Heavenly Father,
Anoint my words to only be written by You and anything that does not bear fruit for Your Kingdom, You strip away. Help me to teach the Truth in Love with Simplicity and Understanding, but at the same time going on from spiritual milk, to some meat. Prepare the hearts of Your people, to receive these words with gladness and let the Holy Spirit confirm these words in the hearts of the people.
In the Name of Jesus I pray Amen.
Many of us Christians read the Bible, but we do not do what it says. We have the Holy Spirit who convicts us, but do we ever change? There are a few things we need to have a solid foundation of and that is the Redemptive Work of the Cross of Christ in our lives. Unless we have come to that place where we know how much of sinners we were before Christ comes in, and that He has taken it away with His Blood then we cannot have that assurance of salvation so we need to be grounded in this fact of Redemption. That is the first point. But what is the purpose of this redemption?
John 15:4 says –
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
Now here is a powerful statement:
John 14:30 –
I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me.
This word nothing means also no one. So satan does not have access or possess anyone that is in Christ. Christians can still be oppressed, but this he does not have possession of their souls, if they are truly in Jesus then the enemy can have no possession of your soul. Because your spirit is one with the Holy Spirit, and now your soul belongs to Christ. You are purchased. You have been redeemed. He has no more access. You are forbidden territory.
Now, the characteristics of abiding in Christ means that you cannot do things that Christ would not do. You must bear the fruit. What is the fruit? The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Meekness and Self-Control. These fruits you cannot develop on your own, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to bear these fruit, but because we are with Jesus we can no longer do things that we used to and these is a hard and painful process, but we are given grace day by day to allow these things to operate in our lives. We must strive against the warnings stated in Galatians 5:20 – adultery,[c] fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like. We are to strive to be more like Jesus but because He knows how imperfect we are and how our humanity is so frail and weak to fight against the flesh on our own, we need a Savior, in whom we abide, to help us rip those things out of our lives and out of His Body.
Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 “If you love Me, keep[d] My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Keeping His commandments – what are His commandments? His commandments are simple – love God, love your neighbor as you love yourself. The problem with struggling Christians is that they can love God, but because they don’t love themselves because of insecurities in their soul, they may not love their neighbor which leads to things such as gossipping, slandering, unforgiveness, and things that dry up and bitter their souls, but if you get to that place where you experience the redemptive work on the Cross, and you build your foundation on the Person of Jesus Christ, and do not sway to the right or to the left of that foundation, then you will be able to experience healing for your souls.
Be careful of what kind of teaching you are under – is it producing life in you or is it producing death? The Truth will set you free. The Spirit of God is for believers who know Him and abide in Him. That being said, there comes a point in your life, where God will strip away everything that comes as an idol before Him, because He is a Jealous God, and He desires His people to worship Him. He will build you to that place where you learn to trust Him and no one else, and a good instructor of the Word, will lead you to the maturity where you can depend on Jesus on them. Of course it is good to have counsel because in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
John 15:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away;[a] and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
If you were a rose bush, could you imagine the pruning process? It would be quite painful. But in this process we will learn to trust and obey and to be humble before the Lord who is Our Savior. Why is this necessary? Because there are things inside of Him that He doesn’t want, and He wants you not to want them so He sent the Holy Spirit to convict you to despise the same thing he despises and to commit to not doing them, but it takes the grace (a word which has lost meaning in some Christian circles) for you to be able to change and to transform into who Christ wants you to be in His Creation.
Ephesians 1:
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both[a] which are in heaven and which are on earth—in Him. 11 In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12 that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.
13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who[b] is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
There is so much to dissect here so I’ll take it a little at a time. He chose us in Him – and if you want proof of that you can read Psalm 139, which is proof of that. He was delighted to adopt us. There is a difference between adopted children and natural children. Natural children are given by birth, and the parent has no say in who is his/her child. They conceive and that’s the end of the matter. Adopted children are there because they have been chosen, and hand selected.
Have you ever played sports in gym, and been selected first? As adopted children, we were the first selected by God. We have been offered redemption, that means that whatever mistakes we have made, we have been given a second chance. We have the forgiveness of sins, that means whatever we do that is wrong, we can go to God, and say, “Lord, I know this is wrong, please help me change.” and receive the Precious Cleansing Blood of Jesus which is a two way thing – it speaks to God as a reminder of His Son, and it is also a purging process, which removes the guilt from our lives.
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance – which means that final redemption is a future act because it says “until” – but that may be a little bit too deep because it has to do with the prospective of time and eternity.
Hebrews 10 gives us a clear warning as not to be mislead:
19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our (spiritual) bodies washed with pure water (Word). 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approach.
We will know within our very fiber of our being if we have a true heart, and it is in that we need to follow.
The Just Live by Faith
26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”[e] says the Lord.[f] And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”[g] 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
32 But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: 33 partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; 34 for you had compassion on me[h] in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.[i] 35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
37 “For yet a little while,
And He[j] who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the[k] just shall live by faith;
But if anyone draws back,
My soul has no pleasure in him.”[l]
39 But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.
This brings us back to the Blood of Jesus. Many people say Blood of Jesus, but what does it mean? It means the actual life given in Christ, the life giving sacrifice made for us, so that we could come and live in Him. Once we live in Him, we can never be the same. We may still have bad habits, that Christ will help us improve upon, because all of us are imperfect. We are all flawed. Have you ever seen what diamonds look like before they are chiseled? They are these rough rocky exteriors, but on the inside is a white shiny diamond. Ask any Jeweler and they will probably tell you that the diamond is the most valuable gem.
Heavenly Father,
Forgive us today for the times we have not acted like we are a part of Your holy Presence. Forgive us for neglecting the precious gift being placed inside of us. Forgive us Lord for all the wrong things we’ve said today. Forgive us for all the times we fail to recognize You as Sovereign King and Lord, we fall from Your divine graces. With Your love and patience You guide our paths. Help us hold on to what is dear and valuable and hold on to that. Lord You have given us anointing, let that not be without God’s working in our life. Fill us a fresh with the Holy Spirit and let us abide in Your Presence, all the days of our life. Let us continue and bear fruit for You. Keep us guarded by Your angels to keep us from stumbling. Thank You Lord Jesus. We just want to let You know that we love You.
In Jesus Mighty Name I pray,
Amen.
singingsinglev4 