What does trusting God entails

 

Trusting God! What it entails

Now since surrendering one’s life to God is a covenant between the individual and God, it is the individual’s responsibility to allow God to have full control over his/her life, and believe it or not it is incumbent upon God in whom the individual has placed his/her trust, as a matter of responsibility and obligation to exercise full control over the individual.

In this regard we have been comforted with these words, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, who abides in the shadow of the almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.” Because of the confidence and rest, due to the trust one has in God, He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence; He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you will find refuge.

His faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked” (Psalms 91:1-8).

These promises however, are conditional, they do not occur automatically even though one professes to believe in God, it is God’s duly responsibility to those who has made the Lord their refuge, who has placed their trust in God. The psalmist continues, “Because (conditional) you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. For, He will give His angels charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra, the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.”

 Again, conditionally, “Because he cleaves to Me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows My name. When he calls to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation” (Psalms 91:9-16).

We can therefore have full trust and confidence in God to keep His part of the covenant, because as He says, “God is not man, that He should lie or a son of man, that he should repent. Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not fulfill it?”

And thus says the Lord, “For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore, you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.” Now since God in whom we place our trust and confidence to be our refuge, shelter, protection, safety, security from danger and trouble, and who is trustworthy and just, and does not change, why then should we believers who profess to have trust in God, murmur, and complaint when things are not going well, especially our way?

Especially when we have been admonished to, “Do all things without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault, in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe”(Philippians 2:14-15).

The reason why we are not to complaint and argue as believers it is because, “It is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Furthermore, we have been instructed saying that, “All things works together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

The obvious reason why those of us who claimed to have surrendered our lives to God become disillusioned, discouraged, despondent, disenchanted, fearful, and pessimistic it is because we do not trust God as we profess to be, it is that simple.

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to be continued

With brotherly love 

Lucius Joseph

Nature of our spiritual warfare (part three)

 

Men and angels were created and ordained for different responsibilities. Angels were created to worship God, and to minister to those who will inherit salvation. For to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are My Son; today I have begotten you. Or again, "I will be his Father, and he will be My Son"?

Again, to which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet" (Hebrews 1:5, 13).

But to Jesus He said: "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy" (Hebrews 1:8-9).

Man's present situation is, "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 

Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says, "I will declare Your name to My brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing Your praises." And again, "I will put My trust in Him." And again He says, "Here am I and the children God has given Me" (Hebrews 2:9-13).

This is what triggers the jealousy, the envy, the hatred, the animosity in Satan against human beings. Consider a being which the bible described as, "The model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God: every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl; your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.

You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you" (Ezekiel 28:12-15).

Consider what is going on in the mind of a being created with such splendor, now cast down to the earth, to be dominated by man who was formed from the dust of the ground! What is even more outstanding is that, man was created in the image and likeness of God. Signifying that, apart from being destined to have the same characteristics as God, they are destined to be one with God.

In praying for all believers Jesus said, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one. Father, just as You in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me: I have given them the glory that you gave Me, that they may be one as We are One: I, in them; and You in Me" (John 17:20-23).

Believers are God's workmanship, signifying that they are the materials, and the finished product which God is creating. They are regarded as God's field, God's building, and fellow workers with Him. (1Corinthians 3:9).

The work that is being done is in Jesus Christ, whose body is God’s spiritual temple, and believers are part of that body. God's plan began with Jesus Christ in the Father, mankind in Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ in the believer, and God the Father in Jesus Christ. This completes the construction of God's spiritual temple, and God's purpose for man.

Therefore, let us not loose heart in going through this spiritual battle. Although outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For, our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen: For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal (2Corinthians 4:16-18).

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give us a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him; having the eyes of our hearts enlightened, that we may know what is the hope to which He has called us, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints: And what is the immeasurable greatness of His power in us who believe, according to the working of His great might which He accomplished in Christ when He raised Him from the dead : And made Him sit at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Nature of our spiritual warfare (continued)

 

Unfortunately, with the exception of Jesus Christ, no other man has fulfilled God's plan. He alone exercised His dominion and authority over the earth. Here are a few examples of how Jesus Christ demonstrated His power and authority over the earth.

On one occasion He was in a boat sleeping, and without warning, a furious storm came upon the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat; so the men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!" (Matthew 8:23-27).

Early one morning, Jesus was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered (Matthew 21:18-19). disciples went and woke Him up saying, "Lord save us! We are going to drown!" Jesus replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid? Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The

On another occasion, Jesus was confronted with the question of paying temple taxes. Although as the Son of God, He was not required to pay taxes, nevertheless to avoid offending them He asked His disciples to, " Go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish they catch; open its mouth and you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours" (Matthew 17:27).

We know also of the incident where the disciples saw Jesus Christ actually walking on the sea, and Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." And in all accounts, Peter himself actually walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me!" And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?" (Matthew 8:26).

These examples are not merely miracles so to speak, but a manifestation and demonstration of one exercising his authority, and dominion over the earth. This is what it means to have dominion. To have dominion over the fish of the sea, one should be able to go where the fish go. To have dominion over the birds of the air, and should be able to travel where they travel. Some of us may want to simply close our minds on these things, with the notion that this is beyond our reach. Fair enough, but let us not forget that, man was created to have dominion over the earth.

To verify the fact that this is what we were destined to become, after the episode with the fig tree, Jesus said to His disciples, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, Go, throw yourself into the sea, and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer" (Matthew 21:21-22).

When Peter began sinking whilst walking of the water, Jesus simply stretched out His hand and caught him and said, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" Unfortunately for us, it is quite difficult for us to attain this level of faith, by which we can take control, because, how are we to believe in Him of whom we have never heard? And how are we to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? You see faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ.

To have dominion is to have commanding position over whatever you have dominion over. This is man's destiny to have dominion over the earth, even Satan and his demons that are now cast down to the earth. Satan knows this, and this is why he is so furious, and he is all out to destroy man. Satan took away the initiative from Adam by deceiving Eve, and caused them to disbelieved and disobeyed God.

He attempted to kill Jesus Christ, as soon as He was born. He tried to take the initiative away from Jesus Christ before He began His ministry, shortly after His forty days and night fasting in the wilderness. Remember one becomes the slave or servant to whom he/she yields to obey. This also applies to Satan and his demons.

If Jesus Christ had yielded to any of his requests, He would have relinquished His power and authority to him. It took Adam only one act of servitude to lose control over a whole earth. Hence the reason why we are admonished to, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

Satan succeeded in having Jesus killed on the cross, and thought that he had the victory. But little did he know that, the death of Jesus Christ, was, "God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory" (1Corinthians 2:7-8). 

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T be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Nature of our spiritual warfare

 Our spiritual battle is not only internal between the flesh and the spirit, but it is external as well. We are engaged in an external battle for which we are forewarned saying, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).

To prepare ourselves for this battle we are reminded by the apostle Paul saying, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled" (2Corinthians 10:3-6).

Now because of the reality and practicality of the warfare, it is imperative that we know the nature, or the premise on which the spiritual war is being fought. The cause of this spiritual warfare is Satan's attempt to thwart God's master plan for the human race, thus making us the target.

When God created man, He created him in His image and likeness, and for man to have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over the earth, and over all the creatures that moves along the ground. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Unfortunately, with the exception of Jesus Christ, no other man has fulfilled God's plan. He alone exercised His dominion and authority over the earth.

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To be continued

with brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Our spiritual warfare

 

The spiritual warfare

There is a spiritual battle which goes on daily between the flesh and spirit. The battle ground for this battle is the mind, in order to gain possession of it. Now since the mind controls the body, the objective of this battle is to gain control of the mind, so that the individual will use the members of the body to fulfill the will of his chosen master.

Our master is the one to whom we yield ourselves servants to obey. As free moral agents we choose our master, we surrender ourselves to whomsoever we will to obey, and the master has sovereignty only over what his subjects have surrendered.

Humans are not independent beings: they are servants either to the flesh, or to the spirit. All mankind was born with a natural, carnal mind which is hostile to God, not subject to the laws of God, and neither can it ever be. This natural mind is unspiritual. It does not receive the gifts of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he is unable to understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.

In order for the natural carnal mind to understand the things of the Spirit, it must be revealed by the Holy Spirit, for this reason, “No one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. But the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has now made it possible for whosoever will, to have a spiritual mind. As it is written, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.’

“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Now in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. We can learn a lot from the apostle Paul concerning the reality and severity of this battle. He said, "I speak to you in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness" (Romans 6:19).

The apostle Paul experienced the same struggle in life, he said, "I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, warring against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members". Then he lamented and said, "What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Then he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin" (Romans 7:21-23).

Human beings are creatures of habit. We grow and develop to become the individual we are, in the area we have trained ourselves to become, whether knowingly or unknowingly. For example we have been instructed saying, "Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous" (1John 3:7).

We practice to become what we want to become. Practice makes perfect, not in the sense of being flawless, because if one practice doing the wrong thing, he/she will end up as a complete failure, but perfect in the sense of adaptation, of mastering the art. The flesh has an insatiable desire which cannot be contained.  It becomes addicted to whatever practice/s it engaged itself in. The inner drive of this sinful nature is so powerful that the Lord said, "Now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them" (Genesis 11:6).

Human beings are free moral agents, having the prerogative to choose their master. They are not an independent being operating on their own. They are either a slave of sin, or a slave of righteousness, thy are either a child of God or a child of the devil, a citizen of the kingdom of light, or a citizen of the kingdom of darkness. 

Quoting the Apostle Paul again he said, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thank be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:16-18).

Our free moral agency is the power we have as God to choose. It is the power to choose good over evil, the kingdom of light over the kingdom of darkness, the life in the spirit over the life in the flesh, the commandment of God [righteousness] over lawlessness or vice versa. This is the power man received when he partook of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil as alluded to by Satan who told Eve, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil," This was also endorsed by the Lord Himself who said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil” (Genesis 3: 5, 22).

Neither God nor Satan will force anyone to do anything. God will inspire thoughts in our mind, and Satan will tempt us through the passions and desires of the flesh, but it is left to us to yield. Because of the nature and power of our free moral agency, we are essentially a part and parcel of everything that happens to us, without our express permission, and the use of the members of our body, nothing comes to fruition.

The battle of the mind and for the mind is for the purpose of using the members of the body as instruments of construction or destruction of the human body, and we are therefore, all co-workers with the one who destroys the temple, or with the one who constructs the temple. Satan will entice us to use the members of our body as instruments of sin, by sowing to the flesh, fulfilling its lusts and desires, in order to reap at the end corruption. On the other hand the Holy Spirit inspires us to use the members of our body as instruments of righteousness, by mortifying or put to death the deeds of the body, in order to reap at the end immortality or everlasting life

Our call of duty is to become co-workers with Christ. This we do by cooperating with Him in the construction of God’s temple, when we totally surrender our lives to Him, thus allowing Him to mold and shape us into His very image. We are God's fellow workers, we are God's field; we are God's building.

Satan's objective is to entice human beings to defile and destroy their bodies, which is the temple of the Holy Spirit, whether by drug addiction, vaccinations, sexual immorality, murder, or simply being debtors to the flesh and making provisions for the flesh, so that at the end they will reap the result of corruption and not inherit the kingdom of God.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The reason for God's grace (part two)

 

Doing what is good is not according to each man’s imagination of what is right and wrong, but according to the good which has been prepared in advance for us to do. Because, there is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. Therefore, being justified by grace does not nullify, or make obsolete the way of life which has been ordained for man to follow.

One very important thing that we should all bear in mind is the fact that, since the downfall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden man’s way is diametrically opposite to God’s way and naturally culminates in death,. Also.it is stated that the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps and therefore, for a man to walk in the way of the Lord he/she must be instructed in the way of the Lord

Hence the reason why when the Lord introduced Himself to the children of Israel and led them out from the land of Egypt He warned them not to worship Him the way the Egyptians worship their gods and not to imitate the way the people were worshiping their gods in the land where they were going. The way of the Lord is unknown to the world and has only been introduced to the children of Israel who in turn had to teach it to other nations.

The way of the Lord therefore, is the established way of life ordained by God by which man should live and so the grace of God does not nullify the way by which man should live; For it is written: “What then? Shall we sin (disobey the laws of God) because we are not under law but under grace?

By no means! Do you not know that when you yield yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either slaves of sin, which leads to death, or slaves of obedience to the law of God, which leads to righteousness” (Romans 6:15-16).

God has ordained one way of life for man to follow. He said, “I gave them My statutes and made known to them My judgments, which, if a man does, he shall live, aspire, flourish by them” (Leviticus 18:5, Ezekiel 20:11, 13).

The Lord said to Moses, “One ordinance shall be for you of the congregation and for the stranger who sojourns with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the Lord. One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you” (Numbers 15:15-16).

Man is a slave to either the insatiable desire of the flesh called sin, or a slave to obedience to the law of righteousness. One should not misconstrued the statement, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes,” to mean that He is the end of the law of righteousness to everyone who believes. For it is written, “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law” (Romans 3:31).

The reality is, having been made free from the power and master of sin, one becomes a slave to righteousness; and having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, one has his fruit to holiness, and the end everlasting life. When it comes to obedience to God, it ought to be according to the laws and guidelines stipulated by God and not according to one’s own imaginations, what seems right in one’s own eyes or according to the customs and traditions of men.

Obedience to righteousness therefore, is the keeping of God’s commandments which is what produces holiness, and holiness culminates into everlasting life. When one is a slave to sin [man’s sinful nature] he is free or far removed in regards to righteousness. In like manner, when one is a slave to righteousness he is free or far removed from sin.

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With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

The reason for God's grace

 

Grace is a terminology that is frequently used in the religious circle, but it is misapplied by many. It is God’s unmerited favor, mercy and compassion which He bestowed upon man for a distinctive purpose.

Grace stands between two extremes:

The extremity of the rough and turbulent waters of legalism

Where God’s grace have been received in vain by those who attempt to be justified by the works of the law, and have unfortunately fallen from grace. Because, as it is written, “If anything is by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. And if anything is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work” (Romans 11:6).

The extremity of the calm, placid, but extremely toxic waters of liberalism

Where, the grace of God has been turned into a license for disobedience even denying the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ by those who are using their liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, and as a pretext for evil.

The grace of God is simply His unmerited, undeserved favor, compassion, and mercy which He bestowed upon humanity without their help, their input and participation, for their ultimate salvation.

This undeserved favor is descriptive of: 

The favor of His only Begotten Son, who reconciled us to the Father when we were dead in trespasses and sins

His forgiving mercy by forgiving us of the sins of the past, and being faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness, if we confess our sins

His gift of eternal life so that we can grope for Him and find Him, and come to know Him, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent

His divine gifts and talents, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue: He has given to all without exception, life, breath and all things.

The Gospel, the medium by which we can grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Because without faith it is impossible to please God, and faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Grace therefore establishes the foundation by which man can serve God, without his own input and involvement, so that no one can boast. As it is written; “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy, He saves us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:4-6).

It is by grace we have been, and are being saved, through faith (hearing the word of God and believing), and this is not from ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. But the reason why everything is by and through the grace of God it is because, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for the purpose of good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

We have been saved by grace so that those who have trusted in God by hearing and believing His word may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

Doing what is good is not according to each man’s imagination of what is right and wrong, but according to the good which has been prepared in advance for us to do. Because, there is a way which seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death. Therefore, being justified by grace does not nullify, or make obsolete the way of life which has been ordained for man to follow.

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To be continued

With brotherly love

Lucius joseph