October 8, 2023
Sermon Part 4: "The New Creature in Christ Creates New Things with the Ingredients of Faith and Love!"
Introduction
Praise the Lord and Good Morning to the Saints of the Most-High God, who hold onto the promises of God in steadfast faith until every promise comes to pass, because God is faithful! (Heb.10:23)
One of my favorite Scriptures in the Holy Bible is recorded at I Corinthians 3:22-23—I shared it with you during last week’s Sermon. I love these Verses because they tell of our "Oneness" with God in Christ Jesus, and our dominion over everything in the world; in life or death. The Apostle Paul wrote:
Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.
Thanks be unto God that we "belong" to God in Jesus Christ, and because we are the possession of Christ, all things in the present and future belong to the Saints. Yes, in Christ, we even have the victory over the very thing that mankind fears most, and that is "death." (Heb. 2:15)
Jesus Christ said: “With God, all things are possible to Him that believes!” (Mark 9:23) If you believe in Jesus Christ there is nothing that you cannot dream of and do. (Php. 4:13) Please do not limit God with small thinking!
Saints, we are married to God in Christ and in perfect harmony with Him in the Spirit. God our husbandman has made exceedingly and extraordinarily great and precious promises to us; for He has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. (II Pet.1:3) Britannica Dictionary defines a promise as “a statement telling someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will definitely happen in the future."
Mortal men make and break promises all the time, but God's promises are a sure thing because He cannot lie! (Num. 23:19) After every eternal promise in the Bible, God has said, "Yes" and "Amen"—Approved and so let it be done! (II Cor.1:20) Therefore, as the Lord's Bride, the Church, we are not to let one of God’s precious promises slip. We must do our part to bring to full harvest every promise of God sown in us.
God's promises contain our future success, victory, and conquests. For every evil work Satan plots and plans for our demise and destruction, God already has an eternal promise of good to deliver us from evil. And, by the power of the Holy Ghost within us, we have the ability to bring every promise of God in our hearts, from the spiritual realm, into the natural realm. (Acts 1:8)
I should note that Bible Scholars have tallied 250 separate promises of God in the New Testament alone. Of these promises, there are more than 30 promises in which God, our husbandman has said, “I Will.”
Oh praise God, I hear God, our husband, in this moment saying, "I Will:"
- Strengthen you
- Give you rest
- Take care of all your needs
- Answer your prayers
- Work everything out for your good
- Be with you always
- Protect you
- Forgive and forget all of your sins and iniquities
- Establish and keep you from evil
Therefore, as the Bride of Christ, we must humble ourselves under the Mighty-hand of God, bow down before Him, and say like King David said unto God: "Lord what shall I render unto you for all of your benefits toward me?" “I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon your name!” (Ps.116:12) Um, David said, "I will bless the Lord at all times His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” (Ps. 34:18)
Furthermore, as born-again Christians, New Creatures in Christ, we have eternal life—an everlasting and abiding relationship with God in Christ. (John 10:10 & 17:3) We have the Spirit of the Life and Mind of Christ and have been blessed with the unique ability to "see" in the Spirit the deep and eternal things of God. Yes, by the Holy Ghost, Saints, you can see the promises of God contained in the Bible, which also have been established in your heart. (II Cor. 4:18, 5:17, 2: 9-12, John 16:13, & Heb.10:16) The Holy Ghost will reveal and teach you about the promises of God. Jesus Christ has assured us of such.
These priceless promises have been placed in our hearts so that we all may be "partakers" of the divine nature of God, and the Holy Ghost is the faithful witness of all God has done. (II Pet.1:3-4) Yes, promises of things that God wants changed now and in the future for your good, the betterment of mankind, and the earth are given to us.
Viewing a Promise of God in Christ of “Rest from Sleeplessness”
Over the last two weeks, I demonstrated how easy it is to see in the Spirit, if you are a born-again Christian. (See Sermons dated, Sept. 17 & 24. 2023) As Jesus Christ said, His “words” are "spirit and they are life." (John 6:63) So every promise of God written in the Holy Bible we can read it, meditate on it, and behold it in the Spirit. Pick up your Bible now. Yes, let’s run and grab our Bibles and get a hold of one of the precious promises of God given to us.
In this moment, I hear God saying this is one of His promises spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ at Matthew 11:28-29, that we need to have unfold in our lives right now! Let us read it together:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
God wants His people to rest every night, to rest in peace like the picture above; and not lie awake at night absorbed in cares.The Saints of God need uninterrupted daily rest. We should not be lying awake every night like so many people of the world do. Far too many born-again Christians lack a peaceful and full-night of rest, with deep sleep. Even though we have the promise of Christ's Rest abiding in our hearts, as everything of Christ's belongs to us too! (I Cor. 3:22-23) Yes, “Jesus’s Rest is Our Rest.”
In fact, media reports indicate that approximately 50 million people in the United States have a sleep disorder. In addition, more than 100 million Americans of all ages report that they don't get an adequate amount of sleep.
We need rest without fear, horrors in the night, thoughts and cares of tomorrow, sleep without medicinal aids, and relief from pains in the body that keep us awake nights. Jesus Christ has promised sweet sleep when we come to Him and learn of Him. I believe we can experience daily rest just like Jesus had. Even the kind of rest He enjoyed (fast asleep) aboard a ship covered with water in stormy seas. (Luke 8:22-25) Sweet sleep even the worst of times!
This Rest of Christ of course is not just for sleeping at night, but also for peaceful bliss while performing daily tasks at work, school, home and everywhere the soles of our feet travel—no matter how rocky the road. Praise God no matter what trouble the enemy plans and unleashes, Jesus's Peace can make the trouble as a pebble under our feet. (John 16:33) This Peace belongs to us, we need to search, seek, and seize the “Rest of Christ” from eternity and bring it into our bedrooms and boardrooms daily!
As you meditate on the Scripture of promise of Rest from Jesus Christ, see yourself receiving the Lord's Rest, even as He is seated at the right hand of God. Again, the Lord’s promise reads:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Jesus is calling you to receive “His Rest” right now. Oh see how Jesus placed His total confidence in God Almighty and slept soundly—like a new-born baby—on the ship in the middle of a great storm.
Furthermore, Jesus was at rest even before Pilot as the Jews falsely accused, beat, and spat upon Him—and adamantly pursued His death, by the cross. Now, for your own serenity, take the promise of Christ’s Rest and see in the Spirit how Jesus’s Peace/Rest calms fears, dries tears, settles you, and causes you to lie down in green pastures.
Take your time, be patient and behold the Lord's Rest coming upon you, (learn of His yoke and rest) until it becomes clear and complete to you. The picture in your heart that you see of Rest is from the Spirit of the Life and Mind of Christ, witnessed by the Holy Ghost, and belongs to you! Yes; search, see, and seize it—claim the Rest it’s yours!
The image(s) that you see are full of power to quicken dead things (to remove fear, stress, anxiety, frustration, body aches, other mental and physical disorders, and the need for sleep aids...these are all dead things) and the Lord’s Rest brings beautiful cooling and pleasing rest to your soul and body daily.
For the image(s) you see in your heart, the Holy Ghost, has the instructions to bring them to pass, and keep you, in Christ's Rest; perfect Peace. (Is. 26:3 & John 14:16) This Rest is a future rest in eternity reserved for you. It belongs to you because you belong to Christ. This future Rest is intended for you to start harvesting from today and every day thereafter! This Rest has been purposed by God to enable you to dream dreams of future happenings in Ministry, as well as the future goodness of God that is coming into your life, and more importantly the lives of others!
Saints, this is just one example of a multitude of exceedingly great and precious promises that belong to us, and reside in our hearts as New Creatures in Christ. God expects for us to bring what we see in the Spirit into the natural realm, because above all things, God wants us to “prosper and be in health.” (III John 2)
Releasing the Ingredients of Faith and Love Bring Forth the Promises of God into Manifestation
Our focus today is on learning and practicing how to bring the promises of God, from, the spiritual realm into the natural realm using two special ingredients: "Faith and Love."
Indeed, in our born-again hearts, we have the full and complete ingredients necessary to bring all of the promises of God into full manifestation. We know that both faith (more correctly stated “faithfulness”...the systematic and automatic faith of Jesus Christ in God) and love are among the Fruit of the Holy Ghost within us. (Gal.5:22) Glory be to God!
We can take "any" promise of God in the Bible, and through the administration of faith and love, see it materialize in this physical world. We know and understand this because it was by faith that the worlds were made by God, and faith works by love—and God is love. (Heb.1:3, Gal. 5:6, I John 4:16)
Glory be to God, any time we combine "Faith," which is the Word of God, with “Love” which is God...whatever we ask of God we will receive it. (John 14:12-15) The administration of Faith and Love releases creative energy (Holy Ghost power!) and makes the promises of God appear in the natural realm; the works of Jesus Christ and greater works evidenced!
Now, let’s apply these two ingredients to the promise of "Christ’s Rest," mentioned earlier in our example, and get our desired results of complete rest.
First, let’s administer “Faith.”
With God, we must remember to, like dear and sweet and obedient children, humble ourselves under God our Father and His Word. God gives more grace to those who humble themselves and say “Yes” to the Lord and His promises. (James 4:6 & Matt.18:3-5)
Our hearts have been made humble already by God to believe in His promises and obey the Word of God. But, we need to submit our thought-life (thoughts of the human brain) to God for transformation, and not follow and rely on the world's ways of achieving rest and sleep. (Rom.12:1-2)
Let's look at Ephesians 5:1-2. The Apostle Paul wrote the following instruction to the Christians at Ephesus:
Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
We are to "follow" after God...meaning to copy, imitate, mimic God; just as loving children imitate their parents.
It's interesting to note, social scientists have found that infants between 19 and 24 months begin to imitate the things they see their parents, siblings, and even people on television say and do.
Experts say children do this to learn, but also to feel as though they are equal to others and a part of a social group. Similarly, when it comes to spiritual matters, God wants us to watch carefully how He does things (In the Word of God) and copy Him. Just like little children imitate their parents and those in their social environment. God wants you to let your mind (your way of thinking) be just like Jesus Christ’s Mind—to think of yourself as having equality with God. Through Jesus Christ we have been made the righteousness of God. (Php. 2:5-6 & II Cor. 5:21)
God wants us to learn of Him, His thoughts, His ways and to become fully engaged in them. (Matt.11:28) Remember God wants us to be "partakers" of His divine nature so we can mirror Him in the earth as sons pattern themselves after their fathers. So we are to copy the characteristics of God in our daily lives. The things we see God doing, we are also to mimic them, do you understand?
Two major characteristics of God we can take and learn of and pattern ourselves after are God's Faith (Word) and Love. Faith and Love are core to God’s divine nature. Our Father God uses "Now God Faith" to bring things from eternity into earthly manifestation. God "calls" things that do not exist in the natural, as though they already exist. (Heb.11:1-2 & Rom. 4:17)
God's relationship with Abraham is an excellent example. God made Covenant promises to Abraham saying He had "made" Him a "father of many nations," and Abraham’s seed multiplied as the stars and sands of the sea shore. Even though, at the time the promise was made, Sarah was barren and unable to conceive a child. (Gen.11: 30, 17:5 & Gen. 22:16-18) But praise God, Abraham believed God's promise and the promised seed was first fulfilled in Isaac, and thereafter made generational, with Abraham becoming “heir of the world!” (Rom. 4:13)
In like manner, we are to mimic God by speaking His promises in faith, knowing that Jesus Christ has already purchased with His blood and resurrection on the third-day, every promise for us.
In our example of the promise of daily “Rest” from Jesus Christ, sweet sleep, and the images we envisioned of rest-filled nights, we are to call those things that be not, as though they already exist.
We are to acknowledge that "the Rest of Jesus Christ, as He is seated at the Right Hand of God the Father; belongs to us: The Lord’s Rest is in us, and tonight and every night thereafter as long as we live on earth, our rest will be sweet and uninterrupted. (Ps. 4:8 & Ph.1:6) "Sweet Sleep" is a covenant-ordained right and we own it!
Say out-loud “I will lay down in peace and sleep because all my trust is in the Lord!”
The Apostle Paul said we are to imitate God as dear children. As such, whatever we see in the Spirit concerning our sweet sleep, we decree it, and when we see it come to pass in the natural, we will call it “good.” (Gen. 1:31) Oh yes, we love to copy our Father God!
The second ingredient is "Love." When I was preparing this Sermon, God gave me these thoughts, He said:
"If you will love me with your whole heart and demonstrate the love of God with all people, including your enemies, your "peace" will never be disturbed!"
"If you will reserve and administer forgiveness to every person, your "Words" spoken will never fall to the ground, but will bring forth life, and your rest will be perpetual!”
God said "sleeplessness" is a "trust issue" and my people have not learned to place all their trust in me. “They have not reaped the harvest of the Rest and Peace of Christ reserved for them, because they have not placed ALL their trust in me.” (Prov. 3:5-6)
“My people still don't trust me with their well-being: housing, money, jobs, relationships, parenting, health; and so their brains and emotions are working overtime to exhaustion which causes their bodies and brains to fail them. Instead of resting on my promises, they are lying down in their beds of problems, pains, and sorrows.”
Yes, chronic sleepless nights occur because of idol worship, and exalted thoughts about things missing and broken in your life, and fractured relationships. God says “my people say they love me with their whole hearts, but God is asking: “Do you Trust Me in all Matters of life...to provide, strengthen, protect, and heal you?”
The Lord says it’s time for my people to become “castaways." Meaning, to cast-away from you all cares on to Jesus Christ, and to set all your affections on God and things above in heaven. (Ps.55:22, I Pet. 5:7 & Col. 3:1-3)
Sweet rest cannot be achieved if you are unwilling to trust God with everything, including all types of relationships. You can't have a broken and divided brain and heart, and at the same time speak God's promises into fruition in your life and the lives of others. All your trust must be in God, as dear children trust their parents. (Mark 11:22-26)
Moreover, “wholehearted” Love for God, and love for your neighbor, makes effectual (powerful) the confession of the promises of God come forth, from the eternal into physical manifestation. (Gal. 5:6) There is no greater way to copy...follow after God...than to speak His Words and love all people. (I John 4:16)
Also remember, we have taught that the love of Christ is proactive and not just reactive to how people treat us. We treat everyone with love, as Christ loved us on His cross and seated us in heavenly places with Him at the right hand throne of God. (John 13:34 & Eph. 2:5-7)
The lesson of how to administer love to our neighbor is clearly given for us to copy in Jesus's parable of the "Good Samaritan. The parable is told at Luke 10:25-37 (NIV)
Jesus laid out for a religious expert of the law who was trying to test Him, regarding how he could receive "eternal life." Luke wrote,
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”
28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Imitating our Father God is made clear by Jesus. We are to love God with our whole heart (spirit, soul and body) and love our neighbor as ourselves. With this Command to love our neighbor we combine it with Jesus's New Commandment to love every person as He has loved us. (John 13:34)
The Parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates how we are to love our neighbors, even those who are presumed to be our enemies. Our neighbors are anyone of any race, color, creed or social background; and we are to render help as we can to meet those in need.
Like the Good Samaritan in the parable, we are to take the action steps of seeking and working to meet the needs of others which demonstrate love. In the parable, the wounded man was Jewish and the Samaritan man who helped him was of a hated race of the Jews, and yet the Samaritan man was the only one willing to come to the aid of the wounded man.
The Samaritan man took pity on him, bound up his wounds, put him on a donkey, brought him to a place to lodge and paid his bill. This is love in action, sacrificing his time, efforts, and money to rescue a suffering man almost beaten to death.
We see Christ throughout these actions for He came down from heaven and sacrificed His life on the cross for us. (Rom.5:8) He bore all our sins and griefs and infirmities in His own body. He delivered us from the power of the kingdom of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of God. Jesus paid it all in full for us who were dead and on our way to eternal damnation.
So likewise, when we love our neighbor, including our enemies, we follow directly in the footsteps of God. We must look for opportunities to meet the needs of others, especially the needs of our presumed enemies, in whatever manner we can in prayer and works.
When we take loving actions to help our enemies, we are as perfect as God, according to Jesus! (Matt. 5:48) We are partaking of God's nature in faith and love and have the authority and power to ask what we will from the Word of God and see it come to pass.
To walk as dear children of God, we must as the Apostle Paul says put away all bitterness, anger, wrath, and evil speaking from our thought-life and mouths. We must learn to be kind and tender-hearted like God to one another. (Eph. 4:31-32) The Holy Ghost who knows the Mind of Christ will put new and fresh speech in our thoughts and mouths, and cause us to speak forth and do new things never seen nor heard of in the earth; and they will come to pass.
In closing, as you seek a closer walk with God, God will give you more of the Mind of Christ in the ingredients of Faith and Love. Let this be a consuming passion of yours to thirst for more knowledge and understanding of God's Word (Faith) and Love and you will forever see and do the eternal things of God. Profess the promises of God and walk in love so that all people can see Christ shining brightly through you and God will be glorified in the earth.
Please enjoy your sleep tonight. Wake up refreshed and expecting to live in peace and with a sound mind daily. Share your new and fresh sleep experiences with others, and tell them how you received Christ's Rest so they may sleep nights through.
If at first, for any reason, you seem to struggle in apprehending sleepless nights, hold on to the promise of God until it comes to pass. This is your covenant responsibility and right, as God is faithful who promised. (Heb.10:23) Good day and goodnight to you. Amen!
Come on and bless the Word of God with a hand clap and praise!
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