Childlike
To grow up into a mature faith is really the practice of becoming more childlike! I have work to do to become more holy, but there is grace for the work...if done correctly, it is child's play!
Right now, much of the Church is dividing on the line of grace. One group says grace has been given in a way that there is nothing left to be done. Jesus paid it all. True. The other group says that what James says "faith without works is dead" or we enter into the kingdom by "work, work, work"...also true. How can both of these concepts be true?
Jesus paid for me to be made completely new, but He refuses to violate my free will...He refuses to violate the principle of love, which requires I choose to love back. That means there is stuff for me to choose, but He is the one with the power to change my heart. Most of the frustration in the world is due to the truth of this principle being misapplied. That is what James said:
James 4:1-5 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
It is all about desire. That is question of the hour: what do you desire?
The works that are required are works CHOSEN by me but EMPOWERED by the grace of the Lord. Jesus didn't come to do away with the law, but to fulfill the law...not for me, but THROUGH me!:
Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
If you agree with Jesus' plan to fulfill the law through you, then you will forever share in His greatness. You get to pick how great you want to live forever. Greatness is really defined as "proximity to Jesus." How closely you will work with Jesus in His government over all of creation...forever...will be determined by YOU. That is what Jesus told James and John: to the degree you want to live forever near Me, you must choose to live LIKE Me now!:
Matthew 20:20-22 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”
How much do you want THAT greatness of life forever over the desire for your own experience of life now, before Jesus returns? That is the issue you really want to settle...because the more you desire either one, the more you will invest yourself in that choice...and the more you will experience the reality of that choice...again, forever:
Matthew 6:19-23 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
In this passage, Jesus lays out that you have to choose where you desire to have the dreams of your heart fulfilled, and that choice of where you are really counting on your greatness manifesting will entirely determine how much you invest in THAT place.
This earth is fading...the NEW earth...heaven coming to earth, which will make it a new earth...will last forever. If you agree with the truth of the Bible, then practically, you will make choices that reflect that...with your time, your money, your emotions....with your desire. What is it you really want...a temporary "now" greatness without Jesus present, or a forever TRUE greatness face to face with Jesus?
There is grace for complete sanctification...to be set apart...made holy like Jesus...but that grace is ONLY activated by your desire. The kingdom of God is not one of overwork, but rather OVERFLOW of power to change...to make new. BUT, that power will only overflow to YOU at your invitation. Otherwise, Jesus would have to violate love to make you new. He will not do that. He isn't looking for perfect slaves...He is looking for loving partners that He can guide to greater measures of glory forever.
If you desire greatness in the world, it will manifest itself like James described: warring over scarce resources and growing in hunger for unsatisfying stuff, because the treasure of the world is scarce and limited. If you desire greatness in heaven, it will manifest in true lasting greatness forever, because the treasure of heaven is limitless and abundant.
Heaven is coming here, so you aren't desiring "vapor" and "theory" when you desire greatness in heaven...you are desiring real, practical, physical, wealth on a new earth that will never wear out when you actually desire treasure in heaven. Moth and rust cannot destroy what lasts forever. This takes faith to see. Desiring heavenly greatness results in heavenly wealth, just like earthly greatness results in earthly wealth.
Desiring heavenly greatness is really desiring holiness...Christ-likeness. When you hear Paul and James and Peter going on and on about holiness, you have to realize they had a vision for the REWARDS of holiness. They were simply describing their value system of weighting heavenly greatness over temporary earthly greatness...this drove them to desire holiness. They were not working towards holiness to get saved...they were working towards holiness to get GREAT. They simply believed Jesus that this is the way to greatness forever:
I Peter 1:13-16 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
The lie in the Church that you are already holy without making any choices to grow in holiness is simply an attempt of the enemy to steal greatness from you forever. When someone says there is "grace for that" to continue living in sin, they are actually being used by your enemy in an attempt to steal heavenly wealth from you.
But now we have to ask the Bible: how do I grow in holiness? The answer: there is grace for THAT. It is all about becoming more childlike. The ONLY Biblical way to grow in holiness is to ask for it...to express your desire for it with your words to God:
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
This is humbly asking...contending...to receive what you desire. Jesus promised that if you did this, you would receive it. This is what James said was being missed and resulting in jealous and lustful striving.
Saying the choice for holiness doesn't matter is a form of theft from heavens desire for you. Attempting to obtain holiness through your own discipline is another form of theft from heaven's desire for you by substituting legalism for grace. The Church is being baited into a pointless debate designed to steal from both sides. The true answer is child-likeness.
Simply gazing on Jesus, by reading about Him and talking to Him, and desiring to be more like Him IS the point of life. Looking at Jesus conforms you to His likeness:
II Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
This requires a choice on your part...this is your part in the work...simply desiring to gaze on the beautiful one, and cry out to God to make you more like Him...glory to glory.
Training your heart to see the true value in heavenly greatness that Jesus is the perfect standard of, and agreeing with the Bible that growing up into that measure of greatness is possible if you desire it, will spark greater fires of desire in your heart to contend for holiness with your words...that is what grace was given for in the first place! Any lesser application of grace is taking the grace of God in vain:
II Corinthians 5:21-6:1 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
Right now, much of the Church is dividing on the line of grace. One group says grace has been given in a way that there is nothing left to be done. Jesus paid it all. True. The other group says that what James says "faith without works is dead" or we enter into the kingdom by "work, work, work"...also true. How can both of these concepts be true?
Jesus paid for me to be made completely new, but He refuses to violate my free will...He refuses to violate the principle of love, which requires I choose to love back. That means there is stuff for me to choose, but He is the one with the power to change my heart. Most of the frustration in the world is due to the truth of this principle being misapplied. That is what James said:
James 4:1-5 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?
It is all about desire. That is question of the hour: what do you desire?
The works that are required are works CHOSEN by me but EMPOWERED by the grace of the Lord. Jesus didn't come to do away with the law, but to fulfill the law...not for me, but THROUGH me!:
Matthew 5:17-19 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
If you agree with Jesus' plan to fulfill the law through you, then you will forever share in His greatness. You get to pick how great you want to live forever. Greatness is really defined as "proximity to Jesus." How closely you will work with Jesus in His government over all of creation...forever...will be determined by YOU. That is what Jesus told James and John: to the degree you want to live forever near Me, you must choose to live LIKE Me now!:
Matthew 20:20-22 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.” But Jesus answered and said, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” They said to Him, “We are able.”
How much do you want THAT greatness of life forever over the desire for your own experience of life now, before Jesus returns? That is the issue you really want to settle...because the more you desire either one, the more you will invest yourself in that choice...and the more you will experience the reality of that choice...again, forever:
Matthew 6:19-23 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
In this passage, Jesus lays out that you have to choose where you desire to have the dreams of your heart fulfilled, and that choice of where you are really counting on your greatness manifesting will entirely determine how much you invest in THAT place.
This earth is fading...the NEW earth...heaven coming to earth, which will make it a new earth...will last forever. If you agree with the truth of the Bible, then practically, you will make choices that reflect that...with your time, your money, your emotions....with your desire. What is it you really want...a temporary "now" greatness without Jesus present, or a forever TRUE greatness face to face with Jesus?
There is grace for complete sanctification...to be set apart...made holy like Jesus...but that grace is ONLY activated by your desire. The kingdom of God is not one of overwork, but rather OVERFLOW of power to change...to make new. BUT, that power will only overflow to YOU at your invitation. Otherwise, Jesus would have to violate love to make you new. He will not do that. He isn't looking for perfect slaves...He is looking for loving partners that He can guide to greater measures of glory forever.
If you desire greatness in the world, it will manifest itself like James described: warring over scarce resources and growing in hunger for unsatisfying stuff, because the treasure of the world is scarce and limited. If you desire greatness in heaven, it will manifest in true lasting greatness forever, because the treasure of heaven is limitless and abundant.
Heaven is coming here, so you aren't desiring "vapor" and "theory" when you desire greatness in heaven...you are desiring real, practical, physical, wealth on a new earth that will never wear out when you actually desire treasure in heaven. Moth and rust cannot destroy what lasts forever. This takes faith to see. Desiring heavenly greatness results in heavenly wealth, just like earthly greatness results in earthly wealth.
Desiring heavenly greatness is really desiring holiness...Christ-likeness. When you hear Paul and James and Peter going on and on about holiness, you have to realize they had a vision for the REWARDS of holiness. They were simply describing their value system of weighting heavenly greatness over temporary earthly greatness...this drove them to desire holiness. They were not working towards holiness to get saved...they were working towards holiness to get GREAT. They simply believed Jesus that this is the way to greatness forever:
I Peter 1:13-16 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
The lie in the Church that you are already holy without making any choices to grow in holiness is simply an attempt of the enemy to steal greatness from you forever. When someone says there is "grace for that" to continue living in sin, they are actually being used by your enemy in an attempt to steal heavenly wealth from you.
But now we have to ask the Bible: how do I grow in holiness? The answer: there is grace for THAT. It is all about becoming more childlike. The ONLY Biblical way to grow in holiness is to ask for it...to express your desire for it with your words to God:
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
This is humbly asking...contending...to receive what you desire. Jesus promised that if you did this, you would receive it. This is what James said was being missed and resulting in jealous and lustful striving.
Saying the choice for holiness doesn't matter is a form of theft from heavens desire for you. Attempting to obtain holiness through your own discipline is another form of theft from heaven's desire for you by substituting legalism for grace. The Church is being baited into a pointless debate designed to steal from both sides. The true answer is child-likeness.
Simply gazing on Jesus, by reading about Him and talking to Him, and desiring to be more like Him IS the point of life. Looking at Jesus conforms you to His likeness:
II Corinthians 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
This requires a choice on your part...this is your part in the work...simply desiring to gaze on the beautiful one, and cry out to God to make you more like Him...glory to glory.
Training your heart to see the true value in heavenly greatness that Jesus is the perfect standard of, and agreeing with the Bible that growing up into that measure of greatness is possible if you desire it, will spark greater fires of desire in your heart to contend for holiness with your words...that is what grace was given for in the first place! Any lesser application of grace is taking the grace of God in vain:
II Corinthians 5:21-6:1 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
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