THE LIFE OF FAITH AND THE GLORIOUS CHURCH - 2009
                                                      MARCH 3rd

  "SLAVES" OF OBEDIENCE VS. "SLAVES" OF SIN


         ...."Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?"....
                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Romans 6:16 NASB


          All these principles that we are talking about, and all these scriptures we are dealing with are designed to "paint the picture" in the spirit of the believer of the importance of coming into the "full" realization of what the "true" Christian life is. We need to have our minds renewed, and the only way that our minds are going to be renewed is to be separated from the world - separated from all that is of Satan [in heart attachment] and separated unto ALL that proceeds forth from God. There are always two steps found in the consecration of the individual believer: one, is the separation from the world and two is the separation unto the Word of God. This is an absolute revelation that every believer must have burning in their hearts. Any believer who acts on their own, that is, sows to the flesh, immediately leaves the authority of the Word and comes directly under the control [influence] of Satan. Every person in the earth is either being controlled by God through obedience to His Word or by Satan, through disobedience to that Word! From this statement we can see clearly that we must have God's Word abiding in our heart. We need to walk in ALL of the light [revelation] that we have at ALL times, and we need to know and be assured in our heart that we are walking in the will of God and, thus, that we are not misrepresenting Jesus Christ in ANY way. The only way that one is able to come into the "full" assurance of this is to have their mind renewed to such a great degree that they will operate spontaneously in perfect accordance with the thoughts and intentions of the Father's heart - and, thus, understand all things in light of His will. It is written that the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit and, as we continue on in the Word, that love is shed abroad in our hearts to a continually greater degree. We know that love never fails and we also know that love understands all things - so, therefore, to the degree that we allow ourselves to have the Word of God "assimilated" into our being [spirit, soul and body] it is to that degree that we are able to walk in the full assurance of our "perfect representation" of Jesus Christ - knowing that we are accomplishing the will of God in all that we do and say.

"WHATEVER IS NOT FROM FAITH IS SIN"

          Every believer must realize that God has made the Provision [in Christ] for us to walk in perfect obedience - through the exercising of faith in Him in all that we do and say. It is written in Romans 14:23b that "whatever is not from faith is sin",  and we must know that God has made the provision for us to walk in an "absolute faith" at all times - for what He commands, He empowers. As we go out into the world, it is certain that we have the opportunity to exercise faith in everything we do and, thus, choose the wisdom [Word] of God or choose our "own" understanding [the darkened wisdom of this world]. As we put ourselves in a position to receive a continually deeper revelation of God's Will, and our mind is constantly being renewed through the Word of God [and by the power of the Holy Spirit], then we shall be enabled from on high to walk above error and in perfect accuracy. After all, the sole reason why we [the Church] are still in the earth is to fulfil the ministry of Jesus, and how can we fulfil the ministry of Jesus if we do not have the same attitude as He did in our heart [Philippians 2:3-8]? The answer is, we cannot! This is why we must continue daily to put the principles of God into action in our lives through our faith in His Word, and be found placing our total trust and reliance upon Him at every turn - for it is certain that the Father is faithful, and what He has called us to do He shall also bring to pass in our lives [1 Thessalonians 5:23-24].

Related Scriptures: Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 13:8a; Ephesians 4:29; Acts 10:38;


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