FAITH = TRUST

This is what it means to trust God: We will be sure about the things that we hope for. We will be sure in our minds about things that we cannot even see.

MUSTARD SEED-TREE FAITH

Mustard seed faith has the potential to become a tree of faith. How are you handling your seed? Have you stuck it in good ground so it can germinate and begin to take root? Are you nurturing it so it can spring up and start growing?

Mustard Tree Faith

“And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:6‬ KJV

My encouragement to all is, move from fear to faith and from belief to knowing. Nurture your mustard seed faith into a mustard tree faith.

SM, Epignosis TCHR

Posted from my iPhone

4 Steps to SALVATION & POWER

The Holy Bible shows us 4 Steps to Salvation & Power without being cliché. They are as follows:

1. Repentance
2. Conversion
3. Confession
4. Belief

These 4 are the simple way to gain true righteousness leading to salvation from death or eternal separation from God.

Christ provided the way for all people to be free from sin and death and it is crucial for us to seize the opportunity by first repenting from sin and then converting to God.

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out…” (Acts 3:19a)

When the scripture says repent, it is urging us to change our minds from submitting to the practice of sin. Repentance leads us to become converted, that is, turned back to God. This in turn leads to blotted out or obliterated sin that is properly erased and completely forgotten by God. He said:

“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” (Isaiah 43:25)

“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)

Some people change their minds and turn back to God but get enticed by the cares of the word system afterward and are drawn back into the practice of sin. It is important to go further, to confession and belief after repentance and conversion. Confession and belief lead to righteousness and salvation.

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)

When we confess, with the mouth we do not secretly deny but say the same thing that God is saying, from a point of personal conviction, and openly speak out freely about it with praise and celebration. For example, we confess by declaring Jesus Christ in His fullness to everyone we know.

When we believe, we think Christ’s actions to be true, are fully persuaded of it and place our total confidence in it. These two actions spark the radical transformation—being born-again and lead us to righteousness and salvation.

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

Being born-again is being born from above, from a higher place, from Heaven, and refers to a regeneration of the spirit of a person. This regeneration qualifies the spirit to see the Kingdom of God.

When one is born-again, one is persuaded by God to put one’s entire trust in Christ Jesus and to live a new life according to His direction. A spiritual transformation takes place. One is sealed or marked authentic by the Holy Spirt at the exact moment of persuasion.

“…after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise…” (Ephesians 1:13)

The Kingdom of God is universal and is one living, thriving territory of souls and one order, which give glory and honor to God. One must be born-again to join the Kingdom of God. Born-again believers are new creatures in Christ; new as in the condition of our soul being previously non-existent and beginning to be far different from what it was before.

“Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Being in Christ literally means being one with Him; that is, one in union and fellowship. God quickened us or re-animated us together, in unison, with Christ. He did this simply because He loves us, not because we deserved or earned it.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-6)

God didn’t only quicken us together with Christ, He also raised us up together or resurrected us from death just like Jesus. Death, or permanent separation from God, is powerless over us. We became connected to God and when we did, He made us sit together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Born-again believers are sitting together in Heaven in the same place where Christ is sitting even though we are here on earth at this point in time.

The reality of this is we have the same authority of Christ in Heaven, through Christ Himself. Moreover, our authority in Christ extends from Heaven throughout the cosmos to Earth and affects every sphere of our existence from spirit-realm to physical world.

FEEL-GOOD GOSPEL

FEEL-GOOD GOSPEL

People need to hear the truth contained in the Word of God, to the edification of their souls.

It is enervating to see, in present day, the continued trend inherent in the church’s style-of-preaching (and teaching).

There is this seduction of feeling (though not in ALL) that draws souls away to the slumber zone; to destruction and not to edification.

Paul had to communicate similarly to the Corinthian Church three times:

“Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.” ~2 Corinthians 13:10, AuthorizedKJV

Today’s messages feel good and appeal to the soul, but do little to change the soul or transform the mind to the mind of Christ. We are supposed to have the mind of Christ, ARE WE NOT?

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” ~ 1 Corinthians 2:16, AuthorizedKJV

The mind needs to be renewed to take on the mind of Christ. Renewal comes by being edified from the Word of God. The scripture urges us to be transformed by renewing our minds and to NOT be like the world system.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” ~ Romans 12:2, AuthorizedKJV

The feel-good gospel is like a Sunday pill that wears off on Monday. People go back to the carnal weekly routines and pine for next Sunday’s fix.

FEEL-GOOD GOSPEL

FAST & PRAY (for the best way through enemy territory)

FAST & PRAY (for the best way through enemy territory)

Imagine you’re a ten year old who has to walk to and from school everyday. Now imagine that twice daily on this journey you have to literally tiptoe downwind past a yard of vicious dogs. Wouldn’t you consider this enemy territory?

In our daily lives we travel through “enemy territory” regularly. Our experiences may be different in context and severity but we can all relate to having to pass through “hostile territory” fearing getting mauled and robbed.

So how can we ensure that we are completely protected when we have to navigate through enemy territory? Consider this, Ezra wanted to return to Jerusalem and had finally persuaded some of the exiles to leave Babylon and go home with him. He also had a lot of temple treasures to carry.

Ezra knew the journey (from Babylon through Palestine to Jerusalem) would be dangerous because of robbers and enemies along the way, and he didn’t want to ask the king of Babylon for soldiers, so he proclaimed a fast to seek God’s provision specifically for the journey.

“Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance. For I was ashamed to require of the king a band of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy in the way: because we had spoken unto the king, saying, The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek him; but his power and his wrath is against all them that forsake him. So we fasted and besought our God for this: and he was intreated of us.” Ezra 8:21-23 Auth.KJV

Here is something to consider: Ezra didn’t want to ask the king for help because during his time in the king’s court he had preached about God’s protection over those who seek Him. Asking the king for help, instead of trusting God, would be denying the power he had preached about.

It would have been a two-fold denial: 1. denying God before men; and 2. denying God to God’s face. Ezra had to walk the talk not just talk the talk so he went to the source: his Heavenly Father.

Ezra’s fast was very specific. The purpose was to seek “a right way” for three specific things: the grown ups, the children, and all their property.

This right way was literally an even way, specifically referring to an unobstructed way. Ezra asked God for the unobstructed and most fortunate way through the territory of his enemies and God granted his request because he had prayed and fasted for it.

“Then we departed from the river of Ahava on the twelfth day of the first month, to go unto Jerusalem: and the hand of our God was upon us, and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy, and of such as lay in wait by the way.“ Ezra 8:31 Auth.KJV

FAST & PRAY (for the best way through enemy territory)