Free Indeed

Today, is the fifth Monday of the month of May 2023 and in the United States it is a national holiday entitled, Memorial Day. It is a day in which Americans remember the service men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice of giving their lives so that others may have freedom. They did not give their lives for the United States alone, but as they fought and died in the numerous conflicts throughout the world, they did it to bring an end to demonized dictators. They fought and died to turn back these satanic ruled people whose only objective was or is to steal, kill, destroy and or hold in bondage to slavery their fellow man in efforts to promote their tyrannical reign. Let us never forget those in the armed forces who have gone before and those today who are ready to do what it takes to defend and protect the citizens of the United States of America.

In a similar way, Christians also have a Memorial Day. However, our Memorial Day is not only a day of remembrance, but a day of celebration. We celebrate the day that we "confessed with our mouth the Lord Jesus and believed in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead, and were saved." (Romans 10:9) We celebrate the fact the Jesus Christ also paid the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life to save (redeem, heal, deliver, make whole) all humanity from Satan, the most evil, murderous tyrant known to man. The Bible reveals to us, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (Acts 10:38) and "He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil." (1 John 3:8)

When we consider what Jesus did for mankind the mind can hardly comprehend it. The apostle Paul reveals to us through the Holy Spirit, "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned  (Romans 5:12) and speaking of the state of all men since the fall, “…having no hope and without God in the world.” (Ephesians 2:12) This means that not one person in all of mankind had the ability to provide redemption. God Himself must provide man’s redemption. God must redeem man from the dominion of Satan. Death must be destroyed and man’s authority over the Satan must also be restored. We also must keep in mind that God is just, "…God is abundant in justice…” (Job 37:23) and therefore mankind could only be redeemed on absolute legal grounds. Even though God's love for man is unfathomable and the fact that He is also sovereign, He could not redeem man outside the realm of justice.

God would have to provide a substitute who would not have man’s satanic fallen nature. He could not be mortal or immortal, but a perfect man as Adam was before the fall. He must fulfill the entire Mosaic Law, withstand the onslaught of all the devils attacks without sin, meet the demands of justice, (meaning that He would have to pay the penalty for man’s crimes against God) and suffer in man's place by becoming sin, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us..." (2 Corinthians 5:21) Being make sin the Redeemer would be separated from the presence of God by going to hell, (Psalm 16:10; Acts 2:31) which is the ultimate penalty for sin, until mankind had been fully and legally acquitted for their crime. In other words, Deity must suffer for humanity.

As Adam die both spiritually and physically ("a death you shall die," or, "dying you shall die." Genesis 2:17  Hebrew) and "and they made His grave with the wicked, but with the rich at His death..."(Isaiah 53:9 deaths in the Hebrew) Jesus too would have to experience both spiritual and physical death as Adam, did to reverse Adam's transgression. If Jesus' physical death was all that was required to redeem humanity, then sin is nothing more than a physical condition. If physical death deals with the sin issue, then every person that physically dies pays the penalty of his/her own sin. If sin is only a physical condition and can be dealt with through physical death, then we must conclude that no person will ever be separated from God in hell because the physical death of every person would be sufficient to satisfy justice and give them a pass to eternal life.

However, we know that this is not true. Jesus must suffer in both realms, physically and spiritually. Physically because that is the only way that spiritually dead humanity could eliminate the Son of God; spiritually, because it’s the only way that God could legally redeem man taking away Satan’s claim to humanity. It also stops man from accusing God of being unjust when they reject His way of redemption. Jesus indeed went to hell and suffered as a substitute for all mankind.  His physical death was infinitesimal to what He suffered in the spiritual realm. If humanity could have been redeemed apart from Christ, then Jesus becoming a substitute for humanity and being sent to hell would have become the most heinous crime ever committed in all of creation.

But thanks be to God who was willing to take upon Himself man's liability by suffering an incomprehensible death in two realms as man's substitute. So let us never forget what the Father did through Jesus to give humanity complete freedom from Satan's power. Let us never forget and rejoice continually on our Memorial Day. The day you and I were born again.  

The God Kind Of Love

Although we can list many things that seem to have the greatest impact on humanity, I believer the two greatest forces in the world today are love and selfishness. Selfishness is what makes a person concerned chiefly or excessively with himself, and having little or no regard for others. It is a robber. It breaks friendships and hearts. It wrecks marriages and homes. It flat out steals, kills and destroys because all of these things are a product of Satan. (John 8:44, 10:10) There is only one force able to conquer selfishness and destroy its destructive nature. That force is not simply love, but the God kind of love. Natural human love is motivated by human desires, that is, what satisfaction, what pleasures can "I" get from another without giving anything in return. It can turn in a moment from expressing affection and concern to neglect, hatred, jealousy and even murder.

A home could never be destroyed if every member would love as God loves. The wife would never remember the past mistakes of her husband, nor the husband ever remind the wife of any unpleasant happenings of her past. All the mistakes and failures of the past would be wiped out. What homes we would have if we were to love as God loves. There would be no more quarreling over finances, no more bitter hurtful words spoken, but each one would be seeking how they could put others above themselves even at their own expense. Why is this? Love never takes advantage of anyone. Love always bears the burdens of the weak. Love says, "It is all my fault. Had I done differently, or spoken differently, or lived in love, it would never happened." People who walk in the God kind of love never injure anyone, never take advantage of anyone. They simply walk and live in God. They respond to the fruit of the spirit and give no place to the selfish works of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16-26)

No matter what evil the adversary may bring into a life, love will change evil to good, and will bring forth good fruit. (Romans 12:21) Jesus said, "Al1 things are possible to him that believes." (Mark 9:23) That means "a believing one" can operate in the God kind of love. How do we know this? "For the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:5) "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23) Jesus tells us, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Believers, the branches, are linked up with Jesus, Who is the Vine. The branch is the fruit-bearing portion of the vine. Therefore, the believer has a legal right to the Father's love and Jesus' ability to carry it out. (Philippians 4:13)

The believer is to take Jesus' place in this life. He is a reproduction of Jesus (John 17:20-26) to carry out the will of the Father just as Jesus did when He walked this earth. Jesus was the first man who ever walked in the God kind of love on this earth. When selfishness is eliminated in us and love gains the dominion, we will not seek our own any longer. We will live as Jesus lived. We will seek only the Father's will as Jesus did. (John 6:38) As we walk in the God kind of love, we will be walking just as Jesus walked. There isn't a thing in the New Covenant or in the finished work of Christ that does not belong to every believer, especially the God kind of love. God is able to make us all what His great heart desires us to be. He delivered us out of the hand of the enemy. (1 Peter 2:9) He gave us His own nature. (2 Peter 1:3) He made us a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. (Ephesians 2:10) He is in us now living and working His own good pleasure. (Philippians 2:13) Let us all yield to His Word and give Him the right-of-way in every area of our lives.

Please take some time, slowly read and meditate on the God kind of love as revealed in the Gospels from the Garden of Gethsemane to resurrection of our Lord. Paul tells us, " But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) Also, take some time to read and reread the Amplified Version of the God kind of Love as revealed in
1 Corinthians 13:4-8...
Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].  

Standing On The Rock

In His final instruction to His disciples as recorded in Mathew's Gospel, Jesus said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Matthew 28:18) Why would He say this? He did not need authority, He always had it. Why then was it given to Him now that He was leaving the earth and returning to heaven? It was given to Him because He is the Head of the church, the first born from the dead. (Colossians 1:18) All the authority that was given to Him was for the benefit of the church, His Body. (1 Corinthians 12:27)

Through the meritorious work of Jesus in His mission to completely redeem man, He stripped Satan of the authority that was given to him by Adam, (Luke 4:5-6). He destroyed him who had the power of death, that is the devil. (Hebrews 2:14) He took from Satan the keys of death and hell. (Revelation 1:18) He delegated His authority to believers through using His name (Mark 16:17-18) Most believers have not come to fully understand the authority that has been given to them through Jesus Christ, neither have they accepted the authority that is rightfully theirs by virtue of being born again. Let us look at one of the most compelling events in the Bible that reveals the various aspects of authority.

"Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.” The centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof. But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour." (Matthew 8:5-13)

First, we need to keep in mind that this man was a Gentile, furthermore a Roman Centurion. He was not a Covenant partner with God. He was not a Jew and was considered an outcast in his day. He had no legal grounds to come to Jesus, because He had come to share the Gospel with the Jews (Matthew 15:24) Even when Jesus sent His disciples to preach, He said, "Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (Matthew 10:5-6)  Although this man was not included in the Covenant, Jesus said, "I will come and heal your servant." The centurion knew the relationship between Jew and Gentile an concluded that he was not worthy for Jesus to come to his house and suggests an alternative plan, "...only speak a word, and my servant will be healed."  

This statement from the centurion suggesting that Jesus heal another way reveals something that most believers fail to grasp concerning the will, nature, character, purpose and plan of God. To think that after the Lord says "I will come and heal him" this man who was not in Covenant with God say in a sense, "no I have a different or better plan" is almost unbelievable because Jesus could have said no to this mans alternative plan. What we should take away from this is how the Father responds to faith. Gods responses to a believers faith, not based their abilities or intellectual knowledge of God's Word, but believers "being fully convinced that what God has promised He is also able to perform." (Romans 4:21) The centurion must have observed Jesus' dealing with sickness and disease and had no trouble suggesting an alternative plan. 

Let's look at what the centurion says now after offering Jesus his alternative plan,  "For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it." Again, it is apparent that the centurion has observed Jesus in His dealing with sickness and disease. In a sense the centurion is saying, "Jesus, I am also a man under authority and I know how things work. You do not have to come to my house. I see that you have authority over sickness and disease who are subject to you. In the same way, I have authority over men who are subject to me. I only have to speak a word to these men and I know my command will be carried out. All you have to do is speak a Word and I know your command will be carried out also." This is faith in action. As a matter of fact, Jesus states that this mans understanding of authority is equated to having great faith. Jesus finally tells the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” Understanding and walking in authority like this centurion, is the same in God's eyes as having great faith. The results for this mans actions, "And his servant was healed that same hour."

We are in a time like no other. We must become people who understand and walk in the authority that is rightfully ours through Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age,  against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) The word wrestle is used figuratively here to give the idea of the spiritual conflict engaged by believers. However, it also akin to another Greek word which means to "sway." Remember, Jesus has "disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them." (Colossians 2:15) Therefore, believers are to "stand" in the position of authority in the Name of Jesus to uphold and enforce what Jesus has accomplished, because the principalities and powers are at work trying to "sway" believers from faith and their position of authority. This is why the Apostle Paul says, "having done all, to stand. Stand..." (Ephesians 6:13-14) 

Paul finishes his exhortation with, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; (Ephesians 6:17) Believers are to get God's Word into their recreated spirit by speaking it. (Romans 10:8, 17) As they do this, it releases power. "God has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power..." (Hebrews 1:2-3) God's Word is His power. Look what the people around Jesus said concerning the Words that He spoke, "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29)

Believers can and should stand in their legal position of authority. Jesus delegated His authority to His church, to every believer. The Apostle Paul tells us, "God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11) Paul also tells us, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:4-6) So, let us stand in the face of darkness knowing that the Word of God, the Name of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit in us carries more authority than anything or anyone in all creation, because our weapons are mighty in God. They are backed by God Himself. So, let us never forget, "...If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31)

I Can Do All Things In Him

^"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness...So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:26-27) "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor." (Psalm 8:4-5) When meditating on the creation of man, it is mind boggling to think that he was created in the very image and likeness of God Himself. To be created in the image and likeness of God is not in the material or physical sense but spiritual. John tells us, "God is Spirit..." (John 4:24) Man was created to be connected to heaven as no other creature on earth is. He is to be related to God like no other. This was also confirmed by the Psalmist. To be made a little lower than the angels in the Hebrew is to say, that man was made a little lower than God. Think on this. Above all creation, man is the only thing in all creation that has been made a little lower than God Himself. For some, this may be difficult to comprehend, but the fact is, God made man as close to deity (Himself) as possible. 

The problem many seem to have, that is, trying to comprehend this truth derives from looking at themselves and the world around them in the natural and not through faith in the Word of God, therefore, seeing themselves as God sees them. We must remember that we are still in a fallen world that is antagonistic toward Christ and the church, but this does not alter the truth of the creation of man. If we do not grasp God's creation of man, and what man was before the fall, we will not fully understand our purpose, position, function and authority as the redeemed in Christ. We also see that man (before the fall) was the crown of all creation and he possessed abilities beyond our comprehension. It wasn't until man disobeyed God, bowed his knee to the lies of Satan (Genesis 3:1-7) that he lost his dominion and authority, as well as his ability to fellowship with God. Said another way, in man's disobedience and high treason, he lost who and what he was.

Believers must move on from only seeing the natural, physical realm and see ourselves as God does through Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us, "that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,  and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." (Ephesians 4:22-24) It is the old fallen nature that Satan wants believers to hold on to, not the truth that if one is born again they are new creations, (2 Corinthians 5:17), "the new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness." That is, the new man is made to resemble God. This also reveals that when man was made, he was made righteous and holy, "in the image and likeness of God." The object of the work of redemption is to restore to man the lost image of God, or to bring him back to the condition in which he was before he fell.

This means infinitely more than becoming born again, being forgiven by God and then muddling through life until we die and go to heaven. God's purpose of the restoration of man through Christ was, again, to return man to his original state in which he was created. Unfortunately, most believers are either uninformed, misinformed, or do not apply faith to such truth, thereby settling for far less than what God has accomplished for man in Christ. Somehow, most see God the Father as less of a father than they see themselves. Jesus said it this way, "If you (man) then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:11) The Apostle Paul tells us, "He (God the Father) who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32) This is not limited to physical or material things only, but also spiritual things, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." (Ephesians 1:3)    

The Apostle Peter also reveals some wonderful truth concerning who the believer is and has, "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 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, 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." (2 Peter 1:2-4) The restoration of man was never meant to be limited to forgiveness on earth and eternal life in the life to come. It is much more far reaching than that. Some of the wonderful attributes, promises, realities, that the restoration the Father accomplished through the Son includes "life and to have it more abundantly" (John 10:10) 

The word for life in the Greek is "life as God has it, eternal life." Eternal life is not a final destination, but is to be experienced now, while we are on earth and to have it abundantly. We are also to have "faith in God." (Mark 11:22) The literal Greek translation for this is "to have the God kind of faith." This in itself is hard to believe for most, but we must remember, "without faith it is impossible to please God." (Hebrews 6:11) This does not refer to natural faith that come from what our five senses can comprehend, but the God kind of faith that come from the heart, the recreated spirit. We also can love (agape) as God loves. (Romans 5:5) This also may be difficult to live out, but again, we must look past the natural and respond to the truth. Think about it. If God is love (1 John 4:16) and He is, if Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1, 14) and He is and if believers are the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27) and we are, then we have the very attributes of God.  

Although these are just a few of the God kind of attributes (His image and likeness) that believers have through Christ, it takes faith to accept these truths and receive them. Jesus tells us, "Have faith in God. (the God kind of faith) For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:22-24) Notice that Jesus tells us that believers have the power to move mountains if they do not "doubt in their heart." In a similar way, Jesus reveals to us why Peter began to sink when he got out of the boat and walked on the water, "...O you of little faith, why did you doubt." (Matthew 14:25-32) Doubt is a product of Satan, who convinced Eve to doubt God's Truth, which became the prescription that caused Adam to rebel against God and lose his God given position. Satan's schemes have not changed. Always remember, doubt causes one to reason just like Eve and it will eventually neutralizes faith. However, faith comes from God (Romans 12:3) and causes believers to trust God even when the circumstances seem impossible to overcome. So, let us not waver with unbelief, but take our position of authority over Satan and his lies and believe that God is able to perform what He said (what His Word says) He will do.         

Revelation Knowledge

In our journey to know "Truth", that is, to intimately and personally to know Jesus, it will never be accomplished through intellectual knowledge, the natural realm. Although God has revealed Himself throughout creation, our ability to truly know Him can only come by-way-of the spiritual realm. Jesus tells us, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3:3) Jesus is expressing and defining the parameters by which one must experience, that is, being born from above, or he is not fit for, nor a partake of God's Kingdom, either in this world or in that which is to come. The kingdom which Jesus was about to set up was so pure and holy that if one was not born again, he could not partake of its blessings. Again, to be born again is something that takes place in the spiritual realm, but its manifestation is in the natural or physical realm, that is, in the life of a human being. This cannot be understood through intellectual means, but through a spiritual awaking, an encounter with God.

Although there is a place for intellectual knowledge and I consider myself to be and intelligent person who enjoys learning, I know that there is knowledge to be gained that far surpasses the natural realm. Thankfully, we do not have to be slaves to intellectual knowledge. God has made available something that enables us to move beyond the natural realm and tap into His supernatural realm through revelation knowledge. It is called faith. (Romans 12:3) If God had intended for humanity to remain only in the natural realm, He never would have provided a way through His Son Jesus for man to be restored to a relationship with Him and give him access to everything He is and has. By exercising our faith in God, through which we enter into the spiritual realm, we receive revelation of and from Him through the Holy Spirit. "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." (John 16:13)  

By applying our faith to the revelation knowledge of the truth the Holy Spirit guides us in and responding to it, we not only come to know God, but He also activates His supernatural power on our behalf, or on behalf of others through us. It is in the supernatural realm of God where miracles occur.  We can move beyond the natural realm into the supernatural realm by exercising our faith in God, and responding to the revelation knowledge that we receive. James challenges us to come to a place where we exercise the revelation of God's Word revealed through the Holy Spirit, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." (James 1:22-24) He goes on to tells us, " What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?...Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works." (James 2:14, 17-18)

Intellectual knowledge or common sense cannot produce miracles, which are manifestations of God's supernatural power in the natural realm. The Apostle Paul tells us, "But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God." (1 Corinthians 2:9-12) The human mind is not able to know everything that is in man, let alone everything about God. Only God knows all things and as mentioned previously, the only one who can reveal Him to humanity is the Spirit of God. (John 16:13-16)

It is mind boggling that so many Christians turn to philosophy, psychology, and psychiatry, that is, the natural realm, to try to resolve their problems. Although these academic disciplines genuinely try to help people, their failure rate far exceeds their success because they do not utilize the power of God to change and transform humanity. Even most "Christian" counselors try to apply biblical terms while pursuing man-made methods,  but their efforts are ultimately ineffective also. The Apostle Paul tells us, "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power." (1 Corinthians 4:20) These three areas, philosophy, psychology, and psychiatry are the result of following the intellectual knowledge of man, while rejecting revelation knowledge from God.

If man continues to reject the concept of divine revelation,we will never fully understand the truth and we will continue to live in confusion and deception, the very place that Satan wants people, especially believers to live. He knows that if believers receive divine revelation, apply faith, that is, act upon the revelation received, the supernatural power of God will heal and deliver myriads of people which in turn will turn them to Christ.  Doesn't that sound like a strategy that the enemy of humanity would devise? Actually, it has been since the fall of man. It began in the Garden of Eden and has not changed. The very thing that Adam had that could have banished Satan from the earth forever, the ability to function in the spiritual realm, is the very thing that he forfeited to Satan in exchange for intellectual knowledge. Not a very good exchange for man at all. It has kept man from a relationship with God, "And the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh..." (Genesis 6:3)  

Being led by intellectual knowledge and living outside the supernatural realm is not limited to only those who deny God. The fact is, many believers and Christian leaders who have received Christ as Lord and Savior, still lack revelation beyond a basic knowledge of the gospel. As a result, they have no idea what God is saying or trying to do in their personal lives. Let us consider the following as we seek to receive revelation from God. God gives revelation according to His own timing. He will not reveal something to an individual believer or to a 1ocal church if the person or congregation is not ready for it.  We see this revealed in the Parable of the Talents, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability..." (Matthew 25:14-15) This is also revealed toward the end of Jesus' earthly ministry. He told His disciples, "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." (John 16:12) The main reasons why God may not give us revelation is, we are not yet spiritually mature enough to receive it and or God knows we would not obey it, which is actually evidence of not being spiritually mature. Only God knows the right time to unveil a specific revelation to us. Our part is to make sure we are willing to obey it by acting upon it.

Habakkuk tells us, "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14) I believe that we are living in the days where this prophetic word is coming to pass, that is, the days in which the manifestation of God's glory will be evident all over the earth. God will fulfill His purposes by giving us extraordinary revelation of His Kingdom, Power and Glory, but are we ready to receive it? Jesus said, "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." (Mark 11:24). So, let us exercise our faith in the one and only unfailing, faithful One, Jesus Christ, who is the Word who became flesh (John 1:14) Let us believe, receive and walk in the revelation knowledge that He desires to give to us. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit...

That I May Know Him

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, (Reality) and the life..." (John 14:6). Jesus was saying of Himself, I am the totality of all things possessing actuality, existence, or essence. He is the personification of truth. Notice that I did not say Jesus is the personification of all truth. For there is only one truth, one reality, and Jesus is it! However, reality cannot always be seen, but it can be discovered. For believers, the most significant unseen reality that we must each discover, in order to live the lives that we were meant to, is the spiritual reality of our supernatural God. One of the magnificent things of God, is, He has left us evidence of Himself in the created world, the natural environment around us. Yet, when we contemplate the greatness of His creation, our finite minds still cannot begin to fathom who He truly is and His immense power.

Yes, we have His Word that reveals His will, nature, character, purpose and plan, but man has mostly tried to know God through intellectual means. We can know facts and information about God, but we cannot know Him personally through intellectual knowledge. Why? Intellectual knowledge also known as mental ascent or better yet, sense knowledge is limited because it uses the five senses; taste, smell, touch, see and hear to acquire and assimilate knowledge. Due to our overemphasizing intellectual knowledge, people are very aware of the natural realm but are generally uninformed and or misinformed about the supernatural realm. The natural realm being the dimension that is subject to the laws of time, space, and matter is temporal. Whereas, the supernatural realm or spiritual realm is the dimension that operates above natural laws. It is permanent, invisible, eternal and is located outside of time and space and furthermore, it also exercises dominion over the natural realm.

Intellectual knowledge has its rightful place in society, but it is a poor substitute for spiritual knowledge. The Apostle Paul tells us two things to consider, "We know that we all have knowledge.  (which here is defined as intellectual knowledge) puffs up..." (1 Corinthians 8:1) "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14) So, we can see why intellectual knowledge pales to true knowledge which is of the spiritual realm. This is why in the absence of progressive divine revelation, people tend to rely on formal, academic education, much of which attempts to discredit faith. Jesus said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63) This also shows us that truth is spiritual and therefore the reason why philosophers also fail to understand or come to know it. Things of the spiritual realm can only be discerned spiritually which is why Jesus said what He did to Nicodemus, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God...That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." (John 3:3, 6) So, in order to know God, one must be born again of the spirit. 

It was never God's intention to remain a mystery to people, especially those who are born again. In fact, He has always desired for us to know Him intimately and to experience Him in a personal way. However, we must understand that only God can reveal Himself.  No person has the ability to know Him apart from Him revealing Himself, that is, a revelation of Himself. He also must do the initiating to accomplish this. This was the case in the life and earth ministry of Jesus, "Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner." (John 5:19) "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak." (John 12:49) Jesus was an obedient, willing and totally submitted vessel who revealed the will, nature, character, purpose and plan of the Father. However, we see it was the Father who initiated what Jesus spoke and did.

Since the only way to really know God is through revelation, let us investigate what revelation is. The Greek word for revelation means "an uncovering" or "disclosure." Revelation enables us to understand truths about the spiritual realm, truths that are hidden from the natural realm. In Jesus' conversation with a woman of Sychar near Jacobs well in Samaria, He reveals to her a very important key to knowing God, "God is Spirit." (John 4:24) This is a revelation of God. He is not of the natural, temporal realm, but of the spiritual eternal realm. The angel Gabriel tells the virgin Mary, "For with God nothing will be impossible." (Luke 1:37) This is another revelation showing us that God is all-powerful. Malachi reveals that God never changes, "For I am the Lord, I do not change." (Malachi 3:6) We also see that God is eternal, "Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God." (Psalm 90:2) God dwells in the dimension of eternity, the spiritual realm. Even though He inhabits eternity, He manifests Himself and His works, at times, in visible form in the natural dimension of our physical world and universe.

God reveals Himself to us as the supernatural and all-powerful God through the Holy Spirit. There is no other means by which we can know Him. Again, we cannot know the "reality" of God without Him revealing Himself to us. Even a theologian may know that a superior being exists, but that does not mean that he knows God personally. Many theologians operate merely with information acquired through intellectual research, reasoning, mental processes, or through the experiences of others. But the Holy Spirit is the source of all revelation from God. Jesus said to His disciples,  “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you." (John 16:12-15)  

Now, some will say something to the effect, "the disciples needed revelation from the Holy Spirit, but we do not need it now because we have the Bible." This is only partially true. The Bible tells us, "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) For instance, did you ever read a passage of scripture several times then all of a sudden it made complete sense or you see it in a different light that is life changing. This is God revealing Himself through a Word within the Word, revelation. Why does this happen? Because God's Word is living, not changing, not static, but alive, living. Remember, Jesus said His word is Spirit and Life. Revelation from God allows us to suddenly understand something without the aid of the natural senses.

Revelation includes knowing things you otherwise would not know, perceiving things without having a prior awareness of them, and seeing things that have yet to occur. It is God revealing His mind, His thoughts to man so that they can know Him personally and exercise their God-given roles and responsibilities on earth. Unfortunately, because we in the western world rely so much on intellectual knowledge, we are trained to reject anything that cannot be explained according to human understanding alone. This is why the Holy Spirit spoke to Paul to tells us, "For we walk by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7) The writer of Hebrews tells us, "By faith we understand..." (Hebrews 11:3) and "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." (Hebrews 11:6) True faith, the faith that comes from God, His Word (Romans 10:17, 12:3), gives us understanding of spiritual things as well as pleasing God. Although the Bible consists of words written on paper, it is not of the natural realm. It is spiritual! Therefore, without a revelation from and of God, faith will not grow. If faith is not growing, it is because faith will not exceed our revelation of God. This is why it is so important for believers to seek God through His Word for revelation each day. 

An analogy of this is found in the history of Israel in their life in the wilderness before entering the promised land. The Lord provided manna for them to eat each morning, “This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord has commanded: ‘Let every man gather it according to each one’s need, one omer for each person, according to the number of persons; let every man take for those who are in his tent...And Moses said, “Let no one leave any of it till morning. Notwithstanding they did not heed Moses. But some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank..." (Exodus 16:15-16, 19-20) Notice that they were in need of fresh bread every morning. The bread from the previous day was old and not worth feeding on. Jesus said, "...“I am the bread of life..." (John 6:35) Jesus is the bread that we believers also need every day. We cannot try to live off of yesterday's bread, revelation, or we may find ourselves "old wines skins." We also cannot know God through intellectual knowledge, by doing so we will not come to truly know God in a personal, intimate way and Christianity will be nothing more than any other lifeless, powerless world religion.  "Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish..." (Proverbs 29:18 AMP)   

Taking New Steps

If you have raised a child, have siblings or have been around children, chances are that you have witnessed a child taking its first steps. How exciting it truly is. Usually, a child's first steps are taken by someone coaxing the child over and over until they are walking on their own. The writer of Hebrews deals with Christians that are "Babes", "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe." (Hebrews 5:12-13) He tells them to, "...move on to maturity..." (Hebrews 6:1) The Apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth the same howbeit in different words, "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things." (1 Corinthians 13:11)

There comes a time in a believers life where they need to step out and walk by faith in the things of God. Simply put, Paul is comparing infancy with that of manhood in the sense of when we advance in years, we lay aside many of the views, feelings, and plans which we had in childhood, for the true values of life which we now esteem important due to maturing into adulthood. It's not forgetting the foundational things as one grows into maturity, but understanding that there is much, much more. In the same way, new believers see the world from a different perspective than older believers, or do they? 

One of the things that I remember in my own life when I first received Christ, which I see in some new believers today, although not as often, is their zeal to tell others of their new life in Christ. Although new believers do not have a grasp on foundational Christian doctrines or how to live by faith, they tend not to have inhibitions when it comes to telling others about their new life in Christ. But after some time passes the zeal to witness Christ seems to die out. You would think that the opposite would happen as they grow their faith through the Word of God. But Christian researcher have found that nearly seventy percent of people attending a church daily have not witnessed Christ in over a year or more, although most say that they pray for the lost. Another statistic reveals that nearly fifty percent of Christians who regularly attend a church have never invited a non-believer to church.

What has happened to the last command that the Lord has given to all believers, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20) "And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” (Mark 16:15-18) "Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:46-47) "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:8)       

Whether you believe in the doctrine of election or not (the belief that God has elected only certain people for salvation and others not) it is still our (every believer) responsibility to preach the gospel to every creature. Born again believers cannot blame the state of the country on politicians, lobbyist, and other non-believers. They are only doing the deeds of their father the devil in the same way that you and I did before we were saved. Remember, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)  The following are quotes from several saints since the Protestant Reformation, "the gospel is good news, only if it reaches a person before they die", "Lost people matter to God our Father, so they should matter to us His children", "Believers often talk of the Lord's second coming, when most of the world has not heard of His first" "God save us from living in comfort while sinners are sinking into hell", "Christ died for all men not just the ones you know and like", "It is better to have people hate you with the knowledge that you tried to save them, than to love you and perish in hell never telling them the good news", "Where passion for God is weak, zeal for the lost will be weak." These are but food for thought. Hopefully, they will provoke us into action. 

Unfortunately, many church leaders today have adjusted the "Great Commission" because they themselves do not witness Christ beyond a classroom or a pulpit. They rarely train the saints in evangelism mostly because they themselves are not passionate about winning the lost for Christ. They have determined that Jesus' words to, "Go make disciples" is out dated for the church today, so to justify this, they have determined that the church service should be short and adjusted to make it "comfortable" for those who may visit, in hopes that the visitor is unsaved. We call it "seeker sensitive church". Isn't interesting that the Bible tells us, "...There is none who seeks after God." (Romans 3:11) Why is this? Jesus tells us, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him..." (John 6:44) Based on scripture we must consider that we should not expect anyone showing up at a church service who is lost, by luck, chance or coincidence. However, if someone does show up who is lost, even if they were invited by a believer, they are not seeking on their own, it is the Father who is drawing them. If the Father is drawing them, then it should stand to reason that the length of the service should have no bearing whatsoever upon this person as to whether they "had a good time" or not. Why? Because we are talking about a spiritual encounter with God that He has set up to save them and transform their life, not a good time that pleases only the flesh. 

Most certainly we want to see visitors stay beyond one or two visits. Let's keep in mind, "But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased" (1 Corinthians 12:18) not us. For most unbelievers, they probably have no concept of what a church service consists of. But shouldn't we be creating an atmosphere, especially through praise and worship, no matter how long it takes to bring God's presence? Isn't it God's presence that will have people say "God is here?" Then how do we expect such a thing to happen if we put a time restraint upon God? Frankly, it won't happen. Churches who have this worldly mind set towards the lost actually do them a disservice by keeping God on a leash, so to speak, and not letting Him have His way in a church service because He is only given a certain amount of time to show up. You  may want to read the last chapters of Matthew, Mark, Luke and the entire Book of Acts. This is God's Word and work through the church that brought unprecedented success for nearly three hundred years. 

The difference is, they obeyed the command of the Lord to "Go make Disciples" which transforms lives, without reducing it to "come to us, we promise we won't take much of your time, but we will help you feel good about yourself so that you will come back." In other words, congregations who do this, although not in word, see God's Word as having no effect today. They also miss the main purpose of the church, "...that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light", (1 Peter 2:9) the praise and worship of the Most High God. The early church understood this, "praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47) Please stop and meditate on this verse of scripture. This has nothing to do with mans worldly ways to grow a congregation but fully upon God. It is the responsibility of every believer to be witnesses for Christ and let God do His work through us His way. This takes faith not formulas.  

The point is, let us step out of the fort (church building) and be the salt and light that you truly are. The Bible tells us, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27). No one knows the day or time that they leave this life for the next, so let us all make evangelism a life priority, making it difficult for any one to go to hell by telling them the Good News of Jesus Christ. Let's witness Christ and bring the new believers into a church service where there is no time limit so they can have and encounter with God. Let's praise Him until the Holy Spirit moves us to worship and worship until His glory (presence) falls. This is what will transform lives, not comfortable services with time restraints that only cater to the flesh. Sure, the seeker sensitive way of church may grow large congregations, but what's the point if the glory of God is not present, "Then she named the child Ichabod, the glory has departed from Israel." (1 Samuel 4:21) All people want to experience God, including the lost. It is the scheme of Satan to have us think that somehow we have a better plan than God. So let's get out of churchianity and get back to Christianity so the Lord can "transform us (those just saved also) into His image from glory to glory." (2 Corinthians 3:18) Amen?