We have limited God's grace and goodness in our lives because we lack hearing this goodness preached and not putting faith in what we did hear like in Romans 10:17. Even after we hear about God's goodness, it almost always preached about in the light of our doing something to deserve it. And, it seem like we can never do enough to deserve it. That's what grace is.
All of God's mercy, grace, favor, power, deliverance, His goodness and His promise, are all by grace. God's great love for His family is the basis of all His goodness. He so loved the world that He gave. Gave what? Everything the heart of a loving Father and an Almighty God had to give, which was everything heaven had to pour out on this earth. When God poured out His Spirit on mankind, He actually poured out Himself on everyone who will accept Him.
Remember, everything that is on and in this planet (including the planet itself) came from the Spirit of God. Now we have the promise of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is the blessing promised to Abraham in Galatians 3. This isn't simply the ability to speak in tongues, but is in reality, the whole of the Creator Himself to create a new creation. 2Corinthians 5:17-21 (Amplified) says we are a "new creation" by the same Spirit of God as in the first creation. This "new creation" has the entire blessing that was on Adam and more. It is the Joint Heir of Jesus Himself.
We still, somehow believe that we're taking advantage of God if we believe for something too big or we expect too much. It view God like He's some rich old man Who we are trying to extract favors from by fraud. Remember, this covenant was God's idea. He knew who and what we were. God didn't ask us what we could do, He only depended on what He could do. God knew we could never live up to what we would expect of ourselves and fulfilled the covenant by His goodness for us.
Dare to trust God's goodness for the fullness of His grace. It's sort of working with a net and you can't fail. If you miss it, then try again. Don't do what the Israelites did in the wilderness and let the "word of giants" prevent you from entering into God's promise of rest. Only twelve spies actually even saw the giants while scouting the Promised Land. The simple retelling about the giants kept them from the Promised Land even though the spies brought back bountiful produce from there.
There are times when we do the same after hearing a testimony and allow the word of the testimony override the proof of the promise. The retelling of Jesus being raised from the dead should be all the proof any believer needs. We were raised with Him and seated at God's right hand with Him in power, goodness, blessing, protection and unity. This is God's new covenant and we've received the dominion of His covenant and have been reunited as His family, through Jesus.
If grace and truth came through Jesus and Jesus lives in us, then is there any part of this grace and truth held back from those who seek it out? Jesus wasn't a down payment on a layaway. He was the whole price of redemption. Everything that was lost is now restored, with the exception of the glorified body that will come at the end of the Church age. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
We need the Joshuas and Calebs who will see the giants and say, "We are well able to take the Land, and the giants are meat for us." Some say that this is too extreme when they hear that. God hears the sound like Elijah did and hears an abundance of rain in a cloud the size of a man's hand. It sounds like faith in His goodness and promise through Jesus.
If you dare to believe and fail, then you still have the opportunity to try again. God never limits His grace to strengthen and lift us up. The results of my laying hands on others, aren't always perfect, but I do get results. My faith improves through every victory and the victories improve through every deed of my faith in His grace.
When I see somehow who is sick, I know this isn't what God meant when He said, "Everything was good." Therefore, I can have faith that my God will return everything that is out of order. My faith must grow in His grace or it won't grow at all. I must study and seek the full knowledge of His grace according to 2Timothy 1:2 where it will multiply what my faith will receive.
Failures in my Christian walk can be expected, much like when I learned to walk. But, I stayed at it until I can now walk without falling on my backside. Walking looked impossible when I was five years old, but I've grown in my faith and walk with my Father.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Lesson 8 Faith and Grace
John 1:17 (Amplified) says, "For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
We probably never think about grace being granted to the entire world, but only to the believer. Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) though, says, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgement and made partakers of Christ's salvation through (your) faith. And this (salvation) is not of yourselves (of your own doing, it came not through your own striving) but it is the gift of God."
Grace has been granted and poured out on the entire world through the coming of Jesus. Why then, hasn't the whole world come to salvation? Because they haven't believed, by faith, in this grace. We've placed faith in what we heard about Jesus and salvation was the result of our faith. Even after being saved, faith is a very important part of our Christian walk. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So faith comes by hearing (what is told) and what is heard comes by the preaching (of the message that came from the lips) of Christ (the Messiah Himself)."
Even after we've received salvation by faith in God's grace, we have only believed (put faith in) certain portions of God's grace. 2Peter 1:2 (Amplified) says, "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you (in the full personal and precise and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
Grace has granted so much more to us than the simple assurance of heaven when we die. It has granted things to us while we live here on earth. We haven't put our faith into what grace has provided here for us and therefore, we don't partake of what is has provided. It's like the lost man not putting faith in what he's heard about salvation. Everything God has provided is produced from our ability to believe in what He has done.
There are so many questions plaguing today's Church that could be answered if we'd only put faith in God's grace for our lives. We still live in a fallen world and there are things occurring here that aren't God's will. I do not believe it's God's will for the world's children to die from starvation and disease. Nor do I believe it's God will that men should butcher one another and murder one another. I believe that it all comes back to us putting our faith in what God's grace has made available to us.
God's grace in John 3:16 (Amplified) says that, "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up His Only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him, shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life." 1Timothy 2:3-4 (Amplified) says, "For such (praying) is good and right, and (it is) pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior Who wishes all men to be saved and (increasingly) to perceive and discern and know precisely and correctly the (divine) truth." God has provided salvation and grace to all mankind, without exception. There will still be those who will not believe or put faith in what God's done.
We, the Church, have done the same thing when it comes to His grace. We've been afraid to trust God concerning parts of His grace. And, because we've failed to put faith into these portions of God's grace, we haven't appropriated them into our lives, even though they are ours by His unmerited favor.
We know that we cannot be saved by our own good works and that salvation is given totally by God's grace. We continue feeling as though everything else that grace provides must be granted by our good works. We continue trying to be deserving of God's healing until we put faith in our actions rather than God's Word.
We're like the people referred to in Hebrews 4:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, While the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered (today) let us be afraid (to distrust it) lest any of you should think that he has come too late and has come short of (reaching it)." Verse 2 says, "For indeed we have had the glad tidings (Gospel of God) proclaimed to us, just as truly as they 9the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them) but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it. Neither were they united in faith with the ones (Joshua and Caleb) who heard (and did believe)."
I don't know why we find it so difficult to believe that God is good. God is God. He can do what He wants and He want to be good to us. Our way of thinking has become that God can't really be so good because, after all, we don't really deserve His goodness. That's what grace is really about. We don't deserve and cannot do anything to be able to deserve it.
Like the people from long ago, we've been afraid to trust God's grace and goodness. Romans 2:4 (Amplified) says, "Or are you (so blind as to) trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant (of the fact) that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?" The King James Version says, "It is the goodness of God, that brings man to repentance (to change his mind about God)."
We've focused so intently on our own failures that we feel undeserving of God's goodness. We forget that it was His goodness that saved us when we were at our worst. Now that we have believed and placed our faith in His goodness to save us, is there anything His goodness won't overcome and do?
The Israelites in the wilderness had the same promise of His grace, but refused to accept it by faith. God brought them out of bondage with great wealth, healing and health. He dwelt with them in their camp. He led them with His presence. He warmed them with fire, shaded them with smoke and delivered them from their enemies, but they wouldn't enter into and rest in His goodness.
When Joshua and Caleb dared trust God for His goodness, they were shouted down and out voted by unbelievers in the camp. Do you recognize the greatest part of this story? Even though none would dare to believe, God didn't cease performing His will for those who did believe Him.
Although no other ones would believe God for His grace to heal, deliver of perform His goodness in their lives, God wasn't stopped from giving His grace. Nothing can stop Him from doing it for you, too, if you will only believe what He's said and done by His grace and His goodness. We can find testimonies throughout the world telling about God's healing power and His goodness. We choose to believe that grace is "special" for a few. It is something special God has done for those who aren't afraid to trust His goodness and grace.
We probably never think about grace being granted to the entire world, but only to the believer. Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) though, says, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgement and made partakers of Christ's salvation through (your) faith. And this (salvation) is not of yourselves (of your own doing, it came not through your own striving) but it is the gift of God."
Grace has been granted and poured out on the entire world through the coming of Jesus. Why then, hasn't the whole world come to salvation? Because they haven't believed, by faith, in this grace. We've placed faith in what we heard about Jesus and salvation was the result of our faith. Even after being saved, faith is a very important part of our Christian walk. Romans 10:17 (Amplified) says, "So faith comes by hearing (what is told) and what is heard comes by the preaching (of the message that came from the lips) of Christ (the Messiah Himself)."
Even after we've received salvation by faith in God's grace, we have only believed (put faith in) certain portions of God's grace. 2Peter 1:2 (Amplified) says, "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you (in the full personal and precise and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."
Grace has granted so much more to us than the simple assurance of heaven when we die. It has granted things to us while we live here on earth. We haven't put our faith into what grace has provided here for us and therefore, we don't partake of what is has provided. It's like the lost man not putting faith in what he's heard about salvation. Everything God has provided is produced from our ability to believe in what He has done.
There are so many questions plaguing today's Church that could be answered if we'd only put faith in God's grace for our lives. We still live in a fallen world and there are things occurring here that aren't God's will. I do not believe it's God's will for the world's children to die from starvation and disease. Nor do I believe it's God will that men should butcher one another and murder one another. I believe that it all comes back to us putting our faith in what God's grace has made available to us.
God's grace in John 3:16 (Amplified) says that, "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up His Only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him, shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life." 1Timothy 2:3-4 (Amplified) says, "For such (praying) is good and right, and (it is) pleasing and acceptable to God our Savior Who wishes all men to be saved and (increasingly) to perceive and discern and know precisely and correctly the (divine) truth." God has provided salvation and grace to all mankind, without exception. There will still be those who will not believe or put faith in what God's done.
We, the Church, have done the same thing when it comes to His grace. We've been afraid to trust God concerning parts of His grace. And, because we've failed to put faith into these portions of God's grace, we haven't appropriated them into our lives, even though they are ours by His unmerited favor.
We know that we cannot be saved by our own good works and that salvation is given totally by God's grace. We continue feeling as though everything else that grace provides must be granted by our good works. We continue trying to be deserving of God's healing until we put faith in our actions rather than God's Word.
We're like the people referred to in Hebrews 4:1-2 (Amplified) which says, "Therefore, While the promise of entering His rest still holds and is offered (today) let us be afraid (to distrust it) lest any of you should think that he has come too late and has come short of (reaching it)." Verse 2 says, "For indeed we have had the glad tidings (Gospel of God) proclaimed to us, just as truly as they 9the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them) but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it. Neither were they united in faith with the ones (Joshua and Caleb) who heard (and did believe)."
I don't know why we find it so difficult to believe that God is good. God is God. He can do what He wants and He want to be good to us. Our way of thinking has become that God can't really be so good because, after all, we don't really deserve His goodness. That's what grace is really about. We don't deserve and cannot do anything to be able to deserve it.
Like the people from long ago, we've been afraid to trust God's grace and goodness. Romans 2:4 (Amplified) says, "Or are you (so blind as to) trifle with and presume upon and despise and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant (of the fact) that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repent (to change your mind and inner man to accept God's will)?" The King James Version says, "It is the goodness of God, that brings man to repentance (to change his mind about God)."
We've focused so intently on our own failures that we feel undeserving of God's goodness. We forget that it was His goodness that saved us when we were at our worst. Now that we have believed and placed our faith in His goodness to save us, is there anything His goodness won't overcome and do?
The Israelites in the wilderness had the same promise of His grace, but refused to accept it by faith. God brought them out of bondage with great wealth, healing and health. He dwelt with them in their camp. He led them with His presence. He warmed them with fire, shaded them with smoke and delivered them from their enemies, but they wouldn't enter into and rest in His goodness.
When Joshua and Caleb dared trust God for His goodness, they were shouted down and out voted by unbelievers in the camp. Do you recognize the greatest part of this story? Even though none would dare to believe, God didn't cease performing His will for those who did believe Him.
Although no other ones would believe God for His grace to heal, deliver of perform His goodness in their lives, God wasn't stopped from giving His grace. Nothing can stop Him from doing it for you, too, if you will only believe what He's said and done by His grace and His goodness. We can find testimonies throughout the world telling about God's healing power and His goodness. We choose to believe that grace is "special" for a few. It is something special God has done for those who aren't afraid to trust His goodness and grace.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Lesson 7 Faith and Grace
Countless developments have occurred over the past two thousand years concerning the scriptures, that we have come up with many different views of Jesus and our new covenant. Some have come because of different translations of the Bible and some have come because of the way we understand the scriptures. Certainly though, we all agree on the fact that salvation comes only through Jesus.
There are so many differing opinions and speculation about our salvation that leave some believing one thing and others another. We've had many divisions occur in the Body of Christ because of the way we view scriptures. I don't believe there's any difference in the way God said it, but rather in the way we heard it. Even during Jesus' Own time, if He said something they disagreed with or disbelieved in, then they would discount it.
I went to find out certain things from the Lord for myself when I first got saved. The same should be for the readers of these blogs. Many people say that God spoke certain things to them. The Apostle Paul wrote about what "Jesus told him" and we have only Paul's word about it. There are people today who still disagree with Paul's revelation in one way or another.
The Bible assures us that if we lack wisdom, then we should ask God and He will give it to us. James 1:5 (Amplified) says, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God (Who gives) to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given him."
Sometimes, we forget that as individuals, we each have the liberty to go before the Father and seek wisdom from His Holy Spirit. God's Word will still do everything that He ever said it would...no matter what. The Word of God will work for anyone, even if no one else believes it. God will do for one or one billion persons who will believe Him. During His time on earth, Jesus said and did many things that only He believed. Just because the others didn't believe it, didn't mean that it wouldn't work for Jesus (Who did believe).
You might be the only person who dares believe what God has to say to you, but first, you must be certain it's God Who speaks. Being unsure that it's God Who has spoken to us is what mostly prevents our entering into the deeper things of God. God isn't limited to His written Word, but He will never speak contrary to His written Word. And, God will never say one thing and then do something contrary to it.
If God says that, "All who call upon the Lord will be saved," then He will never tell you that you weren't chosen to be saved. If God said something, then He meant what He said. There are many people who over the years have been unsure whether God is their answer or their problem. We've debated with one another for years about whether God uses sickness, disease and even the devil to deal with His children. And, sadly, this battle will most likely still be raging when Jesus returns.
For my own Christian walk, I go to the Lord like James 1:5 says. I don't go to have some other doctrine to preach or to start another war in the Body of Christ, but for my own personal walk with my Heavenly Father. I remember being unsure over the subject of God's trying and testing His children. I'd heard many good men of God preach both points of view and was unsure which side to believe. I don't believe they were false prophets or that they are deliberately trying to deceive God's people, but I know they can't both be right.
I needed to know for myself which was right so I could walk before God in faith and grace. If God put sickness on me to teach me a lesson, then I'm in error going to the doctor to remove what He gave me, but I should learn from that sickness. If I'm being tested, then I need to know how and why so I can know how to study, learn and pass this test. If I don't know why or what I'm being tested on, then how will I ever be able to pass this test? The teachers alerted us about an upcoming test and what we should study in order to pass the test. I never had a teacher say she was giving a math test tomorrow and then give us a history test instead.
Confusion has nearly paralyzed the faith in today's Church. We've come to where we don't know what to believe or not. Anyone who truly loves God, wants to walk in the fullness of His truth and enjoy all of His grace. We want to know how to enter into God's rest and to trust His Word.
I once asked the Lord whether He used sickness and disease to teach, train and correct His children. The Holy Spirit spoke into my spirit using a scripture that I had to bring to the forefront of my spirit. He told me that, "This will be as the waters of Noah, unto Me." This might not mean anything to you, but it meant everything to me. I found this passage in Isaiah 54:7-9 (Amplified) which says, "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you (to Me) again." Verses 8-9 say, "In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer for this is like the days of Noah to Me; As I swore that the waters should no more go over the earth, So have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
The confidence that Noah had was that the rains may come, but will never destroy anymore. Every time the rain came, his covenant with God was reinforced with the appearance of the rainbow. Every time I see the rainbow, I trust in God's mercy and His promise to me and have the peace that this judgment won't be on me again.
The rainbow was Noah's assurance that the floods would never happen again. The cross was to be like the rainbow was to Noah and every time I looked upon the cross I would know that God would never do those things to me again.
This still might not mean anything to you, but to me everything was settled for my own personal walk with my Father. I had no need to fear that God was testing and teaching me with fear, sickness or punishment. I can look upon the cross and find peace and trust for my own walk. If this isn't your reality, then this might still mean nothing. I didn't seek Him to have something contrary to preach, but to have something concrete in my life to build off from.
God's Word will always work in what He sent it to do. If you were the only person on earth who believed in salvation through Jesus' sacrifice, then it would still work for you. Wouldn't it? Of course it would. We have a responsibility to seek truth out on our own. I don't mean we should disregard everyone and everything we've been taught throughout the years, but we must discover where we stand for our own walk.
I don't want you to simply take my word just because I believe, am a man of God or a Pastor. If you believe anything, then I want you to believe it because it's God's Word and you believe it for yourself. There are too many times where we've believed something simply because someone else believed it. If it's what someone else believes and not what you believe for yourself, then it's not really faith.
People the world over are caught up in cults and diverse religions because they believes what others said and didn't seek wisdom and truth on their own. We, the Church, are one Body made up of many parts where each part plays an important part in the Body, but each is still different in nature. Although you're part of the Body, you are not the whole Body. As individuals, we are obligated to seek God on our own and to have a personal relationship with Him.
Every part of the Body is important, but every part is not the whole. Each part has it's own function in order to keep the whole operating. I know that I hold differing beliefs than others in the Body. If I find that I am wrong and they are right, according to the Word, then I will come into union with them. I will go with the truth, but not via a Democratic vote. When it comes to the Word of God, it's not always that the majority rules.
I encourage each of you to seek God on your own as well as be in fellowship with His family. We're all part of the Body of Christ and it doesn't depend on what we know or what we don't know. Some new "revelation" doesn't make us a separate Body, but an aid to the rest of the Body. It doesn't come in order to start another denomination (God forbid), but comes to aid and reveal the Light and truths of God's Word. All of us have a personal relationship with the Father, this is what Jesus' sacrifice was for. We're not to have a religion, but a relationship with Christ, as a whole Body and as individuals.
There are so many differing opinions and speculation about our salvation that leave some believing one thing and others another. We've had many divisions occur in the Body of Christ because of the way we view scriptures. I don't believe there's any difference in the way God said it, but rather in the way we heard it. Even during Jesus' Own time, if He said something they disagreed with or disbelieved in, then they would discount it.
I went to find out certain things from the Lord for myself when I first got saved. The same should be for the readers of these blogs. Many people say that God spoke certain things to them. The Apostle Paul wrote about what "Jesus told him" and we have only Paul's word about it. There are people today who still disagree with Paul's revelation in one way or another.
The Bible assures us that if we lack wisdom, then we should ask God and He will give it to us. James 1:5 (Amplified) says, "If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God (Who gives) to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or fault finding, and it will be given him."
Sometimes, we forget that as individuals, we each have the liberty to go before the Father and seek wisdom from His Holy Spirit. God's Word will still do everything that He ever said it would...no matter what. The Word of God will work for anyone, even if no one else believes it. God will do for one or one billion persons who will believe Him. During His time on earth, Jesus said and did many things that only He believed. Just because the others didn't believe it, didn't mean that it wouldn't work for Jesus (Who did believe).
You might be the only person who dares believe what God has to say to you, but first, you must be certain it's God Who speaks. Being unsure that it's God Who has spoken to us is what mostly prevents our entering into the deeper things of God. God isn't limited to His written Word, but He will never speak contrary to His written Word. And, God will never say one thing and then do something contrary to it.
If God says that, "All who call upon the Lord will be saved," then He will never tell you that you weren't chosen to be saved. If God said something, then He meant what He said. There are many people who over the years have been unsure whether God is their answer or their problem. We've debated with one another for years about whether God uses sickness, disease and even the devil to deal with His children. And, sadly, this battle will most likely still be raging when Jesus returns.
For my own Christian walk, I go to the Lord like James 1:5 says. I don't go to have some other doctrine to preach or to start another war in the Body of Christ, but for my own personal walk with my Heavenly Father. I remember being unsure over the subject of God's trying and testing His children. I'd heard many good men of God preach both points of view and was unsure which side to believe. I don't believe they were false prophets or that they are deliberately trying to deceive God's people, but I know they can't both be right.
I needed to know for myself which was right so I could walk before God in faith and grace. If God put sickness on me to teach me a lesson, then I'm in error going to the doctor to remove what He gave me, but I should learn from that sickness. If I'm being tested, then I need to know how and why so I can know how to study, learn and pass this test. If I don't know why or what I'm being tested on, then how will I ever be able to pass this test? The teachers alerted us about an upcoming test and what we should study in order to pass the test. I never had a teacher say she was giving a math test tomorrow and then give us a history test instead.
Confusion has nearly paralyzed the faith in today's Church. We've come to where we don't know what to believe or not. Anyone who truly loves God, wants to walk in the fullness of His truth and enjoy all of His grace. We want to know how to enter into God's rest and to trust His Word.
I once asked the Lord whether He used sickness and disease to teach, train and correct His children. The Holy Spirit spoke into my spirit using a scripture that I had to bring to the forefront of my spirit. He told me that, "This will be as the waters of Noah, unto Me." This might not mean anything to you, but it meant everything to me. I found this passage in Isaiah 54:7-9 (Amplified) which says, "For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you (to Me) again." Verses 8-9 say, "In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord your Redeemer for this is like the days of Noah to Me; As I swore that the waters should no more go over the earth, So have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
The confidence that Noah had was that the rains may come, but will never destroy anymore. Every time the rain came, his covenant with God was reinforced with the appearance of the rainbow. Every time I see the rainbow, I trust in God's mercy and His promise to me and have the peace that this judgment won't be on me again.
The rainbow was Noah's assurance that the floods would never happen again. The cross was to be like the rainbow was to Noah and every time I looked upon the cross I would know that God would never do those things to me again.
This still might not mean anything to you, but to me everything was settled for my own personal walk with my Father. I had no need to fear that God was testing and teaching me with fear, sickness or punishment. I can look upon the cross and find peace and trust for my own walk. If this isn't your reality, then this might still mean nothing. I didn't seek Him to have something contrary to preach, but to have something concrete in my life to build off from.
God's Word will always work in what He sent it to do. If you were the only person on earth who believed in salvation through Jesus' sacrifice, then it would still work for you. Wouldn't it? Of course it would. We have a responsibility to seek truth out on our own. I don't mean we should disregard everyone and everything we've been taught throughout the years, but we must discover where we stand for our own walk.
I don't want you to simply take my word just because I believe, am a man of God or a Pastor. If you believe anything, then I want you to believe it because it's God's Word and you believe it for yourself. There are too many times where we've believed something simply because someone else believed it. If it's what someone else believes and not what you believe for yourself, then it's not really faith.
People the world over are caught up in cults and diverse religions because they believes what others said and didn't seek wisdom and truth on their own. We, the Church, are one Body made up of many parts where each part plays an important part in the Body, but each is still different in nature. Although you're part of the Body, you are not the whole Body. As individuals, we are obligated to seek God on our own and to have a personal relationship with Him.
Every part of the Body is important, but every part is not the whole. Each part has it's own function in order to keep the whole operating. I know that I hold differing beliefs than others in the Body. If I find that I am wrong and they are right, according to the Word, then I will come into union with them. I will go with the truth, but not via a Democratic vote. When it comes to the Word of God, it's not always that the majority rules.
I encourage each of you to seek God on your own as well as be in fellowship with His family. We're all part of the Body of Christ and it doesn't depend on what we know or what we don't know. Some new "revelation" doesn't make us a separate Body, but an aid to the rest of the Body. It doesn't come in order to start another denomination (God forbid), but comes to aid and reveal the Light and truths of God's Word. All of us have a personal relationship with the Father, this is what Jesus' sacrifice was for. We're not to have a religion, but a relationship with Christ, as a whole Body and as individuals.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Lesson 6 Faith and Grace
Hebrews 4:11 (Amplified) says, "Let us therefore be zealous and exert ourselves and strive diligently to enter that rest (of God, to know and experience it for ourselves) that no one may fail or perish by the same kind of unbelief and disobedience (into which those in the wilderness fell)."
The "rest" spoken about in Hebrews 4:11 is none other than God's grace and His unmerited favor. All of the Hebrew people who were brought out of bondage were brought out by His grace. Up until this time, the Law hadn't been given. Even after God's grace fed the people manna from heaven, gave them water to drink from a rock and provided them with protection and provision by grace, it wasn't enough for them to trust Him. They believed they could do better on their own.
They murmured and complained all the way through the wilderness. When grace is accepted, faith is always present. It's difficult to simply believe that God has taken care of everything and allow your faith and trust be in Him. Our problem comes from not knowing the difference between what God has provided and what the world and the enemy has made available in its place. Somehow, we've concluded that everything that happens to us is God's will and His grace. If we closely examine what happened to those in the wilderness, then we'll find how despite the trials that came against them, God delivered them out of them all.
God's unmerited favor or grace, gave only what was good and kept them from all that was evil. It was only after God decided to give what they wanted, that things went wrong. I don't believe that for three months, everything went alright for many people. Exodus 19:1 (Amplified) says that, "In the third month after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, the same day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai."
During these three months, the people continued complaining and grumbling about how God was caring for them. In the next chapter of Exodus, God gives them the ten commandments. By chapter 32, they built a golden calf to worship (even with the laws and ordinances through Moses).
They refused to enter into God's rest or His grace and depended on themselves to make it on their own. We too, feel the need to have a part of our own salvation. Most denominations still lay down laws in order to keep the people in line. We've lost faith because we don't understand grace.
One denomination wants to be saved by grace and governed by man-made laws. Another wants to have grace with the ability to live any way we want without consequences. Both ways are wrong. We are, by grace, supposed to be able to govern ourselves by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the teacher of the new covenant and if we're doing things that grieve Him, then He will reveal it to us. 1John 2:27 (Amplified) says, "But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides (permanently) in you; (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 that we do not need teachers in the Church. Ephesians 4:11-12 (Amplified) says, "And His gifts were (varied) (He Himself appointed and gave men to us) Some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of the flock) and teachers." Verse 12 says, "His intention was the perfecting and full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people) (that they should do) the work of ministering towards building up Christ's body (the Church)."
It doesn't matter how many teachers the Church has, none can compare with the anointing of the Holy Spirit Who lives inside each believer. It doesn't matter how much a teacher knows, the Holy Spirit is still the anointed Guide to the Church. Men still have a way of allowing "self" to creep into their teachings. You have an unction from the Holy Spirit, Who is within you, that makes you able to determine which is the God's teaching or and that which is from man and then walk in that teaching.
Many well meaning people in the Church have imposed laws and opinions on God's people that aren't necessarily the truth of the covenant. Through the Holy Spirit, we're able to decide for ourselves what is from God and what is from man. Every man is still just a man and none are without flaws.
I do not believe that any person who loves Jesus would deliberately teach something that is wrong, but I do believe we have done so unintentionally. We, the Church, are supposed to lean on the Holy Spirit to know the truth. I don't mean that we're supposed to pick apart everything the pastor preaches, but we are supposed to listen and weigh what is being taught against the Word. If you disagree with what's being taught, then don't run and talk to everyone in the church saying your pastor is a "false prophet." After all, you might be the one who is wrong.
We need to do what Mary did in Luke 2:19. No one had ever done what the angel had told Mary to do. Mary had to depend on the rest or grace of God in order to do what He said. Mary, by faith, rested in in the words the angels and shepherds said to her in Luke 2:19 saying, "But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings) weighing and pondering them in her heart."
Notice how Mary didn't go around telling everyone what was going on. She simply rested in God and placed her faith in Him to do what He said. If Mary had asked everyone around what they thought about it, then she would most likely have been given many different responses.
Jesus, too, received many different responses from the people of His time, but He "only did that which the Father had told Him to do." Live your walk with God as your walk with God. He sometimes tells different people different things. He didn't tell everyone to sacrifice their son, He only told Abraham to do so. Hearing a testimony from someone doesn't mean we're to do the same thing and receive the same results, because God only told that person to do that.
Sometimes, we base our walk with the Father more on testimonies rather than the Holy Spirit's instruction. Testimonies have a place to inspire you, but not to lead you. You are in charge of your own self. 1Corinthians 14:32 (Amplified) says, "For the spirits of the prophets (the speakers of tongues) are under the speaker's control (and subject to being silenced as may be necessary)."
The "rest" spoken about in Hebrews 4:11 is none other than God's grace and His unmerited favor. All of the Hebrew people who were brought out of bondage were brought out by His grace. Up until this time, the Law hadn't been given. Even after God's grace fed the people manna from heaven, gave them water to drink from a rock and provided them with protection and provision by grace, it wasn't enough for them to trust Him. They believed they could do better on their own.
They murmured and complained all the way through the wilderness. When grace is accepted, faith is always present. It's difficult to simply believe that God has taken care of everything and allow your faith and trust be in Him. Our problem comes from not knowing the difference between what God has provided and what the world and the enemy has made available in its place. Somehow, we've concluded that everything that happens to us is God's will and His grace. If we closely examine what happened to those in the wilderness, then we'll find how despite the trials that came against them, God delivered them out of them all.
God's unmerited favor or grace, gave only what was good and kept them from all that was evil. It was only after God decided to give what they wanted, that things went wrong. I don't believe that for three months, everything went alright for many people. Exodus 19:1 (Amplified) says that, "In the third month after the Israelites left the land of Egypt, the same day, they came into the wilderness of Sinai."
During these three months, the people continued complaining and grumbling about how God was caring for them. In the next chapter of Exodus, God gives them the ten commandments. By chapter 32, they built a golden calf to worship (even with the laws and ordinances through Moses).
They refused to enter into God's rest or His grace and depended on themselves to make it on their own. We too, feel the need to have a part of our own salvation. Most denominations still lay down laws in order to keep the people in line. We've lost faith because we don't understand grace.
One denomination wants to be saved by grace and governed by man-made laws. Another wants to have grace with the ability to live any way we want without consequences. Both ways are wrong. We are, by grace, supposed to be able to govern ourselves by the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the teacher of the new covenant and if we're doing things that grieve Him, then He will reveal it to us. 1John 2:27 (Amplified) says, "But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides (permanently) in you; (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 that we do not need teachers in the Church. Ephesians 4:11-12 (Amplified) says, "And His gifts were (varied) (He Himself appointed and gave men to us) Some to be apostles (special messengers), some prophets (inspired preachers and expounders), some evangelists (preachers of the gospel, traveling missionaries), some pastors (shepherds of the flock) and teachers." Verse 12 says, "His intention was the perfecting and full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people) (that they should do) the work of ministering towards building up Christ's body (the Church)."
It doesn't matter how many teachers the Church has, none can compare with the anointing of the Holy Spirit Who lives inside each believer. It doesn't matter how much a teacher knows, the Holy Spirit is still the anointed Guide to the Church. Men still have a way of allowing "self" to creep into their teachings. You have an unction from the Holy Spirit, Who is within you, that makes you able to determine which is the God's teaching or and that which is from man and then walk in that teaching.
Many well meaning people in the Church have imposed laws and opinions on God's people that aren't necessarily the truth of the covenant. Through the Holy Spirit, we're able to decide for ourselves what is from God and what is from man. Every man is still just a man and none are without flaws.
I do not believe that any person who loves Jesus would deliberately teach something that is wrong, but I do believe we have done so unintentionally. We, the Church, are supposed to lean on the Holy Spirit to know the truth. I don't mean that we're supposed to pick apart everything the pastor preaches, but we are supposed to listen and weigh what is being taught against the Word. If you disagree with what's being taught, then don't run and talk to everyone in the church saying your pastor is a "false prophet." After all, you might be the one who is wrong.
We need to do what Mary did in Luke 2:19. No one had ever done what the angel had told Mary to do. Mary had to depend on the rest or grace of God in order to do what He said. Mary, by faith, rested in in the words the angels and shepherds said to her in Luke 2:19 saying, "But Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings) weighing and pondering them in her heart."
Notice how Mary didn't go around telling everyone what was going on. She simply rested in God and placed her faith in Him to do what He said. If Mary had asked everyone around what they thought about it, then she would most likely have been given many different responses.
Jesus, too, received many different responses from the people of His time, but He "only did that which the Father had told Him to do." Live your walk with God as your walk with God. He sometimes tells different people different things. He didn't tell everyone to sacrifice their son, He only told Abraham to do so. Hearing a testimony from someone doesn't mean we're to do the same thing and receive the same results, because God only told that person to do that.
Sometimes, we base our walk with the Father more on testimonies rather than the Holy Spirit's instruction. Testimonies have a place to inspire you, but not to lead you. You are in charge of your own self. 1Corinthians 14:32 (Amplified) says, "For the spirits of the prophets (the speakers of tongues) are under the speaker's control (and subject to being silenced as may be necessary)."
Friday, January 9, 2015
Lesson 5 Faith and Grace
The entire reason for the new covenant of grace through Jesus was because man could never do on his own what was needed to restore himself back to right standing with God. Only God Himself, through the Blood and sacrifice of Jesus, could establish this righteousness. Only the Blood of God Himself, through Jesus, could completely remove the sin Adam had brought on all mankind. Grace is of paramount importance to the believer because once we recognize that only grace can restore us, we will have faith enough to approach God in a way man never could before.
When we fully realize how important grace is, our faith should be on a higher level than any man (other than Jesus Himself) could ever hope to achieve. By grace, we've been placed in a place that Adam first walked before the fall. We're at a higher place really, because we have been identified with Jesus and His victory, rather than Adam and his fall.
We mostly, still feel like we must prove ourselves unto God in order to gain some kind of favor with Him. It's only our misunderstanding grace that lead us to feel this way. According to Hebrews 4:16, the throne of grace is actually the very presence of the Father.
The High Priest could only enter into the throne room of grace after many sacrifices and days of fasting and cleansing. Now, by faith in Jesus, grace has made that throne room available to the believer. Heaven has been opened to the believer by grace and faith in this grace and the sacrifice of Jesus. Once we understand that the only thing required of us is to believe, then all of the wealth and power of heaven is available to the believer.
This isn't something that will be available to us some day, but is what Jesus' sacrifice has made available to us now. It's not a matter of us going to heaven some day, but the fact that heaven has now come unto us by grace. We've somehow looked at grace and favor as God's feeling sorry for us poor mortals. This is true to a certain degree, but not as we would think. God's pity or feeling sorry for us poor mortals is because man could never save himself. For this reason, the undeserved favor and mercy of God intervened on our behalf.
God Himself was forced into a place where He couldn't enjoy or fellowship with His Own children because of Adam's fall. The whole purpose of creations was so that God could have a family. The sorrow God had was the sorrow of a Father being separated from His children. They were cut off from Him, through no fault of their own, and were cast away from His love and presence.
The great heart of Love Himself couldn't stand the sorrow of the loss of His children. The only way for Him to walk with them would be that He Himself would need to pay the price of their redemption. We forget sometimes that Jesus was also God in His flesh form. God Himself, by grace and Love, died to restore His family back to life. And, now this awesome grace has removed all the barriers between God and His children.
Even after everything God did to restore us back to Him, we don't understand grace and insist on staying aloof from Him. We still feel like we're unclean and unfit to enter the throne room of grace. We have inflicted ourselves with things that make us feel more fit to be accepted by Him. We have done what they had to do centuries ago to gain entry into His presence. We construct rules, laws and rituals in order to appease our own sense of righteousness. This isn't only wrong, but is actually disrespectful to what Jesus did on our behalf.
We still walk in the wrong belief that if we will only pray more, dress differently or follow the Law, then maybe we can gain favor with God. Galatians 3 talks about this very thing of frustrating the grace of God. Having begun in the Spirit, we are now trying to gain perfection through works. We've concentrated so much on works that we forget that good works are products of God's grace and not an entry into His grace. Some things we've learned are good things, but not all. We need to allow the Spirit of Liberty to set us free from the Law.
Even though we know we are free from the Law pertaining to our righteousness, we continue to use the Law to obtain it. Only faith in Jesus can make us righteous in God's sight. This is the gift of righteousness by faith in Jesus. You cannot improve on it because it is God's Own self Who obtained it and it is His righteousness alone. How can we ever hope of improving on the righteousness of Christ?
When we, by faith in His grace, will only stop struggling and striving to become righteous and receive the righteousness of Christ Jesus by faith, then our joy will be complete. We constantly chastise ourselves for our failure to measure up. If we will allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, then we will find that in Jesus, we've already measured up.
It's only natural for the carnal man to feel unworthy and unclean before such a Holy God. However, we are no longer the old man, but new creatures who are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. We can't seem to get it down into our heart that God has done what we couldn't do on our own and has made us to be in right standing with Him.
When we fully realize how important grace is, our faith should be on a higher level than any man (other than Jesus Himself) could ever hope to achieve. By grace, we've been placed in a place that Adam first walked before the fall. We're at a higher place really, because we have been identified with Jesus and His victory, rather than Adam and his fall.
We mostly, still feel like we must prove ourselves unto God in order to gain some kind of favor with Him. It's only our misunderstanding grace that lead us to feel this way. According to Hebrews 4:16, the throne of grace is actually the very presence of the Father.
The High Priest could only enter into the throne room of grace after many sacrifices and days of fasting and cleansing. Now, by faith in Jesus, grace has made that throne room available to the believer. Heaven has been opened to the believer by grace and faith in this grace and the sacrifice of Jesus. Once we understand that the only thing required of us is to believe, then all of the wealth and power of heaven is available to the believer.
This isn't something that will be available to us some day, but is what Jesus' sacrifice has made available to us now. It's not a matter of us going to heaven some day, but the fact that heaven has now come unto us by grace. We've somehow looked at grace and favor as God's feeling sorry for us poor mortals. This is true to a certain degree, but not as we would think. God's pity or feeling sorry for us poor mortals is because man could never save himself. For this reason, the undeserved favor and mercy of God intervened on our behalf.
God Himself was forced into a place where He couldn't enjoy or fellowship with His Own children because of Adam's fall. The whole purpose of creations was so that God could have a family. The sorrow God had was the sorrow of a Father being separated from His children. They were cut off from Him, through no fault of their own, and were cast away from His love and presence.
The great heart of Love Himself couldn't stand the sorrow of the loss of His children. The only way for Him to walk with them would be that He Himself would need to pay the price of their redemption. We forget sometimes that Jesus was also God in His flesh form. God Himself, by grace and Love, died to restore His family back to life. And, now this awesome grace has removed all the barriers between God and His children.
Even after everything God did to restore us back to Him, we don't understand grace and insist on staying aloof from Him. We still feel like we're unclean and unfit to enter the throne room of grace. We have inflicted ourselves with things that make us feel more fit to be accepted by Him. We have done what they had to do centuries ago to gain entry into His presence. We construct rules, laws and rituals in order to appease our own sense of righteousness. This isn't only wrong, but is actually disrespectful to what Jesus did on our behalf.
We still walk in the wrong belief that if we will only pray more, dress differently or follow the Law, then maybe we can gain favor with God. Galatians 3 talks about this very thing of frustrating the grace of God. Having begun in the Spirit, we are now trying to gain perfection through works. We've concentrated so much on works that we forget that good works are products of God's grace and not an entry into His grace. Some things we've learned are good things, but not all. We need to allow the Spirit of Liberty to set us free from the Law.
Even though we know we are free from the Law pertaining to our righteousness, we continue to use the Law to obtain it. Only faith in Jesus can make us righteous in God's sight. This is the gift of righteousness by faith in Jesus. You cannot improve on it because it is God's Own self Who obtained it and it is His righteousness alone. How can we ever hope of improving on the righteousness of Christ?
When we, by faith in His grace, will only stop struggling and striving to become righteous and receive the righteousness of Christ Jesus by faith, then our joy will be complete. We constantly chastise ourselves for our failure to measure up. If we will allow the Holy Spirit to speak to us, then we will find that in Jesus, we've already measured up.
It's only natural for the carnal man to feel unworthy and unclean before such a Holy God. However, we are no longer the old man, but new creatures who are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus. We can't seem to get it down into our heart that God has done what we couldn't do on our own and has made us to be in right standing with Him.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Lesson 4 Faith and Grace
Our faith works at it's best when we understand grace. We realize that our standing with our Father is in our Lord Jesus and not in ourselves when we understand grace. Some of us know that we no longer operate under the Law and some of us do not. And, some of us who know we're not under the Law still put ourselves under self imposed laws and practices. We have constructed laws of our own and impose ourselves to things that help us to feel righteous.
When we impose self made laws on ourselves, we aren't relying on grace to provide our righteousness. We placed certain dress codes, certain number of prayer times, certain days of worship and even certain eating habits upon ourselves. Don't misunderstand my place of observation on this matter. There's nothing wrong with dressing modestly or praying or even having good eating habits, but we don't do them to make ourselves righteous or to gain favor with our Father.
The desire to pray for a set amount of time isn't wrong unless you bring yourself under a "law" to do so. If you think that failing to fulfill this time period of prayer makes you displeasing to God, then this is not grace. Dressing modestly is always a good idea for both Christians and non-Christians, but if you think that not doing so causes you to lose favor with God or hinders your relationship with the Father, then this is an open door the enemy uses to bring you under fear and condemnation.
It's usually a good idea for Christians and non-Christians to limit their intake of sugar, salt, fatty foods and preservatives, but it's my own conscience that condemns me when I overdue my intake of them and not the Holy Spirit. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves righteous. We must know how to receive and maintain our righteousness by faith in Jesus. I'm not saying that once we're saved then you can live any way you wish, but I'm saying you must listen to the Holy Spirit.
We have developed certain things in our Christian walk that have left the door open to the "great deceiver." When we don't fulfill all of our self imposed laws, then we feel deserving of punishment from God for our disobedience.
The Church has taught and held this belief for many years. There are many who inflict pain and punishment on themselves in order to become more holy or more humble in God's eyes. I recall a lady who cut her wrists and the bend of her knees with a can lid to show her love for Jesus. A voice told her that he was Jesus and that he shed his blood for her, so if she loved him, then she should bleed for him.
You and I both know that God would never ask anyone to do that in order to prove their love for Him, but she was deceived by her own conscience to do so. We have an innate need to worship and serve God within us. Man was created for this purpose and for fellowship with our Father.
We need to be careful about imposing self made laws and regulations upon ourselves. Grace has freed us from all these things. We must have discipline in our Christian lives, but it must come from the Word and from the Holy Spirit and from the new man who is alive to God. Man's rituals, laws and disciplines are the very things Jesus set us free from.
We keep trying to "help God out" with our salvation instead of simply trusting Jesus with the entire thing. We measure ourselves against other Christians as though some of us are more "saved" than others. We judge the way we dress and act against the way others do. This is what the Word calls "self righteousness" and it is man made law.
Galatians 5:6 (Amplified) says, "For (if we are) in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision or uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love." It's not in what we "think it should be," but how He thinks we should be that matters. We should not be doing things just to please man, but we should do them because we love God and His people. Being a Christian is not a religion, but it's a relationship with the Father.
I don't visit those in the hospital and pray for others because it's my "job," but I do so because that's the heart of my Father. I don't search the scriptures just to have something to teach or preach, but I do so to learn more about Him and share what I've learned with His people. Christianity isn't a performance, but it's a life lived through us. We shouldn't be as concerned about our living for Him, but about allowing Him to live through us.
Jesus said that if we will clean the inside of the cup, then the outside will be made clean. If we allow the Holy Spirit and grace to fix the inside (our new man), then the flesh (the old man) will come into subjection. We knew the difference between right and wrong even before we were saved. God placed His law in our hearts, so we knew it was wrong to kill, lie and steal before being saved. We abstained from doing these things, for the most part, even while we were in the world. Thus, for people to say that God's grace is a license to sin is a life. What God did say is that He would put all these things into the power of His Spirit and will enable us to walk above the lust of the flesh without struggle. Galatians 5:16 (Amplified) says, "But I say, walk and live (habitually) in the (Holy) Spirit (responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit) then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)."
We set ourselves up to fail when we impose laws upon ourselves. We cannot fail when we walk in grace. God will always bring us through saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." When we fail (and we will), His grace will bring us out of the failure into His favor, until we learn to walk out this failure in the Holy Spirit.
When we impose self made laws on ourselves, we aren't relying on grace to provide our righteousness. We placed certain dress codes, certain number of prayer times, certain days of worship and even certain eating habits upon ourselves. Don't misunderstand my place of observation on this matter. There's nothing wrong with dressing modestly or praying or even having good eating habits, but we don't do them to make ourselves righteous or to gain favor with our Father.
The desire to pray for a set amount of time isn't wrong unless you bring yourself under a "law" to do so. If you think that failing to fulfill this time period of prayer makes you displeasing to God, then this is not grace. Dressing modestly is always a good idea for both Christians and non-Christians, but if you think that not doing so causes you to lose favor with God or hinders your relationship with the Father, then this is an open door the enemy uses to bring you under fear and condemnation.
It's usually a good idea for Christians and non-Christians to limit their intake of sugar, salt, fatty foods and preservatives, but it's my own conscience that condemns me when I overdue my intake of them and not the Holy Spirit. There is nothing we can do to make ourselves righteous. We must know how to receive and maintain our righteousness by faith in Jesus. I'm not saying that once we're saved then you can live any way you wish, but I'm saying you must listen to the Holy Spirit.
We have developed certain things in our Christian walk that have left the door open to the "great deceiver." When we don't fulfill all of our self imposed laws, then we feel deserving of punishment from God for our disobedience.
The Church has taught and held this belief for many years. There are many who inflict pain and punishment on themselves in order to become more holy or more humble in God's eyes. I recall a lady who cut her wrists and the bend of her knees with a can lid to show her love for Jesus. A voice told her that he was Jesus and that he shed his blood for her, so if she loved him, then she should bleed for him.
You and I both know that God would never ask anyone to do that in order to prove their love for Him, but she was deceived by her own conscience to do so. We have an innate need to worship and serve God within us. Man was created for this purpose and for fellowship with our Father.
We need to be careful about imposing self made laws and regulations upon ourselves. Grace has freed us from all these things. We must have discipline in our Christian lives, but it must come from the Word and from the Holy Spirit and from the new man who is alive to God. Man's rituals, laws and disciplines are the very things Jesus set us free from.
We keep trying to "help God out" with our salvation instead of simply trusting Jesus with the entire thing. We measure ourselves against other Christians as though some of us are more "saved" than others. We judge the way we dress and act against the way others do. This is what the Word calls "self righteousness" and it is man made law.
Galatians 5:6 (Amplified) says, "For (if we are) in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision or uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love." It's not in what we "think it should be," but how He thinks we should be that matters. We should not be doing things just to please man, but we should do them because we love God and His people. Being a Christian is not a religion, but it's a relationship with the Father.
I don't visit those in the hospital and pray for others because it's my "job," but I do so because that's the heart of my Father. I don't search the scriptures just to have something to teach or preach, but I do so to learn more about Him and share what I've learned with His people. Christianity isn't a performance, but it's a life lived through us. We shouldn't be as concerned about our living for Him, but about allowing Him to live through us.
Jesus said that if we will clean the inside of the cup, then the outside will be made clean. If we allow the Holy Spirit and grace to fix the inside (our new man), then the flesh (the old man) will come into subjection. We knew the difference between right and wrong even before we were saved. God placed His law in our hearts, so we knew it was wrong to kill, lie and steal before being saved. We abstained from doing these things, for the most part, even while we were in the world. Thus, for people to say that God's grace is a license to sin is a life. What God did say is that He would put all these things into the power of His Spirit and will enable us to walk above the lust of the flesh without struggle. Galatians 5:16 (Amplified) says, "But I say, walk and live (habitually) in the (Holy) Spirit (responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit) then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God)."
We set ourselves up to fail when we impose laws upon ourselves. We cannot fail when we walk in grace. God will always bring us through saying, "My grace is sufficient for you." When we fail (and we will), His grace will bring us out of the failure into His favor, until we learn to walk out this failure in the Holy Spirit.
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Lesson 3 Faith and Grace
As we delve into our new covenant of grace, we find that God swore by Himself since there was none higher to swear by. Hebrews 6:18 (Amplified) says, "This was so that, by two unchangeable things (His promise and His oath) in which it is impossible for God ever to prove false or deceive us, we who have fled (to Him) for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope appointed for us and set before us."
We read in Hebrews 6:13-15 (Amplified) that, "For when God made (His) promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear Saying, Blessing I certainly will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you." Verse 15 says, "And so it was that he (Abraham) having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained (in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come) what God had promised him."
The blessing of Abraham we have received through Jesus is, according to 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."
Our part of this covenant requires that we simply believe on Jesus by faith like Abraham did. And, God has swore by Himself and there is no way to break this covenant. God's grace and favor that He had with Abraham has been realized in Jesus for all who will believe. Our Father has made it so easy to walk with Him that we have a hard time believing it can be that easy.
Walking with the Father is the easiest thing I've ever done. My failures and mistakes are covered by His grace and my sin is gone because of His Blood. We've complicated this covenant of grace with infinite rules and laws that it's as hard to walk in the new covenant as it was for those under the covenant and the Law. We've complicated our walk with God to the point where we're almost constantly at war with ourselves. We won't simply allow grace and mercy to govern us and have made our own guidelines to walk by.
The covenant of grace that God made with Abraham simply depended on Abraham's faith in the One Who made covenant with him. When God called upon Abraham to sacrifice his "only begotten son," Abraham was willing to do so on behalf of that covenant. If a flesh and blood man would to that for his part of the agreement, then could God do any less for His part?
God deliberately set Himself up to sacrifice His Son on behalf of His agreement with Abraham to fulfill His promise. We on the other hand, have set ourselves up for fail by being dogmatic in our own rituals. We can never feel like God is pleased with us or that we're adequate in His sight. We place ourselves under condemnation that the Blood of Christ has already taken care of. We always seem to expect the worst to happen and feel like we deserve the worst.
We have forgotten that grace didn't give us what we deserve, but what the Father desired us to have. God was under no obligation to make covenant with Abraham. He chose to do so. Man cannot bring about his own righteousness. This is why we always feel deserving of God's judgment and punishment. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please or be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)."
There are no laws or rituals (even well meaning ones) can ever break the power of guilt and condemnation over the carnal minded Christian. The only way to walk pleasing to God is by faith in His grace and promise according to Romans 6:14 (Amplified) which says, "For sin shall not (any longer) exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law (as slaves) but under grace (as subjects of God's favor and mercy)."
The sin that no longer has dominion over you, was the condemnation of the inability to ever keep the Law. Now, we're under grace and free from condemnation by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus according to Romans 8:1-2.
When we finally allow the Holy Spirit to deliver us from the mess the carnal mind have provided us, we can walk in liberty. This isn't to say we are to return to our old way of living, but we're to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into the Father's love and presence.
The only thing holding us back from God's presence is the carnal mind with it's guilt and condemnation. We have fostered many man made laws of "righteousness" that will make us acceptable to God. None of the work and as a matter of fact, they keep us distant from Him because they are our own way of declaring ourselves righteous. And, because we're always falling short of our own restrictions, our faith is always at a level where we feel like we don't even deserve to have our prayers answered. Our own religious rules have negated our faith in His grace.
We read in Hebrews 6:13-15 (Amplified) that, "For when God made (His) promise to Abraham, He swore by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom to swear Saying, Blessing I certainly will bless you and multiplying I will multiply you." Verse 15 says, "And so it was that he (Abraham) having waited long and endured patiently, realized and obtained (in the birth of Isaac as a pledge of what was to come) what God had promised him."
The blessing of Abraham we have received through Jesus is, according to 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."
Our part of this covenant requires that we simply believe on Jesus by faith like Abraham did. And, God has swore by Himself and there is no way to break this covenant. God's grace and favor that He had with Abraham has been realized in Jesus for all who will believe. Our Father has made it so easy to walk with Him that we have a hard time believing it can be that easy.
Walking with the Father is the easiest thing I've ever done. My failures and mistakes are covered by His grace and my sin is gone because of His Blood. We've complicated this covenant of grace with infinite rules and laws that it's as hard to walk in the new covenant as it was for those under the covenant and the Law. We've complicated our walk with God to the point where we're almost constantly at war with ourselves. We won't simply allow grace and mercy to govern us and have made our own guidelines to walk by.
The covenant of grace that God made with Abraham simply depended on Abraham's faith in the One Who made covenant with him. When God called upon Abraham to sacrifice his "only begotten son," Abraham was willing to do so on behalf of that covenant. If a flesh and blood man would to that for his part of the agreement, then could God do any less for His part?
God deliberately set Himself up to sacrifice His Son on behalf of His agreement with Abraham to fulfill His promise. We on the other hand, have set ourselves up for fail by being dogmatic in our own rituals. We can never feel like God is pleased with us or that we're adequate in His sight. We place ourselves under condemnation that the Blood of Christ has already taken care of. We always seem to expect the worst to happen and feel like we deserve the worst.
We have forgotten that grace didn't give us what we deserve, but what the Father desired us to have. God was under no obligation to make covenant with Abraham. He chose to do so. Man cannot bring about his own righteousness. This is why we always feel deserving of God's judgment and punishment. Hebrews 11:6 (Amplified) says, "But without faith it is impossible to please or be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He is the Rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him (out)."
There are no laws or rituals (even well meaning ones) can ever break the power of guilt and condemnation over the carnal minded Christian. The only way to walk pleasing to God is by faith in His grace and promise according to Romans 6:14 (Amplified) which says, "For sin shall not (any longer) exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law (as slaves) but under grace (as subjects of God's favor and mercy)."
The sin that no longer has dominion over you, was the condemnation of the inability to ever keep the Law. Now, we're under grace and free from condemnation by the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus according to Romans 8:1-2.
When we finally allow the Holy Spirit to deliver us from the mess the carnal mind have provided us, we can walk in liberty. This isn't to say we are to return to our old way of living, but we're to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us into the Father's love and presence.
The only thing holding us back from God's presence is the carnal mind with it's guilt and condemnation. We have fostered many man made laws of "righteousness" that will make us acceptable to God. None of the work and as a matter of fact, they keep us distant from Him because they are our own way of declaring ourselves righteous. And, because we're always falling short of our own restrictions, our faith is always at a level where we feel like we don't even deserve to have our prayers answered. Our own religious rules have negated our faith in His grace.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Lesson 2 Faith and Grace
As we learn to walk in the new covenant of grace, it's difficult to forget about the old covenant of Law. As gentiles, we were never actually under the old covenant of Law because this was the covenant God made with Israel through Moses four hundred years after Abraham. The Law God gave through Moses was never part of the new covenant of grace. Abraham wasn't aware of those things written on stone tablets. How then, could Abraham walk with God in such a way as to be called the friend of God? Isaiah 41:8 (Amplified) says, "But you Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham My friend."
God Himself called Abraham the friend of God. There was an advantage between God and Abraham that only one other person shared and that person was Moses according to Exodus 33:11 (Amplified) which says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend."
Moses and Abraham walked under a covenant of grace before and with their friend God. All of the great deliverance that occurred during the Exodus was under grace. The miracles delivering God's people happened because of God's grace and mercy and favor under God's covenant with His friend Abraham. Exodus 2:24-25 (Amplified) says, "And God heard their sighing and groaning and (earnestly) remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and with Jacob." Verse 25 says, "God saw the Israelites and took knowledge of them and concerned Himself about them (knowing all, understanding all, and remembering all)."
God had a covenant of grace before the Law was even given, that overrode all the Law He would eventually give to the people. This covenant of grace is also the portion of the "Blessing of Abraham" we have inherited by faith in and through Christ 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."
The Holy Spirit has now come and has been poured out from on high according to Acts 2:1-4 (Amplified) which says, "And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a mighty tempest blase, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting." Verses 3-4 go on, "And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them. And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues) as the Spirit gave them clear and loud expressions (in each tongue in appropriate words)."
The coming of the Holy Spirit has been something that divides many of today's Church. Divisions arise over whether we believe in the speaking of tongues or the gifts of the Spirit. For those who believe and accept it, the coming of the Holy Spirit is the "Blessing promised to Abraham" and their return to grace and faith. It's no longer Laws that were written on stone to be kept by external deeds and sacrifices. It is the friend of Abraham, God Himself, Who can speak to us as friends. It is all the power of the Spirit to come and live within us. It is all the great prosperity of heave, the power of heaven, the authority of heaven and the ability to actually enter into heaven to the Holy of Holies and the throne room of grace.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (Amplified) tells us that, "In as much then as we have a great High Priest Who has (already) ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession (of faith in Him). For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weakness and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but one who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning." Verse 16 goes on, "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners) that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well timed help, coming just when we need it)."
This age and covenant of grace and faith is what our Father of Faith, Abraham, walked in. All of his blessing and prosperity and ability came through his relationship with the Spirit of God. It made him "the friend of God." Abraham's shortcomings and mistakes were covered by God's favor and mercy.
Jesus spoke to His disciples shortly before His death in John 15:15 (Amplified) saying, "I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his mast is doing (working out) but I have called you My friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father (I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him)." Remember when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18:17 (Amplified) which says, "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham (My friend and servant) what I am going to do."
God still reveals the hidden things of the Spirit ,by His Spirit, to His friends. As the friend of God, Abraham stood face to face bargaining for the lives of all the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. This covenant of grace will embolden us in our faith and enable us to do what God wants done. If God's people will forget the condemnation of the old man and walk in the grace of the new man, then grace will give legs and wings to your faith. God is not only our friend, but now He is our Father.
I know several sons and father who are not friends with one another,. We don't need the commandments to be written on stone any longer because we have the very Spirit of God abiding in our own spirit. We know what is right and we know what is wrong. We already have a Sacrificial Lamb Who died and has covered our mistakes. Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "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 Spirit." Verse 2 says, "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 death."
God Himself called Abraham the friend of God. There was an advantage between God and Abraham that only one other person shared and that person was Moses according to Exodus 33:11 (Amplified) which says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man speaks to his friend."
Moses and Abraham walked under a covenant of grace before and with their friend God. All of the great deliverance that occurred during the Exodus was under grace. The miracles delivering God's people happened because of God's grace and mercy and favor under God's covenant with His friend Abraham. Exodus 2:24-25 (Amplified) says, "And God heard their sighing and groaning and (earnestly) remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and with Jacob." Verse 25 says, "God saw the Israelites and took knowledge of them and concerned Himself about them (knowing all, understanding all, and remembering all)."
God had a covenant of grace before the Law was even given, that overrode all the Law He would eventually give to the people. This covenant of grace is also the portion of the "Blessing of Abraham" we have inherited by faith in and through Christ 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."
The Holy Spirit has now come and has been poured out from on high according to Acts 2:1-4 (Amplified) which says, "And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all assembled together in one place when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like the rushing of a mighty tempest blase, and it filled the whole house in which they were sitting." Verses 3-4 go on, "And there appeared to them tongues resembling fire, which were separated and distributed and which settled on each one of them. And they were all filled (diffused throughout their souls) with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other (different, foreign) languages (tongues) as the Spirit gave them clear and loud expressions (in each tongue in appropriate words)."
The coming of the Holy Spirit has been something that divides many of today's Church. Divisions arise over whether we believe in the speaking of tongues or the gifts of the Spirit. For those who believe and accept it, the coming of the Holy Spirit is the "Blessing promised to Abraham" and their return to grace and faith. It's no longer Laws that were written on stone to be kept by external deeds and sacrifices. It is the friend of Abraham, God Himself, Who can speak to us as friends. It is all the power of the Spirit to come and live within us. It is all the great prosperity of heave, the power of heaven, the authority of heaven and the ability to actually enter into heaven to the Holy of Holies and the throne room of grace.
Hebrews 4:14-16 (Amplified) tells us that, "In as much then as we have a great High Priest Who has (already) ascended and passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession (of faith in Him). For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weakness and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but one who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning." Verse 16 goes on, "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners) that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well timed help, coming just when we need it)."
This age and covenant of grace and faith is what our Father of Faith, Abraham, walked in. All of his blessing and prosperity and ability came through his relationship with the Spirit of God. It made him "the friend of God." Abraham's shortcomings and mistakes were covered by God's favor and mercy.
Jesus spoke to His disciples shortly before His death in John 15:15 (Amplified) saying, "I do not call you servants (slaves) any longer, for the servant does not know what his mast is doing (working out) but I have called you My friends because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from My Father (I have revealed to you everything that I have learned from Him)." Remember when God was going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18:17 (Amplified) which says, "And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham (My friend and servant) what I am going to do."
God still reveals the hidden things of the Spirit ,by His Spirit, to His friends. As the friend of God, Abraham stood face to face bargaining for the lives of all the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. This covenant of grace will embolden us in our faith and enable us to do what God wants done. If God's people will forget the condemnation of the old man and walk in the grace of the new man, then grace will give legs and wings to your faith. God is not only our friend, but now He is our Father.
I know several sons and father who are not friends with one another,. We don't need the commandments to be written on stone any longer because we have the very Spirit of God abiding in our own spirit. We know what is right and we know what is wrong. We already have a Sacrificial Lamb Who died and has covered our mistakes. Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "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 Spirit." Verse 2 says, "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 death."
Monday, January 5, 2015
Lesson 1 Faith and Grace
John 1:16-18 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) up on gift: For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Verse 18 goes on to show why we are so blessed saying, "No man has ever seen God at any time; the Only Unique Son, or the only begotten God Who is in the bosom (the intimate presence) of the Father, He has declared Him (He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him knows)."
We know that Jesus was "Emanuel, God with us." Sometimes we forget that Jesus was "God made flesh." John 1:1 (Amplified) says, "In the beginning (before all time) was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself."
It was God Himself Who came in the form of man to bring grace to the world. It's difficult to view our lives without the Law because we've read the Law and heard it. Although we try to understand grace, we still see ourselves by Law. One would think that since God isn't judging us by the Law, we wouldn't judge ourselves by it either. Misinterpreting grace hinders our faith by our own judgments.
Abraham, who lived 430 years before the Law was given, had no sense of wrongdoing before God. He never worried about what wasn't there. He was declared "righteous because he loved God." He never judged himself of right or wrong and even when he disobeyed God, he had no sense of judgment.
Abraham disobeyed God when he left his hometown. God told Abraham to leave his family and relatives, but he took his nephew Lot with him. God told Abraham that he would have a son with Sarah, but he didn't believe God and made a son with Sarah's handmaid. Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister and not his wife. He was disobedient many times and all would have been sin in him if the Law had been present.
Through all these things, grace covered Abraham and God declared him to be righteous because he believed God.
Abraham had no sense of being in sin and his faith wasn't diminished. He was strong in faith believing that God was able to fulfill that which He promised. Romans 4:22 (Amplified) says that, "Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God)."
Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) tells us, "Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for us, for it is written (in the scriptures) cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified)." Verse 14 goes on, "To the end that through (their receiving0 Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come to the gentiles, so that we through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy) Spirit."
Abraham lived his entire life under grace and had no sense of condemnation to hinder his faith. Even when God told him he'd have a son in his old age, Abraham never had condemnation by going to Hagar (his wife's handmaiden). Abraham only walked by faith and never walked under the Law.
Even though we know we're "saved by grace," we still carry the condemnation of right and wrong before God. We have never allowed pure grace to hold the first place in our lives because of guilt and condemnation we've allowed to hinder our faith. We're more sin conscious than righteousness conscious.
This condemnation keeps us feeling unworthy of God's blessing. We are unworthy. That is what grace is! John 1:18 (Amplified) says that, "Jesus is God in the flesh and came so that we could know God." Somehow, we haven't made the connection that when we see Jesus, we see the Father.
Remember, when Jesus walked as a Man on the earth, the whole plan of redemption was still to come. Jesus spoke to those who were still under the Law and in their sins. We, through Him, are in a different state.
We are supposed to walk in the peace we talked about at Christmas, all the time. We can never truly walk in peace without understanding grace. We carry a sense of guilt over the man we were before Jesus and under condemnation of past mistakes. This makes it impossible for us to live in peace in our hearts.
Abraham wasn't conscious of his mistakes and this allowed his faith to operate in its full capacity. When we can understand the full meaning of grace, we can operate in a much higher capacity of faith. Does this mean we can live in any way we want to? No! Of course not. But, if we wait until we no longer make any mistakes, then we'll already be in heaven.
Babies make mistakes, but that is expected of them because they are babies. When they fall down, we don't kick them, but help them up. They will finally learn to walk, but grace covers their mistakes. They won't always crawl, but they will walk. Babies aren't conscious of their falling down as being a mistake, but see it as a learning process.
We look at our every failing as being a sin before our Father that needs punishment. Because of this, our faith won't work in its full capacity. We don't understand grace. Grace allows us to learn without the consequence of penalty for our failures. Our Father knows we will grow into the Image of His Son and that it just takes time.
We need to allow the grace that got us saved, to bring us into maturity. My children no longer fall down when they walk (they've got that part down), but they still make mistakes in other areas of their lives (their growing up). We will still be making mistakes when Jesus comes back, but grace has already covered every one of them.
Don't allow the guilt of your old, unrenewed mind to hinder the grace of your new born spirit. Allow grace to do its work in you as you grow. Grace has covered you completely unto your salvation and completeness. Clean the inside of the cup and the outside will be clean.
Verse 18 goes on to show why we are so blessed saying, "No man has ever seen God at any time; the Only Unique Son, or the only begotten God Who is in the bosom (the intimate presence) of the Father, He has declared Him (He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him knows)."
We know that Jesus was "Emanuel, God with us." Sometimes we forget that Jesus was "God made flesh." John 1:1 (Amplified) says, "In the beginning (before all time) was the Word (Christ) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God Himself."
It was God Himself Who came in the form of man to bring grace to the world. It's difficult to view our lives without the Law because we've read the Law and heard it. Although we try to understand grace, we still see ourselves by Law. One would think that since God isn't judging us by the Law, we wouldn't judge ourselves by it either. Misinterpreting grace hinders our faith by our own judgments.
Abraham, who lived 430 years before the Law was given, had no sense of wrongdoing before God. He never worried about what wasn't there. He was declared "righteous because he loved God." He never judged himself of right or wrong and even when he disobeyed God, he had no sense of judgment.
Abraham disobeyed God when he left his hometown. God told Abraham to leave his family and relatives, but he took his nephew Lot with him. God told Abraham that he would have a son with Sarah, but he didn't believe God and made a son with Sarah's handmaid. Abraham lied about Sarah being his sister and not his wife. He was disobedient many times and all would have been sin in him if the Law had been present.
Through all these things, grace covered Abraham and God declared him to be righteous because he believed God.
Abraham had no sense of being in sin and his faith wasn't diminished. He was strong in faith believing that God was able to fulfill that which He promised. Romans 4:22 (Amplified) says that, "Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God)."
Galatians 3:13-14 (Amplified) tells us, "Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the Law (and its condemnation) by (Himself) becoming a curse for us, for it is written (in the scriptures) cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified)." Verse 14 goes on, "To the end that through (their receiving0 Christ Jesus, the blessing (promised) to Abraham might come to the gentiles, so that we through faith might (all) receive (the realization of) the promise of the (Holy) Spirit."
Abraham lived his entire life under grace and had no sense of condemnation to hinder his faith. Even when God told him he'd have a son in his old age, Abraham never had condemnation by going to Hagar (his wife's handmaiden). Abraham only walked by faith and never walked under the Law.
Even though we know we're "saved by grace," we still carry the condemnation of right and wrong before God. We have never allowed pure grace to hold the first place in our lives because of guilt and condemnation we've allowed to hinder our faith. We're more sin conscious than righteousness conscious.
This condemnation keeps us feeling unworthy of God's blessing. We are unworthy. That is what grace is! John 1:18 (Amplified) says that, "Jesus is God in the flesh and came so that we could know God." Somehow, we haven't made the connection that when we see Jesus, we see the Father.
Remember, when Jesus walked as a Man on the earth, the whole plan of redemption was still to come. Jesus spoke to those who were still under the Law and in their sins. We, through Him, are in a different state.
We are supposed to walk in the peace we talked about at Christmas, all the time. We can never truly walk in peace without understanding grace. We carry a sense of guilt over the man we were before Jesus and under condemnation of past mistakes. This makes it impossible for us to live in peace in our hearts.
Abraham wasn't conscious of his mistakes and this allowed his faith to operate in its full capacity. When we can understand the full meaning of grace, we can operate in a much higher capacity of faith. Does this mean we can live in any way we want to? No! Of course not. But, if we wait until we no longer make any mistakes, then we'll already be in heaven.
Babies make mistakes, but that is expected of them because they are babies. When they fall down, we don't kick them, but help them up. They will finally learn to walk, but grace covers their mistakes. They won't always crawl, but they will walk. Babies aren't conscious of their falling down as being a mistake, but see it as a learning process.
We look at our every failing as being a sin before our Father that needs punishment. Because of this, our faith won't work in its full capacity. We don't understand grace. Grace allows us to learn without the consequence of penalty for our failures. Our Father knows we will grow into the Image of His Son and that it just takes time.
We need to allow the grace that got us saved, to bring us into maturity. My children no longer fall down when they walk (they've got that part down), but they still make mistakes in other areas of their lives (their growing up). We will still be making mistakes when Jesus comes back, but grace has already covered every one of them.
Don't allow the guilt of your old, unrenewed mind to hinder the grace of your new born spirit. Allow grace to do its work in you as you grow. Grace has covered you completely unto your salvation and completeness. Clean the inside of the cup and the outside will be clean.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Lesson 6 Unwrapping The Gift
As the time of year we celebrate Jesus' birth ends, let's keep in mind that for Christians, the Christmas season should last all year long. It should actually last all year long for the world too, if they would only receive the gift of life that Jesus came to give.
Mostly though, the world only recognizes the Baby in a manger. The precious gift of peace that God sent only becomes the reason for stress as the world struggles to purchase toys and gifts for friends and loved ones. Truly, Christmas is the time of giving, but so is every other day. Christmas should be the time for giving, loving and forgiving.
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift." Verse 17 says, "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Many Christians fail to believe their salvation goes beyond just going to heaven when they die. Others believed in the forgiveness of their sins, but aren't always secure in that promise. Some looked at it as more rules, laws and regulations they must adhere to.
For those who will delve into God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to direct them, it is a treasure chest of gifts to be opened and explored daily in our new lives.
Jesus is the "Prince of Peace," according to Isaiah 9:6. To all who will receive it, this peace or shalom is God's peace through Jesus. This shalom comes with the eradication of sin and the gift of righteousness. Once we understand this, we can enjoy "shalom" with God.
And, to those who will believe, shalom or peace means so many things if we will only dare believe the truth and grace that came through Jesus on our behalf. Many of us constantly feel unworthy and unclean before God. As long as we continue in this attitude, we can never enjoy the shalom of our new covenant. And, because we've tried so hard to be perfect in our own selves, we know more about our imperfections than about His peace.
According to Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified), "Grace is a gift from the Father. This gift is Jesus. We are saved by grace, through faith (which is also a gift from God in Jesus). The only requirement for us is for us to REST.
Grace is a gift that we didn't deserve. You don't work to receive it, otherwise it wouldn't be a gift. Shalom, the peace of God, is Jesus Himself according to John 14:27 (Amplified) which says, Peace I leave with you; My (Own) peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled)."
Jesus said, "His Own peace I now give you." The peace He is speaking about is the peace between God and Him and like we have His righteousness, we also have His peace. Matter of fact, everything we have is His, including His life, His righteousness, His Name, His place with the Father, His authority, His Spirit and His peace. The only thing we have is our body and that was purchased by His Blood. For some reason, we are still looking at "us and God" instead of understanding that it is "Him and the Father." If we will simply understand we are "in Him," then everything He is, we are. The peace or shalom that we have is His peace. We always fail when trying to manufacture peace in ourselves.
We read in 2Peter 1:2-3 (Amplified), "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in (the full, personal, precise and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." Verse 3 says, "For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that (are requisite and suited) to life and Godliness, through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His Own glory and excellence (virtue)."
The more we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us in "full and precise knowledge," the more we can understand and walk in His Shalom. This peace or "shalom" pertains to everything about us, "including healing, health, prosperity, peace of mind (a sound mind), right-standing, completeness, wholeness, soundness, now and throughout eternity" according to Strong's Concordance.
And, because we've neglected to delve into and further unwrap the Christmas gift (like excited children on Christmas morning), we have missed so much more that God has already given us. As we study God's shalom, we will open up the gift of Jesus into our lives. Grace and peace are sent as salutations to the early Church in nearly every Epistle in the New Testament. This salutation is so important that it is repeated in each and every letter. If this peace isn't received into the heart of a believer, then we will continue to live in fear and condemnation of the world and the old man. Dis-ease in our walk with the Father will result in disease in our natural bodies.
If we will turn loose of the old guilt and condemnation, then we can enter into the peace or shalom the Father has for His family. When Jesus was born, God's angels came and declared to all who would believe, "God has declared His peace (Shalom) to all mankind if only they would believe and receive it." This peace is a direct result of the removal of sin and trespass by Jesus. When we finally come to the conclusion that "my sin and iniquity He remembers no more," then we can walk in peace.
Mostly though, the world only recognizes the Baby in a manger. The precious gift of peace that God sent only becomes the reason for stress as the world struggles to purchase toys and gifts for friends and loved ones. Truly, Christmas is the time of giving, but so is every other day. Christmas should be the time for giving, loving and forgiving.
John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received (all had a share and we were all supplied with) one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favor upon favor and gift (heaped) upon gift." Verse 17 says, "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
Many Christians fail to believe their salvation goes beyond just going to heaven when they die. Others believed in the forgiveness of their sins, but aren't always secure in that promise. Some looked at it as more rules, laws and regulations they must adhere to.
For those who will delve into God's Word and allow the Holy Spirit to direct them, it is a treasure chest of gifts to be opened and explored daily in our new lives.
Jesus is the "Prince of Peace," according to Isaiah 9:6. To all who will receive it, this peace or shalom is God's peace through Jesus. This shalom comes with the eradication of sin and the gift of righteousness. Once we understand this, we can enjoy "shalom" with God.
And, to those who will believe, shalom or peace means so many things if we will only dare believe the truth and grace that came through Jesus on our behalf. Many of us constantly feel unworthy and unclean before God. As long as we continue in this attitude, we can never enjoy the shalom of our new covenant. And, because we've tried so hard to be perfect in our own selves, we know more about our imperfections than about His peace.
According to Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified), "Grace is a gift from the Father. This gift is Jesus. We are saved by grace, through faith (which is also a gift from God in Jesus). The only requirement for us is for us to REST.
Grace is a gift that we didn't deserve. You don't work to receive it, otherwise it wouldn't be a gift. Shalom, the peace of God, is Jesus Himself according to John 14:27 (Amplified) which says, Peace I leave with you; My (Own) peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled)."
Jesus said, "His Own peace I now give you." The peace He is speaking about is the peace between God and Him and like we have His righteousness, we also have His peace. Matter of fact, everything we have is His, including His life, His righteousness, His Name, His place with the Father, His authority, His Spirit and His peace. The only thing we have is our body and that was purchased by His Blood. For some reason, we are still looking at "us and God" instead of understanding that it is "Him and the Father." If we will simply understand we are "in Him," then everything He is, we are. The peace or shalom that we have is His peace. We always fail when trying to manufacture peace in ourselves.
We read in 2Peter 1:2-3 (Amplified), "May grace (God's favor) and peace (which is perfect well-being, all necessary good, all spiritual prosperity, and freedom from fears and agitating passions and moral conflicts) be multiplied to you in (the full, personal, precise and correct) knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." Verse 3 says, "For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that (are requisite and suited) to life and Godliness, through the (full, personal) knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His Own glory and excellence (virtue)."
The more we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us in "full and precise knowledge," the more we can understand and walk in His Shalom. This peace or "shalom" pertains to everything about us, "including healing, health, prosperity, peace of mind (a sound mind), right-standing, completeness, wholeness, soundness, now and throughout eternity" according to Strong's Concordance.
And, because we've neglected to delve into and further unwrap the Christmas gift (like excited children on Christmas morning), we have missed so much more that God has already given us. As we study God's shalom, we will open up the gift of Jesus into our lives. Grace and peace are sent as salutations to the early Church in nearly every Epistle in the New Testament. This salutation is so important that it is repeated in each and every letter. If this peace isn't received into the heart of a believer, then we will continue to live in fear and condemnation of the world and the old man. Dis-ease in our walk with the Father will result in disease in our natural bodies.
If we will turn loose of the old guilt and condemnation, then we can enter into the peace or shalom the Father has for His family. When Jesus was born, God's angels came and declared to all who would believe, "God has declared His peace (Shalom) to all mankind if only they would believe and receive it." This peace is a direct result of the removal of sin and trespass by Jesus. When we finally come to the conclusion that "my sin and iniquity He remembers no more," then we can walk in peace.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
Lesson 5 Unwrapping The Gift
Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) says, "For unto us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of eternity), Prince of Peace"
The gift of Christmas through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, was peace with the Father. We read in Isaiah 54:10 & 13 (Amplified), "For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you." Verse 13 says, "And all your (spiritual) children shall be disciples (taught by the Lord and obedient to His will) and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children."
As Christians, we are heirs of Christ and are the spiritual children spoken of in the last verse. We have been born again by the Spirit. The Father made a declaration concerning the cross is Isaiah 54:9 (Amplified) saying, "For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not e angry with you or rebuke."
I asked the Lord what this verse meant and He told me that the cross would be to you and me like the rainbow was to Noah. Every time it rained, Noah could look at the rainbow and know there would never be another flood. Every time we look at the cross, we should know that God will never be angry or rebuke us like He did in the old covenant. Only then would we be able to walk in and enter into this peace and rest.
As Christians, we have failed to understand all that the cross brought to pass in our new lives. We are to labor to enter into this peace according to Hebrews 4. Jesus said in John 14:27 (Amplified), "Peace I leave with you; My peace (My Own peace) I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled)."
Read what Jesus said in John 14:27 in conjunction with what the Father said in Isaiah 54:14, "You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order); You shall be far from even the thought oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you, Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you."
The Hebrew word for "peace" as in Prince of Peace from Isaiah 9;6 and Isaiah 54:10-13 is listed in the Concordance as "shalom." The Hebrew word "shalom" means, "safe, happy, friendly, also welfare i.e. health, prosperity, peace, familiar, favor, friend, great, good health, perfect (such as to be at peace, all is well, be well, wholly, to be safe (in mind, body and estate), to be completed, (made) to be friendly, (to reciprocate) make amends, make and end to, finish, make good, beat peace, make restitution, restore, reward, surely."
When Jesus was born, the Lord sent angels to announce to the world that "God has made a peace covenant with men who would respond to His Prince of Peace." From the very moment you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Father declared that He was at perfect peace with you. All of the things we've blamed on God through the years, weren't from Him at all. Isaiah 54:9 (Amplified) says, "For this (the cross) is like the days of Noah to Me; As I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, So have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
I don't believe that Noah ever feared another flood. Every time it rained, he saw the rainbow and rested in God's promise. On the other hand, we Christians, should see Christ's cross and be able to "rest" in "Shalom," knowing that God's promise to us is that "I will not be angry with you or rebuke you." This is our Prince of Peace and is the fruit of our Savior. When Jesus paid our ransom, all debt was cancelled and "Shalom" was restored to God's people.
This "rest" was spoken about in Hebrews 4:3 (Amplified) which says, "For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those (who did not believe) should not enter My rest; and this He said although (His) works had been completed and prepared (and waiting for all who would believe) from the foundation of the world."
We know that Jesus is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." This peace (Shalom) was ours from the Father from the beginning and is now ours again through the cross. The next time you look upon the cross, let it be like the rainbow was to Noah and then rest in your faith of grace and Shalom.
The gift of Christmas through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, was peace with the Father. We read in Isaiah 54:10 & 13 (Amplified), "For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you." Verse 13 says, "And all your (spiritual) children shall be disciples (taught by the Lord and obedient to His will) and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your children."
As Christians, we are heirs of Christ and are the spiritual children spoken of in the last verse. We have been born again by the Spirit. The Father made a declaration concerning the cross is Isaiah 54:9 (Amplified) saying, "For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not e angry with you or rebuke."
I asked the Lord what this verse meant and He told me that the cross would be to you and me like the rainbow was to Noah. Every time it rained, Noah could look at the rainbow and know there would never be another flood. Every time we look at the cross, we should know that God will never be angry or rebuke us like He did in the old covenant. Only then would we be able to walk in and enter into this peace and rest.
As Christians, we have failed to understand all that the cross brought to pass in our new lives. We are to labor to enter into this peace according to Hebrews 4. Jesus said in John 14:27 (Amplified), "Peace I leave with you; My peace (My Own peace) I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled)."
Read what Jesus said in John 14:27 in conjunction with what the Father said in Isaiah 54:14, "You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in conformity with God's will and order); You shall be far from even the thought oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you, Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife, but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and surrender to you."
The Hebrew word for "peace" as in Prince of Peace from Isaiah 9;6 and Isaiah 54:10-13 is listed in the Concordance as "shalom." The Hebrew word "shalom" means, "safe, happy, friendly, also welfare i.e. health, prosperity, peace, familiar, favor, friend, great, good health, perfect (such as to be at peace, all is well, be well, wholly, to be safe (in mind, body and estate), to be completed, (made) to be friendly, (to reciprocate) make amends, make and end to, finish, make good, beat peace, make restitution, restore, reward, surely."
When Jesus was born, the Lord sent angels to announce to the world that "God has made a peace covenant with men who would respond to His Prince of Peace." From the very moment you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Father declared that He was at perfect peace with you. All of the things we've blamed on God through the years, weren't from Him at all. Isaiah 54:9 (Amplified) says, "For this (the cross) is like the days of Noah to Me; As I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, So have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you."
I don't believe that Noah ever feared another flood. Every time it rained, he saw the rainbow and rested in God's promise. On the other hand, we Christians, should see Christ's cross and be able to "rest" in "Shalom," knowing that God's promise to us is that "I will not be angry with you or rebuke you." This is our Prince of Peace and is the fruit of our Savior. When Jesus paid our ransom, all debt was cancelled and "Shalom" was restored to God's people.
This "rest" was spoken about in Hebrews 4:3 (Amplified) which says, "For we who have believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest, in accordance with His declaration that those (who did not believe) should not enter My rest; and this He said although (His) works had been completed and prepared (and waiting for all who would believe) from the foundation of the world."
We know that Jesus is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." This peace (Shalom) was ours from the Father from the beginning and is now ours again through the cross. The next time you look upon the cross, let it be like the rainbow was to Noah and then rest in your faith of grace and Shalom.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Lesson 4 Unwrapping The Gift
As Christmas day approaches, we are faced with the truth of what Christmas is really about. The world views Christmas as a day-off from work with pay. The retail world sees their record books finally be in the black instead of red. Many people look at Christmas as an excuse to party and make merry. To the Church, those who know, Christmas is the time when the true life of God was once again imparted to mankind.
Romans 6:23 (Amplified) says, "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the (bountiful) free gift of God is eternal life (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord." John 1:4 (Amplified) says, "In Him was Life, and the Life was the light of men." The forgiveness of sin also paid the wages of sin, which is death. Only He could pay the price for sin and death to restore Life to those who will believe.
As we unwrap the Christ Child in the manger this season, let's look upon the free gift that He is to all who will believe in Him. The tiny baby in the manger is God's Christmas gift of Life to a world that was dead in trespass and sin. Many of us believe that we never really did anything bad and don't need a Savior. But, Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) says, "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives (All) are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."
This is why the Holy Spirit had Isaiah write Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) exactly like this, saying, "For unto us a Child is born to us a Son is given." He had always been the Son of God, but now Jesus is born to us as a gift of the Life of God. God's child, His only begotten Son has become His gift of life to men all over the earth. Jesus is the free gift of Life and the payment for sin in the world.
All of the Christmas decorations like trees, lights and bells are meant for celebrating life once again to mankind. We can now understand what Jesus told the people in John 10:10 (Amplified) saying, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, til it overflows)."
All of the free gifts found in Christ Jesus won't do any good for someone who is dead. We must first understand and receive Life, before anything else will benefit us. And, because we never truly understand what "death" meant, we underestimated the full glory of the free gift of Life. Even though we had life in the natural body, we were shut off from the Life of God in our spirits. It didn't matter how many good deeds we performed or how we lived our lives free of sin, the death of sin (the spirit force that entered into man from Adam) was still at work in our spirit. We could never pay off the debt that the first Adam had incurred. As a matter of fact, the "late payment" penalty was building as the earth's population increased.
The Child who was born, was "born to us." God's Son was given to us. He was God's gift to us. Before there was a night of lights, gifts and merriment, there was a Silent Night. Only God could rejoice in the first Christmas. God announced His peace covenant with man to the world through angels. They announced "Peace on earth, God's will to man is GOOD." From the birth of Jesus to His resurrection to the present, God has declared a peace covenant with the world in Jesus Who is the Prince of Peace. Although the world might seem to still be at war with God, He is at peace with them, through Jesus.
A simple teenage girl and her husband shared the animal's manger in a stable with their newly welcome baby boy. There were no doctors or family members to share this miracle. There were only sheep, cows, and simply shepherds. But, the Father was full of joy about His Christmas gift and couldn't help announcing the birth of His Son Jesus to the world. Angels, surrounded by God's glory, announced that Life had come, peace was here and sin was about to come to an end. Where else would a Lamb be born, except for in a stable?
God's gift of a new birth from death to life was wrapped in swaddling clothes that first Christmas, along with freedom from the bondage of sin and the free gift of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ. Romans 8:2 (Amplified) says, "What good is all the gifts we could, to a dead man? Without receiving, first of all, the gift of Life by the payment for sin, what good are all the other things?"
Jesus came because John 3:16 (Amplified) says, "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up His Only Begotten (Unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him, shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life."
Romans 6:23 (Amplified) says, "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the (bountiful) free gift of God is eternal life (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord." John 1:4 (Amplified) says, "In Him was Life, and the Life was the light of men." The forgiveness of sin also paid the wages of sin, which is death. Only He could pay the price for sin and death to restore Life to those who will believe.
As we unwrap the Christ Child in the manger this season, let's look upon the free gift that He is to all who will believe in Him. The tiny baby in the manger is God's Christmas gift of Life to a world that was dead in trespass and sin. Many of us believe that we never really did anything bad and don't need a Savior. But, Romans 3:23-24 (Amplified) says, "Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives (All) are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy) through the redemption which is (provided) in Christ Jesus."
This is why the Holy Spirit had Isaiah write Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) exactly like this, saying, "For unto us a Child is born to us a Son is given." He had always been the Son of God, but now Jesus is born to us as a gift of the Life of God. God's child, His only begotten Son has become His gift of life to men all over the earth. Jesus is the free gift of Life and the payment for sin in the world.
All of the Christmas decorations like trees, lights and bells are meant for celebrating life once again to mankind. We can now understand what Jesus told the people in John 10:10 (Amplified) saying, "The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, til it overflows)."
All of the free gifts found in Christ Jesus won't do any good for someone who is dead. We must first understand and receive Life, before anything else will benefit us. And, because we never truly understand what "death" meant, we underestimated the full glory of the free gift of Life. Even though we had life in the natural body, we were shut off from the Life of God in our spirits. It didn't matter how many good deeds we performed or how we lived our lives free of sin, the death of sin (the spirit force that entered into man from Adam) was still at work in our spirit. We could never pay off the debt that the first Adam had incurred. As a matter of fact, the "late payment" penalty was building as the earth's population increased.
The Child who was born, was "born to us." God's Son was given to us. He was God's gift to us. Before there was a night of lights, gifts and merriment, there was a Silent Night. Only God could rejoice in the first Christmas. God announced His peace covenant with man to the world through angels. They announced "Peace on earth, God's will to man is GOOD." From the birth of Jesus to His resurrection to the present, God has declared a peace covenant with the world in Jesus Who is the Prince of Peace. Although the world might seem to still be at war with God, He is at peace with them, through Jesus.
A simple teenage girl and her husband shared the animal's manger in a stable with their newly welcome baby boy. There were no doctors or family members to share this miracle. There were only sheep, cows, and simply shepherds. But, the Father was full of joy about His Christmas gift and couldn't help announcing the birth of His Son Jesus to the world. Angels, surrounded by God's glory, announced that Life had come, peace was here and sin was about to come to an end. Where else would a Lamb be born, except for in a stable?
God's gift of a new birth from death to life was wrapped in swaddling clothes that first Christmas, along with freedom from the bondage of sin and the free gift of the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ. Romans 8:2 (Amplified) says, "What good is all the gifts we could, to a dead man? Without receiving, first of all, the gift of Life by the payment for sin, what good are all the other things?"
Jesus came because John 3:16 (Amplified) says, "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He (even) gave up His Only Begotten (Unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him, shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life."
Monday, December 15, 2014
Lesson 3 Unwrapping The Gift
Many people argue about the actual day Jesus was born. Some believe He was born in the springtime, while some say He was born in the wintertime. Most, though, agree He wasn't born on December 25th. Personally, I don't think it matters when Jesus was born, but rather that He was born. Whatever day that was, it's the right day.
2Timothy 2:23 (Amplified) says, "But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels)."
Satan has devised many ways of dividing and destroying the Church using religious doctrines. We argue over which one is right and which is the best, when we should simply, "give no place to the devil" and "redeem the time wisely" and walk in the victory of Christ.
Whatever day or night Jesus was born, the important thing is that He was born. We, the Church, have allowed satan to obfuscate many of the most important days in Christianity and rule them. We gave over Christ's resurrection day (whatever day that was) to the devil and glorify rabbits, chicks, eggs and Easter bonnets. We gave Christmas over to a fat man and his flying reindeer, snowmen and elves. We've allowed All Saints Day to be ruled by witches, goblins, devils and darkness.
I don't care what any is because every day is the "day that the Lord has made" and we should "rejoice and be glad in it." Jesus said that we "Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." Why must we surrender any day to the enemy? We might not know the exact day Jesus was born, but His Father knows. He remembered and gave a birthday gift to His Son in Luke 3:21-23 (Amplified) which says, "Now when all the people were baptized, and praying, the heavens were opened and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art My Beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased." Verse 23 goes on, "And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age."
Wouldn't it be great if everyone simply believed God's Word instead of making our own doctrines about it? We don't unwrap the Christmas Gift and find a note saying, "Batteries not included." Everything ever needed was included in the God's gift.
Some in the Church believe that the gift of righteousness was not included, but it was. Some don't believe that the gift of grace was included, but it was. We don't need any batteries or extra parts for the Perfect Present of God's Son. It was made to meet every need from the foundation of the world.
Many of us stopped unwrapping before seeing the complete gift. I promised my son a pony for Christmas one year, but couldn't put one under the Christmas tree in our living room. So, I put the pony's halter, lead rope and saddle under the tree. The excitement was great when those gifts were unwrapped, but was not complete. As he unwrapped the last gift, he found a note explaining how he didn't open all the gifts and the rest of the gift (the pony) was outside in the barn.
Many of us have never taken time to unwrap the complete gift. We've put them off to some other time, person or place. We say that the gift of righteousness is for when we die and go to heaven with the Father. But, the Word says that we now, through Jesus, have this gift of righteousness in Romans 5:17 (Amplified) saying, "For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive (God's) overflowing (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness (putting themselves into right standing with Himself) reign as Kings in life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
When God gives a gift, He makes sure it's complete. He gave us the gift of His Son in Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) which says, "For to us, a Child is born, to us a Son is given." Everything man could ever need was given in this first Christmas Gift. We need to unwrap Christmas completely and dig below the wrapper to find all the gifts that are hidden for us from our Father.
2Timothy 2:23 (Amplified) says, "But refuse (shut your mind against, have nothing to do with) trifling (ill informed, unedifying, stupid) controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels)."
Satan has devised many ways of dividing and destroying the Church using religious doctrines. We argue over which one is right and which is the best, when we should simply, "give no place to the devil" and "redeem the time wisely" and walk in the victory of Christ.
Whatever day or night Jesus was born, the important thing is that He was born. We, the Church, have allowed satan to obfuscate many of the most important days in Christianity and rule them. We gave over Christ's resurrection day (whatever day that was) to the devil and glorify rabbits, chicks, eggs and Easter bonnets. We gave Christmas over to a fat man and his flying reindeer, snowmen and elves. We've allowed All Saints Day to be ruled by witches, goblins, devils and darkness.
I don't care what any is because every day is the "day that the Lord has made" and we should "rejoice and be glad in it." Jesus said that we "Strain at a gnat and swallow a camel." Why must we surrender any day to the enemy? We might not know the exact day Jesus was born, but His Father knows. He remembered and gave a birthday gift to His Son in Luke 3:21-23 (Amplified) which says, "Now when all the people were baptized, and praying, the heavens were opened and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art My Beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased." Verse 23 goes on, "And Jesus Himself began to be about thirty years of age."
Wouldn't it be great if everyone simply believed God's Word instead of making our own doctrines about it? We don't unwrap the Christmas Gift and find a note saying, "Batteries not included." Everything ever needed was included in the God's gift.
Some in the Church believe that the gift of righteousness was not included, but it was. Some don't believe that the gift of grace was included, but it was. We don't need any batteries or extra parts for the Perfect Present of God's Son. It was made to meet every need from the foundation of the world.
Many of us stopped unwrapping before seeing the complete gift. I promised my son a pony for Christmas one year, but couldn't put one under the Christmas tree in our living room. So, I put the pony's halter, lead rope and saddle under the tree. The excitement was great when those gifts were unwrapped, but was not complete. As he unwrapped the last gift, he found a note explaining how he didn't open all the gifts and the rest of the gift (the pony) was outside in the barn.
Many of us have never taken time to unwrap the complete gift. We've put them off to some other time, person or place. We say that the gift of righteousness is for when we die and go to heaven with the Father. But, the Word says that we now, through Jesus, have this gift of righteousness in Romans 5:17 (Amplified) saying, "For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive (God's) overflowing (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness (putting themselves into right standing with Himself) reign as Kings in life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).
When God gives a gift, He makes sure it's complete. He gave us the gift of His Son in Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) which says, "For to us, a Child is born, to us a Son is given." Everything man could ever need was given in this first Christmas Gift. We need to unwrap Christmas completely and dig below the wrapper to find all the gifts that are hidden for us from our Father.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Lesson 2 Unwrapping The Gift
I often gave my growing children one large Christmas package that was stuffed with lots of little packages. Likewise, when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we need to begin unwrapping the package God sent us on that very first Christmas and discover all the gifts God placed in Him for us.
Romans 5:17 (Amplified) says, "For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive (God's) overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness (putting them into right standing with Himself) reign as Kings in life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The tiny gift of the Christ Child incorporated many varied gifts, one of which is the gift of righteousness. This gift is so very important for Christians to unwrap because without this gift, we find ourselves in a place outside where the Father intended us to be.
We seldom think about all the gifts God placed in this one small package of flesh in the manger. But, in Jesus we find all the gifts of God to mankind that are yet to be unwrapped or revealed to us and by us. Romans 6:23 (Amplified) says, "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the (bountiful) free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord."
Many of us unwrapped the gift and received our salvation, but then stopped there. The gift of eternal life is not for when we arrive in heaven, but is to be experienced here and now. When you received that gift, eternal life began living in you instantly. Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) tells us that, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through (your) faith. And this (salvation) is not of yourselves (of your own doing, it came by (not from your own striving) but it is the gift of God."
I often thought that scripture was referring to my salvation as being "the free gift of God." The more I studied this scripture, the more I learned how the grace, the faith and the salvation were all the gifts of God. When unwrapping the present, I found many, many more gifts inside.
John 1:16 (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."
Acts 2:38-39 (Amplified) says, "And Peter answered them, 'Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Verse 39 goes on, "For the promise (of the Holy Spirit) is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away (even) to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself."
The gift of grace is the helper to unwrapping all the other gifts in Christ. Until we unwrap grace, the other gifts seem to be too much to accept. The gift of righteousness cannot be believed and received without first accepting the gift of grace. We can only believe we are now in right standing with God only by faith in His grace.
The gift of the Holy Spirit found in Acts 2, is to reveal the gifts of God to His children, through our union with Jesus. Without receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will not understand how to operate in the other gifts. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the gift of grace to us. 1Corinthians 2:12 (Amplified) says, "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."
When we don't receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as He is intended to be received, we still walk in the spirit of the world or the mere natural man. The Holy Spirit has come to reveal all these gifts to God's Church. All of these gifts are in Christ Jesus, but we must unwrap the present of God in order to receive them.
Jesus, still in the manger, is just the promise. When you receive Him, then you receive the gift of the promise. In Him are all things affiliated with life and Godliness both now in this life on earth and in the hereafter.
Romans 5:17 (Amplified) says, "For if because of one man's trespass (lapse, offense) death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive (God's) overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and the free gift of righteousness (putting them into right standing with Himself) reign as Kings in life through the One Man Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One)."
The tiny gift of the Christ Child incorporated many varied gifts, one of which is the gift of righteousness. This gift is so very important for Christians to unwrap because without this gift, we find ourselves in a place outside where the Father intended us to be.
We seldom think about all the gifts God placed in this one small package of flesh in the manger. But, in Jesus we find all the gifts of God to mankind that are yet to be unwrapped or revealed to us and by us. Romans 6:23 (Amplified) says, "For the wages which sin pays is death, but the (bountiful) free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord."
Many of us unwrapped the gift and received our salvation, but then stopped there. The gift of eternal life is not for when we arrive in heaven, but is to be experienced here and now. When you received that gift, eternal life began living in you instantly. Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) tells us that, "For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through (your) faith. And this (salvation) is not of yourselves (of your own doing, it came by (not from your own striving) but it is the gift of God."
I often thought that scripture was referring to my salvation as being "the free gift of God." The more I studied this scripture, the more I learned how the grace, the faith and the salvation were all the gifts of God. When unwrapping the present, I found many, many more gifts inside.
John 1:16 (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."
Acts 2:38-39 (Amplified) says, "And Peter answered them, 'Repent (change your views and purpose to accept the will of God in your inner selves instead of rejecting it) and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of and release from your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Verse 39 goes on, "For the promise (of the Holy Spirit) is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away (even) to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself."
The gift of grace is the helper to unwrapping all the other gifts in Christ. Until we unwrap grace, the other gifts seem to be too much to accept. The gift of righteousness cannot be believed and received without first accepting the gift of grace. We can only believe we are now in right standing with God only by faith in His grace.
The gift of the Holy Spirit found in Acts 2, is to reveal the gifts of God to His children, through our union with Jesus. Without receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, you will not understand how to operate in the other gifts. Only the Holy Spirit can reveal the gift of grace to us. 1Corinthians 2:12 (Amplified) says, "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."
When we don't receive the gift of the Holy Spirit as He is intended to be received, we still walk in the spirit of the world or the mere natural man. The Holy Spirit has come to reveal all these gifts to God's Church. All of these gifts are in Christ Jesus, but we must unwrap the present of God in order to receive them.
Jesus, still in the manger, is just the promise. When you receive Him, then you receive the gift of the promise. In Him are all things affiliated with life and Godliness both now in this life on earth and in the hereafter.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Lesson 1 Unwrapping The Gift
Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) says, "For unto us a Child is born, to us a Son is given."
The wonderful gift has been given to us on the very first Christmas. It wasn't wrapped in pretty paper and silk ribbons, but was wrapped in swaddling clothes. It's amazing how so much can be placed in such a tiny package.
In the tiny package of Love the Father gave to us on that first Christmas, there are so many gifts for all who will receive them. Some hate to spoil the beauty of the gift by removing the wrappings and trimmings. Many still think of this gift as a small newborn lying in a manger, like when God gave the gift. And many others still don't receive the gift in all that it is.
This Christmas gift was all inclusive in its purpose and the unwrapping is a continuous thing. I've been unwrapping all of the gifts and blessing that came in this small package for forty years. Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) was revealed to me during the unwrapping saying, "He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of eternity), Prince of Peace." All these things were encapsulated in the tiny Baby in the manger.
As I continued unwrapping, I found in John 1:16-17 (Amplified) how from this tiny Baby, "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." Verse 17 goes on, "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
The first Christmas gift to us is a gift that can never be exhausted in its giving. However long you have this gift, it's always new and is revealing new things in its giving. Many of us have simply removed the swaddling rags and haven't delved deeper into the package. We can't simply untie the ribbons and remove the wrappings, we must open the box to see all it contains.
Some wrap smaller gifts individually in tissue paper and then place them in the same package. My wife likes to do this in order to create many surprises for the person unwrapping that gift. She places tissue paper around several individual gifts so that they have to be unwrapped separately. It was fun watching my young children's surprised elation when opening the package that held many smaller gifts.
If they had just opened the package without searching through the tissue paper, then they would have only found the presents that were readily available. But, if they began seeking farther into the package, then they would find new and exciting things. The deeper they dug into the package, the more they found. Proverbs 2:3-5 (Amplified) tells us, "Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understand, If you seek (wisdom) as for silver and search for skillful and Godly wisdom as for hidden treasure, Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of (our Omniscient) God."
The deeper you dig into the package, the more gifts you find. They were always there, you just had to seek beyond the wrapping. The small Christmas package placed in a manger contains the good things of our loving Father to bring delight, blessings and joy to His children for eternity.
We've had mixed and sometimes heated discussions about this small package in the manger. Some have only admired the wrappings and trimmings without ever opening the package. Some unwrapped the package, but never looked inside to see what it contained. Others have unwrapped and looked inside the package, but never sought as far as the treasure told. No matter how long or how deep you dig into this package, you will always find new and untold riches.
Some people believe this package came to bring entry into God's house at the time of their leaving earth. Some of us have looked deeper inside the package and have found the gift of grace that brings forth salvation. Some place the package on display once a year and then put it into storage for the rest of the remainder of the year. Some are satisfied with letting others open the gift and relate what's inside instead of seeing for themselves.
The wonderful gift has been given to us on the very first Christmas. It wasn't wrapped in pretty paper and silk ribbons, but was wrapped in swaddling clothes. It's amazing how so much can be placed in such a tiny package.
In the tiny package of Love the Father gave to us on that first Christmas, there are so many gifts for all who will receive them. Some hate to spoil the beauty of the gift by removing the wrappings and trimmings. Many still think of this gift as a small newborn lying in a manger, like when God gave the gift. And many others still don't receive the gift in all that it is.
This Christmas gift was all inclusive in its purpose and the unwrapping is a continuous thing. I've been unwrapping all of the gifts and blessing that came in this small package for forty years. Isaiah 9:6 (Amplified) was revealed to me during the unwrapping saying, "He shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father (of eternity), Prince of Peace." All these things were encapsulated in the tiny Baby in the manger.
As I continued unwrapping, I found in John 1:16-17 (Amplified) how from this tiny Baby, "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." Verse 17 goes on, "For while the Law was given through Moses, grace (unearned, undeserved favor and spiritual blessing) and truth came through Jesus Christ."
The first Christmas gift to us is a gift that can never be exhausted in its giving. However long you have this gift, it's always new and is revealing new things in its giving. Many of us have simply removed the swaddling rags and haven't delved deeper into the package. We can't simply untie the ribbons and remove the wrappings, we must open the box to see all it contains.
Some wrap smaller gifts individually in tissue paper and then place them in the same package. My wife likes to do this in order to create many surprises for the person unwrapping that gift. She places tissue paper around several individual gifts so that they have to be unwrapped separately. It was fun watching my young children's surprised elation when opening the package that held many smaller gifts.
If they had just opened the package without searching through the tissue paper, then they would have only found the presents that were readily available. But, if they began seeking farther into the package, then they would find new and exciting things. The deeper they dug into the package, the more they found. Proverbs 2:3-5 (Amplified) tells us, "Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understand, If you seek (wisdom) as for silver and search for skillful and Godly wisdom as for hidden treasure, Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of (our Omniscient) God."
The deeper you dig into the package, the more gifts you find. They were always there, you just had to seek beyond the wrapping. The small Christmas package placed in a manger contains the good things of our loving Father to bring delight, blessings and joy to His children for eternity.
We've had mixed and sometimes heated discussions about this small package in the manger. Some have only admired the wrappings and trimmings without ever opening the package. Some unwrapped the package, but never looked inside to see what it contained. Others have unwrapped and looked inside the package, but never sought as far as the treasure told. No matter how long or how deep you dig into this package, you will always find new and untold riches.
Some people believe this package came to bring entry into God's house at the time of their leaving earth. Some of us have looked deeper inside the package and have found the gift of grace that brings forth salvation. Some place the package on display once a year and then put it into storage for the rest of the remainder of the year. Some are satisfied with letting others open the gift and relate what's inside instead of seeing for themselves.
Monday, December 1, 2014
Lesson 5 The Reason for Creation
We have determined from the Word that the reason for creation was the earth and the reason for the earth was man. We now come to the crutch of the matter; what was the reason for man?
The reason for man was the heart of the Father God. Genesis 1:1 tells us that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The word "God" in Hebrew is "Elohim." This word is plural and reveals the Trinity at work in the creation. We find in John 1:1-3 that Jesus Christ played a major role in all creation. Both Psalm 104:30 and Genesis 1:2 tell us that the Holy Spirit was also at work in all that was created. The Trinity or the three persons of God or the totality of God is revealed throughout the Old and New Testament.
In Matthew 3:13-17 at Jesus' baptism and in Matthew 28:19, we see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father God created the heavens and the earth in the very beginning and had the Father nature in the very beginning.
It's easy to see the love of a father even in today's world. A father's heart is for his children. Ephesians 3:14-15 shows how a human father is an archetype of our Heavenly Father. Earthly fathers love because our Heavenly Father God is eternally and infinitely a Father and we're made in His Image. It simply stands to reason that as a Father, God would long for a family to share in His love.
Ephesians 1"4-5 (Amplified) says, "Even as (in His love) He chose us (actually picked us out for Himself as His Own) in Christ before the foundations of the world (that we should be holy consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach before Him in love." Verse 5 says, "For He ordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His Own children through Christ Jesus, in accordance with the purpose of His will (because it pleased Him and was His kind intent)."
Romans 16:25 (Amplified) reveals the same truth to us that had been hidden until now saying, "Now to Him Who is able to strengthen you in the faith which is in accordance with my gospel and the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ (the Messiah), according to the revelation (the unveiling) of the mystery of the plan of redemption which was kept in silence and secret for long ages." 1Corinthians 2:7 (Amplified) says, "But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden (from the human understanding) and now revealed to us by God (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification (to lift us into the glory of His presence)."
Jesus came to do exactly that very thing in His ministry, He often said, "He came to reveal this God to men as the Father." Can you imagine the comments and the hassle that erupted when Jesus taught them to pray saying, "Our Father, Who is in heaven" in Matthew 6:9? These people held the Name God as being so holy that they wouldn't write or speak it. Even today, many Jews write God as G-d because of reverence. And Jesus said they should call God Father.
Jesus said in John 14:6 (Amplified), "I am the way, and the truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except (through) Me." He said in John 17:26 (Amplified), I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very self, and I will continue to make (you) known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them (felt in their hearts) and that I (Myself) may be in them."
Jesus repeated that very statement in John 10:9 (Amplified) saying, "I Am the door; Anyone who enter in through Me will be saved ( will live). He will come in and he will go out (freely) and find pasture." Jesus is the door we pass through to return to the presence of God as Father and not only God. Jesus became our door back to a place of sonship with the Father. Did you notice how Jesus said in John 14:6 that "No one comes to the Father except through Him?"
Many people have come to Jesus, but still haven't entered the other side of the door into the Father's presence. We stand at this side of the door and address God as "God," but won't pass through the door and address Him as "Father." We read the Lord's Prayer and pray, "Our Father,"but still act as though He is distant. Our fellowship and sonship connection has been made if we will accept it.
The entire reason for everything that exists, was the Father and His family. Enter through the door of Jesus, into the throne of Grace and to the presence of your Father. Make Him Father and not just God. This is His heart and His dream fulfilled.
The reason for man was the heart of the Father God. Genesis 1:1 tells us that, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." The word "God" in Hebrew is "Elohim." This word is plural and reveals the Trinity at work in the creation. We find in John 1:1-3 that Jesus Christ played a major role in all creation. Both Psalm 104:30 and Genesis 1:2 tell us that the Holy Spirit was also at work in all that was created. The Trinity or the three persons of God or the totality of God is revealed throughout the Old and New Testament.
In Matthew 3:13-17 at Jesus' baptism and in Matthew 28:19, we see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father God created the heavens and the earth in the very beginning and had the Father nature in the very beginning.
It's easy to see the love of a father even in today's world. A father's heart is for his children. Ephesians 3:14-15 shows how a human father is an archetype of our Heavenly Father. Earthly fathers love because our Heavenly Father God is eternally and infinitely a Father and we're made in His Image. It simply stands to reason that as a Father, God would long for a family to share in His love.
Ephesians 1"4-5 (Amplified) says, "Even as (in His love) He chose us (actually picked us out for Himself as His Own) in Christ before the foundations of the world (that we should be holy consecrated and set apart for Him) and blameless in His sight, even above reproach before Him in love." Verse 5 says, "For He ordained us (destined us, planned in love for us) to be adopted (revealed) as His Own children through Christ Jesus, in accordance with the purpose of His will (because it pleased Him and was His kind intent)."
Romans 16:25 (Amplified) reveals the same truth to us that had been hidden until now saying, "Now to Him Who is able to strengthen you in the faith which is in accordance with my gospel and the preaching of (concerning) Jesus Christ (the Messiah), according to the revelation (the unveiling) of the mystery of the plan of redemption which was kept in silence and secret for long ages." 1Corinthians 2:7 (Amplified) says, "But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden (from the human understanding) and now revealed to us by God (that wisdom) which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification (to lift us into the glory of His presence)."
Jesus came to do exactly that very thing in His ministry, He often said, "He came to reveal this God to men as the Father." Can you imagine the comments and the hassle that erupted when Jesus taught them to pray saying, "Our Father, Who is in heaven" in Matthew 6:9? These people held the Name God as being so holy that they wouldn't write or speak it. Even today, many Jews write God as G-d because of reverence. And Jesus said they should call God Father.
Jesus said in John 14:6 (Amplified), "I am the way, and the truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except (through) Me." He said in John 17:26 (Amplified), I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very self, and I will continue to make (you) known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them (felt in their hearts) and that I (Myself) may be in them."
Jesus repeated that very statement in John 10:9 (Amplified) saying, "I Am the door; Anyone who enter in through Me will be saved ( will live). He will come in and he will go out (freely) and find pasture." Jesus is the door we pass through to return to the presence of God as Father and not only God. Jesus became our door back to a place of sonship with the Father. Did you notice how Jesus said in John 14:6 that "No one comes to the Father except through Him?"
Many people have come to Jesus, but still haven't entered the other side of the door into the Father's presence. We stand at this side of the door and address God as "God," but won't pass through the door and address Him as "Father." We read the Lord's Prayer and pray, "Our Father,"but still act as though He is distant. Our fellowship and sonship connection has been made if we will accept it.
The entire reason for everything that exists, was the Father and His family. Enter through the door of Jesus, into the throne of Grace and to the presence of your Father. Make Him Father and not just God. This is His heart and His dream fulfilled.
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