The Call To Believe

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When out and about sometimes I am approached by someone wanting money, and since I typically do not carry cash on me, it is simple for me to say “I’m sorry, but I do not have any cash to give you.”

You cannot give to another what you do not possess.  If you are unaware of what you have been given, you can’t offer it to someone needing it.  You have to know what you have in order to be able to give it to others.

In the Bible it tells how Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray.  Daily a lame man was put there at the gate Beautiful.  He was there to beg.  On this day Peter looked at the man and said, look on us.  Then he said something profound to that man.

Acts 3:6 “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

This is not a formula for making the lame walk.  This reveals something far more important.  Had Peter not known by faith what he possessed in in Christ, he would not have had anything to offer the lame man. Peter had no natural solution to offer.  But in Christ Peter had something he could offer that man that was worth far more than silver or gold.  Had Peter not known what he possessed in Christ, that man would have spent the rest of his life lame and begging.

If Peter were alive today and trained according to some of the popular ideas in Christianity, he would not say or do anything like what we read in Acts.  Peter might still say, “silver and gold have I none.”  But instead of saying, “what I do have I give to you” and taking the man’s hand to have him stand to his feet healed, Peter would wear himself and others out implementing natural solutions to at least do something for the man.

Many in churches today have been lulled to sleep by well meaning, but powerless speakers.  As a result, many have, often times, been cheated out of a walk in the Spirit as the concern is more about whether or not they could pass a Bible quiz and live morally, than it is about Christ in them, and who Christ really is.  Holy Spirit revelation concerning Jesus and His accomplishments produce faith and empowers me to live from the source of Life that Christ is, and by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus baptizes with.  Leaders who instruct according to the natural, more than the spiritual, can't empower you to manifest the you Christ says you are, or to tap into the power of Christ in you the hope of glory.

1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The things of the Spirit is much more than morality. If the things of the Spirit are limited to morality then there’s no point to this Scripture at all.

Be advised, if a sermon to the church does more to expose the sin in a saint that it does to reveal the indwelling Son in the saint, it has departed from he gospel and is now appealing to the strength of pones flesh for solutions and freedom.

The fact is, confidence in my natural understanding or ability can hinder me where the kingdom of God, and who I am in Christ is concerned.  Over-emphasis on my natural abilities, or the lack thereof, is a hindrance.  Everything to do with Christ and His kingdom is received by faith in the word of God spoken to me by the Holy Spirit.  That’s why I need the Holy Spirit always!  Jesus said something of tremendous importance in,

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”……….

Jesus is always looking to speak life into me.  His desire is to wash me with the water of His word which establishes me, gives me confidence and activates my faith.  He wants me to know and experience the fullness of God.  He is always out for my good.  I just need to believe it.

The Great Challenge

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Years ago, before I really became thoroughly invested in getting revelation on the New Covenant, Staying encouraged was a great challenge to me.  My spiritual sense of well being relied heavily upon my own performance and thus it ebbed and flowed like a tide on the shore of the ocean.

But even now that I have spent years committed to the gospel of grace and New Covenant truth the great challenge to me is to keep my mind renewed in that truth daily as I find that Old Covenant thinking and talk is most prevalent in church culture at large.

It seems that talk is always on how I am doing according to my flesh first and foremost.  How the church I am leading is doing according to some measure based on whoever is asking the question.  Everything inquired is generally aimed at what kind of performance I am yielding in some area regarded as being spiritual.

But is this the way it really ought to be?  Should the inquiry of others be about how they measure up spiritually or should it be about  being encouraged and rejoicing in Jesus?

You see I am finding myself desiring more and more to be immersed in the truth of what Jesus has done and less and less immersed in examining so much what I have done.  I am finding that I do that more and more I experience fruit in the Spirit.

Jesus said in John 15, “If you abide in me and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit because unless the branch abides in the vine it cannot bear fruit.”

The key to real fruit bearing in the kingdom is not found in the measuring evaluations of men who use fleshly methods for determine kingdom success.  It is found through our relationship to Christ and allowing our fruitfulness to be governed by Him.

To encourage fruitfulness apart from a strong emphasis on being captivated by Him and fully immersed in a revelation of what He accomplished and how it is applied to us, the end result is encouragement to produce by the flesh what is only supposed to be done by the Spirit.

The system of Christianity in the west has leaned heavily upon a mixture of Old Covenant and some New Covenant methodology to produce results.  This mixture is not what God is looking for.

It might appear impressive outwardly to those looking on, but God sees from the inside out everything with the clearest perspective of all.  He wants our boast to be in His Son not ourselves.  For that to be true I must take up the great challenge of looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of my faith as opposed to my own abilities and talents, or the lack thereof.  I must ;learn everyday how to rely even more on the Holy Spirit’s help in abiding in Jesus so I might bear the kid of fruit the kingdom is best known for, and Jesus is delights in.

I encourage you to Jon me today in looking to Jesus for encouragement and strength and to lat go of looking at yourself to see if you measure up spiritually.  Let His completed work be what you boast in today.

The Way God Works

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1Corinthians 1:26   For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— 31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.”

2Corinthians 10:17   But “he who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” 18 For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.

God is not as interested in my ability to boast of my devotion to Him as He is in what His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ has already accomplished.

It greatly pleases the Father when I boast about His beloved Son in every way.  It delights Him to see me standing in faith towards Jesus, and living by faith in the reality of the completed work of Christ at the cross.

It is by faith that I please Him, and without faith I cannot please Him.  You see God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  The faith that pleases Him is about Him it is not faith in faith, it is faith in Christ!

This is relational language being used with regard to faith.  It is not the language of finding a new way to feel more accomplished spiritually so that I might boast in my own accomplishments above others.  That leads to a life of comparisons.

God has not changed, He still does not welcome any boasting in the flesh.  He still does not like His children living in comparison.

I am happy to confess to God and to others that Jesus has become my righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.  Jesus is my hope of glory.  My hope of glory has nothing to do with the depth of my own devotion to God.  It has everything to do with my having faith in who Jesus is, and what Jesus accomplished. I am convinced that Jesus did it out of love for me.  Knowing His love is very important.

Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This clearly shows me how to experience the fulness of God.  It is not through the methods and tactics of men and flesh based ideas of what real spirituality should look. Flesh bound notions of devotion  lead to boasting in myself and my own spiritual accomplishments.

The instruction of Ephesians is simple, clear and leads me to being able to boast only of Jesus in whom I am have found all that I need.  Christ lives in me and I have found my life eternal in Christ alone.  I encourage you my friend to join me in looking to Him, today and always!

The Upward Call of God

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Philippians 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. For me to write the same things to you is not tedious, but for you it is safe.  2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh, 4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.  7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

Paul let go of any claim to his own goodness, his own devotion, his own zeal for God so that all he was left with was a boast in what Jesus had done to make Him righteous.

Paul let go of anything and everything he once would have known that would have given him an ability to boast according to the flesh spiritually speaking.

Paul wasn’t letting go of a wicked life of chasing after self pleasure in the way of sin.  He was letting go of a devoted life to the law of God and being incredibly devoted to being very religiously zealous.

He was letting all that go and not looking back to it because He knew it would interfere with his pursuit of Christ.

Knowing Christ has nothing to do with what we have done or will do to gain access.  It has everything to do with what Christ Himself did and how we are to walk in faith towards Him and have our confidence in Him.

Jesus paid it all!  Jesus completed the work.  Only Jesus was able to say, “It is Finished.”  When we try to add to anything He already did to make us acceptable and right with God it is like saying the cross was not enough.  I refuse to insult the Father or the Son by speaking or acting as though Jesus came up short in His effort to save me and bring into a full and flourishing relationship with the Father.

My confidence is in Jesus and what He accomplished at the cross when He took upon Himself the sin of the whole world, died, went to the grave with it but three days later came out of that grave without it bearing with Him the gift of God’s righteousness and eternal life for all who will believe.  I believe and through that gift I have a very close relationship with God because of all that Jesus did and having nothing to do with anything I did to obtain it.

What Does God Say?

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Luke 1:79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

When Jesus appeared on the scene the people were getting to hear God speak.  Jesus declared He only did what He saw the Father doing and only spoke what He heard the Father speaking.

In other words, the people of that day were privileged to hear what God had to say to them about their moment, about their life as it was happening and about the plans He had for them if only they would believe and receive by faith what was being spoken.

God speaks to His children in real time.  Whenever He speaks and a child listens it is as if they can see.  Without the guidance of God through the work of the Holy Spirit we sit as it were in darkness.  We do not know what to do or which way to go.  We are left to our own devices, our own understanding and we have already been advised in Scripture by God not to lean in that direction.

The believer must always face what the view of public opinion has to say about them.  What their peers say about them.   What others say about them.  They will always have to face what they themselves wrestle over in the secret corridors of their own soul about themselves.  They carry their own opinion of themselves.  But what does God say?

There’s only one opinion that truly matters and brings a person out the darkness and into the light.  That opinion is God’s.  This is why it is so important to hear what God has to say.

Maybe you recently heard something a doctor had to say, but what does God have to say?

Maybe you heard what the financial prognosticators and economic advisers of our day have to say, but what does God have to say?

Maybe you have recently heard what society thinks about the culture of Christianity of which you are part, but what does God have to say?

Maybe during a recent time of tension in a relationship someone said things about you in anger that stung and hurt you, but what does God say?

In troubled times, in good times, at all times it is the privilege of the child of God to hear God and find peace, receive wisdom, and be comforted with a solid sense of knowing what to do in any situation.

This privilege outweighs the privilege the Jewish priests thought they possessed after Jesus had come and completed His work at the cross.  The writer to the scattered Hebrews said,

Hebrews 13:10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

Quiet your soul, tell it to hush and to listen.  Listen for the voice of your Father and never feel you cannot bring anything to Him in search of His wisdom on it.  He is, after all, your Father and He loves you very much.

Don’t Go Backwards

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A long time ago in a land called Galatia where some of the early Gentile churches existed a letter was being circulated because believers in Jesus were being tempted to go back under the law to maintain their righteousness.  Not only that they were being told by some very persuasive men who seemed eloquent and polished and only appeared to have authority because they came out of Jerusalem, that unless they came under the law their salvation experience was not genuine.  It was a subtle lie that was gaining ground.

Paul as an apostle of Jesus to the Gentiles took this lie on and wrote the letter that was circulated to the churches.

Galatians 3:10   For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.”  13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it. 16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ. 17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.

You see returning to a place where you put your trust in keeping the law puts you back under cursing.  The same type of cursing that was pronounced upon Israel at the giving of the law when Moses read it to them and then told them about blessing and cursing based on keeping, or not keeping it.

There’s no need to return to something that brings you under curses because Christ became a curse for us already.  He took our punishment at the cross by taking on the sin of the whole world past, present and future and giving us His righteousness which was the Righteousness of God.  We now get to live under the blessing of Abraham.  The law could never make anyone righteous because it relied on the strength of the flesh and as Paul stated so well in Romans the flesh is weak. No one will never be able to comply with law in the flesh, it can only be satisfied in Christ by faith. Jesus kept the law perfectly for us and the only time we are made perfect is when we are in Christ.

You and I will never be more secure than we are, and can be, in Christ!  This is why the reality of being in Christ is such a huge and important one.  We are now hidden with God in Christ!  It is in that promise and reality that our confidence needs to remain and to grow.  Why then was the law given?

Galatians 3:19   What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made;

The Seed (Jesus) has come and if a person is born again they have that Seed living within them.  We who believe are now the children of promise, because we have the Seed of promise!  The law is no longer what we are subject to.  We are now subject to life in the Spirit because the Holy Spirit of promise is ours through faith just as salvation is ours through faith.

This is the glorious work of Christ who gave Himself for us at the cross and made the way!  Don’t go backwards to something that no longer is in effect as it pertains to you as a believer in Jesus.  Jesus has set you free from that!

Don’t ever let eloquent preachers or teachers convince you that Jesus wasn’t enough and that you need to put your effort into complying with the law now, if you have truly been saved.  That is a lie and it is error that does not line up with the true gospel.  It is Old Covenant thinking and we are not under the Old Covenant.  In Christ we have been brought into a New Covenant He established with His own blood.

God’s Righteousness

Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”

If there is any other way that you or I could be in right standing with God other than Jesus and only through Jesus, that means Jesus wasted His time going to the cross.

Think about that for just a moment.

You see when it comes to the kingdom of God the righteousness of God is the key to everything promised.

Romans 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Paul used some pretty assertive and direct language in Galatians to convey the importance of Christ’ death on the cross. The main point having to do with how the righteousness of God is required.

Romans 1:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

If Paul is praying that Israel would be saved doesn’t that mean they were not saved?

For all their efforts to keep the law they still had not acquired the righteousness of God. We are not dealing with just any old type of righteousness here. It is a specific brand of righteousness that is required. It is the “Righteousness of God.” The righteousness of God can only be received as a gift from God according to faith in Christ.

Think about it, even though Israel was still under the law of Moses and zealous about being devoted to God, they were not saved. Being devoutly religious and full of zeal because one thinks that by such a means they will please God and prove their devotion to Him, will not save them.

Being passionate about being a moral person does not save a person. In fact, Paul makes it clear that Israel was seeking to establish their own righteousness through the keeping of the law.

He equally establishes the fact, that in doing so they were rejecting the righteousness of God. He says clearly that by trying to establish their own righteousness they were not submitting themselves to the righteousness of God.

Even more scandalous is what Paul says next. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”

So the idea that anyone could attain to the level of the Righteousness of God by any self effort diminishes the value, glory and preciousness of the Righteousness of God. It should be seen as an insult to God.

So how is the Righteousness of God obtained?

Romans 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe.

This is what took place at the mount of transfiguration when Jesus was seen glorified and talking with Moses and Elijah. Moses represents the law and Elijah the prophets. The righteousness of God we must possess comes to us, apart from the law. It does not come by way of the law. Nor is it maintained by trusting in the law.

2Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Only by grace through faith in Christ can anyone possess the Righteousness of God required to be in relationship with God. Trusting in anything else to make us more acceptable to God in any way is an insult to both the Father and the Son because it testifies that Jesus was not enough.

I am thankful that Jesus is more than enough and I will put my confidence in His obedience and completed work above anything I could ever bring to God in my own effort.

The Unsearchable Riches of Christ - Part Three

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The Unsearchable Riches of Christ - Part Two

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The Unsearchable Riches of Christ - Part One

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Good News will begin a summer break starting in June this year. Hope to return with exciting news!

Into Glory - Part Two

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

Jesus came for a purpose, and that purpose involves the restoration of the glory of God to mankind. Being clothed with His presence within and without so that we have access to God. This is what it means to be the very righteousness of God. It is to be seen as made clean and acceptable to Him so that fellowship is no longer hindered by the sin of unbelief. It is why Scripture testifies in,

Hebrews 2:10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” 13 And again: “I will put My trust in Him.” And again: “Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.”

God’s desire produced a goal to provide a way once for all to restore us back to Him in unfettered fellowship. But in our flesh there dwells no good thing by which to draw on to make ourselves righteous before Him. Thus we see Jesus humbling Himself to become a man and be numbered among His brethren. This is why all of heaven rejoices when one sinner repents and turns to Jesus. It is the fulfillment of the highest desire of heaven because the Maker of heaven and earth determined according to His own will that He would have many sons who experience His glory and share in His fellowship. Jesus came to bring many sons into glory! This is a privilege of relationship made possible only through faith in Jesus Christ and trusting in His completed work to make us new creations who can house the presence of God. This is the new wineskin Jesus spoke of. This is the place on earth where heaven invades the natural realm through sons. It is the groaning of creation that the sons of God be manifested.

There is a day coming when we all will receive glorified bodies at Jesus’ return. It is the final part of our redemption and we become so clothed with glory we literally dwell in glorified bodies like that of Jesus when He raised from the dead. This is intended to sow within us a great hope for His return and an earnest expectation of the ever increasing glory of the New Covenant coming to fruition full and complete.

But can we yearn for such a thing if, in our here and now, we can do with or without the manifest presence of God revealed in the person of the Holy Spirit?

This is why we do not come each Lord’s Day to fulfill a duty, or satisfy a need for routine. We come as glorified sons to seek Him together and experience a greater manifestation of His glory as the Holy Spirit has His way in each of us, and we yield to His leading. This puts an even greater value on our gathering together, as we need the encouragement of His presence in this way as we see the day of His return drawing closer.

How many here would like to take a cold shower or bath every day? Why is it you want a warm or hot one?

You’ve tasted and experienced the comfort and pleasure of it. Why would you go back to something unpleasant if you can have something better? The New Covenant is superior to anything the old had to offer. Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! You’ve come to holy Mt Zion and an innumerable company of angels! A blood that speaks better things! You are now offered the privilege of His presence because you have been brought into His glory by Jesus! The treasure of this amazing privilege is yours to enjoy by faith. God wants us to desire His glory and fellowship to the point of valuing it more than anything this earth has to offer.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

Into Glory - Part One

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

Do you know any parents who have desires and goals for their children?

Do you think it is odd or dysfunctional for a parent to have desires that establish goals for their child, so long as it is for the good of the child?

Do you know any parents that have greatly sacrificed to do all they can to help their child reach the goal they have set for them?

Did you know that the desire Jesus has for you causes him to have a certain goal when it comes to you?

Did you know that the same is true when it comes to the Father concerning you?

A root of strong desire can be diverse. It can be a love for a child that seeks their success and good in life. It can be a sincere desire to foster a deeper relationship with the child. It can be insecurities in a parent that influence them to live vicariously through a child’s accomplishments as though they were their own. It can be bragging rights based on comparisons made with other children. It can be a way to fill a void in the parents own life, an escape of sorts. I am not here today to discern parental motives. I am simply seeking to make us aware that they exist and, unlike how God’s desires are always perfect, parents are not.

That is what Jesus was pointing out when He asked, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:13

The Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit all have a desire for you that resulted in making a plan that Jesus come to this earth. Jesus sacrificed based on a desire that He, the Father and Holy Spirit shared regarding you in eternity past. It is wonderful to think about. I find it to be the greatest privilege ever offered to mankind.

When the first man and woman were created, they dwelled in a beautiful garden called Eden. They had everything they could ever ask for. They tended the garden without breaking a sweat or feeling anxiety of any kind. They walked daily with God in the cool of that garden, and enjoying the beauty of it while fellowshipping with God. They did not need clothing then because they were clothed with the very glory of God. His glory encompassed them and He enjoyed fellowship with them. But something happened. Eve was deceived by the serpent and she ate the fruit forbidden by God. When she handed it to Adam he knowingly ate it and sin entered mankind. Sin brought with it spiritual death which destroyed man’s ability to see the glory of God and caused a shame of being unclothed. It caused Adam and Eve to hide from God as opposed to longing for time with Him.

Adam and Eve forfeited the glory of God they had been privileged to live in when they sinned that day in the garden. God in His mercy drove them out of the garden to keep them from eating from the tree of life because He did not desire that they live forever without His glory. His desire was that at an appointed time He would restore the glory they had forfeited. He gave to Israel glimpses of glory, and we read about it in the Old Testament where the Temple was dedicated and the glory of God came down like a thick cloud. Or, when we read of how at the mount of transfiguration Peter, James and John witnessed the cloud of glory and Jesus speaking with Moses and Elijah. It was such a special holy moment that they desired to build something there to mark it forever in time. Of course they were told to listen to Jesus. The glory of God is such a privilege that it provokes those who experience it, to never forget it.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

The Presence Of God - Part Two

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

True passion drives a person to want to know more about Jesus, to want to be with others who love Jesus and want to grow in their knowledge of Him. True passion yearns to gather with other believers where the Holy Spirit is allowed to be and do according to His own good pleasure because they know the end result will be a greater revelation of who Jesus truly is. True passion produces desires completely unlike those the world produces.

Passion lives the words of the song, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.” Those with passion believe the truth concerning Jesus. As a result, the things the world has to offer are as nothing compared to knowing Him and having His presence continually. In the Bible it reveals that the Galatians had began to think they lacked something and they were losing their passion for God’s presence as a result. Paul asked them, “Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?”

You cannot will yourself into a passion for Jesus. You don’t wake up one day and say, “Today I am going to be a person of passion.” Passion is rooted in right belief, and you either believe the truth about who Christ is, what He accomplished and how it is applied to you, or you harden your heart through doubt. James said it best this way, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

Just hearing truth is not enough. You need to believe it and apply it as a natural part of who you are in Christ. Just hearing results is to go away and forget what you heard. That creates doubt in the heart. When the word of God is not taken to heart, the heart gets hardened. The practice of believing needs to be embodied as it is essential to spiritual growth. Believing is the “Work.” Don’t let yourself look into the law of liberty and then walk away and forget the new creation you’ve become in Christ. You will struggle if you do. When James speaks of not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the “Work” (James 1:25) he’s talking about truly believing what you heard so that you are changed by it. He’s not talking about merely hearing it and then moving on to something else before you’ve allowed it to transform you. Meditate on that word until it is part of who you are. If you are struggling to own ask the Holy Spirit to help you own it fully. Don’t give up on it!

When Scripture speaks of the heart becoming hardened through the deceitfulness of sin it is speaking about the sin of unbelief. Hebrews 3 expounds on the danger of hardening the heart by not taking God at His word. What word? The word of His willingness to bring you into all He’s promised you and deliver you.

The Israelites passed through the sea, saw all the miracles, and yet they did not believe. They are proof that seeing something doesn’t produce faith. Faith does not come by seeing, it comes by hearing. With just one bad report from ten of the twelve spies the people were convinced that God was setting them up to experience bad things by promising them a land flowing with milk and honey that was inhabited by giants. They looked at things according to the natural and it caused their hearts to doubt God. They became suspect of God. As a result, they could not realize the possibility of entering into their God given destiny.

As soon as you question God’s willingness to do you good, you harden your heart. Then you look for your own solutions, that is how you reject His presence and power for your situation. You need His presence and His power. You need to be convinced in faith that He is enough. God has promised His presence and power to you through His Son Jesus. Jesus went to the cross to secure it for you. When the gift of His presence and power are enough, all else fades into the background. The freedom you seek is in Him, not apart from Him. It is in His presence that there is fullness of joy and life forevermore. Look to Him and live!

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

The Presence Of God - Part One

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

Were you aware that you can gather a crowd by simply offering them what they imagine is worth their time? In a consumeristic society, people are drawn to what is up to date with cultural trends and exciting.

If a church seeks to grow by keeping up with what is most popular to attract people outside it, then all it takes for those attracted to go elsewhere, is another church offering the same things with a little more polish, or a few more bells and whistles.

When a church loses sight of the incomparable presence of God, it wears its families out trying produce things to attract and keep people. It is unaware that it is trying to make up for what only the glory and presence of God can offer. When the Holy Spirit is expected to take a backseat in the gatherings, and behave Himself based on what people are most comfortable with, the value of the presence of God has been diminished or lost. Should it ever be okay to not rely on the presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit?

How does the church reach the place where the presence of God has lost its value and the Holy Spirit is only expected to bless whatever the people want, instead of the people desiring what the Holy Spirit wants?

This happens to churches when the people no longer think the gospel is important and begin to want messages about what they themselves can do. When preaching the splendor and worth of Jesus Christ falls out of popularity, it is a danger sign. When gazing upon the crucified, resurrected, ascended and glorified Jesus who did all that was necessary to secure righteousness and deliver from the power of sin and death is no longer exciting, it is a sign that unbelief and an unhealthy reliance upon self is setting in. The natural ability to improve and be better is a bad incentive. Such people can’t see the need for the manifest presence of God.

When the Holy Spirit is getting His way, He is magnifying Jesus and offering an opportunity to experience real victory and deliverance from sin by believing the truth concerning Jesus. The Holy Spirit knows it is Jesus who has everything that pertains to life and godliness and He is always directing you to look to Jesus.

A church led by the Holy Spirit isn’t caught up in all the things that people who are not passionate for Christ say they need in order to be kept on board the ship. A true Spirit led church is content with the presence of God. They know that the fire of the Spirit magnifies Jesus Christ and transforms lives. They know that the world, the false church, or any of the religious systems will never be able to offer the wonderful presence of God in the power of the Holy Spirit. They also know that those truly drawn by the Holy Spirit will recognize God’s presence and will be most satisfied with it.

That is why we should not be worried about putting on a show. We should not be concerned with bells and whistles how to naturally excite people. We should not be looking to offer a more entertaining experience than all the other churches. We should want to commune with the One who has won our hearts. We are only concerned with what the Holy Spirit says is vital for us, and should characterize the bride of Christ. So we should be committed to getting the gospel right. Then focus on getting the gospel in, and then getting it out to the world. We desire to walk in the authority His bride, the church, has been given.

A real church is filled with people who have a passion for Jesus that embraces all that He offers. God’s people should want to live according to the culture of His kingdom. You see, Passion is not just about moments of excitement where everyone is being demonstrative. True passion is a consist walk with Jesus, believing in Him, and experiencing His presence.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

Victory On The Front Lines - Part Two

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

2Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Based on what we just read there are strongholds - fortresses of wrong thinking-that require being pulled down. There are also arguments - seemingly logical reasonings. There are high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God - Attempts at making something other than God and His wisdom be of greater value to you. All three of these things are weapons used against us in the spiritual battle being waged over our relationship with Jesus. But note, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but mighty in God.

All these things mentioned take place in your thought life. If they are not dealt with correctly they will hinder your spiritual growth and God given destiny. Your thought life is the front lines of spiritual battle. But you’ve been given supernatural truth and faith to fight with. Your weapons are mighty in God!

Did you know that some traditions held dear may meet the description of a stronghold and can hinder you?

Did you know that sentimentality or nostalgia will often meet these descriptions, and can hinder you?

Did you know that these threats can be cultural, religious, political, educational or relational?

Anything contrary to the the truth of the New Covenant Gospel of the Kingdom that is allowed a place in your thinking is dangerous, and will hinder your spiritual growth and destiny. Thoughts should pass through the supernatural filter of the gospel of the kingdom which places Jesus at the center as Savior and Lord.

Many front line threats are often rooted in an Old Covenant understanding of Scripture. Often, that understanding is based on sentimentality or nostalgia and produces confusion about the context and glory of the New Covenant. The enemy of your soul loves it when you give in to something that runs contrary to the truth of the New Covenant Gospel. He loves to sow things that dim the glory of Jesus in the New Covenant.

The enemy wants to obscure the truth about Jesus and what He accomplished in His obedience. Please pay special notice to what it says in verse 5, “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”

Did you catch what it actually says here? The phrase, into captivity to the obedience of Christ, is very important to pay attention to because many read it as saying, “brining every thought into captivity to an obedience to Christ.” I personally believe it is a mistake to read it that way. Replacing the word “The” with “An” and the word “of” with “to” changes the meaning and application. That would make our own outward obedience what accomplishes the victory. That’s not supernatural. It doesn’t draw on the mighty weapons in God. Many make a mistake of thinking it speaks of moral obedience based on what it says in verse 6

2Corinthians 10:6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Think about what is really being said here. Being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. What obedience? The obedience of believing the truth concerning Christ. The way I read it is, “You will punish any disobedience of doubt with your faith in Jesus when these attacks on your thought life occur.” In other words, my first obedience is to believe the truth about Jesus which pulls down strongholds, casts down arguments and exposes and rejects every high things that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

This is why getting the gospel right is so important! The good news of Jesus is the core truth of the New Covenant. We must make sure we get it right. There’s no such thing as too much gospel of the kingdom.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

Victory On The Front Lines - Part One

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

2Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Based on what we just read there are strongholds - fortresses of wrong thinking-that require being pulled down. There are also arguments - seemingly logical reasonings. There are high things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God - Attempts at making something other than God and His wisdom be of greater value to you. All three of these things are weapons used against us in the spiritual battle being waged over our relationship with Jesus. But note, the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but mighty in God.

All these things mentioned take place in your thought life. If they are not dealt with correctly they will hinder your spiritual growth and God given destiny. Your thought life is the front lines of spiritual battle. But you’ve been given supernatural truth and faith to fight with. Your weapons are mighty in God!

Did you know that some traditions held dear may meet the description of a stronghold and can hinder you?

Did you know that sentimentality or nostalgia will often meet these descriptions, and can hinder you?

Did you know that these threats can be cultural, religious, political, educational or relational?

Anything contrary to the the truth of the New Covenant Gospel of the Kingdom that is allowed a place in your thinking is dangerous, and will hinder your spiritual growth and destiny. Thoughts should pass through the supernatural filter of the gospel of the kingdom which places Jesus at the center as Savior and Lord.

Many front line threats are often rooted in an Old Covenant understanding of Scripture. Often, that understanding is based on sentimentality or nostalgia and produces confusion about the context and glory of the New Covenant. The enemy of your soul loves it when you give in to something that runs contrary to the truth of the New Covenant Gospel. He loves to sow things that dim the glory of Jesus in the New Covenant.

The enemy wants to obscure the truth about Jesus and what He accomplished in His obedience. Please pay special notice to what it says in verse 5, “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”

Did you catch what it actually says here? The phrase, into captivity to the obedience of Christ, is very important to pay attention to because many read it as saying, “brining every thought into captivity to an obedience to Christ.” I personally believe it is a mistake to read it that way. Replacing the word “The” with “An” and the word “of” with “to” changes the meaning and application. That would make our own outward obedience what accomplishes the victory. That’s not supernatural. It doesn’t draw on the mighty weapons in God. Many make a mistake of thinking it speaks of moral obedience based on what it says in verse 6

2Corinthians 10:6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Think about what is really being said here. Being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. What obedience? The obedience of believing the truth concerning Christ. The way I read it is, “You will punish any disobedience of doubt with your faith in Jesus when these attacks on your thought life occur.” In other words, my first obedience is to believe the truth about Jesus which pulls down strongholds, casts down arguments and exposes and rejects every high things that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.

This is why getting the gospel right is so important! The good news of Jesus is the core truth of the New Covenant. We must make sure we get it right. There’s no such thing as too much gospel of the kingdom.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

Supernatural Power

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

If good news is only about a morally changed life, how does that help the person who has lived a decent moral life and cannot see their need for change?

A morally decent person, and there are such persons, isn’t moved by a message that is only about change from a life of immorality to one of morality. This is why religious ideology is dead and lifeless. It does not focus on the value and privilege of the presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. The goal was to fix things so that the Holy Spirit could come and dwell with believers. The aim was and still is God’s presence.

If the goal of good news is reduced to behavioral compliance it has lost its power. But the gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Salvation from what and just what does power of God really mean?

Salvation is the rescue from the spiritual death and separation caused by sin. Power of God means the real gospel, by heavenly definition, is supernatural because it involves the power and presence of God in the person of the Holy Spirit. The difference in man centered gospel and the true gospel is the presence of God. The true gospel reveals the presence of God is available based on what Jesus accomplished at the cross and had been planned in eternity past. It does not exclude any of the members of the Godhead. It recognizes the desire of the Father to have many children He might enjoy fellowship with. It recognizes the completed work of Jesus to make it possible, and that fellowship with all Three is made real by the person of the Holy Spirit, until the appointed time of the end. The gospel reveals each member of the Godhead as being essential and does not marginalize any of them. The Holy Spirit has equal importance.

The disciples believed in Jesus before Pentecost came. They had spent forty days with Him and were eye witnesses to His being alive after His death. They did not need to be convinced Jesus was alive. They did not need to be convinced that they should be witnesses. They were eager to see the kingdom established.

What was it that they still really needed before they would know they have his presence with them after Jesus had departed and they were going out to represent the good news to the world?

The Holy Spirit was not optional in the preaching of the original gospel. The Holy Spirit was not treated as an after thought by the early church. When it was time for the Gentiles to be included as being part of the church the apostles needed to witness something in order to accept it.

What did God determine it would be?

It was the manifestation of the Holy Spirit that testified to the presence of God with them. It was the evidence of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Spirit. It is the operation of the Holy Spirit that is the evidence of the presence of God. This is why the gifts of the Holy Spirit are important to the church. They testify to the presence of God with believers in Jesus. Jesus said something very important about the manifestation of the Holy Spirit coming upon a follower of Him that should never be ignored.

Acts 1:8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

The power spoken of here is supernatural. It is more than just an enablement. It is a tangible power that overwhelms. When truly believed and received the Holy Spirit is powerfully felt and the one receiving does not need anyone to reassure them they got it. The Holy Spirit is the active glory of God in the flow of His power to create, alter matter, change hearts and minds, and enable us beyond our natural abilities. Those who prioritize God’s presence, partner with the Holy Spirit in His effort to make known the reality of God’s available presence. They are activated supernaturally! Those who prioritize the presence of God, believe and expect to receive on the basis of belonging to Him and being promised the Holy Spirit.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

The Most Important Baptism

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. You are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

In our family it is a Christmas tradition, every Christmas Eve, to watch A Christmas Carol with George C Scott. I love the opening scene as a funeral carriage somberly makes its way down a foggy busy 1800’s London street and the narrator says, “Old Marly was as dead as a door nail, and this must be distinctly understood or nothing wonderful can come from this story I am about to relate.”

Jesus was as dead as a door nail but after three days He rose from the dead, and that must be distinctly understood or nothing wonderful can come from what I am about to share with you.

Before Jesus was put to death on the cross He spoke things to His disciples to prepare them for His departure.

John 16:5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.

Jesus said much more than this to them. He told them they would be persecuted for being His witnesses. He said the things He had spoken that they struggled to understand, would be made clear, but only after the Holy Spirit (The Helper) had come to them. He said, “It is to your advantage.” Imagine how that must have come across to these men who had left everything to follow Jesus. They had given up all and been filled with wonder and amazement by Him. They loved being with Him. Jesus had been with them daily, but Jesus understood something that they did not yet comprehend. They needed the same person of the Holy Spirit who was helping Jesus fulfill all righteousness and accomplish the Father’s will. Thus it was to their advantage that Jesus depart; for if He were to stay, the Holy Spirit would not come to them. Jesus was prioritizing the presence of God in their lives by promising the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s fullness.

If the coming of the Holy Spirit was to the advantage of men who had personally been with Jesus and were called His friends, how great of an advantage might the Holy Spirit be to us who have never seen Jesus?

A key emphasis of the ministry of Jesus involved the Holy Spirit. John the Baptist prophesied it before hand,

Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

The disciples had seen Jesus alive after His death, and He taught them for forty days before ascending. I believe that after seeing Him alive and being caught up to heaven that they would have been ready to tell others about Him. I believe that is why Jesus commanded them to wait in Jerusalem.

Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

If these guys were merely afraid and needed a dose of boldness why would Jesus need to command them to wait?

I believe Jesus did not want them trying to minister without the promised Holy Spirit. “Which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;” In this statement is proof that Jesus spoke often to these disciples about the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. The good news was and still is to be advanced with practical evidences as well as power. The presence of God involves the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit expresses the power of God. He should never be expected to change who He is or set His power aside just to meet with us.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!

Know What You Possess

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Good Morning, I pray that you will be blessed in Christ and experience victory today and every day. If you are in Christ then you are not ordinary because you have been born from above. You are His child and that means you are more than an overcomer through Jesus!

When out and about sometimes I am approached by someone wanting money, and since I typically do not carry cash on me, it is simple for me to say “I’m sorry, but I do not have any cash to give you.”

You cannot give to another what you do not possess. Even if you had something but was unaware that you had it, you still couldn’t offer it to someone needing it. You have to know what you have in order to be able to give to others who may need what it is you have. There’s a story in Scripture that reveals this to us. Peter and John were going up to the temple to pray. Daily a lame man was put there at the gate Beautiful. He was there to beg. On this day Peter with no spiritual limitations looked at the man and said, look on us. Then he said something profound to that man.

Acts 3:6 “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

This is not a formula for making the lame walk anytime you see person who is lame. This reveals something far more important than a formula to be copied. Had Peter not known by faith what he possessed in the Spirit he would not have had anything to offer the lame man. In the natural, Peter didn’t have a solution. But in the Holy Spirit Peter had something he could offer that man that was worth far more than silver or gold. Had Peter lacked faith producing Holy Spirit revelation about what he had, that man would have spent the rest of his life lame and begging. Faith removed limitation! Thankfully, Peter knew by the Spirit what he had to give.

If Peter were alive today and trained according to some of the popular ideas in Christianity, he would not say or do anything like what we read in Acts. Peter might still say, “silver and gold have I none.” But instead of saying, “what I do have I give to you” and taking the man’s hand to have him stand to his feet healed, Peter would wear himself and others out implementing natural solutions. After all, you know what the world says, “knowledge is power and whoever finds it has all they could ever need in this life.”

Many in churches today have been lulled to sleep by well meaning but powerless speakers. As a result, many have often times been cheated out of a walk in the Spirit as these ministers seem more concerned with whether or not people could pass a Bible quiz and live somewhat morally. But it is only Holy Spirit revelation that produces faith and empowers you to live from the source of Life that Christ is and by the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus baptizes with. Leaders who tend to instruct according to the natural more than the spiritual can't empower you to manifest the you Christ says you are.

1Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

The things of the Spirit is much more than morality. If the things of the Spirit are limited to morality in general then there’s no point to this Scripture at all. The fact is, confidence in your natural understanding can hinder you where the kingdom of God and who you are in Christ is concerned. Overemphasis on your natural abilities or the lack thereof is a hindrance. Everything to do with Christ and His kingdom is received by faith in the word of God spoken to you by the Holy Spirit. That’s why you need the Holy Spirit always! Jesus said something of tremendous importance in,

John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.”……….

Jesus is always looking to speak life into us. His desire is to wash us with the water of His word which establishes us, gives us confidence and activates our faith. He wants us to know and experience the fullness of God. He is always out for our good. We just need to believe it.

Always remember that you are loved with an everlasting love by a faithful God who cannot lie and you have everything you need in Christ. Go and enjoy the adventure that is yours when you live submitted to the Holy Spirit each day!