Our foundation if we are to mature is in looking at our self as God sees us in Jesus own perfection.
Our sin nature that we were born with was a sickness that was inflicted and inherited from our greatttttttttttttt grand parents
who were diseased and cursed by Satan himself. It is the same type of disease as a cancer that ravishes the physical body
and we must have a miracle by God to heal us and stay healed. Becoming born again
is the biggest miracle that any one can experience because; it makes Jesus our brother, God our Father and we have the anointing,
authority and discernment of interpreting God's word through the Holy Ghost who permanently lives in us.
Paul goes on to tell us the consequences when we deviate from living by Jesus faith, he says. For
the soil which has drunk the rain that repeatedly falls upon it and produces vegetation useful to those for whose benefit
it is cultivated partakes of a blessing from God. But if [that same soil] persistently bears thorns and thistles, it is considered
worthless and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned."
This has
been interpreted in too many Christian circles that people can back slide from their born again experience and God sends them
to hell. This has kept God's children controlled and manipulated to not use the mind of Christ they received when they
asked Jesus to save them. It makes our flesh flourish and it flat out stops us from interacting in our new covenant as a new
creature in Christ. This is destructive and dangerous thinking.
It is the Spirit
of God and His love that constantly wants to rain on us and produce in us His works and abundant life. If it is not being
taught properly, the results will be worthless endeavors that will have no eternal purposes in God's kingdom. In turn,
these works will produce thorns and thistles and as we experience the love of God; He will burn up all these false concepts
and the only thing left standing will be God's perfect will that was accomplished in our life. In turn; when we get to
heaven; we will be rewarded for them.
The only foundation that should be laid
in the Christian life must be built on the Apostles and Prophets doctrine with Jesus being the chief corner stone which in
turn will make us able to go on to teach mature doctrines of kingdom living.
Paul
the apostle defines this in 1Cor. 10-15 when he says, "According to the grace of God which was given unto me, as a master
builder, I have laid the foundation, and another can now build upon it. However, let every one who builds on it be careful
how he adds to it, for there is no other foundation that a person can build on except the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if any man
builds on this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay or straw; every man's work shall be made clear to see
and understand for the day of Christ will declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire will critically appraise
the character and worth of the work which each person has done.
If any man's
work is burnt up under the test, he will suffer the loss of it all losing his reward. However, he himself shall be saved but
only as one who has passed through the fire. Do you not understand the whole body of Christ is a temple and God's Spirit
is a permanent dwelling in you to be a home in you both collectively as a church but also individually?"
God's wants us to prosper and live by whatever amount of financial income we have the faith to
believe for. However, that is not to be the main foundation that so many born again assemblies focus on which is financial
prosperity. Scripture tells us that in the last days there will be a great falling away from the true interpretation of God's
word and people will apostasies. God does not care what type of materials you use to build your life on in what ever materials
as long as He is doing the building.
Paul wrote to the Galatians because, they
were having trouble building on the foundation that he had laid with false interpretation of scripture and they were leaning
toward their own understanding of how to mature.
He tells them in Gal. 7-8 "
Do not be mislead; God will not allow himself to be sneered at, scorned or mocked by people having mere untruthful declarations
by having His precepts set aside. A person inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For what ever a man sows
into his life it is that what he will also reap. For if, he sows to his own understanding of God, it will reap decay and ruin.
However, if he sows his life in the Holy Spirits counsel, he will reap the reward here and now and the continuance in heaven
for eternity."
It is not God's intensions as many believe to inflict pain on His children. The born again believer
needs to be taught how kingdom living works. A parent tells his children don't touch the hot stove or you will be burnt.
The child either heeds the parent's warning or suffers the consequences. God never gets angry with His kids, He just grieves
over their ignorance and the loss that they live with by not receiving His love, forgiveness and function in the inheritance
they were already given by Him.
All of our endeavors to follow Christ in our
maturing will be tested by fiery trials of life, which is the way we learn. Yes, some of the wounds that we experience are
self-inflicted. I believe more than we want to admit to. The real enemy I have learned is ignorance of God's ways and
we need to be equipped by sound doctrine to handle the warfare of life and become winners as God always intended. God's
kingdom came into the world the day Jesus was born in the earth. When we became born again, the kingdom was born in us and
the Pearl of Great Price was put in our being. When the born again believer does not function with the mind of Christ with
their new nature they received when they received Christ, they stay in ignorance under a task master of legalistic codes.
One cannot pray them out of this death sin conscience life style because; they
put Christ up to contempt and public shame. In reality, they become a reproach and a sin against them self. This happens because
they always live in a shame of realizing they have done something wrong. This is what a sin conscience mentality does for
one self.
The Holy Spirit grieves over us when we punish ourselves like this.
The born again believer must decide to die to self and come to God trusting and teachable by allowing the Holy Spirit to show
them the difference between kingdom living verses our works in the flesh. It is in us recognizing our weakness and bringing
them to the Lord that cause us to grow strong and straight in his kingdom.
Forty
years ago, a prophetic word came out at a Sunday morning worship service. It set a tone and anchored my soul all these many
years. When I heard it, I thought that the prophesy would take place immediately only to find out it is the work that the
Holy Spirit has been doing in the body of Christ then and is more important today then ever.
God
said, "My people over the years you have grown but only by the measure of man's understanding. Because of this you
have become a reproach and have felt ashamed of yourself because you have condemned and put judgments on your self. There's
no reason to reproach yourself, because there was nothing you could do about it in your own strength. Therefore, make a decision
to come to me with your hands up raised and surrender to me and I will take the old tight fitting clothes that has grown over
your heart off of you.
When they come off you will murmur and complain because
they have grown into your fleshly thinking and some of your flesh will come with them. However, if you are willing, I will
put a white robe of Righteousness on you and you will be able to walk in my courts with great freedom."
This happens when we grow thorns and thistles in our heart and the Holy Ghost has to do surgery by
taking us back through our mingled seed interpretations that were planted in our heart with God's word. Never let anyone
tell you that, God our Heavenly Father ever gives up on any of His children no matter how many crevices or thickets of life
they get caught in. He is a restoration God and there is NO ONE LIKE HIM. We are His children and have all of His characteristics
and He is determined to make us be like Him in word and deed.
Paul in Romans
13:7-12 says this. "Keep out of debt and owe no man anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor
[who practices loving others] has fulfilled the Law [relating to one's fellowmen, meeting all its requirements]. The commandments,
you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet (have an evil desire), and any
other commandment, are summed up in the single command, you shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. Love does no wrong
to one's neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.
It is a [critical] hour and it is high time now for you to wake up out of your
sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted
in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).The night is far gone and the day is almost here.
Let
us then (fling away) the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light. Let us live and conduct ourselves
honorably and becomingly as in the [open light of] day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery
(sensuality and licentiousness), not in quarreling and jealousy. But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah),
and make no provision for indulging] the flesh [put a stop to thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to
[gratify its] desires (lusts)."
If we read and interpret these scriptures
with a legalistic mind; we would be evaluating our behavior to see if we are guilty of committing any of these acts. Legalistic
people judge them self with a right and wrong mentality. When God gave Moses the Ten Commandments and they knew the law; it
made them feel guilty. This was God's intent in the first place in giving Moses His laws.
No one in their own strength can keep the Ten Commandments back then or now because the Levitical Priests
had to offer unblemished animal in the temple once a year for the sins of the people because no matter how hard they tried;
they kept breaking them. A person became self conscience rather then God conscience when they attempt to obey any strict literal
interpretation of laws or religious moral code and they live with the mentality of being law breakers.
Letting the Lord love them breaks the mind set of feeling that they are obligated to do certain things
in their life to get God's approval. The new creature that we became can only be motivated and empowered by the Righteous
Spirit of Christ as we experience His love and holding power.
There is a completed
work that goes with our born again experience. We don't have to toil in our endeavor to measure up or feel obligated to
do works to be approved by God. God wants His children to rest from their laboring and enjoy their fellowship with Him at
all times. This legalistic mentality gives us a sin consciecness; which robs us of our freedom of choice to choose each day
to follow God or our own selfish needs.
When Paul tells us to drop (fling away)
the works and deeds of darkness and put on the [full] armor of light, this represents an inner decision on our part to let
go and let God flow His righteous Spirit through our entire soul which is our mind will and emotions as God did with Adam
and Eve in the Garden of Eden before, Satan deceived them to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. When this
happened they began to have a sin conscience mentality and began to think in right and wrong in judging their behavior.
In the Garden there was also the Tree of Life which is God Himself. This is the fellowship that God intended for them as
he would weave His Spirit as a strong wind daily through their mind and body which gave Adam and Eve a quick understanding
of His love which; made them whole in their mind, will and emotions.
Nothing
has changed and God still is enticing His children to not lean towards their own understanding and feel free to come to Him
for all their needs and wants. We must be deep rooted in God's holding power of love if all the outward behavior contrary
to our Saintly living is going to come to an end and us learning to focus on an expectation of God showing up at all times
as a loving Father wanting to take care of his children. We must be free to make an independent choice to hunger after God
not for the consequences if we don't but only because of the pure pleasure of enjoying a joyful life style of God's
presence and friendship at all times.
We need to stop trying so hard to be good
doers and obligated seekers.
We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus Himself.
Jesus our brother who was the first born again believer was righteous in God the Father's sight and He was looked at as
being blameless, free from evil and set apart from the contamination of ungodly behavior and was an heir and extension of
God the Father's own life.
! SO ARE WE!
Fighting
the good fight of faith is us being persuaded that; God looks at us the same as He sees Jesus. Jesus was the ultimate example
of love because He laid down His life while we were dead in our sinful nature and living an obligated life style of trying
to obey God with no power with in us to obey the Ten Commandments.
Scripture
says, "Greater love has no man then this that he lay down His life for His friends." I have become convinced over
the many born again believers that I have met over forty some years that, they have no awareness that their body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost and God Himself lives in them because; they have a deceptive concept that; God is somewhere out there in
a church building or in heaven and they do not know how to have intimacy and the freedom to enjoy His company at all times.
Anything contrary to having an intimate loving relationship with the Holy Ghost
is an obligated life style of abuse and shame.
It is as we obey Math. 6:33 that
tells us to "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything we need in our lives will be met"
When we are in a place of walking in obedience to this commandment; God's holding power makes us recognize how desperately
we need to rest in His power which is at work in us so we can enjoy His grace (unmerited favor) and love.
Paul tells us to stop thinking about the evil cravings of your physical nature] to [gratify its]
desires (lusts). The battle of our warfare starts in our mind and when we meditate on God's word day and night through
the Holy Ghosts leadings; it keeps us focused with a clear vision of how God's kingdom of love works. A born again believer
when he daily meditates; it becomes like breathing air in their lives and they live like Adam and Eve living in the Garden
of Eden which means a protected hedge in the Hebrew Concordance. We must use our anointing and not allow the devil to mess
with our mind and make us doubt our security and total completeness in God our Father.
Once
we have a vision of our sanctified state; God will be able to persuade us to walk in it with His anointed power. Meditaters
allow the Holy Ghost to give them a word of wisdom at any time day or night. This is type relationship is totally foreign
in comparison to living by rules and obligated church membership or prideful fleshly motives to save face and worrying about
the consequences if we do or don't.
In 1Cor. 1:2 Paul addresses these peoples
sanctified state when he says this. " To the church (assembly) of God which is in Corinth, to those consecrated and purified
and made holy in Christ Jesus, = ( Sanctified ) [who are] selected and called to be saints (God's people), together with
all those who in any place call upon and give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours."
A person who is living in their sanctified state is constantly reminded by the
Holy Ghost of their blameless appearance that God sees them in because; their mind is constantly taking a bath with the washing
of God's word and is being renewed daily in understanding and receiving God's love at all times.
Now in closing and there is no closing in having a living relationship with God through the
Holy Ghost. Let's remember that; it is the mind of Christ that we received when we became born again that keeps our communication
and ear alert and hearing God's voice telling us to turn here and don't turn there in our daily walk with Him. We
have Jesus promise that those who are His sheep; will hear His voice and follow Him. We must separate our self from anything
that promotes the spirit of condemnation which wants to take hold in your in wanting you to live with the mentality of a obligated
spirit of I must do this or that to be accepted by God.
Where the spirit of condemnation
is in control; it drives the born again believer to run for cover as Adam and Eve did in the Garden and hide from God with
a denial fig leaf apron to cover their shame and loathing of self.
The end of
this age is closer then it was yesterday. Jesus is coming back for a church with out spot, wrinkle and with out blemish very
soon. Most born again believers don't believe that God already sees His children with out spot and wrinkle and unblemished
therefore, He can come back at any time. Let us not be ashamed of ourselves and learn to be at rest and comfortable with our
relationship with the Holy Ghost so that the peace of God will guard our heart and mind from anything that would distract
us from receiving the love of God.
