V-MAIL TO THE FRONTLINE

PART 26

BELIEVING WHAT WE KNOW (IV)

“In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence (understanding). Having MADE KNOWN UNTO US the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself”. (Ephesians 1:7-9) (Praise God!)

As the Lord was continually disappointed with Israel throughout the Old Testament, I am sure He is also aggravated with us New Testament Christians. He goes to such great lengths to prove His love for us and to secure our provision but humans (like mindless sheep) often stand looking dumb and uninterested. I have said before that I always thought there must be more to the Christian faith than just going to church and sadly I seldom ever hear anyone else make that statement. I have been asking the same question for 25 years – What is the difference between a Christian and a morally decent non-Christian? I know one is born-again and the other is not but most of the time there are not any “outward” noticeable differences. There is supposed to be a HUGE difference between a “true” Christian and the lost but, (here is the tricky part) very little difference between the religious people and the unsaved. Why? Because religion does not have real faith to believe what they know! They are all talk and no walk! Like a western town in a movie set – they are a fake, a stage prop that is painted to look like the real thing. They cannot receive the truth signal because they are not tuned in to the right channel. They may appear comfortable and confident but are actually pitiful as they stand out in the cold looking in through the window. Their eyes have been blinded by the same demonic spirit that deceived the Pharisees. Everything is still the same as it was 2000 years ago; Jesus is still standing for His Father’s perfect Word while the scholars trust in their arrogant theological philosophies without even knowing or recognizing God Himself. The church is asleep.

The Lord Almighty is NOT impressed one bit with our religious rituals and deeds if we are not advancing in our wisdom and understanding of His covenant with us. It is clear the Old Covenant was conditional upon the attitudes and acts of God’s people and I cannot find any reason to believe the New Covenant principals is not the same. Yes, grace is divine favor that none of us deserve and is very longsuffering but it is not subject to unconditional abuse. We know that grace “quickened us” when we were dead in our sins, is an extension of God’s love and carries us when we are distracted and backslidden but does it not require faith to work according to God’s vision of wholeness? We know that being adopted into the family of God is a gift that comes completely from His power and our works cannot “earn” our way to heaven. But I still insist that accepting is trusting and faith is an individual act and decision to believe. There are more gifts in His treasure chest but it seems most people just want the “eternal life” guarantee. People have been taught that heaven is free – you just need to believe. That is a good deal and a seemingly very easy process to secure a ticket to the most wonderful show of all time, but when it comes to being transformed by the renewing of the mind most Christians hit the resume button on their movie channel. Playing games with spiritual realities is the ultimate deception! It seems strange but evidently most do not care about what God wants. Even if learning how to live in His presence promises to provide a life filled with power and abundance – it’s just too much sacrifice. They subconsciously make the decision that it is worth it to suffer in exchange for living carnally. They might shout when someone talks about the how we are heirs according to God’s blessings but are they just moving their lips when their heart is not really serious? Is this why the church is dead? Is this why the average Christian lives defeated? What most do not understand is how the entire covenant has been bought and paid for so that we can live as overcomers RIGHT NOW as well as in the millennial reign and infinity. The conditions are the same as salvation – we must know it is true, we must by faith receive His grace and we must be 100% committed to know Him and love Him with ALL of our heart.

Allow me to ask; how can anyone learn and know what He has for them and what He expects from them – then turn right around and not invest the faith or energy into “living it”? It is because we do not believe what we know! (Have you noticed I am really trying to drive this point home?) If we believed it – we would exercise it! We would be telling everyone about it – and we would be demonstrating and manifesting the super-natural power of it in everything we do! I know we are tired and the daily battle is intense and I realize that no one wants to hear about this as most people think this is a wild fantasy of kooks, snake oil salesmen and dreamers. People will say, we just need to take whatever happens and do the best we can because it is God’s will. Let me ask a simple question; is that a word from heaven or a suggestion from hell? Is that a direct inspiration from the Father or an emotional excuse to not live up to God’s high standards of holiness? Is the blood covenant of Jesus Christ the foundation of who we are OR NOT? Is the Kingdom gospel the blueprint for TOTAL salvation – the Divine reality of God’s perfect will for us – OR NOT? If the blood covenant contains the revelation of Christ in us the hope of glory and the secret mysteries of the keys of the Kingdom, why don’t we get off the couch and allow it to be activated? That’s right! Now you’re starting to see it! Because we either don’t believe what we know or we are not willing to invest our heart into it!

Let’s go to Exodus 23 and look at verses 24, 25 and 26, “Thou shalt NOT bow down to their gods, nor serve them, (the default system) nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. And you shall serve the Lord your God, and He shall BLESS THY BREAD AND THY WATER (prosperity); and I will TAKE SICKNESS AWAY FROM THE MIDST OF THEE (divine health). There shall nothing cast their young nor be barren in thy land: the number of thy days I WILL FULFILL”. People will say, brother that was the Old Testament and others will criticize the idea of there actually being a blood covenant as a last will and testament of Jesus because they do not believe that anything can overrule the curse of the fall. But we clearly see in Exodus between chapters 20 and 30 how God did intervene with His people and according to their obedience to His Word – nullified the curse of the fall. They were exempt from the curse IF they followed the conditions and commands that God established. Here are more awesome promises of the old covenant, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy” – “then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He DELIVERED them out of their distresses” – “For He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with goodness” – “He brought them out of their darkness and the shadow of death and brake their bands in sunder (set them free)” – “He sent His Word and HEALED them and delivered them from their destruction” – “He turns the wilderness into standing water and dry ground into watersprings” – “They sow fields and plant vineyards which may yield fruits of increase. He BLESSES them also, so that they are MULTIPLIED GREATLY; and does not allow their flocks to decrease”. (Psalm 107: 2, 6, 9, 14, 20, 35, 37, 38). Now, here is a very exciting revelation! As good as the old covenant was to bring super-natural intervention into the lives of those who loved God – The new covenant is even BETTER! “But as it now is, He (Christ) has acquired a priestly ministry which is as much superior and more excellent than the old covenant of which He is (now) the mediator (the arbiter, agent) because it is enacted and rests upon more important (spiritually higher) promises. For if that first covenant had been without defect, there would have been no room for another one or an attempt to institute another one.” (Hebrews 8:6-7 AMP.)

“(Christ the Messiah) is now therefore the negotiator and mediator of an entirely new agreement (testament, covenant), so that those who are called and offered it may receive the fulfillment of the promised everlasting inheritance – since a death has taken place which RESCUES and DELIVERS and REDEEMS them from the transgressions committed under the old covenant. For where there is a last will and testament involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will and testament is VALID and takes effect only at death, since it has no force or legal power as long as the one who made it is alive”. (Hebrews 9:15-17 AMP.)
So it can be said with confidence – the New Testament is the reading of Jesus will. GOOD NEWS! We are in His will! The promises of His covenant are written in His blood and us walking in them as representatives and ambassadors of His Kingdom is the “divine reality”. How equipped and effective we are in our Christian journey will depend on how passionate we are about knowing what is in His will – and receiving it! Selah.

Our covenant is not with doctors, hospitals or prescription medicines! Our covenant is not with banks the government or the energy grid! Yes, we can function with these agencies as God uses them to bless us but we do not serve neither are we to be completely dependent on them. Our trust is in God because we understand that He is our Father and has not only provided an inheritance for us but desires to share everything He has with us now. He is the owner of heaven and earth and all material wealth belongs to His children. His covenant is a binding promise from Him to us that intervenes and overrules the curse of the fall and is conditional upon our faith and obedience. We live in diplomatic spiritual immunity to the curses of this world and its system because of our spiritual position within the blood covenant of Christ. He desires to anoint, bless and empower us – His promises NEVER fail.