Righteous country (part 2):'The law of faith'
In an earlier message, I shared a few words on our righteousness and I drew an analogy with earthly citizenship by birth. Earlier this year, I wrote a message titled:' Studying Matthew 6:33 with a dictionary'
If you have not the above mentioned message, I suggest that you read it by clicking on the link in order to better understand today's message.
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The Kingdom of God is not of this world. If the Kingdom of God was part of this world, then Jesus would have never said: 'Let your Kingdom come' (Matthew 6:10)
If the Kingdom of God was part of this world, then Jesus would have never said: 'My Kingdom is not of this world...(John 18:36)
As a matter of Biblical facts, the Book of revelations records that it is only after the seventh trumpet will be blown that God's reign over the world begins as the scriptures quote:
'The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (Revelations 11:15)
'We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was,because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.' (Revelations 11:16)
The 'beginning of God's reign' mentioned in Revelations 11:16 refers to God's full reign over the nations of the world. Now, in the light of the texts mentioned, we have clearly established that the world and the Kingdom of God are two separate entities.
If you have been saved (and I mean 'IF' since many are not saved) through Jesus Christ, you are no longer of this world. I originate this statement from the prayer of Jesus in John 17 where He said of His disciples:
'They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.' (John 17:16)
Simply because Jesus said that we are not of this world, does not mean that we have to live in a way totally ignoring the world and what 's going on in it. Note that Jesus added in the same prayer:
'My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one.' (John 17:15)
Jesus never prayed that we be taken out of this world (contrarily to what certain religious fanatics may think). Jesus even added:
'“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.' (Matthew 5:13-16)
We are not of this world. Yet Jesus never prayed that we be taken out of this world and therefore we were never called to run away from the world that desperately needs us because we are the salt and light. Salt is not meant to be kept in a bottle; it has to be spread on food. Light is not designed to be hidden but to be seen and shine in public. Any Christian ,who prays to be taken out of the world, is making anti-scriptural prayer. Any Christian ,who refuses to be a light and salt grain for this ill world, is not living a life purposely designed by Jesus. Such Christian does not even understand why he/she exists.
One of the reasons why Jesus never asks to take us away from this world is because God so loved the world as John 3:16 quotes:
'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.'
God gave His Son. The Son went back. The Son left His representatives to carry the light. The Bible quotes:
'My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one,Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one- I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.'
God loved the world and the world is given an opportunity to be saved through Jesus by the message we (God's representatives) carry to the world. Paul even adds in 2 Corinthians 5:19-20:
'...And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ...
We, as righteous, are the Ambassadors for Christ. If we were of this world, we would not be ambassadors. An ambassador never works in home country. If we are ambassadors, it also means that we are from the Heavenly Nation and Kingdom of Christ.
To all those who are running away from their purpose, here is my message: 'God is not taking you away from this world because Jesus has already sealed it in His prayer. You will stay in the world until death comes'. It's time to face your purpose and live.
As ambassadors, as righteous in Christ,there are commandments we ought to abide to in order to fulfill our 'Ambassadorial mission' in this world. For all the people who assume that the word 'commandments' is just a legalistic term aiming at enslaving into the old testament law, please be assured that the term was used by Jesus as He said:
'If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in his love.' (John 15:10)
And to even elevate a challenge to those who profess loving Jesus while remaining disobedient, here is a great word for meditation:
'If you love me, obey my commandments.' (John 14:15--NLT version)
If you don't obey God you don't love Him (period). There is no other way around it, and there is no need to debate it.
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PSALM 93:5
The Psalm 93 is a Biblical passage that I read everyday. One day, I will share with you a bunch of revelations I got from reading this chapter 'OUT-LOUD' alone in prayer. I strongly recommend that you give yourself an opportunity to follow the same practice, especially if you struggle to pray or worship God alone.
In Psalms 93:5, the Psalmist declares:'Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O LORD, forevermore.'
God's decrees are very trustworthy. Note that author mentions the word 'decree'. The word decree is defined as rule of law issued by a head of state and or a monarch and which has the force of law.
Only a person who has applied God's decree, can confidently state that his decrees are trustworthy. To understand it better, I suggest that you read one of my post on Trusting the Lord.
Everything that I just typed was part of an introduction to lay the foundation of my message. If you read this message carefully and apply it to your life, you will not be an impotent Christian. If you apply what you are about to read, you will become:
1. Powerful and liberated.
2.Feared by the devil.
3. Your life will suddenly make sense and you will always wake up in the morning for the true reason of your existence.
Ready? Let's do it:
GOD'S DECREE: THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL LIVE BY FAITH
If you have been going to church for a long for a long time, you surely heard that line many times. The line has been by the Apostle Paul who in turn took it from Prophet Habakkuk. Before explaining the meaning of the passage, It would be best to explain in which the line is written by the prophet.
The Book of Habakkuk starts with a complaint from the prophet to God in chapter 1. As a response to his complaint, God replies on what He will do.
After hearing God's response, Habakkuk complaints again for a second time in chapter 1. But this time, God's response comes in chapter 2 and at the difference from chapter 1, God tells Habakkuk to write down His response on tablets as a monarch would instruct his advisers to record a decree in writing (Habakkuk 2:2).
One of the words that Habakkuk is instructed to record on tablets is the following:
'...The just shall live by faith' (Habakkuk 2:4)
It's on tablets. It 's a decree. Enforceable by law.
Retracing faith from Genesis
Thought the word faith has a clear definition on the Bible. I will only retrace it as far as to the book of Genesis in the Garden of Eden. Please note that God existed before Genesis chapter 1. Genesis chapter 1 is NOT the beginning of God. God existed before Genesis 1. Moses wrote the book of Genesis through the inspiration received from God who chose to reveal it from a specific stage in the beginning of time. (One day, I will explain the origins of the Universe in an apologetic series,sometimes next year)
For the sake of not creating a doctrinal error or heresy, I will only retrace the story of faith from the book of Genesis.
In Genesis chapter 2, after forming man, God commands Adam:
'You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.'(Genesis 2:16-17)
Faith faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Notice that Adam and Eve heard a message they believed for a while until the Serpent convinced them otherwise. Until the moment they ate the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve were both living by faith. In other words they were living based on what God had told them:'they were immortal'.
In Genesis chapter 3, the serpent engages in a conversation with Eve. A slow reading of the same chapter assists us in uncovering new revelations:
1. Adam and Eve were not living by physical sight from the moment they were created until chapter 3. Notice what the serpent tells Eve in Genesis 3:4-5:
'You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.'
The serpent, also described as the craftiest animal, knows that Adam and Eve's physical eyes are closed. Yet with closed physical eyes, they were able to name animals. Certain Bible scholars believe that Adam and Eve were able to live underwater without any complication (It's a theory that contains a certain level of merit).
So how were they able see the animals and the trees in the garden?
They were seeing things with a spiritual eye and I will prove it to you. Genesis 3:6 records:
'When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.'
Have you noticed that the above mentioned passage only mentions the term 'eye' in singular and not in plural? We all know that every human is born with a set of two eyes, right? If Eve saw the forbidden fruit with the set of two eyes, then the Bible would have said '...pleasing to the eyes...' instead of '...pleasing to the eye..' . In other words, until Genesis 3, their set of physical eyes were not in function.
Notice as well that in Genesis 3:4-5, the serpent only speaks to Eve and it tells her:'..your eyes will be opened...'
Let us pause for a second: 'the serpent was only talking to Eve and not to both Adam and Eve. Since it was talking to only one person, we can conclude that the serpent is mentioning 'eyes' on Eve's body that are closed. Those eyes are the physical eyes we carry naturally.
This can actually explain why we are all born sinners: 'we have naturally inherited a set of eyes opened through sin'.
In Genesis 3:7, the Bible records:
'Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.'
At that point both their eyes were opened. And they realized they were naked.
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It is quite clear that God has experienced betrayal at many levels from different people:Lucifer and some of his fellow angels, Adam and Eve, Judas and possibly a good number of individuals that we don't know of....
One of the first step that those betrayers took was into adopting 'unbelief' (an attitude that leads one to NOT believe God's word and ultimately to act contrarily to His will). Anybody who chooses 'unbelief' will surely betray God.
As a result, God set a decree in His Kingdom: 'The Righteous shall live by faith'
In God's Kingdom, the Righteous must live by faith. The first generation of Israelite that came out of Egypt, never made it to the promised land because of their unbelief. God has experienced so many betrayals from individuals who were close to Him...And Faith is the tool He keeps to separate His true friends from the fake ones.
As it is written:'And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.'
(Hebrews 11:6)
( An upcoming post on the 'Great betrayal' will be written sometime next year. The post will explain why certain people will sadly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.)
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YOU
The fastest and surest way to fall out from your destiny is through unbelief. Adam and Eve believed the serpent and thus created unbelief in them. The first generation of Israelite ,that came of Egypt, never went in the promised land because they did not believe God.
The fastest way to live far from God is through unbelief.
Unbelief makes us do things contrary to what God wants us to do. In unbelief, we assume that our actions or decisions are better or much more intelligent than God's opinions and as a result, some of us live a life on the sideline: 'out of God's will and Satan's plan'
Don't be fooled: 'there are no grey areas. Whoever is not in God's will, is definitely accomplishing Satan's plan.'
When God has a plan for you, Satan also has one. Your faith will keep you in the Garden of God's plan. Your unbelief will direct you straight in Satan's plan.
What has God said to you? How long has it been? Are you living according to what God said (in your family, marriage choice, career choice,business decisions,etc...)
Do you believe God? Or do you believe what your physical eyes see?
I know it's tough...But step up in faith. It's a decree. And there are rewards for those who live by faith.