Our Covenant of Faith, Part 10

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 10

            John 6:28-29 (Amp), then they said, what are we to do, that we may (habitually) be working the works of God? (what are we to do to carry out what God requires?)  Jesus replied, this is the work (service) that God asks of you; that you believe in the one whom He has sent (that they cleave to, trust, rely on, and have faith in His messenger.

            To me, this is the whole matter of what our new covenant is all about – that we put our faith in what Jesus came to do.  We keep trying to find some kind of formula to make things work, when all we are asked to do is believe (have faith) in what has already been done.  Our righteousness has already been provided (by faith in Jesus).  Our justification has already been provided (by faith in what Jesus has already done).  Our healing has already been provided (by faith in what Jesus has done).  It’s not a matter of having faith (Romans 12:3 Amp: the degree of faith apportioned by God.  Romans 12:3 KJV: as God has dealt to each man the measure of faith).  It is a matter of what you put your faith into.  You can’t have faith for healing without faith in the healer who bore your disease.  It is not a matter of being righteous enough, or good enough, or doing enough to deserve to be healed.  It is a matter of finding out who our healer is and realizing that I get healed because of Him and not because of me or my good works.  We, as Christians, still try to base what happens in our lives by what we provide, instead of allowing God to do what He provides in our sacrifice Lamb.

            When our Father adopted us into His family, He took on full responsibility for us.  We have laws in this land about absentee fathers and make them provide for their own children.  God is not an absentee father.  Everything that was needed to succeed in life (according to the will of our Father) was provided in Jesus.  When you look up the word “salvation”, it means temporal as well as eternal.

            In Romans 10:8-10 Amp, we see the scripture that most of us use when leading someone into salvation.  In Romans 10:7, 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).  Jesus told His own disciples in Mark 16:15-20 Amp: go into all the world and preach and publish openly the good news (the Gospel) to every creature (of the human race).  Vs 16: He who believes (adheres to and trusts in and relies on the Gospel and Him whom it sets forth) and is baptized will be saved.

            Then He went into some of the signs that were to follow, not just His disciples that He was talking to at the time, but those that would believe what they preached.  Then in Vs 20 Amp, they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord kept working with them and confirming the message by the attesting signs and miracles that closely accompanied it.  Amen (so be it).

            Did you notice that He didn’t confirm the man preaching, but only what they preached?  If faith in what God does comes by hearing what God does (Romans 10:17), then how can the people put faith in what they don’t hear?

            We have been hearing about going to heaven when we leave here, and that is a wonderful thing, but we still have to live here until that time.  Is God unable to take care of His children now?  Are they just left to the mercy of a diabolical enemy until then?  Have we been hearing about a father that will never leave us or forsake us or are we simply not hearing the whole message of salvation?

            The Gospel (Good News) is that there is nothing left for us to do but receive by faith what is already done.  Are we so proud that we will still blame our Lord for our own shortcomings instead of admitting that we haven’t believed in the full price of His blood?  The devil is very good at bringing condemnation on us every time we fail at something to the point that we won’t preach it so as to not upset the people.  If we don’t preach it, they can’t hear it.  If they don’t hear it, they can’t believe it.  If they can’t believe it, they won’t receive it, even though it is now already ours (through faith in the one that provided it).  We will never each out for it by faith and allow God to do what He set out to do from the start and bring man back to the full measure of His love.

            In Mark 5 Amp, we read about Jairus and his daughter and also about the issue of blood.  In  Mark 5:27 Amp, when she heard the reports concerning Jesus and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment.  The results were that she was healed by having faith in what she heard concerning Jesus.  She had never been in one of His meetings because she couldn’t go out in public as she was considered unclean by the law.  She had never seen Jesus because of not being able to go out.  The only things she had was faith in what she heard.  Jesus didn’t go there to heal her, and it wasn’t even Him who instigated the healing; it was her faith in Him that loosed the healing (that was already available) her faith in what she heard rose up and received what Jesus had already bought.   You find that Jesus stopped and asked (who touched me?) of all the people that thronged Him that day, only two people are recorded that received from Him – both by faith in what they heard about Him.

            If we don’t preach the word, faith won’t come.  We have to be patient and steadfast enough to feed the people until they know.

Redeemed Lesson #1

             REDEEMED   Lesson 1  

     Psalms 107:1-2 (Amplified Bible) says "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the adversary."

     Galatians 3:13 (Amplified) " Christ purchased our freedom (redeeming us) from the curse (doom) of the law (and it's 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).'" Deuteronomy 21:23 (Amplified).  Galatians 3:14 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."

     We've been speaking of our covenant of faith in previous teachings.  Here we clearly see that in verse 14 we must receive this blessing by faith.  Psalm 107:2 says that "we are to proclaim this redemption by speaking (by faith) what Jesus has done on our behalf."

     Why is it that we have such a hard time speaking and believing what Jesus has done?  Revelations 12:11-12 (Amplified)  says that "Then I heard a strong (loud) voice in heaven, saying 'Now it has come-the salvation and the power and the Kingdom (the dominion, the reign) of our God, and the power (the sovereignty, the authority) of his Christ (the Messiah) for the accuser of our brethren, he who keeps bringing God, charges against them day and night, has been cast out." verse 11 "and they overcame (conquered) him by means of the Blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death."

     Jesus declared in John 5 and 6 (Amplified) that "we who are dead can receive life in Him.  If we try to save our life, we will lose it, and if we lose our life, we will save it."

     In Revelations 12  he was talking about the time of the new covenant (after the resurrection) those people who had been under the accuser of the brethren, would now have authority by the name of Jesus, to speak out our testimony and overcome him."  "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so." Psalms 107:2

     1Peter 5:6-9 (Amplified) tells us that "If you will read these scriptures carefully, you will see taht (the accuser of the brethren) the adversary is even now trying to take back authority over the redeemed of the Lord." "We are to withstand him in faith." verse 9.

     When the adversary comes in "like a roaring lion," do you proclaim your redemption or do you back off?  Are you the redeemed of the Lord who "says so?"  Or are you the one who lays down?  Do you "overcome by the word of the Lord" and the "word of your testimony?"  Your word should be Jesus Christ, Him crucified and risen, and His victory for you.  Your testimony is not who you used to be, but who you are now In Him.

     Is your testimony "by the blood of the Lamb" and your redemption in Him?  If not, then you are not resisting the enemy, but yielding to the same accusations that you always received before Jesus redeemed you.

     Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!  You are redeemed from the curse and now walking in the blessing, if you will proclaim it.

Our Covenant Of Faith Lesson 9

 
     We have tried and tried to do what we were taught and what we thought was required of us to be and  what we thought God expected us to be.  We have subjected ourselves to dress a certain way, to keep our hair a certain length, to abstain from wearing make-up, and we even tried to change the days we worship to correspond to what we thought God expected.  Many of us have put aside the things we eat or don't eat because of laws that regulate our food.

      There's nothing wrong with watching what you eat, but not because of law.  We have done some pretty foolish things because we thought that's what God was requiring of us.  So many people have been wounded and frustrated by following some of the rituals that man placed on them from the pulpit.  Most of these men thought they were doing right by what they did; but not at all.  Some of the things we believed would set us free simply placed us under a new bondage.  No matter what we did, it seemed we could never measure up to what was taught.

      I walk in a liberty that seems to almost frighten some people.  But, it's this very liberty that allows me to walk in the power of God.  I don't get involved in what people think, but only what my Father thinks.  I've put my hand to the plow and I don't look back.  Nobody knows better than I do where I came from or who I used to be.  I've put my faith in the truth of the sacrifice that God meant when He said in II Corinthians 5:17-21 (Amplified)  that  I "am a new creature in Christ."

      In the Gospel according to John 6:28-9 (Amplified) Jesus' disciples asked Him the question that ran through my heart for a long time.  Thus in verse 28  they asked, "What are we to do, that we may (habitually) be working the works of God?  What are we to do to carry out what God requires?"  In verse 29 (Amplified) Jesus answered, "This is the work (service) that God asks of you;  that believe in the One whom He has sent (that you cleave to, trust,rely upon, and have faith in the messenger)."

      Once I realized that my part was to have faith in His part, it became so simple to me.  My part of being righteous was to believe in His righteousness.  My part of being justified was to believe that He is my justification.  Everything I needed to be, He became for me.  There were no more dots to connect or hoops to jump through, but only to put my faith in Him and believe He did it all for me!

      I found that the answer to stopping the devil from tormenting me was to use the "shield of faith."  Ephesians 6:16 (Amplified) says to "lift up all over the (covering) shield of 'saving faith,'  upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one."

     Ephesians 2:8 (Amplified) says "for this is by the free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment) and made partakers of Christ's salvation through your faith.  And, this (salvation) is not of yourselves (of your own doing),  it came not through your own striking bit it's the gift of God."

     In Galatians 5:6 (Amplified)  we get some insight into what John said about "Perfect love casting out fear."  1 John 4:18 (Amplified)  says" there is no fear in Love (dread doesn't exist) but full grown (complete,perfect) Love turns fear out of doors, and expels every trace of terror, for feqr brings with it the thought of punishment, and (so) he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of Love (is not yet grown into Love's complete perfection)."

     Now we what I was talking about Galatians 5:6 (Amplified) "for (if we are) in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through Love."

     If I put my faith in His Love for me, then I don't have to be thinking about whether God's mad at me or whether He's punishing me or whether I'm measuring up or whether I'm good enough or any other lies the devil can come up with to try and get me to drop my shield of faith (in His Love for me) nothing can get into me.  I don't worry about all the religious rules and reasons why the Word doesn't work.  I just put my faith in Him and it always works.

     All the rituals and religious rules have gone and I strive for one thing.  Romans 1:3 (Amplified) says "It is through Him that we have received grace (God's unmerited favor) and (our) apostleship to promote obedience to the faith and make disciples for His namesake among the nations.'

Our Covenant of Faith Part 8

     In the new covenant that the Father set up through Jesus, everything that is to be received must be received by faith.  There is no more sacrifice in this new covenant, but everything depends on our faith in the one sacrifice for all time. Hebrews 9:24-26 (Amplified Bible).  Verse 26(Amplified) says "then He often had to suffer (over and over again) since the foundation of the world.  But as it is now, He has once for all the consummation and the close of the ages appeared to put away and abolish sin by His sacrifice (of Himself)."
 
    Through the ages men have tried to live up to the expectations that they placed on themselves by our own sin conscience.  No matter what we did we always fell short in our own eyes of measuring up to what we and the Father wanted.  Romans 3:10 (Amplified) declared that "none were righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no not one."  In Hebrews 10:1-4 (Amplified)  especially verse 3 even though they made the sacrifice it only brought a fresh remembrance of sins (to be atoned for).

     We find this truth of the new covenant in Hebrews 11:1(Amplified).  The thing that sacrifice and offerings of bulls and goats couldn't bring to pass (which was acceptance before God and our own conscience was now obtainable by faith.  In Hebrews 11:1 we read that "now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things (we) hope for.  Being proof of things (we) don't see and the conviction of our reality (faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses)."
   
      So we see now that the ability to be able to approach the Father (as our Father) doesn't come by works, sacrifice or any other means but faith.  So now through the sacrifice of Jesus, everything we (and God) ever wanted (to become in right standing with Him) has been granted; but only by faith.
   
      This covenant of faith has with it, one drawback  found in Hebrews 10:35-36 (Amplified) which says "Do not therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carried a great and glorious compensation of reward verse 36 for you have need of steadfast patience (the word patience is translated to the word consistence) and endurance so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God and thus receive and carry away (and enjoy to the full) what is promised."  Verse 37 says that "all the things He promised would be fulfilled when Jesus actually returns."  That doesn't mean that the promises are all laid up for that  time,but that the fullness of the promise can't be accomplished until then.  The promise of the resurrection of the dead and the body of glory that Jesus promised isn't obtainable until His coming according to 1 Thess. 4:13-18 (Amplified).  This promise is the one that we wait for and hold onto to by patience and faith.  All of the other promises of this new covenant are for here as well as there.
   
      Certainly the promise of healing will be fulfilled when we reach heaven, but that part of the covenant is also for our mortal bodies.  As Jesus rose from the dead and entered into the Heavenly Holy of Holies by His own blood, we have received by faith what nothing else can accomplish, the clear conscience and boldness to dare and believe that through Jesus we are accepted and welcomed by the Father.  Hebrews 10:18-23(Amplified).
   
       Now it's not a matter of not being good enough or too unworthy or being left behind and included into.  It's simply having faith in the sacrifice that God Himself has provided.  Hebrews 10:5(Amplified) tells us "Hence when He (Christ) entered into the world, He said 'Sacrifices and offerings You have not desired, but instead You have made ready a body for me (to offer).'"
 
        What's left for us to do is to believe in that sacrifice.  Romans 10:6-9 (Amplified) tells us  "the righteousness based on faith (imputed by God and bringing right relationship with Him) says, ''Do not say in your heart, who will ascend into heaven?  that is, to bring Christ down.'" verse 7 "or who will ascend into the abyss?  that is to bring Christ up from the dead (as if we could be saved by our own efforts."  verse 8"But what does it say?  The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart;  That is the Word (the message, the basis and the object) of faith which we preach."

        When I got born again, Jesus didn't have to go to the cross again.  I only had to have faith in the fact that He went for me.  When I needed healing, Jesus didn't have to be whipped again.  I only had to have faith in His sacrifice.  When I needed to be forgiven, made righteous and acceptable,Jesus didn't need to be sacrificed all over again.  I only had to have faith in what He had already done.  As we saw before in Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified) "Now faith ( in the sacrifice) is the substance of things hoped for."  My faith in His sacrifice is the only evidence I need.  He doesn't have to come down from heaven and touch me.  And, He doesn't have to be raised again from the dead to bring my healing.  All that is required of me is to have faith that the sacrifice of Jesus is more than enough for my every need to be met.

       The first covenant was made with men who couldn't fulfill it.  The second covenant (faith covenant) was made between God and Jesus.  Hebrews 6:16-18 (Amplified) says "by two unchangeable things (His promise and His oath) in which it's impossible for God to ever prove false or deceive us, we have fled (to Him) for refuge that we might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hoped appointed for us and set before us."

Our Covenant of Faith Part 7

     It seems hard for us to believe that God loves us so much that everything that was required to be right with him was provided by him.  He knew what all the requirements were to make things right. Since we didn't know(nor could we do on our own) what to do or how to do it, we set about to make our own way to reach and be right with him.  All that we have done and all that we put into motion only made it more difficult for us.  We established our own righteousness and began to develop faith to the point that what we had in mind became wrong, in our thinking.  Yet today, we have so many man made doctrines(that actually go against the word) we have trusted in for such a long time.  We have put our faith in these instead of his word.  Our misplaced faith has resulted in self righteousness instead of His righteousness.  We may not have done in on purpose, but none the less we have done it.
      In many places that I have preached, I have come across people that oppose what was said, even when they read it out of their own bibles.  All because it contradicted what they had been taught.  Jesus made a comment in Mark 4:13-25 amp about those that hear the word.  In verse 14-15 He said that Satan comes immediately to take away the word that was sown in their hearts.  Satan must get it out before it can take root.  It is a lot easier to dig up an acorn than an oak tree.  In vs 23, he said if any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend(Hearing and comprehending will result in faith) And then he said something that we seem to have missed in vs 24 Be careful what you are hearing.  He had just preached a message that words are seeds(not just the word of God, but all words are seeds)  one group of words is the seed of the Kingdom, one group of words is the seed of the world.  Each seed will produce in good ground.  The soil doesn't determine what the seed is, it will grow what ever you put in it.  The ground will produce poison ivy as quick as it will grow corn.  It is up to us to see to it that we use good seed that will produce to the Kingdom.
    In this same parable in vs 17 we built a doctrine about hard times and tribulation, that Goad was testing our faith bit if you read the word about persecution and trouble, we find the enemy brought it on us because of and on account of the word, we become offended and resentful and fall away.  We hear all the time about people(God's people) who "tried" this and it didn't work.  Even in this natural world most things don't work when you first begin.  Walking didn't work the first time you tried it.  Even when you saw other people walking, you got up on your feet and almost instantly fell down.  You didn't just sit there and say " walking isn't for everyone" you got back up.  Even after you could walk a little ways you stayed at it until you got better at it.  After a while there was little trouble with your walking.  It took most of us years to be able to tie our own shoes.  Why do we think that learning to trust in and walk in God's promises would not require diligence and patience.  We have reached the point in so many ways that we have just quit and made excuses as to why God doesn't do these things anymore.  Heb 13:8 amp.  Jesus Christ(the Messiah) is(always) the same yesterday, today, (yes) and forever(to the ages) in spite of all our excuses and denials, the word says that our excuses won't stand against the truth of the word.
     If something isn't working in my life the way the word said it should, I at least have sense enough to know that it's me that missed it and not God.  I see to many people that God healed, to deny healing.  I know to many people that speak with tongues to say its passed away.  I know to many people that walk to say walking doesn't work or is just not for everyone.
    I refuse to allow unbelief to take root in the soil of my heart and choke out the seed of faith.  One of the great things about the word of God is that, I am the only one who can stop it from working in my life.  Others may mock or ridicule me for where I walk with my Lord but they can't stop me from walking there.
    Dare to step out and let your faith begin to grow in other areas of the word.  The same Jesus that took your sin also took the rest of what God said he would take in ISIAH.  Read the word until it becomes one with you.  God's word can't fail.  Grow your faith in all that Jesus has done, not just heaven when you die.
 

Prophecy given at Christian Life Center

Prophecy given at Word of Life Christian Life Center

Explanation from Pastor Jim Hayes

            As the prophecy was spoken, the Father used the term, “He will HISS for His people”.  Not being familiar with this term, I was compelled to look it up before putting this on the blog. 

            We found where the Lord used this same word in Zech 10:7-9 (AMP):

⁷ Then Ephraim [the ten tribes] shall become like a mighty warrior, and their hearts shall rejoice as through wine; yes, their children shall see it and rejoice; their hearts shall feel great delight and glory triumphantly in the Lord!

⁸ I will hiss for them [as the keeper does for his bees] and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall increase [again] as they have increased [before, in Egypt].

⁹ And though I sow them among the nations, yet they shall [earnestly] remember Me in far countries, and with their children they shall live and shall return [to God and the land He gave them].

            Once we realized what He was saying, I understood.  I believe it to be a term that only those who know the sound will respond.

            When I was in Israel, I saw that they still have a sheep fold.  All of the bedouins that come to the city to get supplies leave their sheep there until they are done shopping.  Some leave 15 or so and others leave theirs as well.  Since the sheep are not branded, they all look pretty much alike.  The way they separate them is that the shepherd calls (hisses) to his sheep.  All of the sheep lift their heads when they hear the call, but only the sheep that belong to that shepherd will begin to separate and follow him out.

The Prophecy

Living Word Christian Life Center

4/21/13

            As I call My people together from one end of the planet to the other; from the North, the South, the East and the West, I have sent out a word.  I have sent out My voice from the heavens.  I am calling My people from darkness into the light.

            I have separated My people from the rest.  I have called them unto My table, unto My bosom and unto My presence.

            As I call forth the power of your name, saith the Father, in the majesty of the name of My Son; as I call my people from the 4 corners of the earth, there’s a meeting place that we shall be, saith the Father.  There’s a place that I have called that we’re reconciled into one place, in one accord, saith the Father.

            As I send forth the sound of the trumpet, I send forth the power of My Name and the power of My Word.  As I call forth; as I call My people unto Myself, saith the Father, set your heart, set your ears, set your mind unto the sound of the hissing of the Spirit, the calling forth of the family and the sound that will soon split the heavens.

            I receive you unto Myself, into My presence from this time forth and forever, saith the Father.

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 5

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 5

All of the things that were dealt with in the sacrifice of Jesus are valid for the believer today.  Everything that was dealt with in this sacrifice still must be received by faith.  Even though they belong to you, you still have to receive them by your faith.

You find in the book of the Prophet Isaiah, chapters 52-55, the promise of the Father about the sacrifice as he placed Jesus on the cross for us, He placed on Jesus everything that had come on mankind since the fall in Genesis.  In Isaiah 53:11, God said that Jesus would bare all our iniquities and our guilt (with the consequences).  All through Isaiah 54 and the first verse of 55, He speaks of His righteousness and restoration back to Him.  In Isaiah 55:1 He declares that these things are ours by the “acceptance of the blessing”.  The only way to accept the blessing is by our faith.  Later in the same chapter (Isaiah 55:8-11), He says that His ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts, but His word would not return unto Him void.  This is why we were to renew our minds (Romans 12:2), since we now have the mind of Christ (I Cor 2:16).

By understanding the sacrifice by faith, we have access to all the sacrifice covered.  In I Cor 1:3-7, Paul was speaking to the church in Corinth.  In verse 7, he prayed that we (the church) would not fall behind or lack in any spiritual endowment or Christian grace.

By what Paul was saying here, there must be a chance that we don’t understand and therefore not receive all that grace has given us as a free gift.  When you read in Romans 5:15-17, we find that in verse 15, God’s grace is out of all proportion to what sin has subjected us to.  Verse 17 Amp: God’s overflowing grace (unmerited favor) and His free gift of righteousness (putting us into right standing with Himself), we can reign as kings in life through Jesus, the Messiah.

In Ephesians 3:9-12, we find that in verse 10, God wants the church to be the revealed things of the wisdom of God.  Verse 12: we (by faith) have the boldness (courage and confidence) of free access (an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear).

As we go on into the revelation the Apostle had about Jesus and us in Jesus, we find something that without faith, you could not even begin to conceive in your own mind.  Ephesians 3:16-20 makes your Spirit leap in expectation.  As you read verse 19, that we can now become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself.

All of the great things that we were given by grace must be received by faith.  They already belong to us, but will not be appropriated in our lives here without faith to receive them.  In the garden, when love prayed, grace answered.  Faith says, “thank you, Father.  I receive what you gave and blessed me with in your son”.

I have determined in, my life to walk in as much of the love of the Father’s sacrifice as I can and raise my faith to a level to receive.  I don’t want to count out anything He died to give me as not important in my life here as well as my life later.  I won’t need Isaiah 53 in heaven, there is no sickness there.  I won’t need the power of His name over demons, there won’t be any.  Once I am in the fullness of heaven, the fight of faith will be over and I will never again be faced with the doubt and trials of the enemy.  BUT, while I am still here, I will put my faith in the fact that the power of His blood will work by faith here.  Psalm 91 is a Psalm for here (this is the valley of the shadow of death) and even here He has spread a table of covenant where the child of God can rest in His grace by faith.  I don’t want to be as those in Heb 4 Amp: there where those that didn’t put faith in the rest (grace) and didn’t enter in.  Verse 5 says that the word was preached to them but they didn’t mix faith with what they heard.   Verses 9-10 declares there is still this rest (grace) being offered today, but it still takes faith to receive it.

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 4

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 4

            We have so long been taught that what Jesus did for us was only for the hereafter.  Very few people have taken what He did in His resurrection and applied it in our everyday life.  We have worked at being food to people and trying to keep our own lives in line with the things of God.  Mostly we stopped doing the things we used to so before we were saved, but never pursued the things we can do now that we are saved.  For some reason, we have never allowed the power of Jesus’ victory to also become our victory.  A lot of people read the Bible and for some reason, see themselves as victims of the devil instead of VICTORS over the devil.  It is true that the devil is still here and that he is still trying to force his will on all of mankind, but for those in Christ Jesus, His victory is our victory as well.

            When I speak of a covenant of faith, it goes much further than going to heaven when we die.  In the John 17:18-23, Jesus prayed that as you sent me into the world, I also send them into the world.  Vs 17 and Vs 20, He said He wasn’t praying just for His disciples, but for all of us who have believed through the things that they preached.  If we were sent as He was sent, then once the power of sin is broken off from us and righteousness has been restored through Jesus, then everything that He was to do for mankind has now become the ministry of all who believe.  Jesus said in John 17:22 that the glory and honor the Father gave Him, He has given that same glory and honor to us.

            Church, we need to expand our faith in the finished works of Jesus to include what God’s grace has provided for us, not only for us, but for us to take to the entire world.  God told Paul in II Cor 12:9 that His grace was sufficient for his ministry. That same grace is enough for us as well.  When we are weak, His strength is made perfect.  Who is there among us that have not run into weakness in our own lives?  The thing is, when we run into these areas of weakness, we should not let the weakness win out, but put faith into the grace to lift us above the weakness and into the victory.  We have spent much time talking about the thing that we are not to do; we forget what we are called to do.

             Everything we need to complete the things laid out before us has been granted by God’s grace.  The thing about grace is that it takes faith to access it.

            In I Cor 12, we read about the gifts of the Spirit.  Most of us disqualified ourselves almost instantly because we thought we didn’t measure up.  What we didn’t see was that these gifts are not for the church to consume themselves, but for the church to use these gifts to set the captives free.  The gift of healing is not for the well man (that by faith believes that by HIS stripes I am healed), but for the sick people that the enemy has still held in captivity.  These gifts (when used and received by faith in Jesus according to what we read in John 17) are weapons of God against the enemy to loose the bonds of captivity and set at liberty those that are bound.  These gifts are given by the Holy Spirit to those (who by faith) will use them to break the hold of the enemy over people’s lives.  Isn’t that what Jesus was anointed to do?  In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus proclaimed what His ministry was and what His anointing was to accomplish.  In the Gospel according to Matthew (28:17-20), Jesus declared that all power has been given Him both in Heaven and on Earth.  We were to go now in the power of His name.  In Acts 3:16, Peter made the statement about the miracle at the Gates of the Temple that the name of Jesus – and by faith in that name – had made the man whole.  Could it be that we have not used the faith in His name by understanding that grace has called us by and into that name?

            For some people down through the years, we have seen power in their lives, but they were more of the minority than the majority.  I think that there are still some “too far people” out there that will expand their faith in grace, not only for themselves, but for the world to know Jesus.

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 3

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 3

            When I speak of a covenant of faith, I’m not speaking of some abstract way of religion.  Everything in our New Covenant is based on our faith in the fact that Jesus provided everything needed to return us to our Father in the way our Father intended us to be at the very beginning.  In Romans 3:25-27 Amp, “when God put Jesus before the eyes of all” as a mercy seat and propitiation by His blood (the cleansing and life giving sacrifice of atonement and reconciliation to be received through faith).  This was to show God’s righteousness because in His divine forbearance he had passed over and ignored former sins without punishment.  Vs26 says it was to demonstrate and prove at the present time (in the new season) that He Himself is righteous as that He justifies and accepts as righteous he who has true faith in Jesus.  It goes on to say in Vs27 that our works to obtain righteousness without faith in Jesus would be boasting and only on the principle of faith are we accepted.

            Romans 1:17 Amp states that by faith for salvation (Romans 10:8-10) will bring us into a place that our faith will go on to more perfect faith.  It is stated this way because in the Gospel, a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith (disclosing the way of faith that arouses more faith).  It is written that the man who, through faith, is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith (Hab 2:4).

            Because of our faith in Jesus, we have been accepted by God completely by faith in His finished work.  Romans 5:1-2 Amp, therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous and given a right standing with God) through faith (let us grasp the fact that) we have the peace of reconciliation to hold and enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (the Messiah, the anointed one).  Vs2, through Him also we have our access (entrance, introduction) by faith into His grace (state of God’s favor) in which we (firmly and safely) stand.  And let us rejoice and exalt in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the Glory of God.  

            According to these scriptures, our faith in Jesus (as it grows: Romans 1:17) will bring us to a place of experiencing and enjoying the very Glory of God here in this life, by faith. 

We sometimes put off almost everything in our covenant “until we get to heaven”.  According to the scriptures, we can walk in a whole new realm of the favor and blessing of our Father right now.  It is ALL obtained by faith in what Jesus has done.  Romans 8:1-4 Amp opens a whole new way of life.  “We have (in Jesus) a new covenant that is called the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.  This new covenant has set me free (by faith) from the law of sin and death.  Vs4 Amp, sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, (God) condemned sin in the flesh (He became sin with my sin, that I would be made the righteousness of God in Him).  IICor 5:17-21 Amp, subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who will accept that sacrifice (by faith).  In Lev 7:37 Amp, you find a very interesting fact about the sacrifice.  The sacrifice that God spoke of accepting in Romans 8:4 is the one that in Lev 7:37 covers all the other sacrifices.

We sometimes want to believe that we still lack something to be pleasing unto God, but the truth is that Jesus did everything needed to present us to the Father “without spot or blemish”.

I hear teachings about how to obtain favor with God.  By faith in the sacrifice of Jesus, I have favor.  Now it’s not about God granting me a favor, but about me having faith in the favor He gave me through Jesus and to walk in it.  It’s not about whether or not I walk in guilt and condemnation, but through the sacrifice of Jesus (by faith) I walk above it.  You see, it’s not about me having to do anything to obtain it.  My part is to ACCEPT BY FAITH what Jesus has done.  HE, being the perfect sacrifice, left no more sacrifice to be offered up.  The sin offering, the trespass offering, the consecration offering, the burnt offering, the cereal offering, the peace offer – all of these things the law demanded of us were met in one offering (by faith) in Jesus.

Read ICor 2:1-16, especially Vs7, we are setting forth 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).

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 2

Our Covenant of Faith, Part 2

            In Hebrews 11:6, without faith, it is impossible to please God.  To try and come unto God by any other means that faith in Jesus would be to try and reach your own way to Him by works.  Works have never been the way to reach Him.  Romans 3:20-21, the righteousness of God by believing and reliance on Jesus “by faith”.  Romans 3:23-24, since all have sinned and fallen short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.  Vs24, all are justified and made upright and in right standing with God through faith in what Jesus has done.

            Many Christians still are condemned over their past life instead of walking out from under condemnation by the blood.  It seems that our faith in the ability to take it all away doesn’t seem to work in this area.  Hebrews 10:16-23, vs18 Amp, absolute remission (forgiveness, cancellation of the penalty of sin), vs22 Amp, be able to not be afraid of rejection by God but draw near with “unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith”.  Sometimes we think of conviction only when it comes to sin, but here it speaks on being convicted of righteousness and acceptance. 

            When I speak of our covenant of faith, I speak of everything our covenant has promised and provided.  According to the words of our covenant, everything that could ever plague God’s people was under the blood of our sacrificial Lamb.  Jesus prayed just hours before going to the cross in John 17:14-26 that His sacrifice would restore us back to that, but would actually put us in the same relationship with the father that He had.

            We find part of our covenant in Luke 4:18-21.  This statement was part of our New Covenant, but you have to receive it by faith in Him.  I wonder, do we believe this part of what He said or do we put it off until heaven?  Vs 19 Amp, “to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (the day when salvation and the free favors of God profusely abound)”.

            We find in Matthew 8:17 Amp, thus He fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, He Himself took (in order to carry away) our weaknesses and infirmities and bore away our diseases.  This, too, is part of our faith covenant that must be received only by faith.  We are still trying to be healed instead of putting our faith in the Lamb that has already provided it.  We find in Romans 3:26-27 that the only way to become righteous is not by works, good deeds or any works if the flesh, but by faith in our sacrifice.  Justification can only come by faith.  In this same scripture, vs26 Amp, “He justifies and accepts as righteous he who has faith in Jesus.

            We find in Romans 12:1-3 that we are not to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking, but to renew our minds by what our sacrifice has done for us.  Vs 3 Amp, Paul warns not to think of ourselves more highly than we should.  We seem to always think of pride as something that exalts one’s self, by lording over others by our high standards.  Did we ever think that by excluding ourselves by making statements such as, “I know Jesus died for our sins, but you don’t know what I have done”, that this is a sense of pride that is saying to God, “thanks for Jesus, but that wasn’t enough to cleanse me”?  That is thinking pretty highly of yourself, don’t you think?

            Did you ever think that you weren’t good enough or that you don’t deserve to be healed or blessed?  That is also thinking more highly of yourself than it is the strength of the sacrifice.  According to the book of Isaiah 53:1-12, it was for you and me that He did what He did.  Did we deserve to be healed and set free?  NO!  But by HIS GRACE, we were and by FAITH in that sacrifice we should reach out to believe as we said in Romans 1:17, going from saving grace by faith to the sacrifice which provided my healing, redemption, justification, deliverance, cleansing of my conscience from sin, righteousness and acceptance into the presence of my Father!

OUR COVENANT OF FAITH, PART 1

Our Covenant of Faith

Under the old covenant, whenever the people made sacrifice, they put their faith in the sacrifice to cover them at the time.  Under the Levitical Priesthood, they had many different sacrifices for many different things.  Under the Levitical Priesthood, when an offering was made and accepted, the person or persons would be cleansed of whatever the sin or trespass had been.  Each time the sacrifice was made, the person was cleansed until the next time he did something wrong.  If you had faith in the sacrifice, you could walk away and be accepted by the Lord as covered by the life (“the life is in the blood’, Lev 17:11-14 Amp) of the sacrifice.  There were laws for trespasses, laws for sin, laws for purification, etc.  Each time a different sacrifice was made for a different transgression.  By placing your faith in what God had declared for sacrifice, you could still walk free of the curse that would come by transgressing the law.  Always, you must have faith in what you did in the sacrifice.  They put their faith in the law, but always there was another sacrifice to be made because the blood of bulls and goats could not take away the sin (Hebrews 10:3-4).  Even the High Priest had to offer a sacrifice for himself before he could enter into the presence of God (Heb 7:27).  Each day, there was a daily sacrifice made for the High Priest and then for the people.

Each person had to have a sacrifice for his personal trespass and the High Priest had to have even for himself.  In the book of Job, you will find that Job was always offering sacrifice for his sons and daughters for fear of them doing something wrong against God (Job 1:4-5), thus did Job at all such times.  Job never had faith in the blood of the sacrifice he had just made, and so he kept making them (Job 3:25-26), “I was not or am not at ease, nor had I or have I rest”.  Without the faith in what he was doing, he negated the power of his sacrifice and had no peace in it.

We have a covenant with God that is totally based on our faith in the sacrifice that was made for us.  We can only receive from our new covenant what we have faith for it to cover.  It has already been provided, but it still must be received by our faith.  Hebrews 11:6 Amp, without faith, it is impossible to please God.

All through the four Gospels, you find Jesus talking to His disciples about faith (“if you had faith”, “ye of little faith”, “where is your faith?”).  Always it was a statement to do with their faith.  Starting in Romans and going all the way through the rest of the epistles, you never heard these statements made.  The reason is because He is talking to the church, “without faith, you can’t be a part of the church”.  Romans 10:9-10, vs 10 Amp, declares openly and speaks out freely His faith and confirms His salvation.  Also in Romans 1:17 Amp, concerning your faith, it says that the righteousness that God ascribed is revealed from faith, leading to more faith, disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to move faith, as it is written, “the man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.” 

Everything the Christian lives by is his faith in the blood and the sacrifice of the Lamb of God.  Even though it has all been covered by the sacrifice, it must be appropriated by his faith in that sacrifice.  Does that mean that the sacrifice left something out? NO!  But you must use the faith of Romans 1:7 to continue in the faith as it is revealed.

Power of the Blood, Part 2

Power of the Blood, Part 2

In the very beginning when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, the Lord took the blood of the animals as life for them and then clothed them in their skins (Genesis 3:21).  This shedding of blood would keep them as though they were still under God's covenant until He could set His plan in motion.

Even the covenant He made with Abraham was not fully made until the blood was shed.  God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations in Genesis 12, but it wasn't until the blood was shed and the blood covenant was cut between God and His friend Abraham in Genesis 15:8-18.  When God passed through the blood of Abraham's offering in verse 18 He made a blood covenant with him.  The blood of that covenant had to be renewed from generation to generation (Genesis 17:10-14).

As we walk through the Word of God, we find the strength and the power of the blood covenant between God and His people.  In Genesis 22:1-19, we find the power of this blood covenant to be so strong that Abraham would have slain his only son on the strength and on behalf of this blood covenant with God.  It was on the strength of this act of dedication that God placed Himself in a position when it came time that if a man held that strong to his covenant as to give his only son on it's behalf, could God Himself do less?  It was on the basis that He extended the promise of His covenant to include you and me (Genesis 22:18).  Now this blood covenant would extend to a greater number of people and the blood of it would extend life to those who would walk in it.

This practice of shedding blood on behalf of the covenant was set in place between God and Abraham by the act of the cutting off of the foreskin (circumcision).  Every man child was to be circumcised from that time on in order to keep the life of this covenant renewed from generation to generation by blood.

The power of this covenant carried over unto the children of Abraham, even in the bondage of Egypt.  In Exodus 2:24, God heard the cries of the people and He went because of remembrance of His covenant with Abraham to set them free.

The people of Abraham apparently carried on the ritual of circumcision even when they were in Egypt.  When God called Moses out to deliver them, He never mentioned circumcision to him, but expected him to practice this in his own life and family.  Moses' wife (who was not Hebrew) objected to this sign of covenant and almost lost a son by talking Moses out of circumcision (Genesis 4:24-26).  Zipporah circumcised her own son to save him and then declared to Moses in verse 26 "a husband of blood are you because of the circumcision".

Once again in Exodus 12, we can see the significance of the power of the blood when God had the people put the blood of lambs over the door posts and lintel of their homes.  When the Death Angel saw the blood of covenant, he could not violate the power of it's life for the people of God and had to pass over them.  Also in Exodus 12:42-49, those who were in Egypt that were not Hebrew people, who wanted out, could be circumcised and could then qualify for covenant rights.  It wasn't about the nationality, but about the blood.  Verse 49 declared that there was to be one law for all of the circumcised people.  For those who understand the power of the blood, you find a strong and fearless people.  For those who did not understand its power, they still walked in fear.  You find in Numbers 12 and 13 Joshua and Caleb were strong in faith, the rest still walked in fear.  In 1 Samuel 17, the stand that David made against the giant, the power of his fight was stated before he ever took to battle.  In 1 Samuel 17:26, David made the declaration that set the course for his victory when he declared that this "uncircumcised Philistine" who has defeated the army of God.  David put his faith in the power of the blood that was shed for the covenant.

The blood of this covenant that is now eternal in the heavens, is something we, the church, should become more aware of and begin to put our faith back in the blood as never before.  In these last days, we need to understand it's power and keep it by faith over our doors as the destroyer comes. Ephesians 6:16, this shield of faith is faith in Jesus and the power of His shed blood on our behalf.

The Power of the Blood

THE POWER OF THE BLOOD

In the western world, we have kind of lost touch with blood covenants.  We really don't understand the power of what some other civilizations know.  Almost every civilization in the world recognizes a blood covenant to one degree or another.  To Americans in the 21st century, we think it to be primitive and uncivilized.  Even some churches have stopped teaching about the blood so as not to offend some sensitive ears.

The book of Hebrews 9:22 (Amp), states that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.  The blood is our entry into the presence of the Father.  Hebrews 9:14 (Amp): The blood is what will purge your conscience from dead works, to serve God.  If you will read chapter 9, you will find that the blood of Jesus is the life of God.  In verses 19-22, you find that it is according to the Word of God.  In Leviticus 17:11-14 (Amp), the life of the things (whatever it may be) is in the blood.

In Exodus 12:21-23 (Amp), you will find that the Death Angel came though Egypt, there was more life in the blood that death could overcome.

Under the old covenant, the blood of bulls or goats would give life on a temporary basis, but not permanently.  In Hebrews 9:12 (Amp), Jesus went once and for all by His own blood, having found an everlasting release for us (Leviticus 17:11-14 again, the life is in the blood).  As Jesus took His own blood into the Holiest of Holies on our behalf, the eternal life of the blood of God Himself was given for us (and accepted for us), therefore, the life we now live, we live by faith in the blood, the sacrifice and the complete fulfillment of every sin ever committed.

Galatians 2:20 (Amp), the blood of Jesus was pure and uncontaminated by sin, sickness, the curse, or death. We find that the life that is in the blood is now the life of the sacrifice for us and is eternal.  As the life is in the blood, as we understand and walk in the life of our substitute, we can live the free life that He paid for on our behalf.  Romans 8:1-2 (Amp), the law of the Spirit of life (Lev 17:11-14) which is in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death.

We have kind of lost the truth about the blood (or maybe we never really did know the truth) and the life in it, no matter how healthy the body may be, no matter how strong, how rich or wise.  If  you make one small cut in the main artery and allow the blood to flow out, the strong, whole, healthy body will cease to live because the life is in the blood.  As the blood of Jesus is appropriated by faith (Rom 10:8-9), the life of that blood is, by faith, breathing into this otherwise "dead" body and brought me, who was dead in trespass and sin, back to life.

In Hebrews 7:24-25 (Amp), it declares that Jesus as High Priest, forever makes intercession for us.  This does not mean that each time I pray, He tells the Father to listen, His blood speaks from the Mercy Seat and proclaims life, grace, deliverance and acceptance by faith in His sacrifices.  In Genesis 4:10-11 (Amp) you will find that after Cain killed Abel, Abel's blood was speaking (the life of Abel is in the blood) to God from the ground.  As Abel's blood called for and received a curse on behalf of Cain.

As the blood of Jesus now speaks on our behalf, it speaks mercy, not vengeance.  The earth that received Jesus' blood at the cross does not call for a curse, but redeemed us from the curse and restores back the blessing from God.  The blood of Jesus speaks from the earth, the alter and the Mercy Seat, giving life and grace and truth (John 1:17).

When we understand the power of the Blood of Jesus, we will be free to pray bold prayers, be able to fellowship with our Father on a more intimate level than ever before.  I John 5:6-8 (Amp), the three things (trinity, triune nature of God) that bear witness in the earth is the Spirit, the water, and the Blood.

Faith in His blood is the key to understanding the entire New Testament.  Faith in His Blood gives life to the Word.  In Hebrews 9:18-22 (esp vs 19), Moses would take the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkle both the book (the roll of the covenant and law) and sprinkle the people (the life was in the blood).  Without the blood, the words had no life (spiritually).  The letter kills, but the Spirit GIVES life (II Cor 3:6).  Let the life of the Lamb bring life to the Word in our lives.

Words, Part 1

Words, Part 1

In the beginning...
This may be the greatest three words that we know. It signifies what a lot of people are trying to understand in this day and age. What is the beginning? When was it? Where did we come from? Why are we here? Where are we going? Is the end of life as we know it now going to end?

People have many questions about the Bible and the very existence of supreme god. Does the Bible really matter? Is it really the Word of God today? Has God become old fashioned, and does the Bible really have anything to do with your life today?

Some people may choose to just ignore what it says because they don't want to change what they are. See Psalm 2: Amp. The people don't want to be under what the Word calls restraint. We have reached in age were people want to be free of all responsibility. 

Are we really responsible to an almighty God for what we do? 
The answer to this question is yes. We are responsible to our Creator for what we do with this life.
Some would say "It's not my fault what Adam did. Why should I be responsible?"
I remember a lady who had AIDS. She obviously didn't know the man she was with had AIDS but still contracted the disease. More over, the child she bore from the union was born with AIDS. Through this one man, both she and the child were doomed to a horrible death.

When Adam committed the first act of treason in the Garden of Eden, even though I wasn't there, the death of his son was transmitted to me and tens of billions of people everywhere. God begin instantly to bring about a cure for this disease called sin and death. Through a man who had the disease and yet lived through it, he could make an antidote that would cure it and restore life. The New Testament is the instructions on how to take the prescription and how it works. There are no side effects of this antidote, and it works 100% of the time. So, yes! The Bible is important in our lives today. If your doctor could come up with a medicine for AIDS that had a 100% cure rate, you would take it faithfully if you had AIDS. Even though not everyone has AIDS, everyone was born with sin. See Romans 3:10-12 Amp. But God sent Jesus to deal with a problem, to stop in its tracks and restore life and right standing with him. Romans 3:21-24 Amp. So, the sin and death problem has been dealt with through Jesus.
Today in the world we live in, words play the most important role of all the things we deal with in our lives. In the first chapter of Genesis, God spoke this world into being. Everything that he spoke came to pass. Today, whether we think about it or not, we are still all governed by words. There is a huge fight in the Government right now about changing the wording in our Constitution. By changing the words, we change a nation. We live by what is said today. 

Words still govern the nations of the world. We have the Constitution, we have the Bill of Rights, we have state rules and words that govern the States.

We have the Geneva Convention to govern the rules of war. Each country has one kind of rule or another that governs all nations. All are just words on paper, but they still rule mankind. 

Why if we write words that can govern our lives here on earth, do we think that the word that governs the universe will have no effect in our lives? Read Heb. 11:3 Amp. by faith in the words that God speaks, we can understand that the words were framed, fashioned and put in place by the word of God. Did you ever get up in the morning and see the sun come up in the west? Did you ever find that the earth was out of orbit and gravity didn't work? Or, better yet! Did you ever see a picture of our planet from outer space? There are no pillars, no cables, no structure to hold it where it is but the words that God spoke in the beginning- and they are still working today.

Return to Eden, Part 5

Return to Eden, Part 5

We have always looked upon going to Heaven as returning to God and going home, but the Father's idea of coming home was to once again be joined together with Him in spirit (all things come from the spirit) as we walk with Him in this new covenant. We find that in Eph 2:19 Amp. We are now citizens of the Covenant- We belong to God's own household (Eden). Even the body that we live in now will be glorified and live forever in him. Rev. 21:1-7 Amp. We will be totally restored back to the Eden of God, spirit, soul and body. Right now, our body is still perishable, but that is the only thing left in our covenant that still has to change. Everything that God created for us is now ours in Christ Jesus. If we, by faith in the cross and resurrection, will come boldly to the throne of God's grace (Heb. 4:16 Amp.) we will have everything we need when we need it. I Cor. 2:7-10 Amp. So many times we quote VS. 9 about eyes not seeing and ears not hearing, but we don't go into VS. 10 where it says that the Holy Spirit has revealed them to us in these last days.

We need to understand that the only thing that holds back what God has given us through Jesus is our lack of faith in the blood to reconcile all things back to Himself.

I Cor. 2:12-16 Amp. VS. 14 Says that the natural man won't understand what the Holy Spirit has written for it is foolishness to him because they are spiritually discerned.

Eph. 1:10-14 Amp. VS. 12 We were destined and appointed to live for the praise of His glory.
Eph. 1:17-23 Amp. These are truths that operate in our lives now as well as when we are glorified with a new body. If you read the second chapter of Eph. Amp. you will understand that all the things He has done in Jesus he has done in us. We won't need the ability to lay hands on the sick when we get to heaven. There are no sick people there. We won't need the authority over the Devil when we get there. He won't be there. Now is when you need to power and authority to "tend the garden" which is now in you through the New Covenant, and to make sure we don't listen to the same lies and guilt that caused Adam to lose his dominion. But by faith, rely on the blood and the name of Jesus to reveal the word to us in the revelation the Holy Spirit is showing us.
I can only guard my own life and tend my own "Eden" that is mine through Jesus. I have the authority to keep the ires of the serpent out by the Word and the Spirit. I have been issued armor to wear and the Word to defend what is mine in Him. Each believer will have to use the same "shield of faith" in Eph. 6 Amp. to stop all the fiery darts of the enemy.

Everything good that the Father created, He created for you. Not all the sin, sickness, heartache and misery that the world is offering you in His place. James 1:17 Amp./ John 10:10 Amp. If you use the scriptures in the truth of the Word, you will find your way back to the Eden the Father made for you.

Psalm 91 Amp. is a "now" psalm. It is intended to be put to use now in the lives of God's children. You will find that part of the dialogue in Psalm 91 is yours, and part is God's. If you do your part He will do his. Psalm 91:9-16 Amp. This is part of what the Lord will do for the one who will do his part. Your part in Psalm 91 is in verse 1 and 2 Amp. Your job, my place or part, is to "abide," to stay fixed and remain stable in the secret place. That secret places is in Jesus. I will rely in and trust in Him. God said in verse 3 and on that if we were to acknowledge Him "and only Him" in these things, He will deliver us (VS. 4), cover us (VS. 5), protect us (VS. 6), and keep terror from us. We will only stand as a spectator, safe in Jesus, and watch what God does on our behalf.
Church! Jesus is our jubilee, he is our righteousness, he is our life, and he is Eden. In him is fullness of life. Live in the glow of his glory, and let him be all he wants to be in your life now and always.

Return to Eden, Part 4

Return to Eden, Part 4

           When God made man in the beginning, he was made in the likeness and image of Himself.  The old saying we use about being the “the spitting image” of someone actually began from the Word concerning our Heavenly Father and you- we had become the “spirit and image” of Him. 

When the Father set about the way to bring his children home, it wasn’t just to go to Heaven when you die, but to walk with Him as he did with Adam and Jesus in the Spirit.  We have for so long kept our Father at arms length by always being conscious of our own unrighteousness instead of receiving the righteousness that He has provided for us.  Many of the children of God have returned to some degree back to him, but only as far as the “gate of the garden.”  Being conscious of our sin has kept us from enjoying unbroken fellowship, and kept the Father from fellowship with his family.  

Somehow, we have not been able to fully understand what lengths the Father has gone to in order to bring us back home.  My children have unbroken fellowship with me, but that doesn’t mean they do no wrong, only that they are still my children and nothing is going to separate that fellowship. 

As we grew up together, we shared everything in our home.  They never had to beg for what they needed because their father provided it for them out of love.  Everything I’ve done was for my children and their mother.  I didn’t go to work every morning because I loved my job- I went to work because I loved my family

They took on some of my manners and habits- they grew into the “spirit and image” of their daddy.  My oldest son was called Jim Jr. - not only was he named after me, but he looked like me and he walked and talked like me.  He is not me, but he is just like me. 

In Psalm 8: K.J.V. the palmist asks a question that men have been asking for years.  VS.4 “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?”  The next verse in Psalm 8:5 K.J.V. is one that has been misunderstood for years.  It states that you were “made a little lower than the angels.”  In the Strongs Concordance, the word angel is translated “Elohim” or God.  It stands to reason that if we were created in His likeness and image as it says in Genesis 1:26-27, we must in essence be like Him.  We are not lower than the angels- Hebrew 1:14 Amp. states that they- “the angels”- are spirits sent to minister for and to us as the heirs of Salvation.

The Father wants his family back and is going to have it.  Eden has been opened to us since the resurrection, but we have been reluctant to enter in.  The same thing that Adam felt when he had done wrong- this sense of guilt, the stain of sin, the condemnation of our own conscious- has left us impotent and outside the gate of Eden.  In the 10^th chapter of the book of Hebrews (read this in the amplified), the Holy Spirit wrote about those who could not enter in because of a sin consciousness.  VS. 22 Heb. 10 Amp. “our hearts purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and our body cleansed with pure water.” When he speaks of this cleansing, it is not the ritualistic cleansing done before, but the cleansing of that has been made for us by “the washing of water by the Word”- Eph. 5:25-26-27 Amp.  “The word of God will cleanse your consciousness from all guilt and shame if you will believe what Jesus has done” Romans 8:1-3 Amp.

If we believe in what Jesus did on the cross and allow that truth to live in us, we can walk and live our lives here free from the lie of the enemy.  Romans 8:6 Amp. “The mind of the Spirit is life and (soul) peace. Now and forever.”

Now we can see and understand what the Holy Spirit wrote in Eph. 2:6-10 Amp. VS. 10. “paths that God laid out for us to walk in, into the good life he prearranged and made ready for us.” Genesis 2:7,8,9 Amp.

This garden, this presence, this place of every good and pleasant thing, this Eden, was the good life he prearranged for us and is bringing us back to.

Return to Eden, Part 3

Return to Eden, Part 3

When Jesus was to go to the cross, He set Himself to not be turned aside by anything.  He and the Father had laid out a plan that would in no way violate His word (God had to be just).  Satan knew that no blood sacrifice could do away with the sin problem, thereby he knew that there was no way back.  The only way back is what science had found over the years.  If you can find someone who a disease and survived it, you could take of their blood and make a vaccine that could prevent it in other people.

Jesus was made to be sin with our sin.  II Cor 5:17-21 Amp therefore He took our sin (not having committed sin Himself) and bore the whole spiritual disease of sin, then by His blood He made the antidote for sin.  Whosoever was to receive His blood as the sacrifice could therefore receive the antidote for sin and live.  He paid the whole penalty of sin and death and restructured life to those who would receive it.  Romans 8:1-4 Amp the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (the law of our new being) has freed me from the law of sin and death (vs 2).

Now through His blood and sacrifice, He ahs joined us by one blood (God’s own blood) to be again with the Father.  Romans 8:16-17 Amp, now to be united back with the Father, but to be joint heirs with Jesus Himself.

Now that the covenant had been sealed by His blood, not only Eden had been opened to us, but had actually come to dwell in us through the Word and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said in Luke 17:21 Amp that the Kingdom is within us.  In the Gospel of Mark 4, the sower sows the Word of the Kingdom in the heart (Spirit) of those who hear and understand, they will bring forth 30, 60, 100 fold return.  Restoring and expanding the Eden that God promised with the blessings.  The garden is now your Spirit, the abundance is the seed of the Word.  Proverbs 4:20-27 Amp guard your heart (garden) above all that you guard, the same as Adam, to tend and keep the garden.  Out of your heart flow the forces of life.

The flaming sword that once guarded the garden had now become the fire of the Holy Spirit to guide the way back to the Father.  Luke 3:16 Amp, He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  The fire of the Holy Spirit is now the torch that gives light to the Word and He (the Holy Spirit) will guide you into all the truth.  John 16:13-15 Amp, He will take what belongs to Jesus (being one with the Father) and reveal it to us.  All things that are the Father’s are now Jesus’ too.  Now through Jesus, all these things belong to you also.  Eden had been opened and we are invited in.  Hebrews 4:16 Amp, we now have entry to the throne of God’s grace for anything we may need to overcome whenever we have need.

Jesus said in Matthew 12:33-37 Amp, that now out of the Kingdom that is within you.  Luke 17:21 Amp, you have the ability through the Word sown in your heart (garden) to produce good or bad.  Mark 4:24 Amp, therefore, be careful what you are hearing (don’t allow wrong seed to be sown in the good soil of your heart).  Do as God told Adam; tend and guard the garden.  Learn to speak what God speaks and avoid those that will sow doubt, fear, unbelief and wrong things in your heart.

Jesus paid an awesome price to restore us back to the place where life and blessing in our lives.  Don’t take it lightly and don’t let the lie of the devil keep this Eden that lives in you be kept from producing.  John 3:34 Amp, because he speaks only what God’s word says, He was given the Spirit without measure.

Once the seed (Jesus) has been sowed in your heart, keep the law of Genesis 1:21-24 Amp (everything produces after kind).  According to Galatians 3:16, the promise was made to the seed, Jesus.  If the law of Genesis is still in effect (and it is), that seed that fell into the ground and died was Jesus.  John 12:23-24 Amp, if that seed brought forth much fruit, then we who were produced by the seed, become like the seed (John 17:21 and John 15:1-6).

This is the product of the fruit of the Kingdom (children of God), joint heirs with Jesus, in His own image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).  Return to Eden, the place of the fullness of our Father.