WALKING IN THE FULLNESS OF OUR INHERITANCE

FEBRUARY 29th



ONE "MUST" MAKE A "QUALITY DECISION" TO LIVE BY FAITH


          ...."For we walk by faith not by sight"....

                                                               2 Corinthians 5:7 NASB


          ...."So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God"....

                                                                                                                                            Romans 10:17 KJV        


In this final hour, "faith" [trust] needs to become, once again, a key word in the lives of all those who have been born again, and filled with the mighty Spirit of God. Every Christian should have a clear definition of what faith is, and they should know what is expected of them by their Heavenly Father. Believers also need to have a deep heart-desire to live the life of faith. Romans 14:23 states that, "whatever is not from faith is sin" and Hebrews 11:6 states that, "without faith it is impossible to please Him". Through these two scriptures alone we can see clearly that if we are "truly" going to serve God then we must do it on the terms that He has set out for us in His Word. The first step to the life of faith is for us to give God's Word pre-eminence in our lives. Until we make the "quality" decision to put the Word of God first in our lives we will not be able to enter into the place of an "abiding" faith and trust in the Father.

It is written in Luke 10:27:

        ...."You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself"....

        In this command that the Father set out we see that He demands total consecration from each and every one of us. It does not matter what denomination we have "attached" ourselves to, or what their doctrines might say, the Father commands His children to consecrate themselves WHOLLY unto Him, and pursue holiness with ALL diligence. Let it be clearly understood by every true believer that this most certainly involves EVERY aspect of our lives. It must also be understood clearly that there is not one provision made anywhere in the Bible for a life that is not "wholly given" to God in one's service to Him. In every respect we, as believers, from the moment we are "re-born" [born again from on high], must give ourselves completely to the One Who called us - in order that we might be found fulfilling His perfect purpose for our lives in the time we have remaining on this earth. At times, theology, tradition and the doctrines of men, have made the life of consecration and holiness [the call to spiritual perfection, in Christ] seem as if it were only some "idealistic unreality" for our lives rather than the very real and direct command of our Heavenly Father to "love Him with all our heart". Satan's plot is to convince us [through our holding to a "sin-consciousness"] that we are surely less than perfect UNTIL we step out of "this life" and into eternity - and, therefore, we might as well continue on being "conformed" to this world and its ways. It is a "lie" that has kept many children of God from walking in the life of joy and blessing the Father has in store for them and, if believed to ANY degree, will most certainly cause one to walk in a manner that continually finds them "relying" on their five physical senses and their own understanding and strength rather than on the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of this lack of a pure consecration they walk by "sight" and not by faith, and in the wisdom of this present world system rather than the Wisdom of God.

In John 1:1-5 the Word states:

        ...."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 by Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (overpower) it"....

        In this passage we see that Jesus is called the Word, and we realize from this that God's Word must be the sole and final authority in each of our lives. As we are faithful to do this - day in and day out - we will see clearly that we are giving Jesus His proper place in ALL things. For is it not true that the written Word of God is nothing less than the inspired "revelation" of our Lord, Jesus Christ? Because of this "fact" [spiritual reality] we are now able to see the pieces fitting together. Many children of God have "attempted" - through their own "good intentions" - to put Jesus in His rightful place as Lord in their lives, but have, for the most part, neglected to "live" by the Word of God, alone. Because they have "mentally ascended" to God's Word, they remain in a position of leaning upon their own darkened understanding. This, in turn, "allows" the Evil One to keep them in a state of fear, confusion and darkness when it comes to living the life of consecration, faith and holiness that they are called to. The spontaneous by-product of this is that it most certainly prevents them from walking in the Fathers "best" for them in every area of their lives, and also from representing Him properly. All believers need to have "revealed knowledge" of what and Who the Word of God truly is! Some believe that the Bible is just a guidebook and, while in a sense it is, it is certainly a great deal more than that!

In Hebrews 4:12 the Word states:

        ...."For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart"....

and again in 2 Timothy 3:16-17:

        ...."All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work"....

        The Word of God is not just a group of words placed in a book. It is the "living" Word of God and, thus, each word or statement found within the Bible has the "supernatural power" within it to bring itself to pass - in and by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need enter into a deep realization of what the Word of God truly is; we need to know that the Word of God is a Person, and not just a group of words thrown together for no purpose. We must realize that the Bible we are carrying around is a copy of our Heavenly Father's "love letter" to us - and it is only when we have had these things revealed to our heart by the Spirit of God that we shall come to the "full realization" of the tremendous importance of placing the Word of God first and foremost in our lives.                              

Hebrews 1:1-3 states:

        ...."God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers by 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. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power"....

In verse 3 the Word states that Jesus was the exact representation of God's nature, and the Word also says in that verse that He upholds ALL things by the word of His power. In giving God's Word first in our lives, we need to make the heart decision to serve God above ALL else; in other words, to hand over our lives "wholly" to the One Who gave His own life for us and, in doing these things, truly make Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. In studying the Word of God we must realize that this is what is expected of us, and that as we make this "quality decision" by faith [as an act of our will] - we can assuredly expect the Father, by the Holy Spirit, to empower us to be all, in Christ, that we were called to be - thus fulfilling the His perfect will for our lives in every way. We must also come to truly believe the portion of God's Word in Hebrews 11:6 which states:  

        ...."he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him"....

        As we step out in faith and obedience, and begin to saturate our heart with the Word of God we will experience two things. First, we will begin to experience "first hand" the lovingkindness and faithfulness of our dear Heavenly Father, and we will also begin to see that ALL He commands, He empowers - and that He will NEVER fail us nor forsake us. As we grow in the faith, our lives will become the exciting adventure they were meant to be rather than lives motivated by fear [bondage to Satan's control]. For the one who truly gives the Word [Will] of God pre-eminence will SURELY gain a deep revelation of the spiritual reality that the law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has set them free from the Law of sin and death. Secondly, they will experience that faith comes by "hearing" - and hearing, by the Word of God, and they shall also find that in meditating on the Word day and night that that Word shall become their very joy and sustenance.

 Matthew 4:4 states:     

        ...."man shall not live on bread alone, but on every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God"....

        Again, as we seek to live and walk by faith in EVERY area of our lives, it is absolutely necessary to put God's Word first in our lives! As we continually "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness", all of the things we need to both live and fulfil the life of faith and obedience will be added unto us. I will say once again that without placing God's Word in it's proper spot in our lives we will not be able to walk in ALL that the Father has for us. We must again remember that the Heavenly Father has made no provision for the "part-time" Christian and, thus, we must take seriously what the Word of God calls us to be in Christ! The lateness of the hour, and the clarity with which the Word of God calls us to the life of consecration and holiness must preclude any attempt by the children of God to remain in a state of carnality! We must go before the Lord and settle this issue once and for all - firm in the conviction that the Father has nothing but good in store for all those who truly love Him.

Related Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 5:15; Matthew 5:48; Romans 8:2; Joshua 1:8; Matthew 6:33; Romans 13:14;


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