The Prodigal

Everyone knows the story of the Prodigal Son. Read on to refresh your memory...

'And He [Jesus] said, "A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.' So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
"Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
"But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.
"So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
"But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.
"Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. "And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.'
"But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. "But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'
"And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'" [Luke 15:11-32]

The prodigal son was a SON...this is a wonderful picture of a Christian who sinned after he was saved.

Everyone knows that sins are wiped out when we are reborn. But as a Christian, I have struggled with forgiveness as a mature Christian.

The Lord showed me in an instant that this well-known story, often told as an example of a sinner coming to God, was about a SON!!!

And how did the Father react? He was so excited...He put the best robe and the family ring of authority on him and threw him a great party!

The elder son? He got mad that his Father forgave his brother and left in a huff. The Father entreated him to celebrate with Him, but wasn't interested.

He was a son, too...what we might call today a judgmental or legalistic Christian. And he didn't like the Father lavishing grace onto the fallen one.

The Moral...
The moral of the story? There are three that I see.

First, if you've fallen as a Christian, forgiveness and grace belong as much to you as they do to the newly saved. God is your Father, and He loves you. He's standing at the gate, watching to see if He can catch a glimpse of you coming home. And when He does, He will run to meet you and restore you completely.

Because in His sight, you'll always be His son, His heir, created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. [Ephesians 4:24]

Second, if you're the elder brother, don't judge the prodigal. Love him and rejoice with your Father...it could be you tomorrow!

Third, if you're the prodigal, don't pay any attention to the elder brother. Love him, pray for him, receive him back when he slips even though he wasn't as kind to you.

As exciting as this story is for the new believer, how much more wonderful for the believer who has made mistakes, missed the mark and just plain sinned!

Based on I John 1:9, confess it...that's how you get rid of it, not when God finds out about it! Repent and run home! Run to your Father, Who is standing by the gate, waiting and watching.

Run home! To open arms and complete restoration! To Love and Light and Compassion and Forgiveness...run home!

Hallelujah!

Don't Harden Your Heart

Or, Enter His Rest 3...
Six times in two chapters [Hebrews 3,4] the Holy Spirit, writing through Paul, repeats the same scripture. Six times!

I think there might be a clue here...

''Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways;' As I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'" [Hebrews 3:7-11]

'But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me.

"For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.' [Hebrews 3:13-19]

''Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tried Me by testing Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they did not know My ways;' As I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.'" [Hebrews 3:7-11]

'But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called "Today," so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end, while it is said, "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as when they provoked Me."

'For who provoked Him when they had heard? Indeed, did not all those who came out of Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?

'So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.' [Hebrews 3:13-19]

Already Blessed [re-post]

What's your inner image? Are you struggling to find the magic key that unlocks God's blessings? Trying to make the mark, to be good enough to actually receive the promises of God now, in the earth? Feeling frustrated, blocked on every side?

What you've got is an inner image problem. One nurtured by erroneous teachings and pervasive cultural thinking, to be sure, but a problem nonetheless.

Let's get back to biblical basics. If you've been born again, you're already forgiven, already delivered, already an overcomer...already blessed.

Made Righteous...Already
We've been made the righteousness of God in Christ [2 Corinthians 5:20]. By His doing we are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption...[1 Corinthians 1:30,31]. Crucified with Him, buried, raised up together with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places [Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:5,6; Colossians 2:12-14].

Do you see yourself as more than a conqueror, called to reign in life, doing the works of Jesus? [Romans 8:37; 5:17; John 14:12]

Picture Him at the tomb of Lazarus...before calling him out of the grave, Jesus said "Father, I thank you that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me...” [John 11:41, 42].

1 John 4:17 says '...as He is, so are we in this world.'

This spiritual state of being one Spirit with the Lord [1 Corinthians 6:17] is an accomplished fact. We are already seated with and in Him in heavenly places. We are already forgiven, for sins past, present and future. Our confession of them cleanses our bodies and minds, but the spirit within is Jesus—always righteous, always perfect, full of grace and glory.

New Covenant
As the Church of God, the Body of Christ in the earth, we need to stop thinking like Old Covenant people. Yes, all of the promises of the Old Covenant are fulfilled for us in Christ, all are 'yes' in Him for us [2 Corinthians 11:20]...but we don't have to earn them anymore. We are redeemed from the curse of the law—Jesus became that curse for us so that we would receive the blessing of Abraham [Galatians 3:13,14]. The curse of the law was, in essence, what happened to you if you failed to obey the law. The blessings were what you got if you did obey.

Jesus took the curse for us—we get the blessings because we're in Him, the very seed of Abraham! To the Father, we look like Jesus—we've already perfectly fulfilled all the law, and are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ [Ephesians 1:3].

Blessed with Abraham
Consider this:

'So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.' [Galatians 3:9]

'"The LORD has greatly blessed my master [Abraham], so that he has become rich; and He has given him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and servants and maids, and camels and donkeys."' [Genesis 24:35]

One of the blessings of Abraham was great wealth—in most churches, we're told that it's okay to be comfortable, but God forbid that we aspire to great wealth!

I've got news for you...it's already ours! It's our birthright! Romans 8:32 says 'He Who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?'

Another one of Abraham's blessings was that his descendants [us] would possess the gates of their enemies [Genesis 22:17]. Jesus told his disciples, when they were not even born again, that they had authority over all the works of the devil! But we, the very body of Christ in the earth, live defeated lives, always struggling against unseen foes that we assume are far more powerful than we!

Image Correction
Start to imagine yourself like the Bible says you are. You're like Jesus—in fact, you are Jesus in the earth! Your old self was crucified with Him, and you've been reborn, one Spirit with the Lord! You are, individually and collectively, the Body of Christ. Called to reign in life! Correct that old inner image and refuse to listen to anything contrary to the Word of God, no matter who or what it is! You are not under the Old Covenant—you are a new creature in Christ! Old things have passed away! [2 Corinthians 5:17]

Instead of wondering 'Can He, will He [fill in the blank] for me?' thank Him for what He's already done! His Word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and He has decreed you blessed! He has already said 'Therefore there is NOW NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus...' [Romans 8:1] He has already declared you accepted in the Beloved! [Ephesians 1:6] Strengthened with all power in your inner man! [Colossians 1:11]

Jesus said that He and the Father would come and make their abode—their dwelling—in the ones that love Him! [John 14:23] That He would send a Helper—the Spirit of Truth—to be with us forever. [John 14:16,17] All Three Persons of the Trinity, dwelling in these earthen vessels...

Philippians 4:8 tells us to dwell on the excellent and praiseworthy. Surely the indwelling Trinity and the forever settled blessings of God are among those!

Dwell on it. Meditate on it until you can see these unseen truths. They are yours now.

Calling Things

What were the prophets of old doing? They were speaking the Word of the Lord...calling into being that which does not exist! [Romans 4:17]

I heard a minister say that Romans 4:17 does not apply to us...it is talking of God only, and it has been twisted into something that is not true. He spoke with disdain, as if this awful heresy was some disgusting lie, promoted by unscrupulous heretics!

I couldn't believe my ears! The very chapter of Romans 4 is talking about Abraham, whom God called Father of Nations before he was the father of nations. He did it first, from the foundation of the world, then He told Abraham to do it! Abraham called himself that which he obviously was not until he was!

In fact, Abraham is called the Father of us all! [Romans 4:16] Hallelujah! He is the very example of faith, calling himself the Father of Nations until a baby was conceived and born!

In truth, He became the Father of three nations...Israel, the Church and the Arab peoples!

How about salvation? How exactly does the new birth take place?

'But what does it say? "The WORD is near you, in your mouth and in your heart"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.' [Romans 10:8-10]

Before you start to confess that Jesus is your Lord, He isn’t…but by the time you're finished, He is! You start by speaking what is not, and it results in that which is!

What about Jesus, telling us to speak to mountains and trees? Jesus called the most unstable man in Bible history a rock...and he became one!

What about Joel 3:10? 'Let the weak SAY I am a mighty man'

Actually, the entire Word works like that, from "Let there be light" in Genesis to "I am coming quickly" in Revelations. God speaks and we speak.

It's how you were born again, it's how you access everything in the Kingdom.

Hallelujah!

The Power Within

The Word tells us clearly that we are one Spirit with the Lord, that we have this treasure in earthen vessels. Both Ephesians and Colossians tell us that we are strengthened with ALL power in our inner man.

And Ephesians 3 goes on to say that He is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK...

What exactly is the power within?

Jesus said that He, the Father and the Holy Spirit would come and dwell with us. That's the TRINITY!! The whole Trinity! [John 14]

In Isaiah 48:12, God tells us Who He is..."I am He, I am the first, I am also the last."

Then Jesus repeats it three times in the book of Revelation:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty." [Revelation 1:8]

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. [Revelation 21:6]

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." [Revelation 22:13]

The power of the First and Last is the power that works in us!

'Now to Him who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE OWER THAT WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:20,21]

Think about that—I mean, stop what you're doing and really think about it.

Not only full of the One Who is the First and the Last, but actually united with Him...one Spirit with the Lord.

Hallelujah!

The Jesus Blueprint

We’ve all heard the expression ‘When they made him [or her], they broke the mold...’ implying, of course, that the individual in question is one-of-a-kind and non-reproducible.

However, in the case of Jesus, it’s just the opposite! He is the mold, the blueprint, for the race of God-in-earthen-vessels called Christians. He is the First Born of Many Brethren, the Word become flesh—and we are the Word multiplied!

I John 4:17 says ‘...as He is, so are we in this world.’ We are like Him—made complete in Him, and Paul went so far as to say that he had died, and Christ lived in him. Since we know that God is no respecter of persons, that's us, too!

Ephesians 2:4-7 says that we were crucified with Him, buried and raised up with Him, and seated with Him in heavenly places.

Hallelujah! He’s the blueprint for us! We’re made to be conformed to His image. Heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus! [Romans 8:17]

One Spirit with the Lord. [1 Corinthians 6:17]

I DARE you to believe it!

Abide

I heard Jesus say, quite clearly, "I am all paid up. Everything I have is yours. When you pray in My Name, to the Father it is as though I am praying. I am all paid up, and so are you."

I understood that, while I had been praying in the Name of Jesus, I hadn't really seen that I was praying based on His righteousness, on His completed work, which is everything! He totally fulfilled the law and gave me His righteousness...when I pray in His name, I'm praying based on His righteousness.

I had seen that, because I am one Spirit with Him, His name was my name, too, and that His Name belonged to me. But it is so much more than that!

I also knew that the Name of Jesus is like a power of attorney...we can do anything with that Name that He can.

When praying for a specific thing or over a specific matter, I am tapping into His riches in glory, which is everything. Because I am in covenant with Him, everything He has, which is everything, is mine, and everything I have is His. [1 Corinthians 3:21,22]

He has already been punished for all of my sin—past, present and future. [Romans 6:10; Hebrews 7:27, 9:12; 1 Peter 3:18] And He has redeemed me from the curse of the Law—all of the curse which results from not keeping all the Law. [Galatians 3:13]

So any idea of prayer being answered or not answered based on my performance is in error.

The Might of His Glory

One of the Holy Spirit's prayers for us can be found in the first chapter of Colossians.

'...that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER, ACCORDING TO HIS GLORIOUS MIGHT, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.' [Colossians 1:9-12]

The literal translation of the phrase His glorious might is actually THE MIGHT OF HIS GLORY!

We are His temple, and as the temple of old was filled with His glory, so are we! Jesus said

"The glory which You have given Me I HAVE given to 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.

"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, BE WITH ME WHERE I AM [ref Eph 2:6], so that they may SEE My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.' [John 17:22-24]

That glory has might [Gr. kratos]—force, strength, power, mighty with great power, dominion—and according to, or by, that might we are STRENGTHENED WITH ALL POWER!

Then there's the Holy Spirit's prayer for us in Ephesians 3...

'For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be STRENGTHENED WITH POWER through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be FILLED UP TO ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD.

Now to Him who is able to do FAR MORE ABUNDANTLY BEYOND ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK, ACCORDING TO THE POWER THT WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:14-21]

Now that's power, and that power is how He does far more abundantly beyond ALL that we ask or think.

Speak To The Rock

"Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it my yield its water." [Numbers 20:8]

This event is basically a repeat of Exodus 17:6. Israel had just come through the Red Sea—they had crossed over on the dry land, seen their enemies wiped out and had seen the pillars of cloud and fire that guided and protected them. They had been protected through the plagues of Egypt and had seen God miraculously provide manna for food in the midst of the wilderness.

The people complained that they had no water—God told Moses to strike the rock with his rod and water came out for them to drink.

But this time, God told Moses to do something different. Instead of physically striking the rock, He told Moses to SPEAK TO THE ROCK...

Now, this is just my opinion, but I think He expected Moses' faith to be more fully developed than before. Even though we all know that hitting a rock with a stick won't bring forth water, it is still a natural, physical act that seems to make sense on a certain level. If I hit it, it will yield. Particularly for the male of the species...

But now, after all that Moses had seen, after Moses had seen God work by His Word in the earth, I think God was saying, in effect, come up to the next level.

Certainly Jesus taught us to speak to the physical world. Certainly the entire book of Proverbs teaches us to live by the fruit of our lips.

Maybe, like Moses, it's time for us to speak to the rock. We know that the Father has gladly given us the Kingdom...that all things belong to us and He has given us all things richly to enjoy. We know that every promise of God is yes in Him and that we are redeemed from the curse. Maybe it's time to speak to the rock of seemingly immoveable physical circumstance and command the blessings to come forth! They belong to us, just like provision belonged to the Israelites, based on God's eternal covenant with Abraham.

We have an eternal covenant, too, in the precious Blood of Jesus...a better covenant with better promises!

Maybe, just maybe, it's time for us to enter our Promised Land...the Sabbath rest of His works, finished from the foundation of the world.

Why didn't the Israelites enter His rest? Because '...the word they heard did not profit them, because it was NOT UNITED BY FAITH IN THOSE WHO HEARD.' [Hebrews 4:2]

Time to wrest our inheritance from the rock of physical circumstance. It already belongs to us!

Speak to the rock.

Enter His Rest 2

What exactly is His rest?

Let's look at Hebrews 4:

'For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, "AS I SWORE IN MY WRATH, THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST," although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: "AND GOD RESTED ON THE SEVENTH DAY FROM ALL HIS WORKS"; and again in this passage, "THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST." Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, "Today," saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, "TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS."

'For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.' [Hebrews 4:3-11]

This passage states that His works were finished from the foundation of the world...and we know that His Word is settled forever. [Psalm 119:89]

His finished works are His forever settled Word!

Everything God did He did by His Word...and that is settled forever, eternally. The Hebrew word 'forever' is owlam—continuous existence, perpetual, everlasting, eternal.

And we know that 2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us 'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.'

And The Point Is...
The point is, His forever settled Word, His everlasting promises are His rest, and they belong to us. Just as the Promised Land was His rest for the Israelites [Hebrews 3:16-19] so His forever settled Word is our rest.

Consider Hebrews 3:18-19; 4:2...

'And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

'For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard DID NOT PROFIT THEM, because IT WAS NOT UNITED BY FAITH IN THOSE WHO HEARD.'

Israel did not enter the rest of His promised land because of unbelief...they believed the evil report of the 10 spies instead of the faith-filled report of Joshua and Caleb. [Numbers 13]

God had promised them the land! But they did not unite that word, that promise, with faith, so the promise did them no good. They did not enter the promised rest.

What was that rest? Peace...

'Then it shall come about when the LORD your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you eat and are satisfied, then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.' [Deuteronomy 6:10-12]

You cannot have peace without wealth, health and protection. And every one of His promises, including those of health, wealth and protection are our promised land.

Jesus prayed "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" [Matthew 6:10] so we know that these promises are for this earthly, natural life.

His Word is His work, His rest. Enter in by uniting it by faith.

The Stability of Your Times

'And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure.' [Isaiah 33:6]

What a great promise, particularly in these unstable times.

Let's look a little closer...

The Hebrew word for 'wealth' here is chocen, meaning riches, treasure, wealth. So whatever it is, there's a lot of it!

The word 'salvation' is Yashuwah in Hebrew...salvation, deliverance, welfare, prosperity, victory! Those are all great things to have a lot of.

Wisdom. Read Proverbs and you will quickly see how important having the wisdom of God is.

'How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her.

'Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.

'The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew.

'My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck.

'Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

'Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught.' [Proverbs 3:13-26]

Wow. That pretty much sums up the blessed life, doesn't it?

Read on...
The Hebrew word translated 'fear' here is yirah, meaning, in this context, respect, reverence piety...to be revered.

This Scripture says that the fear, or reverence, of the Lord is his treasure—owstar—storehouse, treasure (gold, silver, etc), treasury, magazine of weapons!

Okay, let's put it all together.

'And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth (riches, treasury) of salvation (deliverance, welfare, prosperity, victory), wisdom (everything mentioned in Proverbs 3 and more) and knowledge; the fear (reverence) of the LORD is his treasure—his storehouse, treasury, magazine.'

What is his treasury full of? Everything that is salvation, wisdom and knowledge, which is EVERYTHING!

Pretty good, don't you think? Now that's stability!

Don't Look Up 2

Read Don't Look Up...

When we read that we're seated in Him in heavenly places, we tend to think of ourselves as visitors in that place...seated in Him, but still somehow separates.

NO!! WE BELONG THERE! Why? Because we are one Spirit with the Lord! [1 Corinthians 6:17]

We were crucified WITH Him [Romans 6:6, Galatians 2:20], buried WITH Him in baptism and raised up WITH Him when He was raised from the dead! [Colossians 2:12, Ephesians 5,6]

We were made alive WITH Him and seated IN Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus! [Ephesians 2:6]

BY HIS DOING YOU ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!! [1 Corinthians 1:30]

In A Nutshell
Here it is, in a nutshell. We were crucified IN HIM, we were buried IN HIM, we were raised up and seated in heavenly places IN HIM. We are ONE SPIRIT WITH THE LORD.

We are NOT separate from Him, and He is NOT separate from the Father or the Holy Spirit. That's why 1 John 4:17 says '...as He IS, so also are we IN THIS WORLD.'

Good Treasure

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his MOUTH SPEAKS FROM THAT WHICH FILLS HIS HEART.' [Luke 6:45]

"The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your WORDS you will be justified, and by your WORDS you will be condemned." [Matthew 12:35-37]

'...in whom [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.' [Colossians 2:3]

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom." [Luke 12:32]

'...all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.' [1 Corinthians 3:22,23]

'For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst—within you, inside.' [Luke 17:21]'How BLESSED is the man whose strength is in You, in whose HEART are the HIGHWAYS TO ZION!' [Psalm 84:5]

'For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority...' [Colossians 2:9,10]

'But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves...' [2 Corinthians 4:7]

'Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the POWER THAT WORKS WITHIN US, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.' [Ephesians 3:20]

'...while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are NOT SEEN; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are ETERNAL.' [2 Corinthians 4:18]

'Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.' [Psalm 37:4]*

Make No Mistake About It

"These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.' [Mark 4:15]

Make no mistake about it, the minute you hear from the Lord, Satan will come IMMEDIATELY to steal it.

Let's say, for example, you see something wonderful, life-changing in the Word...or you hear something preached that really speaks to you. You're excited, hopeful—you can feel your faith rising, because faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. [Romans 10:17]

I guarantee that satan will attack. Doubt, fear will creep in, maybe turning into depression or hopelessness. As high as you were about the revelation, that's how low you'll go when satan tries you on for size.

What's It To Him?
Why? Because he has been disarmed [Colossians 2:15] and we have authority over his power. [Luke 10:19] Because he knows who we are in Christ even if we don't. He knows we've been strengthened with ALL POWER in our inner man [Colossians 1:11] and filled up to ALL THE FULLNESS OF GOD! [Ephesians 3:19]

More importantly, he knows that we've been called to reign in life [Romans 5:17] and CAST HIM OUT! [Mark 16:17] This doesn't just mean casting out devil from people—many of us will never do that. It means that, but in a broader sense it means throwing him out of any area of our lives that he's messing with—throwing him out of our schools and neighborhoods and churches and cities!

What's Taking So Long?

When God made His first promise to Abram, he was seventy-five years old.

'Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father's house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse.

And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." So Abram went forth as the LORD had spoken to him; and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.' [Genesis 12:1-4]

That was God's first promise of descendants. You know the story...Sarai his wife had always been barren, even as a young woman, and as the years went on, she offered her maid, Hagar, to Abram to help God out.

He was eighty-six when Ishmael was born.

Years later, when Abram was ninety-nine, God came to him again to reinforce His initial covenant. This time, however, He did something different.

'Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am God Almighty; walk before Me, and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly."

'Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying, "As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

"I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you. I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God."' [Genesis 17:1-8

Let's recap...Abram was seventy-five years old when God made His initial promise that he would become a great nation. In subsequent conversations, God told Abram explicitly that the heir would come from his own body [Genesis 15:4]. But as time wore on, Sarai and Abram decided to take matters into their own hands.

Mizpah

The Mizpah, a famous blessing found in Genesis, was spoken between Jacob and Laban, his father-in-law:

'May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent one from the other.' [Genesis 32:49]

Get this...the Hebrew word 'mizpah' means watchtower! The words formed an eternal watchtower! The words did the watching between Jacob and Laban!

I know I'm using a lot of exclamation points, but this is REALLY BIG!

The WORDS were the watchtower!!!!

Dabar
Remember the Hebrew word for 'word'...dabar? It is also translated as 'thing.' The word, spoken in faith, IS the thing.

Think about it...

Stolen! [re-post]

[Re-posted from 5/20/2009]

When I consider what Satan has stolen from the church, it makes my blood boil. So many Christians are living defeated lives, wondering why God isn't helping them.

Satan has deceived us into laying down the most powerful weapons available to us, and in doing so has crippled us from our calling to reign in life. When you remove these from the Christian's arsenal, it's no wonder we are defeated.

Praise
"It's not really necessary, just praise God if you feel like it. It's optional."

NO...praise is a powerful weapon. Read Psalms 149 and you'll see that it is one of the weapons used to bind strong enemies!

If you have trouble getting started, get some praise music and sing along. Or, read one the Psalms [145 to 150 in particular] out loud, personalizing it as you go.

Praying in the Spirit
"That's not for today. Only weirdos do it. You can if you want, but it's not necessary."

NO...praying in the Spirit is how we pray when we don't know how. It is how the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to the will of God. [Romans 8:26,27]

Praying in the Spirit builds us up in our most holy FAITH! [Jude 1:20]

Praying in the Spirit speaks mysteries to God [1 Corinthians 14:2] and edifies us—builds up, restores, repairs, establishes...promotes growth in Christian wisdom, affection grace and virtue! [1 Corinthians 14:4]

Sounds good to me! Ask God to be baptized in His Holy Spirit and start praying. If words come that don't sound like your own native language, keep going! It might be slow at first, and you'll have to fight the natural inclination to stop because it seems like you're making it up, but KEEP GOING!

It is His will for you.

Meditation/Imagination/Visualization
"That's not for Christians. That's New Age, Buddhism—you'd better watch out or you'll open yourself up to evil spirits. It's evil."

NO...Joshua 1;8 says 'This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.'

Most of the prophets 'saw' the word from the Law—we are told to look at the unseen. [2 Corinthians 4:18] What would that include? Everything that the Word says is ours--angelic protections, wealth, health, favor, etc.

David talks about meditating on God's Word, His glorious works, etc throughout the Psalms--God called him a 'man after My heart.' [Acts 13:22]

It is one of the primary tools for renewing your mind and transforming your life.

The Word
"You don't have to read the Bible every day. Any inspirational book will do. It's not that important."

NO...Jesus IS the Word [John 1:14] and we are the Word multiplied [Acts 12:24]

The Word is the other weapon mentioned in Psalm 149, and is described in the Ephesians and Revelations as the 'sword of the Spirit.' His word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and will not return to Him without accomplishing His desire [Isaiah 55:11].

Jesus said a branch cut off from the vine is dead--when we're cut off from the Word, we're dead, too. [John 15:4-8]

Wealth
"Christians aren't supposed to be wealthy. It's okay to have some things, but watch that you don't have too much. It's not God's will."

NO...read the Bible. If there are more verses on another topic, I don't know what it is. It is absolutely the will of God that His people be blessed in every area, including the financial. All things belong to us already [1 Corinthians 3:22,23], richly to enjoy [1 Timothy 6:17].

Wealth accompanies wisdom [Proverbs 3:16] and Jesus became to us wisdom [1 Corinthians 1:30]. We are not the poor, we are rich, and Satan has stolen our God-given wealth. We have the blessing of Abraham, and Satan is trying to make sure we never find out.

Plus, you're not going to help anyone if you're just barely getting by. The greatest philanthropists in the world are the richest men and women.

Healing/Long Life
"It's not always God's will to heal. He might want you to suffer to teach you something. He might want to take you home early. He might get glory from your sickness. Remember Paul's thorn."

[yikes]

NO...Read the Bible. Jesus already bore our sicknesses and pains, and by His stripes WE WERE HEALED [Isaiah 53:4, 1 Peter 2:24]. We are not the sick, we are the healed and Satan is trying to steal our health!

Proverbs 3:16 says long life is in Wisdom's right hand, and Psalm 91:16 says that He will satisfy us with long life!

Jesus healed everyone who asked--the only people He could not heal were those from His home town, because they didn't believe in Him. And it's clear that it was His desire to heal them--their unbelief stopped His power. [Matthew 13:58]

And Paul's thorn was a messenger of Satan...a demonic being, not a sickness. [2 Corinthians 12:7]

This is another subject on which there are many scriptures. Get out the book and dig. Sick people can't do anything for the Kingdom, either.

Protection
"Well, you never know what's going to happen. The accident may have been God's will. You shouldn't go [fill in the blank] because it's too dangerous. I'm afraid to fly. I'm terrified when my kids are driving at night."

NO...read Psalm 91, Isaiah 54:17, Psalms 23, 32, 34, 68 [ok, go ahead, read them all]. The angel(s) are there, in that unseen realm--see them, and believe. [2 Kings 6:17]

Blessings On Our Children
Well, we don’t know why God took your baby. He may have needed a flower for His garden.

Don’t even get me started. I’m so tired of hearing about children of Christian parents dying young. I have pages and pages of promises for the offspring of the righteous, and none contain any of the BS excuses I hear about God’s will to kill 9 or 17 year olds.

I believe this is one of the greatest deceptions foisted on the church, specifically designed to do the most damage to individuals and to the corporate body as well.

I sat in a packed out memorial service for a 22 year old friend of my son’s and heard the minister say “We don’t know why God let this happen…”

I wanted to scream “Tell the truth! These parents have another son! We all have children! Teach us to protect them with the Word of God!” But I didn’t, being the chicken that I am. And thousands of people went home that day believing that God might want to kill their kids, too.

Understanding
"You can't ever know what God's will is. Eye has not seen, nor ear heard..."

[double yikes]

This is one of my pet peeves. Why is it that only the first part of that verse is quoted, usually at funerals, to justify why we can't understand why God [fill in the tragedy].

READ THE BIBLE!!! 1 Corinthians 2:9 is quoting Isaiah 64...but the very next verse says 'For to us God revealed them through the Spirit...' Verse 12 goes on to say 'Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God...'

1 John 2 says we have an anointing which teaches us all things! Jesus has become to us wisdom from God! [1 Corinthians 1:30]

This deception goes hand in hand with the one about praying in the Spirit and the Word. These are the principle ways to access the mind of Christ, which is ours already [1 Corinthians 2:16]

The answer, by the way, re: why God is [fill in the tragedy] is that He's not..."The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." [John 10:10] These words are in red, by the way...an alternate translation reads "...and have abundance."

More...
There is so much more to be written on this topic. Watch for it...

The Purpose of Fear 3

Read The Purpose of Fear, The Purpose of Fear 2

We are told to look at the eternal unseen and not the temporary seen! [2 Corinthians 4:18]

While faith shows us the unseen will of God, fear shows us the evil unseen. Fear whispers a word to us and we immediately see the evil coming to pass.

I've heard many people, myself included, say "I just have trouble visualizing."

With a little further investigation, we see that what they [I] really mean is that we have trouble visualizing good things coming to pass in our lives.

Which is really a problem, because Bible hope is the earnest expectation that God's promises are true and will come to pass...and faith is the SUBSTANCE of THINGS HOPED FOR! The conviction or evidence of THINGS NOT SEEN!!

I'm going to repeat that...faith is the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for...evidence of things NOT SEEN!

Since fear is faith's evil twin and what we fear befalls us, it stands to reason that fear is also the substance of things feared, the evidence of bad things not seen!

People, Satan KNOWS how things really work! That's one of the reasons he's deceived us into 'thinking rationally, thinking logically.' Because worldly wisdom—natural rationality—denies the supernatural completely and cripples us from walking in its power.

Don't Look Up...

...look down! You are seated in heavenly places in Christ!

'But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and SEATED US WITH HIM IN THE HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.' [Ephesians 2:4-7]

'But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.' [Hebrews 12:22-2]

'"Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."' [John 14:1-3]

These are quantum thoughts! We exist in two different places at once—the natural, physical world, and in heavenly places, too! In fact, Psalm 84:5 says that in our hearts are the HIGHWAYS TO ZION!

In sci-fi speak, that means portals...to Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem! In our hearts!