Faith: The New Covenant
Faith: The Living Waters of God comes to us from the deserts of futility and hopelessness. The curse of the fall is like a wilderness and dry place and will be so until the revelation of Jesus Christ. However, we can draw upon Life right here and right now in who we are in Jesus Christ–the fountain of never-ending life begins today.
God desires a people. He has always desired a people and He always will desire a people. Jesus Christ did not come just to forgive us for our sins. Jesus Christ came so that we could be the people of God. Jesus came to the people of God so we may live in an intimate relationship through an abundant life from the Kingdom of Heaven. The Good News embraces a new life, a transformed life of faith. In order for us to come into the full spirit of “the wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,” Jesus needs to forgive us of our sins. Once we come to the Tree of Life, we enter into a personal relationship with God in a walk of faith. This is the horse before the cart—Jesus has a priority with Life, not sin. When Adam and Eve fell a life of futility was initiated. It was God who initiated the curse of futility because of the fall. The reason for this curse was in the fact that Adam and Eve severed their relationship with God.
Then to Adam He said, Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. (Genesis 3:17).
The Curse
The fall of man is described and explained through aspects of what the curse caused in the earth. This curse caused spiritual warfare with the earth. This is when the dry places of wandering in a desert of desire began—when we began “searching for love in all the wrong places.” This is the place where mankind obeyed the voice of the devil and operated in his own strength and the pride of life. The pride of life embraces the idea that we can do this on our own, in our own strength; it’s all about us, “all about me.” Futility boils down to this: selfish, self-centered, self-directed, self-worshiped, self-empowered, the god of the self void of faith in God.
A self-based life is essentially dead. The new-born life in the Spirit of the living God is all about LIFE and LOVE. The Spirit of the Lord allows a life at the Tree of Life as we repent from “being dead.” When we repent unto life, we eat the bread of life as the Spirit of the Lord fills all the dry places where sin dwelt. As we return to our first love, the light of faith shines in the darkness. This is the true source of the motivation to bring the Kingdom into our lives and the lives of others.
The enemy cannot dwell in the light. The light is irrevocable in the darkness, as the world gets brighter. The more we allow the Spirit of the Living God to inhabit our neighborhood in terms of ALL aspects of our lives, the more sin vanishes while the devil becomes less and less influential. The dry dark places the Spirit of the Lord fills with LIVING WATER and LIGHT is an irrevocable blessing. The light cannot go back to the darkness and the darkness cannot come back into the light.
The curse in, “a woman’s desire will be for her husband” represents losing our original identity in seeking the approval of others and the world system of rules, regulations, rights, wrongs, and Law. This is what happens in our lives when we seek our identity in others including our husband rather than our identity in Jesus Christ (as husband). It means conformity to a system of expectations and a needy spirit—the devil did not like who God created him to be so he destroyed the beautiful creation he was. As our identity emerges when Jesus becomes our husband, He guides us to the Father’s Will by the Spirit of Understanding. This builds our faith.
The Law of Light, The Law of Faith
We become a living testimony of Christ in us the hope of glory—changing from glory to glory. We are submerged into His nature, character, ways, power, and authority. This also brings Godly submission in terms of equality of humankind as we allow each human being the opportunity to be who God created them to be. In other words, it is not all about us. It’s about the Body of Christ imparting the unique treasure and gifts within to others so they have a fuller understanding of whom God is. It’s also about validating, encouraging, and honoring the treasures and gifts in others to walk in their unique identity not only in who God created them to be but also who they are in Christ. When we know who we are in Christ, we know who we are with others–we no longer desire someone else’s life because we know that there is only one of us in the universe and that is what God wanted. This grounds our faith.
When we believe through the curse of futility that we are not “enough” in whom we are created to be a separation happens. The devil did not believe he was enough in the beautiful being God created him to be–it is a self-destructive and futile place to believe you are not enough. You get that idea from the past of whom you learn to believe you are. To live in the past–the past in terms of all the pain, abuse, fear, failure, addiction, and assorted sins we all know so well. The That is what the Blood of Jesus Christ is for—to perpetually wash us so that we can increase in the knowledge of Him and Live in the Promised Land. This propels our faith.
The past is not you. The past died when you were baptized into New Life. What you have learned in all the rules and regulations of the way you believe you should be is a lie. You are a perfect creation of God just the way you are–we live in a futile world but we are no longer subject to futility dominating our lives. Jesus God loves us and wishes to bring our mind, heart, body, and soul together in His Spirit. Jesus is the bridge to Life–in fact, Jesus makes all the connections between who He created us to be and who He created others to be as well. Don’t you want to receive the treasures we see in one another that illustrate Jesus? This is why the scriptures give us types and shadows, so we can find Jesus in them so in turn we can find and bring out Jesus in others. This is faith in motion.
Higher Law of Love
John 8:12: Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
Jesus teaches the Higher law of love–love God, love one another, and love yourself. This is the light of life. When we do not respond to life in terms of judgment and offense, we are not allowing futility to dominate and bring forth death. When we respond to God and each other from the substance of Love, we become the essence of the substance we originally were created with–that substance is Light. Jesus is the Light and in Him, we return to our original state before the fall. This is a form of worshipping as in “worship in spirit and in truth.” When we worship in spirit, the essence or substance of God comes alive and together change happens. When we live the “truth” of who we are and honor the truth of who others are, we are walking out the commandment of love. When we love ourselves, there are no parameters on who we are in terms of “not enough.” We are perfect and not subject to other’s opinions, judgments, rejection, likes or dislikes; this is what it means to validate the creation of God. This is devotional faith.
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand (Psalm 16:11).
And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it (selfish and natural sighted folk.) ( Isaiah 35:8).
Life in the Spirit gives us a birthright and legitimacy in the Kingdom of Heaven.
When we have eyes of faith and dependency on the God who created the universe, we are in awe of how He manifests and comes into our circumstances bringing life, liberty, abundance, blessing, honor, healing, provision, revelation, power, authority and all the legitimate blessings of life found in the Tree of Life—we have access to draw upon our birthright in an inheritance from the throne room of God. This is walking the narrow road of life. Jesus is the Tree of Life: the way, the truth, the life. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6). Jesus completes our faith, He brings it to wholeness through our salvation.
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Mathew 7).
Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous–how well I know it (Psalm 139:14). God absolutely loves us beyond comprehension. In Jesus, a path is cut through any obstacle between us and the Promised Land. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain (Isaiah 40).
The Promised Land is a place that is connected to the Kingdom of Heaven right here on this earth—RIGHT NOW. The Promised Land is all about living who we are because we know who God is; Jesus is with every blessing and promise of The Father written in the Word. That does not mean that we will not face trials and tribulation. The Word tells us that we can rejoice in our tribulation because it refines our soul. Jesus is the Word—He is the better covenant of every freedom, blessing, provision, healing, wisdom, guidance, insight, resolves, and above all Love. We have a face-to-face opportunity to see the AWE of the manifest presence of God in our lives—
Mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance (Jude 1:2).
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake, we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.” No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord–Romans 8.
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