July 2001

Part Five

              The glory of God is revealed and executed on earth as man is sanctioned and empowered to seek and satisfy His Sovereign Will! This singular work of Christ within us is to overcome our inherent sin nature! It is when God’s Anointed Word opens our spiritual ear to hear once more, that His LOVE is born anew; His Hope springs alive; and His FAITH is reactivated in every man!! And why is Faith so essential to our lives?

“By FAITH, every man is JUSTIFIED” (Rom 5:1)

“Without FAITH, no man can please God!” (Heb 11:6)

“Whatever is NOT OF FAITH is SIN!” (Rom 14:23)

“FAITH produces RIGHTEOUSNESS!” (Rom 4:5)

“FAITH WITHOUT WORKS is DEAD!” (Jas 2:20)

“So let us fight the GOOD FIGHT of FAITH!” (1 Tim 6:12)

             Believers are engaged in mortal combat as surely as the Israelites who fought bloody battles throughout the O.T. But the difference between them and us is that our warfare is SPIRITUAL! “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (Eph 6:12) as did our forefathers; rather our enemies are far more dangerous and difficult to oppose because they are: “Principalities, powers, rulers of this world’s darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places!” (Eph 6:12) But the Good News is, while these ferocious foes are invisible; because of our FAITH IN CHRIST, they are not invincible!
              Our enslaving fear and sensitive flesh make us involuntarily panic in the face of adversity and beat a hot pursuit to the world of sin and death for relief! We must continually be reminded that every trial comes FROM GOD’S LOVING HAND as a double-edged Sword whose two purposes are: (1) to reveal our LACK OF FAITH; and (2) to give the opportunity to BUILD OUR FAITH! Faith is like a spiritual muscle which, like muscles of our flesh body, must exercise to grow strong. Very little muscle is needed for healthy men to lift a pencil; but only a well-developed body-builder could lift a piano! Before natural soldiers are sent into combat conditions, or natural policemen are sent into crime-ridden streets, or natural firefighters are sent into burning buildings, they undergo rigorous training to be ready to face the dangers and challenges of their calling. A few years ago, two brave young men in the US armed forces faced life-threatening circumstances in which they both knew they might die as one was lost at sea, the other was lost in a wilderness. But when they were ultimately rescued, they acknowledged their military training, but both attributed their survival to PRAYER!! The children of God should match or even surpass the heroics of human ingenuity! It is edifying to hear sagas of Godly men who press onward and rise above adversities, infirmities and calamities common to this *mortal life! *This is an oxymoron meaning, “death-life”! Is it any wonder man is vexed by his fleshly existence when he knows that his LIFE is actually his DEATH!

“Man is brought forth like a CUT FLOWER THAT WITHERS!!” (Jb 14:2)

“As for man, his days are as grass; he flourishes as a flower of a field!” (Ps 103:15)

“Woe to the crown of pride...and the fading flower of its glorious beauty.” (Isa 28:1)

             Fresh cut flowers make beautiful decorations; but even if they are clipped as tiny buds, we know they will only last a short time before they must wither and die. But is that death initiated when we “cut them”; or would they die even if left planted in the garden? Death is their inevitability whether cut or left standing in the soil, because they grow in a WORLD OF SIN AND DEATH! 2 pet 1:4 calls this “A world of corruption through lust”! 1 Jn 5:19 says “The world lies in wickedness under the power the evil one!” 2 Cor 7:10 adds “The sorrow of this world works death; whereas Godly sorrow works repentance (a change of mind) and deliverance (from sin and death)!” So to press onward unto our deliverance, beloveds, we must repent- that is, receive the Mind of Christ!

[TO BE CONTINUED]