. We're just another religion, to the world.
We do these things, because we love God. It's not a matter of loving Him, but it's His way of showing Himself to the world, through our love for Him. We need to learn to stop living for Him and start living through Him. The world can't see Him at all, unless the Church shows Himself. The world is spiritually blind and can only see with it's natural eyes. If the world cannot see Him revealed in the natural realm, then they cannot believe.
Jesus said in John 10:37-38 (Amplified), "If I am not doing the works (performing the deeds) of My Father, then do not believe Me (do not adhere to Me and trust Me and rely on Me). but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, at least believe the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand clearly that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father (One with Him)."
Jesus didn't rely on just the Words He spoke, but He also relied on the demonstration of God by His words. We have all received by Him, the inheritance through the Spirit and God expects Himself to be revealed through us. This isn't ego centered, but is a witness to the world, which they can't deny. Our God shows Himself different than so-called other "gods" of the world. He reveals Himself in Super-natural and Glorious ways, that can't be denied. We see Rahab coming to two men on the roof when they were under siege, to hid them, in Joshua 2:8-12 (Amplified) which says, "And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord has given you the Land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the Land FAINT because of you For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Ammorites who were on the east side of the Jordan, Sidon and Og; whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in Heaven above and on earth beneath Now then, I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my father's house and give me a sure sign."
When the people saw the Lord in His Glory, "the courage went out from them." Their courage didn't leave them, because of the glory of the Hebrews. It left them, because of the God, they served.
Notice, that God says, "We have ALL received these things," as an inheritance when we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Most of us have never taken part of this inheritance, mostly because we never knew about them. These are Super-natural imputations, by and through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit came into our lives at the new birth and we have all received these things through Him.
This is an inheritance that shows no partiality, but is equally shared by our union with the Father, by His Spirit. No one was given a larger or small share, but we were all supplied with these benefits equally. We've never used our faith in God to walk in these things, because we were never taught about them. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So faith comes by hearing what is told, and what is heard comes by the preaching of the Message that comes from the lips of Christ, the Messiah Himself."
One might ask, "Did the Messiah really say these things to us?" Let's look at Jesus' Words from Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) where He says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah); to preach the Good News (the Gospel) to the poor; He has sent Me to announce release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who were down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity To proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound."
This was the Promise and these Promises became "Yes and Amen" at Jesus' resurrection. 2Corinthians 2:20 (Amplified) says, "For as many as are the Promises of God, they ALL find their Yes answer in Him (Christ); For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it), To God through Him (in His Person and by His Agency) to the Glory of God."
When we accept these Promises by faith and Trust in God's Promises, it brings glory to Him and Jesus' Sacrifice. We've mostly dared to believe in being with Jesus in Heaven, when we leave this earth. God intended to dwell in us and glorify Himself through us, while we're still on earth. The only way He can do this, is by our believing His Promises and allowing the Super-natural Power and Glory of God to shine in and through us.
It's always been God's will, to reveal Himself through His people. We must remember, first, that God is a Spirit, according to John 4:24 (Amplified) which says, "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being), and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth (reality)." When we believe God's Promises and allow Him to reveal Himself "Strong" on our behalf, this is a spiritual and reality worship. This is truly walking with God, in Spirit and Truth. This is the highest form of Spiritual worship.
God is a Spiritual Being and no on can see Him, except through His Body, which is us. When we reveal God in our natural bodies, we're revealing Him to the world, which can't see Him any other way. Jesus told the people that, "I and the Father One," in John 10:30 (Amplified). Jesus also told us, in John 6:63 (Amplified) that, "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 (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
Without our yielding to the Spirit and allowing His Promises to work through us, we can only reveal Him by our flesh and "the flesh has no profit in it." None of our rituals and traditions reveal God to the world, this comes only by the Super-natural Revelation through the Holy Spirit. The Gifts, Graces, Spiritual Blessings and favors weren't only for our benefit, but are more importantly for revealing God to the world.
Without having the Super-natural show of Him, our religious ceremonies are no different from other religions of the world. They all hold meetings and ceremonies and gather before their gods, just like we do, so there's nothing to reveal our Mighty God to the world, through these without the Super-natural power of the Holy Spirit. In most of our services, we do much the same things they do, with no proof to the world that our God is Greater than their gods. We're just another religion, to the world.
We do these things, because we love God. It's not a matter of loving Him, but it's His way of showing Himself to the world, through our love for Him. We need to learn to stop living for Him and start living through Him. The world can't see Him at all, unless the Church shows Himself. The world is spiritually blind and can only see with it's natural eyes. If the world cannot see Him revealed in the natural realm, then they cannot believe.
Jesus said in John 10:37-38 (Amplified), "If I am not doing the works (performing the deeds) of My Father, then do not believe Me (do not adhere to Me and trust Me and rely on Me). but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me or have faith in Me, at least believe the works and have faith in what I do, in order that you may know and understand clearly that the Father is in Me, and I am in the Father (One with Him)."
Jesus didn't rely on just the Words He spoke, but He also relied on the demonstration of God by His words. We have all received by Him, the inheritance through the Spirit and God expects Himself to be revealed through us. This isn't ego centered, but is a witness to the world, which they can't deny. Our God shows Himself different than so-called other "gods" of the world. He reveals Himself in Super-natural and Glorious ways, that can't be denied. We see Rahab coming to two men on the roof when they were under siege, to hid them, in Joshua 2:8-12 (Amplified) which says, "And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord has given you the Land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the Land FAINT because of you For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Ammorites who were on the east side of the Jordan, Sidon and Og; whom you utterly destroyed. When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in Heaven above and on earth beneath Now then, I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you will also show kindness to my father's house and give me a sure sign."
When the people saw the Lord in His Glory, "the courage went out from them." Their courage didn't leave them, because of the glory of the Hebrews. It left them, because of the God, they served.
Thursday, June 21, 2018
Lesson 68 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "The Spirit Himself, thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God. 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 suffering if we are to share His Glory."
Don't just stop reading at, "We must share His suffering" and use this scripture as an excuse for not walking in His inheritance. The Church has been living like it was the Father's will for us to be in a place of only suffering, for years. First of all, we must find out what His sufferings were, before we share in them.
We cannot share in Jesus' suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross of Calvary or in the grace. This part of Christ's suffering, was to pay our ransom and the price of our redemption. This suffering was something that only the Perfect Sacrifice of Jesus could pay. We couldn't suffer this for ourselves, but He did this, so that we could be set free.
Jesus paid the Price that we owed for sin, sickness, the Curse of the Law, death and destruction of our eternal lives. He was the One Who gave us Life and right standing with the Father. This was suffering that no one else could or ever will suffer. The above scripture spoke about the suffering that Jesus endured, which was His being misunderstood, disdained by men, rejected by others and becoming a target of the enemy and his many traps and pitfalls.
When satan realized Who Jesus was, he used everything in his arsenal, trying to kill or trap Jesus. Satan tried to prevent Jesus from carrying out the ministry God sent Him to fulfill. Paul was given the Revelation of God's Own family (the Church) and then he too, became a target of the satan and satan used the same weapons against him, that he did with Jesus. This "suffering" is the Light that will break down the darkness, which blinds the world to God's Glory. Satan will do anything, trying to stop and shut out the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ.
Any Christian who is actively spreading the Gospel and operating in the Spirit, is dangerous to the kingdom of this world, according to 2Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified) which says, "For the god of this world has blinded the unbelieving minds that they should not discern the Truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God."
Everyone who has walked in a place of the Spiritual Blessings, Truths, Gifts, favors and Graces, that "we've all received, all been supplied with and all had a share in," has undergone this suffering and has become a target of satan. Many of us have desired to walk in the Spirit with the Father, but when we step out in His Truth, everything that can go wrong, does. We don't become a danger to satan when we get born-again, because we're baby Christians and really know very little about who we have become in Christ Jesus.
In Mark 4:14-17(Amplified), Jesus teaches, "The sower sows the Word. The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown in their hearts, but when they hear, satan comes at once and by force takes away the Message which is sown in them. And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy. And they have no real root in themselves, and so endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended, become displeased, indignant, resentful and they stumble and fall away."
This is the suffering that Jesus had to endure. He was the Only Living Person on the planet, Who had the Light of the Glorious Gospel. Before Jesus, mankind only had the Law and the Promise of restoration to the Father. So long as mankind was under the Law, satan was protected by traditions he could manipulated. Jesus brought Truth and Grace to mankind, leaving satan with nowhere to hide. The Light of the Glorious Gospel exposed satan's lies and deceptions, so satan needed to stop the Gospel from being preached, at all costs.
A baby Christian is delivered from satan's hands, but he/she isn't damaging satan's kingdom yet. It's only when God's Word is ministered in Revelation, that satan's kingdom is threatened. The first response to the Light, is to try making the darkness even darker. When we don't have the Word of God dispersing the darkness, we will remain in a mindset of carnal knowledge and will be no danger to satan's kingdom.
Satan doesn't care if we get saved, so long as we don't know or walk in "who the Father has made us to be." Satan will do anything he can, in order to prevent our development into the natural and stature of mature children of God. His only defense is, to make sure the Word doesn't develop roots in our spirit. This is why he came "immediately to take away the Word that was sown in our hearts." It's much easier to dig up an acorn, than it is to dig up an Oak tree.
When the Word (the Seed) begins to grow roots in your spirit, then it's hard for satan to control you and prevent your revealing this Truth to others. Thank God for those who are leading others to salvation, out of death and into God's Kingdom, but we are also responsible to feed the sheep.
The moment you try stepping out of organized religion and into Spirit-led Revelation, you become dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. Just being born-again, doesn't mean we're dangerous to satan. We now belong to God and are joint heirs with Jesus, but we have no idea what this means in our lives. Jesus didn't have any problems, so long as those around Him, believed He was "only a man."
Immediately after the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and God proclaimed Him from the Heavens, satan battled to keep Jesus away from the people. When Jesus came forth into His now public ministry, Light began to expel the darkness from the minds and eyes of the people. Satan became aware of losing his hold over the people and tried stopping Jesus at all cost. Satan finally believed that he could destroy and kill Jesus.
1Corinthians 2:6-8 (Amplified) says, "Yet when we are among the full-grown, spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding, we do impart a Higher Wisdom, the knowledge of the Divine Plan previously hidden; but it is indeed not a Wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and the rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away. But rather what we are setting forth is a Wisdom of God once hidden from the human understanding and now is revealed to us by God, that Wisdom which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification to lift us into the Glory of His Presence. None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this; for if they had they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory."
Satan hasn't been able to stop the Gospel of the new birth, from being preached, but he has stopped the newborn family of God, from becoming mature and dangerous to his kingdom of darkness. We can count those men and women of God, who have gone from milk to meat and matured to adult Christians. Most all of these people have suffered like Christ did. These pioneers of faith have opened a whole new realm of the Super-natural in Christianity, to us. Some of these people are well-known, but others are not. After reading about Smith Wigglesworth, I wondered why most people have never heard about him. Satan must have worked so very hard, to cover-up this man of God's ministry.
This man was rejected and labeled "a heretic," by much of the Church. Many looked upon him as being a false prophet and were offended by his preaching and the demonstration of the Holy Spirit in his ministry. Some might wish they had such a ministry, but could they have held their faith under satan's force against them?
John 1:16-17 says that "We have all been heirs of the fullness of His Own abundance and Truth." Few though, have no real root of God's Word in themselves, so they can stand against satan's trying to take away the Word sown in their hearts. It's seemingly easier to stay "safe" in organized religion, rather than step-out in the arena of the impossible and the Power of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul said that, "He came to us in the demonstration of the Power of the Spirit, not allowed acceptance of the Law and tradition."
Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "The Spirit Himself, thus testifies together with our own spirit, assuring us that we are children of God. 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 suffering if we are to share His Glory."
Don't just stop reading at, "We must share His suffering" and use this scripture as an excuse for not walking in His inheritance. The Church has been living like it was the Father's will for us to be in a place of only suffering, for years. First of all, we must find out what His sufferings were, before we share in them.
We cannot share in Jesus' suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the cross of Calvary or in the grace. This part of Christ's suffering, was to pay our ransom and the price of our redemption. This suffering was something that only the Perfect Sacrifice of Jesus could pay. We couldn't suffer this for ourselves, but He did this, so that we could be set free.
Jesus paid the Price that we owed for sin, sickness, the Curse of the Law, death and destruction of our eternal lives. He was the One Who gave us Life and right standing with the Father. This was suffering that no one else could or ever will suffer. The above scripture spoke about the suffering that Jesus endured, which was His being misunderstood, disdained by men, rejected by others and becoming a target of the enemy and his many traps and pitfalls.
When satan realized Who Jesus was, he used everything in his arsenal, trying to kill or trap Jesus. Satan tried to prevent Jesus from carrying out the ministry God sent Him to fulfill. Paul was given the Revelation of God's Own family (the Church) and then he too, became a target of the satan and satan used the same weapons against him, that he did with Jesus. This "suffering" is the Light that will break down the darkness, which blinds the world to God's Glory. Satan will do anything, trying to stop and shut out the Light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ.
Any Christian who is actively spreading the Gospel and operating in the Spirit, is dangerous to the kingdom of this world, according to 2Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified) which says, "For the god of this world has blinded the unbelieving minds that they should not discern the Truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God."
Everyone who has walked in a place of the Spiritual Blessings, Truths, Gifts, favors and Graces, that "we've all received, all been supplied with and all had a share in," has undergone this suffering and has become a target of satan. Many of us have desired to walk in the Spirit with the Father, but when we step out in His Truth, everything that can go wrong, does. We don't become a danger to satan when we get born-again, because we're baby Christians and really know very little about who we have become in Christ Jesus.
In Mark 4:14-17(Amplified), Jesus teaches, "The sower sows the Word. The ones along the path are those who have the Word sown in their hearts, but when they hear, satan comes at once and by force takes away the Message which is sown in them. And in the same way the ones sown upon stony ground are those who when they hear the Word, at once receive and accept and welcome it with joy. And they have no real root in themselves, and so endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended, become displeased, indignant, resentful and they stumble and fall away."
This is the suffering that Jesus had to endure. He was the Only Living Person on the planet, Who had the Light of the Glorious Gospel. Before Jesus, mankind only had the Law and the Promise of restoration to the Father. So long as mankind was under the Law, satan was protected by traditions he could manipulated. Jesus brought Truth and Grace to mankind, leaving satan with nowhere to hide. The Light of the Glorious Gospel exposed satan's lies and deceptions, so satan needed to stop the Gospel from being preached, at all costs.
A baby Christian is delivered from satan's hands, but he/she isn't damaging satan's kingdom yet. It's only when God's Word is ministered in Revelation, that satan's kingdom is threatened. The first response to the Light, is to try making the darkness even darker. When we don't have the Word of God dispersing the darkness, we will remain in a mindset of carnal knowledge and will be no danger to satan's kingdom.
Satan doesn't care if we get saved, so long as we don't know or walk in "who the Father has made us to be." Satan will do anything he can, in order to prevent our development into the natural and stature of mature children of God. His only defense is, to make sure the Word doesn't develop roots in our spirit. This is why he came "immediately to take away the Word that was sown in our hearts." It's much easier to dig up an acorn, than it is to dig up an Oak tree.
When the Word (the Seed) begins to grow roots in your spirit, then it's hard for satan to control you and prevent your revealing this Truth to others. Thank God for those who are leading others to salvation, out of death and into God's Kingdom, but we are also responsible to feed the sheep.
The moment you try stepping out of organized religion and into Spirit-led Revelation, you become dangerous to the kingdom of darkness. Just being born-again, doesn't mean we're dangerous to satan. We now belong to God and are joint heirs with Jesus, but we have no idea what this means in our lives. Jesus didn't have any problems, so long as those around Him, believed He was "only a man."
Immediately after the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus and God proclaimed Him from the Heavens, satan battled to keep Jesus away from the people. When Jesus came forth into His now public ministry, Light began to expel the darkness from the minds and eyes of the people. Satan became aware of losing his hold over the people and tried stopping Jesus at all cost. Satan finally believed that he could destroy and kill Jesus.
1Corinthians 2:6-8 (Amplified) says, "Yet when we are among the full-grown, spiritually mature Christians who are ripe in understanding, we do impart a Higher Wisdom, the knowledge of the Divine Plan previously hidden; but it is indeed not a Wisdom of this present age or of this world nor of the leaders and the rulers of this age, who are being brought to nothing and are doomed to pass away. But rather what we are setting forth is a Wisdom of God once hidden from the human understanding and now is revealed to us by God, that Wisdom which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification to lift us into the Glory of His Presence. None of the rulers of this age or world perceived and recognized and understood this; for if they had they would never have crucified the Lord of Glory."
Satan hasn't been able to stop the Gospel of the new birth, from being preached, but he has stopped the newborn family of God, from becoming mature and dangerous to his kingdom of darkness. We can count those men and women of God, who have gone from milk to meat and matured to adult Christians. Most all of these people have suffered like Christ did. These pioneers of faith have opened a whole new realm of the Super-natural in Christianity, to us. Some of these people are well-known, but others are not. After reading about Smith Wigglesworth, I wondered why most people have never heard about him. Satan must have worked so very hard, to cover-up this man of God's ministry.
This man was rejected and labeled "a heretic," by much of the Church. Many looked upon him as being a false prophet and were offended by his preaching and the demonstration of the Holy Spirit in his ministry. Some might wish they had such a ministry, but could they have held their faith under satan's force against them?
John 1:16-17 says that "We have all been heirs of the fullness of His Own abundance and Truth." Few though, have no real root of God's Word in themselves, so they can stand against satan's trying to take away the Word sown in their hearts. It's seemingly easier to stay "safe" in organized religion, rather than step-out in the arena of the impossible and the Power of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul said that, "He came to us in the demonstration of the Power of the Spirit, not allowed acceptance of the Law and tradition."
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Lesson 67 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
As part of God's family, we're not the ones He made covenant with. The covenant was cut between Jesus (Who is God in the flesh) and God Himself, according to Hebrews 6:13,18 (Amplified) which says, "For when God made His Promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no One greater by Whom to swear." Verse 18 says, "This was so that by two unchangeable things, His Promise and His oath, in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled to Him for refuge might have might indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before us."
We've entered into this Promise, by our faith in receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. There was nothing left for us to do, in order to validate this covenant, except to believe in God's Promise to and through Jesus. This isn't a Promise of works to make it true, but it's a Promise that is already done through Jesus. God only requires His family to believe in His Promise. It's not about dressing a certain way, worshiping on certain days, or any other works. It's not even about who we once were, but about who He has made us to be. IT IS FINISHED!
The Finished Work of Jesus is all that we're required to believe. Our healing, peace and righteousness has already been done and provided for God's family. He has left nothing out that was needed to make us "perfect," except to believe in His Finished Work. We continue trying to add to these Promises, in order to make them come to pass in our lives, when they're already been done. The more we add to them, the more they're not by Grace, but by works. Works only make them null and void. The harder we try, the more elusive they become, which leaves us feeling frustrated and feeling futile. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come to Him must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out."
The harder we try to make God's Promises work, the less we believe His Promises are already True. This is a lack of faith or believe in what Jesus has already done and our adding to it by works, doesn't make it any more True. We can see why it's impossible to please God by what we do, instead of believing in what Jesus has already done for us.
This isn't like the Law, which needed to be ratified by our works, but it's Grace which has already done our part, through Jesus. Jesus' followers asked the same things we ask today, in John 6:28-29 (Amplified) which 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? 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."
We have believed, to some degree. We believe we are remitted of our sins and have become God's children, but we still refer to ourselves as "sinners." We believe that Jesus is our righteousness, but we refer to ourselves as being, "None are righteous, no not one." We confess that, "By Jesus' stripes we were healed," but then continue believing that healing was never part of God's Promise. Instead of admitting our unbelief in healing, we accuse God of using sickness to teach us a lesson. Or, we accuse God of not fulfilling His Promise and blame Him for the hardships and diseases that befall us.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam passed the Buck, saying "It was God's fault for giving him this woman." Neither Adam nor Eve could accept the blame for their transgression. We, somehow, blame God, saying "He is the One Who has brought sickness, hardship, calamity, sorrow, broken hearts, because He made us flesh." God said that He has already destroyed the flesh at the cross, when we were crucified with Christ. It's not a matter of being in this flesh and blood body, but it's a matter of our not believing in our new creation spirit man that Jesus created. It's a matter of our not learning who we really are in Him.
The most we've believed about our new creation man that God made us to be, is that someday we will live with Him in Heaven. I'm not making light of this Glorious Truth, but we are to believe in the rest of the things His Son has done for us. God didn't leave anything to change, when He sent Jesus. Jesus undid everything satan had brought on mankind, after Adam's fall. Although satan is still here, trying to discourage and accuse those in whom Jesus has already cleansed, we have to make the choice to either believe in what Jesus has done or believe satan's lies and accusations.
I'm not saying that we're perfect, but I'm saying that God declares you are perfect. We've become clean and perfect in His sight, through Jesus. 1Corinthians 6:19-20 (Amplified) says, "Do you not know that your body is the Temple, the very Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a Price, purchased with a Preciousness and paid for, made His Own. So then, honor God in bringing Glory to Him in your body."
How do we "honor and bring Glory to God in our bodies?" Be believing what Jesus has done for us and accepting His Sacrifice and believing in it. Stop looking at the flesh and seeing all its weaknesses. Begin looking at your new creation man and his/her strength. We must be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, because the more we believe in the One Whom He has sent, the less we'll depend on our own works, in make the flesh behave like it should.
We've spent much of our Christian walk, trying to make the flesh behave like it should. We minister mostly to the soulish part of our lives, instead of building up the new man or inner man of the new creation. The only way to tame the flesh (or senses),is by strengthening the inner-man by the Promises of God, until he is the stronger one. Trying to control the flesh (senses) without strengthening the spirit man, is an exercise in futility.
This is something that we must each do for ourselves. No one (not even your preacher) can do it for you. No one can walk with the Father for you. We're all His children, but we're not all walking in the Same Light of this Truth. The more we make excuses for the flesh (senses), the less we try strengthening the spirit. Of course we still make mistakes, but we can't simply declare "It's beyond our control" or blame God for "not doing everything that was needed through Jesus."
Everyone in the Body of Christ is working on some things in our lives. We don't all have the same weaknesses, but we all have some weaknesses. We're not to simply accept them, but we're to go to God's Word and find the answer to our weaknesses. We're to trust God, through Jesus, "To watch over His Word to perform it" in our lives.
Believing is a walk and journey, that we're all involved in. Even if it's not working in you, it's still True in Him. Many Christians continue to get sick and even die from diseases, but God's Word is still True that, "By Jesus' stripes you were healed." It doesn't matter what you're working on in your own life today, because John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says that, "We have all received, all had a share, and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing, and favor upon favor, and Gift heaped upon Gift." Everything that we will ever need in this earthly journey, has already been supplied through Jesus. Go to God's Word and find out what He has done for us, then believe that "It is finished." Stop trying to make it work and believe it already has worked. Remember, "All things are possible to him that believes."
You cannot make them work, you must believe the impossible. You must believe that in Him, it's not only possible, but it's already done. Proverbs 4:20-24 (Amplified) says, "My son, attend to My Words; consent and submit to My sayings. Let them not depart from your sight, keep them in the center of your heart. For they are Life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of Life (Mark 4:24). Put away from you false and dishonest speech and willful and contrary talk out them far from you."
False, willful and dishonest speech includes everything that is contrary to God's Word. God's Word is Truth. It doesn't matter what we think about it or what someone else says about it, God's Word is Truth and it doesn't change! If something isn't operating in your life, like the Word says it should, then it's not the Word that is wrong. It's us. God instructed us, in Proverbs 4:20 (Amplified), "Consent and submit to My Word." Our job (if you can call it that), is to "Consent and submit to God's Word." The only God requires us to do, is to Believe, that His Word is Truth.
As part of God's family, we're not the ones He made covenant with. The covenant was cut between Jesus (Who is God in the flesh) and God Himself, according to Hebrews 6:13,18 (Amplified) which says, "For when God made His Promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no One greater by Whom to swear." Verse 18 says, "This was so that by two unchangeable things, His Promise and His oath, in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled to Him for refuge might have might indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before us."
We've entered into this Promise, by our faith in receiving Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. There was nothing left for us to do, in order to validate this covenant, except to believe in God's Promise to and through Jesus. This isn't a Promise of works to make it true, but it's a Promise that is already done through Jesus. God only requires His family to believe in His Promise. It's not about dressing a certain way, worshiping on certain days, or any other works. It's not even about who we once were, but about who He has made us to be. IT IS FINISHED!
The Finished Work of Jesus is all that we're required to believe. Our healing, peace and righteousness has already been done and provided for God's family. He has left nothing out that was needed to make us "perfect," except to believe in His Finished Work. We continue trying to add to these Promises, in order to make them come to pass in our lives, when they're already been done. The more we add to them, the more they're not by Grace, but by works. Works only make them null and void. The harder we try, the more elusive they become, which leaves us feeling frustrated and feeling futile. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come to Him must necessarily believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out."
The harder we try to make God's Promises work, the less we believe His Promises are already True. This is a lack of faith or believe in what Jesus has already done and our adding to it by works, doesn't make it any more True. We can see why it's impossible to please God by what we do, instead of believing in what Jesus has already done for us.
This isn't like the Law, which needed to be ratified by our works, but it's Grace which has already done our part, through Jesus. Jesus' followers asked the same things we ask today, in John 6:28-29 (Amplified) which 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? 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."
We have believed, to some degree. We believe we are remitted of our sins and have become God's children, but we still refer to ourselves as "sinners." We believe that Jesus is our righteousness, but we refer to ourselves as being, "None are righteous, no not one." We confess that, "By Jesus' stripes we were healed," but then continue believing that healing was never part of God's Promise. Instead of admitting our unbelief in healing, we accuse God of using sickness to teach us a lesson. Or, we accuse God of not fulfilling His Promise and blame Him for the hardships and diseases that befall us.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam passed the Buck, saying "It was God's fault for giving him this woman." Neither Adam nor Eve could accept the blame for their transgression. We, somehow, blame God, saying "He is the One Who has brought sickness, hardship, calamity, sorrow, broken hearts, because He made us flesh." God said that He has already destroyed the flesh at the cross, when we were crucified with Christ. It's not a matter of being in this flesh and blood body, but it's a matter of our not believing in our new creation spirit man that Jesus created. It's a matter of our not learning who we really are in Him.
The most we've believed about our new creation man that God made us to be, is that someday we will live with Him in Heaven. I'm not making light of this Glorious Truth, but we are to believe in the rest of the things His Son has done for us. God didn't leave anything to change, when He sent Jesus. Jesus undid everything satan had brought on mankind, after Adam's fall. Although satan is still here, trying to discourage and accuse those in whom Jesus has already cleansed, we have to make the choice to either believe in what Jesus has done or believe satan's lies and accusations.
I'm not saying that we're perfect, but I'm saying that God declares you are perfect. We've become clean and perfect in His sight, through Jesus. 1Corinthians 6:19-20 (Amplified) says, "Do you not know that your body is the Temple, the very Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received as a Gift from God? You are not your own. You were bought with a Price, purchased with a Preciousness and paid for, made His Own. So then, honor God in bringing Glory to Him in your body."
How do we "honor and bring Glory to God in our bodies?" Be believing what Jesus has done for us and accepting His Sacrifice and believing in it. Stop looking at the flesh and seeing all its weaknesses. Begin looking at your new creation man and his/her strength. We must be strong in the Lord and the power of His might, because the more we believe in the One Whom He has sent, the less we'll depend on our own works, in make the flesh behave like it should.
We've spent much of our Christian walk, trying to make the flesh behave like it should. We minister mostly to the soulish part of our lives, instead of building up the new man or inner man of the new creation. The only way to tame the flesh (or senses),is by strengthening the inner-man by the Promises of God, until he is the stronger one. Trying to control the flesh (senses) without strengthening the spirit man, is an exercise in futility.
This is something that we must each do for ourselves. No one (not even your preacher) can do it for you. No one can walk with the Father for you. We're all His children, but we're not all walking in the Same Light of this Truth. The more we make excuses for the flesh (senses), the less we try strengthening the spirit. Of course we still make mistakes, but we can't simply declare "It's beyond our control" or blame God for "not doing everything that was needed through Jesus."
Everyone in the Body of Christ is working on some things in our lives. We don't all have the same weaknesses, but we all have some weaknesses. We're not to simply accept them, but we're to go to God's Word and find the answer to our weaknesses. We're to trust God, through Jesus, "To watch over His Word to perform it" in our lives.
Believing is a walk and journey, that we're all involved in. Even if it's not working in you, it's still True in Him. Many Christians continue to get sick and even die from diseases, but God's Word is still True that, "By Jesus' stripes you were healed." It doesn't matter what you're working on in your own life today, because John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says that, "We have all received, all had a share, and were all supplied with, one Grace after another and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing, and favor upon favor, and Gift heaped upon Gift." Everything that we will ever need in this earthly journey, has already been supplied through Jesus. Go to God's Word and find out what He has done for us, then believe that "It is finished." Stop trying to make it work and believe it already has worked. Remember, "All things are possible to him that believes."
You cannot make them work, you must believe the impossible. You must believe that in Him, it's not only possible, but it's already done. Proverbs 4:20-24 (Amplified) says, "My son, attend to My Words; consent and submit to My sayings. Let them not depart from your sight, keep them in the center of your heart. For they are Life to those who find them, healing and health to all their flesh. Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of Life (Mark 4:24). Put away from you false and dishonest speech and willful and contrary talk out them far from you."
False, willful and dishonest speech includes everything that is contrary to God's Word. God's Word is Truth. It doesn't matter what we think about it or what someone else says about it, God's Word is Truth and it doesn't change! If something isn't operating in your life, like the Word says it should, then it's not the Word that is wrong. It's us. God instructed us, in Proverbs 4:20 (Amplified), "Consent and submit to My Word." Our job (if you can call it that), is to "Consent and submit to God's Word." The only God requires us to do, is to Believe, that His Word is Truth.
Saturday, June 16, 2018
Friday, June 15, 2018
Lesson 66 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
When we learn to trust God, in what He's done through Jesus, then God's Promises will work the way He intended to them to work in our lives. Some will intentionally or unintentionally, continue trying to earn God's Promises by works. Some feel unworthy and unrighteous, then try hard to get to where we feel like we "deserve" God's Love and Grace. Others feel like they're overstating God's Grace and taking advantage of His Goodness, when they say they're righteous, through Jesus' righteousness.
We've been taught for years, that we're to suffer with sickness and poverty, in order to come to the place where we deserve God's very Blessing. Much of the Gospel has been distorted, which has resulted in our being double-minded in what we're trying to walk in. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to filter what goes into our hearts. In Mark 4:24 (Amplified), Jesus told His followers, "Be careful what you are hearing. The amount of thought and study you give to the Truth you hear, will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you-and more besides will be given to you who hear."
God will measure back to you, only "the measure of Truth you hear." He won't increase what is not Truth. We sometimes depend on the preacher to do our believing and studying for us, without spending time in God's Presence and Word for ourselves. The preacher might be sowing the Seed (good or bad), but you're the one who must receive or reject the seed that is sown.
You're the one who can conceive the Seed and tend the Garden of your heart. Every person is responsible for the harvest in our lives. How much time do you spend in God's Word, in order to determine whether or not you're hearing the Seed of Truth? We've heard many things throughout the years, that are man's own ideas of what he thinks and not the Truth. We've heard that, "The Super-natural things of God have passed away." Have you sought God's Word on these Gifts for yourself or have you only relied on the teachings of man?
These Spiritual Blessings are for our walk with the Father, while we're still in this natural body. We can't walk in these Spiritual Blessings, by only the natural man and carnal mind though. These Blessings come into our spirit and are manifested through the flesh, not the other way around. Everything Jesus did through His flesh, came first into His Spirit, according to John 14:26 (Amplified), where Jesus said, "But the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, in My Place, to represent Me and act on My Behalf. HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance), everything I have told you."
Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit is the most important thing a believer can do. HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS. Only the Holy Spirit can filter out the Seed of the Kingdom, as we walk this earth. Some believe that "God doesn't heal any longer." Is this Truth or is it man? We must know what is Truth, for ourselves. Many things that are dismissed as not being God's will, are not Truth. We've heard and allowed things that are man's ideas and not really Truth, to be sown in our hearts. Walking in only things that are acceptable to the mainstream, won't profit you, in your personal walk with the Lord.
We must accept responsibility for our own walk and not put down what others believe, but find the Truth for ourselves. We're not supposed to simply accept the status-quo for our walk with God and not have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Having our prayers answered, has nearly become like playing the lottery. Jesus said in John 15:7 (Amplified), though, "If you live in Me (abide, vitally united to Me), and My Words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you."
The statement Jesus made here, is just as True as everything else He ever said. If Jesus said it, then it is True. But, we find our prayer lives aren't like they should be. We can either make excuses for why our prayers aren't being answered or we can allow God's Word to continue to live in our hearts, like He said. How many things have we learned over the years, that we no longer operate in? Do we still watch over our words? Do we still speak in other tongues, like we used to? Do we still operate in the Truth we once knew?
Jesus instructed us to, "Stay united with Him and let His Word remain and continue to live, in our hearts." When we first received the Lord, we walked in things that were so exciting and alive, but do we still walk in these things? Or, have we somehow lost the desire to walk in these things and settled down into something else? This is something we must each evaluate for ourselves. Don't trad what you know, for Who you know. Don't just learn formulas for studying and memorizing the Word, instead of allow God's Word to be our Daily Bread.
Don't stop operating in what the Word says, because others don't believe it. Spiritual Blessings come into your spirit, not your flesh. In order to renew your mind, you must listen to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal the Truth of God's Word to your spirit. Christians who don't renew their minds, will continue walking in the same things, he/she walked in while in the world. Your unrenewed mind can't accept the things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually discerned. It's not just remembering scriptures, but the Holy Spirit's revelations that will change things in your life. Let the Holy Spirit reveal God's Word to you and then walk out the revelation.
Don't allow the Manna from God (His Word which is the Bread of Life) to spoil, by taking enough for tomorrow. Keep it fresh in your heart on a daily basis. The memory of a hamburger, won't nourish your body, any more than the memory of God's Word can nourish your spirit. We must make it our Daily Bread. Let's return to when we first came to Love the Lord and spend quality time with Him.
There's so much more to learn of Him, that we can never know. Some say, "That's too extreme," but God says, "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you." James 4:8 (Amplified) says, "Come close to God and He will come close to you." Do you remember when He was your First Love and you couldn't spend enough time with Him? This is what the Lord seeks, from those whom He has called!
When we learn to trust God, in what He's done through Jesus, then God's Promises will work the way He intended to them to work in our lives. Some will intentionally or unintentionally, continue trying to earn God's Promises by works. Some feel unworthy and unrighteous, then try hard to get to where we feel like we "deserve" God's Love and Grace. Others feel like they're overstating God's Grace and taking advantage of His Goodness, when they say they're righteous, through Jesus' righteousness.
We've been taught for years, that we're to suffer with sickness and poverty, in order to come to the place where we deserve God's very Blessing. Much of the Gospel has been distorted, which has resulted in our being double-minded in what we're trying to walk in. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to filter what goes into our hearts. In Mark 4:24 (Amplified), Jesus told His followers, "Be careful what you are hearing. The amount of thought and study you give to the Truth you hear, will be the measure of virtue and knowledge that comes back to you-and more besides will be given to you who hear."
God will measure back to you, only "the measure of Truth you hear." He won't increase what is not Truth. We sometimes depend on the preacher to do our believing and studying for us, without spending time in God's Presence and Word for ourselves. The preacher might be sowing the Seed (good or bad), but you're the one who must receive or reject the seed that is sown.
You're the one who can conceive the Seed and tend the Garden of your heart. Every person is responsible for the harvest in our lives. How much time do you spend in God's Word, in order to determine whether or not you're hearing the Seed of Truth? We've heard many things throughout the years, that are man's own ideas of what he thinks and not the Truth. We've heard that, "The Super-natural things of God have passed away." Have you sought God's Word on these Gifts for yourself or have you only relied on the teachings of man?
These Spiritual Blessings are for our walk with the Father, while we're still in this natural body. We can't walk in these Spiritual Blessings, by only the natural man and carnal mind though. These Blessings come into our spirit and are manifested through the flesh, not the other way around. Everything Jesus did through His flesh, came first into His Spirit, according to John 14:26 (Amplified), where Jesus said, "But the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name, in My Place, to represent Me and act on My Behalf. HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance), everything I have told you."
Learning to listen to the Holy Spirit is the most important thing a believer can do. HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS. Only the Holy Spirit can filter out the Seed of the Kingdom, as we walk this earth. Some believe that "God doesn't heal any longer." Is this Truth or is it man? We must know what is Truth, for ourselves. Many things that are dismissed as not being God's will, are not Truth. We've heard and allowed things that are man's ideas and not really Truth, to be sown in our hearts. Walking in only things that are acceptable to the mainstream, won't profit you, in your personal walk with the Lord.
We must accept responsibility for our own walk and not put down what others believe, but find the Truth for ourselves. We're not supposed to simply accept the status-quo for our walk with God and not have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Having our prayers answered, has nearly become like playing the lottery. Jesus said in John 15:7 (Amplified), though, "If you live in Me (abide, vitally united to Me), and My Words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you."
The statement Jesus made here, is just as True as everything else He ever said. If Jesus said it, then it is True. But, we find our prayer lives aren't like they should be. We can either make excuses for why our prayers aren't being answered or we can allow God's Word to continue to live in our hearts, like He said. How many things have we learned over the years, that we no longer operate in? Do we still watch over our words? Do we still speak in other tongues, like we used to? Do we still operate in the Truth we once knew?
Jesus instructed us to, "Stay united with Him and let His Word remain and continue to live, in our hearts." When we first received the Lord, we walked in things that were so exciting and alive, but do we still walk in these things? Or, have we somehow lost the desire to walk in these things and settled down into something else? This is something we must each evaluate for ourselves. Don't trad what you know, for Who you know. Don't just learn formulas for studying and memorizing the Word, instead of allow God's Word to be our Daily Bread.
Don't stop operating in what the Word says, because others don't believe it. Spiritual Blessings come into your spirit, not your flesh. In order to renew your mind, you must listen to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to reveal the Truth of God's Word to your spirit. Christians who don't renew their minds, will continue walking in the same things, he/she walked in while in the world. Your unrenewed mind can't accept the things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually discerned. It's not just remembering scriptures, but the Holy Spirit's revelations that will change things in your life. Let the Holy Spirit reveal God's Word to you and then walk out the revelation.
Don't allow the Manna from God (His Word which is the Bread of Life) to spoil, by taking enough for tomorrow. Keep it fresh in your heart on a daily basis. The memory of a hamburger, won't nourish your body, any more than the memory of God's Word can nourish your spirit. We must make it our Daily Bread. Let's return to when we first came to Love the Lord and spend quality time with Him.
There's so much more to learn of Him, that we can never know. Some say, "That's too extreme," but God says, "Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you." James 4:8 (Amplified) says, "Come close to God and He will come close to you." Do you remember when He was your First Love and you couldn't spend enough time with Him? This is what the Lord seeks, from those whom He has called!
Thursday, June 14, 2018
Lesson 65 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
There is so much to be learn ed from these two Verses, that I could teach from them for months by simply going into depth with them. Man-made doctrines and traditions have blurred the Truth, because they didn't allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth found here. The Spiritual Blessings, Gifts, favors, and Gifts are things that can only be applied while we're on this earth. When we enter the Father's Presence in Heaven, we'll no longer have need of these things.
We find one of these Gifts in Romans 5:17 (Amplified), that is almost completely ignored and made useless. Thus, Paul writes, "For if because of one mans trespass (lapse, offense), death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing Grace (unmerited favor) and the free Gift of righteousness (putting them into right standing with Himself), reign as kings in life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
This free Gift of righteousness has all been lost, in religious circles. We've all been told, "None are righteous, no not one." This statement is truly written, but we must go to God's Word and determine in what instance it was written. Paul quotes Psalm 14:3 in Romans 3:10-22 (Amplified), where he refers to those before and even those who remained under the Law. Paul writes in Verse 22 about now, through Jesus, there's a new place of righteousness. Thus, he writes, "Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). And it is meant for all who believe, for there is no distinction."
For much of our Christian lives, the Gift of righteousness has been overlooked and/or downplayed. We've been told that, "It's arrogant and boastful to say we're righteous," but the Lord says that, "It's a free Gift for those who believe in His Son, Jesus." This "Gift heaped upon Gift," was given to all who receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. These are Precious Gifts, given by the Father through Jesus and the enemy wishes that no one would accept these Gifts.
Grace and Truth came through our union with Jesus and put us in right standing with the Father. Paul wrote to the Church (those who are in Christ), in 1Corinthians 6:11 (Amplified) saying, "And such some of you were once; But you were washed clean, purified by a Complete Atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin and you were consecrated, set apart, hallowed, and you were justified, pronounced righteous, by trusting in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit of our God."
If the enemy can keep God's family in sin conscientiousness, then he can keep us from walking in the ministry we've been given for the world. Most of our unanswered prayers result from our not feeling righteous enough for God to grant our requests. Righteousness is not a feeling, but is a Truth.
Understanding what God has done for us in Jesus, is the Grace and Truth of the entire new covenant. We've been afraid to think and believe like this, because we're afraid we'll offend God by pride. The Truth is though, that we offend God by pride, when we refuse to accept His free Gift. It's stubborn pride for us to declare that we're not righteous, in spite of what Jesus has done.
Grace has done for us, what Law could never do for the old covenant people of God. Because of the Spiritual Blessings we've been given in John 1:16-17, we've been redeemed in our spirit and been given the Life of God once again and made one with Him. Under Law, the blood of goats and bulls could cover natural man, but not his dead spirit. Through Jesus, we've been permanently cleansed by the Blood of Christ, even of our dead spirit. We've been given newness of Life, as a new creation family of God, through Jesus.
The Spiritual Blessing encompass so many things that we've never before dreamed of. Through these Spiritual Blessings, we've received a new spirit, one in union with God Himself. We've also received the Holy Spirit's infusion with our new creation spirit. We've received the Spiritual authority over the spirits of darkness, that held as slaves. We've received son-ship rights with the Father. We've received a new Spiritual and Heavenly language, to speak unto the Father. There are so many more Spiritual Blessings, Graces, favors, and Gifts and John 1:16-17 says, "We've all been supplied with these."
The supply came when you received the Lord Jesus, in your life. We must now accept what has already been supplied with, in order to have them be effective in our lives. James 5:16 (Amplified) says, "The earnest (heartfelt), continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working." Is it any wonder that the enemy would work so hard against the Church's understanding righteousness? God's righteousness in us, is dynamic in its working. Having faith in our prayers being answered, will change our prayer lives into a power, that conquers the enemy and sets the captives free.
There is so much to be learn ed from these two Verses, that I could teach from them for months by simply going into depth with them. Man-made doctrines and traditions have blurred the Truth, because they didn't allow the Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth found here. The Spiritual Blessings, Gifts, favors, and Gifts are things that can only be applied while we're on this earth. When we enter the Father's Presence in Heaven, we'll no longer have need of these things.
We find one of these Gifts in Romans 5:17 (Amplified), that is almost completely ignored and made useless. Thus, Paul writes, "For if because of one mans trespass (lapse, offense), death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive God's overflowing Grace (unmerited favor) and the free Gift of righteousness (putting them into right standing with Himself), reign as kings in life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
This free Gift of righteousness has all been lost, in religious circles. We've all been told, "None are righteous, no not one." This statement is truly written, but we must go to God's Word and determine in what instance it was written. Paul quotes Psalm 14:3 in Romans 3:10-22 (Amplified), where he refers to those before and even those who remained under the Law. Paul writes in Verse 22 about now, through Jesus, there's a new place of righteousness. Thus, he writes, "Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). And it is meant for all who believe, for there is no distinction."
For much of our Christian lives, the Gift of righteousness has been overlooked and/or downplayed. We've been told that, "It's arrogant and boastful to say we're righteous," but the Lord says that, "It's a free Gift for those who believe in His Son, Jesus." This "Gift heaped upon Gift," was given to all who receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior. These are Precious Gifts, given by the Father through Jesus and the enemy wishes that no one would accept these Gifts.
Grace and Truth came through our union with Jesus and put us in right standing with the Father. Paul wrote to the Church (those who are in Christ), in 1Corinthians 6:11 (Amplified) saying, "And such some of you were once; But you were washed clean, purified by a Complete Atonement for sin and made free from the guilt of sin and you were consecrated, set apart, hallowed, and you were justified, pronounced righteous, by trusting in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit of our God."
If the enemy can keep God's family in sin conscientiousness, then he can keep us from walking in the ministry we've been given for the world. Most of our unanswered prayers result from our not feeling righteous enough for God to grant our requests. Righteousness is not a feeling, but is a Truth.
Understanding what God has done for us in Jesus, is the Grace and Truth of the entire new covenant. We've been afraid to think and believe like this, because we're afraid we'll offend God by pride. The Truth is though, that we offend God by pride, when we refuse to accept His free Gift. It's stubborn pride for us to declare that we're not righteous, in spite of what Jesus has done.
Grace has done for us, what Law could never do for the old covenant people of God. Because of the Spiritual Blessings we've been given in John 1:16-17, we've been redeemed in our spirit and been given the Life of God once again and made one with Him. Under Law, the blood of goats and bulls could cover natural man, but not his dead spirit. Through Jesus, we've been permanently cleansed by the Blood of Christ, even of our dead spirit. We've been given newness of Life, as a new creation family of God, through Jesus.
The Spiritual Blessing encompass so many things that we've never before dreamed of. Through these Spiritual Blessings, we've received a new spirit, one in union with God Himself. We've also received the Holy Spirit's infusion with our new creation spirit. We've received the Spiritual authority over the spirits of darkness, that held as slaves. We've received son-ship rights with the Father. We've received a new Spiritual and Heavenly language, to speak unto the Father. There are so many more Spiritual Blessings, Graces, favors, and Gifts and John 1:16-17 says, "We've all been supplied with these."
The supply came when you received the Lord Jesus, in your life. We must now accept what has already been supplied with, in order to have them be effective in our lives. James 5:16 (Amplified) says, "The earnest (heartfelt), continued prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working." Is it any wonder that the enemy would work so hard against the Church's understanding righteousness? God's righteousness in us, is dynamic in its working. Having faith in our prayers being answered, will change our prayer lives into a power, that conquers the enemy and sets the captives free.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Lesson 64 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
The greatest problem with our faith and the lack of results from our faith, has come through our not understanding God's will. 1John 5:14-15 (Amplified) says, "This is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness), which we have in Him; we are sure that if we ask anything, make any request according to His will, in agreement with His Own Plan, He listens to and hears us. And if since we positively know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know with settled and absolute knowledge, that we have granted us as our present possessions the requests made of Him."
John's statement above, written by God's Own Inspiration, is the one thing that holds back the prayer of God's children. We don't know His will. We've been like those described in James 1:7,8 (Amplified), "For being as he is, a man of two minds, hesitating, dubious, irresolute, he is unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything he thinks, feels, decides." Verse 7 says, "For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he asks for from the Lord."
We've been in an age old struggle, trying to decide whether it's God's will to heal, Bless, speak or even move on our behalf. We've simply decided to pray, "If it be Thy will, then..." This one of the most double-minded prayers, we could pray. Though it's our sincere prayer, it's so double-minded that it's only by Grace, we get anything answered.
This kind of praying, truly denotes what being double-minded thinking is. There is no faith in what we pray like this. If it was God's will to heal someone we're praying for, then He will heal them. If it's not His will, then that person won't be healed. We don't need to put any faith in our prayers, when we pray in this double-minded way. We're really saying, "God is going to do whatever He wants and prayer is of no effect." We've relegated our prayer to some religious thing we do, in order to look like we believe.
We will never find any place, where Jesus prayer, "If it be Thy will." Jesus knew the Father's will, because He listened. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew that His dying was truly the only way of saving mankind, so He prayed and surrendered His will to the will of God, saying in Luke 22:42 (Amplified), "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but always Your's be done."
Jesus didn't want to be separated from the Father, on the cross. As a Man, Jesus hated the thought of being separated from His Father, at the hands of the enemy. But, Jesus was willing to do so, if it was the will of God. There was no other time, when Jesus even hesitated to obey or know the Father's will. When the sick came before Him, Jesus healed them all, without hesitating. When the lame came before Him, without hesitation, Jesus made them whole. When those who were demon possessed were brought before Him, Jesus never faltered in knowing God's will and He set them free.
Jesus gave us the key to knowing the Father's will, when He prayed in Matthew 6:9-13 (Amplified) saying, "Praying therefore like this: Our Father, Who is in Heaven, hallowed (kept Holy), be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts and have given up resentment against our debtors) And lead, bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Your's is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen."
"Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." This is the will of God, that Jesus walked out and fulfilled in His ministry. Jesus restored the sick, dying, lame, depressed and possessed back to the Father's will in Heaven. No one in Heaven is sick or tormented, in any way. This is the Father's will. Jesus brought the Kingdom will of the Father, into this earth. Jesus brought God's will in Heaven, into the earth, like it was before Adam's transgression. Sickness, disease, and frailty were never God's will, but were the result of Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Jesus restored God's will for those He came in contact with, during His earthly ministry.
Jesus was never undecided about what God's will is. When Jesus saw people in bondage, He knew it wasn't the way that God's Kingdom intended. We certainly don't see God's will in Heaven, here on earth. We are called to bring the Kingdom of God here. If it's not the way Heaven functions, then it's not God's will.
Jesus taught us to pray this way and to know God's will, by knowing how Heaven functions. Jesus had no problem seeing what things were not according to God's will and putting those things back in order with the Father's will. The world has taught us to believe, "You can never know what God's will is for the world and mankind." Jesus never doubted what God would do, but simply restored God's will on earth.
We've become so double-minded about what we think God's will is, that we have little faith in our prayers. I cannot find one instance, where Jesus didn't perform God's will in His ministry. Jesus never turned any person away. Jesus never thought it was the Father's will to leave them in the state they came to Him in.
The things around us in today's world, is the Father's will. If these things are God's will, then this is how Heaven will be for eternity, because, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." You know this isn't what Heaven's like. The things we're witnessing are not God's will. God isn't the One Who is the Source of our problems. He is the Answer to our problems. That is His will.
The greatest problem with our faith and the lack of results from our faith, has come through our not understanding God's will. 1John 5:14-15 (Amplified) says, "This is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness), which we have in Him; we are sure that if we ask anything, make any request according to His will, in agreement with His Own Plan, He listens to and hears us. And if since we positively know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know with settled and absolute knowledge, that we have granted us as our present possessions the requests made of Him."
John's statement above, written by God's Own Inspiration, is the one thing that holds back the prayer of God's children. We don't know His will. We've been like those described in James 1:7,8 (Amplified), "For being as he is, a man of two minds, hesitating, dubious, irresolute, he is unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything he thinks, feels, decides." Verse 7 says, "For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything he asks for from the Lord."
We've been in an age old struggle, trying to decide whether it's God's will to heal, Bless, speak or even move on our behalf. We've simply decided to pray, "If it be Thy will, then..." This one of the most double-minded prayers, we could pray. Though it's our sincere prayer, it's so double-minded that it's only by Grace, we get anything answered.
This kind of praying, truly denotes what being double-minded thinking is. There is no faith in what we pray like this. If it was God's will to heal someone we're praying for, then He will heal them. If it's not His will, then that person won't be healed. We don't need to put any faith in our prayers, when we pray in this double-minded way. We're really saying, "God is going to do whatever He wants and prayer is of no effect." We've relegated our prayer to some religious thing we do, in order to look like we believe.
We will never find any place, where Jesus prayer, "If it be Thy will." Jesus knew the Father's will, because He listened. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew that His dying was truly the only way of saving mankind, so He prayed and surrendered His will to the will of God, saying in Luke 22:42 (Amplified), "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but always Your's be done."
Jesus didn't want to be separated from the Father, on the cross. As a Man, Jesus hated the thought of being separated from His Father, at the hands of the enemy. But, Jesus was willing to do so, if it was the will of God. There was no other time, when Jesus even hesitated to obey or know the Father's will. When the sick came before Him, Jesus healed them all, without hesitating. When the lame came before Him, without hesitation, Jesus made them whole. When those who were demon possessed were brought before Him, Jesus never faltered in knowing God's will and He set them free.
Jesus gave us the key to knowing the Father's will, when He prayed in Matthew 6:9-13 (Amplified) saying, "Praying therefore like this: Our Father, Who is in Heaven, hallowed (kept Holy), be Your Name. Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven (left, remitted, and let go of the debts and have given up resentment against our debtors) And lead, bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Your's is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever. Amen."
"Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." This is the will of God, that Jesus walked out and fulfilled in His ministry. Jesus restored the sick, dying, lame, depressed and possessed back to the Father's will in Heaven. No one in Heaven is sick or tormented, in any way. This is the Father's will. Jesus brought the Kingdom will of the Father, into this earth. Jesus brought God's will in Heaven, into the earth, like it was before Adam's transgression. Sickness, disease, and frailty were never God's will, but were the result of Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Jesus restored God's will for those He came in contact with, during His earthly ministry.
Jesus was never undecided about what God's will is. When Jesus saw people in bondage, He knew it wasn't the way that God's Kingdom intended. We certainly don't see God's will in Heaven, here on earth. We are called to bring the Kingdom of God here. If it's not the way Heaven functions, then it's not God's will.
Jesus taught us to pray this way and to know God's will, by knowing how Heaven functions. Jesus had no problem seeing what things were not according to God's will and putting those things back in order with the Father's will. The world has taught us to believe, "You can never know what God's will is for the world and mankind." Jesus never doubted what God would do, but simply restored God's will on earth.
We've become so double-minded about what we think God's will is, that we have little faith in our prayers. I cannot find one instance, where Jesus didn't perform God's will in His ministry. Jesus never turned any person away. Jesus never thought it was the Father's will to leave them in the state they came to Him in.
The things around us in today's world, is the Father's will. If these things are God's will, then this is how Heaven will be for eternity, because, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven." You know this isn't what Heaven's like. The things we're witnessing are not God's will. God isn't the One Who is the Source of our problems. He is the Answer to our problems. That is His will.
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
Lesson 63 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
Satan has fought hard trying to talk God's people out of these Truths, concerning Spiritual Blessings, favor and Gifts. When the enemy works this hard to discourage us from having these things, then we need to understand why. Many things we received from the Father are only to be used in our lives here on earth, in this physical body.
Our eternal life with God has already been taken care of, when we received Jesus and our new creation life. The Gifts, Blessings, favors and Grace spoken of in the above scripture, are for us here on earth, while we await our going or His coming. When we study the above scripture, we realize that Jesus actually is all these things, in and to us. Jesus is our Grace, our Spiritual Blessing, our favor, our Gift and our Supply. In Him, we've already received, all had a part, and were all supplied with all these things. Jesus prayed in John 17:18 (Amplified), "Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world."
God equipped us with everything He placed in Jesus to accomplish His earthly mission. All that the Father gave Jesus, He has given us too. These Spiritual Gifts include our communion by prayer and our ability to hear and receive from the Father. Colossi ans 2:9-10 (Amplified) says, "For in Him the whole fullness of Deity, the God-Head continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of Divine nature. And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of Life, in Christ you too are filled with the God-Head-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 know from John 1:16-17 (Amplified) that, "Out of His fullness (abundance) that we all received and have all been supplied with every Grace, Gift, Spiritual Blessing and favor." Jesus said that, "Just as the Father sent Him, He has sent us," in John 17:18. According to God's Word, we don't lack anything, except the Revelation of what to do with the things He has given. Jesus already did the work and we're only required to believe Him and use what He has already supplied us with.
The world and some in the Church, view this as an extreme teaching and will find it difficult to grasp. We've been taught for so long, that we "must suffer through, until we bodily arrive in Heaven." The Word tells us though, that we're already Blessed with everything we need, to walk in victory here on earth. What some call, "extreme teaching," is what the Father calls "family inheritance."
God's Word says that, "We have all received these things of His fullness." It's not us, but it's Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit in us, Who make this fullness work. God hasn't left anyone of His fullness and He hasn't given anyone only a small portion of His fullness. All this is already abiding in our born-again spirit. These are for us to have and enjoy now. These are not only for our own use, but for the world as well.
The term "extreme believing," isn't in God's vocabulary and it shouldn't be in ours either. Christianity is based on the Super-natural, in every area of our lives. How can we say that, "We believe that Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead" and "Jesus is still alive after two-thousand years" and then believe that what the world calls "extreme" is more than what our Father can do? We serve a God Who spoke an entire universe into existence, so how can we think that His healing our body is extreme?
"With God, nothing is impossible." We've been deceived into believing that God doesn't do miracles anymore and that God has somehow changed. God did not change at all, He simply changed us. In our new creation life, we have the very same ability to believe, on the level of Jesus Himself. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So 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)."
Romans 1:17 (Amplified) tells us, "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." The uprightness and righteousness Paul speaks about here, is the righteousness that God ascribes. Our righteousness is being right with God, in Christ Jesus. Romans 10:10 (Amplified) bears this out, saying, "For with the heart a person believes, adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ, and so is justified, declared righteous, acceptable to God; and with his mouth he confesses, declares openly and speaks out freely his faith and confirms his salvation."
Some will say that declaring you are righteous and just, is extreme, but this is what the scripture declares. You can be righteous and in right standing with God, no other way than by following the Word which says, ""With the heart a man believes and relies on Jesus and is made righteous, this is the righteousness that God ascribes." We haven't been taught to believe what God expects His children to believe. We need to learn to believe, trust in, rely on and accept what God says about us, instead of what men say about us.
We're called to "Go from faith to faith." We were never stop learning and growing in our quest and faith for God and His Word. Nothing is extreme for Him, He is God. Do you think that a God Who made mankind, can no longer heal or change men? Nothing is impossible in the new creation family of God, because He lives in and through us.
Satan has fought hard trying to talk God's people out of these Truths, concerning Spiritual Blessings, favor and Gifts. When the enemy works this hard to discourage us from having these things, then we need to understand why. Many things we received from the Father are only to be used in our lives here on earth, in this physical body.
Our eternal life with God has already been taken care of, when we received Jesus and our new creation life. The Gifts, Blessings, favors and Grace spoken of in the above scripture, are for us here on earth, while we await our going or His coming. When we study the above scripture, we realize that Jesus actually is all these things, in and to us. Jesus is our Grace, our Spiritual Blessing, our favor, our Gift and our Supply. In Him, we've already received, all had a part, and were all supplied with all these things. Jesus prayed in John 17:18 (Amplified), "Just as You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world."
God equipped us with everything He placed in Jesus to accomplish His earthly mission. All that the Father gave Jesus, He has given us too. These Spiritual Gifts include our communion by prayer and our ability to hear and receive from the Father. Colossi ans 2:9-10 (Amplified) says, "For in Him the whole fullness of Deity, the God-Head continues to dwell in bodily form, giving complete expression of Divine nature. And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of Life, in Christ you too are filled with the God-Head-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 know from John 1:16-17 (Amplified) that, "Out of His fullness (abundance) that we all received and have all been supplied with every Grace, Gift, Spiritual Blessing and favor." Jesus said that, "Just as the Father sent Him, He has sent us," in John 17:18. According to God's Word, we don't lack anything, except the Revelation of what to do with the things He has given. Jesus already did the work and we're only required to believe Him and use what He has already supplied us with.
The world and some in the Church, view this as an extreme teaching and will find it difficult to grasp. We've been taught for so long, that we "must suffer through, until we bodily arrive in Heaven." The Word tells us though, that we're already Blessed with everything we need, to walk in victory here on earth. What some call, "extreme teaching," is what the Father calls "family inheritance."
God's Word says that, "We have all received these things of His fullness." It's not us, but it's Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit in us, Who make this fullness work. God hasn't left anyone of His fullness and He hasn't given anyone only a small portion of His fullness. All this is already abiding in our born-again spirit. These are for us to have and enjoy now. These are not only for our own use, but for the world as well.
The term "extreme believing," isn't in God's vocabulary and it shouldn't be in ours either. Christianity is based on the Super-natural, in every area of our lives. How can we say that, "We believe that Jesus died, was buried and was raised from the dead" and "Jesus is still alive after two-thousand years" and then believe that what the world calls "extreme" is more than what our Father can do? We serve a God Who spoke an entire universe into existence, so how can we think that His healing our body is extreme?
"With God, nothing is impossible." We've been deceived into believing that God doesn't do miracles anymore and that God has somehow changed. God did not change at all, He simply changed us. In our new creation life, we have the very same ability to believe, on the level of Jesus Himself. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So 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)."
Romans 1:17 (Amplified) tells us, "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." The uprightness and righteousness Paul speaks about here, is the righteousness that God ascribes. Our righteousness is being right with God, in Christ Jesus. Romans 10:10 (Amplified) bears this out, saying, "For with the heart a person believes, adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ, and so is justified, declared righteous, acceptable to God; and with his mouth he confesses, declares openly and speaks out freely his faith and confirms his salvation."
Some will say that declaring you are righteous and just, is extreme, but this is what the scripture declares. You can be righteous and in right standing with God, no other way than by following the Word which says, ""With the heart a man believes and relies on Jesus and is made righteous, this is the righteousness that God ascribes." We haven't been taught to believe what God expects His children to believe. We need to learn to believe, trust in, rely on and accept what God says about us, instead of what men say about us.
We're called to "Go from faith to faith." We were never stop learning and growing in our quest and faith for God and His Word. Nothing is extreme for Him, He is God. Do you think that a God Who made mankind, can no longer heal or change men? Nothing is impossible in the new creation family of God, because He lives in and through us.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Lesson 62 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:17-18 (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."
The above scripture tells us that, "We have all received these things,from out of God's fullness and abundance." God didn't say that we had to do anything, in order to get this fullness. We don't have to pray for, fast for or perform certain rituals, but we have all received. When we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we received everything we would ever need, because He is everything in Himself. All the Grace, favor, Spiritual Blessing, Gifts and Truths are already within our new creation man.
We've been given His ability, to do the job we were sent on earth to do. We've been delegated authority, ability and anointing, to fulfill our destiny here on earth. This isn't saying that trouble won't come or that the enemy won't test our faith, but that if we hold fast to the who the Father created us to be, then we will prevail in our fullness in Him. Like in everything else in life, we must grow from faith to faith in God's Truth. We were never intended to do what the Lord directs us to do, in our natural man, but by the new creation man or woman within us.
This can only be done by the Super-natural Presence of the Holy Spirit, Who abides within our newborn spirit. We've been trying to overcome the world, using only the weapons of our natural resources. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10,12 (Amplified), "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending only with physical opponents), but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly super-natural sphere." Paul goes on in Verse 12 saying, "In conclusion, be strong in the Lord (be empowered through your union with Him, draw your strength from Him), that strength which His boundless Might provides."
This "strength" comes from the fullness that we've already been provided with and have received through Jesus Christ. It's always been there, but we've never seen, heard, or acknowledged it. We've focused more on the old man we used to be, instead of on the new creation man and woman, we've now become. James 1:22-24 (Amplified) tells us, "But be doers of the Word (obey the Message), and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth. For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his own natural face in a mirror. For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like. But he who looks carefully into the faultless Law, the Law of Liberty, and is faithful to it, and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets, but an active doer who obeys, he shall be Blessed in his doing, his life of obedience."
We're still reasoning about whether "God is the One testing us or satan is the one testing us." We ask whether or not God makes people sick and whether or not we should stand against the trials and stand firm in God's Word. So long as we remain double-minded in our faith, we are in jeopardy of being destroyed. God has taken full responsibility for the creation of satan and He can handle satan. Satan used to run roughshod over mankind and there was little that man could do to stop him. When man functioned in the Law, then he could obtain some of God's Blessings in the earth. Now, those in the new creation family have been delivered from satan's authority and ability, in Christ Jesus. Jesus brought satan to nothing, in the new creation family, according to Colossi ans 2:15 (Amplified) which says, "God disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us, and made a bold display and public example of them, triumphing over them in Him (Jesus) and in it, the cross."
God made satan and disarmed him. We're no longer under satan, because we've been raised together in Christ Jesus and we've been seated together with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:20-21 (Amplified) says, "Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His Own right hand in the Heavenly Places. Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which is to come."
Satan usurped Adam's authority, at Adam's transgression and used it to control mankind. But, this authority has been done away with and given back to man, through our union with Christ Jesus. God made satan and God has taken care of him. We're no longer under the rule and dominion of the devil. We've received the ability to rule and have been given dominion over satan and darkness, through Jesus. Jesus gave us the Power of Attorney, to use His Name.
This Truth has been lost to today's Church, which has left God's people to experience things in our lives, that God never willed for us. What some would consider extreme, is the simple Truth of the new creation family of God. The Father says in Isaiah 54:16-17 (Amplified), "Behold, I created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose, and I have created the devastator to destroy. But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong; This peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition is the heritage of the servants of the Lord is reproduced, this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me, this is that which I impart to them as their justification, says the Lord."
Satan has no more authority in the believer's life, because God has justified us and declared us "righteous." God created satan, but Jesus did everything to destroy the rule and authority satan once held. The only thing satan can do against the Church, is deceive us into giving him dominion in our lives, just like he did in the Garden. We have a choice to make. Will we buy satan's lie and give him place in our lives or will we stand on God's Word and resist satan? Will we receive what the Father has freely given us in His Grace?
James 4:17-18 (Amplified) says, "So be subject to God, Resist the devil (stand firm against him), and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and He will come close to you. Recognize that you are sinners (not believing God's Word), get your soiled hands clean, realize that you have been disloyal, wavering individuals with divided interests and purify your hearts of your spiritual adultery."
God considers our being double-minded about His Truth in Jesus, as being spiritual adultery. We must learn to believe His Word, instead of the traditional teachings we've received throughout the years. We need to operate in that which God has given us, through Jesus. It seems easier to listen to satan's lies, than to stand on God's Promises and resist the devil. We've accepted satan's lies that, "God is the One Who is trying our faith," instead of accepting the Truth that satan is trying to destroy our faith. Being so double-minded, will never allow us to accept our full deliverance from satan.
The above scripture tells us that, "We have all received these things,from out of God's fullness and abundance." God didn't say that we had to do anything, in order to get this fullness. We don't have to pray for, fast for or perform certain rituals, but we have all received. When we received Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we received everything we would ever need, because He is everything in Himself. All the Grace, favor, Spiritual Blessing, Gifts and Truths are already within our new creation man.
We've been given His ability, to do the job we were sent on earth to do. We've been delegated authority, ability and anointing, to fulfill our destiny here on earth. This isn't saying that trouble won't come or that the enemy won't test our faith, but that if we hold fast to the who the Father created us to be, then we will prevail in our fullness in Him. Like in everything else in life, we must grow from faith to faith in God's Truth. We were never intended to do what the Lord directs us to do, in our natural man, but by the new creation man or woman within us.
This can only be done by the Super-natural Presence of the Holy Spirit, Who abides within our newborn spirit. We've been trying to overcome the world, using only the weapons of our natural resources. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:10,12 (Amplified), "For we are not wrestling with flesh and blood (contending only with physical opponents), but against the despotisms, against the powers, against the master spirits who are the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly super-natural sphere." Paul goes on in Verse 12 saying, "In conclusion, be strong in the Lord (be empowered through your union with Him, draw your strength from Him), that strength which His boundless Might provides."
This "strength" comes from the fullness that we've already been provided with and have received through Jesus Christ. It's always been there, but we've never seen, heard, or acknowledged it. We've focused more on the old man we used to be, instead of on the new creation man and woman, we've now become. James 1:22-24 (Amplified) tells us, "But be doers of the Word (obey the Message), and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth. For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his own natural face in a mirror. For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like. But he who looks carefully into the faultless Law, the Law of Liberty, and is faithful to it, and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets, but an active doer who obeys, he shall be Blessed in his doing, his life of obedience."
We're still reasoning about whether "God is the One testing us or satan is the one testing us." We ask whether or not God makes people sick and whether or not we should stand against the trials and stand firm in God's Word. So long as we remain double-minded in our faith, we are in jeopardy of being destroyed. God has taken full responsibility for the creation of satan and He can handle satan. Satan used to run roughshod over mankind and there was little that man could do to stop him. When man functioned in the Law, then he could obtain some of God's Blessings in the earth. Now, those in the new creation family have been delivered from satan's authority and ability, in Christ Jesus. Jesus brought satan to nothing, in the new creation family, according to Colossi ans 2:15 (Amplified) which says, "God disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us, and made a bold display and public example of them, triumphing over them in Him (Jesus) and in it, the cross."
God made satan and disarmed him. We're no longer under satan, because we've been raised together in Christ Jesus and we've been seated together with Christ Jesus. Ephesians 1:20-21 (Amplified) says, "Which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His Own right hand in the Heavenly Places. Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, above every title that can be conferred, not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which is to come."
Satan usurped Adam's authority, at Adam's transgression and used it to control mankind. But, this authority has been done away with and given back to man, through our union with Christ Jesus. God made satan and God has taken care of him. We're no longer under the rule and dominion of the devil. We've received the ability to rule and have been given dominion over satan and darkness, through Jesus. Jesus gave us the Power of Attorney, to use His Name.
This Truth has been lost to today's Church, which has left God's people to experience things in our lives, that God never willed for us. What some would consider extreme, is the simple Truth of the new creation family of God. The Father says in Isaiah 54:16-17 (Amplified), "Behold, I created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose, and I have created the devastator to destroy. But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong; This peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition is the heritage of the servants of the Lord is reproduced, this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me, this is that which I impart to them as their justification, says the Lord."
Satan has no more authority in the believer's life, because God has justified us and declared us "righteous." God created satan, but Jesus did everything to destroy the rule and authority satan once held. The only thing satan can do against the Church, is deceive us into giving him dominion in our lives, just like he did in the Garden. We have a choice to make. Will we buy satan's lie and give him place in our lives or will we stand on God's Word and resist satan? Will we receive what the Father has freely given us in His Grace?
James 4:17-18 (Amplified) says, "So be subject to God, Resist the devil (stand firm against him), and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and He will come close to you. Recognize that you are sinners (not believing God's Word), get your soiled hands clean, realize that you have been disloyal, wavering individuals with divided interests and purify your hearts of your spiritual adultery."
God considers our being double-minded about His Truth in Jesus, as being spiritual adultery. We must learn to believe His Word, instead of the traditional teachings we've received throughout the years. We need to operate in that which God has given us, through Jesus. It seems easier to listen to satan's lies, than to stand on God's Promises and resist the devil. We've accepted satan's lies that, "God is the One Who is trying our faith," instead of accepting the Truth that satan is trying to destroy our faith. Being so double-minded, will never allow us to accept our full deliverance from satan.
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Lesson 61 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
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."
A Pharisee named Nicodemus approached Jesus, saying that "No man can do the things you are doing, unless he is from God," in John 3:5-7,9-10(Amplified). Jesus answered, saying, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and even of the Spirit, he cannot ever enter the Kingdom of God. What is born of, from the flesh, of the physical is physical; and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not (do not be surprised, astonished) at My telling you, You must all be born anew from above."
Verses 9-10 go on, "Nicodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible? Jesus replied; Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things? Are they strange to you?" We've been taught things that were from the old covenant, like they still pertain to the new family of God. Many teachers have learned only by tradition and not from Revelation. This has led to a mixed faith in God's children, about what is Truth.
If we're born-again, then we belong to the Lord God and are His children. Some have no idea what this actually means in our walk with the Father, while here on earth. Some believe that, "It's not God's will to heal, Bless, or totally redeem us from sin." Many don't know or understand satan's role in the part of sin and death for mankind. Traditional teachings make it difficult to explain these things to babes in Christ.
Jesus said in John 10:10 (Amplified), "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." Anything that steals, kills, and destroys is of satan and everything that brings life and fullness is of Jesus. Some might respond by quoting Isaiah 45:7 (Amplified) where God says, "I form the Light and create darkness, I make peace, national well-being and I create physical evil, calamity; I Am the Lord Who does all these things." Or, they might quote Isaiah 54:16 (Amplified) which says, "Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastor to destroy."
God has taken full responsibility for the creation of satan and God has put satan in his place, through Jesus Christ. When we don't understand the authority and union we have with Jesus, we continue to erroneously blame God for all the calamity that befalls us. We believe that God uses satan as a teaching tool, for His children. All the hell that has been unleashed on this planet and mankind, came through the satanic order of this outlaw spirit.
Notice how after God spoke about the destroyer in Isaiah 54:17 (Amplified), He said, "But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise up against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition is the heritage of the servants of the Lord is reproduced [This is the new creation, born-again man] This is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me, this is that which I impart to them as their justification says the Lord."
In other words, God says, "I created satan and I have taken care of him. You now belong to Me and have been delivered out of his hands." Luke 10:17-20 (Amplified) says, "The seventy (who Jesus sent out) returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your Name. And He said to them, I saw satan falling like a lighting 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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are enrolled in Heaven."
2Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified) tells us, "For the god of this world has blinded the unbeliever's minds that they should not discern the Truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God." As believers, we're still in the kingdom of darkness in these bodies, but we've been translated into the Kingdom of God's Dear Son, in our born-again spirits. Are minds are still blind to many things concerning our deliverance, in and through Jesus. All the blindness or unbelief is of an enemy and that enemy has been rendered helpless to the believer in Christ.
Many believers are still in unbelief to so many things in the Gospel of Christ. Our minds have acknowledged the negative things in the Word, instead of the fullness and abundance that God has supplied us with in Jesus. We've somehow equated sickness, poverty, calamity and unrighteousness with "true Christianity." This isn't what Jesus came to deliver to us. This is what men already had. Jesus came to bring us Life.
We must seek out the Truth of God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to filter out the things we hear. 1John 2:27 (Amplified) says, "But as for you, the anointing, the sacred appointment, the unction which you received from Him abides in you permanently; so then you have no need that anyone should instruct you, but just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is True and is no falsehood, so you must abide in, live in, never depart from Him, being rooted in Him, knit to Him, just as His anointing has taught you to do."
If we allow the Holy Spirit to filter the everyday things we hear in the workplace and churches, then He will filter out the seeds of unbelief and allow the Seeds (Words) of Truth to set us free. Just because someone else doesn't believe something, doesn't mean it's not Truth. I know people who don't believe that Jesus Christ is Savior and they have the right to choose to believe or not to believe. I allow the Holy Spirit to filter their seeds or doubt to fall to the ground and I receive the Truth of God's Words. God can only work through what we will believe and not what someone else believes, in our lives. We read about Jairus' daughter and the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:31,21 (Amplified), where the disciples asked Jesus, "You see the crowd pressing hard around You, from all sides, and You ask who touched Me?"
Many in the crowd pressing Jesus, were sight seers, there to see someone famous. Two people in the crowd, were believing. One was Jairus and the other was the woman with the issue of blood. Verse 21 tells us about the woman with the issue of blood, saying, "She heard the reports concerning Jesus, and came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment." I'm certain that some people around her, would have called this woman "unclean" and told her, "It's God's will for you to be sick." But, this woman heard and believed and received of His fullness, even when no one else, except Jairus, received.
The Word is full of people who dared to believe in the face of opposition. Why would these people be distinguished above the others? Because they believe, when no one else did. We must not live like everyone else. We must not believe like they do, that "God doesn't do these things any longer." We must be a Light and Testimony, helping others lift their believing higher in Jesus.
A Pharisee named Nicodemus approached Jesus, saying that "No man can do the things you are doing, unless he is from God," in John 3:5-7,9-10(Amplified). Jesus answered, saying, "I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and even of the Spirit, he cannot ever enter the Kingdom of God. What is born of, from the flesh, of the physical is physical; and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Marvel not (do not be surprised, astonished) at My telling you, You must all be born anew from above."
Verses 9-10 go on, "Nicodemus answered by asking, How can all this be possible? Jesus replied; Are you the teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things? Are they strange to you?" We've been taught things that were from the old covenant, like they still pertain to the new family of God. Many teachers have learned only by tradition and not from Revelation. This has led to a mixed faith in God's children, about what is Truth.
If we're born-again, then we belong to the Lord God and are His children. Some have no idea what this actually means in our walk with the Father, while here on earth. Some believe that, "It's not God's will to heal, Bless, or totally redeem us from sin." Many don't know or understand satan's role in the part of sin and death for mankind. Traditional teachings make it difficult to explain these things to babes in Christ.
Jesus said in John 10:10 (Amplified), "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)." Anything that steals, kills, and destroys is of satan and everything that brings life and fullness is of Jesus. Some might respond by quoting Isaiah 45:7 (Amplified) where God says, "I form the Light and create darkness, I make peace, national well-being and I create physical evil, calamity; I Am the Lord Who does all these things." Or, they might quote Isaiah 54:16 (Amplified) which says, "Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the devastor to destroy."
God has taken full responsibility for the creation of satan and God has put satan in his place, through Jesus Christ. When we don't understand the authority and union we have with Jesus, we continue to erroneously blame God for all the calamity that befalls us. We believe that God uses satan as a teaching tool, for His children. All the hell that has been unleashed on this planet and mankind, came through the satanic order of this outlaw spirit.
Notice how after God spoke about the destroyer in Isaiah 54:17 (Amplified), He said, "But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise up against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong. This peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition is the heritage of the servants of the Lord is reproduced [This is the new creation, born-again man] This is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me, this is that which I impart to them as their justification says the Lord."
In other words, God says, "I created satan and I have taken care of him. You now belong to Me and have been delivered out of his hands." Luke 10:17-20 (Amplified) says, "The seventy (who Jesus sent out) returned with joy, saying, Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your Name. And He said to them, I saw satan falling like a lighting 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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are enrolled in Heaven."
2Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified) tells us, "For the god of this world has blinded the unbeliever's minds that they should not discern the Truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating Light of the Gospel of the Glory of Christ (the Messiah), Who is the Image and Likeness of God." As believers, we're still in the kingdom of darkness in these bodies, but we've been translated into the Kingdom of God's Dear Son, in our born-again spirits. Are minds are still blind to many things concerning our deliverance, in and through Jesus. All the blindness or unbelief is of an enemy and that enemy has been rendered helpless to the believer in Christ.
Many believers are still in unbelief to so many things in the Gospel of Christ. Our minds have acknowledged the negative things in the Word, instead of the fullness and abundance that God has supplied us with in Jesus. We've somehow equated sickness, poverty, calamity and unrighteousness with "true Christianity." This isn't what Jesus came to deliver to us. This is what men already had. Jesus came to bring us Life.
We must seek out the Truth of God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to filter out the things we hear. 1John 2:27 (Amplified) says, "But as for you, the anointing, the sacred appointment, the unction which you received from Him abides in you permanently; so then you have no need that anyone should instruct you, but just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is True and is no falsehood, so you must abide in, live in, never depart from Him, being rooted in Him, knit to Him, just as His anointing has taught you to do."
If we allow the Holy Spirit to filter the everyday things we hear in the workplace and churches, then He will filter out the seeds of unbelief and allow the Seeds (Words) of Truth to set us free. Just because someone else doesn't believe something, doesn't mean it's not Truth. I know people who don't believe that Jesus Christ is Savior and they have the right to choose to believe or not to believe. I allow the Holy Spirit to filter their seeds or doubt to fall to the ground and I receive the Truth of God's Words. God can only work through what we will believe and not what someone else believes, in our lives. We read about Jairus' daughter and the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:31,21 (Amplified), where the disciples asked Jesus, "You see the crowd pressing hard around You, from all sides, and You ask who touched Me?"
Many in the crowd pressing Jesus, were sight seers, there to see someone famous. Two people in the crowd, were believing. One was Jairus and the other was the woman with the issue of blood. Verse 21 tells us about the woman with the issue of blood, saying, "She heard the reports concerning Jesus, and came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment." I'm certain that some people around her, would have called this woman "unclean" and told her, "It's God's will for you to be sick." But, this woman heard and believed and received of His fullness, even when no one else, except Jairus, received.
The Word is full of people who dared to believe in the face of opposition. Why would these people be distinguished above the others? Because they believe, when no one else did. We must not live like everyone else. We must not believe like they do, that "God doesn't do these things any longer." We must be a Light and Testimony, helping others lift their believing higher in Jesus.
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