Monday, August 8, 2011

SECURE IN CHRIST!


MAY GOD, HIMSELF, THE GOD OF PEACE, SANCTIFY YOU THROUGH AND THROUGH. MAY YOUR WHOLE SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY BE KEPT BLAMELESS AT THE COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. THE ONE WHO CALLS YOU IS FAITHFUL AND HE WILL DO IT. I THESSALONIANS 5:23

  

God is sovereign! He knows all things, He is all powerful and He is everywhere. This is very important to understand and to know in our heart. There is not one place in this universe that He is unaware of and does not see. He is fully conscious of what takes place everywhere. Therefore, He knows where you and I are, not only geographically but spiritually. The enemy likes to see us, God’s children, ignorant of our inheritance, our position and our state of being. He uses ignorance to maintain his doubting and fear tactics to hinder our progress. The Holy Spirit resides in us to destroy the ignorance, doubt and fear that hinders you and me from coming into the fullness in Christ.


Have you ever questioned who you are, why you are here or what your purpose in life is; David did. He wrote in Psalms 8:3, “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” As David was looking at the greatness and the vastness of the universe, the question arose from his inner being; what is man? There is so much confusion within the Body of Christ regarding what is man. Some people say man is mind and matter; others say he is only soul and body. Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit says in I Thessalonians 5:23 “May God, himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it.” Note; He will do it. Here in the scripture we discover man is spirit and soul and lives inside a body. In this revelation of separation, it is important for us to know what God is doing in us and it is important for us to know His process so we can submit to the work of God within us. In my last letter we read examples in history of how God works with man. In Genesis 12 we read the story of Abraham and the process God took him through. This is the same process for his children today; the process of stripping away those things that have come from the past life, the old man; leaving the influence of country, family, and friends. It is amazing to see how God worked through these chosen men and women of the Old Testament without the Holy Spirit residing in them. The Holy Spirit would come upon them for a specific work, and then He would depart. Where is the power that separated Abraham from his country, his people, his culture, his surroundings and his family? Surely the ability is not within man’s self. Remember what we read in I Thessalonians 23:5? HE will do it. Isaiah 55:9 confirms where the ability comes from. God says “As the heavens, are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth; It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” We are entering the mind, the thought and the character of God. The power to take Abraham from his country, from his people, from his family and separate him was in the Word of God that came to him. The minute he accepted God’s word he began to walk in the supernatural power of the word. Today we not only have His word in us we have the Spirit of the Lord in us, the Spirit of the Son in us. Genesis 12:2 reads, “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” The power to fulfill this word was not in the ability of Abraham, all he had to do was surrender his will to the living God and he was moved into the supernatural. By the power of God’s word he was able to release, let go and let God govern his life.


Genesis 12:4 reads, “So Abram left as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.” Who is Lot? He’s from his father’s house. He’s latched on to Abraham even though God said, leave your people and your father’s house. Lot represents the past. In the same way, things from the past continue to latch onto us as we continue our journey. These are emotional attachments and hindrances. It could come from family, surroundings, your work, your community, where you live, friends that have not understood the process of separation. These are soul ties. Sarai, Lot and all the possessions they accumulated and the people they had acquired were attached to Abraham. God said, “I’m speaking to you and you alone.” Here is the mixture. The Holy Spirit is revealing truth to us so we can say, Lord I surrender to you, and I belong to you. There are things we hesitate to release and do not want to give up. God loves us and deals with us to come into the fullness; He wants us to possess everything He has given to us. Abraham arrived in Canaan. Many scholars say Canaan is heaven, but this cannot be because there are no Hittites, Amorites, Philistines, or Canaanites (enemies) in heaven. After Abraham arrives in Canaan, he builds an altar. He is still in the process of separation, so more tests are yet to come. Genesis 12:10 reads, “There was a famine in the land and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.” I picture famine as a time when the rain stopped falling; there was no grass for livestock. His surroundings began to change and they began to influence Abraham. God has chosen a people from before the foundations of the world, for this age. He will reveal them as sons of the living God who have no ties to this world or the world’s system; and the spirit of the world will not control them because they are being controlled by God and the supernatural power of the resurrected Lord. Jesus Christ made it very clear in John 17:14, “. . . for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.” A word of warning to any child of God that thinks help will come from this world or government, which “. . . is under the control of the evil one” (I John 5:19).  The spirit of fear will only get a stronger grip on you, tempting you to save your life, like it did Abraham when he lied about Sarai being his sister and not his wife.


Even now, there is a famine in the land. There is a lack of jobs in America. Fear is starting to control the people as they are losing their homes, their life investments and possessions. Panic is breaking out. But the sons of the living God are standing firm. They have been placed in a position of security. They are secure in Christ. Hebrews 2:17 (KJV), “Wherefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to SUCCOUR them that are tempted.” We are secure in Christ because; He has atoned for us, He has helped us, He has come to our aid. Christ, as a man without sin, conquered all temptations, hostility, anger and rejection. When he accepted and received us, He secured us in the same position He is in, to be an expression of His glory, mercy and love. This is God’s unfolding plan. The world wants to see this. We don’t run to the world. This is why the revelation of ‘unity in the spirit’ was so powerful in the beginning when the church was born. They knew the resources to provide for a member was within the body. In the book of Acts, if any member was lacking and another had, it was given to the lacking member without hesitation. They considered not their possessions as their own.


WHEN ABRAHAM, LIKE PETER, GAVE ATTENTION TO HIS SITUATION HE WENT DOWN.


With all the revelation and technology we claim to have here in North America, there are still areas in this world where the gospel has not been heard. We’ve become self centered and selfish while many are suffering. This is why there is so much confusion in the Body of Christ. Why do we think that we have nothing to do with our brothers in Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Iraq, Russia and other third world countries? We’ve forgotten we are one in Christ. God has to strip us so that we can only be possessed by Him and He is our possession. Think about Peter and the disciples in the boat and Jesus walks on the water. Peter says, “If it’s you Lord bid me to come.” The power of the word overtook Peter; he stepped out and started to walk on the water. However, as soon as he gave attention to the waves he went down in the water. When Abraham, like Peter, gave attention to his situation he “went down to Egypt.” We walk in the supernatural but the minute we pay attention to our surroundings, fear enters and the temptation to run to the government or the world overtakes us. God wants us to run to Him, He is our security.


Many members of the Body of Christ will be confused and not understand as North America spirals downward. It is a spiritual work because God is sovereign and in control. In my travels to Central and South America I’ve been made aware of many illegal aliens flooding this country; many are Christians and many have been encouraged by their pastors. What is the intention? God makes no mistakes; He releases the blessings there in the place where you were born if you trust Him only.


I gave my life to the Lord thirty years ago. I had a well paying job, but because of my rebellion, alcohol, drugs and surroundings I lost that job. I sat in my living room after a night of partying, thinking what am I going to do now. I cried out to God and God delivered me. I said, “I don’t want to know religion or denomination; I want to know you. I give you 100% of me.” He took me at my word. I remember attending a fellowship where some members knew what I was going through financially. These brothers in the Lord told me I could qualify for food stamps. I said to myself, if the God whom I serve cannot provide for me what kind of God is he? God knew where I was at. He promised never to leave me nor forsake me. God has not failed me once, even though I have failed Him. He is merciful! See Him reaching out to humanity. He knows your condition, the hostility that surrounds you. But we are SECURE IN CHRIST IN GOD as we continue on our journey. Jesus Christ has promised freedom; freedom and liberty from the power of sin, death and satan. The Truth that we know will set us free.