Abba Father !

The main thing  that the Holy Spirit  Cries today is Abba Father. Abba in the Greek means daddy . The Spirit is not crying out words of condemnation , criticism or anger , neither is the Spirit crying out things like you rebellious lazy Christian get to work , do more , try harder  or you’ll be cut off  and thrown out ! but the Spirit of God is crying Abba Father ! The Spirit under the new covenant is crying out words of Love ,acceptance,approval and No Condemnation !

 Romans 8:15-17  For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; 

It amazes me how we often overlooked the most obvious ! The most recognized and the most memorized scripture in the entire Bible is John 3:16 , For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. This is no coincidence . The main thing that God wants us to know and believe is how much He actually loves us and wants to restore us! it really doesn’t get too much more complicated then knowing and believing the love that God has for us . Religion has made Christianity much more complicated then it really is but the truth is that if we will simply believe and receive  the  great love that God has for us then this becomes the root that will in turn produce all kinds of incredible peaceable good fruit in and through our lives .

Now we also need to understand that Gods pure love does not begin with our love for God but by believing and receiving Gods great love for us.

1 John 4:10 This  is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 True Love always begins  with me  first receiving Gods love . It is only as I first receive Gods unconditional love for me  that I will then be able to become broadcasters of Gods love out to others

To the degree we receive Gods love will be the degree that we will then able to love others.

The old law way of love was about me trying my best to love God and to love others with all my heart , might, soul and strength . The only problem with this kind of self determined  love was that I couldn’t do it ! In fact the more determined I became to love others the more the spirit of slap came over

The old law  way kind of love could never be a perfect pure kind of love because the law was based more on the flesh trying to do it and fleshly love is very limited.                                                                                                                                                                          I remember one day a friend of mine came up to me and said ” Rick I love you ! And then after a short pause he then said ” God commands me to ! ” At that moment I thought you know this law based kind of love isn’t really that pure or from the heart, its more of a disciplined, fear based, mechanical kind of love . Then I realized that the new covenant  way of love does not begin with me at all but it always begins with God. The new covenant way  of  love always begins with our first believing and receiving Gods love for us..

This simple but powerful truth is a key that will unlock a lot of prison doors and set the captives free

1John 4:10 says ” Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

To know and believe that God unconditionally loves us and has completely forgiven us is the greatest truth that we can ever know and as we believe this truth it will set us free and keep us free from all fear .

1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear: because fear hath torment. He that fears is not made perfect in love. This perfect love is not speaking about our perfect love for God but Gods perfect love for us. As we continue to receive Gods perfect love for us then His perfect love for us will evict all unhealthy fear out of our lives which includes the fear of judgment .

The fear of judgment is not a healthy fear but an unhealthy fear!

1 John 4:18 says there is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. Isn’t it amazing how that Gods love wants to expel all fear of punishment but religion comes along with it’s law based theology and tells us that the fear of judgment is a healthy fear ! .  In fact many today actually cater on preaching the fear of punishment ! They will even go so far as to make you believe that one day God is going to pull out all the old movie reels of your life and then all your sins will be exposed to everyone in heaven and on the earth. The only problem with this theology is that its trying to put a fear in us that Gods love wants to expel ! Preachers who preach that those in Christ will give an account for sins are sincere but they are sincerely wrong! This is not new covenant theology! The new covenant says that all who have believed into Jesus are once and for all time forgiven, new creations in Christ and have been made the righteousness of God in Him! As far as our sins go God chooses to remember out sins no more! God is not going to bring our sins back up on the judgment day and when Jesus comes back He is not coming back to deal with our sin but to bring full salvation to all those who look for Him . Hebrews 9:28 . Hebrews 8:12-13 God says .. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. So what part of ” I will remember their sins no more do we not understand ?” Seems pretty clear to me. We need to understand that the law cries one thing but grace now cries another thing.

The law was constantly crying out guilty ! condemned ! , unworthy! , disqualified!, but the Spirit of grace is constantly crying out Abba Father, justified, forgiven , accepted, holy, worthy . In fact 2 Corinthians 3 tells us what the main ministry of the law was, it was to minister judgment, death and condemnation .

2 Corinthians 3:6-9 says. But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.

There are two ministries going on today. , the ministry of law and ministry of the spirit. The law cries one thing and the the spirit of grace is crying another.  The law cries guilty ! but grace cries out forgiven and accepted! The law cries condemnation but grace cries there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ ! Romans 8:15 tells us that we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but we have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Galatians 4:4-6 says ” when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. The main thing that the spirit of God is crying  in our hearts and wants us to know is that He is now our Abba Father and our Abba Father  wants us to believe that we are fully accepted and we are no longer servants but sons of God and all that He has now belongs to us.  Listen the devil knows the power of us believing the truth about Abba father so has gone to great lengths to keep most of us ignorant of this truth . Today we have more fatherless children then ever and many of us that did have fathers only knew very harsh, corrective and often very abusive fathers. This has kept many of us from seeing God as our true loving Abba father but God is helping us to once again grab a hold of this  vital truth so that we can then be free from all condemnation and  fear.

Unbelief is the Root of all bad Fruit

Righteousness by faith is the main truth under attack today .

If satan can pull us out of faith righteousness and pull us back into self righteousness then he has us right where he wants us. Self righteousness is unbelief . It’s unbelief because it does not believe the report of 2 Corinthians 5:21 . He who knew no sin became sin that we would be made the righteousness of God in Him . Self righteousness will say yes I know it says that but I must still do certain things to maintain my right standing with God . Satan knows that all bad fruit comes from the root of unbelief . Unbelief is the root that will produce all kind of extreme bad fruit in our lives from condemnation to extreme blind pride. When we are in unbelief about our righteousness in Christ then we will naturally move into self righteousness and either see ourselves as condemned, unworthy sinners always falling short of what God wants us to be or we will find our selves constantly comparing ourselves with others and then boasting in all that we do for God , while at the same time judging and criticizing others for what they do or don’t do for God We’ve all heard the old saying ” You may be a Red Neck if ” well here’s a different version ” You may be In self righteousness if .. You always find yourself under constant condemnation or you find yourself always boasting in what you do for the Lord while at the same time criticizing others for what they do or do not do for The Lord ” in any case it will always be about you ! Instead of promoting the gospel of Christ , You will be promoting the gospel of you ! I’ve always said the trinity of God is the Father , Son and the Holy Spirit but the devils trinity is Me , Myself and I ! Self Righteousness will always shift your attention away from Christ and the finished work of the cross and back to you.We know we are in faith righteousness when ” there is now no more condemnation and when all our boasting is not in ourselves but in Christ and in the finished work of the cross. Faith righteousness is the ax that cuts out all self righteousness in our lives.

The enemy will often use sincere misguided ministers to preach thundering messages like ” Christ died for you so what are you doing for Him? ” now on the surface this sounds good and reasonable but it’s all so wrong! . This kind of message implies that we need to get busy doing a lot of stuff to pay Jesus back for all that He’s given to us. This would be like me giving someone a gift and then telling the person that I gave the gift to that they need to get busy working for me to pay me back for the gift that I had just given them! We need to understand that Gods grace and faith righteousness are absolutely free gifts from God with no strings attached ! Grace and Right standing with God can never be achieved but can only be received with thanksgiving. Today we are righteous not because of what we do but because of what Christ has already done for us.

The only way to overcome and reign in this life is not when we become radical achievers but it’s when we become radical receivers! In Gods kingdom right believing and right receiving always proceed right doing. Right believing leads to right doing but we can never get the cart before the horse.. Right doing is really a fruit of our right believing. True faith will reveal righteousness.

Romans 5:17 For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)

God wants us to become radical receivers ! As we become radical receivers then the radical fruit of good works will begin to manifest in and through our lives.

As believers in Christ we are called to be like radio receivers! We know that before a radio can make any broadcast it must first be tuned into the right channel ( For the Christian that would be the grace channel ,not the law channel! ) once we are tuned in to the right channel we are then able to freely receive the grace transmissions of God. We need to understand that when Jesus said ” it is finished” that God at that point began transmitting His abundant grace and His free gift of righteousness from the cross to anyone who will simply receive His transmissions and as we continue receiving Gods transmissions of abundant grace we will then be bare fruit and become fully equipped and enabled to then broadcast the sweet song of redemption and great grace to the rest of the world.

To begin in grace and then go back to the law and a performance based righteousness is really to get off the grace channel and to go back to the flesh channel. The only thing you’ll find yourself broadcasting on the flesh channel is a lot of religious noise, static and a lot of plain dead air ! No one wants to listen to static ! Static on a radio becomes annoying real quick and so does religious static! Much of the world today is more annoyed by what Christians say then they are blessed and why are they annoyed? Is it because the world is just stubbornly resisting the truth? or could it be that many Christians are on the wrong channel and broadcasting a lot of annoying static? Many today are not on the grace channel but the condemnation channel , so whatever they are taking in is what they wind up broadcasting out !

There is a mass exodus taking place in many of our church’s today. We are seeing a lot more back door revivals then front door revivals! And why are so many leaving the church ? Well first their leaving because of all the static that’s being broadcast from the pulpits every Sunday!

Many are getting tired of all the self righteous , law based sermons that are constantly scolding them and reminding them of what they should or should not be doing to be right with God .

Many sheep are leaving because they are tired of getting beat every time they walk through the church doors ! They are tired of dead Religion and dead preachers preaching dead sermons and they are tired of all the politics in church. I mean they get enough politics in the world they sure don’t want to come to church and get more politics. The gospel is not about bad news, it’s about good news from a good God ! When we assemble together it should not to get a good beating but to get a good feeding ! It should be for a time of encouragement and edification , not discouragement and depression ! It’s very sad when the place that you really need to make sure to have the full armor of God on, is not when you go out into the world but it’s when you go into most church’s ! Instead of being convinced of our righteousness in Christ we often hear messages trying to persuade us about unrighteous we are . The devil often uses many preachers as his bows men to shoot his flaming arrows of condemnation and guilt that in turn keeps the church suppressed ,beat down and defeated .

All Self righteousness really began in the Garden through a lie. In the good old simple days before the fall and before everything got so complicated Adam and Eve simply walked with God and enjoyed God . There was no sweat , not stress , no fear , no condemnation , there was only peace, acceptance , love and great joy ; it was really heaven on earth . Then one day Adam and Eve decided to listen to the lies of the serpent and eat from the tree of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil when they did this everything suddenly changed ! The Bible says that they began to experience feelings that they had never experience before, all of a sudden they found themselves very introspective and filled with fear , shame and condemnation. Adam and Eve had never experienced fear and shame before but these feelings caused them to then run and hide from the very presence of the one that they use to walk with and enjoy .The tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the tree of independence, self effort and self righteousness. The tree of self righteousness will never give you confidence to draw near to The Lord but will always cause you to shrink back in fear from Him. Again the root of unbelief produced self- righteousness which on turn always leads to fear and condemnation .

God wants to heal us from O.C.D or Obsessive Condemnation Disorder . The way we are healed is by firmly believing Romans 8:1 that there is now no more condemnation for those who are in Christ and that we are now completely Righteousness in Him 🙂

If we are going to see good fruit in our lives then we must put the ax to the root of our self righteous tree. The ax is to believe in the finished work of the cross and and to believe we are righteous by faith . As we receive Gods free gift of righteousness apart from our own performance then our self righteous tree will be severed and cut off and instead of producing bad fruit we will begin to see Gods fruit spring up in our lives

The only true approved righteousness of God can only be received and never achieved

The Apostle Paul’s heart went out to his own country men
His desire was that they would be saved and receive the only true righteousness of God that would never come by keeping any law but by faith alone.

Romans 10:1-4 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believes,

It is not by keeping any Law that we are made righteous but it is only by believing in what Jesus has already accomplished for us at the cross.

When the New Covenant speaks of obedience its usually telling us to be obedient to the gospel
or obedience to the faith

Obedience to the faith is not to keep our focus on our obedience but to keep our focus on the obedience of Christ. Today we are not approved and made righteous because of our own perfect obedience but because of Christ’s perfect obedience.

Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 The essence of all warfare is not to focus on our obedience but it’s to focus on Jesus obedience. As Bring our every thought back to HIS OBEDIENCE we will always reign in life . If our focus is on our obedience then the accuser will always have access to say ” How can you call yourself a Christian? Look at your pitiful obedience! Your not righteous , your not holy , you may not even be saved ! As long as we focus on our obedience then the devil wins but as we turn our focus away from our obedience for righteousness and instead turn our attention back to Christ we are more then conquerors..

The Letter Kills !

The law was given by Moses but grace and truth came by Jesus . The Law was given at a distance by Moses but Grace and truth came up close and personal by Jesus

The Letter kills but the Spirit gives life. The first miracle of Moses was turning water into blood resulting in death but the first miracle of Jesus was turning water into wine which resulted in life and celebration.

When the Law was given it was put inside the ark and hidden from view . The law was placed inside the ark and underneath the mercy seat .. Any one that looked at the law died in 1 Samuel a group decided to take a sneak peak at the
Law that was inside the ark and all 50,000 were instantly incinerated ! Remember the Raiders of the Lost Ark ? Even Indiana Jones had enough sense not to look at the contents inside the ark! , but today we who are very wise not only want to take the law out of the ark but we want to take the law , frame it and hang the law on our walls ! So what part of the scripture that says “the letter kills but the Spirit gives life do we not understand? ”

The law is called the ministry of death and condemnation.if you are preaching the law then your main ministry is death and condemnation ! Sad to say too many preachers who are still ignorant of the new covenant of grace are still preaching a mixed message of law and grace , Not realizing that they are killing their congregations softly with their law words every Sunday ! How do I know ? Well I use to be one of them ! But I have come to realize that God has not called us to be preachers of the old law but of the new covenant of grace and faith Righteousness.. Many say Rick why are you so passionate about all this law and grace stuff ? It’s called contending for the faith! and the law is not of faith. When we preach law we are actually being used by the enemy to move Gods people away from the faith and put them back under a yoke of bondage that Christ actually came to set them free from ! The law has more to with my performance and my obedience but grace has to do with Christ’s obedience! The law is my mown self effort of trying to earn or maintain my righteousness with God but grace and the faith says it’s not what I do that makes me righteous but it’s what Christ has already done for me! Jesus didn’t say ” it’s half finished ! ” and now it’s up to me to finish what he started No! He said ” it is finished !” And He says ” I am the author and finisher of your faith! Jesus said the work that He began in me that He would finish ! Grace says all that needed to be done for me to be righteous before God has already been done and now there is nothing left to do but to rest , believe and receive what has already been done and what The Lord is now doing in me. The law does not bring us into liberty it brings us back into bondage and blindness. The law puts a vail back over the hearts of those who were once set free by grace and makes them blind to the great love that God has for them . The law will cause those who were once very confident about Gods love for them become filled with fear and uncertainty. The law will cause us to turn our eyes from Jesus and back to ourselves , from Christ centeredness back to Self Centeredness . The law will cause us to be filled with guilt and condemnation instead of peace and Love . The law like Adam will cause us to look for fig leaves and send us running from the presence of God ! But As we begin to see the truth about Gods grace the vail that was once placed over out hearts will come down and the blinders that have been placed over our eyes will come off . As the law glasses come off and the grace come on then the bible we read will not be a confusing book that’s hard to understand but it will become a crystal clear life book . Reading the bible under the law is kind of like going to watch a 3d movie without the 3d glasses everything is distorted and fuzzy but when grace comes everything that once was fuzzy seems becomes crystal clear and scriptures even begin to just leap off the page ! When Jesus said it is finished the vail that separated us from God was torn by God Himself from the top to the bottom but to often Religion will then take a needle and sew the curtain back up ! Religion is afraid of freedom ! Religion fears that if people know that their too forgiven that they will run wild in sin ! Religions feels it must keep the law to keep order and control ! Religion insists that the dog must be kept on a leash or the dog might just run off ! Religion does not understand that the new restraint of Grace is Gods Love and that Gods love is our new restraint , not the law. Religion will rob you of your confidence toward God and make you shrink back in uncertainty from God but grace restores our confidence . Those under grace can always come confidently into Gods presence because they do not come in based on their own merits but they come in by the blood of the lamb !

Those who understand grace always come boldly into Gods presence because they are not coming in on their own merits but they are coming in by the blood of the lamb.

IN – Part 1

IN

The word in is probably one of the smallest words in the Bible but reveals one of the greatest truths , revelations and realities in the new covenant . I have to be honest and say that I have never been more excited to write on a subject as I am writing on right now and it all has to to with this one two letter word IN.The one little word IN is a game changer , it changes everything . This one little word IN is really what the entire New Covenant is all about. As we begin to recieve the revelation of this word IN then we will also begin to partake of everything that God has already given to us in Christ, if we don’t understand this little word IN we will then probably continue to wander in the wilderness and miss out on most all that God has has already given to us in Christ, instead of a right now reality Gods promises will only be a one day in the sweet by and by hope.

First the word IN is a primary preposition denoting a primary fixed place or location. The word IN expresses the situation of something that is now enclosed or surrounded by something else. The word IN also expresses the motion with the result that something ends up within or surrounded by something else. Now in the natural world the word IN could be used like the clothes are IN the washer or the kids are IN the car but in the spiritual world the word IN shows the new fixed eternal place that we as believers are now IN .

Now that we understand what the word IN means let’s see what the Bible says about the word IN in relationship to our new position in Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:17 KJVS
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

The Bible tells us that as born again believers that we are now IN Christ. we are surrounded by Christ . We have been been enveloped by Christ. In fact we are so IN Christ we have actually become one with Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.

We are no longer separate from Christ because we are now IN Him. This is vital spiritual reality that we must know because If we still see ourselves separate from Christ then we will find ourselves still struggling and working hard to get close to Him but when you see yourself IN Christ then all striving to get close to Him will cease and instead of striving we will find ourselves resting in the reality truth of already being IN Him.

Now because we are now IN Christ we are also become new IN Christ. If anyone is in Christ He is a new creation old things are passed away and all things have become new.

What does new mean? New means something that has never existed before, new does not mean new and improved . You know like the tide commercials that you have seen over and over for years and every other month they come put with another new and improved version of the same old soap! No new creation means something that has never existed and when you said yes to Jesus the old you that you use to be in Adam is gone and the new you was created in Christ.

Now someone might say ” yeah but if I’m new why do I still feel like the old me? This has to do with your soul part of you or your mind, will and emotions . Your spirit has been made brand new and is as perfect as Christ and now your mind needs to catch up and be renewed with the new real you . Romans 12:2 as our mind and thoughts line up to who we are now IN Christ then the Bible says we will be transformed from the inside out !

Real transformation can only take place as we know and believe who we really are now IN Christ. As we see His glory IN us and as we see our new selves in Him and Rest in this reality truth we will be changed even by the Spirit of The Lord from glory to glory.

2 Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

The entire new covenant has all to do with this one little word IN

In fact it is such a vital truth that I am shocked that there have been very little to almost no sermons preached on it.

The word IN was one of the main words in the Lord’s Prayer.

John 17:21-23 NLT
I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one— as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. “I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. …

As we walk in and rest in the revelation that we are now in Christ and He is in us we will become one which will become the greatest witness that the world has ever seen.

Is Bible Faith Scary?

Is Bible faith scary ? Yes it is ! in the natural the Bible  kind of faith is often very scary because the God kind of faith goes against the norm and rarely makes any sense. The God kind of faith often tells us to believe something that we cant always see , touch or feel . The natural kind of faith says Ill only believe it after I see it ! but the God kind of faith says the very opposite .The God kind of faith says I will only see it after I first believe it , I don’t need to see it , I trust God and if God said it I believe it and that settles it ! Again the God kind of faith says that I will see it only after I first believe it ! but again the natural man demands solid proof first and says no! I must see it first before I will believe! . I must touch it first ! I must feel it , I must test it out, it must make sense before I will believe it .. Sad to say many Christians today are operating more in a natural kind of faith than the God kind of faith but God wants to change this . One of the biggest ways that we limited God is by refusing to believe until we first see it .

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

John 20:29
Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Jesus said there was coming a people,who would never see Him the way the original disciples saw Him yet they would still believe . The people that Jesus spoke of was actually us! And Jesus said that we would be even more blessed then they were !

All through the scripture God has been trying to move His people from the natural seen , sense realm into the unseen, supernatural realm. The supernatural realm to the natural man appears to be nonsense because it makes no sense! For example when Peter stepped out of a perfectly good boat to walk on water this seemed to make no sense at all and in the natural it didn’t make any sense, but what we need to understand is that the one who made the ocean is the same one who called Peter to step out of the boat ( the natural realm ) and into the supernatural realm ( walk on water ) . One thing we really need to understand is that Peter really did not walk on water but he really walked on the word of God! Anytime God speaks and tells us to step out and do something that we are walking on His word and His word is sufficient to hold us up !

Which brings me to my next point . There is a fine line between faith and stupidity .. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God . We are called to hear and respond to Gods word. Jesus didn’t not do things independently on his own .. Faith is not a magic formula but faith responds to the word and to the promises of God. If God has given us a promise then faith reaches out and will take hold to obtain what God has already promised. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith. We are not save by grace alone or by faith alone . Grace is what God has freely given to us through Christ and faith says I take hold of grace it is mine, it belongs to me .

Faith says that I am righteous because it is a free gift given to me by God. The Bible says that it was through one mans obedience that God made righteousness available to me and that one man was not me but it was Jesus ! and be a use Jesus obeyed I now have been given the gift of righteousness that God will never take back! Romans 5:19

Have you ever been given a gift by someone that you couldn’t wait to take back? They say the day after Christmas is often busier then any day even before Christmas because people are busy brining back gifts that they either do not want or that they want to exchange for something else. Well I’ve got good news today! The gift of righteousness that God has freely given to us in Christ is not only something that you will never want to take back but God is not taking it back either!

As the old song goes you are signed , sealed , delivered and you now belong to God!

The other day as I was speaking on the phone to my daughter I asked her ” so what did you get me for Christmas ? She said I got you something that you can’t take back! And then the thought came to me isn’t it wonderful that God has also given us a gift that He will never take back !

Faith believes that God has given us a gift that neither we nor He will ever take take back..

We who have been made the righteousness of God in Christ believe that we have been forever joined to The Lord.

Now again faith often looks scary because it’s seems risky.. But we need to understand that without faith we cannot really please God or advance in what God has called us to be in this life.

I heard someone say yes faith seems risky but even a turtle has to stick it’s neck out before he is able to move forward. Real fruit grows is out on a limb. god has called us to step,out to get out on a limb and trust that He will show up ! That He will come through for us.. He always has and He always will!

When God brought His people out of Egypt the first thing they faced was a Red Sea in front of them and an Egyptian army behind them but God said don’t worry be happy ! stay in rest and move forward and you will see the salvation of The Lord ! As Gods people,began to respond in faith to what God said in spite of what they were seeing in the natural then their miracle took place. Faith always moves forward in response to Gods word and in rest . We are called to rest in Gods word even when it goes beyond all human reasoning and understanding. Yes faith is scary a times. We wonder if God will really show up if I move out? But God says trust me just look over your shoulder I’ll be there and. I’m always on time.

Yes the Promised land was full abundance but it was also full of Giants ! The reason that Gods people didn’t enjoy what God had already given them is because they were afraid that God wouldn’t show up and help them with the obstacles in front of them . How often have we hesitated to move out until we know that everything makes sense and is smooth sailing! So instead of living in houses that they did not build and eating from vineyards that they didn’t plant Gods people wound up wandering is a wilderness for 40 years.. Today we have a lot of wilderness wanderers . Wilderness wanderers were still taken care of by God simply because God is love and that’s what love does but wilderness wanderers are those who refuse to live by now faith.. Wilderness wanderers often have yesterday faith and tomorrow faith but not a lick of faith for today .

Many in church’s today know that they are walking in dry wilderness places and that the wilderness is not a great place to be but it s familiar and safe but I believe that God is calling us out from our safe places of the natural below the line living into the place of supernatural above line living but it’s only by grace through faith that we will ever get there.

We are not suppose to live by programs and formulas but by faith. The just are called to live by faith , not programs , not by site but by faith . God is calling us to step out of our natural seen safe boats and to step out on to the supernatural waters of faith.

Work it Out !

Work it Out !

Philippians 2:12-13 KJV
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

What is this scripture really saying ? Well first of all it is not telling us to work hard for our salvation and it is not telling us ” now that we are saved that we better roll up our sleeves and get busy working hard to maintain our salvation” ) . It is not telling us that we better read our bibles, pray every day, attend church every week, go on a mission trip at least once a year, and for goodness sake never miss paying your tithe! because you know that God is watching and keeping score on who’s working and who’s not working ! Isn’t it amazing how that we often treat God like He is some kind of angry Santa Clause coming to town ? That God is making a list and He’s checking it twice and He knows who’s being naughty and who’s being nice ? . This kind of twisted teaching often leaves us thinking that grace is free but this free thing really had some stings attached ! God only used Grace as the hook to get is to say yes to Jesus but now that we are in we’d better work hard to maintain what He’s given us or we might just loose it all ! This kind of thinking reminds me of some shady time share salesman . We have some time share salesmen in myrtle beach that will often call people over and ask them ” so how long there in town for ? and if they would like some free show tickets ? and of course we know that free does not always mean free . I’ve actually seen many in myrtle beach reject these so called free ticket offers because they know there’s a catch and that free isn’t really free and sometimes I wonder if this is why so many reject Christ today ? In there minds they hear free but they often see sad Christians bound in religion working hard to maintain this so called free thing . We all know that most of the time when the world offers you something for free that you better always look for the stings that are attached to this so called free thing but with God we need really do need to understand that grace and righteousness really are free and that there really are no strings attached to it. Grace is free to us but Grace was not cheap! because it cost God His only Son. Jesus really did pay the full price for all of our sins and to become all that God has called us to be. The only thing that God has asked us to do is to believe and receive what He has already bought and paid for.

Grace is not one of those shady deals free now but you’ll pay for it later. There are no strings,attached , no catch , no hook! There is no receive free now but after you receive you’d better work hard to maintain it because if you don’t then God is going to come back and take back what He gave as a gift. This is not what this scripture is saying when it tells us to ” work out our salvation” This would make God like a slick time share salesman ! What the apostle Paul was really telling us was that we need to work out ( not work for ) what God has already worked in or already put inside of us! The main key to this entire scripture is actually in the next verse that says ” for it is God that is at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. So according to this verse who is the one that’s really working? God is. God is working in us both to will and to do His good pleasure, so how do we work out what’s already been worked in?

The answer may surprise you! How we work out what has already been worked in ? We do it through Rest ! As we Rest , Believe and are confident that God is actually at work in us to bring about His good will and good pleasure then what has been worked in will be worked out! As we Rest then God works !

Every manifestation of God is accomplished through Faith And Faith always equals Rest !

Hebrews 4:3 Those who believe enter into His Rest

Faith believes that God is for me and is working in me and to transform me in all that He has called me to be. As I continue to believe and rest in what God has already accomplished through the cross and what God is now doing in me then I will see the manifestation of what I believe. Remember in Gods kingdom right believing always proceeds right living. As I believe first I will then see the manifestation of what I believe.

Christians who are full of fear and anxious wondering of they are doing enough or accomplishing enough to please God before He comes back are not in rest or faith..

One of the biggest tricks of the spin doctor (satan) is to draw us out of rest and into a panic performance , fear driven gospel .

So what about the fear and trembling part? Isn’t this telling us that we need to be afraid of God and that we’d better get busy doing a bunch of stuff for God because God may take his belt off and punish us if we don’t ? No ! God is not a harsh , cruel, demanding employer and we are not Gods employees ! God is our Father and we are His sons and God is love! God is not a child abuser ! And in case we have forgotten God is love and love is never cruel or demanding ! This word fear is really not telling us that we should be afraid of God because God is coming back to punish us if He finds that we haven’t been doing enough for Him. God is not standing in heaven with a giant clip board keeping score of what we have or have not done for Him. The word fear actually means to stand in awe! Paul is really telling us that we need to stand in awe of the fact that the God of the universe , the one who created all things has actually chosen to make His home inside of us! God is actually in us working in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. This means that we are not separate form God and that we are not alone trying to work this thing out before God comes back ! No ! God is not only with us but He actually lives is in us and is at work in us to reveal what has already been put inside of us.

Religion will tell us ” don’t stand there do something but the Gospel,says don’t just do something stand there. Our main call is to believe what has already been done and to believe that God is in us working in us to do His will and His good pleasure. Always believe that God is for you not against you. Romans 8:31-39 . Grace and Peace to all .

Returning to the New Norm

Returning to Normal .. The Bible says that the just or the righteous are suppose to live by faith and not by site (2 Corinthians 5:7) but I wonder sometimes how many of the righteous today really live more by site then by faith? We need to understand that faith is not just for initial salvation but faith is also for daily living. Living by faith is suppose to be our new norm.,To live by site rather then by faith is really to move away from living the normal Christian life and move back into an abnormal carnal way of living. Now for the world it’s very normal to live by site and not by faith , in fact the world says ” I will not believe it until I see it! ” But what’s normal for the world should not be normal for the church. The norm for the church should be the very opposite of what the world believes for we know that We will not see anything until we first believe it” Those who understand faith know that they must first believe before they will see any manifestation of what God has promised . It’s the same for righteousness. Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. Now according to Romans 1:17 how is the righteousness of God is revealed? The righteousness of God is revealed in and through me from faith to faith not from feeling to feeling but from faith to faith. What does this mean ? For example I don’t always wake up feeling righteous everyday , in fact sometimes I wake up feeling like an old heathen but my faith says it does not matter how I feel because I’m not righteous based on my feelings I’m righteous because Gods word tells me I’m righteous . In fact I’m just as righteous as Jesus is right now because I’m now in Him ! ( 2 Cor 5:21) We know that feelings can be like a yo-yo up one second and down the next . Feelings can even be like swinging on a swing, as the old country and western song use to say ” I’m just a swinging ) so feelings and emotions can swing up and down, back and forth and sometimes swing all over the place but we who have learned to live by faith and not by feelings have learned not to fix our attention on the swing of emotions but on where the swing is actually fixed! . Faith says ” It does not matter how I wake up feeling because I know that I’m still attached or fixed to Jesus who is the Rock of my salvation! faith will always choose to believe what God says in spite of what my feelings say. Faith will rest in the finished works of Jesus and faith says ” I am not righteous because of what I do but I am righteous because of what Christ has already done for me 2000 years ago. Faith says ” I’m not righteous because of my performance or even my obedience , I am righteous today because of one mans obedience and that one man wasn’t me but Christ . Romans 5:19 If we are walking in true faith then we will walk in rest and peace. Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Hebrews 4:3 says for we which have believed do enter into rest. The real test for true faith is rest and peace if we are walking in and living by faith we will find ourselves entering into both rest and peace , that will soon be accompanied with great joy . The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Romans 14:17,and the kingdom of God is the new norm that God has called all of us to enter into.

God is for You .

All fear and  bondage is a direct result of wrong thinking and or wrong believing. Proverbs 23:7 tells us as man thinks in his own heart so is he. If we think thoughts that are contrary to the truth of Gods word it will always lead us into bondage not freedom , however if we  begin to think right thoughts so that our thoughts line up with Gods thoughts then our right thoughts  will set us free from fear and bondage to enjoy all that  God has already  freely given to us in Christ. The truth is that God has not called us to a life of bondage, struggle,frustration and condemnation but God has called us to a long life of Righteousness, Peace  and Joy in the Holy Ghost. If our life is constantly filled with fear ,condemnation and uncertainty it’s mainly due to our wrong thinking . Once again  wrong thinking will always rob us from partaking of all that God has already provided for us in Christ, wrong thinking will keep us from the table of The Lord. ( Psalm 23)  but right thinking will lead us out of every bondage and bring us back into Gods kingdom of life, peace and joy. Perfect peace will always come to them who’s mind is fixed on Him. Our biggest enemy today is not the devil , it’s right between our own two ears! Flip Wilson use to say the devil made me do it! But the devil can’t make us do anything no more then The Lord can make us do anything. God created us all with something called a free will. We choose what we will believe or not to believe. If we believe the father of lies then it will lead to bondage and destruction bot if we will choose to believe  the Father of lights then we will be free! And whom the Son sets free is free indeed! John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Believing the truth always leads to  real peace and freedom , believing a lie leads to fear and  bondage Isaiah 26:3  You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Now the word repent is an interesting word because it has to do with thinking. We have often used the word repent in reference to turning from sin but the word repent actually means to change our thinking or to change  our minds . Now of course God  does want us to  repent   Or change our mind when it comes to sin  because sin always leads to destruction . The Bible does say that there is a certain amount of pleasure in sin but it’ is always very short lived because when sin  is finished with us  it always leads to death, but  we also need to understand  that  sin is not the only thing that God wants us to  repent of or to change our minds about . God also wants us to change our minds about how we often wrongly view Him and His intentions toward us. God wants us to know  and to be convinced that His real intentions for us is not to harm us but to bless us and to fill  us with His peace. When most think of God they often think that God is stern and harsh , that God just wants to rain on our  parade . Many believe that God just wants to make life miserable for them by taking all their fun away . This may be religion but this is not God. In fact God is a happy God, a God who’s true nature is Love, Joy and Peace! and the truth of the matter is that God wants us to be so full of Joy that it overflows and splashes on everyone else around us! Religion has often given us a wrong view of God. God is not a stern old man with a long white beard that wants to be our life a miserable as possible. This is not the God of the Bible. God is a good God that only want us to be filled with His best.. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.   God wants us to repent  ( change our minds ) about how we have wrongly viewed Him and just simply believe the truth about who He really is and what His true intentions are towards us. The only thing Hod wants to do is Love us, embrace us and fill us with His kingdom. His kingdom is righteousness , peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost.. Have you ever had someone question your motives and intentions? Have you have done something for someone out of pure motives and with good intentions to maybe help someone or even bless someone and what you meant for good  then turned back around and bit you ? There is probably nothing more hurtful then when someone falsely accuses you or mis judges  you especially when the only thing on  your heart was one of love and good intentions for them. If I could ever get one message across that would have the biggest impact on any person  it would be this one . Please believe that God loves you and that Gods indentations are always for and never for harm.  In fact God loves you so much that He demonstrated His love when He gave His one and only Son just for you  so that you  could forever be free  to experience all the Joys of heaven.  

The Outflow of Ministry

All true ministry does not come as a result of formulas or programs but outflow and all outflow begins to happen when we begin to believe the true gospel. Once again right believing will always produce right living and right outflow.

What do I mean by outflow? outflow is what comes out of  our innermost being. Outflow is what you have already been given in Christ. We need to understand that when we received Christ that we also received of His fullness so that everything we will ever need to change and touch this world for Christ is already right inside each and everyone of us who have believed and received Christ. Have you ever wondered how the uneducated early church touch so many in their day? it was through outflow. The early church had no radios, television, literature, evangelistic programs yet they reached multitudes! how did they do it? They did it through outflow. The Spirit of God was flowing freely out of them like a Niagara river.

Listen to is what Jesus said about outflow.

John 7:38

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

What did Jesus mean out of his belly will flow rivers of living water? Jesus was speaking of  our inner most being that is out our Sprit will be a continuous  flow of grace, the spirit of God and the fullness of God.

We need to understand that we have a spiritual  artisan  well inside of us. This well was put inside of us when we received Christ and became a new creation in Him . The Bible says that when we received Christ, we also received of His fullness.

 John 1:17-17   And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace.                                                  

Everything we will ever need in this life has already been given to us in Christ..

Again we need to understand the source of all true ministry  does no come from our head but it comes from the outflow of the spirit. So if its out flow then why don’t we see more of Gods spirit flowing out for us?

The reason we don’t see more outflow is because of  stopped up wells !

Much of the church has allowed the enemy to stop up the well springs of life to keep the rivers from flowing out.

Lets read what Jesus said about this well of living water  to a certain women that he met at Jacobs well.

 John 4:13-14  Jesus  said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:  But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Jesus said out of our inner most being would flow rivers of living water and this water would be like an artesian well springing up and flowing out. This again is the essence of all true ministry. True ministry is more about outflow of the spirit from our inner most being then it is the carnal human wisdom and programs of man.

We have seen little out flow ministry because many of our wells have been stopped up.

In the Old testament we know that those who controlled the wells controlled the land and so the enemy would come and stop up the wells in order to take control of the land.

Genesis 26:15

For all the wells which his father’s servants had digged in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

We see that the wells that had been dug out in the days of Abraham which really represented the blessings and promises of God had been stopped up by the Philistines. Again the reason the enemy stopped up the wells was to control the land.

Many wells today have been stopped up and what have they been stopped up with? They have been stopped up with wrong theology, wrong belief systems , religion, formulas and methods, mixture of law and grace. Many of these things and others have been used to stop up the wells that have in turn kept the living waters from flowing out from our inner most being , but I believe we are living in the days when these stopped up wells will once again become unstopped and the rivers will flow freely and unrestricted , in fact there is going to be such an outflow that it will  become a Tsunami of Gods grace and power that will touch this world for Christ.

Genesis 26:18

And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham: and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them.

Isaac unstopped the wells that were stopped up by the enemy. Isaac represents the promise of God and the grace of God. As we turn from Ishmael ( the law ) and back to Isaac then the wells that have been stopped up for years will be unstopped and the rivers will flow once again.

We need to see each church and each person as a potential artesian well  for Christ because that’s exactly what they are. The reason we have seen so much of our land ( cities ) controlled by the enemy is because we have been trying to do ministry by the flesh instead of by the spirit and it will not work.

if Jesus needed the anointing to flow how much more do we not need the anointing to flow or do we think we are smarter then Jesus?

This next great move of God is not coming down to us it is going to flow out from us. Now that we are believing the right gospel which is the gospel of grace the wells are being unstopped and the rivers are flowing once again!

Ezekiel 47:9

And it shall come to pass, that every thing that lives , which moves , where ever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.

I believe this river that Ezekiel is speaking of  are the living waters that are soon to flow out from the church. These rivers  will bring healing and deliverance to everyone they touch and a great multitude of fish will be brought back from death  to life.

 

Miracle in the Wilderness

Can you imagine what kind of logistics & planning is required to feed & care for 2 to 3 million people in the hot wilderness?

In the modern scenario, taking from the experience of The Desert Storm of the American Forces in the Middle East, according to the Quartermaster General in the Army, say on the basis of feeding 2 to 3 million soldiers, Moses would require:

• 1500 tons of food daily
• 4000 tons of wood to cook the food each day
• 11,000,000 gallons of water each day for drinking & washing

It would have required Moses to have two freight trains, each as mile long to transport in the food. Similarly, it was necessary to freight in the firewood for the daily requirement. For the water, another freight train with tank carts, 1800 miles long would be necessary. There were no freight trains in the Biblical days!

What about accommodation & camping at the end of the day’s wandering? It’s estimated that a campground two-thirds the size of the State of Rhode Island was required, or a total of 750 square miles long!

Do you think that Moses figured all these logistics & mathematical problems out before departing from Egypt? What about the question of storage of food in a hot, stifling warehouse – so that food might be fit for consumption? The whole affair would require a logistics support team of science, engineering & packaging personnel.

These are just the basic & fundamental requirements & needs of the people, who lived & wandered in the wilderness not for a year or two but for 40 long years. Did we mention the need to clothe them against cold at night & clothing suitable for day’s heat?

Moses couldn’t have conceived all these problems before setting out of Egypt. Moses believed in God. God took care of these things for him. Everything that sustained the lives of the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness was well provided for by God. There was no logistics support team . . . just one miracle after another.

Lest we forget, getting across the Red Sea was a great miracle. Logistically, if they went on a narrow path, double file, the line would be 800 miles long and would require 35 days & nights to get through. So, there had to be space in the Red Sea, 3 miles wide so that they would walk 5000 abreast to get over in one night. Now if God did this don’t you think that just maybe He is able to also take care of our needs as well?