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.
    

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