Month: July 2012

Salvation unfolds a new creation …. in and of the fullness of CHRIST JESUS …. in a process of renewal and regeneration by the HOLY SPIRIT …. through a washing of the water of the (rhema) word.

Ephesians 2:10 (NASB) reads: < For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. >

2 Corinthians 5:17-18a (NASB) reads: < Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God …. >

John 1:16-17 (NASB) reads: < For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. >

2 Corinthians 4:16 (NASB) reads: < Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. >

Titus 3:5 (NASB) reads: < He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit … >

Ephesians 5:26-27 (NASB) reads: < Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. >

The washing of renewal and regeneration flows by the HOLY SPIRIT through the Rhema Word of GOD. The end-product of this creative work is a spotless, holy and blameless Bride.

Renewal by the HOLY SPIRIT, that unfolds through the Rhema Word, makes the old new; while regeneration by the HOLY SPIRIT makes what is dead in sin alive and, free from the Law of Sin and Death.

The entire creative process of salvation, through renewal and regeneration, is of the fullness of JESUS CHRIST – communicated into us in substance and witness.

We can pursue this reality of salvation, by praying the Word of GOD, by the HOLY SPIRIT.

Activate / Energize, by the HOLY SPIRIT, the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA (Rev 3:14b) that stands in your mouth and heart (Deut 30:14-15) – in Spirit, Water and Blood (1 John 5:10a, 7-8).

Understand that YESHUA upholds all things – for fulfillment – in the Rhema Word of His Power (Heb 1:3b; Eph 3:20).

Luke 24:44-45 reads: < Then He (YESHUA) said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.” And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures. > Amen!

Thought For The Day (July 22, 2012)

The Memorial-Name

Exodus 3:13-15 (NASB) reads:
13 Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.'”
15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.

John 17:6, 25-26 (NASB) reads:
6 “I (YESHUA) have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

2 Corinthians 3:3 (NKJV) reads:
3 clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

1 Corinthians 4:1 (NKJV) reads:
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.

Revelation 19:10c (NASB) reads:
< “…. For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” >

2 Corinthians 1:20 (NASB) reads:
20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (in JESUS CHRIST) they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

In Revelation 3:14b (NASB) YESHUA declares that He is:
< “… The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God … >

Understanding the importance of putting on CHRIST, by the HOLY SPIRIT …

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) reads: < Now faith is the substance (GK: ‘hupostasis’) of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. >

1 John 3:2-3 (NASB) reads: < Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. >

When we set our hope for all things on YESHUA, [who is the Way, the Truth and the Life] then the substance of our hope will be of YESHUA.

The substance of our hope will be of His Fullness (John 1:16-17, NKJV/NASB): of His Character, His Nature, His Faith, His Love, His Spirit, His Life, His Witness, His Testimony etc. And, the substance of His Fullness stands in the fulfillment of the Law.

This is why Colossians 2:9-10a (NKJV) reads: < For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete (NASB: ‘have been made complete’) in Him. >

The substance of YESHUA justifies us because the substance of YESHUA communicates the actual fulfillment of the Law (Matt 5:17) into the fabric of our being.

So a Christian has to put on CHRIST to meet the demands of the Law. Nothing else will really work.

Ephesians 2:10 reads: < For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. >

Romans 13:14 reads: < But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. >

How?

Galatians 5:16 reads: < But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. >

Romans 8:1-4 (NKJV) summarizes the predestined will of the FATHER:
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free [NASB: ‘has set us free’] from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Our attempts to observe the Law in our strength will never work. Why?

Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV) reads: < But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. >

Romans 9:30-32; 10:2-4 (NASB), Paul clarifies what the Prophet wrote:
30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith;
31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness.
32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. …
2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

So, we need to walk by the SPIRIT in CHRIST JESUS, so as to be set free from the Law of Sin and Death. GBU.

Functioning In Spiritual Warfare
By James Niles

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NASB) reads:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
5 We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

We function in spiritual warfare through prayer and prophetic utterances (Deut 30:14-15; Rom 10:8; 1 Peter 4:11; Jer 1:11-12).

We function in spiritual warfare in the faithful and true Witness of JESUS CHRIST (Rev 3:14b; 1 John 5:10a) alive in us, by the HOLY SPIRIT (John 16:14), in Spirit, Water and Blood (1 John 5:8).

We can only function in the Witness of JESUS CHRIST – in Spirit, Water and Blood – by the HOLY SPIRIT (Rom 8:2; John 16:14).

[Functioning in our own spirit will lead to lawlessness because it is written that our righteousness is filthy rags (Isa 64:6; Matt 7:21-23).]

Spirit, Water and Blood is the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA. It is the Witness of the Cross (see John 19:30, 34) and this Witness operates in the reality of the finished work of the Cross.

In the Witness of JESUS CHRIST, satan has actually been defeated and disarmed by YHWH through YESHUA’s triumph on the Cross. This reality of satan being defeated and disarmed exists in the faithful and true Witness of YESHUA that operates in our inward parts.

Colossians 2:13-15 (NKJV) declares: < And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. >

When we pray by the SPIRIT, we are energizing the Witness of JESUS CHRIST by the HOLY SPIRIT. We are energizing, into a Rhema Witness, the Logos Testimony of JESUS (Rev 19:10c; Heb 1:3b).

We are in this energized Witness applying the victory of YESHUA to address specific issues in life and ministry.

In spiritual warfare it is of the utmost importance that we understand that we are functioning in the Witness of YESHUA.

The fundamental framework for spiritual warfare is the victory of YESHUA in which YESHUA declares (in Matt 28:18): < “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” >

When we function in the Witness of YESHUA (in any aspect of life and ministry) we must clearly understand that we are operating by the HOLY SPIRIT, under YESHUA’s Authority. The Witness enables us to operate as functioning members of the Body of MESSIAH (CHRIST).

o In this Witness we will see the Word of Healing and Deliverance flow (Psalm 107:20).

o In this Witness we will see the Finger of GOD unveil to bind the strong man.

o In this Witness the Rod Of Aaron will operate to strike the the gods of ‘Egypt’.

o In this Witness strong angels will be released to do warfare in the heavenlies according to the Voice of GOD’s Word (Psalm 103:20-21) energized in the Witness of YESHUA by the HOLY SPIRIT.

All forms of ministry should operate in YESHUA’s faithful and true Witness. Every function that constitutes our life can be developed in YESHUA’s Witness so that we do all things in thought, word, deed and relationship in YESHUA’s Witness. Amen!

(I) The Law identifies sin and imputes sin, but the Law has no capacity to justify us …

o Romans 3:19-20 (NASB) reads: < Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. >

(II) But now the Righteousness of GOD (that is able to justify and save and heal etrc.) has been manifested through the faith OF JESUS CHRIST …

o Romans 3:21-23 (KJV) reads: < But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets (see Matt 5:17-18); Even the righteousness of God which is by faith OF Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God >

(III) The faith OF JESUS CHRIST that justifies us is communicated into us as we choose to have faith IN Him ….

o Hebrews:12:1c-2a (NKJV) reads: < let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith >

o Galatians 2:16 (KJV) reads: < Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, even we have believed IN Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. >

o Galatians 2:20 (KJV) reads: < I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith OF the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. >

(IV) Because of the faith OF JESUS CHRIST being implanted in us through the Seed of CHRIST, nothing will be impossible to us as the seed faith of YESHUA is watered …

o Matthew 17:20 (KJV) reads: < And Jesus said unto them, … verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. >

o Galatians 3:16, 22-28 (KJV) reads:
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. …..
22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith OF Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
26 For ye are all the children of God by faith IN Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

(V) The reality of the faith OF JESUS CHRIST, manifested and developed in us, opens us to astonishing possibilities in YHWH.

o 2 Peter 1:19 (NASB) reads: < So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. >

Out of the faith of YESHUA the Morning Star arises in our heart.

o 2 Cor 1:20 (NASB) reads: < For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (in JESUS CHRIST) they are yes; therefore also through Him (JESUS CHRIST) is our Amen to the glory of God through us. > GBU!

Don’t forget that we are a people at war. Fight the good fight ……

In John 16:33b (NKJV), YESHUA declares:
“… In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

1 Peter 5:8-11 (NASB) reads:
Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

1 Timothy 6:12a (NASB) reads: Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called …

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NASB) reads:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints

Remember the victory has been won. The GOD of Peace will soon crush satan under your feet (Rom 16:20).

Operating in the flesh is death. So, put on the new self – always!

The flesh is everything that operates in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; the self-denominated legacy of fallen man.

Romans 8:5-14 (NASB) reads:
5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh–
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Be therefore renewed in the spirit of your mind; putting on the new self that has been created in YHWH.

Ephesians 4:22-24 (NASB) reads
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Be blessed to be a blessing.

Walk by the SPIRIT; put on the LORD JESUS CHRIST and overcome the flesh …

Romans 13:12-14 (NASB) reads:
12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Galatians 5:16-25 (NASB) reads:
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions,
21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Choose to live and function by the SPIRIT, in CHRIST JESUS (see 1 John 5:10a, 7-10) which is the prophetic reality in which GOD has predestined freedom from the Law of Sin and Death (Romans 8:2). Amen!