Thursday, May 12, 2005
Life Eternal
Eternal Life
Abiding in God’s love is the present experience of eternal life. In John 17:2-3 Jesus said, “Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. [3] "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
In these verses we find that eternal life comes from Jesus and can be defined as knowing God the Father and Jesus the Messiah; in essence, eternal life is a relationship with God. Eternal life is knowing God by experience, not just knowing about God, or believing in God. The point of redemption, on our end, is that we may experientially know God.
If we want to know what “knowing God” looks like, we must look at the Messiah’s relationship with His Father. Nobody ever has or ever will know God better than Jesus! Looking at Jesus is the best way to see spiritual truth. Our hearts might rebel, saying, “No let’s look at my own experience…” But the Bible says “Let’s look at Jesus.” So, what was Jesus’ experience of knowing God like?
Looking at Jesus
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:9,10)
In these verses, Jesus is giving us instructions for our relationship with Himself, but He is also revealing some important things about His relationship with the Father (after all, His relationship is the pattern for ours!) Here we see that Jesus knew that the Father loved Him. (“…the Father has loved Me”) We also see that He understood what this love for Him was like; how else can He say “just as He… I have also…?” So, Jesus knew His Father loved Him, and He experienced this love. Not only that, but He goes on to tell us that He abided in (remained in, stayed in, experienced an ongoing awareness of) His Father’s love. Jesus’ relationship with God was filled with receiving the love of His Father! This foundation established His relationship with Father. It is the core of a spiritually mature relationship with God. It is the experience of eternal life.
Looking at Jesus’ description of His experience, we see that knowing God includes interacting with holy love. For Jesus this meant the awareness of the affection, devotion, commitment, and approval directed toward Him. If you think the only times Jesus ever heard “You’re my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” were when God spoke “publicly,” you are probably mistaken. After all, Jesus said He abided in His Father’s love; this was an ongoing experience. Jesus wants us to have this same experience. We too are to live in the awareness of His affection, devotion, commitment, and approval for us. Jesus graciously commanded us to abide in His love because He desires His disciples to have the same relationship with Him as He had with the Father. We are called to an unimpeded, unhindered, ongoing fellowship with the risen Messiah right now.
Religion Revolts Against Abiding
Looking at the record of Jesus’ life, we also see that Jesus’ relationship with His Father (abiding in the Father’s love) produced fruit. This fruit was manifest in the living river of love and power flowing through Him to others. Jesus’ knowing Father’s love resulted in other people’s deliverance and salvation. In the same way, through abiding in His love, we will manifest the fruit of love towards others and experience the power to set them free from hellish strongholds. As men and women of God we will be enabled to go into situations and have God’s love revealed through us because we experientially know the heart and love of God.
Bearing fruit is the result of an ongoing encounter of His love. It is a result of the experienced reality (not merely the idea) of His love. Yet, there are some who resist this emphasis. There’s something about being commanded to stay in a conscious awareness of God’s love that rankles the religious view of reality; religion just doesn’t like to receive.
Religious motivation seeks to increase the load of overburdened souls. Religion generally hates the justifying work of the Messiah. Religion’s pathetically helpless pride hates the gift of imputed righteousness. Religion demands that we labor to earn absolution or toil to purchase pardon.
Sometimes religion bows to Jesus’ justifying work only to rebel at a different level. It manifests in resistance to the very reason justification has taken place; the experience of God. It is possible to pursue apparently noble goals (such as spiritual disciplines, personal holiness, or effectiveness in ministry) and ignore the whole point of redemption! The prophetic principle, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone” (Psalm 118:22) is constantly being fulfilled in our day. God is calling, “Come, get to know My love.” But religious scruples say, “Require me to do something burdensome.” Religion says, “Command me to flagellate myself. Obligate me to do something, anything, which is either unpleasant or punitive. Then I’ll feel better about myself. I can earn God’s love.”
This is whitewashed tomb language. This is the appearance of godliness rather than the heart of sanctity. The heart of sanctity is receiving. The heart of sanctity is loving God in response to the experience of abiding in His love. The heart of sanctity is grateful reciprocation to the act of love which brought about redemption. The heart of sanctity is a relationship with the God who is love. That is the heart of sanctity.
Jesus told us that there is one primary command. What does it say? Does it say, “You shall love the idea of God with all of your heart mind soul and strength. You shall love the information about Him.”? Does it say, “You shall love the ethical demands which proceed from Him with all of your heart mind soul and strength.”? Or perhaps, “You shall seek to serve Me and labor hard for Me with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”?
No, it doesn’t say that. It says, “You shall love the Lord your God. You shall love the God Who has redeemed you, He with Whom you are in covenant.” Each redeemed believer is in covenant with God through the wounds and the blood and the death of His Son. “You shall love Him with all of your heart.” That’s the heart of sanctity.
There’s a reason the first commandment is the first. Jesus emphasized this as foremost because it is intrinsically the most important! How will we ever fulfill this commandment? Jesus gives us a secret. He says, “Receive.” You get saved by receiving. How do you grow? 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Jesus told us, “he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing..” (John 15:5). In the same passage, He also commanded us, “abide in My love.” Receive the command. Receive Jesus’ love. Don’t let religion fool you. If you abide, you will bear fruit.
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Abiding in God’s love is the present experience of eternal life. In John 17:2-3 Jesus said, “Thou gavest Him authority over all mankind, that to all whom Thou hast given Him, He may give eternal life. [3] "And this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent.
In these verses we find that eternal life comes from Jesus and can be defined as knowing God the Father and Jesus the Messiah; in essence, eternal life is a relationship with God. Eternal life is knowing God by experience, not just knowing about God, or believing in God. The point of redemption, on our end, is that we may experientially know God.
If we want to know what “knowing God” looks like, we must look at the Messiah’s relationship with His Father. Nobody ever has or ever will know God better than Jesus! Looking at Jesus is the best way to see spiritual truth. Our hearts might rebel, saying, “No let’s look at my own experience…” But the Bible says “Let’s look at Jesus.” So, what was Jesus’ experience of knowing God like?
Looking at Jesus
“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” (John 15:9,10)
In these verses, Jesus is giving us instructions for our relationship with Himself, but He is also revealing some important things about His relationship with the Father (after all, His relationship is the pattern for ours!) Here we see that Jesus knew that the Father loved Him. (“…the Father has loved Me”) We also see that He understood what this love for Him was like; how else can He say “just as He… I have also…?” So, Jesus knew His Father loved Him, and He experienced this love. Not only that, but He goes on to tell us that He abided in (remained in, stayed in, experienced an ongoing awareness of) His Father’s love. Jesus’ relationship with God was filled with receiving the love of His Father! This foundation established His relationship with Father. It is the core of a spiritually mature relationship with God. It is the experience of eternal life.
Looking at Jesus’ description of His experience, we see that knowing God includes interacting with holy love. For Jesus this meant the awareness of the affection, devotion, commitment, and approval directed toward Him. If you think the only times Jesus ever heard “You’re my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” were when God spoke “publicly,” you are probably mistaken. After all, Jesus said He abided in His Father’s love; this was an ongoing experience. Jesus wants us to have this same experience. We too are to live in the awareness of His affection, devotion, commitment, and approval for us. Jesus graciously commanded us to abide in His love because He desires His disciples to have the same relationship with Him as He had with the Father. We are called to an unimpeded, unhindered, ongoing fellowship with the risen Messiah right now.
Religion Revolts Against Abiding
Looking at the record of Jesus’ life, we also see that Jesus’ relationship with His Father (abiding in the Father’s love) produced fruit. This fruit was manifest in the living river of love and power flowing through Him to others. Jesus’ knowing Father’s love resulted in other people’s deliverance and salvation. In the same way, through abiding in His love, we will manifest the fruit of love towards others and experience the power to set them free from hellish strongholds. As men and women of God we will be enabled to go into situations and have God’s love revealed through us because we experientially know the heart and love of God.
Bearing fruit is the result of an ongoing encounter of His love. It is a result of the experienced reality (not merely the idea) of His love. Yet, there are some who resist this emphasis. There’s something about being commanded to stay in a conscious awareness of God’s love that rankles the religious view of reality; religion just doesn’t like to receive.
Religious motivation seeks to increase the load of overburdened souls. Religion generally hates the justifying work of the Messiah. Religion’s pathetically helpless pride hates the gift of imputed righteousness. Religion demands that we labor to earn absolution or toil to purchase pardon.
Sometimes religion bows to Jesus’ justifying work only to rebel at a different level. It manifests in resistance to the very reason justification has taken place; the experience of God. It is possible to pursue apparently noble goals (such as spiritual disciplines, personal holiness, or effectiveness in ministry) and ignore the whole point of redemption! The prophetic principle, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner stone” (Psalm 118:22) is constantly being fulfilled in our day. God is calling, “Come, get to know My love.” But religious scruples say, “Require me to do something burdensome.” Religion says, “Command me to flagellate myself. Obligate me to do something, anything, which is either unpleasant or punitive. Then I’ll feel better about myself. I can earn God’s love.”
This is whitewashed tomb language. This is the appearance of godliness rather than the heart of sanctity. The heart of sanctity is receiving. The heart of sanctity is loving God in response to the experience of abiding in His love. The heart of sanctity is grateful reciprocation to the act of love which brought about redemption. The heart of sanctity is a relationship with the God who is love. That is the heart of sanctity.
Jesus told us that there is one primary command. What does it say? Does it say, “You shall love the idea of God with all of your heart mind soul and strength. You shall love the information about Him.”? Does it say, “You shall love the ethical demands which proceed from Him with all of your heart mind soul and strength.”? Or perhaps, “You shall seek to serve Me and labor hard for Me with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.”?
No, it doesn’t say that. It says, “You shall love the Lord your God. You shall love the God Who has redeemed you, He with Whom you are in covenant.” Each redeemed believer is in covenant with God through the wounds and the blood and the death of His Son. “You shall love Him with all of your heart.” That’s the heart of sanctity.
There’s a reason the first commandment is the first. Jesus emphasized this as foremost because it is intrinsically the most important! How will we ever fulfill this commandment? Jesus gives us a secret. He says, “Receive.” You get saved by receiving. How do you grow? 6 Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. (Colossians 2:6-7)
Jesus told us, “he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing..” (John 15:5). In the same passage, He also commanded us, “abide in My love.” Receive the command. Receive Jesus’ love. Don’t let religion fool you. If you abide, you will bear fruit.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Faith!
The most elementary principle of faith, and, in my opinion, the key to all others, is the law of sowing and reaping. Abundant, persistent, sowing (if the field is maintained) produces a bumper crop.
If you sow faith toward God you will reap a reward by the Spirit.. Jesus said, "Your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly."
In order to receive from God, one must sow faith! James 1;5-8 reads, "If any of you lacks wisdom, should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt , because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does." Brethren, herein is contained the most basic principle of answered prayer. Unadorned faith.
In Galatians 3:5 Paul questions all who will ever employ a "carrot - stick" theology, "Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?" Brethren, this is a question worth looking at! Do you believe what you have heard?
Persistence
Another faith principle is found in Isaiah 62:1,6,7, "For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. I have posted watchmen on your walls O Jerusalem; they will never be silent day or night. You reminders of the LORD, give yourselves no rest, and give Him no rest till He establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth." Here we find that persistent diligence is enjoined. God ordained intercession day and night until the answer He had already established came. God's priesthood worked three 8 hour shifts, every day. Remember, God's dealings with Israel are windows into spiritual reality. Faith perseveres in prayer.
Knowing His Will
1 John 5:14,15 reads, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him."
What do we truly believe is according to His immediate will? If that is settled than we know that He hears us! We receive His will.
The following are some questions to ask yourself: What do you truly believe is God's will in any specific situation in your life. In your family's, friends' or fellowship's lives? When you have determined what you believe, pray along those lines!
The Problem of Presumptuous Prayer
Praying with presumption is taking the promises and principles of God's word and divorcing them from His purposes.
When this prayer is not absolutely riddled with selfishness, we can charitably call it "Overextended Faith." Do not overextend your faith. Extend your faith to the limit of, but not beyond, what you truly believe. This is abiding in Messiah and being a responsible steward of your relationship with God.
We see examples of this with Jeremiah's confrontations with the attitude of Judah (Zion theology) and with a false prophet the extrapolation of that false theology: “We can never fall, God’s temple is here!”).
Overextended faith demoralizes the believer. It alienates the believer from a] the true degree of faith he has, b] the witness of the Spirit, and c] God's purposes.
Some alternatives and ways of avoiding "overextended faith" are, a] having an overarching understanding of the sweep of scripture and praying in line with that, b] hearing the current "word," of the Spirit, and c] subordinating impressions to the scripture and the brethren (remember the two or three Jesus spoke of ?).
Faith is the Friend of Relationship to God.
Faith in the "trustworthiness" of our Active God is the foe of fear! The Gift of Faith is produced by the Holy Spirit through our spirit/soul and body. Our entire humanity (the image of God) experiences it and releases it and then "the waters part!" God acts salvifically in situations where - apart from faith - things would remain the same.
The gift of faith is informed by the Scriptures:
The Word is the wood,
The quickening of the Spirit is the spark,
Faith is the flame!
Praying according to God's will, as revealed in the Scriptures, is a sure guide to fellowship with God. Presumption comes through having one's own agenda. We must remain faithful to God.
Sealing Petition With Praise
You know your faith is real when it can be truly accompanied with thanksgiving! (Philippians 4) This is necessary because the enemy comes to steal the word of the Kingdom, the promise God has made plain to you.
Do you believe you will receive what you have asked? Then thank Him for the answer. Praise Him for the Divine Characteristics that make the answer sure.
It is good to memorize, quote, pray, and speak (in conversation at "relevant times") the verses that have made faith real to you. This strengthens your heart and is part of using the Sword of the Spirit, the rhema of God. {a definition of rhema: the spoken logos (word)}
There is a pattern given in Hebrews 13 - "Because God has said, ... So we say with confidence, ... " Find what God has said, respond verbally. Hebrews 13:15 encourages us to give thanks verbally, "The fruit of our lips, giving thanks." When we vocalize, the entire man -- spirit soul and body -- is involved. The entire man is the image of God.
When Peter walked on the water. His confidence in Messiah needed to be maintained. When God's image, in Jesus's name (standing in redemption), offers thanks at the end of prayer, the faith that energized prayer is maintained and guarded. This is important so that the answer may come. Maintain your confidence to the end until your answer comes.
