Chapter 5

The Word of God

            How is our destiny intertwined with the Word of God? Without it, we won’t know what our destiny is - how we are supposed to be living. We need to read the Bible daily to see how our lives are supposed to be. It isn’t called the Word of God for nothing. It is God speaking to us … into our very lives. In the last chapter, we looked at the Holy Spirit intervening in our lives. He needs something to activate His power in us. That something is the Word. Without it we have no direction; no GPS to guide us. The Spirit uses the Word to keep us on the right path and to show us what our destiny is.

           

            Speak the Word with boldness:

           

Acts 4:31

31 And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.

            The Holy Spirit combines with the Word to bring about boldness in Christians’ lives. It’s like sticking the fire of the Spirit to the gun powder of the Word. When you do, there is an explosion. This explosion caries us into the world to preach the Gospel to unbelievers and unbelieving believers (they are born again, but they don’t believe in what the Word says). They gathered together; they prayed; the place was shaken; they were filled; they spoke the Word with boldness. This is what we should be doing today. If you look at the places where it says someone was filled with the Spirit, afterwards words came out of their mouths. Normally it’s only the first two things that happen in churches. People gather together and they pray. The people in Acts couldn’t have spoken the Word with boldness if they hadn’t know what the Word said.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You believe in Me; believe also in My Word. My Word is what will make you an overcomer in this world. The world does not care what happens to you. It is only interested in itself. You are what has to make My Word active in this world; for it will never come to know Me apart from you. You are to activate it in this world for the world to know Me. You are to speak forth what I tell you to speak. Then you will see many great miracles happen in your life as you activate My Word. It is like many of the products you buy. It is not good by Itself. You must activate it for It to operate the way It is supposed to. Trust in My Word as you activate It in your lives. Then you will see My power operating in your lives and in My Kingdom.”

            53. I will be filled continually with the Spirit and will know and speak the Word of God with boldness wherever I go.

Merry Christmas! I hope you have a really great one with friends and family. The following is without comment. Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee call Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." But she was very perplexed at the statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end." Mary said to the angel, "how can this be, since I am a virgin?" The angel answered and said to her, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you and for that reason the Holy child shall be called the Son of God." ... Bethlehem ... and she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. ... shepherds in the fields keeping watch ... an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them ... behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. ... A baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. ... A multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with him He is pleased." ... they found the baby lying in the manger. ... they made known the statement which had been told them about the Child. ... Many treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. May God richly bless you and your family. May He bring the blessings of heaven upon your household. May you always prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers. May you find your future in His word. And again – merry Christmas!

            Manifestation for the common good:

1 Corinthians 12:7, 11

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

           

            Notice that it says to each one is given the manifestation (or expression) of the Spirit for the common good. We’re all supposed to be manifesting or expressing the Holy Spirit. Most Christians are not doing that. Some are actually manifesting what seems like the exact opposite spirit. Usually it’s just the flesh.

            Do you want to get more out of church? Then allow the Holy Spirit to express Himself through you in the church … whether in a service or in some other way during the week. You don’t have to be a preacher to be manifesting the Spirit. What is the purpose of this expressing of the Spirit? It’s not to lift you up so everyone says, “Oooo. Look at him/her.” It’s for the common good. If it’s not bringing good to the church community, it’s not the Spirit being manifested.

            You don’t have to get good enough for this manifestation to happen. If that were true, there wouldn’t be any manifestation at all. Also, you don’t get to choose which manifestation you have. The Spirit chooses and does the work. He knows what’s best. One person may want to pray for the sick and see them healed. That’s a good thing to want. But if you get tunnel vision and are only looking for that manifestation to occur in your life, you may miss out on something even better for you and for the Church. Allow Him to choose and to manifest Himself.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You have Me residing in you, My children because you have My Spirit residing in you. He will show you the way to live your lives and to walk in My Kingdom and power. He will show you the way to manifest My presence and My power in your lives. He will show you how to minister to one another and to those in the world. He will manifest My power and My gifts that I have given unto you. They are to be used to help your fellow believers and to bring others into the Kingdom. You will not be alone; for He will show you the way to walk in My power in My Spirit.”          

            52. I will allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in me in the way He desires so that I may bring good to my fellow believers.

            The Holy Spirit in us and in our lives is our destiny. This is what God had in mind all along. He wasn’t some afterthought. He is the real deal. When I allow Him to operate freely in my life, I will show forth to others what God has in store for His believers and will bless those around me.

Anointing:

1 John 2:20

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know.

            The anointing oil of the Holy Spirit has flowed over our lives. His anointing dwells within us. This anointing will direct our lives, if we let it. It will guide us when we have a decision to make. If we go in the direction God wants us to go, the anointing will bring peace within. If we don’t, there will be a “tightening” within, and we’ll know that we shouldn’t do whatever it was that we were about to do. When we sense this anointing within, we can know that we know we are saved!

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My Spirit has come upon you to anoint you with power. It is the power to accomplish My will in the earth. My will is to bring all into the Kingdom who will truly follow Me. You are My ambassadors to the world to bring them into the Kingdom. When they see My power residing upon you, they will want what you have. They will come unto you and say, “How can we know the Living God? How can we come into His Kingdom?” You will show them the way; for that is why I have chosen you. You will know the way to bring this about  because of My Spirit which is in you; and He shall direct your paths as you allow Him to have control over your lives.”

            51. I have the anointing of the Holy Spirit within and I know that God indwells me. I also know by His anointing when I am in God’s will.

Manifestation for the common good:

1 Corinthians 12:7, 11

7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.

           

            Notice that it says to each one is given the manifestation (or expression) of the Spirit for the common good. We’re all supposed to be manifesting or expressing the Holy Spirit. Most Christians are not doing that. Some are actually manifesting what seems like the exact opposite spirit. Usually it’s just the flesh.

            Do you want to get more out of church? Then allow the Holy Spirit to express Himself through you in the church … whether in a service or in some other way during the week. You don’t have to be a preacher to be manifesting the Spirit. What is the purpose of this expressing of the Spirit? It’s not to lift you up so everyone says, “Oooo. Look at him/her.” It’s for the common good. If it’s not bringing good to the church community, it’s not the Spirit being manifested.

            You don’t have to get good enough for this manifestation to happen. If that were true, there wouldn’t be any manifestation at all. Also, you don’t get to choose which manifestation you have. The Spirit chooses and does the work. He knows what’s best. One person may want to pray for the sick and see them healed. That’s a good thing to want. But if you get tunnel vision and are only looking for that manifestation to occur in your life, you may miss out on something even better for you and for the Church. Allow Him to choose and to manifest Himself.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You have Me residing in you, My children because you have My Spirit residing in you. He will show you the way to live your lives and to walk in My Kingdom and power. He will show you the way to manifest My presence and My power in your lives. He will show you how to minister to one another and to those in the world. He will manifest My power and My gifts that I have given unto you. They are to be used to help your fellow believers and to bring others into the Kingdom. You will not be alone; for He will show you the way to walk in My power in My Spirit.”         

            52. I will allow the Holy Spirit to manifest Himself in me in the way He desires so that I may bring good to my fellow believers.

            The Holy Spirit in us and in our lives is our destiny. This is what God had in mind all along. He wasn’t some afterthought. He is the real deal. When I allow Him to operate freely in my life, I will show forth to others what God has in store for His believers and will bless those around me.

Liberty:

II Cor 3:17

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

            “Give me liberty, or give me death.” When you’ve tasted the freedom of the Holy Spirit, then you do say to give you that liberty or to give you death. There is nothing like it. Too many Christians try to live the Christian life in their own power. You can’t. You will wear yourself out trying. It is only as you follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit that you will be able to live it. This liberty doesn’t mean that you can do just any old thing that comes to your mind. But if you are following the directions of the Holy Spirit, then the things that come to your mind will be those that are acceptable to God; you will be free to do whatsoever you desire. Remember … the Holy Spirit must be Lord for this to be true.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are free; My children … free to release yourselves in My love. For I have given you the Kingdom gladly. You shall walk in My freedom as you allow Me to control your lives. The world says that is not freedom, but I say that there is freedom in no other way. You cannot be free apart from Me. Worship Me and stay in My freedom. My Spirit guides you into the true liberty in Me.”

            50. The Spirit is Lord in my life. Therefore, I have complete liberty.

Work of the Holy Spirit:

            Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit:

Romans 14:17

17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

            We get so caught up in the trappings of looking Christian to those around us and doing those things expected of us that we forget what the Kingdom of God is all about. It is living the holy life; living in peace with God and man; and rejoicing always in the Holy Spirit. If we are content with these, we shall truly be able to accomplish all God has in mind for us. Also, others will want to enter the Kingdom also.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Many people have rules and regulations to come unto Me. I have but one … that you desire to be with Me. You shall come unto Me whenever you desire. You shall be in My company all the days of your life. You shall never wither, and you shall never die as long as you stay in Me. You are in My Kingdom when you desire to be with Me; and you shall be protected from the ills of the world as you reside daily in My love.”

            49. I am in the Kingdom of God and will walk continually in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Temple of the Holy Spirit:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?

20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

            Now this reference about our body being a temple of the Holy Spirit is talking about us as individuals. I believe in context, the one in chapter 3 is about a body of believers. As a temple of the Holy Spirit, we should keep ourselves holy. He indwells us, guides us, and empowers us. You wouldn’t treat the church building where you attend church with disrespect, would you? Why would you treat the dwelling of the Holy Spirit with disrespect? Verse 19 tells us that He is given by God to us, and that we’re not our own. God didn’t save us to let us “do our own thing.” He saved us to do His own thing. We are to be holy like He is holy. So, we’re to glorify God in our body. The verses right before this were talking about sexual sins. But I believe it applies to all of our activities concerning our bodies. When we keep our bodies in good shape (and I don’t mean just exercising), we feel better and have more energy to do things for God.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are My temple, My holy ones. You are My special place of worship; for in you is My worship complete. For you worship Me with unchained heart. You worship Me with all your soul and might. You are My special ones, and I delight in your worship of Me. Release yourselves unto Me for true worship, and I will guide you into the true worship of your God. You are My special place of residence; for I reside with you and in you and will never leave you. Trust in Me to keep you in My presence all the days of your life.”

            48. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who indwells me. I will glorify God in my body.

Indwelling:

           

            New covenant of the Spirit:

2 Corinthians 3:6

6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

1 Corinthians 6:17

17 But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

            Man tries to devise a way to live the Christian life. He comes up with ways for him to do it. But the covenant of God is one of the Spirit, not the flesh of man. If man could live up to it, then there would be no need for God … for Jesus to give His life a ransom for many. This covenant that man would devise will eventually kill him. The covenant that we follow is one of the Spirit, and it gives life everlasting.     When we became Christians, we were united with God in the Spirit. We were as the verse says, one Spirit with Him. God’s own life-giving Spirit living within us to enable us to live this covenant.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "When you join yourself unto Me, you will have established a covenant relationship that cannot be broken. I will not let you down. I will never desert you. You are My special one, and I will join together with you in a New Covenant relationship. You will never be alone nor deserted again. The world has deserted you; your special friends and family have deserted you; but I will never desert you for I cannot desert My own. My Spirit dwells within you, and I cannot desert Myself.”

            47. I have become a servant of a new covenant of the Spirit which brings life to me and those I come in contact with every day.

            Water metaphor:

            Drink of One Spirit:

           

1 Corinthians 12:13

13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

            There is not one Holy Spirit for the Jews and another for the Gentiles. There is only one Spirit and we have all drunk from Him. We are to preserve the unity of the Holy Spirit, not try to create it. Unity is supernaturally natural when the Holy Spirit is involved. Water is just one of the ways the Spirit is depicted. We are refreshed when we drink of water; so we are refreshed when we drink from the Water of the Spirit. He becomes a river of living water flowing from within us.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Come to Me you thirsty ones and drink of My Spirit; for He is refreshing and will renew you to My completeness. Do not fear Him; for He will bring you into My presence. He will guide you into all the Truth; for He is the Truth. He will show you the way into My blessedness. He will show you the way into My blessings; for I will give unto Him to give unto you. You will never thirst again; for you will be satisfied and will give unto the Nations for Me through Him.”

            46. I have drunk of the One Spirit in unity with my fellow believers, whether they are from the Jews or the Gentiles.

He will come to you:

           

John 14:12-18

12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.

13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

16 “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

17 that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

            Jesus sent us another Helper of a type just like Himself. Of course, this was the Holy Spirit. He is also a Comforter just like Jesus. We didn’t get some cheap imitation Prada. We got the real deal. He is to be with us for ever. He told the disciples that He wouldn’t leave them as orphans; that He would come to them. They too didn’t want a cheap imitation. They had had the real deal in Jesus. He came to them and He came to us when we made Him Lord of our lives. He is with us and will never leave us.

           

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I am for you, My children. I have longed for you to be with Me; but there is much to be done before that can happen. For now you will have to be content with My Spirit. He will be with you and guide you into all the Truth. He will show you what is yet to be done before you can join Me. I have a lot to talk with you about and I am longing for it to begin. Trust in Me and listen attentively to My Spirit. He will guide you into all the Truth; not just what others tell is true, but what I tell you is Truth. You will soon be with Me and we shall rejoice forever. Come unto Me and receive of Me what comfort you need. There is much to do and little time to do it in.”

            45. Jesus came to me and will remain with me forever. I will never be alone.

            This is our destiny … Jesus inside us and Jesus in the midst of us. Wherever we go, He goes. Whatever we need done, He does. We don’t have to get good enough to earn His presence in our lives or to earn His working in our lives. It is part of our destiny. We can’t make it happen. We can only prevent it from happening.

Of the truth … hear His voice:

John 18:37

37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

            We’re of the truth. Because of that we hear His voice. When we hear His voice, we follow Him. We’ll never go wrong so long as we follow His voice. We get into trouble when we try to take care of things on our own.

            The Old Testament talks about hearing a voice behind you saying, “This is the way. Walk ye in it.” The reason the voice is behind us is that we’ve gone off the path He leads us on. He’s still there, but now He’s behind us. He calls to us like the Good Shepherd to let us know that we’ve strayed. If we heed that voice, we’ll be o.k. We can only go so far, though, without getting into trouble.

           

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Some only want to hear what is pleasing to the ear. I want those that desire to hear the Truth; that want to know when they are wrong; that they have hurt someone. I want those that desire to be even as I am; to know the Truth. For when you want to know the Truth and hear it, then you will want to make any changes necessary to obey the Truth; for that is what will truly make you free … not just hearing something to tickle your ear.”

            44. I am of the truth and I hear His voice daily calling my name.

Abide in Him and He in you:

John 6:56

56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

            Some believe that during Communion the elements become Jesus’ flesh and blood. Let’s not argue about whether that’s true or not. Jesus gave His flesh and His blood for us. (The Old Testament talks about the life being in the blood.) Some say that we have a bloody religion. Without Jesus’ blood, there is no Christianity. Without Him giving His flesh for us, there is no hope for us for the future. It’s just here and now. If we continually partake of that giving of His flesh and blood for us, we do abide in Him. If we push it aside, we take the focus off Him and place it on ourselves. We must continually live in Him.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Some people would only want to be in Me when it is convenient or when they need My help; but I want people who will want to stay in Me continually. This comes from wanting Me no matter what the cost. Will it cost you convenience? Will it cost you approval? Will it cost you your life? If you would abide in Me, it will cost you your very soul; for I only want those that will give all for Me as I gave all for them. This is My life. This is My flesh.”

            43. I continually abide in Him and He in me.

Come to Him:

Matthew 11:28

28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

John 6:35

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.

            “The world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.” Those are the words from a song. The world doesn’t give anything to anyone. It may let you have a taste of something, but it will never satisfy you. The rest that the world talks about is only physical and/or mental. The rest Jesus is talking about is much more than that. It’s spiritual along with mental and physical. With the world, there is always something out there ready to pounce. With God, there is total peace. With the world, it’s rest as long as everything is going my way. With God, it’s rest despite what’s coming my way.

            Our only hunger is for righteousness, never for the physical. We thirst only to know Him better; not for water. His food and His drink satisfy forever.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is much concern today about what should you eat and what should you drink. There is much concern for the safety of all that goes within you. There is no fear in what I give to you. There is no concern for the safety of all that is Mine. You shall have food more than enough to sustain you in My realm. You shall have more than enough to drink with Me. What I give to you shall never run dry and shall never lose its taste. What I give you is what will draw all men unto Me. It is the Life within the Bread that draws all men and it is the Life within the Water that will sustain all men. This is that which I give to you to share with all men.”

            42. I come to Him and find everything I need to satisfy my innermost needs … rest; bread of life; a river flowing out of my innermost being.

Entered Heaven for us:

Hebrews 9:24

24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

            We could not enter Heaven on our own. We had no right to do so. Because of our sinful nature, we were not holy and so were forbidden to enter. The high priests were able to enter the holy of holies once a year, but not without sacrifice. They had to offer the sacrifice every year. Also, they couldn’t stay in the holy of holies. Jesus entered the true Holy of Holies … Heaven itself. He offered one sacrifice, Himself, one time. When He entered, He remained forever. He appears in God’s presence to ever make intercession for us. As He stands before the Father, we in Him also stand before the Father. One day we too will literally stand before the Father. That is part of our destiny.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I did not go through all that I did so that you might have life on earth. I did it so that you could also enter into the Holy of Holies within the veil. You cannot go there without Me. You had to have Me pave the way for you. Now that I have, you can enter there too. Come with Me into the Holy of Holies. You shall see what I have seen and go where I have gone. There is peace and joy there forever more.”

            41. Jesus has entered Heaven to appear before God on my behalf.

What Jesus does for us:

            Redemption:

Ephesians 1:7-8

7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

8 which He lavished on us.

            When someone pawns an item, he/she has an opportunity to redeem it at some point in the future. There is a price to pay for that redemption that is more than the person received for it. If the person has the money to redeem it, he/she must decide if the item is important enough to warrant paying the amount received plus the “interest”.

            In a sense, Adam “pawned” us to Satan. God had to decide whether it was worth the cost to redeem us. Actually He decided we were worth it before time began. The redemption price … the blood of His only begotten Son. To redeem us would be extremely costly. God became man and lived on the earth. He then had to lay down His life (no one could take it from Him). Jesus was willing to come and to shed His blood for our redemption. We are pawned no more!

            This redemption through His blood obtained the forgiveness of all our trespasses (past, present, and future). This comes about by His grace. We cannot earn it. None of us is worthy enough to shed our blood for our own forgiveness, let alone everyone else’s.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There is nothing that you have done or ever could do that I would not forgive you. I did not redeem you from some sins and not others. You are complete in My love, and I have desired that you share that love with others. There is nothing that My blood cannot cover. There is no sin that you have committee that will turn Me away from you.”

            40. I have been redeemed by grace through the blood of Jesus. I am pawned no longer!

Created for good works:

Ephesians 2:10

10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.         

            We’re His workmanship. The Greek word translated workmanship is the one from which we get the English word poem. We are God’s poem. Just like the Creation is His poem, so are we. As magnificent as His creation is, we are even more so. God could only write a poem beyond all others.

            He didn’t “write” us just to sit around and be admired. He “wrote” us for good works. We don’t obtain salvation through works, but if you’re saved, you should be doing in good works. Of course everyone has an idea of what is meant by good works. What is yours? Whatever you do, do with all your might to the glory of God … not to impress others or to obtain favor with God. We do them because we love Him and want to please Him.

            These good works don’t just happen. He planned them long ago and prepared them for us. They’re sitting there waiting on us to do them. It says that we are to walk in them. It should be natural for us to do them as we go about our daily lives. It is our destiny to do them.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I created you, My children. When I did, I did not do it hastily. I thought about all that I wanted for you and through you. You are My special treasure, and I desire that you be perfected in My love. I have written a magnificent poem, and that poem is you. You bring delight to My eyes and My heart. You were chosen for a special purpose, and I desire that you fulfill it. You are My special treasure, and I want everyone to know it.”

            39. I am His special poem created to do good works which He prepared beforehand that I might walk in them.           

He knows us and we know Him:

John 10:14

14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,

John 10:27-29

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

29 “My Father, who has given them to Me,  is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.

            We are not just one among the masses to Jesus. He knows us intimately and we know Him that way too. We can hear His voice and know that it is He that is speaking to us. It takes practice to recognize His voice. We can also know that it is His voice by the fact that it will always agree with His Word. We cannot depend on that technique unless we also know His Word.

            He gives us eternal life. We will never perish. This is a strong declaration of never perishing. (In the Greek it is a double negative which is very emphatic.) Not only will we never perish, no one can snatch us out of His hand. We may be weaklings, but He isn’t. The Father, who is greater than all, will make sure that we are safe in His hands.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are Mine, little ones. I have chosen you, and I have redeemed you. You are My special ones. I have chosen you from out of the world. Mine you are, and I have chosen you to do a special work for Me. Others have said they were from Me, but I have not sent them. I would not send someone to receive My children. I have come Myself to receive you into My fold. I have chosen you out from the world. You are Mine, and no one can steal you away from Me. I am stronger than all, and no one can snatch you out of My hands.”

            38. I know Jesus and am known by Him. I follow Him, and He has given me eternal life. I will never perish, and no one will ever snatch me out of His hands.

Apostle and High Priest of our confession:

Hebrews 3:1

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession;

            An apostle is one who is sent to do a task such as establish a new church. A high priest is one who intercedes on behalf of someone else.

            We are called with a Heavenly calling. We partake of that calling when we confess Jesus as Lord. We activate it with our confession. In a sense we “send” Jesus to establish us as a new “tabernacle” for God. He also becomes our High Priest to plead our case before the Father.

            There is also a “lesser” sense in which we confess our faith in the Word that we have something that the Word promises us. This confession “sends” Jesus to establish the fulfilling of the Word we believed in. He also acts as our Intermediary to the Father for the fulfillment of that Word.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You do not have to worry that you have no representation before the throne of God. You have My Son, who is your High Priest before Me. You do not have to go to some tabernacle or temple in some far off place to receive ministry by your High Priest. He is within you and before Me. He is always making intercession for you before Me. He will always come to your aid. Do not trust in others to come before Me on your behalf. He is the only way to come before Me; and He does so on a continuous basis.”

            37. I have Jesus as the Apostle and High Priest of my confession. I can be sure that I have whatever I have asked for that is in accordance with the Word of God.

He is in you, unless you fail the test:

2 Corinthians 13:5

5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

Colossians 1:27

27 to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

            Do you pass the test? Do you know for certain that Christ is in you? If not, then you can know for certain by asking Him to come in and take control of your life.

            This book of course assumes that He is in you and that you don’t fail the test. No student wants to fail the test, and this is one test you want to make sure you pass. Assuming that He is in you, what can we say? That He is your hope of glory. This is not an “I hope I make it to Heaven”. It is a confident expectation that your destination is Heaven.

            It was a mystery to the men and women of old. How could God Himself live inside you? But God said He would put His Spirit within us. The great people of old had the Spirit with them, but we have Him in us. John was told that He upon whom the Spirit came and remained upon that was to be the Christ. They knew about the Spirit coming upon people. He even came upon King Saul after He had strayed, and King Saul prophesied. However, the Spirit didn’t remain with Saul. He stays within us forever.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I am not some God who is far off, but One who is near; even in your heart. Do not look up trying to find Me, but look inward and there you will find Me if you seek Me with all your heart. You are Mine, if I am within you. You have My stamp upon you. My Holy Spirit is the seal of approval upon your heart. You are Mine forever as long as you will have Me.”

            36. Christ is within me. Therefore, I pass the test and have Him as my hope of glory.

What He Became to Us:

            Head of every man:

1 Corinthians 11:3

3 But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.

            What is our relationship to Jesus? He is the head of every man (or woman in this sense). Since He is the Head, we should be listening to the Head and doing what He says. He it is who will direct the body, His church of which we are a part.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Would you argue with one of your rulers if he were in front of you? Then why do you argue with Me? I am your true leader. I am your true head. There is no one over Me. I am the end of all discussions. There is no way getting around it. I am that I am. You are Mine, and I am your Head.”

            35. Christ is my Head, and as such, I will follow His every request.

Baptism saves you through the resurrection of Jesus:

1 Peter 3:21

21 Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience—through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

            Some Christians believe that you must be water baptized in order to be saved. (Remember that we’re assuming that whatever is needed to get to Heaven has or will be done by you.) This verse and the Great Commission that says “whoever believes and is baptized shall be saved” seem to say that you must be water baptized to get to Heaven. But is it talking about the “born again experience”? After all there are three aspects to salvation: spirit, soul, and body. This verse says that baptism saves you … through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the death of Jesus that saves us spiritually. It is His resurrection that ensures we can live the Christian life (He was delivered up because of our transgressions. He was raised up because of our justification.) Let’s leave it there for now.

            When we are born again, all of our sins are forgiven. Our new man didn’t do them. It was our old man. Therefore, our conscience is clear. We wash away the sins of our old man through baptism as it says in Acts. They no longer have a hold on us. The devil can’t come after us condemning us for something we did before we became a Christian. They are forgiven and washed away.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have washed you, My children. I have set you free from your past. There is nothing that you have done that is too great for what I accomplished at Calvary. There is nothing that cannot be forgiven you when you turn to Me. You are Mine. You are washed in My blood and cleansed as no cleansing agent on earth can accomplish. Trust in Me. Do not listen to Satan as he tries to bring up things of the past. They cannot affect you in My love. You are Mine, and you are washed clean.”

            34. My conscience is clear. Everything my old man did wrong has been forgiven and washed away.

Died for sins to bring us to God:

1 Peter 3:18

18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

             

            Thank God that Jesus does not have to die every time we sin. Nor did He have to die for each of us separately. He died one time for all people for all sins. Jesus didn’t deserve to die. We deserved to die (“in the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree, you shall die.”) We have all eaten of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We did it through our “father” Adam, and we fulfilled it ourselves by doing “our own thing”.

            Because He was willing to die in His fleshly body for our sins, He was made alive in the Spirit. We too, when we accept His work on the cross on our behalf, are made alive in the spirit. We are spirit-beings walking around in fleshly “earth-suits”.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "There was nothing that you could ever do to bring yourself into My presence. It was for Me to bring you into My presence. You could never become good enough nor do enough good things to make you worthy of My Kingdom. It was His sacrifice that brought you near to Me. You can never repay His sacrifice nor would He want you to.”

            33. Jesus died for me that He might bring me to God and make me alive in the spirit.

Chapter 3

Jesus

            Who is this Jesus and what does He mean to us? What does He have to do with our destiny? What if He hadn’t come? Could we still live the Christian life?

            Jesus is the Son of God. He came to earth to show us the way to live a perfect life and then die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Without Him, we would have no destiny that was good. Our destiny would have been eternal separation from God. We could never live the Christian life without Him.

            The Father had a plan for our destiny. He sent the Son to prepare the way for us to fulfill our destiny. The Holy Spirit helps us to accomplish the destiny the Father had planned for us.

What His death accomplished:

            Propitiation for our sins:

1 John 2:2

2 and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

1 John 4:10

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

            What does this big word, propitiation, mean? The people living during the Old Testament days believed that their gods had to be appeased. Something had to be done by the people to get their gods to change their minds about doing something nasty to the people. So, they sacrificed something … sometimes even their own children. This they hoped would cause their gods to look down with favor upon them.

            In the Tabernacle, the mercy seat upon the ark was also known as the Propitiatory. When the High Priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat once a year, God propitiated … changed His mind … about what He wanted to do to the children of Israel. In fact in the Septuagint, in certain places where The King James says that God repented, the Greek word is the one used for propitiated.

            We deserved to be condemned to eternal separation from God. He wanted to wipe us out. Something had to be done to get Him to change His mind. That something was for His only begotten Son to die in our place. It wasn’t good enough to sacrifice a sinful individual. The Sacrificial Lamb had to have lived a sinless life. When Jesus died on the cross, God’s justice was appeased and He propitiated … changed His mind … about what He wanted to do to us.

            Our destiny was the Lake of Fire, but Jesus’ death changed that destiny into one of eternal life.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My Son died for you. He took your place. It should have been you, My children, who died; but He desired to take your place … to be your sacrifice to bring you into My presence. It is not for you to question why, but to enjoy the benefits He obtained for you. He did it all that you might have life everlasting. It was not His desire that you have to suffer like He did. He felt that it was better for Him to suffer once for all rather than all having to suffer as He did.”

            32. Jesus died on the cross for my sins so that God would change His mind about what I deserved. Instead of death I might have eternal life.

Cleanses our conscience from dead works:         

             

Hebrews 9:14

14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

            It wasn’t through the blood of an animal that was physically perfect which was offered for our sins. It was through the blood of the spiritually perfect Son that we were cleansed. The Jews tried to come to God through works, but that was not what He wanted. It isn’t enough to come before God. There had to be the death of someone who had never sinned in order to pave the way for us. Because of that, we don’t have to “do” anything to come to God. Jesus did everything necessary to bring us into the presence of Almighty God. Our conscience is clean. Our old man did the deed. We are new creatures in Christ.

            We do serve the living God in a living way. We do works, not to gain acceptance, but because we have been accepted by Him.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You cannot become good enough to come unto Me. You cannot do good enough to come unto Me. You can come unto Me because of what My Son accomplished for you. You can walk in My ways and talk in My way as you allow Me to control your life. You will accomplish much for Me if you will allow Me full access to your life. I will guide you into the paths of glory for My Name’s sake. You can do much in Me. You cannot do anything worthwhile outside of Me. No matter how much you try, it is all in vain when it is outside of Me.”

            31. My conscience is clean through the blood of the perfect Son and I can serve God in the Spirit because I want to please Him.       

     

            We have such a special relationship with our Father God. We are truly His children and as we grow in Christ, we take on more and more attributes of our Heavenly Father. We behave like Him because we become like Him. We have nothing to fear from our Father and we can be certain that He will keep and take care of us. It is our destiny as His children. We can have no other life than that of His pleasure.

Put His Laws into our minds and wrote them on our hearts.

             

Hebrews 8:10-12

10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel

After those days, says the Lord:

I will put My laws into their minds,

And I will write them on their hearts.

And I will be their God,

And they shall be My people.

11 “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,

And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

For all will know Me,

From the least to the greatest of them.

12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities,

And I will remember their sins no more.”

            Students in college are trying to put math formulas into their minds. Sometimes it seems like they just don’t stick. But God said that He would Himself write His laws, not only into our minds but also on our hearts. It won’t be like trying to obey the laws of the land where we live. Sometimes we don’t agree with those laws but we obey them just to keep from getting into trouble. With God’s laws, it’s not just to keep from getting into trouble. We keep them because we want to keep them. They are written on our hearts. We have a heart that is after God … that seeks Him earnestly and desires to do His will and please Him. Some people, even church goers, know about the Lord, but we personally know Him.

            These verses also say that He won’t remember our sins any more. Sometimes people “forgive” those who do something bad to them, but they won’t forget it. In the back of their minds, they are always thinking, “He/she better not do that again to me!” What if God treated us that way? We’d be in real trouble. He not only forgives our trespasses, He also forgets them.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My children, I have written My heart upon your heart and My mind upon your mind. What you feel is what I feel. What you think is what I think. That is because I planted within you that Holy Seed of My Word and My Spirit. You will know what you are to do when you look within you to My Spirit. He will guide you into all the truth for He will speak to you what I would have you to know and to do. You cannot go wrong by following His direction. What I have written, I have written. It shall prevail in your life as you allow it to.”

            30. God wrote His laws into my mind and on my heart. My heart desires to do His will

Refuge:

Hebrews 6:17-18

17 In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath,

18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

            There’s a storm out there and we need a place to take refuge from the storm. God said, “Trust in Me to take care of you in the midst of a storm.” It’s like a dad saying to his child, “Jump. I’ll catch you.” Can we trust Him? These verses say we can. God promised. That should be enough for us. Then He gave His word (interposed with an oath). This is better than pinky swear. He can’t lie. Humans can lie. They have to choose to tell the truth. It’s not even possible for Him to lie. Jesus said that the devil is the father of lies; so how could God even be tempted to lie about anything? We can take a strong grip on the hope He set before us. We can know, that we know, that we know He will take care of us in the midst of the storm. Come in out of the storm and trust in Him to take care of everything.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You can trust Me, My children. I will shelter you from the storm. You can hide beneath the shadow of My wings, and I will protect you from the evil one. You can trust Me to take care of you in all situations. Do not depend on the world or the things of the world to protect you. You cannot trust the world for it will even turn on its own. But I will never turn on My own. I will always protect My own from the evils of the world. Do not despair. I am on your side and will always be there to protect you.”

            29. God is my refuge and my strength. What can man do to me? I can depend on Him to take care of me because He promised He would.