Allowing The Kingdom Its Own Work

All the commands that we find in the New Testament are in reality the declaration of Jesus' life upon those whom the Father has drawn to Him. "It is no longer I who lives, but Christ who lives in me" is our present reality once we receive the Holy Spirit, but it will take time before the mind becomes renewed to accept this. What is commonly understood as sanctification is simply the removing of the blinders of our current understanding by the Holy Spirit. While we may perceive the saints growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, the truth is that man decreases and Christ increases. "The life I now live in the flesh, I live by fatih..." No flesh will glory in God's presence. Man is but dust and returns to the ground, but his soul is being made aware of the source from which its very life began; in the Spirit as a son to the Father, but now also being prepared as a bride for His Son.

Until one is called by God, all creation has shown no interest in the things of God and are clearly conformed to the god of this world (Satan). Those who's eyes and ears have been opened should always be operating in hope, that God's love can redeem and transform any human spirit by the Life of His Son. It is equally important we know that the drawing of the soul is clearly the work of the Father alone. For this reason, Jesus tells us not to give to the dogs what is holy, or to throw our pearls to the pigs. Unless we recognize God's Spirit in another, there is no work for us there.

The Garden-variety Of Faith

Contrary to popular belief, Adam and Eve did not have perfect fellowship with God in the garden of Eden. They did live in a perfect environment, but the life God had given them was that of a subordinate spirit.

The Prosperity Of Perfect Faith

Faith comes by hearing the word of God, and though it is the spoken word heard first by the mind through the ears, it is in the depths of your soul where the Holy Spirit dwells that the Life of the Word is joyously received. Then the mind will engage the source of that faith, becoming renewed from its natural sense of rationalization and into an ambassador of Jesus. It will be trained in the way of perfect love, reaching out to the broken and contrite and inviting all who recognize and embrace this peace to fellowship in the bride of Christ. 

Hearing and faith go well beyond mere brain function. 

Trusting God's Faith

Faith is a gift from God; the irrefutable evidence of the unseen and the manifestation of that which is hope alone. It is the undeniable proof in the heart of God's children that they live, move, and have His being. (Acts 17:26-28)
Faith is the activity of God by way of the Holy Spirit within His own.

In the following passage, the disciples are commanded by Jesus to obey a teaching that requires of them what they certainly do not possess.

"If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith!' And the Lord said, 'If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you." (Luke 17:3-6)

Jesus corrects the apostles cry for increased faith by revealing to them that their problem is not a lack faith, but an issue of being able to trust what God has revealed to them through His Word. The ability to accept God's word comes by way of His imparted sanctification upon the people, in His time, in His way. It is not a gift we can readily display at our own discretion, nor of our own affections; not until God has replaced our heart of stone with a heart of flesh.

Trust, on the other hand, depends upon the mind's ability to accept that which lacks physical and rational evidence, having heard from God (faith) while battling the incessant desire to rationalize it according to the wisdom and forms of this world. It is trust that we exercise on a daily basis. Trust is of the mind, which without the renewing of, can not accept God's word nor know true faith.

Therefore Jesus states, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." (Mark 14:38) In other words, we call upon the Father that we may hear from the Holy Spirit and learn how to discern between what is good and evil. (Hebrews 5:14)

It is not our faith that we struggle with, it is our trust that falters. Faith never sways; and without intimate prayer, trust always will.

PJR

"The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful-

-for he cannot deny himself."

(2 Timothy 2:11-13)
 

Signs

A sign is the evidence of God's presence among His creation. Jesus tells us that it is an adulterous generation that seeks for a sign and that the only sign they would be given is the one that requires faith alone to see. It is the sign of Jonah.

"For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth." (Matthew 12:40)

God revealed His plan of redemption for mankind through the death and resurrection of His own son. In order to receive such a sign, it must be revealed to them.

"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus." (Galatians 1:15-17)

This is the faith that comes from God, reserved for God's elect; the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The children of God will ultimately walk by faith, not by sight. It is unbelief that looks for external signs as evidence of God's activities. Rather, we should wait upon the Lord, void of our own agendas, and attend to the Holy Spirit's promptings, which may very well include external signs, should He choose.

There is an abundance of God's presence that many Christians ignore on a daily basis. By not attending to the basic revelations, we are then seeking greater signs and wonders to be manifest that we may have sure evidence. God, however, will take no one further until the foundation has been first established.

Be absolutely certain of the source of any sign you embrace. Is it ours, Satan's, or God's?

Ours-"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. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." (Genesis 3:6)

Satan's-"And he said, 'See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them." (Luke 21:8)

God's-"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
PJR

"And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."
(Hebrews 11:6)

Faith From Above

There is a faith inherent in man that is nothing more than wishful thinking. From his own life influences, his mind believes. His confidence possesses no assurance except that which he imagines himself.

True faith, though, is something you know that you know that you know, and the Holy Spirit within confirms that its source is God. The faith described in the Bible does not apply to what Christians can imagine and then hope and pray that God will come alongside it; it originates from God and will reveal itself as naturally as we breathe. We may struggle with the details and delay of time before its manifestation but this is when we are called to walk by faith, or more accurately, to trust in the faith He has already given us. As sure as God has called us, He will call faith to work itself through us as he deals also with our covetousness and idolatry; the carnality that invents and believes selfishly in itself, but questions and challenges true faith.

PJR

"...for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

Mirrored Understanding

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1Corinthians 13:12)

"Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come." (1Corinthians 10:11)

To look dimly as in a mirror is to be looking back on our lives and the witnesses before us with a vague sense of the Kingdom of Heaven to come, by the patterns established in the natural realm. Our knowledge is limited to yesterday and today. There is no looking forward through a mirror, only a reflection of our life presently and all that lies behind us.

 "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are a just vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" (James 4:14,15)

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Mathew 6:34)

All of God's children possess the hope that is to come, but no one knows what tomorrow brings us in this life. Our stewardship is a daily one...and our days are short. "So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

PJR

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."
(Hebrews 12:1,2)

Little Children

There is an intimate bond that exists when a child trusts and depends on his father or mother for comfort, protection, and answers to their questions in life before they seek first of anyone else. They run straight home to their sanctuary of peace and wisdom. The mind of this child is convinced that his own parents have everything he needs to face a scary and confusing world.

"I tell you truthfully, unless you are converted and become like one of these little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Mathew 18:3)

As adults, of course we do not lean so heavily on guidance from our parents. Yet being grown now and able to make up our minds in the world around us, the decisions we come to are based on the source we draw from. As Christians, this source must be sought from God's kingdom or else we're left to make decisions based on rationale, placing importance on the consequences of those decisions the world has established. The greater wisdom realizes the incomplete understanding of God's plans for us and relies heavily on Him for guidance through the difficulties of living a Spirit filled life in a worldly kingdom. We are thus encouraged to again become like little children; to consistently call upon our Heavenly Father, to trust and obey completely His direction for us, as He knows what is best for us.

PJR

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes."
(Psalm 118:8,9)