Nevertheless
Are you aware?
While it is true that we do not do works to merit God’s love or righteousness, it is not true that works do not matter and that Jesus could care less about them.
In the last letter in the Bible, Revelation, Jesus appears to John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos and speaks with him about the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands.
Jesus reveals that the seven stars symbolize the seven messengers of the seven churches in Asia, and the seven lampstands represent the seven churches of Asia, each with its unique role and significance. Then Jesus tells John to write to each of the messengers of these churches.
Early on in each message, Jesus says, “I know your works.” The first church messenger Jesus addressed was at Ephesus, and the messenger was told things that made it clear that Jesus was paying attention to what the church was practicing. It starts out with Jesus saying some great things about the works of this church. We know it is about the church because, in the end, Jesus says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” So even though the letter is to the messenger at Ephesus, it is really for the church at Ephesus.
For all the good things spoken about the church in Ephesus, Jesus eventually says, “Nevertheless.”
Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Jesus wants this church to change its mind and return to something it had lost along the way: a first-love state of being. If they fail to return to this way of being, they stand to lose their influence as though they do not even exist any longer. They had put the total emphasis on their existence in their moral works and forgotten their love for Him in the process. They were so focused on their devotion to doing the works they deemed most important that they became distracted from their love for Him. I like that He ends with encouragement after the corrective instruction by saying they have something in common with him regarding what they hate.
Were you aware that a loving Jesus could hate something? He does.
I wonder how many believers have ever taken to heart what Jesus says about what He hates and researched what it was about the Nicolaitan doctrine that merits hatred from Jesus?
This doctrine that Jesus hates is mentioned in a letter to another church because it is making its way into that church. It is occurring in Pergamos. In Thyatira, we discover behaviors akin to the doctrine of the Nicolaitins; however, the issue in Thyatira is directly tied to a false prophetess referred to as Jezebel. She is teaching the servants of God to commit sexual immorality and eat things offered to idols as though it doesn’t have any significance to their spirituality. Basically, the doctrine of the Nicolaitins promoted an idea that was rooted in Gnosticism, which held that what was material did not matter; only that which was spiritual and unseen mattered to them. Based on this type of thinking, the idea that sexual immorality or idolatry was no longer something to be ashamed of or forbidden because freedom had come. This type of teaching paved the way for people to engage in things without remorse of conscience or thought of consequence, as though Jesus now approved of such things. But in Revelation, we find Jesus hates doctrines that promote license or the sense that such behaviors are of no real significance and should be overlooked.
Here’s the kicker: Ephesus hated this doctrine, and Jesus liked that they did so, but it could not overpower their need to return to their first love. The “nevertheless” still stands out as the significant call in this particular letter to the church at Ephesus. Is it possible there could be a “nevertheless” if a letter were to be written to the modern-day church? I do not want to hear “nevertheless” from Jesus. I want to be so in love with Him that He has control of my spirit, heart, soul, and mind. If I do hear a “nevertheless,” I am grateful for the grace that can bring me out of that place and into the place I need to be with Him. Grace does not cover or hide us from a “nevertheless.” It empowers and transforms us to rise above it. It enables us to answer the call to change our minds and surrender our hearts to Jesus afresh.
Ashamed?
Are you ashamed?
Many things in life have the power to make someone feel ashamed.
Ashamed can be defined as embarrassed or guilty because of one's actions, characteristics, or associations or (ashamed to do something) reluctant to do something through fear of embarrassment or humiliation.
Being ashamed can be immobilizing. It can prevent a person from speaking or acting in certain ways.
Scripture records how King David got caught up in passion before the Lord and danced through the streets of Jerusalem in his linen ephod as they brought up the ark of God. A linen ephod was an undergarment worn beneath one’s robe. His wife, Michal, watched him from a window and despised him, criticized him, and tried to shame him for what he did.
2 Samuel 6:20 Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, “How glorious was the king of Israel today, uncovering himself today in the eyes of the maids of his servants, as one of the base fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 21 So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD. 22 And I will be even more undignified than this, and will be humble in my own sight. But as for the maidservants of whom you have spoken, by them I will be held in honor.”
David felt no shame in celebrating the way he did regarding the goodness of God to him and all of Israel at that moment. It was a monumental moment of great favor that the ark was being returned as it was.
Paul, as an apostle and follower of Jesus, said,
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
It is never a good thing to allow shame to prohibit you from speaking boldly about Jesus or from giving thanks and expressing joy by celebrating His goodness in your life.
Jesus spoke about being ashamed of someone,
Mark 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
Luke 9:26 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.
It is never good to be ashamed of Jesus for any reason. It is never good to be ashamed of the joy that He gives, the peace that He is, and the life that He offers. We should never be ashamed of anything He said or did while He walked the earth or that He is currently doing through others right now on this earth.
In these last days, the enemy is hard at work seeking to silence and prevent any type of open demonstration of gratitude and thanks from those who belong to Jesus by using the tool of shame. Jesus never needs anyone to make an excuse for what He has done as though it was something wrong or to be embarrassed about. Being ashamed of Him can lead to Him being ashamed of you. I never want that to be the case for me because He is the best thing that has ever happened to me in my life! There’s no need to be ashamed!
No Judgment?
Are you ready?
There is only one book in the Bible that says blessed is he who reads and understands it. That is the Book of Revelation. Many do not spend much time with it because they find it difficult to understand. Nevertheless, the promise is true.
It is in that book, or I should say letter, that we find something of great interest regarding God’s opinion towards any rebellion towards Him and a rejection of Jesus. This is important because there is a growing sentiment for the idea that God will not judge anyone due to a claim that the whole world will be saved.
It can be dangerous when someone decides they have become an expert in just one area of doctrine and thus only spend time in Scriptures that would seem to support their viewpoint. That leads to ignoring the whole counsel of God revealed in the whole of Scripture. When that happens, an imbalance occurs, and the truth gets twisted to suit their pet idea.
What might be a beautiful truth becomes distorted by an excessive interpretation.
The fact is that there is a judgment, and God will judge humanity despite those who argue against the idea. The Scriptures reveal this is going to happen.
Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
The idea of God’s wrath against a prideful rebellion that would refuse to humble itself and thus reject the offer of love, mercy, and grace through Jesus Christ, His beloved Son, is real. Properly understood and taught, it serves to motivate those who belong to Christ by stirring compassion for the lost and a hunger to share the good news of Christ with them.
I worked with a man once who believed that all would be saved no matter what. He had no inclination to speak of Jesus to anyone because, in his mind, all would be saved, so why even bother? To him, it was a foregone conclusion. He had no understanding of applied atonement or the fact that a judgment is set to take place and that the Lake of Fire is real and a place of eternal punishment for those who reject Jesus Christ. In his thinking, God was sovereign and would save all, and therefore, his witness was not necessary.
John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
If we are to claim that we love people as we ought, can we leave them in this state of being without providing them with a witness of His love and goodness? Should we allow them to go through life ignorant of what lengths He has gone to in order to rescue them and give them eternal life? Those who understand that judgment is real are the ones who truly understand the gift that His love truly is and are often the ones committed to being witnesses for Christ, especially to those they claim to love in this life.
Applied Atonement
Want to be forgiven?
Atonement - Atonement refers to the forgiving or pardoning of sin in general and original sin in particular through the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
It has become popular for some to apply human reasoning to select passages of Scripture and develop a doctrine based on that reasoning that says that Jesus did away with sin entirely at the cross, and, therefore, if God were to judge anyone, He would bring insult to Jesus.
They ignore the significance of being born again by grace through faith in Jesus by making such broad-based declarations. Every human being was not automatically born again after Jesus died on the cross. That means that this atonement is not applied to every human being automatically.
In their line of reasoning regarding atonement, there is no room for judgment. They have deduced that Jesus taking the sin of the whole world on Himself at the cross and taking it into the grave means it no longer exists. They argue that Jesus atoned for the sin of the whole world, and therefore, it cannot be held against the human race. They say God is no longer mad at anyone as a result because He sees them differently now that Christ has died at the cross and raised from the dead.
They are correct that Jesus atoned for the sin of the whole world and paid the debt for ransom to make atonement for sin, but they neglect the matter of how this atonement is to be applied.
John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
This verse is very clear, but if we treat it the way much of modern media does its job by taking it as a sound bite that stands alone with no greater context to be considered, we may draw a wrong conclusion that does not allow for other Scripture that says something slightly different.
John 3:14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
It can be beneficial to allow this truth concerning God’s wrath to sink in. Jesus is saying something clear and bold here. God’s fierce, hot anger remains on the ones who refuse to believe the good news of Jesus and put their faith and hope in Him. God is not smiling and joyfully happy about the rejection of His Son. Anyone can be brought out from under this wrath by applying the atonement made by Jesus on the cross and ratified by His resurrection and ascension to heaven.
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
This matter of applied atonement factors into the issue of judgment. It is like building a foundation on the sand to declare that God would have to apologize to Jesus if He were to judge anyone for sin on this earth. To reject the free offer of grace revealed in Jesus Christ means atonement is not applied. The sacrifice for the sin of the whole world was indeed made, but the whole world has not and will not believe in Jesus to receive His completed work, and therefore, they bear the mark of another on their lives—the mark of one who is to be judged.
The only way to apply the atonement Jesus made possible is to believe in Him and be born again as a result of truly believing in Him. Atonement is a beautiful and wonderful work, and an amazing privilege that is free for the partaking. It is ours by grace through faith. But if it is rejected, one remains under God’s wrath; there is only an expectation of judgment. Atonement must be applied in order to be of any benefit.
What Pleases God?
Do you know?
Some would say obedience. Others would say believing. Yet others would imply that doing one’s best while falling back on His grace is the way to do it. The responses to such a question would be many and very diverse, I am sure.
But when I survey the bigger picture, I can’t help but see something that stands out to me, unlike any other idea afloat on this subject.
I think it is best conveyed by what Jesus spoke in John 15 and in John 17
John 15:5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24 “Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
What I see when I read such passages is a yearning for a close, intimate relationship on the part of the Father and Jesus with those who would humbly receive it and rejoice in it.
Jesus was willing to lay down His life for it, and the Father was willing to give His only beloved Son for it. It is why such an elaborate and costly sacrifice was made.
An eternal oneness and unity suffered a moment of separation to obtain this relationship and oneness with those who will believe it and receive it. It was not done to create robots who do what is asked of them for fear of being judged and severely punished. It was done for the beauty of relationship and oneness with God.
God is most pleased when we are most satisfied with knowing Him and enjoying the privilege of being in right relationship with Him by grace through faith in Jesus. God is pleased when we take full advantage of what has been provided to us through Christ.
God is most pleased when we walk in the fellowship made possible by faith and let go of striving from a place of having confidence in our flesh to do certain things to merit His affection and pleasure.
Jesus had fellowship with the Father, and the result was that He did what He saw His Father doing and spoke what He heard His Father speaking. Jesus’s actions flowed out of His fellowship with the Father. Unity of relationship produced the fruit in Jesus’ life and ministry. Jesus did not go around worried about whether or not He was doing what He needed to in order to be close with His Father.
God was pleased with Jesus’s close relationship. That is why He said audibly at the Jordan when Jesus was baptized, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” Jesus had done nothing yet except fellowship with His Father.
I believe God is most pleased whenever we take advantage of what Jesus did for us to bring us into fellowship with the Father simply because we see the privilege of it and desire to get to know the Father.
Expectations
Bearing fruit?
We are living in very strange times where it seems that many reasonable things are upside down in people’s thinking, even in the churches.
The word expectation is evidence of such a phenomenon. It seems that there is an outright rejection of the idea that expectations should even exist.
For instance, I had apple trees in my yard, and each year, I expected to see apples appear on those trees. I planted them for apples, and they were nurtured to bring forth apples. One tree not only did not produce apples, it stayed the same height for 3 years. It was not a productive tree at all. That tree did not meet my expectations.
Expectation, as I am using it, is a belief that someone will or should achieve something. Jesus had this at work in relation to those who follow Him. Reconsidering expectations can lead to growth, a hopeful prospect. Jesus carried a certain expectation in His heart.
John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Jesus expects that those who abide in Him will bear fruit. Like I wanted apples from my trees, Jesus wants fruit from our connection with Him.
This does not refer to our initial planting or connection with Him but rather our ongoing connection with Him; thus, the word abide is used. The word abide means be present, endure, dwell, continue, remain. It conveys a sense of an ongoing, growing closeness, an ever-increasing reality of a relationship with Jesus. The initial introduction and acceptance part of the relationship is taken care of, as indicated in the next verse.
John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
In other words, He has already taken care of what is needed for you to be part of the vine. This is not an invitation to join the vine; it is an instruction on what it means to abide in the vine. This is a clear instruction of what it means to embrace the life Jesus is offering. The life He offers comes through the connectivity of a relationship with Him. It is not just about getting saved and then sitting around and waiting until you go to heaven. There is something to be experienced here and now through being connected to and with Him.
John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
Just going through the motions of what one thinks a believer is supposed to look like on the surface does not produce the supernatural energy required to bear the fruit Jesus expects in the life of someone who abides in Him. Jesus knows what His life produces in the vines connected to Him.
This is not an invitation to go on a hunt for a list of what fruit looks like and then set out to try to replicate it in one’s own strength and willpower. This is a call to be in a relationship in such a way that fruit naturally occurs. Jesus is all about relationships from start until finish. A relationship that endures is at the core of His expectation. That type of relationship produces fruit. Expectations are not bad; they are not condemning, and they are not wrong. Expectations come with the territory of being in a relationship. Jesus knows just how fruitful it can be for someone to be in union and intimacy with Him. Jesus knows what that looks like and what kind of fruit it will produce.
Indwelling Reality
Are you indwelt?
Indwelling is another way of saying I am coming to stay with you in the most close and intimate way imaginable. It is an intimate relationship language.
The dictionary defines this word in this manner:
Adjective: Permanently present in or spiritually possessing someone's soul or mind: the indwelling God.
Noun: The permanent presence of God or a spiritual force in the heart or soul: the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus spoke in this way in the Gospel of John.
John 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
Jesus speaks of an intimate relationship in which an exchange occurs. It is not a one-way pseudo relationship in which one party is used merely for the benefit of the other. This is a two-person involvement for the benefit of both parties involved.
Jesus did not come to make people owe Him. He came to bring people into a relationship with Himself and with the Father. A healthy relationship ascribes value to what is spoken.
The best way to know if a relationship is dying is to pay attention to whether or not the two people claiming to have one really listen to each other and value what is spoken. That is why Jesus can say with all authority that if anyone loves Him, they will keep His word. He is not saying, “Try your best, and that will prove your love, and I will love you in return.” He is speaking of a manifestation of something that exists already. He is speaking about the kind of fruit that accompanies a loving relationship.
My wife and I will have been married for 38 years this coming November 8th, 2024. Because of our love for each other, we have both changed dramatically in many ways, as we have valued each other’s thoughts and ways. Loving each other has caused both of us to change in some way as we have increasingly grown to know each other more.
I am not saying that Jesus has anything He needs to change or that He will change; we know that He is the Lord, and He does not change. He is perfect. His consistency is justified due to His perfection and supremacy. But He is still interested in this exchange of getting to know.
Jesus is speaking about what closeness and involvement really look like. If I could care less about what someone says, I would not have a close and intimate relationship with them. When you love someone, you desire to know what they think, what they value, what they enjoy, etc. To learn this, you know you must have a conversation with them and listen to them communicate to you the things that really matter to them. If this never occurs, you do not love them; you may be using them for your benefit in some way or other, which is a one-sided affair, but Jesus makes it clear here that when someone loves Him, they value His words, and they keep them. Why should anyone who claims to know Jesus for whom He really is not value Him at the highest level and desire to know what He thinks and what He is like?
Merit systems are not relational; they are business-oriented. They do not require love, warmth, or value; they are cold and transactional only. Jesus was not giving Himself for a merit system. The desire of Jesus is a relationship. Jesus did not come to make me the all-important issue. He came to make a relationship with God at the highest level imaginable a thing to be grasped. He ascribed value to me, and He knows that if I love Him, I will likewise ascribe value to Him, and I will rejoice in the reality of His indwelling me! I will welcome such closeness and interaction in my life.
“IN”
Are you in?
“In”
“IN.” A tiny two-letter word that is loaded with meaning in the Greek the way Jesus used it.
It means a fixed position, a place, a time, or a state of being accompanied by rest.
John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
This unity is not just between Jesus and the Father, but it extends to all who believe in Him.
Because Jesus was “IN” the Father and the Father was “IN” Him, Jesus effortlessly did the works He was doing.
Jesus was simply in a state of being as a result of “IN.” Jesus was not anxiously starting His day worried about whether he would get things right or do enough things to justify His claim of being the Son of God. He simply communed with His Father and rested in knowing the Father was “IN” Him, and He was “IN” His Father. In other words, He and His Father were one. They were in unity together. They shared the same desires. They shared the same dislikes. They shared the same dreams and goals as they pertained to the reason Jesus was here on this earth to start with. They were in tune with each other not from a have-to-be perspective but from a privilege-to-be perspective. They authentically loved and liked each other and respected each other.
Jesus modeled a healthy relationship with the Father, showing us the way to a fulfilling and enriching spiritual life. Jesus understood the power and the beauty of “IN.”
This was why Jesus prayed the way He did in John 17.
John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
As believers in Christ, we get to enjoy the “IN” factor of our relationship with God. This “IN” factor comes with the glory that is shared with us so that the world might see Jesus and know that the Father sent him with purpose.
Everything is meant to flow out from the place of a loving relationship with the Father through Jesus Christ. Nothing is meant to flow from a place of duty, payback, merit, or gamesmanship to get ahead. The relationship is at the core of everything pertaining to His kingdom. We are meant to flow from a place that has a fixed position of “IN” so solid and secure that we are able to just be from a place of rest in Him. From this place of faith and belief “IN” Jesus, the works that He did, we do, and even greater works are promised, JN 14:12.
It’s Interesting
Are you missing out?
I’ve always been amused at how some can go on and on about it being the last days but dismiss one particular thing spoken by a prophet concerning the last days.
Acts 2:17 “And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.
How is it possible, on the one hand, to say, “We are in the last days,” and then, on the other hand, to say that the things spoken here regarding the last days no longer apply?
For instance, the matter of God pouring out His Spirit without respect for persons and Peter using it at that moment to describe the manifestation of the baptism in the Spirit the first believers experienced is now to be explained away as no longer pertinent.
How is it possible that we are more in the last days than ever before, and yet some seek to say visions, dreams, and prophesying are no longer needed, and some even say it is of the devil?
It is as if there are those who want the fear factor of a last-day prophetic word to serve their purpose in that moment they are using it while avoiding these things Peter quotes from the prophet Joel.
Why not take it all to heart and receive the fullness of what was prophetically promised by the prophet regarding the last days, as Peter and these other believers were doing?
That bold and very demonstrative outpouring of the Holy Spirit in which tongues were spoken and the praises of God were being heard in everyone’s own language was evidence of the last days!
We are now more in the last days than that generation was, so should we not expect bold and demonstrative Holy Spirit moments in our journey in Christ?
It’s interesting how, as human beings, we can pick and choose things based on our comfort level with them rather than true Holy Spirit revelation and understanding regarding them. It is often easier to receive based more on how something makes us feel a certain way at the moment and what we think others may or may not think about us than on being vulnerable enough to allow the Holy Spirit to do as He pleases.
Often, the thing that holds back the blessing the Holy Spirit desires to be to us is in our mind when we let calculations about the what-ifs get in the way. It’s interesting how often I have found that I let myself be talked out of something that could have been exciting and wonderful in the Spirit by my own mind. I wonder if you may have experienced that same phenomenon in your journey. These are the last days, and God has some exciting but strange to this world manifestations He wishes to bring into our lives. To experience them requires trust and vulnerability on our part.
The Act Of Faith
What is faith like?
Many years ago, when I asked Sheila, my wife, to marry me, and she said yes, I began to prepare and make plans for our wedding day, our honeymoon, and our life together. I altered my life to accommodate her becoming my wife and sharing a place with me.
I went out and rented a two-story, two-bedroom townhouse as the place where we would start our married life together. I saved money for our honeymoon and reserved accommodations for it.
I did all these things even though we had not stood before witnesses and exchanged vows yet. I did not wait until after the I do to make these preparations because I already believed we would be married just as she and I had promised each other.
She also made preparations. Our faith in each other’s promises moved us into action and preparation.
Faith is not dormant. It is not lazy. It is not inactive.
Faith activates, mobilizes, and moves people into action based on what they believe.
Jesus said something profound,
Luke 8:19 Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” 21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
When the word of God is heard and believed, it moves a person to act on what it is they have believed.
Merely talking about what one believes is not the same as acting on it. Faith opens the door of understanding to the next step. It lights the path of the will of God in the moment. It shines a spotlight on the opportunity and possibility before a person according to God’s desire and the aid of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus spoke of doing what was heard, not just hearing it and agreeing with it because it was too difficult to argue against in the first place.
Dead religion seeks agreement and is happy to hear someone parrot what they say is important. If there are discussions on it and everyone simply agrees, that is enough to satisfy dead religion. But real faith is never satisfied with mere agreement. Real faith has to do something about what is accepted as truth and believed to be right. Real faith will always act on it.
The evidence of faith is always the action that follows it. I believed and had faith that I would be married to Sheila, and it moved me into actions that altered my life. I believed and put my faith in Jesus, and it forever altered who I am and how I live. Faith changes a person from the inside out. Faith will always provide more than enough evidence to prove it exists by what is done as a result of it.
Believe Precedes Receive
Do you believe?
I remember many years ago when a man stood in my office talking with me about matters of faith and calling into question my positions on faith as I opened some mail that day. In the mail was a card for a job fair being held downtown. This job fair would be having a drawing and giving away a new state-of-the-art DVD/BlueRay player. I know we’ve moved way beyond that now, but back then, it was a big deal.
I sensed the Holy Spirit desiring to do something to demonstrate faith to this man and debunk his position that was based mainly on his lack of experience as opposed to what Scripture teaches regarding faith. So I told him that I wanted him to go with me to that job fair, and I would put my name in to win that DVD player for the church, and he would see how faith works.
He was all too eager to go with me, supposing I would be made a fool. So we went, and I entered my name into the drawing. When it came time for the drawing, they got on the loudspeaker and declared, “Mr. Tim Atchley, please come to the registration table to claim your prize. You are the winner of the DVD Player today!”
I smiled at this man and happily went to claim my prize. The church had long used that DVD player for special events. I told him faith is never frivolous, and it is not only relegated to things he deems important enough for God to be interested.
I knew God loved me, and I knew God wanted this man to see faith in action, so it was not a stretch for me to make a bold claim at that moment when the mail arrived. I had a sense from the Spirit about it. Sadly, this man still struggled with the whole thing despite witnessing it all being fulfilled with his own eyes. It did not fit the narrative of faith he had developed by a lack of experience on his part.
Had I not believed I would enter that drawing and win it, I would not have gone to that job fair. I would not have put myself in a position like that with a skeptic. But I believed, and my belief led me to put myself in a position to receive what I believed.
The kingdom of God operates on faith in God. Its activities are based on knowing God and believing in Him according to how He has been revealed to us by Jesus.
This was the point Paul was making with the Galatians when skeptics came to them and began teaching them a wrong gospel.
Galatians 3:5 Therefore, He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
The DNA of God is a supernatural DNA that is not of this world. He cannot deny Himself. He will be what He is and who He is. Our experience of Him will be subject to our level of faith in Him, and our level of faith in Him will be subject to what we’ve come to know concerning Him. If all you ever hear and consider is teaching and thinking that aligns itself with a lack of experience, then do not expect to receive because you will not believe what is needed to put yourself in the right place to receive what is truly promised. Believing precedes receiving.
Another Gospel
Do you know the true gospel?
What parent would be happy with someone of influence coming to their child and saying they did not legitimately belong to the parents?
Do you know a parent who would enjoy someone attempting to sow into their child’s mind and heart the idea that they were unloved and unappreciated by their parents?
Can you grasp the profound sense of betrayal a parent feels when someone attempts to turn their child against them? This is often done by promising better care and casting doubt on the parent’s intentions.
These are all examples of someone declaring a report other than the one the original parent declared to attract a child to themselves and away from the legitimate parent.
This is what was happening to the church in Galatia. Paul, as an apostle, had proclaimed the gospel to these believers regarding the work of Christ and what it meant for their lives, but men devoted to the law and the Jewish ways had come to them and began to call into question the good things Paul had taught them. It was no small matter to Paul, nor was it a nonissue to the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Getting the gospel right is not a small matter with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always faithful to Christ’s reputation and the truth that makes Jesus known for who He truly is. The Holy Spirit is committed to accurate communication regarding Jesus’s work. That is why the Holy Spirit moved Paul to write this to the church at Galatia and have this same communication shared with the churches in that region.
Paul reveals here that someone has come sharing news of a different sort than what he first shared with these Galatians. The things these imposters are teaching them are contrary to what Paul taught them concerning Jesus. These men are shifting their faith and confidence from Jesus’ finished work to looking to themselves and what they can do in the sense of devotion to merit a relationship and favor with God. These men were devoted to the law, and it led to another gospel being preached than the one Paul had originally preached to these Gentile people. Paul said it was perverting the gospel!
A mixture of law and grace is a perversion of the gospel. It spawns confusion and a lack of confidence. It creates another gospel that really is no gospel at all. Such preaching appeals to the flesh and seems to have a high level of devotion to it. It is another gospel! Do not be taken by such a gospel as were these Galatians. Paul’s warning still stands firm today. His bold rebuke is still just as powerful, too. This matter of getting the gospel right is so important to Paul that he decrees a curse against any who would preach another gospel other than the one he had preached to these Galatians. You get the sense that righteous indignation arose in Paul, the same as a loving parent’s anger would be aroused if someone were trying to deceive and lead away their child. I never want to be found preaching another gospel, and I seek to equip those whom God has committed to my care and influence with the gospel Paul preached. Getting the gospel right matters!
Blessing Or Cursing
You have a choice!
We make choices every day of our lives on some level. Some may be small, seemingly insignificant choices, while others are major and life-altering.
There’s no way anyone can deny the fact that our choices impact our lives.
Scripture speaks of a curse that can result from a wrong choice.
Galatians 3:13 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.
Being under the law means being under a curse. Choosing to look to the law for how to live as if it could lead to our being right with God in any way is a curse. It is a curse because such thinking is wrong to start with, and being attached to the law in this way cannot do anything for us. No one has kept the law, and Jesus did not die to make us able to keep it in our flesh.
To make the law the central issue is a wrong premise to start with. The promise of Christ was the central issue way before the law was ever given. Christ Jesus is meant always to be the central matter of importance and the object of our faith.
Galatians 3:15 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. 18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
The promise of God was to Abraham and his Seed singular. It was a messianic promise! It was a promise of a redeemer to come. This promise was made 430 years before the law ever came into existence. The idea of the New Covenant existed well before the law, and the law cannot make it of no effect. The law cannot replace this promise, nor can it fulfill it.
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; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.
When it says God is one, it is talking about the fact that the New Covenant is mediated between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The law was mediated between God and man, and man has never kept up his end of that bargain. That is why the law brings a curse. Unless a person keeps it perfectly at every point, they are guilty of violating it at every point—that minister’s condemnation and death.
Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
To live under blessing, one must live in Christ alone and have faith in Christ alone for a relationship with God. Thinking there is another way to have and experience a relationship with God is deceptive thinking and practice, and it cannot bring blessing. It can only bring you under a curse.
The Blessing Of Abraham
How blessed are you?
Abraham, revered as the Father of Faith, holds a pivotal role in the history of the New Covenant despite living centuries before its establishment in Christ.
When the Lord asked Abraham to let go of the most important promise He had ever given to him, Abraham obeyed and was ready to go all the way with it. But the Lord stopped him at the very last second and then declared another promise to Abraham, a promise of which we are all partakers.
Genesis 22:16 .. “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Notice what it says here, “In your seed,” singular, not plural. This is speaking of Jesus, in whom we have been made alive and hidden. Notice also what it says will happen through this seed. The nations of the earth shall be blessed! Not cursed!
Believers in Jesus are blessed! You don’t have to take my word for it; you can read it for yourselves.
Galatians 3:7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
True sons of Abraham are those who are of faith in Jesus! The promise accompanying this is a promise of blessing. Abraham is a picture of a life of blessing. God was with him and called Abraham His friend.
A close relationship with God is the greatest blessing there is. Being made one with God just as Jesus was and is one with God is a great blessing! It accords with the prayer of Jesus in John 17.
John 17:20 “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
Jesus has shared His glory with us. What glory? The glory of an unbroken, unfettered, and deep relationship with the Father! Being made one with Him through Christ!
We are now hidden in God with Christ. We get to live every day in His favor, and we expect to be blessed as we go through this life. We are His beloved because we are in the beloved Son. It is our position in Christ that affords us this great honor and glory! It is not based on what we have done or will do. It is based on who we have been placed in. It is our identity in Christ that gifts us with such privilege and blessing. This is why it says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”
There is no greater honor and no greater glory than knowing Jesus and being known by Him. I live in the blessing promised to Abraham because the Seed promised is my Lord and Savior!
As He Is
How loved are you?
I remember when my sons were very young, probably around 5 and 8 years of age, and they behaved badly while I was away at work. Their mother had tried to reel them in with no success, so she told them their father would deal with them whenever he got home and spent the day embellishing just how much trouble they were in and how seriously they would be punished for it. She embellished it in such a way as to increase their dread of my arrival home. Ordinarily, they would be excited at my arrival home as it meant a loving greeting, a time of fun and play full of smiles and laughter. But this day was going to be different.
After arriving home, they did not greet me as normal. They were in their room, hoping not to see me. So, after being briefed by my wife as to how the day went and how, even after they had been warned about what might happen if they did not stop, they continued. I made my way to their room to address the matter. When I arrived in their room, I found them sullen and afraid. My youngest son, standing next to a toy bin, had a look of dread on his face. When I explained why he must be punished and told him to come near, he frantically took hold of a toy lightsaber from the bin and began waving it in the air. I asked him what he was doing, and he blurted out, “I must protect myself.” I could not help but bust out laughing, but I had to follow through on helping him understand the importance of obeying his mother when I was away at work. There was no denying that his fear of punishment led him to act out in an uncharacteristic way towards me. His mother had so effectively sown a fear of punishment into him that he behaved erratically at that moment. He definitely did not exhibit any confidence in my love for him at that moment.
I shared that story to set up the point that there is an undeniable power in an unwavering revelation of Christ’s love. It’s a power that transcends any other form of love we may experience in life. Consider the following passages of Scripture.
1John 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
This phrase, “As He is, so are we in this world,” has been used in different ways for different reasons.
I desire to take it as it is presented in its context here and share what my takeaway is from it.
The context deals with the expectations of a day of judgment and how we are forever changed when we understand and embrace Christ’s love. The terminology “As He is, so are we” speaks of His right, unbroken, and perfect relationship with the Father. There’s no separation between Christ and the Father; they are seated together in oneness of fellowship in heaven.
I wonder if John had Jesus’ prayer in John 17 in mind as he wrote this. In it, Jesus prayed that we would be one with the Father and the Holy Spirit just as He was one with them.
I believe that John is saying that the Father’s love is perfected among us so that we can walk in an uncommon boldness in this world—the kind of relationship boldness Jesus has with the Father right now in heaven. We get to live free from a sense of pending judgment and separation based on the merit of Christ on our behalf. We get to walk in the revelation knowledge of our oneness with God and are therefore we are confident and assured in this life that we will never be separated from His love, just as Christ is confident and assured of His relationship right now with the Father. We can walk assured of our relationship with God!
It’s powerful when someone lives no longer afraid of being cast aside and forgotten because they are so convinced of being loved with everlasting love. They do not live every day worrying about whether or not they have done something that will bring them to such a final judgment that it will result in their being punished and cast away forever. They do not live life looking over their shoulder, worried a punisher is pursuing them. Those without Christ should know such a fear, but those in Christ should not.
Hebrews 2:14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
“As He is” involves walking in relationship confidence, being totally aware of my union with the Father in Christ, being assured of His love, and being free from fear of separation. How well do you know God’s love for you? Is it with an “As He is” level of revelation?
Greater Things
What can you do?
Jesus spoke some interesting things that have garnered much speculation throughout the generations. Just because what He spoke generated speculations does not mean it wasn’t true. Jesus never lied. He only spoke the truth. One such saying is found in,
John 14:9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
I have heard some speculate that what Jesus is talking about here is a time when advances will be made, and more people will be reached because of them. Technologies such as Radio, Television, Social Media, Medical and Scientific advances, and so on. They are so grounded in natural solutions that the idea of anything supernatural escapes their thinking. They actually prefer manmade solutions over supernatural ones.
However, the Scriptures show that this word from Jesus was fulfilled already after His death, resurrection, and ascension. What it reveals is very supernatural indeed.
Did Jesus ever heal anyone with just His shadow? Peter did.
Acts 5:12 And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also, a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
Did Jesus ever heal anyone or cast out demons by sending handkerchiefs or aprons from His body to them? Paul did.
Acts 19:11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
I can personally testify to having sent a handkerchief to someone sick and having them be healed instantly. I’ve only done it once, but it was miraculous nonetheless.
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 gift of the Holy Spirit comes with power, not in some abstract, weak way that is difficult to discern. When the Holy Spirit comes on a believer with power, it transforms them into witnesses.
A church without the power of the Spirit has lost its witness and will miss out on doing the things Jesus did and even greater things. As believers in Jesus, in these last days, we need the Holy Spirit more than ever. Greater things await those who will believe and receive all that He has to offer them. What might He have in store for you? The only way to ever find out is to surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to use you the way He desires. Ask Him to fill you to overflowing and use you as a witness for Christ, and then enjoy the adventure He will take you on as a result.
Strong Faith
How strong is your faith?
I remember a time when I went to my prayer room to spend time alone with my Father, and a strong sense of the enemy entered the atmosphere. This presence that wasn’t supposed to be there was interrupting my time. At that moment, I also sensed that my Father was not happy with what was transpiring.
Now, some may find my experience unusual, but I am undeterred by such thoughts. I know what I experienced. In the moment of my Father’s disapproval, I boldly declared, “Devil, if I were you, I would flee from here because you’ve made my Father angry.”
Immediately, the atmosphere was clear, and I continued with my fellowship time. It was sweet and powerful, and answers to prayer came out of that time.
It is the place of an intimate, active relationship where strong faith happens. For instance, we read:
Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac, your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.
Interestingly, this is speaking of the greatest challenge Abraham ever had to face in his life. Abraham needed a strong faith to press through this challenge. We see how this describes the faith Abraham had, but we need to inquire about where such a faith sprang forth from.
Abraham had been in fellowship with God, and much of that fellowship centered around the promise of Isaac as the promised child. Destiny and the future hinged on this boy, and yet this very strange request from God came to Abraham. Abraham knew how to hear God because Abraham was in a real relationship with God.
We discover that Abraham could follow through in obedience to God with this request because he had faith rooted in a certain type of reasoning based on what he had come to know about God.
Abraham concluded that God could raise Isaac up, even from the dead. Abraham was so convinced that God would keep His word of promise to him that he could follow through with whatever God asked of him, even if it looked like it might bring an end to the promise he had received from God. It was not so much merely resurrection itself that Abraham believed. It was that God would bring about a resurrection in order to keep His word of promise.
Abraham’s faith was grounded in who God is to him. Abraham knew God, and as a result, Abraham was able to bring forth an obedience to God that exceeded the rational of most people. Abraham walked in a strong faith because he had a strong relationship with God and had come to know God on a deep level. Abraham’s relationship with God was not based on ideas about God that he could not argue against. Abraham was truly convinced of the things God had revealed to Abraham about Himself. For this reason, when something that would not make sense in the natural came up, Abraham was still able to push forward in a strong faith, knowing God would be true to who He was, and all would come out according to the first promise that was made.
Knowing God personally beyond a mere cerebral approach matters. Merely knowing things about Him based on what others have said does not empower strong faith. Knowing Him based on Him intimately revealing Himself is what it takes to have strong faith. This is His invitation to taste and see that He is good and to spend time with Him with the purpose of getting to know Him even better.
If you desire a strong faith, then I would encourage you to invest in the call to taste and see that He is good and make spending time with Him your highest priority in this life. This world needs to see a strong faith alive in the church, and it begins with each of us as believers.
Real Faith
Do you believe?
Real Faith
In Genesis 15 of the Bible, we see that Abram believed in God, and God accredited this belief to him as righteousness.
Abram’s faith was not just ignited; it was a transformative force, a beacon of hope, when God revealed Himself to him in a vision as Abram’s shield and exceedingly great reward.
In that exchange, we find Abram’s faith in God regarding how God has declared Himself to be to Abram sparks the ability for Abram to bring a very important and pressing need to God.
Abram had no heir! Abram brought this very important matter up to God, who did what He is so good at. God tells Abram an heir will come from his own body; it will not be Eleiezer, your servant.
But God doesn’t stop at an heir with Abram. God does what Paul described in Ephesians when he said; God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond anything we could ask or think.
God takes Abram outside his tent during the night and tells him to look up at the stars and see if he can number them. Of course, we know there’s no way. Then God tells Abram that will be what his descendants are like; they will outnumber the stars of the heavens.
At first, Abram’s imagination went as far as a single heir. God got involved because of the relationship and went way beyond Abram’s thoughts and imagination. But because Abram was in an exchange of relationship with God at that moment, he believed what God was showing him.
A real healthy relationship is filled with trust that is rooted in knowing the character of the party one is expected to trust. Abram had come to know God in such a way that he was able to conclude that God would not lie to him. He was able to even believe something outside the realm of what seemed possible in the natural so long as it was God saying it to him.
This very intimate and personal interaction with God is what fueled Abram’s faith in God.
Abram’s faith was not merely in what God said to him but in God himself.
Genesis 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Abram believed in the Lord! This terminology, Lord, implies the handing over of one’s life purpose and future to someone greater. Abram was aware of the greatness of God and that God’s character and nature were good.
After all, Abram started out being afraid until God said for him not to be. After telling Abram not to be afraid, God revealed His intentions toward Abram. I am your shield. Protector! And exceedingly great reward! Father, Friend, and Provider!
My ability to believe in God for protection and provision is rooted in what I know to be true concerning His character and nature and the availability of fellowship he has made possible. It is not rooted in things that I most desire that real faith is forged. The more my faith is in Him based on my knowing Him, the more I am able to trust Him and seek Him with regard to my needs and allow Him to speak into them and expand my imagination and faith to go further and higher than I ever thought possible. His desire will always be more than enough to meet my needs and beyond. If anyone wants real faith, they should endeavor to get to know Him better and take Him at His word regarding His disposition towards us now that we are in Christ. I know that he is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond anything I could ask or think, but I must also believe He desires to do just that if I am to posture myself to receive the good He desires to be and to bring into my life. Real faith knows how to enjoy Him and rejoice in being brought into union with Him. real faith knows Him!
Prepared
Are you ready?
Were you aware that studies have shown that a significant number of lottery winners experience financial difficulties? For example, a study conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education found that nearly 70% of lottery winners end up bankrupt within a few years.
These were people who were blessed with an inordinate amount of money at one moment in time. They went from a lower economic standing to one of the wealthiest. Sadly, they were not prepared for such a blessing.
There is a reason that sometimes an amazing, bountiful promise from God intended to bless a child of God takes time to appear. Take King David in the Bible as an example. His story teaches us the value of patience in waiting for God’s promises to manifest.
From the moment Samuel anointed David king to the moment David actually became king, there was a period of about 14 years. David was a teen when Samuel anointed him, but he was 30 years old when he actually became recognized as the king.
Things needed to be developed in David’s character to prepare him to be the king God knew he could be. These things would involve time, experiences, mistakes, and successes, all meant to shape David into the man he needed to be in order to rule and reign as king.
In other words, David needed to mature even though his heart was good before God and his motives were approved of by God; David needed to mature in order to rule and reign effectively as God desired him to.
Another great example of this is Ahimaaz in the Bible. Ahimaaz was a fast runner and was assigned along with another runner as someone who would take information from the battlefield to King David when ordered to do so. But this time, the King’s beloved son Absalom had been killed because of his rebellion, and such news required diplomacy and tact and needed to come from a different source than that of Ahimaaz.
Joab, the commander of the troops, dispatched a trusted Cushite to take the news to the king. But Ahimaaz kept coming to Joab, asking to run to the king. In other words, Ahimaaz was eager to do what he thought he was assigned to do, but he had no discernment regarding his level of understanding of it. Eventually, Joab gave in to his request to get him out of his hair.
Ahimaaz took off like a streak of lightning and actually outran the Cushite to get to David. When they announced that a runner was approaching, David commanded that they allow him entry before the throne. This was a big moment for Ahimaaz. It was what he had desired all this time. So they brought him in quickly before King David, and David asked him, “What news do you have of my son Absalom?” Ahimaaz spoke of how there was a great battle with much fighting, and the enemies of the king were killed, but Ahimaaz had no specific news of Absalom. Just then, they announced another runner arriving, and David had them bring him before him. When David asked of his son Absalom from this runner, he answered, “Oh King, may it be of all your enemies as it is of your son Absalom who has fallen on this day.” Scripture tells us that David was moved in his heart and wept bitterly.
Preparation and timing matter, especially when it comes to entering into God’s promises concerning our calling, our present, and our future. If all of His promises were to manifest immediately, we would not be prepared to embrace them and steward them well. Are you preparing to receive and walk in what He has promised you?
Receive
Will you accept?
I recently shared how having a word from God means having all that you need and how a word from God activates faith. Seeing the manifestation of faith involves receiving.
I can buy my wife a gift, but if she does not take hold of it, open it, and then utilize it according to its purpose for her benefit, it cannot do her the good I intended it to do.
Someone’s refusal to take advantage of a gift does not mean the gift was not given to start with.
God can make amazing promises in your life. However, if you do not know how to receive and use them, they will not benefit you, and you risk missing out on the blessings God has in store for you.
Let’s look at this in the Word.
Genesis 18:16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way. 17 And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, 18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
The first thing I notice is the friendship between God and Abraham, which is expressed in these Scriptures. God has just spoken a wonderful promise to Abraham regarding his heir and the generations to follow. It is a marvelous, long-sought-after promise intended to bless Abraham tremendously.
God’s intentions are clear in the promise of a good future and the longevity of Abraham’s family on earth.
Verse 19 stands out to me. “I have known him,” God says. God reveals an intimacy between Himself and Abraham and then goes on to reveal why this intimacy exists and what is at stake in it.
God is intimate with Abraham so that Abraham may command his children and his household after him with purpose. What purpose?
“That they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice.” Why does this matter?
“That the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
The promise is made, and the gift is prepared, but for it to benefit the recipient, there must be an act of receiving the gift. This case involves how Abraham leads his family.
Sometimes, people want to claim they have faith in God about something and expect it to be fulfilled without any thought of what such a promise might set them up for in order to be prepared for it. They want something that is outside of God’s ways and out of step with His character as if He were some kind of great cosmic genie that exists to do whatever they wish so long as they believe it.
They want things based on their own brand of faith, which is divorced from any kind of intimacy with God. It is a faith devoid of knowing who He is to them and what He is truly like. In so doing, they claim they are believing God for something but lack any wisdom or ability to properly prepare for what God actually wishes to do to bless them. As a result, they fail to see the promise come to fruition in their lives, and sadly, this can often result in an accusation that God did not come through for them. The reality is that they never learned how to receive according to God’s way and God’s timing. The giver of a promise determines the manner by which that promise will be realized, so it is important to get to know the giver. The first step to being a good receiver begins with a desire to really know the Giver. Knowing the character of the Giver strengthens one’s faith in the Giver’s ability to follow through on the promise made and be made aware of how to posture oneself to receive it when it arrives.