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."
Many of us in the Body of Christ, have never come to the real understanding of who and what we've become in Jesus. We've been saved and born-again, but have little knowledge of what this means in our lives. Jesus told us in John 4:24 (Amplified), "God is a Spirit (a Spiritual Being), and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and Truth (reality)."
How do we worship in Spirit and Truth or reality? What is the Truth or reality, in the Spirit realm? Are there realities in the Spirit, that we don't know or understand? Are some of the things we accept in Christianity really Truth or are they tradition? John 8:31-32,36 (Amplified) says, "So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My Word (hold fast to My teachings) and live according with them, you are truly My disciples And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." He continues in Verse 36, saying, "So if the Son liberates you (makes you free men), then you are really and unquestionably free."
Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
Recall being in history class and learning about the Emancipation Proclamation that came after the Civil War ended, whereby the slaves were set free. Since this Proclamation was enforced and put into motion, those who had been held captive and were in bondage, were suddenly free. There had been certain laws established in America, that made it unlawful to teach a slave to read or write, so most of the slaves were unable to do so.
Many of the slaves brought here from other countries, couldn't even speak English. Generations weren't only sold into slavery, but were born into it. These people were suddenly made free and were on their own in life. Freedom was theirs. However, most of these people had no education, couldn't read or write, owned no land or had a house to live in, and had no money of their own. They only had what the master or their previous owner had allowed them to possess. What on earth were they expected to do with their freedom?
Sadly, many had no choice except to return to the plantation of their former owner. They didn't do so because they weren't free, but because they had no provisions of their own. It wasn't because they weren't as smart as others, but because they didn't know how to walk in and maintain their freedom. They only knew what the previous owner had allowed them to know.
Jesus said, "Whosoever the Son sets free is free indeed." When we get born-again, we don't know about the Laws that govern Heaven or God's Kingdom. We've never been taught how to maintain the freedom that Jesus brought us, by previous generations. We only know the things our previous owner, satan and the world, allowed us to know. How do we live, now that we're born-again and are free from satan's bondage and he has no right to us? Do we do like many of the slaves who were freed with Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and go back to what we know from our previous master? Do we continue serving our old master, because we don't know how to function as free people? Many of the former slaves returned to picking cotton, planting tobacco and living under the same bondage. Even though they were now free, they didn't know how to maintain their new found freedom.
Today, many in the Church are doing the same thing and have returned to the world. They're not doing this because they're not free, but because they don't know how to live any other way. Paul calls this the "carnal Church." We are Spiritually free, but still living under the carnal, fleshly way of life. Many of the former slaves, set out to learn, grow and maintain their freedom. They became great teachers, doctors, lawyers, politicians, inventors and leader, because they sought what would KEEP THEM FREE.
Freedom isn't freedom, until you're free. Even though this is Truth, it's still unknown. Jesus said in John 8:32 (Amplified), "And you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you FREE." This tells us that we must set our minds and hearts towards knowing the Truth! How can we walk in this freedom, if we don't know what will keep us free? We will learn from God's Word and the Holy Spirit ,the things that will set us free. We learn that our sin is forgiven and that is Truth, but now that this part of the Truth has been revealed to us, how do we maintain this Truth? Obviously, we should now adjust our lives and put a check on how we live our lives, but what about the rest of the Truth?
James 1:25 (Amplified) tells us that God's Word is the "Perfect, faultless Law of liberty," saying, "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."
Simply being a heedless hearer, will not bring about the liberty in our lives, even though the liberty belongs to us already. If you're born-again, then you're free, just like the slaves at the Emancipation Proclamation were free. But, if you don't learn how to live free, then you'll go back into the bondage were in, even if you're voicing your freedom. Some even blame the One Who set them free, saying that "God still wants to see us in bondage."
If you were born in America, then you were born a citizen of America. The freedom we live in here, was yours at birth, but as you grow up, you are responsible to maintain that freedom. Through the years, we haven't been taught how to maintain our freedom and have therefore, lost some of them. God says in Isaiah 55:8-11 (Amplified), "For My thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are your ways, My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from the heavens and return not there again, but water the earth and make it bring forth and sprout, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall My Word be that goes out of My mouth, it shall not return to My void, without producing any effect (useless), but it shall accomplish that which I please and purpose and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."
God's thoughts and ways are higher than our thoughts and ways. God said that His ways and thought are higher than ours, but He didn't say that we can't learn His thoughts and ways. In order to maintain our freedom, we must learn to do what Jesus instructed in John 8, where He said, "Abide in My Word and teaching and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
1Corinthians 2:9-12 (Amplified) says, "But, on the contrary, as the scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared (made ready and keeps ready) for those who love Him and hold Him in affectionate reverence (promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed) Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently (exploring and examining) everything even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God; the Divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny (His ways and thoughts) Isaiah 55:8-11. For what person perceives (knows, understands) what passes through a man's thoughts except the man's own spirit within him? Just so, no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God Now we have not received the spirit that belongs to the world, but the Holy Spirit Who is from God given to us that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the Gifts of Divine favor and Blessing so freely and lavishly bestowed on us by God."
We have been given access to God's ways and His thoughts of being free, but we must seek Him in Spirit and Truth and reality to learn and maintain them. We must not return to bondage, but we must seek God's way of being free.
Monday, December 31, 2018
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Lesson 129 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 calendar denotes Christmas is over for another year, but the new covenant believers of Jesus Christ, are looking to the future for the coming Messiah, just like the Jews were looking for the Messiah in the old covenant. Today, the Church looks for the future time of His Promised coming. Like the old covenant people, some have given up on His coming, because they've been told so many times that, "Jesus is coming tomorrow or next week." Many have decided that it's already done.
In 2Thessalonians 2:1-2 (Amplified) Paul tells us, "But relative to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and our gathering together to meet Him, we beg you brethren Not to allow your minds to be quickly unsettled or disturbed or kept excited or alarmed, whether it be by some pretended revelation of the Spirit of by word or by letter alleged to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has already arrived and is here."
Before Jesus birth in Bethlehem, many believed the Messiah had already come or were told that someone else was the Messiah. Many believed that they were living in the reign of the Messiah already, even then. Many in today's Church, have given up on the second coming of Jesus. His first coming was as a Lamb, born in a manger to be our Sacrifice and cleansing before God. He will come the second time as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and as our Lord of Lords and King of kings.
When we still hope, awaiting in faith and expecting our Lord's appearing, then we are living by His Life and by His faith to become what He has Promised. Paul writes to Timothy in 2Timothy 2:15-18 (Amplified), "But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, And their teaching will devour; it will eat its way like cancer or spread like gangrene, so it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus Who have missed the mark and swerved from the Truth by arguing that the Resurrection has already taken place. They are undermining the faith of some."
Like those in the old covenant did before Christ was born in Bethlehem, we are still looking forward to the coming of the Lord, when He returns in all of His Glory. Christmas is an ongoing thing in today's Church. Jesus came the first time, as our Sacrifice and Substitute. He is coming the second time, as Lord of All, according to Hebrews 9:28 (Amplified) which says, "Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin, nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are eagerly, constantly, and patiently waiting for and expecting Him."
We must not simply look at Christmas, as the long-awaited for coming of the Lord. We have become the new creation family of God by partaking in Jesus' Sacrifice and we look forward by faith and hope to His appearing a second time, for our full salvation. Many Truths from God's Word have been overlooked or disregarded today. The Holy Spirit is bringing these things back into focus for the Church. We can't be reluctant to look beyond tradition or to stand against false words that some have brought.
Many might believe that these things have little importance, but Jesus' coming is spoken of in almost every letter of the New Testament. At Jesus' ascension, the angels spoke of Jesus' second coming long before Paul or anyone else did. This wasn't a man-made doctrine, but came from God's Messengers (the angels). Acts 1:10-11 (Amplified) says, "And while they were gazing intently into Heaven as He went, behold, two men dressed in white robes suddenly stood beside them, who said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into Heaven? This Same Jesus, Who was caught away and lifted up from among you into Heaven, will return in just the same way in which you saw Him go into Heaven."
John writes these encouraging Words in 1John 3:2-3 (Amplified), "Beloved, we are even here and now God's children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear), what we shall be hereafter, but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall, as God's children, resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He really is. And everyone who has this hope resting on Him, cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure, chaste, undefiled, guiltless."
Christmas is still coming to those of us, who set our hope and faith in His return. We will never reach our full potential, until that time, according to Revelations 1:4,7 (Amplified), which tells us, "John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia; May Grace (God's unmerited favor) be granted to you, and Spiritual Peace (the Peace of Christ's Kingdom), from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits, the seven-fold Holy Spirit before His Throne." Verse 7 goes on, "Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him."
The calendar denotes Christmas is over for another year, but the new covenant believers of Jesus Christ, are looking to the future for the coming Messiah, just like the Jews were looking for the Messiah in the old covenant. Today, the Church looks for the future time of His Promised coming. Like the old covenant people, some have given up on His coming, because they've been told so many times that, "Jesus is coming tomorrow or next week." Many have decided that it's already done.
In 2Thessalonians 2:1-2 (Amplified) Paul tells us, "But relative to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and our gathering together to meet Him, we beg you brethren Not to allow your minds to be quickly unsettled or disturbed or kept excited or alarmed, whether it be by some pretended revelation of the Spirit of by word or by letter alleged to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has already arrived and is here."
Before Jesus birth in Bethlehem, many believed the Messiah had already come or were told that someone else was the Messiah. Many believed that they were living in the reign of the Messiah already, even then. Many in today's Church, have given up on the second coming of Jesus. His first coming was as a Lamb, born in a manger to be our Sacrifice and cleansing before God. He will come the second time as the Lion of the tribe of Judah and as our Lord of Lords and King of kings.
When we still hope, awaiting in faith and expecting our Lord's appearing, then we are living by His Life and by His faith to become what He has Promised. Paul writes to Timothy in 2Timothy 2:15-18 (Amplified), "But avoid all empty (vain, useless, idle) talk, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, And their teaching will devour; it will eat its way like cancer or spread like gangrene, so it is with Hymenaeus and Philetus Who have missed the mark and swerved from the Truth by arguing that the Resurrection has already taken place. They are undermining the faith of some."
Like those in the old covenant did before Christ was born in Bethlehem, we are still looking forward to the coming of the Lord, when He returns in all of His Glory. Christmas is an ongoing thing in today's Church. Jesus came the first time, as our Sacrifice and Substitute. He is coming the second time, as Lord of All, according to Hebrews 9:28 (Amplified) which says, "Even so it is that Christ, having been offered to take upon Himself and bear as a burden the sins of many once and once for all, will appear a second time, not to carry any burden of sin, nor to deal with sin, but to bring to full salvation those who are eagerly, constantly, and patiently waiting for and expecting Him."
We must not simply look at Christmas, as the long-awaited for coming of the Lord. We have become the new creation family of God by partaking in Jesus' Sacrifice and we look forward by faith and hope to His appearing a second time, for our full salvation. Many Truths from God's Word have been overlooked or disregarded today. The Holy Spirit is bringing these things back into focus for the Church. We can't be reluctant to look beyond tradition or to stand against false words that some have brought.
Many might believe that these things have little importance, but Jesus' coming is spoken of in almost every letter of the New Testament. At Jesus' ascension, the angels spoke of Jesus' second coming long before Paul or anyone else did. This wasn't a man-made doctrine, but came from God's Messengers (the angels). Acts 1:10-11 (Amplified) says, "And while they were gazing intently into Heaven as He went, behold, two men dressed in white robes suddenly stood beside them, who said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into Heaven? This Same Jesus, Who was caught away and lifted up from among you into Heaven, will return in just the same way in which you saw Him go into Heaven."
John writes these encouraging Words in 1John 3:2-3 (Amplified), "Beloved, we are even here and now God's children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear), what we shall be hereafter, but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall, as God's children, resemble and be like Him, for we shall see Him just as He really is. And everyone who has this hope resting on Him, cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure, chaste, undefiled, guiltless."
Christmas is still coming to those of us, who set our hope and faith in His return. We will never reach our full potential, until that time, according to Revelations 1:4,7 (Amplified), which tells us, "John to the seven assemblies (churches) that are in Asia; May Grace (God's unmerited favor) be granted to you, and Spiritual Peace (the Peace of Christ's Kingdom), from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from the seven Spirits, the seven-fold Holy Spirit before His Throne." Verse 7 goes on, "Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him."
Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Lesson 128 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 favor upon favor and even Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Truth, came through Jesus Christ."
To those who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, the Christmas holiday is over and they're preparing for the New Year. The believer knows that just because we celebrated December 25th as Jesus' birth, the end of the Promise of a Savior has just begun. The Promise of Jesus' birth is what the world celebrated, while the Promise of His fulfilling is still unfolding.
Jesus walked among men on this earth for thirty years, but He couldn't fulfill the Law and begin His Priestly ministry until He was thirty. Luke 3:22-23,50 (Amplified) says, "And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from Heaven saying, You are My Son, My Beloved! In You I am well pleased and find delight. Jesus Himself, when He began His ministry was about thirty years of age."
Until the appointed time of His earthly ministry, there is no evidence found in God's Word that shows Jesus was looked upon as being anything other than just an ordinary man among men. We do find proof in Luke 2:49 (Amplified) that Jesus was in the Temple, both hearing and answering things about God's Word. Thus, it says, "And He said to [Joseph and Mary who were looking for Him], How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it would be necessary as a duty for Me to be in My Father's house and occupied at My Father's business." I always marvel at Verse 50 which says, "But they did not comprehend what He was saying to them."
Even after the Angel appeared and spoke to Mary, and even after the Angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt, they didn't comprehend Jesus' True Identity. Jesus was "just another boy," to most of the people who grew up around Him. Isn't it strange how soon we can get preoccupied and consumed with everyday life, and forget what God has done?
Many believe that Christmas was the fulfillment of God's Promise about a Savior, but believers know that it is just the beginning of the Promise. We know that, "In Jesus, all the Promises of God are Yes and Amen, in Him to the Glory of God. In 2Corinthians 1:19-20 (Amplified) Paul writes, "For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us, by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not yes and no, but in Him it is always the Divine Yes. 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 Jesus was born, the Promises were activated for all who would believe in Him. These include healing, salvation, the righteousness, the justification, and the new creation birth, as well as the restoration of being God's Own children. Those who had been looking forward by faith, at His coming, had no idea of His fullness. We can look back today and see the fulfillment of Jesus' birth, but we also have the hope and look forward to His complete work. This Blessed Hope, is the faith we now walk in. Hebrews 11:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for."
We're looking forward to another Promise that the angels brought, just like they did. Acts 1:9-11 (Amplified) says, "And when He had said this, even as they were looking at Him, He was caught up and a cloud received and carried Him away out of their sight. And while they were gazing intently into Heaven as He went, behold, two men dressed in white robes suddenly stood beside them, Who said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into Heaven? This Same Jesus, Who was caught away and lifted up from among you into Heaven, will return in just the same way in which you saw Him go into Heaven."
Just like those in Bethlehem before Jesus' birth, we're looking into the future Promise of His coming. It's true that we can know many things surround His soon coming, by looking through the Word, but Paul said that we're "looking through a glass dimly," 1Corithians 13:12 (Amplified) says, "For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection of reality as in a riddle or enigma, but then, when perfection comes, we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood by God."
We have so much to learn and understand about the Blessed event of Jesus' birth. His birth wasn't the end of our seeking the Messiah, but it was the beginning. Jesus walked in His earthly ministry, He was crucified, He was resurrected from the dead and taken into His Father's Presence at the Ascension, there was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the revelation of the new birth with son-ship rights and we've yet to see the fullness of Jesus' return, with the finality of the Age and the completion of the Promise to us, through Jesus.
We continue arguing over what Jesus did, can do and whether or not it's for us today, like those of old. Even in the Light of the Holy Spirit as our Teacher and the down payment of the Promises, we're like them and are waiting in faith in the Promise and what it means in our lives. The people clung to their own works of the Law and their traditions, even while Jesus began revealing Himself as Messiah. They dismissed the very thing they looked for, for centuries.
What part of the Promise of Messiah was true? To them, only certain things. What part of the Promise is true for us today? Still only certain parts or like Paul said, "The Promises of God are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus, to the Glory of God?" Do you realize that it brings Glory to God, when we receive by faith, the Promises He gave through Jesus? God's not upset when we accept the Blessing of Abraham, given to Jesus, the See. It brings Glory to God, when we accept our healing by faith in what He Promises us about Jesus in Isaiah 53,54,55. This isn't super faith, but it's simply faith in God's Promise, which is Jesus Himself.
These were still Promises in the Old Testament, but they're no longer just Promise in the new covenant. They are fact and Truth.
To those who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ, the Christmas holiday is over and they're preparing for the New Year. The believer knows that just because we celebrated December 25th as Jesus' birth, the end of the Promise of a Savior has just begun. The Promise of Jesus' birth is what the world celebrated, while the Promise of His fulfilling is still unfolding.
Jesus walked among men on this earth for thirty years, but He couldn't fulfill the Law and begin His Priestly ministry until He was thirty. Luke 3:22-23,50 (Amplified) says, "And the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came from Heaven saying, You are My Son, My Beloved! In You I am well pleased and find delight. Jesus Himself, when He began His ministry was about thirty years of age."
Until the appointed time of His earthly ministry, there is no evidence found in God's Word that shows Jesus was looked upon as being anything other than just an ordinary man among men. We do find proof in Luke 2:49 (Amplified) that Jesus was in the Temple, both hearing and answering things about God's Word. Thus, it says, "And He said to [Joseph and Mary who were looking for Him], How is it that you had to look for Me? Did you not see and know that it would be necessary as a duty for Me to be in My Father's house and occupied at My Father's business." I always marvel at Verse 50 which says, "But they did not comprehend what He was saying to them."
Even after the Angel appeared and spoke to Mary, and even after the Angel warned Joseph to flee to Egypt, they didn't comprehend Jesus' True Identity. Jesus was "just another boy," to most of the people who grew up around Him. Isn't it strange how soon we can get preoccupied and consumed with everyday life, and forget what God has done?
Many believe that Christmas was the fulfillment of God's Promise about a Savior, but believers know that it is just the beginning of the Promise. We know that, "In Jesus, all the Promises of God are Yes and Amen, in Him to the Glory of God. In 2Corinthians 1:19-20 (Amplified) Paul writes, "For the Son of God, Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who has been preached among you by us, by myself, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not yes and no, but in Him it is always the Divine Yes. 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 Jesus was born, the Promises were activated for all who would believe in Him. These include healing, salvation, the righteousness, the justification, and the new creation birth, as well as the restoration of being God's Own children. Those who had been looking forward by faith, at His coming, had no idea of His fullness. We can look back today and see the fulfillment of Jesus' birth, but we also have the hope and look forward to His complete work. This Blessed Hope, is the faith we now walk in. Hebrews 11:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for."
We're looking forward to another Promise that the angels brought, just like they did. Acts 1:9-11 (Amplified) says, "And when He had said this, even as they were looking at Him, He was caught up and a cloud received and carried Him away out of their sight. And while they were gazing intently into Heaven as He went, behold, two men dressed in white robes suddenly stood beside them, Who said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing into Heaven? This Same Jesus, Who was caught away and lifted up from among you into Heaven, will return in just the same way in which you saw Him go into Heaven."
Just like those in Bethlehem before Jesus' birth, we're looking into the future Promise of His coming. It's true that we can know many things surround His soon coming, by looking through the Word, but Paul said that we're "looking through a glass dimly," 1Corithians 13:12 (Amplified) says, "For now we are looking in a mirror that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection of reality as in a riddle or enigma, but then, when perfection comes, we shall see in reality and face to face! Now I know in part (imperfectly), but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, even in the same manner as I have been fully and clearly known and understood by God."
We have so much to learn and understand about the Blessed event of Jesus' birth. His birth wasn't the end of our seeking the Messiah, but it was the beginning. Jesus walked in His earthly ministry, He was crucified, He was resurrected from the dead and taken into His Father's Presence at the Ascension, there was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the revelation of the new birth with son-ship rights and we've yet to see the fullness of Jesus' return, with the finality of the Age and the completion of the Promise to us, through Jesus.
We continue arguing over what Jesus did, can do and whether or not it's for us today, like those of old. Even in the Light of the Holy Spirit as our Teacher and the down payment of the Promises, we're like them and are waiting in faith in the Promise and what it means in our lives. The people clung to their own works of the Law and their traditions, even while Jesus began revealing Himself as Messiah. They dismissed the very thing they looked for, for centuries.
What part of the Promise of Messiah was true? To them, only certain things. What part of the Promise is true for us today? Still only certain parts or like Paul said, "The Promises of God are Yes and Amen in Christ Jesus, to the Glory of God?" Do you realize that it brings Glory to God, when we receive by faith, the Promises He gave through Jesus? God's not upset when we accept the Blessing of Abraham, given to Jesus, the See. It brings Glory to God, when we accept our healing by faith in what He Promises us about Jesus in Isaiah 53,54,55. This isn't super faith, but it's simply faith in God's Promise, which is Jesus Himself.
These were still Promises in the Old Testament, but they're no longer just Promise in the new covenant. They are fact and Truth.
Tuesday, December 18, 2018
Lesson 127 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 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 everyone can quote John 1:1-3,14 (Amplified), which says, "In the beginning (before all time), was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." Verse 14 says, "And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled, fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile among us; and we actually saw His Glory, His honor, His majesty, such Glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of Grace, favor, Loving kindness and Truth."
Most of us probably know both of these scriptures by heart and can easily quote them, but do we truly understand them in our spirit? If these scriptures are True (and they are), then we know that Jesus and the Word are One and Jesus and the Father are One. 1John 5:7 (Amplified) says, "So there are three witnesses in Heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are One." Hebrews 4:12 (Amplified) says, "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power, making it active, operative, energizing and effective; it is sharper than any two-edged sword; penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of Life, soul, and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature; exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
Let's, by faith, look at what the above scriptures are telling us. We continually converse about Jesus, as being the Word made flesh, especially as Christmas approaches. We read about this from Isaiah and honor the Baby in the manger, but do we truly understand this while reading God's Word today? God's Word tells us that Jesus and God's Word are One and this is Truth still today. We're not talking about "just another book" or The Bible. It's God speaking to us by Jesus, Who is the Living Word and when we read it, we're actually listening to Him speak to us, by faith.
It's not the physical Bible you're holding, that is Holy, but it's the Word that is inspired by God, that is Holy. We confess and believe that, "The Word became flesh," but we've allowed it to lose it's life, when Jesus ascended to the Father. The Word is still alive and is now made flesh again, in the Body of Christ (the Church). The Word (Christ Jesus) is living in us, like it did in the flesh and blood Body of Jesus. It's speaking through us, just like it did in the Body of flesh that was Jesus.
You receive Revelation Knowledge from on High, when you read the Word and hear the Word. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." When we hear by faith, we're not simply reading a word, but we're hearing The Word, Jesus Himself. Some only understand the letter of the Word, while others understand the Spirit of the Word. Jesus told His followers in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life Giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
Even though we're born-again and have the needed education and ability to read, doesn't mean we can receive the Revelation of the Word, because it is Spirit. This is one reason we have so many different people, represented in today's Church. We're divided by some of the teachings we hear. Some are Spirit and Life, while some have no benefit in them at all, because they've come simply by the flesh. I can teach you from God's Word, but only He can give you the Revelation of that teaching.
Listen with your own spirit, what Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) is saying to your spirit. Paul received a Revelation by Jesus Himself (remember that Jesus and the Word are One) and Paul is speaking by Revelation when he writes to the Church. Jesus said that, "The Words I am speaking to you are Spirit and Life" and just because Paul is giving voice to them, doesn't mean they're not Jesus speaking to us. Paul had been demonstrating the differences between the old and new covenants. He had been teaching about the priesthood, sacrifices, and traditions that people were commanded to follow under Law. In order to qualify to receive from God under the old covenant, the people had to follow the Laws.
Through Jesus, Paul reveals the new covenant and the new priesthood of God's people, saying, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things hoped for." It's not the Law or ritual, not the sacrifices or the priest who still has to atone for his own sins, before he can be accepted. It's not observing the Sabbath, like those in the old covenant did, but it is "Now faith" that we receive from our new High Priest and covenant. This is the covenant of Grace and not the letter of the Law. It's Jesus Who is alive and full of power and sharper than any two-edged sword. Jesus and Jesus alone, Jesus by His Word, can reach beyond the intellect and reach into the very spirit of a man and woman. He can divide the soul from the spirit and separate even the joints and the marrow of the flesh and bloody body of a man.
It's no longer by Laws, that we govern the flesh, because the flesh cannot reach the spirit. God's Word (Which is Spirit) governs from the spirit of man, to the Spirit of God and this Spirit is Jesus, the Living Word. We must read the Word by faith, because it's only by faith we can hear it. Paul finishes Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) saying, "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."
This is the difference between just reading the Word and hearing the Word. One is the senses and the other is Spirit and Life. It's the same Word when it's only written, but it's Jesus the Living Word, when we receive and see it through faith and in the Spirit. The greatest fellowship I have in Jesus, happens when I go through His written Word and He speaks it to my spirit. I don't only have the education to renew my mind, but I have the Revelation to in it's Truth.
This is something personal that happens in my walk with God and I write what I receive from Him. You must take what I write and go to Him, in order to actually see it by faith and walk in it by Revelation. The entire New Testament is Revelation Knowledge, but it must be Revelation. Jesus will show it to you, if you will by faith, perceive as real fact, what it not revealed to the senses, according to Hebrews 11:1.
Your senses cannot perceive Spiritual things, they must come into your spirit by Revelation. Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, must make Himself (the Word), "Alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword and divide from soul and spirit, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him." Remember that Jesus is alive, and because He is the Word, the Word is alive as well. Don't just read the Word with your mind, but hear it with your spirit by faith. Listen to Him, as He speak His Truths to you.
Most everyone can quote John 1:1-3,14 (Amplified), which says, "In the beginning (before all time), was the Word (Christ), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself. He was present originally with God. All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him was not even one thing made that has come into being." Verse 14 says, "And the Word (Christ) became flesh (human, incarnate) and tabernacled, fixed His tent of flesh, lived awhile among us; and we actually saw His Glory, His honor, His majesty, such Glory as an only begotten son receives from his father, full of Grace, favor, Loving kindness and Truth."
Most of us probably know both of these scriptures by heart and can easily quote them, but do we truly understand them in our spirit? If these scriptures are True (and they are), then we know that Jesus and the Word are One and Jesus and the Father are One. 1John 5:7 (Amplified) says, "So there are three witnesses in Heaven; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are One." Hebrews 4:12 (Amplified) says, "For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power, making it active, operative, energizing and effective; it is sharper than any two-edged sword; penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of Life, soul, and the immortal spirit, and of joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature; exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart. And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight but all things are open and exposed, naked and defenseless to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do."
Let's, by faith, look at what the above scriptures are telling us. We continually converse about Jesus, as being the Word made flesh, especially as Christmas approaches. We read about this from Isaiah and honor the Baby in the manger, but do we truly understand this while reading God's Word today? God's Word tells us that Jesus and God's Word are One and this is Truth still today. We're not talking about "just another book" or The Bible. It's God speaking to us by Jesus, Who is the Living Word and when we read it, we're actually listening to Him speak to us, by faith.
It's not the physical Bible you're holding, that is Holy, but it's the Word that is inspired by God, that is Holy. We confess and believe that, "The Word became flesh," but we've allowed it to lose it's life, when Jesus ascended to the Father. The Word is still alive and is now made flesh again, in the Body of Christ (the Church). The Word (Christ Jesus) is living in us, like it did in the flesh and blood Body of Jesus. It's speaking through us, just like it did in the Body of flesh that was Jesus.
You receive Revelation Knowledge from on High, when you read the Word and hear the Word. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." When we hear by faith, we're not simply reading a word, but we're hearing The Word, Jesus Himself. Some only understand the letter of the Word, while others understand the Spirit of the Word. Jesus told His followers in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life Giver); the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life."
Even though we're born-again and have the needed education and ability to read, doesn't mean we can receive the Revelation of the Word, because it is Spirit. This is one reason we have so many different people, represented in today's Church. We're divided by some of the teachings we hear. Some are Spirit and Life, while some have no benefit in them at all, because they've come simply by the flesh. I can teach you from God's Word, but only He can give you the Revelation of that teaching.
Listen with your own spirit, what Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) is saying to your spirit. Paul received a Revelation by Jesus Himself (remember that Jesus and the Word are One) and Paul is speaking by Revelation when he writes to the Church. Jesus said that, "The Words I am speaking to you are Spirit and Life" and just because Paul is giving voice to them, doesn't mean they're not Jesus speaking to us. Paul had been demonstrating the differences between the old and new covenants. He had been teaching about the priesthood, sacrifices, and traditions that people were commanded to follow under Law. In order to qualify to receive from God under the old covenant, the people had to follow the Laws.
Through Jesus, Paul reveals the new covenant and the new priesthood of God's people, saying, "Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things hoped for." It's not the Law or ritual, not the sacrifices or the priest who still has to atone for his own sins, before he can be accepted. It's not observing the Sabbath, like those in the old covenant did, but it is "Now faith" that we receive from our new High Priest and covenant. This is the covenant of Grace and not the letter of the Law. It's Jesus Who is alive and full of power and sharper than any two-edged sword. Jesus and Jesus alone, Jesus by His Word, can reach beyond the intellect and reach into the very spirit of a man and woman. He can divide the soul from the spirit and separate even the joints and the marrow of the flesh and bloody body of a man.
It's no longer by Laws, that we govern the flesh, because the flesh cannot reach the spirit. God's Word (Which is Spirit) governs from the spirit of man, to the Spirit of God and this Spirit is Jesus, the Living Word. We must read the Word by faith, because it's only by faith we can hear it. Paul finishes Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) saying, "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."
This is the difference between just reading the Word and hearing the Word. One is the senses and the other is Spirit and Life. It's the same Word when it's only written, but it's Jesus the Living Word, when we receive and see it through faith and in the Spirit. The greatest fellowship I have in Jesus, happens when I go through His written Word and He speaks it to my spirit. I don't only have the education to renew my mind, but I have the Revelation to in it's Truth.
This is something personal that happens in my walk with God and I write what I receive from Him. You must take what I write and go to Him, in order to actually see it by faith and walk in it by Revelation. The entire New Testament is Revelation Knowledge, but it must be Revelation. Jesus will show it to you, if you will by faith, perceive as real fact, what it not revealed to the senses, according to Hebrews 11:1.
Your senses cannot perceive Spiritual things, they must come into your spirit by Revelation. Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, must make Himself (the Word), "Alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword and divide from soul and spirit, the things that God has prepared for those who love Him." Remember that Jesus is alive, and because He is the Word, the Word is alive as well. Don't just read the Word with your mind, but hear it with your spirit by faith. Listen to Him, as He speak His Truths to you.
Monday, December 17, 2018
Lesson 126 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 favor upon favor and even 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 Spiritual Blessings are the things God couldn't give to the people before the new birth. They were dead in their spirits unto God, so these Spiritual Blessings couldn't be administered into their spirits. We've missed so much in our family covenant with the Father, because we've failed to understand these Spiritual Blessings. The first Spiritual Blessing was Life. John 10:10 (Amplified) tells us that, "Jesus came that we could have Life and we could have it in abundance (til it overflows)."
In this Life was the Very Life of God and within this Life was the Grace of God. This Grace and Spiritual Blessings can once again reach into even the natural man, from Heaven itself. God could now walk with His children and His children can now walk with Him.
The Spiritual Blessing came to us, when God's Life entered into our spirit, with His Spirit. These Spiritual Blessings included the imputation of God's Own Spirit, Who brings strength, health, Wisdom, understanding, faith, Love, joy and all the Fruits of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit are the things our spirits would have produced before the fall of the first Adam.
This Fruit of the spirit, talked about here, isn't the Holy Spirit, but what our spirit was actually to be like from the beginning. "Everything bears fruit after its kind", according to the Law of Genesis 1:12. Our spirit was to bear fruit after the Seed of God. 1Peter 1:23 (Amplified) says, "You have been regenerated (born-again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from One that is Immortal by the Ever Living and Lasting Word of God."
Galatians 5:22-23 (Amplified) says, "But the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the work which His Presence within accomplishes, is Love, joy, gladness, peace, patience, an even temper, forbearance, kindness, Goodness, benevolence, faithfulness, Gentleness, meekness, humility, self control, self restraint, continence, against such things there is now law that can bring a charge." This is the fruit of the Seed, which produces after kind.
The Seed (Who is Jesus), spoke about this in another way in John 15:5 (Amplified), saying, "I am the Vine; you are the branches, Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much abundant fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me), you can do nothing." Jesus isn't only the Vine, but He is the Seed (the Word) and we're to bear the fruit of His nature. We have the ability to sow the same Seed, through the Spiritual Blessing, because we have been produced after Kind. The Word we speak, is the same Seed that produces more children to God's family.
Jesus gives the "Parable of the Sower," in Mark 4. Jesus was the Sower and through the new birth, we've also become sowers of that Seed, in order to produce after kind. God's Word (the Seed) will always produce a child of God, who is made in His Likeness and Image. Throughout history, we've tried changing the Image of the Seed, causing it to conform to our ideas, instead of being what the Father desired when He sent His Seed (Jesus). The Image of the Seed is mostly determined by denominations today.
Modern science has produced seedless grapes that are pleasing for us to eat. However, they must be genetically produced, because they're without seed to reproduce. There are many seeds (words) being sown into the earth today, that are producing many things. God's Word isn't the only Seed producing in the world, but the world and the enemy are producing seeds (words) which are bringing forth harvests.
Words are seeds unto themselves, which will produce a harvest into our lives and will produce after kind. Whatsoever you hear the most, will have the greatest effect on your life. Whatever you sow into your spirit, will produce a harvest in your life. Your spirit became "good soil," when you were born-again and that soil will produce and grow whatever you allow to be sown into it. Through Jesus, the Father has now reproduced in us, what Adam lost in the fall. We witness these Spiritual Blessings being restored in Jesus' life, through the Holy Spirit. Today's Church has failed to recognize the full impact of Spiritual Blessings.
Spiritual Blessings are Blessing bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit, into our born-again spirit. This is the nature of our Heavenly Father, moving and producing Himself into His family again. All of the Blessings of Abraham that were sowed, are still producing through the Spiritual Blessings we've received in Jesus. God's Life was restored into our spirit and has overflowed into the natural, causing us to become new creations in salvation. We're now Super-natural beings on this earth. We don't only have a natural body and life, but now, we're like the first Adam and the Last Adam Jesus. They were both physical men, with Spiritual Life and ability.
We've been taught that these Spiritual Blessings are for when we die and go to Heaven. When we get to Heaven, we won't need them. They are for us, now. Healing is a Spiritual Blessing. There was no sickness, until after Adam's transgression and spiritual death in the Garden of Eden. Sickness came through man's fallen spirit and is a spiritual invasion manifested in the flesh. In Proverbs 4:20-22 (Amplified) God 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 and healing and health to all their flesh."
Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life Giver), the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life." Where there is Life, there is also health and healing to the flesh, by the Spiritual Blessings. Death came in the spirit and with that death came sickness, despair, distress and futility. Life came through Jesus in the Spirit. The Spiritual Blessing now lives within our spirit, bringing us Love, joy, peace and the Fruit of the Spirit. The Spiritual Blessing now abides within our spirit, by the Life in and of the Seed, Who is the Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ. We must learn to draw out of spirit, what God has placed in us.
The Spiritual Blessings are the things God couldn't give to the people before the new birth. They were dead in their spirits unto God, so these Spiritual Blessings couldn't be administered into their spirits. We've missed so much in our family covenant with the Father, because we've failed to understand these Spiritual Blessings. The first Spiritual Blessing was Life. John 10:10 (Amplified) tells us that, "Jesus came that we could have Life and we could have it in abundance (til it overflows)."
In this Life was the Very Life of God and within this Life was the Grace of God. This Grace and Spiritual Blessings can once again reach into even the natural man, from Heaven itself. God could now walk with His children and His children can now walk with Him.
The Spiritual Blessing came to us, when God's Life entered into our spirit, with His Spirit. These Spiritual Blessings included the imputation of God's Own Spirit, Who brings strength, health, Wisdom, understanding, faith, Love, joy and all the Fruits of the Spirit. The Fruit of the Spirit are the things our spirits would have produced before the fall of the first Adam.
This Fruit of the spirit, talked about here, isn't the Holy Spirit, but what our spirit was actually to be like from the beginning. "Everything bears fruit after its kind", according to the Law of Genesis 1:12. Our spirit was to bear fruit after the Seed of God. 1Peter 1:23 (Amplified) says, "You have been regenerated (born-again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from One that is Immortal by the Ever Living and Lasting Word of God."
Galatians 5:22-23 (Amplified) says, "But the fruit of the Holy Spirit, the work which His Presence within accomplishes, is Love, joy, gladness, peace, patience, an even temper, forbearance, kindness, Goodness, benevolence, faithfulness, Gentleness, meekness, humility, self control, self restraint, continence, against such things there is now law that can bring a charge." This is the fruit of the Seed, which produces after kind.
The Seed (Who is Jesus), spoke about this in another way in John 15:5 (Amplified), saying, "I am the Vine; you are the branches, Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much abundant fruit. However, apart from Me (cut off from vital union with Me), you can do nothing." Jesus isn't only the Vine, but He is the Seed (the Word) and we're to bear the fruit of His nature. We have the ability to sow the same Seed, through the Spiritual Blessing, because we have been produced after Kind. The Word we speak, is the same Seed that produces more children to God's family.
Jesus gives the "Parable of the Sower," in Mark 4. Jesus was the Sower and through the new birth, we've also become sowers of that Seed, in order to produce after kind. God's Word (the Seed) will always produce a child of God, who is made in His Likeness and Image. Throughout history, we've tried changing the Image of the Seed, causing it to conform to our ideas, instead of being what the Father desired when He sent His Seed (Jesus). The Image of the Seed is mostly determined by denominations today.
Modern science has produced seedless grapes that are pleasing for us to eat. However, they must be genetically produced, because they're without seed to reproduce. There are many seeds (words) being sown into the earth today, that are producing many things. God's Word isn't the only Seed producing in the world, but the world and the enemy are producing seeds (words) which are bringing forth harvests.
Words are seeds unto themselves, which will produce a harvest into our lives and will produce after kind. Whatsoever you hear the most, will have the greatest effect on your life. Whatever you sow into your spirit, will produce a harvest in your life. Your spirit became "good soil," when you were born-again and that soil will produce and grow whatever you allow to be sown into it. Through Jesus, the Father has now reproduced in us, what Adam lost in the fall. We witness these Spiritual Blessings being restored in Jesus' life, through the Holy Spirit. Today's Church has failed to recognize the full impact of Spiritual Blessings.
Spiritual Blessings are Blessing bestowed upon us by the Holy Spirit, into our born-again spirit. This is the nature of our Heavenly Father, moving and producing Himself into His family again. All of the Blessings of Abraham that were sowed, are still producing through the Spiritual Blessings we've received in Jesus. God's Life was restored into our spirit and has overflowed into the natural, causing us to become new creations in salvation. We're now Super-natural beings on this earth. We don't only have a natural body and life, but now, we're like the first Adam and the Last Adam Jesus. They were both physical men, with Spiritual Life and ability.
We've been taught that these Spiritual Blessings are for when we die and go to Heaven. When we get to Heaven, we won't need them. They are for us, now. Healing is a Spiritual Blessing. There was no sickness, until after Adam's transgression and spiritual death in the Garden of Eden. Sickness came through man's fallen spirit and is a spiritual invasion manifested in the flesh. In Proverbs 4:20-22 (Amplified) God 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 and healing and health to all their flesh."
Jesus said in John 6:63 (Amplified), "It is the Spirit Who gives Life (He is the Life Giver), the flesh conveys no benefit whatever (there is no profit in it). The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life." Where there is Life, there is also health and healing to the flesh, by the Spiritual Blessings. Death came in the spirit and with that death came sickness, despair, distress and futility. Life came through Jesus in the Spirit. The Spiritual Blessing now lives within our spirit, bringing us Love, joy, peace and the Fruit of the Spirit. The Spiritual Blessing now abides within our spirit, by the Life in and of the Seed, Who is the Word made flesh, Jesus the Christ. We must learn to draw out of spirit, what God has placed in us.
Friday, December 14, 2018
Lesson 125 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."
Many years ago, Brother Hugh Smith from Joshua, Texas, preached a message he entitled, "Hoe your own row." Anyone who has ever worked a garden of any kind, knows that we usually plant things in rows. My siblings and I were assigned a row in our family garden, which we were each responsible to hoe. The weeds needed to be hoed out and the soil had to be loosened, in order to plant and grow seeds. I was only responsible to hoe, plant, and keep my row weeded.
Some in the Body of Christ only come to salvation. They are babes in Christ and know very little about what actually happened when they were born-again yet. Others in the Body have been saved for a long time. We all have the same Father and the same Lord, but we might have different understandings about what salvation is. We must walk in love towards those who remain babes in Christ, but we must not return to crawling, in our walk with God.
You're not required to give up our personal walk and understanding with Jesus, just because others aren't walking in the same depth of faith you're walking in. You're also not to ridicule them, for their lack of understanding. Our job is to feed them, making sure they receive the proper nourishment, so they can grow into adulthood in Christ Jesus. Babies don't know the difference between candy and spinach, but we're supposed to know the difference.
We must weight the Truth in what we hear or read. We must judge these things by God's Word of Grace and Truth. Understand the Truth of God's Word for yourself and hold onto it. God's Word isn't True, because it works for some and it's not True, because it doesn't for some. God's Word is Truth, because God said it, regardless of whether or not it works for some. Don't base the Truth of God's Word on someone's testimony, but base it on the Integrity of God Himself. Just because some aren't saved, doesn't mean that God's Word of salvation isn't True. Every person has the responsibility or accepting salvation or not acting on it.
I've believed and acted on things from God's Word that I won't stop acting on, just because someone else says "it's not for today." I'm responsible for y own liberty that God granted to me, by His Grace. If Jesus made me free, then I am free indeed! This scripture is quoted out of context many times, but this is what John 8:31-32 (Amplified) says, "So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My Word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
John 7:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Jesus answered them by saying, My teaching is not My Own but His Who sent Me. If any man desires to do His will (God's pleasure), he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize and can tell for himself), whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My Own accord and on My Own authority."
Today's world is full of many "teachings," and holds many views, but you can know for yourself, by the Holy Spirit, whether these teachings and views are from God, or not. This is what John said in 1John 2:20 (Amplified) where he said, "But you have been anointed by (you hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from the Holy One), and you know the Truth or you know all things."
The Holy Spirit is still The Best Teacher, the Church could ever have. If you hear something that leaves a "check" in your spirit, then go to God with it before spitting it out or before swallowing it. Just because some don't know or view liberty like God has revealed it to you, doesn't mean it is wrong. Different isn't always wrong.
I'm responsible to God, for my own liberty in Christ Jesus and He tells me, "Don't use my liberty as an occasion to sin." This means that I must know where my limits are in liberty, so I don't misuse it for unclean things. There are many teachings about Grace today. Many teach misuses of liberty and using their liberty for occasion to sin, in things the Word says to abstain from. This is where we must each become responsible for our own liberty. We must never allow others to place us back under bondage. We must never take the limits off our liberty and bring ourselves back unto ungodliness.
Romans 14:22 (Amplified) again says, "Your personal conviction of such matters, exercise them as in God's Presence, keeping them to yourself, striving only to know the Truth and obey His will. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves, who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do."
Remember who Paul was before being saved and who he is at the time of his writing 1Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified), where he writes, "I am not conscious of anything against myself, and I feel blameless. But I am not vindicated and acquitted before God on that account. It is the Lord Himself Who examines and judges me."
Many believed Paul to be a blasphemer, murderer and someone who denied God when he left the Law, for Grace. Despite what others believed and accused Paul of being, he knew what his liberty in Christ brought him and he walked in it. Paul refused to surrender his liberty, in order to please others. He continued in the Revelation of the new creation Kingdom of God, just like Jesus instructed him. In Galatians 3:1-2,4 (Amplified), Paul chastised the Church in Galatia for giving up their liberty in Christ Jesus and returning to the bondage of the Law. Paul gives account about a "false" Christians who were smuggled into the Church, in order to "spy out their liberty in Christ and their freedom from the Law of Moses." These persons were sent there to bring the believers back under bondage.
Jesus didn't give His Life, in order to bring us another religion. He gave His Life to bring us Life and son-ship rights with the Father. There are so many religions, but very little Grace and very little Truth can be found in them. When you truly walk in liberty in Christ, people view you differently. They don't do this because you are wrong, but because they've been taught to observe the laws of religion and are familiar with these traditions. We're not walking in the liberty Christ gave to us, because we're "so cool" or we're "better than others." We're doing so, in order to walk in what Jesus actually gave to us.
God hasn't changed the new covenant and neither should we. If God still wanted us to be under the Law, then He would never have sent Jesus to redeem us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal God's Word to us, in Grace and Truth. We must stand firm in our liberty, without allowing anyone to steal it from us. 2Corinthians 5:13 (Amplified) says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)." Galatians 5:13 (Amplified) says, "For you brethren were indeed called to freedom ["liberty" in the K.J.V] only do not let your freedom (liberty) be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse."
James 2:12 (Amplified) says, "So speak and so act as people should who are to be judged under the Law of Liberty (the moral instructions given by Christ), especially about Love."
Many years ago, Brother Hugh Smith from Joshua, Texas, preached a message he entitled, "Hoe your own row." Anyone who has ever worked a garden of any kind, knows that we usually plant things in rows. My siblings and I were assigned a row in our family garden, which we were each responsible to hoe. The weeds needed to be hoed out and the soil had to be loosened, in order to plant and grow seeds. I was only responsible to hoe, plant, and keep my row weeded.
Some in the Body of Christ only come to salvation. They are babes in Christ and know very little about what actually happened when they were born-again yet. Others in the Body have been saved for a long time. We all have the same Father and the same Lord, but we might have different understandings about what salvation is. We must walk in love towards those who remain babes in Christ, but we must not return to crawling, in our walk with God.
You're not required to give up our personal walk and understanding with Jesus, just because others aren't walking in the same depth of faith you're walking in. You're also not to ridicule them, for their lack of understanding. Our job is to feed them, making sure they receive the proper nourishment, so they can grow into adulthood in Christ Jesus. Babies don't know the difference between candy and spinach, but we're supposed to know the difference.
We must weight the Truth in what we hear or read. We must judge these things by God's Word of Grace and Truth. Understand the Truth of God's Word for yourself and hold onto it. God's Word isn't True, because it works for some and it's not True, because it doesn't for some. God's Word is Truth, because God said it, regardless of whether or not it works for some. Don't base the Truth of God's Word on someone's testimony, but base it on the Integrity of God Himself. Just because some aren't saved, doesn't mean that God's Word of salvation isn't True. Every person has the responsibility or accepting salvation or not acting on it.
I've believed and acted on things from God's Word that I won't stop acting on, just because someone else says "it's not for today." I'm responsible for y own liberty that God granted to me, by His Grace. If Jesus made me free, then I am free indeed! This scripture is quoted out of context many times, but this is what John 8:31-32 (Amplified) says, "So Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, If you abide in My Word, hold fast to My teachings and live in accordance with them, you are truly My disciples. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free."
John 7:16-17 (Amplified) says, "Jesus answered them by saying, My teaching is not My Own but His Who sent Me. If any man desires to do His will (God's pleasure), he will know (have the needed illumination to recognize and can tell for himself), whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from Myself and of My Own accord and on My Own authority."
Today's world is full of many "teachings," and holds many views, but you can know for yourself, by the Holy Spirit, whether these teachings and views are from God, or not. This is what John said in 1John 2:20 (Amplified) where he said, "But you have been anointed by (you hold a sacred appointment from, you have been given an unction from the Holy One), and you know the Truth or you know all things."
The Holy Spirit is still The Best Teacher, the Church could ever have. If you hear something that leaves a "check" in your spirit, then go to God with it before spitting it out or before swallowing it. Just because some don't know or view liberty like God has revealed it to you, doesn't mean it is wrong. Different isn't always wrong.
I'm responsible to God, for my own liberty in Christ Jesus and He tells me, "Don't use my liberty as an occasion to sin." This means that I must know where my limits are in liberty, so I don't misuse it for unclean things. There are many teachings about Grace today. Many teach misuses of liberty and using their liberty for occasion to sin, in things the Word says to abstain from. This is where we must each become responsible for our own liberty. We must never allow others to place us back under bondage. We must never take the limits off our liberty and bring ourselves back unto ungodliness.
Romans 14:22 (Amplified) again says, "Your personal conviction of such matters, exercise them as in God's Presence, keeping them to yourself, striving only to know the Truth and obey His will. Blessed (happy, to be envied) is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves, who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do."
Remember who Paul was before being saved and who he is at the time of his writing 1Corinthians 4:4 (Amplified), where he writes, "I am not conscious of anything against myself, and I feel blameless. But I am not vindicated and acquitted before God on that account. It is the Lord Himself Who examines and judges me."
Many believed Paul to be a blasphemer, murderer and someone who denied God when he left the Law, for Grace. Despite what others believed and accused Paul of being, he knew what his liberty in Christ brought him and he walked in it. Paul refused to surrender his liberty, in order to please others. He continued in the Revelation of the new creation Kingdom of God, just like Jesus instructed him. In Galatians 3:1-2,4 (Amplified), Paul chastised the Church in Galatia for giving up their liberty in Christ Jesus and returning to the bondage of the Law. Paul gives account about a "false" Christians who were smuggled into the Church, in order to "spy out their liberty in Christ and their freedom from the Law of Moses." These persons were sent there to bring the believers back under bondage.
Jesus didn't give His Life, in order to bring us another religion. He gave His Life to bring us Life and son-ship rights with the Father. There are so many religions, but very little Grace and very little Truth can be found in them. When you truly walk in liberty in Christ, people view you differently. They don't do this because you are wrong, but because they've been taught to observe the laws of religion and are familiar with these traditions. We're not walking in the liberty Christ gave to us, because we're "so cool" or we're "better than others." We're doing so, in order to walk in what Jesus actually gave to us.
God hasn't changed the new covenant and neither should we. If God still wanted us to be under the Law, then He would never have sent Jesus to redeem us. We must allow the Holy Spirit to reveal God's Word to us, in Grace and Truth. We must stand firm in our liberty, without allowing anyone to steal it from us. 2Corinthians 5:13 (Amplified) says, "Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)." Galatians 5:13 (Amplified) says, "For you brethren were indeed called to freedom ["liberty" in the K.J.V] only do not let your freedom (liberty) be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse."
James 2:12 (Amplified) says, "So speak and so act as people should who are to be judged under the Law of Liberty (the moral instructions given by Christ), especially about Love."
Thursday, December 13, 2018
Lesson 124 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 favor upon favor and even 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 the "Declaration of Independence" was ratified, Ben Franklin was asked, "What did you give us?" He stated, "A Republic, if you can keep it." Many years have come and gone and the republic has been undermined by the dueling between our two party system, who seem to have forgotten the interest of the people they represent. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 in Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah), to preach the Good News (Gospel), to the poor, He has sent Me to announce the release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who are down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity, to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and free favors of God profusely abound)."
The thing about liberty is that one must become responsible in his/her liberty, in order to maintain it. When you delegate your own responsibility over to someone else, then that person holds your liberty and can dole it out, as he/she sees fit. You are then, no longer free. James 1:22-25 (Amplified) says, "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 doers 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."
Many have "heard" the Word from someone else's perspective, without looking into this Law of Liberty for themselves. Your liberty (or your perspective of liberty) then, is only what someone else sees and has delivered to you. The responsibility of liberty is one that every individual must receive, on his/her own. Paul writes to Timothy in 2Timothy 2:20-21 (Amplified) saying, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also utensils of wood and earthenware, and some for honorable and noble use and some for menial and ignoble use. So whoever cleanses himself from what is ignoble and unclean (who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences), will then himself be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master (fit and ready for any Good work)."
Our Liberty in Christ Jesus, is something we're personally responsible for. We've mistakenly entrusted our liberty into the hands of others, without taking on any personal responsibility for it. Now we have someone else' idea of what liberty is. I'm not suggesting that we don't need others or that we don't need the local Body of believers, but that doesn't release us from studying and receiving Revelation from God into our own spirits.
It's obvious that different denominations in the Body of Christ, have different beliefs and traditions, some of which are right and some are wrong. We're responsible to God for what we believe. Don't let someone tell you that a Revelation you've received from God is wrong and don't let someone else take it from you. 1Timothy 6:12 (Amplified) tells us, "Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold of the eternal Life to which you were summoned and for which you confess, the good confession of faith before many witnesses."
Paul writes about the believer's personal responsibility in Romans 14:1-8, 14-15,21-22 (Amplified) saying, "As for the man who is a weak believer, welcome him into your fellowship but not to criticize his opinions or pass judgment on his scruples or perplex him with discussions. One man's faith permits him to believe he may eat anything, while a weaker one limits his eating to vegetables. Let not him who eats, look down on or despise him who abstains, and let him not who abstains criticize and pass judgment on him who eats, for God has accepted and welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on and censure another's household servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he shall stand and be upheld, for the Mast (the Lord) is Mighty to support him and make him stand. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike (sacred), Let everyone be fully convinced, satisfied in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. None of us lives to himself but to the Lord, and none of us dies to himself but to the Lord, For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord."
Paul continues in Verses 14-16, "I know and am convinced (persuaded) as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is forbidden as essentially unclean, defiled and unholy in itself. But nonetheless, it is unclean, defiled and unholy to anyone who thinks it is unclean. But if your brother is being pained of his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat, then you are no longer walking in Love; You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of Love toward him. Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. Do not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil thing by someone else; In other words, do not give occasion for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you." Verses 21-22 go on, "The right thing is, to eat no meat or drink no wine at all, or do anything else if it makes your brother stumble or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him. Your personal convictions on such matters exercise them as in God's Presence keeping them to yourself, striving only to know the Truth and obey His will, Blessed (happy, to be envied), is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves, who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do. But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats, perhaps because of you, stands condemned before God because he is not True to his convictions, and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin, whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful."
Romans 14 reveals the many different aspects of faith, in the Body of Christ. We have the personal responsibility to walk in and understand the Truth. Paul didn't tell me to "abandon my faith, .because of someone else." He did tell me, "Don't judge someone who is weaker or more immature in their faith." Every person is required by the Holy Spirit, to grow and mature in God, just like natural babies who grow into adults. Many don't observe Christmas, because they see it as a pagan holiday, while others do celebrate Christmas, recognizing it as the birth of Jesus. Both groups are honoring God, when they observe what their faith tells them. Don't let someone place you into the position, where you move outside your own faith, for it condemns your conscience and brings you under condemnation. Seek out your liberty for yourself
When the "Declaration of Independence" was ratified, Ben Franklin was asked, "What did you give us?" He stated, "A Republic, if you can keep it." Many years have come and gone and the republic has been undermined by the dueling between our two party system, who seem to have forgotten the interest of the people they represent. Jesus quoted Isaiah 61 in Luke 4:18-19 (Amplified) saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me (the Anointed One, the Messiah), to preach the Good News (Gospel), to the poor, He has sent Me to announce the release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to send forth as delivered those who are oppressed, who are down trodden, bruised, crushed, and broken down by calamity, to proclaim the accepted and acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and free favors of God profusely abound)."
The thing about liberty is that one must become responsible in his/her liberty, in order to maintain it. When you delegate your own responsibility over to someone else, then that person holds your liberty and can dole it out, as he/she sees fit. You are then, no longer free. James 1:22-25 (Amplified) says, "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 doers 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."
Many have "heard" the Word from someone else's perspective, without looking into this Law of Liberty for themselves. Your liberty (or your perspective of liberty) then, is only what someone else sees and has delivered to you. The responsibility of liberty is one that every individual must receive, on his/her own. Paul writes to Timothy in 2Timothy 2:20-21 (Amplified) saying, "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also utensils of wood and earthenware, and some for honorable and noble use and some for menial and ignoble use. So whoever cleanses himself from what is ignoble and unclean (who separates himself from contact with contaminating and corrupting influences), will then himself be a vessel set apart and useful for honorable and noble purposes, consecrated and profitable to the Master (fit and ready for any Good work)."
Our Liberty in Christ Jesus, is something we're personally responsible for. We've mistakenly entrusted our liberty into the hands of others, without taking on any personal responsibility for it. Now we have someone else' idea of what liberty is. I'm not suggesting that we don't need others or that we don't need the local Body of believers, but that doesn't release us from studying and receiving Revelation from God into our own spirits.
It's obvious that different denominations in the Body of Christ, have different beliefs and traditions, some of which are right and some are wrong. We're responsible to God for what we believe. Don't let someone tell you that a Revelation you've received from God is wrong and don't let someone else take it from you. 1Timothy 6:12 (Amplified) tells us, "Fight the Good fight of faith, lay hold of the eternal Life to which you were summoned and for which you confess, the good confession of faith before many witnesses."
Paul writes about the believer's personal responsibility in Romans 14:1-8, 14-15,21-22 (Amplified) saying, "As for the man who is a weak believer, welcome him into your fellowship but not to criticize his opinions or pass judgment on his scruples or perplex him with discussions. One man's faith permits him to believe he may eat anything, while a weaker one limits his eating to vegetables. Let not him who eats, look down on or despise him who abstains, and let him not who abstains criticize and pass judgment on him who eats, for God has accepted and welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on and censure another's household servant? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he shall stand and be upheld, for the Mast (the Lord) is Mighty to support him and make him stand. One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike (sacred), Let everyone be fully convinced, satisfied in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. None of us lives to himself but to the Lord, and none of us dies to himself but to the Lord, For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or we die, we belong to the Lord."
Paul continues in Verses 14-16, "I know and am convinced (persuaded) as one in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is forbidden as essentially unclean, defiled and unholy in itself. But nonetheless, it is unclean, defiled and unholy to anyone who thinks it is unclean. But if your brother is being pained of his feelings hurt or if he is being injured by what you eat, then you are no longer walking in Love; You have ceased to be living and conducting yourself by the standard of Love toward him. Do not let what you eat hurt or cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died. Do not therefore let what seems good to you be considered an evil thing by someone else; In other words, do not give occasion for others to criticize that which is justifiable for you." Verses 21-22 go on, "The right thing is, to eat no meat or drink no wine at all, or do anything else if it makes your brother stumble or hurts his conscience or offends or weakens him. Your personal convictions on such matters exercise them as in God's Presence keeping them to yourself, striving only to know the Truth and obey His will, Blessed (happy, to be envied), is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves, who does not convict himself by what he chooses to do. But the man who has doubts (misgivings, an uneasy conscience) about eating, and then eats, perhaps because of you, stands condemned before God because he is not True to his convictions, and he does not act from faith. For whatever does not originate and proceed from faith is sin, whatever is done without a conviction of its approval by God is sinful."
Romans 14 reveals the many different aspects of faith, in the Body of Christ. We have the personal responsibility to walk in and understand the Truth. Paul didn't tell me to "abandon my faith, .because of someone else." He did tell me, "Don't judge someone who is weaker or more immature in their faith." Every person is required by the Holy Spirit, to grow and mature in God, just like natural babies who grow into adults. Many don't observe Christmas, because they see it as a pagan holiday, while others do celebrate Christmas, recognizing it as the birth of Jesus. Both groups are honoring God, when they observe what their faith tells them. Don't let someone place you into the position, where you move outside your own faith, for it condemns your conscience and brings you under condemnation. Seek out your liberty for yourself
Wednesday, December 12, 2018
Lesson 123 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 favor upon favor and even 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."
Paul speaks about what the King James Bible calls, "The principle of faith," in Romans 3:26-27. The Amplified Bible refers to the Law of Faith, saying, "It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now season), that He Himself is Righteous and that He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has true faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our pride and our boasting? It is excluded, banished, ruled out entirely, on what principle (Law), on the principle (Law) of doing good deeds? No, but on the principle (Law) of Faith."
Faith is a Law of the new family covenant, which cannot be ignored by the Church any longer. Everything we are, have and receive, come to us by faith, according to Romans 1:17 (Amplified), which says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith. As it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."
Romans 4:16 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable, and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is thus the father of us all."
We inherited the Promise of Abraham through Jesus, when we were born-again. Galatians 3:28-29 (Amplified) says, "There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ (are in Him), Who is Abraham's Seed, then you are Abraham's offspring and Spiritual heirs according to Promise."
Not one Christians has more of an inheritance, than any other Christian. Romans 8:17 (Amplified) says, "And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him, only we must share His suffering if we are to share His Glory."
If you really want to share in His suffering, then begin walking in the Promise and inheritance like He did. Suffering and persecution will surely follow. Most of the religious leaders persecuted Jesus, at every instance of His ministry. Jesus always did things on the "wrong" day, at the "wrong" time, and not according to the customs of the Law. Jesus fulfilled the Law, but because of His Love and Grace, Jesus never violated even one part of the Law. He did though, transgress traditions that had nothing to do with Law.
These man-made laws cannot hold a man who walks by Grace and faith in the inheritance of the Promise God made to the Seed. The Promise was made to Abraham and his Seed, singular, Who is Jesus. Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) says, "To the end that through their receiving Christ Jesus, the Blessing Promised to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might all receive the realization of the Promise of the Holy Spirit."
Notice, the above scripture says, "So that we through faith." Let's reread Romans 4:16 (Amplified), which says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith in order that it may be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor) to make it stable, and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants." Paul writes about growing our faith in Romans 1:17 (Amplified) saying, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes [this is God's Righteousness that we've received by faith and was granted us by Grace], is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith, that arouses to more faith."
This faith is a living force of Grace, that is to develop us from simply religion to reality and relationship with the Father. It's the Promise that was delivered through Jesus, to all who will believe or have faith, in what Grace has made available to us in Him. It's not just "another teaching" and it's a subject that should divide the Church. It should unite the Church. John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "Out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with." We're joint heirs or fellow heirs with Jesus and through Him, we have all received."
Many haven't dared to go against the traditions of men and step into the inheritance of Jesus, but it's available to all who go from faith to faith. When you were born-again, the inheritance was made yours, but it must be "disclosed through the way of faith." The Holy Spirit will disclose this inheritance to you, if you come to Him in faith to receive.
Ephesians 4:12-13 (Amplified) says, "His intention was the perfecting and full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), that they should do the work of ministering toward building Christ's Body (the Church) That it might develop until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God, that we might arrive at really mature manhood, the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's Own perfection, the measure of the fullness of Christ and the completeness found in Him."
All this comes from and by faith that grows from one level of faith to another level of faith. Our faith is "in Him" and only faith in Him can reveal Him as He is. You can't have faith for healing, without faith and knowledge of the Healer. Without faith in your inheritance, you won't receive the manifestation of such things as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or the Power of His Name, even though they are already yours. Romans 4:16 (Amplified) tells us, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace."
God's will is Grace and Truth.
Paul speaks about what the King James Bible calls, "The principle of faith," in Romans 3:26-27. The Amplified Bible refers to the Law of Faith, saying, "It was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the now season), that He Himself is Righteous and that He justifies and accepts as righteous him who has true faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our pride and our boasting? It is excluded, banished, ruled out entirely, on what principle (Law), on the principle (Law) of doing good deeds? No, but on the principle (Law) of Faith."
Faith is a Law of the new family covenant, which cannot be ignored by the Church any longer. Everything we are, have and receive, come to us by faith, according to Romans 1:17 (Amplified), which says, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith. As it is written, the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith."
Romans 4:16 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable, and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the devotees and adherents of the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who is thus the father of us all."
We inherited the Promise of Abraham through Jesus, when we were born-again. Galatians 3:28-29 (Amplified) says, "There is now no distinction, neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ (are in Him), Who is Abraham's Seed, then you are Abraham's offspring and Spiritual heirs according to Promise."
Not one Christians has more of an inheritance, than any other Christian. Romans 8:17 (Amplified) says, "And if we are His children, then we are His heirs also; heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him, only we must share His suffering if we are to share His Glory."
If you really want to share in His suffering, then begin walking in the Promise and inheritance like He did. Suffering and persecution will surely follow. Most of the religious leaders persecuted Jesus, at every instance of His ministry. Jesus always did things on the "wrong" day, at the "wrong" time, and not according to the customs of the Law. Jesus fulfilled the Law, but because of His Love and Grace, Jesus never violated even one part of the Law. He did though, transgress traditions that had nothing to do with Law.
These man-made laws cannot hold a man who walks by Grace and faith in the inheritance of the Promise God made to the Seed. The Promise was made to Abraham and his Seed, singular, Who is Jesus. Galatians 3:14 (Amplified) says, "To the end that through their receiving Christ Jesus, the Blessing Promised to Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, so that we through faith might all receive the realization of the Promise of the Holy Spirit."
Notice, the above scripture says, "So that we through faith." Let's reread Romans 4:16 (Amplified), which says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith in order that it may be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor) to make it stable, and valid and guaranteed to all his descendants." Paul writes about growing our faith in Romans 1:17 (Amplified) saying, "For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes [this is God's Righteousness that we've received by faith and was granted us by Grace], is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith, disclosed through the way of faith, that arouses to more faith."
This faith is a living force of Grace, that is to develop us from simply religion to reality and relationship with the Father. It's the Promise that was delivered through Jesus, to all who will believe or have faith, in what Grace has made available to us in Him. It's not just "another teaching" and it's a subject that should divide the Church. It should unite the Church. John 1:16-17 (Amplified) tells us, "Out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with." We're joint heirs or fellow heirs with Jesus and through Him, we have all received."
Many haven't dared to go against the traditions of men and step into the inheritance of Jesus, but it's available to all who go from faith to faith. When you were born-again, the inheritance was made yours, but it must be "disclosed through the way of faith." The Holy Spirit will disclose this inheritance to you, if you come to Him in faith to receive.
Ephesians 4:12-13 (Amplified) says, "His intention was the perfecting and full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), that they should do the work of ministering toward building Christ's Body (the Church) That it might develop until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full and accurate knowledge of the Son of God, that we might arrive at really mature manhood, the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's Own perfection, the measure of the fullness of Christ and the completeness found in Him."
All this comes from and by faith that grows from one level of faith to another level of faith. Our faith is "in Him" and only faith in Him can reveal Him as He is. You can't have faith for healing, without faith and knowledge of the Healer. Without faith in your inheritance, you won't receive the manifestation of such things as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit or the Power of His Name, even though they are already yours. Romans 4:16 (Amplified) tells us, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace."
God's will is Grace and Truth.
Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Lesson 122 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 part 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."
Jesus directed in Matthew 6:33 (Amplified), "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right) and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."
The above scriptures tell us that, "These things will be added unto us." These are the temporal and material things needed to sustain our existence here on earth. Some are amazed at the revelation that God would meet our natural needs. Many have put off God's intervening, for when we get to Heaven. Jesus, Who is Emmanuel, God with us, met the physical and natural needs of the people during His ministry. We know that God does not change and to believe otherwise is error.
If God hasn't changed, then we're the ones who have misunderstood His way of doing and being right. We've been led more by our traditions, rather than by His way of doing and being right. Understanding God's way of doing and being right, comes by understanding the Laws that govern His Kingdom. Most of us have very little knowledge of how the Kingdom operates and have developed our own rules and laws, which aren't His way. In Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) Paul says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, is the Law of our new being and it takes dominance over the previous Law of Sin and Death. In order to understand the Law of our new being, we must learn to listen to the dictates of the Spirit. Your flesh will always leaves you in condemnation and guilt, because of the weakness of the flesh. It will always remind you of your failures and shortcomings, while the Spirit will always show you who God has made you to be in Christ Jesus. It's up to the individual, who he/she will allow to dictate his/her life.
Look at what the Spirit is dictating to us, through Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified), which says, "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." The next Verse is the part that the flesh uses to dictate to you. Thus it says, "Only we must share His suffering if we are to share His Glory."
We must understand exactly what "Jesus' suffering" was, before we allow the flesh to dictate to us something that wasn't His suffering. Jesus never suffered sickness. He never suffered God's deserting Him, except on the cross. Jesus did this, so that we can now be one with the Father. This was a Messianic suffering, that only Jesus could endure. Jesus was never without anything He needed, during His entire earthly ministry. Jesus' suffering was the same as ours, when He was misunderstood and called a "heretic," for His walk with God.
When you step over into being led by the Spirit, you will be welcome in some places, while being excluded and unwelcome in other places. Jesus loved everyone, so it must have been especially hard to be rejected by those He came to liberate and deliver. This is and was His suffering. Jesus continues to suffer this hurt, by those who refuse to acknowledge Him, those He wishes to set free. Jesus is easily touched by the feelings of our infirmities and weaknesses. These things reach into the Heart of the Kingdom still today. God has no more to offer mankind that is greater than His Peace Treaty and reconciliation to and for mankind. When people refuse Jesus, it causes the deepest suffering to touch the heart of the Father and it touches those who are to share His suffering too. We rejoice over those who receive Jesus as their Savior and we cry over those who refuse to receive Him.
The Greatest Law that governs God's Kingdom is the Law of Love. Love is what fuels the Kingdom and touches men's heart. Love is the most powerful Law of God's Kingdom, because GOD IS LOVE. Love actually brings God's Own Presence and Power, into play on this earth. Paul tells us that without Love, everything is just noise and useless to the Kingdom, in 1Corinthians 12-13. He writes about the Law of Faith, in Romans 3:27 (Amplified) saying, "Then what becomes of our pride and our boasting? It is excluded, banished, ruled out entirely. On what principle, on the principle of doing good deeds? No, but on the principle (or law) of faith."
The Law of faith is how we come to know and understand the Kingdom of God. Everything in the Kingdom is yours, but it must be accessed by faith and trusting in God's Grace and Goodness. Our righteousness has been given, as an act of Grace through Jesus Christ, but it order to acknowledge that you're righteous in God's eyes, you must accept this Gift by faith. Romans 3:10, 21-22 (Amplified) says, "As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one." Satan will repeatedly tell you a half-truth, in order to allow the flesh to dictate your life. Let's read the entirety Paul writes in Verses 21-22, where he says, "But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the prophets. Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Christ Jesus (the Messiah), and it is meant for all those who believe, for there is no distinction." This is the Law of faith.
Everything we receive from God is based on this Law of faith and is the only thing that the Kingdom responds to. Romans 4:16 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it may be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor) to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his [Abraham's] descendants, not only to the devotees and adherents to the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham who is thus the father of us all."
The Law of faith is a Kingdom Law. Jew or Greek, we can all partake of His Grace and receive the Blessing of Abraham, BY FAITH. Those who will not or do not believe and put faith in this Blessing, open themselves to being subject to another Law (the Law of Sin and Death). Both Laws are continuously at work in the earth. It's up to every individual to choose which Law will govern his/her life.
In Deuteronomy 30:14-19, God brings forth the Law of Faith. Thus, God says, "But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day [Jesus gave us a new commandment to obey], to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways [His way of doing and being right or righteous] and keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply and the Lord your God will Bless you in the land into which you go to possess. But if your mind and heart turn away and you will not heart but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day that you shall surely perish and you shall not live long in the land which you pass over the Jordan to enter and possess." Verse 19 says, "I call Heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the Blessing and the curses, therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live."
Paul quotes this scripture in Romans 10:8-9 (Amplified) saying, "But what does the scripture say? The Word (God's Message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart, that is the Word (the Message), the basis and object of faith, which we preach. Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the Truth that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, relies) on Christ, and so is justified, declared righteous, acceptable to God, and with the mouth he confesses, declares openly and speaks freely his faith and confirms his salvation."
Once again, we are given a choice of receiving or not receiving, believing and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Both Laws are working, but which Law are you activating by faith, in your life? You can choose to believe that God is using the Curse to teach you and thus, activate a Law you've been redeemed from. Or, you can by faith, activate the Blessings by the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus. Which side of the road, do you choose to drive on? The right side of the road has Laws that will protect you. If you drive on the wrong side of the road, then you'll be hit with oncoming traffic, which will destroy you. Both Laws work, but you're to by faith, walk in the Law of our new being, the Kingdom Laws and allow the Blessings to come upon you. God called Heaven and earth to witness this choice and both are still here to testify which one you choose.
There are several Laws that govern the Kingdom, like the Law of binding and loosing from Matthew 18:18, but they hinge on our knowing what is lawful and unlawful in Heaven. If you don't know the difference, then the Law is void in your life. John deftly writes about the Law of Love in 1John, saying, "I have known and believed the Love that God has for me." He also tells us that, "God is Love" and that, "Understanding God's Great Love, casts out fear." Having mature and perfect understanding of God's Love makes us fearless, because we can put faith in God's protection for us.
God has given us the choice of believing in Christ Jesus and becoming born-again or rejecting His Son and choosing death and cursing. It would surprise you to know how many of God's people still believe that He brings forth the Curse in their lives. We've allowed and believed the Law to work against us, even after being saved.
Jesus directed in Matthew 6:33 (Amplified), "But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right) and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."
The above scriptures tell us that, "These things will be added unto us." These are the temporal and material things needed to sustain our existence here on earth. Some are amazed at the revelation that God would meet our natural needs. Many have put off God's intervening, for when we get to Heaven. Jesus, Who is Emmanuel, God with us, met the physical and natural needs of the people during His ministry. We know that God does not change and to believe otherwise is error.
If God hasn't changed, then we're the ones who have misunderstood His way of doing and being right. We've been led more by our traditions, rather than by His way of doing and being right. Understanding God's way of doing and being right, comes by understanding the Laws that govern His Kingdom. Most of us have very little knowledge of how the Kingdom operates and have developed our own rules and laws, which aren't His way. In Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) Paul says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, is the Law of our new being and it takes dominance over the previous Law of Sin and Death. In order to understand the Law of our new being, we must learn to listen to the dictates of the Spirit. Your flesh will always leaves you in condemnation and guilt, because of the weakness of the flesh. It will always remind you of your failures and shortcomings, while the Spirit will always show you who God has made you to be in Christ Jesus. It's up to the individual, who he/she will allow to dictate his/her life.
Look at what the Spirit is dictating to us, through Romans 8:16-17 (Amplified), which says, "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." The next Verse is the part that the flesh uses to dictate to you. Thus it says, "Only we must share His suffering if we are to share His Glory."
We must understand exactly what "Jesus' suffering" was, before we allow the flesh to dictate to us something that wasn't His suffering. Jesus never suffered sickness. He never suffered God's deserting Him, except on the cross. Jesus did this, so that we can now be one with the Father. This was a Messianic suffering, that only Jesus could endure. Jesus was never without anything He needed, during His entire earthly ministry. Jesus' suffering was the same as ours, when He was misunderstood and called a "heretic," for His walk with God.
When you step over into being led by the Spirit, you will be welcome in some places, while being excluded and unwelcome in other places. Jesus loved everyone, so it must have been especially hard to be rejected by those He came to liberate and deliver. This is and was His suffering. Jesus continues to suffer this hurt, by those who refuse to acknowledge Him, those He wishes to set free. Jesus is easily touched by the feelings of our infirmities and weaknesses. These things reach into the Heart of the Kingdom still today. God has no more to offer mankind that is greater than His Peace Treaty and reconciliation to and for mankind. When people refuse Jesus, it causes the deepest suffering to touch the heart of the Father and it touches those who are to share His suffering too. We rejoice over those who receive Jesus as their Savior and we cry over those who refuse to receive Him.
The Greatest Law that governs God's Kingdom is the Law of Love. Love is what fuels the Kingdom and touches men's heart. Love is the most powerful Law of God's Kingdom, because GOD IS LOVE. Love actually brings God's Own Presence and Power, into play on this earth. Paul tells us that without Love, everything is just noise and useless to the Kingdom, in 1Corinthians 12-13. He writes about the Law of Faith, in Romans 3:27 (Amplified) saying, "Then what becomes of our pride and our boasting? It is excluded, banished, ruled out entirely. On what principle, on the principle of doing good deeds? No, but on the principle (or law) of faith."
The Law of faith is how we come to know and understand the Kingdom of God. Everything in the Kingdom is yours, but it must be accessed by faith and trusting in God's Grace and Goodness. Our righteousness has been given, as an act of Grace through Jesus Christ, but it order to acknowledge that you're righteous in God's eyes, you must accept this Gift by faith. Romans 3:10, 21-22 (Amplified) says, "As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one." Satan will repeatedly tell you a half-truth, in order to allow the flesh to dictate your life. Let's read the entirety Paul writes in Verses 21-22, where he says, "But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the prophets. Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Christ Jesus (the Messiah), and it is meant for all those who believe, for there is no distinction." This is the Law of faith.
Everything we receive from God is based on this Law of faith and is the only thing that the Kingdom responds to. Romans 4:16 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith and depends entirely on faith, in order that it may be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor) to make it stable and valid and guaranteed to all his [Abraham's] descendants, not only to the devotees and adherents to the Law, but also to those who share the faith of Abraham who is thus the father of us all."
The Law of faith is a Kingdom Law. Jew or Greek, we can all partake of His Grace and receive the Blessing of Abraham, BY FAITH. Those who will not or do not believe and put faith in this Blessing, open themselves to being subject to another Law (the Law of Sin and Death). Both Laws are continuously at work in the earth. It's up to every individual to choose which Law will govern his/her life.
In Deuteronomy 30:14-19, God brings forth the Law of Faith. Thus, God says, "But the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your mind and in your heart, so that you can do it. See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you this day [Jesus gave us a new commandment to obey], to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways [His way of doing and being right or righteous] and keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, then you shall live and multiply and the Lord your God will Bless you in the land into which you go to possess. But if your mind and heart turn away and you will not heart but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you this day that you shall surely perish and you shall not live long in the land which you pass over the Jordan to enter and possess." Verse 19 says, "I call Heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the Blessing and the curses, therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live."
Paul quotes this scripture in Romans 10:8-9 (Amplified) saying, "But what does the scripture say? The Word (God's Message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart, that is the Word (the Message), the basis and object of faith, which we preach. Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the Truth that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, relies) on Christ, and so is justified, declared righteous, acceptable to God, and with the mouth he confesses, declares openly and speaks freely his faith and confirms his salvation."
Once again, we are given a choice of receiving or not receiving, believing and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Both Laws are working, but which Law are you activating by faith, in your life? You can choose to believe that God is using the Curse to teach you and thus, activate a Law you've been redeemed from. Or, you can by faith, activate the Blessings by the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus. Which side of the road, do you choose to drive on? The right side of the road has Laws that will protect you. If you drive on the wrong side of the road, then you'll be hit with oncoming traffic, which will destroy you. Both Laws work, but you're to by faith, walk in the Law of our new being, the Kingdom Laws and allow the Blessings to come upon you. God called Heaven and earth to witness this choice and both are still here to testify which one you choose.
There are several Laws that govern the Kingdom, like the Law of binding and loosing from Matthew 18:18, but they hinge on our knowing what is lawful and unlawful in Heaven. If you don't know the difference, then the Law is void in your life. John deftly writes about the Law of Love in 1John, saying, "I have known and believed the Love that God has for me." He also tells us that, "God is Love" and that, "Understanding God's Great Love, casts out fear." Having mature and perfect understanding of God's Love makes us fearless, because we can put faith in God's protection for us.
God has given us the choice of believing in Christ Jesus and becoming born-again or rejecting His Son and choosing death and cursing. It would surprise you to know how many of God's people still believe that He brings forth the Curse in their lives. We've allowed and believed the Law to work against us, even after being saved.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Lesson 121 GRACE AND TRUTH-GOD'S WILL
John 1:16 (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 heaped upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift."
We spoke previously about coming from one country to another country. If you're coming from Ireland, where they drive on the left side of the road, then when you drive in America, you must drive on the right side of the road, because that's our law. You're no longer in Ireland, so you're not breaking their law. When you've been set free from the Law of Sin and Death, you're no longer under that Law, even though that Law is still valid. You've been removed from the place that Law reigns and you're now in a higher place where the Law of Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. God didn't do away with the Law of Sin and Death, but He superseded it with a Higher Law.
The Law of Gravity is in full effect on the earth, but we've superseded that Law with the Laws of Thrust and Lift and we can fly. This is what happened in the life of the Christian. God's way of doing and being right has superseded the laws that govern natural man. The Laws that govern the Kingdom are Laws that protect and uphold the righteous.
Ignorance of the laws cannot protect you, even though they're meant to do just that. If you ignorantly or stubbornly ignore the laws of America's roads and drive on the left side of the road, then the laws of Ireland wouldn't protect you. You would either be ticketed, fined or arrested for driving on the left side of the road here, because these laws were established to protect you and other drivers. We've been ignorant of God's way of doing and being right for a long time, which has led to our being in violation of them and their inability to protect us.
Many have focused solely on the things of the flesh and have ignored the things of the Spirit. We are to abstain from the sins of the flesh, but we're to govern our lives by the Spirit, according to Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus; who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit For while the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
This is the Law of our new being. We're now citizens of a different Kingdom and the Laws of that Kingdom protect us while we're here on earth. It's not you who is wrong, but this realm that is wrong. These Laws or God's way of doing and being right, supersede the laws of this world and if we walk in them, then the Law of Sin and Death has no hold on us. If we allow the flesh to dictate to you, then it will convince you that you're only "just human and still an old sinner." If you allow the Spirit to dictate to you, then He will tell you who you really are. In America today, we still hold onto our origin and national past. We are Spanish Americans, African Americans, Italian Americans, Chinese Americans and so forth. We have a difficult time breaking the old nature, in which we were born.
America remains divided, because we cling to these old identities, instead of realizing we're all Americans. The Word says, "A house divided cannot stand." We're more faithful to our own cultures, than to the nation. Satan uses the same principle that keeps America divided, to keep the Laws of the Kingdom from protecting and functioning for us here.
The Church has had an identity crisis for a long time. We're torn between the weakness of the flesh and the strength of the Spirit. We've centered more on the dictates of the flesh and have identified with it, which prevents the new Law from working.
If the person from Ireland comes to America and continues driving on the wrong side of the road, then that person will constantly be in trouble. The laws or rules of the road don't work to his/her advantage or protection. We must make up our minds, which laws are right. If God's Word doesn't work for someone else, doesn't mean His Word isn't true. God's Word is more True, than someone's testimony. It's not true, because someone said so. It's Spirit and Truth, because God said so.
We can drive on the correct side of the road or we can ignore the laws. If you drive on the wrong side of the road and crash your car, then it's not someone else's fault. It's not America's job to change the law for you, but it's your job to change your way of driving. If you refuse to follow America's law of driving on the right side of the road, then it could result in a crash, ticket, revoking of your driver's license or the death or others and yourself. You must either change your way of doing or stop driving.
Many believers have stopped driving and let someone else do their driving, but this isn't the answer. This leads to you're being unable to go anywhere, unless someone can drive you. 1John 2:7-8, 9-10 (Amplified) says, "Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the Message which you have heard, the doctrine of salvation through Christ. Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is True, is realized in Him and in you, because the darkness (moral blindness) is clearing away and the True Light (the Revelation of God in Christ) is already shining."
John continues in Verse 9, telling us what happens when we're driving on the wrong side of the road. Thus, he writes, "Whoever says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother Christian (born-again child of God his Father), is in darkness even until now."
John writes about being on the right side of the road in Verse 10 saying, "Whoever loves his brother believer abides (lives) in the Light, and in it or in Him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin."
The Cardinal Law is there to protect us and uphold us in this realm of our lives. When we obey that Law, we fulfill all the other Laws. The first Law that must be fulfilled is, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His way of doing and being right." We must learn to love not only God, but obey His way of doing and being right. If we don't do that, then our love isn't real, but is manufactured by religion.
When we continue trying to live by the Law of Moses, then we nullify and make the Laws of the Kingdom void. The Law of Moses is works, not Grace. When we try living under the Laws of Moses, then we're driving on the wrong side of the road. When we live under the Law, then we negate the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus and set ourselves up for failure, condemnation and guilt. No man has ever fulfilled the Law of Moses, except Jesus.
Jesus told us in Matthew 5:17 (Amplified), "Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo, but to complete and fulfill them." If you are in Christ Jesus, then God views you as having completed and fulfilled the Law too. If you continue trying to fulfill the Law on your own, then you're placing yourself under the Curse of the Law too, because you're unable to fulfill the Law on your own. Trying to live under the Law, is like driving on the wrong side of the road and will lead to wrecks, revoking of your license, or worse. It's not because "God did it," but because we ignored the new Kingdom Laws of which we're now from. The Law of Moses is still a law and it still works, but we must learn to follow the Law of our new being. In it we will find Blessing, if we get on the right side of the road.
We spoke previously about coming from one country to another country. If you're coming from Ireland, where they drive on the left side of the road, then when you drive in America, you must drive on the right side of the road, because that's our law. You're no longer in Ireland, so you're not breaking their law. When you've been set free from the Law of Sin and Death, you're no longer under that Law, even though that Law is still valid. You've been removed from the place that Law reigns and you're now in a higher place where the Law of Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus. God didn't do away with the Law of Sin and Death, but He superseded it with a Higher Law.
The Law of Gravity is in full effect on the earth, but we've superseded that Law with the Laws of Thrust and Lift and we can fly. This is what happened in the life of the Christian. God's way of doing and being right has superseded the laws that govern natural man. The Laws that govern the Kingdom are Laws that protect and uphold the righteous.
Ignorance of the laws cannot protect you, even though they're meant to do just that. If you ignorantly or stubbornly ignore the laws of America's roads and drive on the left side of the road, then the laws of Ireland wouldn't protect you. You would either be ticketed, fined or arrested for driving on the left side of the road here, because these laws were established to protect you and other drivers. We've been ignorant of God's way of doing and being right for a long time, which has led to our being in violation of them and their inability to protect us.
Many have focused solely on the things of the flesh and have ignored the things of the Spirit. We are to abstain from the sins of the flesh, but we're to govern our lives by the Spirit, according to Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation, no adjudging guilty of wrong for those who are in Christ Jesus; who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit For while the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus, the Law of our new being, has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
This is the Law of our new being. We're now citizens of a different Kingdom and the Laws of that Kingdom protect us while we're here on earth. It's not you who is wrong, but this realm that is wrong. These Laws or God's way of doing and being right, supersede the laws of this world and if we walk in them, then the Law of Sin and Death has no hold on us. If we allow the flesh to dictate to you, then it will convince you that you're only "just human and still an old sinner." If you allow the Spirit to dictate to you, then He will tell you who you really are. In America today, we still hold onto our origin and national past. We are Spanish Americans, African Americans, Italian Americans, Chinese Americans and so forth. We have a difficult time breaking the old nature, in which we were born.
America remains divided, because we cling to these old identities, instead of realizing we're all Americans. The Word says, "A house divided cannot stand." We're more faithful to our own cultures, than to the nation. Satan uses the same principle that keeps America divided, to keep the Laws of the Kingdom from protecting and functioning for us here.
The Church has had an identity crisis for a long time. We're torn between the weakness of the flesh and the strength of the Spirit. We've centered more on the dictates of the flesh and have identified with it, which prevents the new Law from working.
If the person from Ireland comes to America and continues driving on the wrong side of the road, then that person will constantly be in trouble. The laws or rules of the road don't work to his/her advantage or protection. We must make up our minds, which laws are right. If God's Word doesn't work for someone else, doesn't mean His Word isn't true. God's Word is more True, than someone's testimony. It's not true, because someone said so. It's Spirit and Truth, because God said so.
We can drive on the correct side of the road or we can ignore the laws. If you drive on the wrong side of the road and crash your car, then it's not someone else's fault. It's not America's job to change the law for you, but it's your job to change your way of driving. If you refuse to follow America's law of driving on the right side of the road, then it could result in a crash, ticket, revoking of your driver's license or the death or others and yourself. You must either change your way of doing or stop driving.
Many believers have stopped driving and let someone else do their driving, but this isn't the answer. This leads to you're being unable to go anywhere, unless someone can drive you. 1John 2:7-8, 9-10 (Amplified) says, "Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the Message which you have heard, the doctrine of salvation through Christ. Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is True, is realized in Him and in you, because the darkness (moral blindness) is clearing away and the True Light (the Revelation of God in Christ) is already shining."
John continues in Verse 9, telling us what happens when we're driving on the wrong side of the road. Thus, he writes, "Whoever says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother Christian (born-again child of God his Father), is in darkness even until now."
John writes about being on the right side of the road in Verse 10 saying, "Whoever loves his brother believer abides (lives) in the Light, and in it or in Him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin."
The Cardinal Law is there to protect us and uphold us in this realm of our lives. When we obey that Law, we fulfill all the other Laws. The first Law that must be fulfilled is, "Seek first the Kingdom of God and His way of doing and being right." We must learn to love not only God, but obey His way of doing and being right. If we don't do that, then our love isn't real, but is manufactured by religion.
When we continue trying to live by the Law of Moses, then we nullify and make the Laws of the Kingdom void. The Law of Moses is works, not Grace. When we try living under the Laws of Moses, then we're driving on the wrong side of the road. When we live under the Law, then we negate the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus and set ourselves up for failure, condemnation and guilt. No man has ever fulfilled the Law of Moses, except Jesus.
Jesus told us in Matthew 5:17 (Amplified), "Do not think that I have come to do away with or undo the Law or the prophets; I have come not to do away with or undo, but to complete and fulfill them." If you are in Christ Jesus, then God views you as having completed and fulfilled the Law too. If you continue trying to fulfill the Law on your own, then you're placing yourself under the Curse of the Law too, because you're unable to fulfill the Law on your own. Trying to live under the Law, is like driving on the wrong side of the road and will lead to wrecks, revoking of your license, or worse. It's not because "God did it," but because we ignored the new Kingdom Laws of which we're now from. The Law of Moses is still a law and it still works, but we must learn to follow the Law of our new being. In it we will find Blessing, if we get on the right side of the road.
Friday, December 7, 2018
Lesson 117 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."
In John 8:9 (Amplified), we see the True Identity of God our Father is revealed to His family, through Jesus. Thus, it says, "Then they said to [Jesus], Where is this Father of Yours? Jesus answered, You know My Father as little as you know Me, if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
Keep this scripture in mind, while reading the New Testament and realize that GOd deals with us differently than He dealt with those under the old covenant. Don't get caught up in trying to walk and live under the Law. We are God's Own children, who live by faith and Grace. This is the Truth that comes through Jesus, according to Romans 4:13 (Amplified), which says, "For the Promise to Abraham or his posterity, that he should inherit the world, did not come through observing the commandments of the Law, but through the righteousness of faith." In Romans 4:16 (Amplified), Paul states this Truth, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith, and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed TO ALL his descendants."
If we were still under Law, this Promise would only be to those descendants, but under Grace, it's guaranteed TO ALL who are descendants by Grace. Jesus told His followers in Matthew 6:33 (Amplified), "But seek, aim at and strive after first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right) and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."
The Kingdom of God and His way of doing and being right, is something we need to seek after, "first of all." God Kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven) has a way of operating, that cannot and does not change. God will not alter His Word or His Kingdom, even for us. God's Word is "forever settled in Heaven," according to Psalm 119:89,130 (Amplified) which says, "Forever O Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven, stands firm as the Heavens." Verse 130 tells us, "The entrance and unfolding of Your Word gives Light; their unfolding gives understand, discernment and comprehension to the simple."
Isaiah 1:18-19 (Amplified) says, "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." It's difficult to be willing and obedient, if you don't know how the Kingdom operates or what we're to be obedient to. This might sound strange to some, but if we're not operating in God's way of doing and being right, then we're not obedient.
God's Kingdom operates on faith and faith alone. We can't work our way into God's Blessing and Promise. We must by faith, simply accept them, by faith in His Word. We've been trying to get to "Heaven to move," by our works, when Heaven has already moved by what Jesus has already done. All of God's Promises operate by faith in Jesus' Finished Word. 2Corinthians 1:20 (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."
Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified) tells us, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." This is why we are to "seek first God's way of doing and being right." God has a way that His Kingdom runs. We're to seek out His ways from God's Word and then walk in that. Jesus had no problem walking in the Promises, because He was always in the Temple, learning and understanding God's ways. Paul walked in the ways of God and knew that God's ways were higher than Saul's ways. When Paul reasoned with God with God's reasoning, he realized that the Law was no longer relevant, but it was now Grace, even to the Gentiles.
Few understood Paul, because he did things by God's way of doing and being right. God's Kingdom isn't some confused, unorthodox Spiritual Land, where we will float around on clouds. God's Kingdom (which we're now a part), has rules, laws, and governments that aren't run by majority rule. God's government rests on the shoulders of Jesus and the shoulders are in the Body. We need to learn the government of God's Kingdom and walk in it. In Matthew 18:18 (Amplified) Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare improper and unlawful on earth, must be what is already forbidden in Heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth, must be what is already permitted in Heaven."
When you seek first of all God and His way of doing and being right and God's Kingdom, then all of these things besides will be added unto you, according to Matthew 6:33. It's been easier for believers to
In John 8:9 (Amplified), we see the True Identity of God our Father is revealed to His family, through Jesus. Thus, it says, "Then they said to [Jesus], Where is this Father of Yours? Jesus answered, You know My Father as little as you know Me, if you knew Me, you would know My Father also."
Keep this scripture in mind, while reading the New Testament and realize that GOd deals with us differently than He dealt with those under the old covenant. Don't get caught up in trying to walk and live under the Law. We are God's Own children, who live by faith and Grace. This is the Truth that comes through Jesus, according to Romans 4:13 (Amplified), which says, "For the Promise to Abraham or his posterity, that he should inherit the world, did not come through observing the commandments of the Law, but through the righteousness of faith." In Romans 4:16 (Amplified), Paul states this Truth, "Therefore, inheriting the Promise is the outcome of faith, and depends entirely on faith, in order that it might be given as an act of Grace (unmerited favor), to make it stable and valid and guaranteed TO ALL his descendants."
If we were still under Law, this Promise would only be to those descendants, but under Grace, it's guaranteed TO ALL who are descendants by Grace. Jesus told His followers in Matthew 6:33 (Amplified), "But seek, aim at and strive after first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right) and then all these things taken together will be given you besides."
The Kingdom of God and His way of doing and being right, is something we need to seek after, "first of all." God Kingdom (the Kingdom of Heaven) has a way of operating, that cannot and does not change. God will not alter His Word or His Kingdom, even for us. God's Word is "forever settled in Heaven," according to Psalm 119:89,130 (Amplified) which says, "Forever O Lord, Your Word is settled in Heaven, stands firm as the Heavens." Verse 130 tells us, "The entrance and unfolding of Your Word gives Light; their unfolding gives understand, discernment and comprehension to the simple."
Isaiah 1:18-19 (Amplified) says, "Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land." It's difficult to be willing and obedient, if you don't know how the Kingdom operates or what we're to be obedient to. This might sound strange to some, but if we're not operating in God's way of doing and being right, then we're not obedient.
God's Kingdom operates on faith and faith alone. We can't work our way into God's Blessing and Promise. We must by faith, simply accept them, by faith in His Word. We've been trying to get to "Heaven to move," by our works, when Heaven has already moved by what Jesus has already done. All of God's Promises operate by faith in Jesus' Finished Word. 2Corinthians 1:20 (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."
Isaiah 55:8-9 (Amplified) tells us, "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts." This is why we are to "seek first God's way of doing and being right." God has a way that His Kingdom runs. We're to seek out His ways from God's Word and then walk in that. Jesus had no problem walking in the Promises, because He was always in the Temple, learning and understanding God's ways. Paul walked in the ways of God and knew that God's ways were higher than Saul's ways. When Paul reasoned with God with God's reasoning, he realized that the Law was no longer relevant, but it was now Grace, even to the Gentiles.
Few understood Paul, because he did things by God's way of doing and being right. God's Kingdom isn't some confused, unorthodox Spiritual Land, where we will float around on clouds. God's Kingdom (which we're now a part), has rules, laws, and governments that aren't run by majority rule. God's government rests on the shoulders of Jesus and the shoulders are in the Body. We need to learn the government of God's Kingdom and walk in it. In Matthew 18:18 (Amplified) Jesus says, "Truly I tell you, whatever you forbid and declare improper and unlawful on earth, must be what is already forbidden in Heaven, and whatever you permit and declare proper and lawful on earth, must be what is already permitted in Heaven."
When you seek first of all God and His way of doing and being right and God's Kingdom, then all of these things besides will be added unto you, according to Matthew 6:33. It's been easier for believers to
Lesson 120 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 favor upon favor and even 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 Spiritual Blessing talked about in the above scripture, begins with the Promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has now come into our lives and we have the Spiritual Blessings that couldn't be given to us, while we were spiritually dead in sin and trespasses. Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus (the Law of our new being), has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
We know that "the life is in the blood" and that when the blood ceases to flow in any creature (including mankind), that creature dies. We read about the first Passover in Exodus, where death had to pass over the homes where the Israelites covered the entrance of their homes with the blood of the lamb. The blood signified that death has come for all that were in the house, but the destroyer had to pass over that home. The Law of Sin and Death (where sin was-death had rule) required that the blood of an animal was needed to temporarily put-off death.
The Lord Jesus appeared to Paul in 1Corinthians 11:25-26 (Amplified) and instructed Paul to tell the Church this, "Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant, ratified and established in My Blood, Do this, as often as you drink it, to call Me affectionately to remembrance. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord's death until He comes again."
We take the cup of remembrance at communion, in order to continue remembering that by Jesus' Blood (His death), every requirement in the Law of Sin and Death has been met. Jesus made a declaration to the destroyer, that we're off limits to this Law. We don't do this, in order to remind the Lord, because He never forgets. It's not to remind the destroyer either, because he doesn't forget. We, however, do forget and thus, we take communion. The dictates of the flesh tell us that, "We don't deserve protection, but by the dictates of the Spirit, we're reminded that Grace has given us what we do not deserve.
This is the main thing that Romans 8:1 is saying to us. The Law of Sin and Death has met all the requirements in Jesus Christ and everyone who is in Him, has been set apart from the destroyer. The flesh will try telling you that, "You deserve to be destroyed," but if you'll allow the Spirit to dictate to you, then you can always know when taking communion, that Jesus met all the requirements of that Law.
Paul goes on in 1Corinthians 11:29-30 (Amplified), to remind us that when we take communion, while continuing to feel like we should be punished for our sins, then we eat and drink unworthy and have no faith in our Lamb. Thus, he writes, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that it is Christ's Body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment), upon himself. That careless and unworthy participation is the reason many of you are weak and sickly and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death."
This dictate is under the Laws that govern Heaven and the spirit world. When we observe the Law of faith and the Law of the Spirit of Life, which is in Christ Jesus, which is the Law of our new being, then we're signifying our observance of the dictates of the Spirit. We know and signify, that we're free of the Law of Sin and Death.
Of course we don't deserve it, but this is what Grace has done for us. Grace has granted to us, that which is unearned and undeserved, the freedom from the Law of Sin and Death. We've misunderstood the Laws that govern the Spirit realm. Even the unclean spirits must abide by these Laws. We've made taking the cup of His Blood, a tradition, instead of Truth.
God's Word tells us that we "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of spirit forces in the spirit realm." The destroyer doesn't care about our fleshly rituals, but only the Truth of the cup of the blood remembrance. Taking this cup doesn't only serve to remind us, but serves notice to the destroyer that we understand the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and the power of it. Everything we've done is under the Blood of Jesus Christ and the Law of Sin and Death no longer applies to us.
This stand of faith in the Blood of Christ, is one of the most misunderstood and misused laws that govern the Church. Our flesh keeps reminding us about our natural man, but the Spirit keeps reminding us of our new creation being. Whichever one we listen to, determines whether or not the destroyer has place in our lives. According to Jesus' Message to Paul, this is why so many are weak, sick and dead before their time.
Jesus told His followers in Matthew 6:33 (Amplified), "But seek (aim at and strive after), first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides." God's way of doing and being right, is based on the Spiritual Laws that govern the Spirit realm. Man's idea of communion says, "Don't drink if there is sin in your life," but God's idea of communion is, "This is to remind you that there is no sin in your life."
Does this mean that if I have done something wrong, then the Blood still covers me? The answer to this question is, "Yes." You couldn't be in sin, anymore than when you first received Jesus and the Blood made you off-limits to the destroyer even then. If you've committed sin, then at least be spiritual enough to know that the Blood of Jesus is still cleansing and protecting you. If you do sin now that you're saved, then it's none of the destroyer's business. It's only between you and your Heavenly Father and He will deal with you, by the Kingdom Laws of faith.
We're supposed to be under the Kingdom rule, of our Father. What we do now, is of no use to the destroyer. Sin is not what brings sickness, weakness or premature death to the child of God, but it's our not understanding the Laws governing the Kingdom and it's King, that bring these things. We are supposed to remember His death, when taking the cup.
We've spent a lifetime, trying to govern the flesh-by the flesh. We've made up rules and man-made laws, in order to stop the flesh from doing wrong. Even the Law of Moses did this. We operate in a much higher Law than the old covenant. We live by and through the Law of the Spirit of Life, which is in Christ Jesus. This Law comes through the Holy Spirit and the Word of Truth, into our new creation spirit. We build and strengthen our spirit, through the Holy Spirit and God's Word, whereby we contain the lusts of the flesh, by being strong in the Lord and His Might.
We cannot overcome the flesh, by the flesh. This is man-made religion and has no profit in it, 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 whatever, there is no profit in it. The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life." We are to rule the flesh, by the spirit and not by the flesh. The man-made laws of religion, only lead to more condemnation and guilt, which overflows to opening the door to the destroyer. Remember what Paul said in 1Corinthians 11:30 (Amplified), "This careless and unworthy participation is the reason any of you (in the Church) are weak, and sickly and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death." We must believe the Word and not the flesh. Remind yourself that, "By the Blood of Christ Jesus, you're off-limits to the Law of Sin and Death and the destroyer."
The Spiritual Blessing talked about in the above scripture, begins with the Promise of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has now come into our lives and we have the Spiritual Blessings that couldn't be given to us, while we were spiritually dead in sin and trespasses. Paul writes in Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified), "Therefore, there is now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live and walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the Law of the Spirit of Life which is in Christ Jesus (the Law of our new being), has freed me from the Law of Sin and of Death."
We know that "the life is in the blood" and that when the blood ceases to flow in any creature (including mankind), that creature dies. We read about the first Passover in Exodus, where death had to pass over the homes where the Israelites covered the entrance of their homes with the blood of the lamb. The blood signified that death has come for all that were in the house, but the destroyer had to pass over that home. The Law of Sin and Death (where sin was-death had rule) required that the blood of an animal was needed to temporarily put-off death.
The Lord Jesus appeared to Paul in 1Corinthians 11:25-26 (Amplified) and instructed Paul to tell the Church this, "Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant, ratified and established in My Blood, Do this, as often as you drink it, to call Me affectionately to remembrance. For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord's death until He comes again."
We take the cup of remembrance at communion, in order to continue remembering that by Jesus' Blood (His death), every requirement in the Law of Sin and Death has been met. Jesus made a declaration to the destroyer, that we're off limits to this Law. We don't do this, in order to remind the Lord, because He never forgets. It's not to remind the destroyer either, because he doesn't forget. We, however, do forget and thus, we take communion. The dictates of the flesh tell us that, "We don't deserve protection, but by the dictates of the Spirit, we're reminded that Grace has given us what we do not deserve.
This is the main thing that Romans 8:1 is saying to us. The Law of Sin and Death has met all the requirements in Jesus Christ and everyone who is in Him, has been set apart from the destroyer. The flesh will try telling you that, "You deserve to be destroyed," but if you'll allow the Spirit to dictate to you, then you can always know when taking communion, that Jesus met all the requirements of that Law.
Paul goes on in 1Corinthians 11:29-30 (Amplified), to remind us that when we take communion, while continuing to feel like we should be punished for our sins, then we eat and drink unworthy and have no faith in our Lamb. Thus, he writes, "For anyone who eats and drinks without discriminating and recognizing with due appreciation that it is Christ's Body, eats and drinks a sentence (a verdict of judgment), upon himself. That careless and unworthy participation is the reason many of you are weak and sickly and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death."
This dictate is under the Laws that govern Heaven and the spirit world. When we observe the Law of faith and the Law of the Spirit of Life, which is in Christ Jesus, which is the Law of our new being, then we're signifying our observance of the dictates of the Spirit. We know and signify, that we're free of the Law of Sin and Death.
Of course we don't deserve it, but this is what Grace has done for us. Grace has granted to us, that which is unearned and undeserved, the freedom from the Law of Sin and Death. We've misunderstood the Laws that govern the Spirit realm. Even the unclean spirits must abide by these Laws. We've made taking the cup of His Blood, a tradition, instead of Truth.
God's Word tells us that we "wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers of spirit forces in the spirit realm." The destroyer doesn't care about our fleshly rituals, but only the Truth of the cup of the blood remembrance. Taking this cup doesn't only serve to remind us, but serves notice to the destroyer that we understand the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus and the power of it. Everything we've done is under the Blood of Jesus Christ and the Law of Sin and Death no longer applies to us.
This stand of faith in the Blood of Christ, is one of the most misunderstood and misused laws that govern the Church. Our flesh keeps reminding us about our natural man, but the Spirit keeps reminding us of our new creation being. Whichever one we listen to, determines whether or not the destroyer has place in our lives. According to Jesus' Message to Paul, this is why so many are weak, sick and dead before their time.
Jesus told His followers in Matthew 6:33 (Amplified), "But seek (aim at and strive after), first of all His Kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides." God's way of doing and being right, is based on the Spiritual Laws that govern the Spirit realm. Man's idea of communion says, "Don't drink if there is sin in your life," but God's idea of communion is, "This is to remind you that there is no sin in your life."
Does this mean that if I have done something wrong, then the Blood still covers me? The answer to this question is, "Yes." You couldn't be in sin, anymore than when you first received Jesus and the Blood made you off-limits to the destroyer even then. If you've committed sin, then at least be spiritual enough to know that the Blood of Jesus is still cleansing and protecting you. If you do sin now that you're saved, then it's none of the destroyer's business. It's only between you and your Heavenly Father and He will deal with you, by the Kingdom Laws of faith.
We're supposed to be under the Kingdom rule, of our Father. What we do now, is of no use to the destroyer. Sin is not what brings sickness, weakness or premature death to the child of God, but it's our not understanding the Laws governing the Kingdom and it's King, that bring these things. We are supposed to remember His death, when taking the cup.
We've spent a lifetime, trying to govern the flesh-by the flesh. We've made up rules and man-made laws, in order to stop the flesh from doing wrong. Even the Law of Moses did this. We operate in a much higher Law than the old covenant. We live by and through the Law of the Spirit of Life, which is in Christ Jesus. This Law comes through the Holy Spirit and the Word of Truth, into our new creation spirit. We build and strengthen our spirit, through the Holy Spirit and God's Word, whereby we contain the lusts of the flesh, by being strong in the Lord and His Might.
We cannot overcome the flesh, by the flesh. This is man-made religion and has no profit in it, 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 whatever, there is no profit in it. The Words (Truths) that I have been speaking to you are Spirit and Life." We are to rule the flesh, by the spirit and not by the flesh. The man-made laws of religion, only lead to more condemnation and guilt, which overflows to opening the door to the destroyer. Remember what Paul said in 1Corinthians 11:30 (Amplified), "This careless and unworthy participation is the reason any of you (in the Church) are weak, and sickly and quite enough of you have fallen into the sleep of death." We must believe the Word and not the flesh. Remind yourself that, "By the Blood of Christ Jesus, you're off-limits to the Law of Sin and Death and the destroyer."
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
Lesson 119 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 we unwrap Christmas this year, let's see what was delivered to us, through this Gift of salvation. We read the phrase, "In Him," many times throughout the New Testament, so let's see exactly what we received In Him. If God's Word is true (and we know that it is), then let's look into what the Father Promised to us, In Him. 2Corinthians 1:20 (Amplified) tells us, "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."
The above scripture shows us the fulfillment of all God's Promises to us, came to us in Christ Jesus. This leaves nothing out, that God Promised to us from Genesis to Revelations. These Promises aren't contingent on the Law, performance or works, but on faith and trust in God's Word through Jesus. This is why faith is so important to the child of God today. We've learned so many errant things and unlearning them can be difficult. Paul tells us we must renew our minds, in Romans 12:2 (Amplified) saying, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to it's external superficial customs, but be transformed, changed by the entire renewal of your mind, by its new ideals and its new attitude, so that you may prove for yourself what is the Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
God's Good will is that everyone should be saved and none should perish. His acceptable will is that we're perfect or mature, like He is perfect or mature. If you're born-again, then you're in the will of God. In Him now, we're called to grow up into the place where we know His will for our lives. You can't do this for another person, but you can do it for yourself and prove for yourself what is His will for you.
It's God's will that, "Whosoever believes in and trusts in Jesus should not perish, but have eternal Life," according to John 3:16. This is God's will for the world. 1Peter 2:2 (Amplified) says, "Like newborn babies you should crave, thirst for, earnestly desire, the pure unadulterated Spiritual milk (the Word) that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto complete salvation."
Many Christians have never developed beyond the baby stage, because we've been content to let someone else prepare our bottles and feed us, instead of earnestly desiring the Spiritual milk for ourselves. Every baby needs someone to care for and nurture them into maturity, but every baby will grow into adulthood and bring forth responsibility of their own. Thank God for the five-fold ministry that Jesus gave to the Church, but Paul writes in Ephesians 4:12-13,14 (Amplified), "His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), that they should do the work of ministering toward building up Christ's Body (the Church) that it might develop until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full, accurate knowledge of the Son of God, that we might arrive at really mature manhood, the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's Own perfection, the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him." Paul goes on in Verse 14, saying, "So then, we may no longer be children, tossed like ships, to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, the prey of the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, gamblers engaged in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead."
Since God gave us teachers, I assume He intends for us to learn. Since we're to learn, like our school days, our teachers assigned homework. In other words, the teachers weren't going to do this for us. Many today only learn from Sunday morning services and have never studied to show themselves approved. They don't know whether the teaching is right or wrong. The five-fold ministry doesn't take the place of the Holy Spirit as our Teacher.
Teachers in school can only teach a class in general. They cannot teach each student according to their vocation in life. It's left up to each student to pursue his or her education, as they progress in life. Many choose to continue their education, beyond high school, to prepare for their future careers. The Church has pastors and teachers who can bring us to a place in God, that is His Good and even acceptable will. We're the only ones who can bring ourselves to the place of being in God's perfect will. When we learn to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and walk in His Wisdom, we can become vessels to be used by the Master. God would use anyone and everyone, if we would only learn to hear His Voice.
We read about a man named Ananias in Acts 9:10-11 (Amplified) which says, "Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he answered; Here am I Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying there."
We don't read anything about Ananias before or after this meeting with God, but he was obviously a man who spent time with the Master. He didn't just hear God, but he obeyed God. This didn't come from just going to Church on Sundays, but came from spending time and doing his homework. I don't know who Ananias was, but God knew him and he knew God. If was the only time God used Ananias, then he was instrumental in bringing the greatest Apostle and writer of the New Testament into the Church. The above scripture doesn't tell us that Ananias was an apostle or pastor, but this man spent enough time with the Lord, that he knew and obeyed His Voice.
If you've been reading the beginning scripture of John 1:16-17, then you know that, "we were all given, granted, and Blessed with and supplied with favor, Grace, Truth and Gifts." These things weren't supplied with just "some people," but were supplied to "all" and "all have received these things." What you do with what God has supplied you with, is up to you. God wants to use you in a way you can't even imagine, but He has left that in your hands.
There are many doctrines in today's Church and in the land, with some being right and some not so much. When you know God's Word and His Holy Spirit, then you're responsible to know the real things from the false. 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." This doesn't mean you don't need a teacher, but the anointing that you've received from Him, will tell you whether what you're being taught is Truth or it's conformity to this age and world.
Ananias was able to determine if he was hearing from God or not, because of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit. Our spirit, through the Holy Spirit, bears witness to the Truth. Much of what we're hearing today from the world and religion, is conformity and compromise. You're called by the Holy Spirit to know the difference. No preacher can take the place of our individual fellowship with the Father and the Word. We must let Him teach and determine what we hear and accept. This doesn't mean you're to be a "Lone Ranger Christian," but you don't have to follow the broad and wide patch that leads to destruction either. You've part of the Body of Christ and each part has a place in which to operate, as it's called. You might not think you're an important part of the Body, like the heart, but it only takes one tiny vein or artery to become plugged and stop the heart. Be who God has called you to be and you'll be in the perfect will of God.
As we unwrap Christmas this year, let's see what was delivered to us, through this Gift of salvation. We read the phrase, "In Him," many times throughout the New Testament, so let's see exactly what we received In Him. If God's Word is true (and we know that it is), then let's look into what the Father Promised to us, In Him. 2Corinthians 1:20 (Amplified) tells us, "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."
The above scripture shows us the fulfillment of all God's Promises to us, came to us in Christ Jesus. This leaves nothing out, that God Promised to us from Genesis to Revelations. These Promises aren't contingent on the Law, performance or works, but on faith and trust in God's Word through Jesus. This is why faith is so important to the child of God today. We've learned so many errant things and unlearning them can be difficult. Paul tells us we must renew our minds, in Romans 12:2 (Amplified) saying, "Do not be conformed to this world (this age), fashioned after and adapted to it's external superficial customs, but be transformed, changed by the entire renewal of your mind, by its new ideals and its new attitude, so that you may prove for yourself what is the Good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is Good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you."
God's Good will is that everyone should be saved and none should perish. His acceptable will is that we're perfect or mature, like He is perfect or mature. If you're born-again, then you're in the will of God. In Him now, we're called to grow up into the place where we know His will for our lives. You can't do this for another person, but you can do it for yourself and prove for yourself what is His will for you.
It's God's will that, "Whosoever believes in and trusts in Jesus should not perish, but have eternal Life," according to John 3:16. This is God's will for the world. 1Peter 2:2 (Amplified) says, "Like newborn babies you should crave, thirst for, earnestly desire, the pure unadulterated Spiritual milk (the Word) that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto complete salvation."
Many Christians have never developed beyond the baby stage, because we've been content to let someone else prepare our bottles and feed us, instead of earnestly desiring the Spiritual milk for ourselves. Every baby needs someone to care for and nurture them into maturity, but every baby will grow into adulthood and bring forth responsibility of their own. Thank God for the five-fold ministry that Jesus gave to the Church, but Paul writes in Ephesians 4:12-13,14 (Amplified), "His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), that they should do the work of ministering toward building up Christ's Body (the Church) that it might develop until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehension of the full, accurate knowledge of the Son of God, that we might arrive at really mature manhood, the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ's Own perfection, the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him." Paul goes on in Verse 14, saying, "So then, we may no longer be children, tossed like ships, to and fro between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of doctrine, the prey of the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, gamblers engaged in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to mislead."
Since God gave us teachers, I assume He intends for us to learn. Since we're to learn, like our school days, our teachers assigned homework. In other words, the teachers weren't going to do this for us. Many today only learn from Sunday morning services and have never studied to show themselves approved. They don't know whether the teaching is right or wrong. The five-fold ministry doesn't take the place of the Holy Spirit as our Teacher.
Teachers in school can only teach a class in general. They cannot teach each student according to their vocation in life. It's left up to each student to pursue his or her education, as they progress in life. Many choose to continue their education, beyond high school, to prepare for their future careers. The Church has pastors and teachers who can bring us to a place in God, that is His Good and even acceptable will. We're the only ones who can bring ourselves to the place of being in God's perfect will. When we learn to listen to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and walk in His Wisdom, we can become vessels to be used by the Master. God would use anyone and everyone, if we would only learn to hear His Voice.
We read about a man named Ananias in Acts 9:10-11 (Amplified) which says, "Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias, and he answered; Here am I Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up and go to the street called Straight and ask at the house of Judas for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying there."
We don't read anything about Ananias before or after this meeting with God, but he was obviously a man who spent time with the Master. He didn't just hear God, but he obeyed God. This didn't come from just going to Church on Sundays, but came from spending time and doing his homework. I don't know who Ananias was, but God knew him and he knew God. If was the only time God used Ananias, then he was instrumental in bringing the greatest Apostle and writer of the New Testament into the Church. The above scripture doesn't tell us that Ananias was an apostle or pastor, but this man spent enough time with the Lord, that he knew and obeyed His Voice.
If you've been reading the beginning scripture of John 1:16-17, then you know that, "we were all given, granted, and Blessed with and supplied with favor, Grace, Truth and Gifts." These things weren't supplied with just "some people," but were supplied to "all" and "all have received these things." What you do with what God has supplied you with, is up to you. God wants to use you in a way you can't even imagine, but He has left that in your hands.
There are many doctrines in today's Church and in the land, with some being right and some not so much. When you know God's Word and His Holy Spirit, then you're responsible to know the real things from the false. 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." This doesn't mean you don't need a teacher, but the anointing that you've received from Him, will tell you whether what you're being taught is Truth or it's conformity to this age and world.
Ananias was able to determine if he was hearing from God or not, because of the Anointing of the Holy Spirit. Our spirit, through the Holy Spirit, bears witness to the Truth. Much of what we're hearing today from the world and religion, is conformity and compromise. You're called by the Holy Spirit to know the difference. No preacher can take the place of our individual fellowship with the Father and the Word. We must let Him teach and determine what we hear and accept. This doesn't mean you're to be a "Lone Ranger Christian," but you don't have to follow the broad and wide patch that leads to destruction either. You've part of the Body of Christ and each part has a place in which to operate, as it's called. You might not think you're an important part of the Body, like the heart, but it only takes one tiny vein or artery to become plugged and stop the heart. Be who God has called you to be and you'll be in the perfect will of God.
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