Tuesday 30 September 2008

The Word of God is near you, in you heart and on your lips

Rom 10:8 But what does it say? The Word (God's message in Christ) is near you, on your lips and in your heart; that is, the Word (the message, the basis and object) of faith which we preach,
10:9 Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10:10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.
10:11 The Scripture says, No man who believes in Him [who adheres to, relies on, and trusts in Him] will [ever] be put to shame or be disappointed.
10:12 [No one] for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. The same Lord is Lord over all [of us] and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him [in faith].
10:13 For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.
10:14 But how are people to call upon Him Whom they have not believed [in Whom they have no faith, on Whom they have no reliance]? And how are they to believe in Him [adhere to, trust in, and rely upon Him] of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?
10:15 And how can men [be expected to] preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings! [How welcome is the coming of those who preach the good news of His good things!]
10:16 But they have not all heeded the Gospel; for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed (had faith in) what he has heard from us?
10:17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

The Word of God is alive and active. It is the person Jesus Christ Himself. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. How wil we really speak the word of faith? How will the power of the Word of Faith tuly dwell in our heart?

The Word became flesh in the Body of Jesus Christ. Jesus said that those who have his teachings and keeps them are the ones who really love Him, and He will come and abide with them (John14:21-23). In John 15 Jesus said:
15:3 You are cleansed and pruned already, because of the word which I have given you [the teachings I have discussed with you].
15:4 Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me.
15:5 I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

If the Word of God dwells in us richly (Col 3:16), the person Jesus Christ abides in us. He is the Word. Then this same word abides in us, and becomes flesh in us. Just as Jesus was born from above, we are then also born from God (John 1: 13) and we can do whatever He did and even greater (John 14:12).

Now, if the Word of God dwells richly in our hearts, there is an abundance of Word in us. In Matt 12 Jesus speaks to the Pharisees:
Matt 12:33 Either make the tree sound (healthy and good), and its fruit sound (healthy and good), or make the tree rotten (diseased and bad), and its fruit rotten (diseased and bad); for the tree is known and recognized and judged by its fruit.
12:34 You offspring of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil (wicked)? For out of the fullness (the overflow, the superabundance) of the heart the mouth speaks.
12:35 The good man from his inner good treasure flings forth good things, and the evil man out of his inner evil storehouse flings forth evil things.

It will have only have religious value to take the Word of God on your lips and confess it mechanically. Do you want to be religious and miserable, or do you want the power? The power lies in when we receive the Word into our hearts. When the Word becomes flesh in us, when He dwells in us, our hearts have abundance of Word. Out of that abundance we habitually speak, and whatever we say we shall have.

Mark 11:22 And Jesus, replying, said to them, Have faith in God [constantly].
11:23 Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, Be lifted up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.
11:24 For this reason I am telling you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you, and you will [get it].

Faith comes by hearing (Rom10:17). We need to hear the Word and receive it in our hearts. That opens our spiritual ears, and we are able to hear the Word, the Person Jesus Christ who abides in us. We can then follow His promptings. We can then be led by the Spirit, and do what He prompts us. That will result in us having power, and the Word which is in us will be spoken in authority.

You can not change your amount of faith. You can not will the power of God. It abides in you. It is only received by receiving the Person, Who is the Word. That Word speaks in us, and tremendous faith is released. The more we hear and receive the Word of Faith, the more faith will dwell in us, and the more we will have what we say. It's all about Jesus Christ.

You can't change what you produce, but you can change what you hear. Hearing the Word, will produce faith and goldy works in your life. It will produce and intimate experience with the Person Jesus Christ Who is the Word.

Rom 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

Bless you

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