Be Perfect

Be Perfect

Matthew 5:43-48
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

When we read the passage in verse 48 where Jesus tells us, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” what does that mean to you? Are you thinking that is impossible or yeah, maybe when I get to heaven? Why would he tell us this now when we perceive ourselves in such an imperfect state? How could we ever aspire to be perfect, as he is perfect? We are not only to aspire to it, it is our calling. Why would Jesus call us to do what was impossible to do?
Jesus throughout Matthew 5 is calling His disciples and following to a higher order of love than that of the world. He is calling us out of natural reasoning and fairness. He is calling us to a level of love that we have come to know as Agape’ love. It is a love that is not governed by what others do to me, it doesn’t respond to circumstances. It is an action and not a reaction.
The word “perfect” used in verse 48 is the Greek word “telios”. It means brought to its end, consummate human integrity and virtue, full grown, adult, of full age, mature. The purpose of God is to bring us unto perfection, to bring us into His unconditional love and divine nature. This is the reason He gives the five fold ministry in Ephesians 4:11-13, “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” The word mature here is that same word for perfect. It is going to take our faith to grasp this concept, because all that we see in us and in the body of Christ around us pretty much testifies against this. What we have to see here is that there is a standard that has been set before us, but what is impossible with men, is not impossible with God. God is the one that has called us to this standard and He alone can be the ability to attain it. It is obvious to us that it is not in our natural ability, so that is our first clue that we need to be walking and living in something that is beyond the natural. We are called up to walk in the supernatural. We are called to walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh. It is only in the realm of the Spirit that we can even comprehend the perfection that Christ has called us too.
Listen as 2 Peter 2:2-4 reiterates our calling and where the power comes from, “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” We see here that perfection and maturity in Christ is a calling of faith, because it is in laying hold of the promises of God’s Word that we move into this realm. There is no perfection without His power and life working in us, changing us and transforming us. The ability is not in us to change ourselves to perfection, but to position ourselves in Him, by faith and through a broken and contrite heart to yield to the working and moving He is doing in us. What we perceive as trials, hardships and adversities may truly be opportunities to exercise and mature in His divine nature.
Abraham became the friend of God because he had enough faith and vision to move out of the realm of the seen into the realm of the unseen. He counted God faithful to do that which He had promised. Are we counting Him faithful to perfect our lives in love and in all that pertains to godliness? Are we willing to quit looking at our circumstances and our inability’s long enough to see His ability and His promises to us? Are we like-minded with the apostle Paul to press into the high calling we have in Christ Jesus? “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but [this] one thing [I do], forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you (Philippians 3:12 –15).”

Blessings,
#kent

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Confession of Faith

Philippians 3:3-6
I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Confession of Faith

Sometimes, if I start to see myself after the flesh, I will become discouraged, depressed and defeated. I will focus on all of the things I am not, all of the places I still fail, all the places I’m still selfish and self-centered and on all of that which I don’t yet see. I will allow my circumstances to dictate a life that I left behind when I identified myself with Christ on that cross and died to that old man of sin and death. If I allow myself, I could go back there again, but then that would be to deny Christ and what He has done for me. That would be to say that I wasn’t raised in the newness of His life, to live out of His life and no longer my own. That would be to return again and live under the law of sin and death, rather than out of the law of the Spirit of life that is in Christ Jesus. That would be to embrace the flesh, whose end is death and corruption, rather than embracing the Spirit, who enables and empowers me to walk in Life in the divine nature of His love.
What I am identifying with is what I am and am becoming, whether it be flesh or Spirit. It isn’t dependent upon what I see outwardly, it is fully dependent upon my believing the promises that my God gave to me or forsaking them to go back from whence I came. Behind me is only what brought me guilt and shame, but before me is my Jesus who has promised to bring to completion the good work that He began in me.
No, I may not see the fullness of Him yet, but I will keep pressing into Him, expecting and believing for His highest for me. I will not allow the discouragement, natural circumstances and even facts to detour me from the truth that I know in my heart. For I refuse to see through natural eyes alone anymore. He is teaching me to see all things after the Spirit; myself, my spiritual family and even the world around me. As I walk in the faith of who He is in me, I see more clearly others through God’s heart of love. I see that I walk in the earth, but I live out of heaven. I live in Christ Jesus who sits at the right hand of the throne of God. From that place I know that whatever touches my life has to come through the Father and the Son. I know that He works all things to my good, even the bad things, because He has loved me and called me according to His purpose. He doesn’t just love me, but in that love He corrects me, teaches me and stretches me. He makes me to come out of the dependency of my flesh, so that I can more full rest and rely upon Him. Only there will I learn of His rest that He has for me and only there can I operate out of the fullness of faith without which it is impossible to please Him.
I don’t know everything, I just know His Word. I don’t understand everything, I just trust the Holy Spirit to help me understand what I need to know. Life has a new meaning and purpose because He is in it. Because of that, it is no longer about me, it is all about Him. He has told me that all of His promises to me are “yes and amen”. As I walk in the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me, I believe I can walk into all that He has prepared for me. I don’t believe I have to die and go to heaven to experience and live out of a more abundant life. I believe heaven wants to live that abundant life through me as I walk in the earth. I believe God wants to manifest that kingdom in my earthen body as it is in heaven, but He can’t do that while I am still caught up in me. So with God’s grace and the power of His Spirit I submit myself and my will, which is the one gift He has allowed me to give to Him.
If you are looking for perfection in me, you won’t see it yet, but know that even in my human frailty and weakness I pursue Him who knows none. His blood continues to wash me and His grace certainly carries me. Out of His strength and abundance I will live and declare the name of the Lord, for He is my salvation, both now and evermore.

Blessings,
#kent

Everything We Need

2 Peter 1:3-4
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

Everything We Need

Everything we need has been given to us by the Divine Power that resides in us. Most of us are more focused on what we think we are lacking than on what we already have. Meditate a moment on what the scripture is telling us here. Everything we need for life and godliness has been given to us, but through what avenue? Through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
What does that knowledge mean? In the Greek their are several words for knowledge.
“Gnōsis” speaks of a general knowledge of something like the Christian religion, general knowledge or intellect. An example in scripture would be 1 Corinthians 8:1-3, “Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 2The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But the man who loves God is known by God.” In verse 3, “known by God” is the Greek word “ginōskō”, it speaks of becoming known even in the most intimate way. The word for knowledge used in 2 Peter 1 is the word “epignōsis” which speaks to a precise knowledge of the those things that are ethical and divine.
The point of this is that it is not just a general knowledge about God and Christian religion that brings us into a partaking of the divine nature. It is specific knowledge and revelation of the promises in God’s word that pertain to life and godliness. It is one thing to know a person by name, it is quite another to know them by their nature and character. The later is gained through a relationship of knowing, not just a general biography. This is how we come to know Christ and become partakers of the divine nature because we come to know Him, whom we have received into our hearts, not just generally, but intimately and specifically. Ephesians 3:19 says, ” And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” This knowing is “gnosis” or general knowledge. In other words that we might have an understanding to know the love of Christ which surpasses general knowledge so that we, “may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” That is a pretty powerful statement when you stop to really absorb it.
These exceedingly great promises God has given us through His Word are the keys to bring us into the fullness of the divine nature. In order for us to really know them we must intimately know Him. You see our zeal for God is according to knowledge, the most specific kind of knowledge, where we know Him not just after the letter of the law, but after the Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that will lead us on this journey to the innermost recesses of wisdom and knowledge that is contained in the Christ we love and serve. In Colossians 3:2-3 Paul speaks to his purpose, “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” If we want to know that divine nature, it is through that growing, abiding faith that lays hold of God’s exceeding rich and gracious promise. We come to know these promises experientially in the most intimate place of His love.

Blessings,
#kent

WHO YOU ARE IN CHIRST

WHO YOU ARE IN CHIRST

Here some scriptures that are by no means exhaustive of the subject concerning our identity in Christ. It is important that we get these scripture deep into our heart and confess them over our lives daily, so that we are constantly brought into rememberance of who we are in Christ. The enemy’s greatest device is to try and separate us from our identity in Him. When he does, he can bring in condemnation, unworthiness and failure to discourage us in our faith. Stand strong and take these scripture into you heart, along with others that you may add to them.

John 17:20-26
” “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24“Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.
25“Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

John 17:11-12
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. 12While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.

Galatians 3:26-29
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 8:28-39
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,j who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

1 John 4: 17
By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.

Colossians 3:3
3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthyg when God called you. 27Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28God chose things despised by the world,h things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.
30God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

2 Corinthians 5:21
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Ephesians 1:11
In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.

Ephesians 1:18-23
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Ephesians 2:21-22
In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 3:17b-20
…And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Galations 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;10for you once were NOT A PEOPLE, but now you are THE PEOPLE OF GOD; you had NOT RECEIVED MERCY, but now you have RECEIVED MERCY.

2 Peter 1:2-4
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;3seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.4For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.

1 John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

Colossians 1:27
To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Blessings,
#kent

Realities

Realities

Psalms 19:7-11
The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward.

The natural man builds his life on the realities of his understanding of this natural world and how it works. Those things that are real to his sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell are the reality of his world. They are truth to him. When he looks out and sees the mountains, when he touches the soft skin of his wife, when he hears his children playing and smells the lilacs in spring, these are reality to him. When talking or relating to that which is beyond the natural realm, what is reality? What are the things that are as sure and reliable to the spiritual man, who is relating to those realities which are outside of the sense realm? For the Christian, who embraces the Word of God as His reality, the Word of God stands as the cornerstone and foundation of spiritual truth and reality.
This scripture in Psalms 19 gives us some very fundamental and foundational truths to build our house of faith and trust upon. Because spiritual realities are not always evidenced in the natural world, except in type and shadow; we must have a resource that puts all believers in God on the same page. That resource is the Word and the law of God. It is the source of input that feeds spiritual truths and realities into our natural mind. When we read and try to understand the Word of God with only a natural mind and understanding, many things don’t make sense to us and are conflicting.
I once heard it put in such a way that it made a lot of sense. If God is Spirit as it says in John 4:24, then it only stands to reason that He would write a spiritual book. As we know, the content of our Bibles is the compilation of numerous authors down through the ages that have written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God’s spiritual book. It only stands to reason that if we are reading a spiritual book, we need a spiritual mind to receive and understand it. This is why it is essential when reading God’s Word that we ask the Holy Spirit, the author of the book, for understanding and revelation to comprehend, assimilate and put into practice the truths of His divine counsel. In John 16:13 Jesus tells His disciples, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.” The one sure promise that each believer has is that he or she can possess the Holy Spirit that is able to lead and guide you into truth. Peter speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit speaks this truth to us in Acts 2:38-39: “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, [even] as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
While it is encouraging, edifying and instructional that we can glean much spiritual understanding from words and books of men, this should never become a substitute for our seeking God through His Word and the instruction we can receive from the Holy Spirit personally. The Lord doesn’t want second hand children; He wants each one of us to be in relationship with Him so that we are hearing and receiving personal truth and revelation from Him. What He reveals and shows us will not contradict the rest of His Word but will only further verify and confirm it. The Lord desires to further teach each of us the spiritual realities of His truth that will make us rich partakers of His divine life and blessing. His precepts and instruction are what leads us and helps us to grow in the path that leads to life and godliness. There is nothing sweeter or more precious than His Word quickened by the Holy Spirit that leads us into the reality, presence and revelation of who He is.

Blessings,
#kent

When God is Silent and Understanding Fails (Part 2)

 When God is Silent and Understanding Fails

(Part 2) 

 

Job34:10-15

10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong. 11 He repays a man for what he has done; he brings upon him what his conduct deserves. 12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. 13 Who appointed him over the earth? Who put him in charge of the whole world? 14 If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, 15 all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust. 

 

Did Job deserve all of the calamity and misfortune that befell him? Was it a judgement from God for some hidden sin?  Job 1:1 begins by telling us about Job’s character and how he was viewed in the eyes of God, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”  The judgements or afflictions that befell Job weren’t about his sin.  While we may not have all of Job’s integrity we are washed in the blood of Jesus and all of our sin is taken away, so when calamities befall us, is it always because of our sin?  We often automatically condemn ourselves when bad things happen and assume it’s God’s displeasure with us.  It may be His pleasure not to condemn us, but to do an inner working of grace and purification that is perfecting His holiness in us.  As God desires to bring us into a priestly ministry, there is purification and sanctification that brings one to the altar where all one is of themselves, is poured out.  Look for instance at the life of Paul.  In 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Paul expresses His priestly ministry, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [We are] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.”  We have come in recent years to equate spirituality with prosperity and blessing.  Certainly we do serve a God that prospers and blesses us.  We can see that Job had been enjoying the fruits of prosperity and blessing at the hand of God for many years.  While we don’t deny His promises and His blessings, if we look we will see that there are inner blessings and workings of God that go far beyond the outward ones.  God is more concerned with the inner workings of our spiritual man than He is with our earthly comforts.  Spiritual overcomers are not raised up in the ease and comforts of life; they are raised up because they have experience and confidence in spiritual battles. They learn to stand in the test and overcome by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb.  We see at the end of Job, that through his experience, Job has found God on a new level. What Job thought he knew of God and how he justified himself he realizes that there is so much more to God.  In Job 42:5-6 he says, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes.”  The more this life is consumed the more we realize our life is in Him and not of us.  Job 42:10 says, “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”  It was Job’s friends that condemned him that God was displeased with and it was Job that God commanded to stand in the gap, sacrifice the animals for them and pray for their forgiveness.  There is that new and greater dimension of ministry that God is preparing a people for. Romans 8:18-19 tells us, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.”  Are we not these sons of God that creation is waiting for? Let us not faint in the process that God is taking us through to prepare us for the glory that shall be revealed.  God loves you, Christ ever lives to make intercession for you and He is perfecting that which concerns your faith.  …”What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we notreceive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips (Job 2:19).”  In Job 40:8 God asks, ““Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?”” Hold fast and don’t give up when God is silent and you feel forsaken, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).”

 

blessings,

kent

How Profound is His Love?

Romans 5:6-8

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

How Profound is His Love?

Meditate on this simple truth that we often so quickly read past.  Nothing you, I or anyone did or could do could provide for us what only God the Father could provide for us through the love of His Son Jesus Christ.  It speaks to a principle of God, that out of utter weakness, helplessness and depravity the power of God is revealed toward us.  Most of us know that we could never get good enough on our own to deserve God’s love and salvation.  He is not wanting us to come to Him only after we have cleaned up our lives, that is like trying to take a bath without water or soap. He is the only way that we can get clean. Faith in His blood and in the washing of the water and the Word is our cleansing.  It is by nothing we can do or earn, but by simple faith that embraces God’s Son who took our sins upon Himself, suffered the incomprehensible pain and shame that  should have been ours and then died the death of sin that we deserve.  

Who is this Jesus that He should die for me?  He was the divine expression of God’s insurmountable love for all of humanity.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever would believe on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16).”  This is a very simple elementary truth of the Christian faith, but one we never want to loose sight of. It is the simple faith we placed in Jesus that has brought us into one body and one hope of our calling.  Nothing else exists without this foundational truth and reality.  Even the faith that we have to embrace Christ was the gift of His grace, lest any of us should boast (Ephesians 2:8).  

Do we fully understand that it is not our power that is at work here in our Christian walk and faith?  It is religion and a religious mindset that doesn’t comprehend this mystery of God and tries to establish a godliness out its own works, strength, knowledge and goodness, but God operates best out of weakness and total dependence upon Him.  Just as we couldn’t save ourselves, we can’t produce our own righteousness.  He alone is our righteousness.  It is in that daily exchange by faith of “who we were for who He is”, that we embrace that divine nature.  There is no amount of knowledge or gifting that can bring you into the likeness of the Son, only He can do that by the power of His Spirit working in you.  It doesn’t matter your status, your fame, your perception in the eyes of this world, Father knows and wants us to know that it is only His power working out of our weakness that makes us strong.  

Notice that there was an appointed time, just the right time, when we were still powerless , that Christ died for the ungodly.  There is another time, just the right time, when as 1 Thessalonians 1:10 says, “on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.”  You and I are the incubator and womb of this manchild that is growing inside the true Church.  There is a right time, the fullness of time when Christ shall be revealed in glory, within and without of His body, which we are.  

It is this simple truth that we first embraced that now grows within our womb.  This seed of life, deliverance, salvation and glory.  In your weakness He is working His strength.  Let your dependence and your hope be in none other, but Him.  He is the author and the finisher of your faith.  “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).”

 

Blessings,

kent

Treasure Life

 

Treasure Life

Psalms 17:14-15

¹⁴ O LORD, by your hand save me from such men, 

       from men of this world whose reward is in this life. 

       You still the hunger of those you cherish; 

       their sons have plenty, 

       and they store up wealth for their children. 

¹⁵ And I—in righteousness I will see your face; 

       when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

Those who have come into spiritual understanding of God’s plan through Christ Jesus have come into an understanding that real life isn’t about the here and now.  We grasp that beyond this time and dimension, we live, walk and are pressing into life eternal.  It is a life and treasure that we contain in these earthen vessels with their limitations and weaknesses.  It is a light that shines in proportion to the amount we live unto this God life as opposed to our natural life.  Like moths drawn to the temporary pleasures and gains of this world we are often drawn to the flame of our passions and desires that will only consume us and frustrate the purpose and will of God for our lives.  What life is it that we treasure most of all?  Is it a life of hedonism, self-indulging pleasures and earthly wealth that we seek or do we have an eye and heart for the greater treasure, the eternal treasure, the treasure of God’s life and intimate fellowship.  

Look at Moses for a moment.  Here he is the prince of Egypt, the most powerful and influential country of its time.  He had it all at his disposal, power, wealth, authority and all of the pleasures of this life.  He had every thing that most of us have only dreamed about. Hebrews 11:24-27 tells us, “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward.  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.”  God has given His people insight and spiritual vision to see beyond this present earthly realm and momentary pleasures.  Because of the faith we have in this vision we are willing to forsake all things, endure all things and count it all lost that we might win Christ.  What does Paul tell us about the excellency of the knowledge of Christ?  Philippians 3:7-14, “Howbeit what things were gain to me, these have I counted loss for Christ.  Yea, verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I suffered the loss of all things, and count them but refuse, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming conformed unto his death; if by any means I may attain unto the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained, or am already made perfect: but I press on, if so be that I may lay hold on that for which also I was laid hold on by Christ Jesus.  Brethren, I count not myself yet to have laid hold: but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” 

Treasure Life, the life that lifts us and holds promise beyond this present temporal existence; the life that leads us into the promises of the divine nature and the fullness of His presence. “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”

 

Blessings,

kent

Life is for the Living

 

Life is for the Living

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

The question is which life are we living?  Few of us have truly entered into the dimension and fullness of a crucified life.  At best, most of us are living in a place where there is a mixture of flesh and spirit.  Most of us believe in Christ, but we are still trying to meld it with the natural man.  Most of us spend a lifetime in the battle between flesh and spirit within our own selves.  

Our life is for living but lived for selfish gain and motive is robbing us of true life.  There is a dimension of life in God that we catch glimpses of through the fog of our understanding and revelation, but it eludes us.  Most of us are willing to settle in the outer court of salvation, but there are some in which a hunger and fire burns to live, to press into the Life that presides in the MOST HOLY PLACE.  No longer do they desire to live after the flesh, but the old identity they had in Adam is regarded as dead as they set their eyes and heart to obtain and lay hold of that which they have been called out for.  Many of us catch glimpses of this truth, but then the cares of life quickly obscure it from our spiritual vision.  

The truth and life that is contained in the scripture can totally transform and change your life.  For us to truly lay hold of it and live it out daily by faith and the power of the Christ within us, is to truly enter into and come up to a different place, where we are living under the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.  It is the living in this law that will set us free from the law of sin and death.  We have the promise and the calling, but not very many of us are walking and living in this dimension of life.  Yet this scripture is our calling and it is our destiny.  We all want to cling so much to the material world.  It is our natural sense of security, control and for most of us our reality.  

Galatians 3:12 tells us,  “The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, “The man who does these things will live by them.””  Many of us, like those of Galatia, are still trying to accomplish by natural means that which Christ alone can provide for us.  We are still living under the principles of the law and works to please God and appease our conscience.  Galatians 3:10 has just told us,” All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Christ has died to bring us out of the curse and into a higher law and dimension of life.  It is a life not lived out of rules, regulations, traditions and religious dictates of righteousness.  It is life of the Spirit, lived moment by moment in the Spirit and by the power of the Spirit.  It is life in which the law is no longer written on tables of stone, but upon the tables of our hearts.  Our heart is not just about doing, but it is  in being and our doing comes out of our being rather than the other way around.  We do the works of God, because we are God’s and His Spirit rules in our hearts.  

In this place where our Adam no longer lives, we come into the presence of Faith, Hope and Love.  They will no longer be elusive ideas, but our dear and near companions.  In this place we truly live and move and have our being in Him.   Here we enter into a place of intimacy and communion with God that we cannot know in the natural man.  Here is where we learn and know what it is be one with Christ and have our identification one with His, where we no longer perceive ourselves as separate from Christ, but now we are an intimate part of Him and He is becoming all in us.  

Those who grasp the truth of Galatians 2:20 know that true life and living is found through a death and dying.  Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:31, “ …I die daily”.  Paul readily admits that if Christ is not true and if there is no resurrection then he has suffered a lot of misery in vain, because he is not living for the benefit of his natural man and he has literally paid the price.  He has a revelation and vision that is greater than anything this world can hold for Him.  He is pressing into that divine life and nature and he wants to take as many as will come, with him.  

What is your vision for life today?  What dimension of life are we living in?  Life is for the living, but how will you live it and under which law will choose to live; the law of sin and death or the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus?

 

blessings,

kent

When God is Silent and Understanding Fails (Part 2)

When God is Silent and Understanding Fails
(Part 2)

Job34:10-15
10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding. Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong. 11 He repays a man for what he has done; he brings upon him what his conduct deserves. 12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice. 13 Who appointed him over the earth? Who put him in charge of the whole world? 14 If it were his intention and he withdrew his spirit and breath, 15 all mankind would perish together and man would return to the dust.

Did Job deserve all of the calamity and misfortune that befell him? Was it a judgement from God for some hidden sin? Job 1:1 begins by telling us about Job’s character and how he was viewed in the eyes of God, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name [was] Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.” The judgements or afflictions that befell Job weren’t about his sin. While we may not have all of Job’s integrity we are washed in the blood of Jesus and all of our sin is taken away, so when calamities befall us, is it always because of our sin? We often automatically condemn ourselves when bad things happen and assume it’s God’s displeasure with us. It may be His pleasure not to condemn us, but to do an inner working of grace and purification that is perfecting His holiness in us. As God desires to bring us into a priestly ministry, there is purification and sanctification that brings one to the altar where all one is of themselves, is poured out. Look for instance at the life of Paul. In 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Paul expresses His priestly ministry, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. [We are] troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [we are] perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you.” We have come in recent years to equate spirituality with prosperity and blessing. Certainly we do serve a God that prospers and blesses us. We can see that Job had been enjoying the fruits of prosperity and blessing at the hand of God for many years. While we don’t deny His promises and His blessings, if we look we will see that there are inner blessings and workings of God that go far beyond the outward ones. God is more concerned with the inner workings of our spiritual man than He is with our earthly comforts. Spiritual overcomers are not raised up in the ease and comforts of life; they are raised up because they have experience and confidence in spiritual battles. They learn to stand in the test and overcome by the word of their testimony and the blood of the Lamb. We see at the end of Job, that through his experience, Job has found God on a new level. What Job thought he knew of God and how he justified himself he realizes that there is so much more to God. In Job 42:5-6 he says, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor [myself], and repent in dust and ashes.” The more this life is consumed the more we realize our life is in Him and not of us. Job 42:10 says, “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” It was Job’s friends that condemned him that God was displeased with and it was Job that God commanded to stand in the gap, sacrifice the animals for them and pray for their forgiveness. There is that new and greater dimension of ministry that God is preparing a people for. Romans 8:18-19 tells us, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time [are] not worthy [to be compared] with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” Are we not these sons of God that creation is waiting for? Let us not faint in the process that God is taking us through to prepare us for the glory that shall be revealed. God loves you, Christ ever lives to make intercession for you and He is perfecting that which concerns your faith. …”What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips (Job 2:19).” In Job 40:8 God asks, “”Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?”” Hold fast and don’t give up when God is silent and you feel forsaken, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).”

Blessings,
kent