The Pathway of Patient Endurance: Learning to Contend. Understanding the Father's love in Jesus is the foundation.
In this life of following
Jesus there are different seasons . By that I mean times of
emphasis. Often insights and clearly
encouraging teachings that emerge to advance us in one season do not adequately provide for us in the next. Why?
I believe it is woven into the ways of God.
That we would find dependence, trust, hope, love and grace in his
presence and in relationship with him ONLY.
He is our peace who has broken down every wall. Jesus is our righteousness and rest. Everything in the Kingdom of Heaven flows from the perfect provision and love of Jesus Christ.
We see this in the Father’s language to Israel.
“for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.
There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
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“In that day,” declares the LORD, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master.’
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For your Maker is your husband— the LORD Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.Isa 54:5
and in the language of Jesus for us....
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. John 15:15
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| "Cristo, nostra Pasqua, si è immolato" |
Many
of our trials and challenges are really about “understanding” and gaining
wisdom. Wisdom and understanding are found in Him,
Yahweh. Creator God. It seems that we spend so much of our time
and energy re-discovering what we inherently know. God, our Father is the source of all things
and he as a trinity God is in love with us. He knows us intimately and wants us to
learn his ways and abide with him forever.
At the core of our faith is a relationship. Not an ever widening set of prescriptions,
doctrines and outlines of secondary and seasonal truths. So much teaching these days focuses on
situational understanding. Ex. Take these
10 truths for these 3 situations and you will do just fine if you run into
them. In the middle of this kind of "situation" I stumble for the 10 points and how to apply the principles. We really should be looking into the face of the Lord Jesus or reaching out and touching him. The life lived following Christ keep us close enough to touch him in all the situations we encounter in this life.
There is really one thing the Church should strive to
encounter and to teach. The love of
Jesus Christ and him crucified. (I Cor 2:1-4) The Kingdom of Heaven is speaking through Jesus to the world until His return. (Hebrews 1)
…2that
their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and
attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of
understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ
Himself, 3in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge. 4I
say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.… Col 2:2-4
At the core of our relationship with God is surrender and
ever increasing knowledge of the Holy One.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your
mind, with all your soul and with all your strength and love your neighbor as
yourself. The law and the prophets
hinge on these.
Everything in the Kingdom of God hinge’s on, passes through,
comes through the understanding of us loving God and God loving us first.
God in his infinite love and wisdom is always leading us
into greater abundance and knowledge of him and his ways. Teaching, insights, moments when things just
make sense and we see clearly are not intended to be a stopping point or some
point where we settle in to the ideas and truths themselves. Rather, these moments are an invitation to settle into our
Father’s heart more deeply.
The Transfiguration…..
Pre-cross explosion of glory and truth. Jesus, the Son
of God, is revealed in his glory to the disciples pre-crucifixion. Peter, James and John saw this together on the mountain. They also saw Moses and Elijah. The revelation of Jesus overwhelmed them with the glory of heaven. Peter wanted to set up a “Jesus revealed memorial”. (Matt 17:1-9) The experience was completely overwhelming for the disciples who, after hearing the voice from heaven, seem to loose touch with Jesus and cower in fear. Until he touches them and speaks to them.
It is always foundational as we contending for the coming Kingdom to root ourselves in revelation and understanding of Jesus. To find our mindset and heart and whole way of thinking flowing out of who we understand him to be. The disciples encountered Jesus in profound ways. The three on the mountain certainly saw something that completely altered their understanding of reality. That is always what the Kingdom of God does when it comes. Alter our understanding of reality.
When the Kingdom displaces our understanding of the world with the revelation of Jesus...
Everything changes.
The disciples of Jesus, followers of Jesus, carry around in us and everything has changed perspective, mindset and reality.
Jesus opened every doorway with his work on the Cross. But there is certainly more to grow up in as
far as embracing the kingdom of God. He proved the new life in the resurrection and he sealed it all ascending from the earth into Heaven to sit at the Father's right hand.
How do we patiently endure?
- When we understand the Kingdom we are part of, it's role in the world and it's power to make the whole thing different.
- When we understand who Jesus really is and embrace him in faith and his perfect work as the Christ, The Son of the Living God, the Savior of the world, the ONE who lives in us.
- When we realize who we are in the world. Salt and Light ambassadors of freedom for a bound up and distorted world.
- When we realize the Kingdom of God was witnessed in glory on the Mountain transfiguration. We are those people. Hearing his voice and coming down from the mountain with life and peace.
We can patiently endure because we are believing for a new city, a new family a new nation founded in the plans and desires of God our Father.
When we stand. When
we call down inheritance, power, authority and Kingdom revelation. We start moving in the power of transfiguration.
Comments? Ideas? Does this encourage you?
Pass it on. Share it. Forward your testimonies or comments.
These are voices of the tribe who believes that God will overcome, bring his amazing Kingdom in all his generosity and win captives and prisoners out of the fallen and broken world we are here to sow his love in....
The story goes on and on in us!
With Love in the Lord Jesus,
Brother Jeff
Jeff Reynolds. 5 Fold / Capstone CF / Restoring First Love
Capstone Christian Fellowship
jeffreynoldsministries.com
jeff@jeffreynoldsministries.com
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