Nice & Wavy
Well-Known Member
This is a good topic to ponder upon. 
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In looking around our modern world filled with unrest, suspicion, filth and multiplied problems, I can’t help but to wonder, where is faith? Not just the words of faith, but actionable faith that produces a harvest of real substance.
Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Now if Jesus had stopped right there and never said the next part we could have an argument to be complacent in life or to stay where we are at…...but He didn’t. The very next thing recorded is “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”. The Kingdom of God requires an action for us to gain its fullness in our lives.
That action is faith.
God is constantly sending us the message to move with Him. He urges us to get into the flow of the anointing wherever it is leading. Like the sower in the parable of the sower and the seed, God wants the ground of your heart to be fertile and to bring forth a harvest. Jesus told us in Mark 4 of the man who planted seed then anticipated the seed coming into a harvest. He was waiting for it with strong desire. We need to change our thinking about life in order to flow with God and enter Kingdom thinking.
Our hearts need to anticipate with strong desire the life of the Spirit which means living life according to Kingdom principles. After Jesus told the people that the Kingdom of God was at hand, or in their presence, He told them to REPENT. This is a very unpopular message in many spirit filled circles these days because people believe it is a message of guilt but it has little to do with guilt and much to do with faith. Repentance is the first building block of faith that leads us into the fullness of the Kingdom.
The word repent, the Greek word Metanoeo, meaning to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge (Easton’s), is used frequently in the New Testament. There is good reason for it. Jesus came to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. This means the good news of how the Kingdom of God operates with all of its principles, rules, laws and rewards. After hearing the good news that the Kingdom of God is at hand a person needs to change their thinking from the kingdom of man to the Kingdom of God. The rules are different; the laws more just; the rewards greater; the principles more sure and steadfast. Man can not afford to ignore the message of the Kingdom any longer.
“So faith comes from hearing the message, and the message that is heard is what Christ spoke.” (GW Rom. 10:17)
When we hear the message of the good news of the Kingdom of God we are required to change our thinking of everything in life so that we grab hold of the thinking of the Kingdom. The King is sovereign and everything that exists upon the earth belongs ultimately to Him. Since everything belongs to the King then it makes sense that the King makes all the rules.
It further makes sense that if a subject of the Kingdom wants to be advantaged living in the Kingdom, that subject must know the rules and the Ruler then make every effort to obey the rules. There it is again….that obedience thing that we hate to hear. Even our thinking about that is incorrect, carnal and selfish.
In hearing that the sovereign King, is at hand or in the midst of our presence, we ought to be shaken down to the very core of our being. The knowledge that God is RIGHT HERE…where we are, should cause us to repent (change our thinking, go in a new direction). The change in our thinking is a change that should cause us to believe the good news of the Kingdom.
The good news is that the King owns it all and is responsible for it all. That is where the problem comes in. We humans hate to give up our independence and ownership. The devil has convinced us that we have some rights, especially in the area of what we believe. I often hear things like, “I can think what I want”, “God made me to be a free thinker”, and “Me and God have an understanding”. None of these are true. You can not think what you want. Being a “free thinker” is code for I want to be rebellious. The King does not come to an understanding with His subjects as if He went to a union bargaining table and did some give and take so that they could come to an agreement on how they would both act.
Isaiah 1:18 says, “"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool” (NKJ)”.
This is not an invitation to come talk with God so that you can agree on the rules or the rewards. In fact what God is laying out goes like this: “Come sit down here and let me tell you how this works. See if you can’t find within yourself reason to trust and obey. You are coming to Me with sin. Awful sin. Sin that will cause you to separated from me for eternity, not to mention all the trouble you are going to have, right here and now, as a consequence to your choices. I am going to make those sins go away as if you had never committed any of them the second you trust Me and agree to obey My rule. In addition, if you do this, I will cause you to eat the best the earth has to offer."
There is no negotiating with God.
It is impossible for me to count the number of counseling sessions I have been in where a “Christian” has told me that they prayed about something and God told them to do a thing that was totally against the Word of God. Everything from leaving their wife and children to stop tithing. Usually when somebody tells me God told them something I stop the conversation and go no further because, in their mind, I am not above God. Recently I was in a conversation like that and the person I was talking to told me they had prayed and God told them it was OK to leave their spouse just because they were tired of living with them. Before I could even think about it I said “liar”. God did not tell them that. God hates divorce so why would He tell somebody to do something against His own spoken and written Word? The answer is that He would not.
I have seen good Christians do the most ungodly things and then tell me God understands they are only human. No He doesn’t understand! He does understand you are human but He doesn’t understand why you would purposely take yourself out from under His benevolent rule. Change your thinking. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23). Ephesians 4 also tells us to put off the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts. Most Christians suffer in this life because they simply choose not to believe the good news. They want to take ownership of their lives. You were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20) and you are not your own. The King owns you and everything in your life. He has made you a priest and a steward of His Kingdom to which there is no end (Luke 1:33).
If you will obey Him in your life He will cause you to eat the good (or the best) of the land. You will lack nothing. Your need will be supplied according to His riches (Phil. 4:19). Love will hide (cover) a multitude of sins (James 5:20, 1Peter 5:8) in your life. Peace will overtake you in the midst of the storm.
You see, only the King can give mercy and grace is His biggest attribute. When you embrace the fact that He is sovereign King and everything that you own is His then you can make the conscious decision to place yourself in complete dependence upon Him. It is then that the Kingdom, with all of its advantages, becomes yours. The time is now fulfilled in your life. Take action in your faith by obeying the Word. Repent and believe the Good News.
*****************************
In looking around our modern world filled with unrest, suspicion, filth and multiplied problems, I can’t help but to wonder, where is faith? Not just the words of faith, but actionable faith that produces a harvest of real substance.
Jesus said in Mark 1:15, “The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Now if Jesus had stopped right there and never said the next part we could have an argument to be complacent in life or to stay where we are at…...but He didn’t. The very next thing recorded is “Repent, and believe in the Gospel”. The Kingdom of God requires an action for us to gain its fullness in our lives.
That action is faith.
God is constantly sending us the message to move with Him. He urges us to get into the flow of the anointing wherever it is leading. Like the sower in the parable of the sower and the seed, God wants the ground of your heart to be fertile and to bring forth a harvest. Jesus told us in Mark 4 of the man who planted seed then anticipated the seed coming into a harvest. He was waiting for it with strong desire. We need to change our thinking about life in order to flow with God and enter Kingdom thinking.
Our hearts need to anticipate with strong desire the life of the Spirit which means living life according to Kingdom principles. After Jesus told the people that the Kingdom of God was at hand, or in their presence, He told them to REPENT. This is a very unpopular message in many spirit filled circles these days because people believe it is a message of guilt but it has little to do with guilt and much to do with faith. Repentance is the first building block of faith that leads us into the fullness of the Kingdom.
The word repent, the Greek word Metanoeo, meaning to change one's mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge (Easton’s), is used frequently in the New Testament. There is good reason for it. Jesus came to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. This means the good news of how the Kingdom of God operates with all of its principles, rules, laws and rewards. After hearing the good news that the Kingdom of God is at hand a person needs to change their thinking from the kingdom of man to the Kingdom of God. The rules are different; the laws more just; the rewards greater; the principles more sure and steadfast. Man can not afford to ignore the message of the Kingdom any longer.
“So faith comes from hearing the message, and the message that is heard is what Christ spoke.” (GW Rom. 10:17)
When we hear the message of the good news of the Kingdom of God we are required to change our thinking of everything in life so that we grab hold of the thinking of the Kingdom. The King is sovereign and everything that exists upon the earth belongs ultimately to Him. Since everything belongs to the King then it makes sense that the King makes all the rules.
It further makes sense that if a subject of the Kingdom wants to be advantaged living in the Kingdom, that subject must know the rules and the Ruler then make every effort to obey the rules. There it is again….that obedience thing that we hate to hear. Even our thinking about that is incorrect, carnal and selfish.
In hearing that the sovereign King, is at hand or in the midst of our presence, we ought to be shaken down to the very core of our being. The knowledge that God is RIGHT HERE…where we are, should cause us to repent (change our thinking, go in a new direction). The change in our thinking is a change that should cause us to believe the good news of the Kingdom.
The good news is that the King owns it all and is responsible for it all. That is where the problem comes in. We humans hate to give up our independence and ownership. The devil has convinced us that we have some rights, especially in the area of what we believe. I often hear things like, “I can think what I want”, “God made me to be a free thinker”, and “Me and God have an understanding”. None of these are true. You can not think what you want. Being a “free thinker” is code for I want to be rebellious. The King does not come to an understanding with His subjects as if He went to a union bargaining table and did some give and take so that they could come to an agreement on how they would both act.
Isaiah 1:18 says, “"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool” (NKJ)”.
This is not an invitation to come talk with God so that you can agree on the rules or the rewards. In fact what God is laying out goes like this: “Come sit down here and let me tell you how this works. See if you can’t find within yourself reason to trust and obey. You are coming to Me with sin. Awful sin. Sin that will cause you to separated from me for eternity, not to mention all the trouble you are going to have, right here and now, as a consequence to your choices. I am going to make those sins go away as if you had never committed any of them the second you trust Me and agree to obey My rule. In addition, if you do this, I will cause you to eat the best the earth has to offer."
There is no negotiating with God.
It is impossible for me to count the number of counseling sessions I have been in where a “Christian” has told me that they prayed about something and God told them to do a thing that was totally against the Word of God. Everything from leaving their wife and children to stop tithing. Usually when somebody tells me God told them something I stop the conversation and go no further because, in their mind, I am not above God. Recently I was in a conversation like that and the person I was talking to told me they had prayed and God told them it was OK to leave their spouse just because they were tired of living with them. Before I could even think about it I said “liar”. God did not tell them that. God hates divorce so why would He tell somebody to do something against His own spoken and written Word? The answer is that He would not.
I have seen good Christians do the most ungodly things and then tell me God understands they are only human. No He doesn’t understand! He does understand you are human but He doesn’t understand why you would purposely take yourself out from under His benevolent rule. Change your thinking. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23). Ephesians 4 also tells us to put off the old man which grows corrupt according to deceitful lusts. Most Christians suffer in this life because they simply choose not to believe the good news. They want to take ownership of their lives. You were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20) and you are not your own. The King owns you and everything in your life. He has made you a priest and a steward of His Kingdom to which there is no end (Luke 1:33).
If you will obey Him in your life He will cause you to eat the good (or the best) of the land. You will lack nothing. Your need will be supplied according to His riches (Phil. 4:19). Love will hide (cover) a multitude of sins (James 5:20, 1Peter 5:8) in your life. Peace will overtake you in the midst of the storm.
You see, only the King can give mercy and grace is His biggest attribute. When you embrace the fact that He is sovereign King and everything that you own is His then you can make the conscious decision to place yourself in complete dependence upon Him. It is then that the Kingdom, with all of its advantages, becomes yours. The time is now fulfilled in your life. Take action in your faith by obeying the Word. Repent and believe the Good News.
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, but I wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world!!!
I love your testimonies, Shimmie!
