Dear Pray-ers,
We are continuing our study on “Do Not Despise Small Beginnings.”
If you haven’t read Part One, just scroll down.
Spiritual things begin small.
DO NOT DESPISE SMALL BEGINNINGS—PART TWO
As we saw previously, the Kingdom of God working in the heart of man has a mandate to establish Kingdom ways on the earth. This is the will of God. Matthew 6:10
Jesus is the foundation and CEO of that plan:
The Glorious Church, the “ekklesia”— called out ones—or assembly/members.
THE WORD MADE FLESH
FOLLOW ME
That “call” first began with a small group of Jewish disciples and then went out to the Gentiles/nations.
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” Matthew 16:15-19
Why did Jesus say Peter was blessed?
Because Peter heard “the call” from the Father, not with his outer ears but from within!
This knowledge did not originate from Peter. This came from another Kingdom where the Most High God dwells. This is what we now know as “revelation knowledge.”
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Without this revealing, no one can enter the “ekklesia” — THE CHURCH!
Without this no one can have eternal life.
And no one can come in unless the Father calls him and reveals the Christ. John 17:2
Jesus Christ is the rock, the solid foundation of The Church which the gates of Hades shall not prevail against. To these called out ones, the keys of Heaven, keys of authority, have been given. This is what we need to “see” ourselves encased within, the fortress of the Kingdom of God, to “an innumerable company of angels” of which we are citizens.
Read Hebrews 12:22-29 & Philippians 3:20.
Each one of us became a new creation as we prayed the prayer of faith in Christ Jesus. By the hearing of faith and the words of our mouth we entered eternal life. Romans 10:8-9
Words. Seems like a small beginning…
Absolutely not! The Kingdom of God originated in you as a seed (Luke 17:21), but God’s Word is intended to mature and bear much fruit in you so that you influence the world around you with God’s original plan: The Blessing. See Genesis 1:28 & Matthew 28:18-20.
Prayer and Faith
For us who have been called to pray, the following scripture gives us written orders from Heaven as to how to accomplish effective praying…through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is God’s will.
God’s Words in Your Mouth
“Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.’” Jeremiah 1:9-10
The sanctification process, maturing in obedience and renewing the mind to God’s ways, is vital to the faith that overcomes the world.
Your spirit man knows when you’re disobedient. Continued disobedience throws faith off course as it will get squashed under self condemnation.
Who are we? What are we building?
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
Connected to One Another
That building begins within each of us. When you prosper, I prosper and vice versa. That’s why it is important for each of us to yield to God’s Spirit. As we do, we grow in faith and unity. We are being changed into the image of Christ by the grand design of the Holy Spirit Himself, the Maestro of Harmony, and the glory of the Body of Christ! We are individuals that make up the whole.
Our Goal
Obedience Starts Small—In Your Heart!
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
“Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
We are continuing our study on “Do Not Despise Small Beginnings.”
If you haven’t read Part One, just scroll down.
Spiritual things begin small.
- The Kingdom of God…(on the earth.)
- God’s Word
- Prayer
- Faith
DO NOT DESPISE SMALL BEGINNINGS—PART TWO
- God’s Living Word— Hebrews 4:12-13
- Prayer That Moves Mountains—Mark 11:23
- Faith That Overcomes—Hebrews 11:1
As we saw previously, the Kingdom of God working in the heart of man has a mandate to establish Kingdom ways on the earth. This is the will of God. Matthew 6:10
Jesus is the foundation and CEO of that plan:
The Glorious Church, the “ekklesia”— called out ones—or assembly/members.
THE WORD MADE FLESH
FOLLOW ME
That “call” first began with a small group of Jewish disciples and then went out to the Gentiles/nations.
“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” Matthew 16:15-19
Why did Jesus say Peter was blessed?
Because Peter heard “the call” from the Father, not with his outer ears but from within!
This knowledge did not originate from Peter. This came from another Kingdom where the Most High God dwells. This is what we now know as “revelation knowledge.”
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Without this revealing, no one can enter the “ekklesia” — THE CHURCH!
Without this no one can have eternal life.
And no one can come in unless the Father calls him and reveals the Christ. John 17:2
Jesus Christ is the rock, the solid foundation of The Church which the gates of Hades shall not prevail against. To these called out ones, the keys of Heaven, keys of authority, have been given. This is what we need to “see” ourselves encased within, the fortress of the Kingdom of God, to “an innumerable company of angels” of which we are citizens.
Read Hebrews 12:22-29 & Philippians 3:20.
Each one of us became a new creation as we prayed the prayer of faith in Christ Jesus. By the hearing of faith and the words of our mouth we entered eternal life. Romans 10:8-9
Words. Seems like a small beginning…
Absolutely not! The Kingdom of God originated in you as a seed (Luke 17:21), but God’s Word is intended to mature and bear much fruit in you so that you influence the world around you with God’s original plan: The Blessing. See Genesis 1:28 & Matthew 28:18-20.
Prayer and Faith
For us who have been called to pray, the following scripture gives us written orders from Heaven as to how to accomplish effective praying…through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is God’s will.
God’s Words in Your Mouth
“Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:
‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.’” Jeremiah 1:9-10
The sanctification process, maturing in obedience and renewing the mind to God’s ways, is vital to the faith that overcomes the world.
Your spirit man knows when you’re disobedient. Continued disobedience throws faith off course as it will get squashed under self condemnation.
Who are we? What are we building?
“Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” Ephesians 2:19-22
Connected to One Another
That building begins within each of us. When you prosper, I prosper and vice versa. That’s why it is important for each of us to yield to God’s Spirit. As we do, we grow in faith and unity. We are being changed into the image of Christ by the grand design of the Holy Spirit Himself, the Maestro of Harmony, and the glory of the Body of Christ! We are individuals that make up the whole.
Our Goal
- “… till we all come to the unity of the faith
- and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
- to a perfect man,
- to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
- that we should no longer be children,
- tossed to and fro
- and carried about with every wind of doctrine,
- by the trickery of men,
- in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
- but speaking the truth in love,
- may grow up in all things
- into Him who is the head
- Christ...” Ephesians 4:13-15
Obedience Starts Small—In Your Heart!
“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?
“Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.
“But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell. And the ruin of that house was great.” Luke 4:46-49
Taking a stand to be a doer of God’s Word is important for the well-being of our personal lives. A “wise man,” hears and obeys.
This is the house founded on the rock that cannot be shaken.
The wise man has a responsibility to enforce everything Jesus died to provide for us. He has already redeemed us from the curse of the law of sin and death.
See Isaiah 53:4-5 and Galatians 3:13-14.
A renewed mind to this truth will produce boldness to stand and enforce what we have been redeemed from so that we may partake of the blessings of Abraham.
Traditions-of-men make the word of God of no effect (Mark 7:813) and will keep a Believer timid and ineffective to produce change in the world for he is “… unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.” Read Hebrews 5:13-14.
That’s a nasty garment of unworthiness. This does not please God because it produces an inability to resist the devil and his lies.
This is a house built on sand.
Taking a stand to be a doer of God’s Word is important for the well-being of our personal lives. A “wise man,” hears and obeys.
This is the house founded on the rock that cannot be shaken.
The wise man has a responsibility to enforce everything Jesus died to provide for us. He has already redeemed us from the curse of the law of sin and death.
See Isaiah 53:4-5 and Galatians 3:13-14.
A renewed mind to this truth will produce boldness to stand and enforce what we have been redeemed from so that we may partake of the blessings of Abraham.
Traditions-of-men make the word of God of no effect (Mark 7:813) and will keep a Believer timid and ineffective to produce change in the world for he is “… unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe.” Read Hebrews 5:13-14.
That’s a nasty garment of unworthiness. This does not please God because it produces an inability to resist the devil and his lies.
This is a house built on sand.
Taking a Stand Against:
A Guilty Conscience, Accusations, and Condemnation
These lies against The Church come because Believers don’t know who they are in Christ or do not hold on to the truth of those scriptures.
Imagine a military force being sent into another nation to establish Godly order but each soldier feeling fearful and guilty about their past mistakes.
How far will they get?
Christ shed His blood for His Body to be delivered from a cloak of unworthiness so that we can have boldness and confidence to do the greater works. Each member of The Church has full entrance into the Holiest place, “by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is His flesh…” so that we may “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:19-22
This wise man builds his house by believing who he is in Christ.
You were chosen in Him before you were born.
Chosen means you were picked out,
chosen for office,
separated from the rest of mankind
and equipped for service. See Ephesians 1:4.
Suggested Assignment:
Building Your Identity on the Rock
How do you see yourself?
If you still wear a cloak of unworthiness that hesitates from the deeper presence and intimacy of God, I have good news for you.
Take this test.
Slowly go through the Who I Am in Christ scripture list. Read each line and ask yourself if you believe it. If you don’t, take that scripture, write it on a card and read it several times a day until your mind is renewed to the point of confidence and you can boldly declare, “That’s me! That’s who Jesus made me to be!”
Boldness, confidence, authority, and power are the evidence of the engrafted seed…the Word of God ... in your heart. James 1:21-22
Saints, we’re all on this journey together: the old sin consciousness has passed away and we are new creations in Christ, being changed into His image, from glory to glory preparing the way for the coming of the Lord!
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God’s Word—Prayer—Faith
A three-fold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12
PRAYER WITH PURPOSE:
“The Glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.”
Isaiah 40:5
Praying for our counties:
The Glorious Church, The Lost, and Elected Leaders
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