Christ Makes Us Perfect

"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God." Hebrews 7:19

"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Hebrews 6:1-2

“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:48

“The disciple is not above his master: but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master.” Luke 6:40

“I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” John 17:23

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Howbeit, we speak wisdom among them that are perfect; yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princess of this world, that come to naught.” 1 Corinthians 2:5-6

The Law has never made anyone perfect. Even if we could have kept and followed perfectly the do’s and the don’ts of the Law, we still would not be perfect. Works have never made anyone perfect, but the hope of Salvation through Jesus Christ does! Notice that our Father does not say in Hebrews that this hope will make us perfect, but that it did make us perfect! Trying to keep rules never worked and it never will, but Jesus Authoring and Finishing our faith will work. Works do not make us righteous or perfect, however being righteous and perfect will produce works, and it will produce everlasting fruit that brings praise and glory to our Father!

Let us go on to perfection and be perfect even as God is perfect, these are awesome statements of faith. Perfection is not an unattainable goal of the believer. Why isn’t it? Because perfection comes from Christ only, look at what Jesus said, our unity with Him and the oneness that it brings with God makes us perfect. Now how cool is Luke 6:40, Jesus said that everyone who is perfect shall be like his master. Jesus is our Master, we are perfect because of Him, and we are like Him, if He lives within us. He is in us and we are in Him, and we all are in God, we are all made perfect in One! Jesus said it, do you believe Him or some bumper sticker that says we aren’t perfect just forgiven?

We should be as Jesus is, we have discussed this Truth before, but think about it again, because of Him we can be like Him. The love of Jesus, the Faith of Jesus, the Hope of Jesus, the Power of Jesus, the Steadfastness of Jesus, the Eternity of Jesus, and the Glory of Jesus, all of these things, and none are out of reach for us, are what we are now one with. Jesus is all of these things and through Him so are we! We may not be being used to do them all yet, but they are in us, we are born of the Seed that made them, and we are one with them. This is Who are Daddy is, and this is who we are. God made us and He held nothing back from us! Dad is large and thank You Father, You gave it all to us, we are heirs, children, and friends. In nothing shall we be defeated, we are more than conquerors through You and we abide in Your Light, and no darkness at all can stand against Your Light!

Now look at what our Father teaches; the hope that brings perfection also draws us nigh to Him. The more we realize that we are perfect, fully equipped, mature, or whatever other term you may use, the more we will draw nigh to our Father. My kids and I are close, but when they were infants, babies, the relationship was one sided. Beth and I served them, they loved us and we loved them, but as they have grown we have even become closer. They now know me and I know them. I am still their dad, yet we are also friends, and as each day goes by, we become closer and closer. The same is true with God, as we grow, we grow nigh to Him It’s not that we become perfect, no, we are already perfect by Christ, we can’t help it, He gave it to us, but it’s we come to understand our perfection. Now just as with Kennedy and Lauren this understanding is not one sided, totally dependent upon them, Beth and I have raised them, taught them, showed them, directed them, and the same is true with God. The only way we can understand this is by God being intimately involved in the learning process! He will never leave us or forsake us and He has given us the Holy Spirit to teach us all things!

The wisdom of man states that our perfection comes to us by our works and our actions. If we mess up than obviously we are not perfect, but if we don’t mess up than we are perfect. Praise God we don’t have to deal in the wisdom of man, we are allowed to deal in God’s wisdom and God say’s we are perfect by Jesus and only by Him. This is foolishness to most, but not to those who have accepted it. There is no work we could ever do that would make us perfect, yet we have received a freedom that passes all understanding, we are perfect just because the One Who created it all gave it to us. The price wasn’t free, Jesus paid dearly, yet for you and I it is freely obtained. This is a Stumbling Stone to everyone except those who have looked to the Light and who have stepped out of darkness.

“By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better Testament.” Hebrews 7:22

“Wherefore He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Hebrews 7:25

We are saved to the uttermost, we are perfected by Christ, we are now nigh unto God, and we are the children of Light! Jesus teaches us in Matthew 11:6 that if we are empowered to accept and not stumble at His Truth, then truly we will be blessed. The Holy Spirit will allow our Father to reveal His Truth to you, and He will allow what our Father has done for you to become your foundation. Through our Father's power we will move on past the beginning principles of Christ. Through Christ we will move on to perfection! Faith comes from hearing and faith is the evidence of things hoped for. If we are saved these Truths are in us, we are born of them, they will nourish us and feed us.

Let Us To Move On To Perfection

"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment." Hebrews 6:1-2

We are told that we are to leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ? Wow, can you imagine standing up in church today and saying let’s leave the doctrines of Christ and move on to perfection? I believe the congregation would pick up stones and bring to a swift end such heresy. Yet our Father had it written hundreds of years ago. Stop and really think about it, why did the Holy Ghost have this written?

Look at what our Father was saying here in Hebrews: the Hebrews were continuing to lay the foundation of repentance from dead works. Think of today’s church. Most people don’t believe that they actually can walk without dead works; the foundation of their freedom in Christ has never been laid. How many alter calls have you seen where the preacher goes beyond calling the lost to calling anyone who has fallen short that week? I was involved in a Bible Study where the preacher actually would start the studies with reading a verse, than follow it up by asking who failed at it. There is little hope to be found in religion that dead works can be done away with on this earth and perfection can be obtained. This is because religion focuses on us, not on Jesus; the One Who will bring perfection to us. When you look at Jesus, perfection is easily accepted, because the burden of perfection has been cast on the One Who it should be. “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7

Next look at faith towards God, this is considered a beginning principle of Christ. Our Father says let’s move on past faith to perfection. Let’s move on past baptisms; let’s move on past the laying on of hands, and move past eternity? These principles are the main focuses of church and obviously they were over a thousand of years ago as well. But there is more and our Father wants us to go there.

Perfection is Jesus, plain and simple, Jesus is our example of perfection. So let’s consider Him, let’s move on towards His standard. The first thing to remember is our example of perfection repeatedly said that it was God within Him doing all of the works. They talked about the miraculous works that He did and Jesus said that it was God within Him Who did the works. They called Jesus good, and He said none was good but God. Jesus, our example of perfection, was perfect because our Father made Him that way. He never spoke of Himself as the Author of perfection. He never spoke of His own efforts allowing Him to be perfect. He was perfect because God made Him that way, and God made Jesus that way by making Him from Himself! The two were and are One! Now, who are we one with? Who are we born of? Whose body are we? Who gave us a new heart? Whose Spirit abides within us, and Whose mind do we now have? Whose seed are we born from? When we are born again, we were born just as Jesus was, of a woman and of God! Jesus is perfect because of God, and God loves us just as He loves Him!

So as we are considering Jesus, ask yourself this question: is He repenting from dead works? No, so we too can move past that, because as He is so are we in this world! “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him; For in that He died, He died unto sin once, but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:9-11

Is Jesus laying a foundation of faith towards God, no way, it’s settled and complete. There is no question to Jesus that God is it; He is the way, the answer, and the provider, God is the All! “Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2 We can actually live as Jesus, never having any doubts about our Father. We can have perfect and complete faith, just as Jesus, because He has given it to us!

Now what about laying on of hands? Go and read the Gospels and see what you find. Not only did Jesus do it, He commissioned and empowered His disciples to do it. “And as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:7-8 Just something God showed me once, Jesus gave the twelve the power to do all of this and Judas was one of the twelve! These things are so controversial in so many churches, yet they aren’t with Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith, our standard of perfection!

Next, what about baptisms, you think Jesus is up in Heaven wondering should they dunk or sprinkle? Should they say in Jesus’ Name or in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost? Jesus has moved on to perfection, He never left it; He has always been perfection. So what does perfection say about baptism? “And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending like a dove, and it abode upon Him. And I knew Him not; but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon Whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining in Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost.” John 1:32-33 “I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.” John 16:7 Water has nothing to do with the perfect baptism, that was what John the Baptist was doing, Jesus baptizes with the very Spirit of God, the very Spirit that gave Him all of His power!

The principles of Christ are the foundation of perfection, without them we could never move on. But they are a foundation to be built upon, not dwelt upon. Consider Jesus the High Priest of our confession of faith, consider how He is, Who He is, what He is, consider His perfection, this is what we should be moving on to. You ever see a house that got started and then stopped, and all that is sitting there is a basement? If an unfinished basement sits for anytime at all it quickly becomes an eyesore. God willing we will move on to perfection, and if you read His Word you will see that He is not only willing to move us on, He is able, and we will!

An Abundant Holy Ghost

"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost: Which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:5-7

God shed His Spirit on us abundantly, abundantly! We didn’t get just some little smidgen of God. No, He has shed Himself on us abundantly! "That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. A-men." Ephesians 3:16-21

Everywhere we turn in the Word, Old Testament or New Testament, God writes that He has given us completeness and fullness through Christ. We never read that we are limited; we never read that God asked us to go it alone. When God talks about us, He uses Words like abundance, completeness, perfection, glory, preservation, pure, justification, and perfection! According to God we are all of these things, because Jesus came and He came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly!

We are saved by God’s mercy and His Spirit has renewed us. God has Paul write in Romans 6 that our old self has been crucified with Christ. In Galatians Paul writes that we are crucified with Christ, nevertheless we live, because it is Christ living within us. So of course we are justified, how could we be anything but? If we are alive and one with Christ, how could He be unjustified? He’s not, and we are alive with Him, so neither are we! We are filled with the fullness of God and we are abundantly supplied with His Holy Spirit and that means something! It passes knowledge, it gives strength, ability, it grounds us and settles us on the Truth and the Truth sets us free!

We are not only supplied with this abundance, we are heirs with Jesus. God looks at you and I and He sees us in the exact same way that He sees Jesus! How many times have we studied that God loves us exactly as He loves Jesus, John 17:23?

When God sent Jesus to this world, He fully equipped Him to complete the task, and He has done exactly the same for us. We lack absolutely nothing needed to be as He is on this earth. We are heirs and that means if Jesus has it, so do we. “Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.” John 16:15 Amplified

God has given us the Holy Ghost abundantly! We are heirs, we are saved, we are His children, we are perfect, we are pure, we are sanctified, we are holy, and I can go on and on. Salvation is awesome; remember I asked at the beginning of our studies why should we want to be saved? Do you now see why salvation is so great, not only for tomorrow, but for today? We all talk about Jesus, and we should, we absolutely should praise Him, glorify Him, thank Him, worship and honor Him, it’s all because of Him. But when we think of His absolute glory and power, we have to remember that He gave us all of it as well. Jesus held nothing back, we have complete fullness just as He does. We are one with Him, and the only reason we are alive is because He is alive within us. It can be no other way; we are what He is. We are born of the same seed, we are anointed with the same anointing, and praise God we are heirs with Him!

We cannot candy coat this. People are hurting, they are scared, confused, sick, angry, and they need to know that God is ready, willing, and able to do all of these things for them. Religion is not working! To often we shy away from talking about the Holy Ghost being one with us. It sounds to far-fetched. We think we need to be cautious, if we talk like this people may be turned off. My God they need to hear it, they don't need some watered down version of salvation, they need to hear it as God's Word proclaims it!

What will do more damage, telling it like God tells it or candy coating the message, giving just enough Truth to tickle the ear? God says that He will spit the lukewarm ones out of His mouth, Revelation 3:15. Look how Jesus talked to the people, they did not have the Holy Ghost, and they had never seen or heard anything like what He was saying. He never candy coated it; they wanted to throw Him over a cliff for what He was teaching. So why is there now so much concern over running people off with the absolute Truth? Wolves in sheep’s clothing, having a form of godliness, but denying the power of it, ever learning but never coming to the knowledge of the Truth is why!

Religion has failed, God has not, so talk as He talks! God’s Word will not fall void to the earth. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will still be, so if He said we are justified it’s so. If God said perfect, preserved, heirs, glorified, and sanctified, regardless of what we think, these verses are fact. We can either be humble and accept the awesome glories that God has freely bestowed on us and allow Jesus to Author and Finish the faith in us to walk in them or we can be arrogant and deny them, in a self-condemning humility trying to raise God up by focusing on our own human frailties, either way we go these Truth’s will stand!

"For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Hebrews 2:11

Why Jesus Allowed Himself To Be Sacrificed

“And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” John 17:3

“I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine.” John 17:9

“And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.” John 17:10

“And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.” John 17:11

“And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.” John 17:13

“I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.” John 17:15

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17

“And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.” John 17:19

“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;” John 17:20

“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” John 17:21

“And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:” John 17:22

“I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:23

“And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26

Jesus came and allowed Himself to be sacrificed so that we could have eternal life, so that we could be glorified with His glory, so that we could be sanctified, so that we could be kept by God Himself, so that we could be one with God Himself, so that we could be perfect through Him, so that we could be full of His joy, so that we could know that God loves us just as He loves Jesus, and so that the world could know and believe that Jesus was sent by God and that He alone is Lord! Jesus allowed Himself to be sacrificed so that we might have life and have it more abundantly! Have a great Easter in the power of His might!

All Things Are Pure For Us

"Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They profess they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." Titus 1:15-16

Well are we pure or not? Can we be pure? Is purity something that a human can even obtain? Well according to God, we are either pure or we are defiled, there is no in-between, if we are pure then all things are pure to us, and if we are defiled than everything is defiled for us. God proclaims that a little leaven, will leaven the whole lump of dough, 1 Corinthians 5:6! So are we pure or not?

"Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." Titus 2:14

We are pure because Jesus gave Himself for us, so that all who would ever accept Him as Lord would be redeemed from all iniquity. Jesus gave Himself for us and He purified us unto Himself! So if you have said yes to Jesus, all things are pure for you and since you are pure, God Himself makes you zealous for good works! And producing fruit brings glory to God and through good works we prove ourselves to be His disciples! Jesus gave Himself for us, so that we could become one with Him and through our unity and oneness the world will believe and be saved! God will be praised in the midst of hopelessness and victory will arise out of chaos. As we see the rise in terrorism and evil within the world, rejoice, because for us everything is pure. When the world sees doubt, God allows us to see faith, when the world sees hatred, we see and enjoy the presence of love, and when the world has no answers, we have the mind of Christ and the Holy Spirit so that we may know all things! Everything is now pure for us, and through the power of God’s might, we will be used to shed it abroad, through Christ the world will be saved!

Now just how pure can we be? I mean are there limits, we do by the way have flesh and blood? "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the Sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." 1 John 3:2-3

No, there are no limits for God’s kids, if we have the hope of Jesus; we are pure even as He is pure! This only makes sense though, look Who is purifying us, we aren’t pure through our own efforts, we are pure through Jesus’ and His standard is perfection, so of course we are pure as He is pure! If you know and understand that you are pure only because of Him, than you will never struggle with this level of purity. However, if you are trying to earn it, or trying to obtain it through your own efforts, this will be an offense and a stumbling block for you. Christ’s Blood has the ability to purify you to His level of purity! We are perfect even as our Father in Heaven is perfect, because He made us that way! Christians are perfect, because we have been forgiven and because the shed and eternal Blood of our Savior is that powerful!

With God all things are possible: purity, perfection, sanctification, power, love, faith that moves mountains, being completely blameless, free from all iniquity, these are all possible through Christ Who strengthens us! Be blessed in the power of His might!

We Are Now Delivered From Every Evil Work

"And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto His heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory forever and ever. A-men." 2 Timothy 4:18

Stop right there and read that verse again, “The Lord, Jesus, will deliver us from every evil work, and Jesus will preserve us unto His Heavenly Kingdom.” Jesus proclaimed that satan came to steal from us, to kill us, and to destroy us! So what, who cares about what satan came to do, we care what Jesus came and did! What would Jesus do (WWJD)? He will keep us from evil and He will preserve us, that is what Jesus will do! Praise God, how awesome is that, Jesus will deliver us from every evil work! The Truth is God is for us, who or what can be against us? The Truth is God has made us more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us! No weapon formed against us will prosper, our darkness is as the noonday, and we are preserved and sealed with the Holy Spirit of God! Let satan try to do what he came for, Jesus is our Shepherd, the thief will be ran off each and every time!

But what if we are killed for testifying about Jesus? “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” 1 Corinthians 15:55

What if we are throne into jail and persecuted for believing? “And to him they agreed: and when they had called the Apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” Acts 5:40-42

There is not one area in a believer’s life that satan can win at, not one! If he could than we would have to throw 2 Timothy 4:18 out, it would be false, because God would not deliver us from every evil work.

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Paul, Peter, John, all of the Apostles, and all of the Prophets in the Bible suffered persecution, Jesus teaches us that we will too, but God will deliver us from every evil work. I hear it preached all of the time, the struggles that we have with satan, people there is no struggle with satan! If you have said yes to Jesus and have allowed Him to be the Lord of your life, satan is no longer a threat to you! You have been sealed with the Holy Ghost, so tell me how it is that satan can penetrate the Holy Ghost to harm you? Tell me if Jesus is our Shepherd; how it is that satan can get by Him? Tell me how it is that if God is preserving us and keeping us from evil until Heaven, that He can fail? Satan is not an issue for the believer, he wants to make you think he is, but if he is, than all of these verses we have read are lies! We will wrestle with satan, but it will be as the conquerors that we are through Christ! We will go into all of the world and run satan and evil off from every area that we are led in! From the sidelines satan will attempt to stop us, but there is no weapon that he has and there is no one that he is control of that can come against us as we stand united with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

Will we be persecuted for the testimony that we are used by God to share, absolutely, but God will deliver us from it and we will win, and God will receive the praise and glory and others will see it and God will be praised! Death has no victory over us, to be absent from the body is to be present with Christ! Persecution has no victory over us, we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us. We win, each and every time. I know it’s not preached, I mean we hear sermons that ask why do bad things happen to good people? But through persecution we grow in the strength of the Lord. When we are weak, He is strong and His strength is perfected in our weakness! We win each and every time. No one who has said yes to Jesus, who has truly accepted Him as Lord, ever looses, ever! All things now work for our good! “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

We are preserved blameless, sanctified wholly, delivered from every evil work, preserved until Heaven, sealed with the Holy Spirit, thoroughly furnished, without blemish, glorified with Jesus’ glory, we have His mind, His Spirit, His anointing, all so that we may be perfect until the day that He is revealed. That is what God say’s and it is Truth, and it is righteousness, and it is fact! It’s what you are born of and if you have said yes to Jesus it is in you, you can’t help but believe it, it’s what you are. We may not fully understand it, we may still be immature, but this is the seed we have been born of, it’s in our spiritual makeup, our Godly DNA!

We are one with Jesus who sanctifies us, God makes our way perfect, He established our hearts unblameable before Him in love, our righteousness is of God, He has quickened our mortal bodies and He has predestined us to be conformed to the very image of Jesus! We are completely and thoroughly furnished unto ever-good work. God will keep us and preserve us until we get to Heaven. These scriptures are for us today and in Jesus’ Name they are going to be lived and enjoyed and shared, no longer just talked about, but lived!

We Are Perfect Through God's Word

"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Look at all of the prayers in the New Testament and keep this verse in mind when you read them. These prayers are not just wish lists of the writers; they are the inspired Words of our Father! You read these prayers with that understanding of the Truth and watch the power of God move in your life! The Word of our Father makes us perfect, and the Word allows God to thoroughly furnish us to be used for all good works! Those 14 Words alone in 2 Timothy 3:17 can be preached on for a couple of books or so!

“For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, That you might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness.” Colossians 1:9-11

This prayer is the Divine inspiration of our Father. It’s what He wants for us and it’s what He has provided for us! Just look at the Words all, worthy, knowledge, joy, might, strength, wisdom, understanding, and power! These are the things that our Father has provided for us. Every bit as much as the prayer that Jesus prayed in John 17 is the Word of God, so is this prayer of Paul’s! So go and read the prayers at the beginning of the Books and Jesus will Author and Finish the faith within you to accept and walk in the Truth of them, to actually live and experience them. It’s awesome power!

Also, if you are dealing with someone who just won't latch on to the power of God, whether it is salvation, or any other issue within their life, the best way to serve them is by using the Word of God. Speak scripture to them, show them where it is at, pray it for them, pray it with them, read it with them, email them, or write them, whatever our Father leads you to do. So many times we try to speak of a similar situation in our own life to comfort or aid a person, but the Word is profitable for the perfecting of the Saints. People sometimes feel that their situation is far worse than yours was and you could never understand or even compare your life with their misery. But the Word of God has life and the Word of God is what has made us perfect and the Word has thoroughly prepared us for instruction in righteousness. It does not matter if we say it with chapter and verse, or just say it, the Word will not fall void to the earth, it will accomplish what our Father has intended for it to do. We may see it, or we may not. We may plant a seed that another person waters, and than another harvests, but God has made it grow. And Jesus has led us all in the path of being used to further the Kingdom of God!

All scripture is given by Divine inspiration. We have been honored by God Himself to become one with it. The sower sows the Word, some may fall on stony ground, some in the thorns, some in shallow soil, and some will fall in good ground and it will produce a crop of 30, 60, or 100 fold! With the Word we are perfectly and thoroughly equipped to be used by God to do all good works!

The Kingdom of God Is Now Within Us

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:21

Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come! When we pray the Lord’s Prayer how many of us actually are praying and believing for the Kingdom of God to come within us? For Thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever! When we pray the Lord’s Prayer how many of us are praying and believing for the Kingdom of God to come within us with all of the power of God and all of the glory of God? So many of us pray this prayer as if it is a request for Jesus to return and give us this day our daily bread and believe that it is a provisional thing until He does return. But the Kingdom of God is now within us, the Kingdom of God has come and it has come with all of the power, love, victory, glory, and abilities of God, and it has now come within us!

“For the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20

“And as ye go, preach, saying, The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” Matthew 10:7

The Kingdom of Heaven is now. The Kingdom of Heaven is now in power and the Kingdom of Heaven is now within us! Jesus taught us that we are to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 We are to seek first that our Father is now within us and we are to seek first God’s power within us, because His Kingdom is not in Word, but it is in power!

“I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that the world may know that thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” John 17:23 The Kingdom of God is to be within us, so that the world will know that our Father sent Jesus! The Kingdom of God is within us right now, so that God may use us in all of His power and glory! And the Kingdom of God is now within us so that the world will know, so that there will be no doubts, no questions, no confusion, and no debate that God sent Jesus! And the Kingdom of Heaven is now within us, so that the world will know that our Father loves us every bit as much as He loves Jesus!

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Jesus taught us to pray for the world to know that God is in love with us, every bit as much as He is in love with Jesus! The Kingdom of God within us, with all of God’s power and glory, allows Him to use us to carry out His will of having the world know the Truth, just as much as they know the Truth in Heaven! And the Truth will set us free!

“And He said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that there shall be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste death, till they see the Kingdom of God come with power.” Mark 9:1

Everyone that stood with Jesus some 2000 years ago have physically died; the Kingdom of God has come and it has come with power! Our Father is not a respecter of persons. His Kingdom is in all of us who have been empowered to believe and the least of us who is now in His Kingdom is greater than the greatest who was ever under the Old Covenant! “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” Ephesians 3:20 The Kingdom of God is now so powerful within us that our Father is able to use us to work His will abundantly through, and He will do it when we can’t even think of what His will is! The Kingdom of God is now so powerful within us that our Father will do things for and through us that we don’t even have to ask for! “Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or, What shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?” Matthew 6:31 The Kingdom of God is so glorious and powerful within us that we are able to live with the full peace and joy of not having to take thought for any of the things that the Gentiles so desperately seek after! Greater is He that is within us, than he that is in the world and we can now be used by our Father to do all things through Christ Who strengthens us! Our Father is now able to carry out His will within us, every bit as much as He is able to carry out His will in Heaven!

Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Your Name! Your Kingdom come within us today, with all of Your power and glory! Your will be done through us today Father, so that the world may know that You sent Jesus, and so that we may all know Your will and Truth here on earth, as they know it in Heaven! Give us today our daily bread, the bread of Light, of the Truth that will set us free, of glory, of power, of unity with You, and of guidance and strength! And forgive us our sins Father as You strengthen us with the power and glory of Your Kingdom to forgive those who have sinned against us! And thank You Father for leading us in the paths of righteousness, by placing Your Spirit within us, thus causing us to walk in Your statutes and to keep Your judgments. And Father we praise You for delivering us from evil and keeping us until the Day of Redemption! Father, Yours is the Kingdom that is now the power and glory that is within us. A-men!

Why Christ Came

Last night while I was lying in bed God spoke this to me. “Christ came so that the responsibility of living righteously could be removed from the hands of man, and be placed into My Hands!”

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13

“And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezekiel 36:27

Be blessed in the power of His might and our Father's will be done!

God Sanctifies Us Completely

"And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it." 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Can I get a great big A-men from the choir here! How can we not get absolutely ecstatic when we read this Truth? Do you see what these Words of have to say? Our Father will sanctify us completely! There is absolutely nothing in us that hasn't been sanctified wholly, nothing! God has completely taken care of our whole spirit, our whole soul, and wait does it say it? Yes it does, God has sanctified our whole bodies as well! The salvation of Jesus Christ is so great and it is so complete that it even takes care of our flesh. WOW! Our Father will preserve us blameless, all of us blameless: all of our spirit, all of our soul, and all of our body blameless, and He will completely do it until Jesus returns for us!

Faithful is He Who will do it! Be not deceived God will not be mocked, He said it, so it is finished! “God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19 Faith comes for us by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God and how will they hear without a preacher? This has to be preached, God will sanctify us wholly, and He will preserve us blameless until Jesus returns, and He is completely willing and able to do it!

"That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the Word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:26-27

"For both He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren." Hebrews 2:11

Our Father has given us Christ and through His Blood we have been brought near to Him and we have been made one with Him, and through the Blood of Jesus we have been set apart for holy use! God will purify us, God will make us free from sin, and God will preserve us blameless. Our Father doesn’t say that He will preserve us blameless in Heaven, God has spoken that He will do it here on this earth, and He has spoken that He will continue to do it until Jesus returns. God will do it! Man that is so awesome!

But wait, this is a prayer, so can it really be true, or is it just some out of reach wish of Paul’s? You know one of those prayers we just say, but really know that it will never happen. Of course this is true, the whole Bible is the inspired Word of God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” 2 Timothy 3:16 God inspired this prayer to be written and God placed it in the Bible. This prayer is our Father's desire for our lives. So absolutely it is Truth! That’s why Paul writes that God will do it!

I pray that our Father really opens up the understanding in the Church to what He has actually done for us. We have so much more than religion is proclaiming right now. Each day that goes by our Father just keeps strengthening me in the Truth that He has placed the responsibility on Himself to insure that His children are who they need to be. I am a full gospel charismatic kind of guy. But let me tell you that I am not hearing it preached that God sanctifies us wholly and that He will preserve us blameless until Jesus returns. I hear that we need to get the faith to do it, but I don’t hear it preached that Jesus is the One who will Author and Finish our faith to get it. Faith is preached as if it were some kind of human ability that will unlock this power of God, but it’s not, it’s God’s ability Authored and Finished through us by Jesus, which will unlock the power of His Kingdom! I don’t even hear people preach that we can be blameless here on this earth. It’s a shame, if there is no hope, than there will be no faith; because faith is the evidence of things hoped for! In Jesus’ Name God is inspiring His children to accept and hope for this Truth, and Jesus will Author and Finish this faith within us, and A-men we will be able to be used by God to serve Him and we will be able to be used by God to serve each other in the power of actually living this Truth!

We are blessed this day in the power of His might! He is in us leading us to be all we can be within Him this day!

Jesus Makes Us Unblameable In Holiness

So that He may strengthen and confirm and establish your hearts faultlessly pure and unblamable in holiness in the sight of our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) with all His saints (the holy and glorified people of God)! Amen, (so be it)! 1 Thessalonians 3:13

This is a short verse; yet look at the power that our Father proclaims through it! We are shown that it is our Father that will establish our hearts unblameable in holiness to the end. Our Father will allow no man and absolutely no thing to pluck us from his hands. We are sealed with the Holy Ghost, we are the Temples of God Himself, we are members of His body, flesh of His flesh, and bone of His bones! Our darkness is as the noonday, no weapon formed against us shall prosper, and all things are possible for those who love the Lord. Jesus Authors and Finishes our faith, we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loves us, and even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we fear no evil, for God is with us, and His perfect love casts out all fear from within us. His staff and His rod comfort us, and He prepares a table before us is the presence of our enemies. God Himself, our Father establishes us in true holiness, unblameable to the end, and He strengthens us and makes our way perfect!

As far as the east is from the west, that is how far God has removed our transgression from us. Our sins are covered by Jesus’ Blood and our righteousness has been freely given unto us without any works! The last two paragraphs are nothing but scriptures; they are nothing but God’s Truth’s!

I want you to actually stop and take a couple of moments and really consider what our Father is proclaiming to us through His Word! Think of how the church would walk and behave if these were actually being lived in. Think of how our prayers would be, how we would bind and loose, the authority and power that we would walk in, the way we would communicate with our Father and with each other. Think of truly accepting and walking and living fully in these Truths.

Do you see why God is having me talk about this? Why He has had me teach of who we are in Him, and since we are one with Him what we actually are? Religion is not working, people may be talking about God and Jesus, but they are not living the life that our Father has provided for them.

Let’s just look at the world and what’s going on; terrorism, abortion, divorce, adultery, and all of the anti-God legislation being passed by governments throughout the world. Religion is not working. But if we would begin to live in what our Father has provided for us, then think of how things would be. Terrorism comes from hopelessness, Jesus gives hope and faith comes from hope, and faith the size of a grain of mustard seed blows a mountain into the sea! Abortion comes from fear, Jesus author’s faith not fear, and He does it without condemnation! It wouldn’t matter if every judge and every elected official in the land said abortion was legal, if the Church would begin to walk in what we have studied, abortion would end. We would have the answer and the power and the love that would conquer it. Women would stop desiring abortions and doctors would stop performing them. I honestly and actually believe this. Picture Jesus, and now picture millions of people walking united with Him, picture millions of people who are one with Him, walking in His power, in His love, with His faith, with His mind, with His heart, and with His Spirit! Picture millions of us being used by our Father in the fullness of His power and in the fullness of His love! That is what God’s Word teaches us we should be. Picture it, and picture a glorious Church without spot and without wrinkle and without blemish, and tell me that it wouldn’t be this way.

When the Church actually begins to walk in the power of our unity with Christ, who will care what the government has to say. Just two of us can be used by God to join together and bring His will to pass! “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:19 There wont be just two of us either, there will be millions of us! When Jesus walked this earth 2000 years ago look at how it responded, one man united and born of God, and look at what happened. Now that Man, Jesus our Lord, said that we would be used by our Father to do the same things and even greater things, so tell me that what we are talking about won’t come to pass! It absolutely will, that is why Jesus so boldly proclaimed in John 17 that the world will believe. There is no other way for the world all together and all at once to believe unless we are walking in the full and complete power of Jesus, as He is, united and strengthened with God Himself, and perfected for glorious service! Do I mean that all men will believe? I sure hope so! It is the will of our Father that all men be saved, so we should desire the same thing!

"For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but to holiness." 1 Thessalonians 4:7 We are holy servants fully equipped for the service of God! Glorious with Christ’ glory, sanctified by Jesus our Lord, united with our Father and with Jesus. In Christ we are perfect and strong through the power of His might, and lacking nothing; this is the Church that Jesus is returning for, a Church that is as He is in this world! Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, and the Holy Spirit allows us to abound in hope!

We Are Now Perfect In Christ, So Forget Your Past Sins

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." Philippians 3:13-15

Sure we talk about forgetting the wrongs that we have committed, but how many of us actually do it? Well, once again faith comes from hearing and hearing from the Word of God! We are born again of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, so who and what we now are have come directly from our Father. So let’s look at the Word to see how our Father is.

“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:12

“And you, being dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting and the ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to the His cross.” Colossians 2:12-13

Our Father, Who also is God, has removed our sins away from us, as far as the east is from the west, which is as far as it gets! Our Father has forgiven us all of our trespasses by uniting us and by making us alive together with Himself. He took all of the ordinances and handwritings that were against us and threw them out the door by sending Jesus to the Cross. Jesus abolished them all, hallelujah, He abolished them all, every last one! Past, present, and future, all praise God are gone, removed from us, as far as the east is from the west! Why do you think King David wrote that we are so blessed? “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Romans 4:6-7

This is Who we are born of, do you see in the Word how our Father is? He removes our sin from us and covers them with Christ’s Blood, and since He has we are counted as righteous without any works! So if God takes this attitude towards us than we can as well, because it’s Who we are from. God’s nature is what has birthed us. His Spirit is alive and dwelling within us, we now have the mind of Christ, and He has given us a new heart that is able and willing to accept these things. We preach that we should forget, but we don’t preach that God has actually empowered us with Himself to forget. Paul forgot, just read his writings, how often does he talk about messing up? He knew he wasn’t as mature as he could be, but he also knew who he was in Christ, and he was able to forget the errors of the past because he was born again from the Incorruptible Seed of God that allowed him to!

"It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect." Psalm 18:32

Our Father has girded us with His strength to be perfect, and perfection in Christ a free gift. Our Father's has empowered us to live in the fullness of His salvation. Look at what Paul went on to write in Philippians 3, if any one be otherwise minded, God will reveal His Truth to them. If we have truly have been chosen and empowered by the Holy Spirit to say yes to Jesus and have made Him Lord of our lives, than God will make our way perfect. Our Father will reveal the Truth to us that our sins are gone and that we are righteous without any works! We do not have to wait until Heaven to come to a complete and full understanding of this Truth; we can know it completely and fully right now on this earth!

Faith comes from hearing the Truth, and the Truth will set us free! So in the power of Jesus Christ, forget those things that are behind, and reach for those things that are before, the prize of our high calling in Jesus Christ! It’s born in us, it’s who we are, and it’s what we are! God will make our way perfect and He will gird us with the strength to walk in perfection! A-men, He said it, it is so!

Seek 1st His Kingdom

“But seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33

If we seek first the Kingdom of God and if we seek first His righteousness, then we shall receive from God all of the things that the gentiles of this world so desperately seek! “(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” Matthew 6:32 Our Father knows that we need clothes, food, and housing and He has shown us the way to have Him add them all unto us!

Now our Father is God, and nothing that He ever does is done half way! So look at just how great the things of this earth are that He will provide for us. “And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30 Our Father wants our clothes and the things that He adds unto us to be more beautiful than the lilies of the field! As God’s children we should have the best and because of Jesus we can have the best! But we are not to obtain these things as the world seeks to obtain them through toil and labor. All of these things are added unto us by seeking first God’s Kingdom and God’s righteousness! Actually we aren’t even take thought for having them, we are only to take thought for the Kingdom and for righteousness, and then all of these things, all of the things that the world seeks for, all of the things that they lie and cheat for, that they deceive for, and that they go to war for, will be added unto us.

And all of these things will be added unto us at a level that exceeds the level of possessions that God gave to Solomon! “Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.” Matthew 11:11 The least in our Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, is greater than the greatest ever born of a woman! So the least in God’s Kingdom is greater than Solomon, and God wants to bless us with all of the things that the gentiles seek, and He wants to add them unto us at a level greater than what He added them unto Solomon!

Now here is the great Truth of our freedom concerning these things! “The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, guide, and shield me]. I shall not lack. He makes me to lie down in [fresh, tender] green pastures; He leads me beside still and restful waters. He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him-not for my earning it, but] for His Name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3 Amplified Bible.

For us to have God add all things unto us, all of the things that the gentiles seek: clothes, food, housing, we need to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness! So what did our Father do for us, He gave us Jesus, and Jesus now leads us in the paths of righteousness, not because we have earned it, not because we have worked hard and took thought for it! No, Jesus did it for us freely for God’s Namesake! Jesus does leads us so that our Father will receive the praise and glory and so that we will live fully in the provisions of God! Jesus is our Shepherd and because of Him we do not want and we don’t want because through Jesus we have all things added unto us that pertain unto life and unto godliness! “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue:” 2 Peter 1:3 God has called us unto glory and virtue and by His Divine power we are able seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness! Our Father wants the best for us, so He has given us His best to insure that it would be added unto us!

“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” 2 Corinthians 6:2 Today is the day that Jesus will lead us into the paths of righteousness and right now is the time that our Father's Divine power is giving us all things that pertain unto life and unto godliness! And today is the day that God is empowering us to live fully in His glory and in His virtue! The yoke is light and the burden is easy to be borne, because greater is He that is now within us than he that is in the world. We can now be used by our Father to do all things, and God is able to use us through the power of His Anointing, Christ, that strengthens us!

The world seeks out clothes, food, and houses by working hard to obtain them. The abundance of their hearts is how to get and keep these things. It’s very popular right now for preachers to preach that we have to sow seed to get them! Millions of our prayers ask for them. Yet Jesus said so simply that we are to take no thought for these things! Jesus proclaimed that through His power that is at work within us, these things would just be added unto us! Life is more than clothes and the body is so much more than food! God has called us unto His glory and unto His virtue and He has chosen us to be as He is, even while we are in this world! “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world.” 1 John 4:17

I see so many Christians who are in need. So many listen to prosperity preachers and all they hear is give money and you will receive. Even though Jesus taught us that we are to consider the birds of the air, which do not have to sow to reap! “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” Matthew 6:26 Or they listen to preachers who tell them that we are to be poor because it is the will of God. Even though Jesus said that all of these things would be added unto us! The Truth will set us free and the Truth is that faith comes for us by hearing the Word of God. And the Word of our Father tells us that we are to be super blessed, blessed above Solomon, and that all of these blessings will be added unto us by God Himself as He leads us into first seeking His Kingdom and His righteousness!

Absolutely we will be used by God to sow into furthering the Gospel of His Kingdom and we will be used by God to give to meet the needs of the poor! But our provisions, that exceed the beauty of the lilies of the field, do not come unto us by these worldly actions! We are not sowing these things to reap them! We do not buy them from our Father! The blessings of God are added unto us and they are added unto us because Jesus is ever living to insure that we seek first God’s Kingdom and His righteousness, so that we might be saved to the uttermost! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Father I ask that You empower all of us with the full knowledge of Your Truth! I ask that You lead us and guide us so that we all may be fully pleasing to You and that through Your Anointing that strengthens us, we may be able to glorify You by allowing You to add all things that pertain unto life and godliness unto us! Father the poverty message is a lie and the sow seed to receive message is a lie! Father I ask that You use all of us to sow the Word of Your Truth, the sower sows the Word, the Word that will set the world free! Father I ask that You are faithful to cleanse us from all unrighteousness and that there is no lie within us! Without Jesus we are nothing but sin, but through Him Father You have made us accepted! Today is the day that You have made Father and today You have given us Jesus as our Lord and Savior! Your will be done Father as You are glorified!

We Can Know God

"And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death." Philippians 3:10

Why is it that people believe and have no problem with accepting that we can be filled with satan, or demon possessed and act with outright evil, yet to believe that we can be filled with God and act in His true righteousness is unthinkable? It just never made any sense to me. But look here, Paul didn’t struggle with being filled with our Father and he was encouraging the Philippians to be the same way. We should not want our own righteousness; we should desire God’s righteousness. Think about it, God’s righteousness, the glory of it, the freedom of it, the love of it, and the power of it. Living completely in our Father's righteousness should be our desire and hope.

How does our Father tell us that we can have His righteousness? He tells that we are able to have it by faith! "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; Who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2 Jesus will Author and Finish the faith within us so that we can have the very righteousness of God! Jesus prayed in John 17 that we would have His glory. Well what is Jesus’ glory? It is righteousness and Jesus' righteousness allowed Him to bare all of our sins and not be condemned to death and Hell.

Look also at what Paul writes, that He may know God. We should want to know our Father, who is He, what is He, how is He, why is He, all He is. The glorious Truth is that we can actually know our Father, Who just happens to be God! We can know the power of His resurrection, just as Jesus knows it! So what is the power of Jesus’ resurrection? “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once; but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God.” Romans 6:9-11 The power of Jesus’ resurrection is that He died unto sin once, that He may forever more live unto God! We can know that power in our own lives! “And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine Own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” John 17:5 Jesus was raised from the dead to be just as He was before He was manifested on earth as a man and God teaches us that with His righteousness, we can have the exact same thing.

Now when can we have Jesus' righteousness? Romans 6:11, “Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Now, is when we can have our Savior's righteousness. We can know our Father now and knowing our Father means eternal life. “And this is eternal life, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent.” John 17:3 We can know God, we are now His children, His friends, His servants, and His body. We can know Him, not just know of Him, but actually know Him. That is an awesome thing and something the world needs to hear. Our Father knows us, so why shouldn’t we know Him. If the only thing my kids ever had was letters about me, they would never know me. The Bible is great, I love it, yet, I don’t want to just read about our Father, I want to know Him. I want to hang out with Him, talk to Him, hear Him, and be taught by Him, I want to be as He is! He wants the same things for us! He has provided a way and the way is by us looking unto Jesus to Author and Finish the faith within us that brings the very righteousness of God into us. If we are one with God, we are one with His righteousness. That’s just good and simple Truth!

Our righteousness is as filthy rags, yeh, so what? We don’t look unto our own righteousness for anything; we look unto our Lord's righteousness. We stand before Him on His merits, not our own. Our best doesn’t even equal His worst. Don’t freak out about that, it is only symbolism! Glory, righteousness, sanctification, holiness, and perfection, these are all God’s qualities and He isn’t stingy with them, He allowed us to become one with them. We are born from them, they are who we are. We may not know exactly how to walk in them yet, but our Father will teach us and cause us to walk as He walks! We can’t help but exhibit these qualities; we are flesh of His flesh, bone of His bones. We are born again of all these things, it’s just who we are!

Be blessed this day. Jesus loves you and He has given you everything that pertains unto life and unto godliness!

We Are Now Gods' Holy Temple

"Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone; In Whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an Holy Temple in the Lord; In Whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Ephesians 2:19-22

You and I are now the Holy Temple of God and we are also now the habitation of God. We can be these things because we are now built upon Jesus, a steadfast foundation that is unmovable and one that cannot be shaken! Jesus has given us stability and power, peace and joy, hope and faith, and together with Him we have been enabled to be the very housing of God! A Holy Temple, sanctified, glorified, and perfected by the Blood of Jesus.

We are no longer strangers to God and He is no longer a stranger to us. The Truth is that we are actually now Jesus' friends. “Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what His lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you.” John 15:15 You ever know someone who is not a friend of their parents? Sure they are their kids, but yet they aren’t friends. The parents do things and the kids do things and they never really share or fellowship with each other. Well this is not how we are with our Father, He dwells within us, and He shares with us. All things that Jesus has heard from God, He turns around and tells us. We fellowship and we commune with God Himself! Our Father likes us, He just doesn’t love us, He actually likes us! And we can walk right up and fellowship and communicate with Him, without any condemnation whatsoever, we have been cleansed by the Blood and we are built upon Jesus.

You ever been around religious people who are always finding fault with themselves? They do this because they do not know who they are in Christ. They are trying to earn their relationship with our Father. They never will! Kennedy and Lauren never could do anything to become my kids; I had to birth them. Without me they would not be. They have fellowship with me, because Beth and I chose to have them, they are built upon the foundation of Beth and I! It’s exactly the same with our Father, we are not earning our fellowship and our unity with God, because it has been given to us. God birthed us, we have been born again of His seed, we are only alive because of Him. His Spirit is within us, and our characteristics are directly from Him. We have the new heart that He has given us. We now have the mind of Christ. We are members of His body, of His flesh, His bones, and we now have His Spirit! Now as children we will grow, but as children our parents determine what we are, our DNA, our genes are directly from them, and our Father is now God, we have been born again form His Incorruptible Seed! You can’t be born of God and have the characteristics of another father, it’s impossible, we are from His seed. Now a person could tell you that they are Beth and mines child, but there testimony would be false. Only those children born of us, are ours!

Now if Beth and I are able to do this how much more has God done with us? He not only birthed us, He now indwells us, so that we will never be apart from Him. He has sealed us with His very Spirit, and He ever lives to intercede for us. Unlike with human parents and kids, we are never left alone; we are constantly in fellowship with our Father. Satan or evil never have an opportunity to grab us because we are separated from God. We are the Holy Habitation of God, we are His friends, and we are His kids! God is the perfect Father and He knows how to raise us into perfect children. I don’t think this is talked about enough. We say Father, but it’s just words, God is our Father and we are His kids, we are His habitation, and Who He is has been born into us. Our Father is love, so are we, how can we be anything but, it’s where we came from? So of course we are holy, because our Father, the One Who sanctifies us, is holy, and we are one!

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." Ephesians 4:23-24

How great is that? We are created just like God in righteousness and true holiness. As new men we have not been born again and created to maintain our old self, our old weaknesses, and our old nature. We have not been renewed as new creatures just to one day go to Heaven, we have been born again of His Incorruptible Seed, given the very nature of God Himself, filled with His fullness, one with His Spirit, and created in true righteousness and holiness! That means something let’s accept it in all of its glory. Faith come for us by hearing this Truth and this Truth sets us free!

Father I thank You that You empower all of us to really accept and to share this Truth. That You allow us to give this Truth in love and in power and demonstration of Your Spirit; that our minds are renewed with this Truth. Father the world needs to hear this, the attention needs to come off of us and it needs to be directed towards You, allow us the honor of being used by You to share Your will in every situation. Empower us with boldness to sow Your Seed to all that we come into contact with: to the Good ground as well as the stony and thorny ground! I ask this in Jesus’ Name, A-men!

Jesus loves You and so do I, be blessed this day in the power of His might, and allow Him to be Who He is in You. You are of His seed, you are His Temple, and satan will no longer keep us from the Truth, we are set free by it, the thief has been destroyed! "That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:26-27

The Blood Of Christ Makes Us Close To Christ

"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2:13

We are now in Christ. This Truth just keeps coming up over and over again; we are now in Christ. The Blood, has made us nigh, the Blood of Jesus has brought us near to Him. The Blood has made us part of Him, it has unified us with God, and Jesus’ Blood has unified us together as one body. We are now God’s workmanship, created in Christ, created so that we may be used by God to perform good works, works of healing, reconciliation, works of peace, of prophecies, and whatever else God has in mind. The Blood, the sacrifice of our Lord, is why we can stand in boldness, sure and steadfast, before God without fear and without shame. The Blood is why we have been given the Holy Spirit to assure us of who we are in Christ, to empower us to walk the walk, talk the talk, and to live the dream. The dream of so many who came before us, David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! They were willing to die for just talking about what we now have. They were tortured, cast out, and imprisoned for daring to glorify our Father for a promise that they would never receive for themselves in this world, but we have it. We have it and the least in our Kingdom, the Kingdom of God, is greater than all of the Prophets of Old. The Blood of Christ has made us nigh unto Him! It’s not just a saying; it’s power! It’s power that comes from God Himself, no work from us, just free and great power, given in grace to those who will allow God to give it!

Here is a great place to review several of the scriptures that we have discussed that speak of God doing the needed works of salvation on our behalf:

"But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" Ephesians 2:4-5

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked with Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV

"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." Ephesians 1:6

"For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called, them He also justified: and whom He justified, them also glorified. What shall we say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:29-31

"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them." Ezekiel 36:26

The Truth in these verses will comfort you. Our Father has placed a far greater weight on Himself than on us to succeed in this world. He loves us so earnestly and He is so unwilling to be without us, that He completed every task required to insure that we would be. Righteousness and communion with our Father do not come from our works and efforts! Our works are a result of our unity and righteousness that have been provided by the Blood of Jesus!

We Are Made Alive In Christ

"But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" Ephesians 2:4-5

Let’s also read this verse in the Amplified Bible. “But God--so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation).”

Our Father has an intense love for us, He loves us just as He loves Jesus, John 17:23. “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in One; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.” We all say that God loves us, but His love is so intense for us, that He had to do something to satisfy it. Our Father needs to love us and He is unwilling to be without us, so He did something about it, He made us alive with Christ, even when we were dead in sins! He made us alive together with the exact same life force that He used for Jesus, the life force that He used for Himself. Our Father has made us alive together with the exact same Anointing that He gave to Himself when He came to the earth and manifested Himself as a man! The Anointing that God trusted to keep Jesus alive and in full power and fellowship with Him while He was here as a man, has now given to us. The very thing that our Father trusted for Jesus, is exactly the same thing that He trusts for us! How awesome in that Truth?

What does it mean, even when we were dead in sins? It means that God was not willing to wait to have fellowship with us, so He enabled us to have fellowship with Him on this earth, as well as for eternity in Heaven! Our Father wants us to be alive with Him now and forever, so that our oneness with Him will be used to reveal the Light of Truth that will save the world! We too have this love, this intense and wonderful love within us, we are one with it, it consumes us as it consumes our Father. This is why there is such a desire for me to preach that we are one with God, this unity with God through Jesus is what He will use to win the world! Think about it, all nations at one time worshipping our Father, China, Iraq, Iran, Russia, India, and Africa, as well as Europe, the America’s, and yes even Israel! The world, a glorious church without spot wrinkle or blemish, a world where our Father is magnified, this is what our unity with God through Christ will allow!

Now let’s look at the second half of this verse in Ephesians 2: hath raised us up together with Christ in Heavenly places. People talk about Heaven as if it is some future tense thing, all of the benefits, all of the glory, and all of the power, yet our Father says that with Christ we have already been raised up to Heavenly places. This is why Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 We can be of good cheer now because we are in Christ now, and we have been raised up together with Him, we have been made alive together with Him. In heaven there is no tribulation, no foes, no distresses, and we have now been raised up to be with our Father in Heavenly places.

But we are here, on this earth, where Jesus teaches that there are tribulations, how can we be in both places at the same time? Hold on, because this is awesome stuff! Turn over to 1 John 4:17, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.” Is God in Heaven and on the Earth? Is Jesus in Heaven and on the Earth? Is the Holy Spirit in Heaven and in the Earth? Yes, they all are! Who are we now one with? As He is, so are we in this earth! Our Father is omnipotent; He is everywhere all at once, yet He is intimate with us all at once! As He is so are we in this world! It’s no issue to think of God as being in multiple places, and the Truth is that we are now one with Him, created in His image, made to be conformed to the image of Jesus, so where is the stretch for us to be the same way? We have been raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! As He is, so are we in this world, crucified with Him, yet we live, yet it is not us who live, but Christ in us! Our Father is God and He can do all things, so empowering us to be as He is, in Heaven and in Earth is no big deal! Our Father is that powerful! The ability lies in God, not in man.

Now here is another awesome thing, in Heaven there is no tribulation, yet Jesus says on the earth there is, so where do we stand? We are here, yet we have been raised up together with Christ in Heavenly places. Think about it, Jesus is here, on the earth, as well as in Heaven, so is there any situation in this earth that can stand up against Him? What about our Father, is He moved by any earthly woe or ill? Does the Holy Ghost back down from any force on the earth? No, there in lies our power, as He is so are we on this earth! Tribulations will arise for the Words sake, but be of good cheer; Jesus has given us the power to be used and protected by God as He is, through Christ we are unmovable! So as Jesus enjoys the Heavenly blessings, so do we, even though we are here on the earth, just as Jesus is. Our Lord is in both places, and so are we, be of good cheer, Jesus has deprived the earth of its power against us!

Hey, do I think I have obtained this all yet, no! But this one thing I do, I forget the things that are behind, and I press towards the prize of His high calling, and as many as be perfect, be thus minded! I am telling you Truth, when He appears we shall be like Him, the Church is heading places before Jesus returns that are far beyond what we can think of, pray of, or ask for, and it is all going to happen by the power of Christ that is within us, the power of the Holy Spirit! The Church will do greater works than Jesus did, the Church is going to be as He is, the Church will be glorious and without spot, wrinkle, or blemish! Our Father said it, it will be! Faith is the evidence of things hoped for!

How do I know this will be, our Father has allowed me to taste bits and pieces of it. God has instructed me to lay hands on the sick, and they have recovered, right there, no other reason than God worked through me. I have been praying and my spirit grew beyond the confines of my body. Our Father allowed me to taste a fraction of how He is, it was so small, and only for a moment, yet He allowed me to see that we do have the capacity to be in touch with the Body of Christ beyond our flesh. He allowed me to experience just a little taste of His omnipotence. I never ask you to believe just because I have written it, shoot I never would, taste it for yourself, ask our Father to come to you and ask Him to allow you to experience Him. Ask for His Word to consume you, surrender all and then receive it all. If you still have your will, give it away, take on His will, it’s a lot better!

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

We Are Included In Christ

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed you were marked with Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of His glory." Ephesians 1:13-14 NIV

How awesome is this verse of scripture? We are included in Christ, we are marked with the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing our inheritance, and we are now God’s possessions! If you don’t get excited at this, what will you get excited over? This scripture so strengthens our study of who we now are in Christ. First of all, we were included in Christ. Notice our Father does not say that we will be included in Christ, not that we are going to be included, not that we are being included, as if it is some process, no plain and simple God says that we were included, past tense. In our Father's eyes it is a done deal! "But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" Ephesians 2:4-5

Next, we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, Who tells us who we are in Christ. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." Romans 8:16 "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Galatians 4:6 Notice both of these scriptures say that we are the sons of God, not that we will be the sons of God, but that we are the sons of God. These verses also say that because we are the sons of God, that we have been given the Holy Ghost Who confirms our acceptance and bears witness with our own spirits of who we are in Him. "Beloved, now we are the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that has this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." 1 John 3:2-3 Isn't it great how all of these scriptures tie right together.

Finally, the Holy Spirit is our guarantee of salvation. The Holy Ghost guarantees our salvation; there is no better guarantee to be had. I have a friend, Brad, who really understands this Truth. Brad is very active in a church that let’s just say is not as accepting of it. One night Brad asked Beth and I to go to a service. At this service the preacher asked him to make a comment, well he did, and was it a great one! The preacher had been talking about salvation and he used an example of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. Well, Brad jumped up and said, without hesitation and with no reservations, and in a bold voice, "the neat thing about a butterfly is that it can never go back to being a caterpillar." It took all of one second for that preacher to jump right up and say, "but we know we can all fall away from our salvation." Brad knows who he is in Christ and was openly confessing his faith; the preacher had no idea who he could be in Christ. But in Jesus' Name he will! The preacher did not have the Holy Ghost in him confirming and guaranteeing who he is, yet Brad does. Just because a person stands behind an altar and is called a preacher means nothing. 1 John 4:2, a spirit that confesses Christ is in the flesh, means everything! In Jesus' Name that preacher and all who agreed with him will accept and live the Truth of God! Brad is not at that church by coincidence, he is there because that is where God wants him!

If you don’t believe these verses, that tell us that we are guaranteed eternal salvation, I want you to ask yourself this? When were you filled with the Holy Ghost? If you cannot answer yourself with a specific time and place, a time when you knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that you were, than you need to get with God and ask Him why?

I can tell for me it was at the Brentonel Church of Christ, when I was eleven years old, with my Aunt Linda, in a cold metal chair beside the baptismal. My mom reached over, touched my lips, and I was filled! I had believed before than, but that night I was filled, and as Jesus said, those who believe and are baptized shall be saved. If you have not had such an experience, if you struggle with what we have discussed, there is no condemnation here, just an honest question to ask yourself, have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? God will reveal to you the answer! I have never met anyone who can tell me of an exact moment when they were, who ever question their eternity, it’s just born into them, they have a guarantee that is directly of God! No wavering, no questioning, it’s just in them! And if it’s not in you, it can be, and it’s God’s will that it is. He loves us so very much! God wants us to have no questions about who we are in Him and who He is within us. We should not be tossed to and fro and to insure we are not, God has given us Himself to bear witness with our spirits, so that we can be confident and bold in our eternal salvation!

Father I ask You in Jesus’ Name, that all who read this study will know beyond any shadow of a doubt that they are eternally with You! That they know that they are preserved by You until the Day of Jesus’ return, the Day of Redemption! I thank You Father that they know that they are included in the exact same anointing that You gave to Jesus: Christ! I thank You Father that we all come into fellowship, with one heart, one accord, and one mind, as we are used by You to be doers of the Word! You are greater in us than anything that is in the World and through the Anointing that You have included us in we are now more than conquerors and we can now be used by You to do all things!

We Are Accepted By God

"To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved." Ephesians 1:6

Do you think of yourself as accepted by God? I mean walk right into the Throne Room without guilt, without fear, and know beyond any doubt that you can be there, welcomed and expected? This is how we should think of ourselves, because we are now accepted in Jesus. We should think that our acceptance is sure because it is God that has insured it, God is the one Who has made us accepted. "Now He which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God; Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Our Father has made us accepted, not our works, not our prayers, not our thoughts, not our moods, not our church attendance, no physical action on our part has made us accepted. Our Father has sealed us with Himself, and so my friends we are sealed and accepted and no man or no thing can take that away, including ourselves. Accepting this Truth is not a burden placed solely on us alone. God is our Father and He plays a major role in creating within us a spirit and knowledge of our acceptance. “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Galatians 4:6 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:” Romans 8:16 Praise Jesus, God has made us accepted!

As a Father I am responsible to raise my children up in the way they are to go. If they doubt that they are my kids, if I don’t provide for them, educate them, or protect them, what type a parent would I be? If I allowed them into harms way, wouldn’t I be held accountable? What if I made them feel that they were not accepted to me, or as so many Christians feel about God, that they cannot be acceptable? I hope you are seeing what I am saying here? Our Father is right there with us, revealing Himself to us, showing us that He loves us, just as He loves Jesus. In nothing are we ever left alone, our Father actively has His hands and His presence in all areas of our lives! Even if it is an area on our life that needs cleaned up; He is the Gardener that prunes off the branches of our lives that do not produce fruit!

Here is another powerful example of God playing a role in our life’s "My Father, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of My Father's hand." John 10:29 No person can take away our acceptance. No man can take our acceptance, but here is a question, can we take it away from ourselves? Can we at one time be accepted, and than remove ourselves from it?

"Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you." 1 Corinthians 3:13-16

This verse just teaches it so plainly, that once we are saved, truly saved, we are eternally saved. All of our works may not be so great, but our acceptance is sure and eternal! Our acceptance by our Father has been insured by Jesus Himself, not by us, “He hath made us accepted in the beloved.” Look at the first part of Ephesians 1:6, “to the praise of the glory of His grace.” If our acceptance was based on our personal performance, this verse would have to read, “to the praise of our ability to earn His grace.” Everything we do may not measure up, but if we have truly accepted Jesus as our Lord, God eternally accepts us. This is why we can praise the glory of His grace, it’s a free gift!

Now there will be many which confess salvation, but remember the test, all who say Lord, Lord, are not necessarily saved. "Hereby we know ye the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God." 1 John 4:2 Just because someone says that they are a Christian, test them to see whether they confess that Jesus is in their flesh, that is the test of true salvation. These people may seem religious, but their hearts are far from God, as 1 John teaches, they are the spirit of anti-christ. Jesus teaches such people are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They may appear to be nice and humble, but if they are in any way denying the power of God, they are wolves! Look at how Jesus spoke to Peter in Mark 8:33 when he was just trying to be nice, “But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.” We are accepted by our Father because of Jesus, anything different, regardless of how it may sound, is not of God!

"For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Colossians 3:3 Today we are dead, yet we are so alive in Christ that we are accepted and we are sealed! Walk in victory and power, faith and love, you are accepted by God Himself. Pray for me that I am able to accomplish all that our Father has called me to do, and I will pray the same for you! Pray that we all really come to know this and walk in it, that we are accepted by grace, not by works. The freedom that comes with this is so powerful. “Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then we have confidence toward God.” 1 John 3:21 When we realize that we are accepted apart from works, there goes condemnation, and when condemnation is gone, there is confidence. Confidence that we are pleasing to our Father, because we have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to accept what He has provided for us, salvation through Christ! We have been empowered to accept that He is with us, leading us, guiding us, helping us, giving us the spirit, the faith, the hope, and the abilities do so! We are not alone, we are accepted because of Jesus, and this brings confidence, and when we are confident in Him, than are we able to truly serve and truly able to be used by Him to produce eternal fruit! Works do not bring our acceptance, but being chosen and accepted by God sure will bring forth works! Hallelujah, that is good!