[ref God isn't Holding Back]
It is, in fact, our unity with God that assures us of the power and blessing of Him.
It isn't that God has made wild, hard-to-believe promises in the Word and sometimes we get lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to get them. Or that some people drew the lucky ticket in life and others didn't. Or the worst ones...it is GOD'S WILL that some are blessed and others are not, and last but not least, the dreaded GOD IS TEACHING YOU SOMETHING THROUGH THE CANCER OR BY KILLING YOUR CHILD OR BY BLOWING YOU HOUSE OVER WITH A TORNADO OR BURNING YOUR CHURCH TO THE GROUND.
Why would God be out burning down churches? Why would He be doing things that, as a man, would get Him sent to jail or, in Texas, executed? HE'S NOT OUT KILLING CHRISTIANS OR THEIR CHILDREN!!!
[I realize that it's wrong to 'shout' by using all caps, but c'mon people...get real!]
Unity
Listen to Jesus in John 17: "The glory which You have given Me I have given them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me."
Not only are we one Spirit with the Lord, but we're one with each other! We are all part of God, and He is part of us...we are the physical Body of Christ in the earth!
I understand that these things are tough to accept after religious and cultural brainwashing, but the Church will never arise to her appointed place of reigning in the earth unless we understand who we truly are.
Sin Nature
A friend of mine mentioned our 'sin nature' and I casually replied that we didn't have one—that we were new creatures in Christ, the old had passed away and all things were new. I think I might've said something like 'By His doing we are in Christ Jesus, who became to us righteousness...' [1 Corinthians 1:30].
A friend of mine mentioned our 'sin nature' and I casually replied that we didn't have one—that we were new creatures in Christ, the old had passed away and all things were new. I think I might've said something like 'By His doing we are in Christ Jesus, who became to us righteousness...' [1 Corinthians 1:30].
I thought she was going to beat me to death. She became so incensed that I would hint at such blasphemy...even after I pointed out that our old man was crucified with Him, buried and raised up with Him and seated with Him in heavenly places, she wasn't having any.
It made me sad...sad because I knew that the majority of my brothers and sisters have no idea who they are in Christ. They don't realize that they've been born of the incorruptible or imperishable seed that is the Word of God [1 Peter 1:23] and that the Word calls us saints—Holy Ones!
Unfortunately, these widespread deceptions are crippling us, prohibiting us from doing our job in the earth.
Precious and Magnificent Promises
2 Peter 1: 2-4 states 'Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing 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. For by these [or through which] He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.'
2 Peter 1: 2-4 states 'Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing 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. For by these [or through which] He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, have escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.'
Goodness, is that verse really in the Bible? Everything pertaining to life on the earth and godliness as well? Partakers of the Divine Nature?
Yep, it's in there. As the saying goes, read 'em and weep! Weep, because we've been deceived, robbed of our rightful inheritance, of the knowledge of our unity with God and with each other. Robbed of our power—the Holy Spirit actually prayed that we be strengthened with ALL POWER according to HIS glorious might [Colossians 1:11]. Robbed of our calling to reign in life through the One, Christ Jesus [Romans 5:17] and to administer His Kingdom on the earth [Ephesians 1:10]
What are those promises? How about all things are possible to him who believes? Nothing shall be impossible to you? All things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God? All the promises of God are yes in Him? Ask anything in My name and it will be done for you by My Father? Etc, etc, etc.
When we see ourselves as separate from Him, when in our minds He is 'up there' and we are 'down here' those promises seem pretty unattainable, especially when everyone is telling us it might not work...
Only when we see that, by His promises, we have partaken of the Divine Nature, full of love, full of power, having this treasure in earthen vessels, will we be able to lay aside the sin that so easily beset us and run the race before us. When we realize that there is a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us—cheering us on, not tripping us or trying to kill us—we can start to fulfill the work of proving what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfects [Romans 12:2]
He's Not Holding Back, Really...
Jesus said the thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy...but He came to give us abundant life. [John 10:10] Some versions translate that phrase as 'He came to give us abundance.'
Jesus said the thief comes only to kill, steal and destroy...but He came to give us abundant life. [John 10:10] Some versions translate that phrase as 'He came to give us abundance.'
Jesus knew that we would be like Him. 1 John 4:17 says '...as He is, so are we in this world.' He knew that we would be One with Him and with the Father, by the indwelling Holy Spirit...He knew that all things belonged to Him, and that they would belong to us, as well. He knew that we would be born of God, just like He was, and that we would overcome evil spirits, because greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world [I John 4:4]
The reason The Father isn't holding back is that He's filled us with Himself. And He cannot withhold from Himself. Hallelujah!
Paradigm Shift
Time for a new way of thinking, people. Time to be truly humble, in the Biblical sense, and believe what God says about us. To believe Him and His Word over doctrines and television lies...to mediate on the beauty of His holiness and realize that He calls us holy, because we are One with Him.
Time for a new way of thinking, people. Time to be truly humble, in the Biblical sense, and believe what God says about us. To believe Him and His Word over doctrines and television lies...to mediate on the beauty of His holiness and realize that He calls us holy, because we are One with Him.
And that's why all things are possible for us!
[sorry for all the SHOUTING but I couldn't help it...]
