Monday, May 30, 2011

He Commanded

'Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the LORD, FOR HE COMMANDED AND THEY WERE CREATED. He has also ESTABLISHED THEM FOREVER AND EVER; He has made a DECREE which will not pass away.' [Psalm 148:1-6]
He commanded all things into being by His Word.
John 1:1-3 puts it this way:
'In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was with God, and the WORD WAS GOD. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.' [John 1:1-3]
And of course, there's Colossians 1:16...
'For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.'
Okay, so we know that Jesus is the WORD and that all things were made by or through and for Him.
We also know, from Psalm 148, that when God gives a command or decree, things are created and established forever. One very big example of this is the first couple of chapters of Genesis. He spoke and it was, period.
We also know, from Psalm 119:89 and Isaiah 40:8 that His Word is settled—stands—forever.

What Does That Have To Do With Me?
I'm glad you asked.
Remember 2 Corinthians 1:20?
'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him if our AMEN [so it is, so be it] to the glory of God THROUGH us.'
Hallelujah!
What about 1 Corinthians 3:21-23?
'For all things belong to you...all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.'
Or Galatians 3:29?
'And if you belong to Christ, then you Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise.'
What exactly was that promise? The he would be heir of the world! [Romans 4:13] And we know from Romans 8:17 that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ!
This Will Cramp Your Brain...
Get this. God has already rested from His works, according to Hebrews 4:3. And what He has commanded or decreed has already been created!
His Word stands forever!
The 'all things' that belong to us have been created by command, before the foundation of the world, just like "Let there be light!"
We may not be able to see them with our natural eyes, but like Hagar's well, Isaac's ram and Elisha's army, they are there, none the less.
The Bible says that the Lord REVEALED the well to Hagar. It was there already, He did not create it at the moment of need! He was Jehovah Jireh, the One Who Sees Ahead and Provides!
Elisha prayed that his servant's eyes might be opened, that he might SEE the army encircling them.
And we are told, specifically, to LOOK at the eternal things which are NOT SEEN. [2 Corinthians 4:18]
Decreed
So, the Word that says whatever we ask of the Father in the Name of Jesus, He will give it to us has been decreed and stands forever, just like the decrees in Genesis 1.
Or, the Word that says He will give us our hearts desire is already established forever in the spiritual realm of the unseen.
How about the Word that says 'by His scourging we are healed?' Or the command that angels have been given charge to guard us in all our ways?
What about the promise of great wealth in our houses, or Wisdom filling our treasuries—our bank accounts— with wealth? Or the promise that the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous?
Okay, Okay...But What About The Here And Now?
I can hear you thinking out there...why? Because I've thought the very same thing.
Great. Everything belongs to me, I'm healed, I'm rich, angels protect me. But if it's all in the spirit realm, what good does it do me here where I live?
Read You Are The Second Witness. As demonstrated through the Prophets of old, God's Word must be spoken in the earth for it to come to pass. He gave authority in the earth to man [male and female] and man reigns by his tongue, for good or evil. Remember, life and death is in the power [or hand] of the tongue! [Proverbs 18:21]
In other words, you take it by faith, just as you took the New Birth.
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]
Sounds a lot like Mark 11:22-24, right?
'And JESUS answered saying to them, "Have faith in God. TRULY I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his HEART, but BELIEVES that WHAT HE SAYS IS GOING TO HAPPEN, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, ALL THINGS for which you pray and ask, BELIEVE that you have RECEIVED them, and they will be granted you."'
This is JESUS speaking here! He is telling us how things work, because HE IS WORD! He was there, according to John 1, Proverbs 8 and Colossians 1, an integral part of the creation process! And now, according to Hebrews 1, He is UPHOLDING ALL THINGS BY THE WORD OF HIS POWER!
[sorry for screaming, I just can't help it...]
See It, Believe It, Say It
So, much to the chagrin of the majority of preachers out there, the Bible method of taking what God has already provided seems to be the spoken word of faith.
First, you see it in the Word and believe that it exists and that it is for you, now. Then you agree with God...decree a thing it will be established. [Job 22:28]
He said it first and it was created. You say it into the earth and it is revealed in the natural realm.
Hallelujah!