Pull Back the Curtain

We've talked at length about seeing the unseen on this blog...do a search and you'll find lots of articles here on the subject. Remember Hagar's well? How about the table set before us in the presence of our enemies? Elisha's armies?

All examples of pre-existing provision from Jehovah Jireh...the Lord Who Sees Ahead and Provides.

Faith
We know that faith is the substance of things hoped for [Hebrews 11:1]—we also know that faith is always in two places...the heart and the mouth. [Mark 11:22-24; Romans 10:9,10; Luke 6:45]

We see something in the Word and begin confess it into our lives. But I think we leave out the all-important step of seeing come to pass when we pray...seeing the unseen.

We know that God's Word is settled forever [Psalm 119:89] and that His works were finished from the foundation of the world. [Hebrews 4:3]

We also know that He has already given us the Kingdom [Luke 12:32] and that all things belong to us [1 Corinthians 3:21,22]. That every promise is already 'yes' in Christ [2 Corinthians 1:20] and that we are redeemed from the curse of the law [Galatians 3:13]

But when we go to pray [which includes the confession of God's Word into the earth...see James 5 and 1 Kings 17,18] I think many of us talk to an empty place. We believe in seeing the unseen, but only as a kind of involuntary vision...if we are lucky enough to get them!

We hope our prayers get answered, instead of believing they already are!

'And 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 seek Him.' [Hebrews 11:6]

Folks, God WANTS us to use faith to bring His Kingdom into the earth!

'"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven."' [Matthew 6:10]

He WANTS us to pray and say His Word, so He can watch over it TO PERFORM IT!!! [Jeremiah 1:12]

And He wants us to see the unseen...He told us to look at the unseen! [2 Corinthians 4:18]

Guess What?

It is absolutely the will of God that His Word be fulfilled.

Period.

That is why He spoke it...for it to come to pass.

Consider these scriptures:

'Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it."' [Jeremiah 1:12]

"For I the LORD will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. It will no longer be delayed, for in your days, O rebellious house, I will speak the word and perform it," declares the Lord GOD.' [Ezekiel 12:25]

'The LORD has done what He purposed; He has accomplished His word Which He commanded from days of old.' [Lamentations 2:17]

The Way...

When you feel like there's no way out, no possible solution to your situation, remember this...

Jesus is the Way.

He said "I AM the WAY, and the TRUTH, and the LIFE; no one comes to the Father but through Me." [John 14:6]

He IS the Word [John 1:1] and in Him ALL the promise of God are YES! [2 Corinthians 1:20]

He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the way, the truth, the life.

All things were created for and by Him. [Colossians 1:16]

And all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him. [Colossians 2:3]

Yes, He is everything.

The Seed of Abraham

'So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

'Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

'Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.' [Galatians 3:9,13,14,16]

Jesus is the Seed of Abraham...we are One Spirit with Him [1 Corinthians 6:17].

Galatians 3 says that we who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. We, plural.

Yet in v. 16 it says the promise is to SEED, singular, which is Christ.

Do you know that when Jesus was born into the earth, He was described as the '...only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.' [John 1:14] John 3:16 calls Him the only begotten Son!

But here, in Galatians 3, we are called the sons of God, neither male nor female...just God inside! Hallelujah!

The Door of Your Lips

Your lips—your mouth, your tongue, your words—are a door!

'Set a guard, O Lord, over my MOUTH; keep watch over the DOOR OF MY LIPS.' [Psalm 141:3]

A door? A door to what? A door, or gate, to your life!

'Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.' [Proverbs 18:21]

Oh, my. How about this?

'But you will CALL your walls salvation, and your GATES PRAISE.' [Isaiah 60:18]

Which door do you want to open? Door #1, door #2 or door #3?

It's up to you. Study the books of Psalms and Proverbs—note every scripture that mentions the mouth, the tongue, lips.

Note where there are actual quotes and what the result of those spoken words are. For example:

'The Lord gives the command [word]; the women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host [army]:

[and this is what they say] "Kings of armies flee, they flee, And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!" [Psalm 68:11,12]

The women say what God says...they're the army behind the army, fighting with their words! And they will participate in the victory!

How about this one?

'He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will SAY to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust!"' [Psalm 91:1,2]

And then the rest of Psalm 91—all of the protection and deliverance—are the result of his declaration of that protection and deliverance!

Destiny

'Let the redeemed of the Lord SAY so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary' [Psalm 107:2]

Why? What's the point?

Because your words are the vehicle of your salvation!

'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]

Hallelujah!

Finally, remember Joel 3:10...

'Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man."'

Talk about calling things that be not as though they were! That's why God changed Abrahm's name to Abraham! He had him CALL himself 'Father of a multitude of nations' BEFORE he had a son!

He was old, his wife was old and barren. Please note: God did NOT have him call himself 'Old guy with no kids'!

His lips were the door to his destiny.

Think about it.

If It Looks Impossible...

...it's a deception! An outright lie from the Father of Lies!

Why?

Because God has already said:

"ALL THINGS are possible to him who believes." [Mark 9:23]

"With people this is impossible, but with God ALL THINGS are possible." [Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27]

"The things that are impossible with people are possible with God." [Luke 18:27]

'And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will SAY to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and NOTHING will be impossible to you."' [Matthew 17:20]

"For nothing will be impossible with God." [Luke 1:37]

'For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are YES; therefore also through Him is our AMEN—so be it—to the GLORY OF GOD THROUGH US.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

'But thanks be to God, who ALWAYS leads us in TRIUMPH in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.' [2 Corinthians 2:14]

'...ALL THINGS belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.' [1 Corinthians 3:22,23]

'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?' [Romans 8:32]

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

'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."' [Mark 11:22-24]

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me ANYTHING in My name, I will do it." [John 14:13,14]

So if it looks impossible, DON'T LOOK AT IT!

Look at the unseen instead! The forever-settled, established-from-the-foundation-of-the-world WORD OF GOD.

'...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]

I think that's what the Holy Spirit meant, in part, in Philippians 4:8...

'Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.'

Yes, we are to count our blessings...remember the good things God has already done as well as the good things in your life right now.

But, as there is no time or space in the Spirit and God has finished His works from the foundation of the world, you can meditate on the forever-settled Word as already accomplished in your life!

How do you see it? By faith!

'Now faith is the ASSURANCE—that which has actual existence, substance, real being—of things hoped for, the CONVICTION—proof—of things NOT SEEN.' [Hebrews 11:1]

Remember...'For as he thinks within himself, so he is.' [Proverbs 23:7] If you fall for the deception that something is impossible for you, it will be. If you think it is possible, it will be.

If you think it's already done, it is.

That's why Satan uses deception—he knows he can get you to use your own power against you!

Don't let him do it!

Hallelujah.

Fully Persuaded

If you're still waiting for God to move, you're not fully persuaded.

Being fully persuaded means you know He has already answered, already moved.

Of course, we know from Hebrews 4 that His works were finished from the foundation of the world, and 2 Corinthians 1:20 assures us that all the promises of God are YES in Him. So much for 'sometimes the answer is 'no'...

You know the story of Abraham. He and his wife were WAY old, and she had never been able to conceive. But God promised them a son.

'In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, "SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE."

Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the PROMISE OF GOD, he did NOT WAVER IN UNBELIEF but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being FULLY ASSURED [fully persuaded or convinced] that WHAT GOD HAD PROMISED, HE WAS ABLE ALSO TO PERFORM. [Romans 4:18-21]

According to this passage, he hoped against hope—in other words, he hoped in spite of natural, physical circumstances, in which there was obviously no hope.

How did he do that? He was fully assured—fully persuaded, fully convinced—that God was able to carry out His promises.

Instead of contemplating his old body or Sarah's old, barren body, he believed God. He was FULLY CONVINCED that God's miracle-working power was backing His promises, and that His promises would override natural facts.

If you're still wondering, worrying or waiting, you're not fully persuaded.

Period.

So do what Abraham did.

'...he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God...' [Romans 4:20]

Give glory to God. Meditate on His promises and grow strong in faith. Make the decision not to waver.

Amen.

What Faith Is...

We know from Hebrews 11 that faith is the assurance—the substance, that which has actual existence—of things hoped for, the conviction, or proof, of things not seen.

In Mark 11, Jesus told us to 'believe we receive, when we pray.'

But what do these things mean, really?

Let's put it in context. Do you know how happy, how grateful and thankful you feel when something you've prayed about comes to pass...especially when it was really important?

The sense of relief, joy and gratitude is wonderful.

Then it hit me...believing you receive when you pray is all about experiencing the joy, the thankfulness, the assurance that your prayer is heard and answered at the moment you pray.

How is that possible? 1 John 5 gives us a clue:

'This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

'And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.' [1 John 5:14.15]

And there's always this passage...

'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.' [2 Corinthians 1:20]

Or this...

"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." [John 14:13,14]

So it would seem we have clear guidelines as to what kind of prayers God will answer. If they come from His Word, He will answer.

And if we know that we have the request we ask up front, we should feel just as happy when we pray as when we see it actually come to pass.

That's what faith is. Believing God's Word before we see it in the natural. Feeling as joyful about the answer when we pray as when we actually see it come to pass.

Think about this. Jesus said that answered prayer results in joy...

"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." [John 16:24]

Everyone has joy when answered prayer manifests in the physical realm. But faith sees the answer already done at the point of prayer...that's faith!

Know that your Father loves you and that He is watching over His word to perform it, for you. Believe you receive, when your pray...and rejoice!

The Gospel of the Kingdom

I did a search today for the word 'kingdom' in the New Testament...and came up with fourteen pages of verses!

Fourteen pages, in the New Testament alone!

I had no idea. I guess it's an important idea...

Then I found this:

'Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.' [Matthew 4:23]

I don't know how I missed that! The gospel, or good tidings, of the KINGDOM! Hallelujah!

'For He rescued [or delivered] us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the KINGDOM of His Beloved Son...' [Colossians 1:13]

Here we clearly see that there are two kingdoms—the domain, or kingdom, of darkness, and the Kingdom of His Beloved Son. It is the latter that Jesus, and later the Holy Spirit, reveals to us in the Word.

I've been know to say that, when we pray, we should pray from our position in Christ, seated in Him in heavenly places. [Read Don't Look Up, Don't Look Up 2, Don't Look Up 3]

Heirs

The Word says that we are heirs of God and fellow or joint heirs with Christ. [Romans 8:17]

What does that mean, exactly?

Hebrews 1:1,2 says...

'God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed HEIR OF ALL THINGS, through whom also He made the world.'

So if He is the heir of all things, and we are His joint heirs, that explains the following scriptures...

'For all things belong to you, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.' [1 Corinthians 3:21-23]

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

'...God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.' [1 Timothy 6:17]

Interestingly, God also promised Abraham that he would be the heir of the world:

'For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.' [Romans 4:13]

Hmm...

I think this is how it goes. The promise was made to Abraham and to his seed, singular, which is Christ.

'Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.' [Galatians 3:16]

The Greek word for begotten in the scriptures about Jesus is monogenes—only child. I was an only child, so I was the monogenes of my parents. Jesus is called the only child of God.

But wait...throughout the New Testament we are called the children of God—sons and daughters, fellow heirs with Christ! Jesus becomes an older brother! No longer an only child, but an older brother! What gives?

This is really going to bake your brain...remember that we are all One with Him! Technically, He's still monogenes, just spread out a lot, poured into a lot of temples. [1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19]

We are the Body [singular] of Christ! Hallelujah!

This is why Jesus, when confronting Saul on the road to Damascus, asked why he was persecuting Him? Jesus had already ascended to heaven...Saul was persecuting Christians, but Jesus saw them as One with Him!

All Things
So it is true. We are, with Jesus, heirs of the world.

But think about this...the Word tells us that all things were made by and for Him!

'All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.' [John 1:3]

Let's look at some other important, related truths...

'He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.' [Colossians 1:17]

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

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

So, He made it all—it is all for Him, in Him [including ALL THE FULLNESS OF DEITY] and He is the heir of it all.

And He has decided to share it with us.