Living the Certainty of the Gospel: No guesses

In life, we are faced with loads of choices to make. And one thing that pains me is that I don't have the same faith of certainty like Jesus did. I make my plans and hope they are the will of God. Jesus knew the will of God and made plans.

But on a broader study, we find that it wasn't only Jesus that had that.

Abraham showed such qualities when he rejected a financial reward from a consortium of Kings because he knew for sure that he was going to be so rich (Genesis 14:21-23). He showed it when he told his servants to wait for them while he was going to offer Isaac (Genesis 22:5).

Samuel showed it through out his ministry. He dared God to send rain in dry season just to proved that he had been on the right path (1 Samuel 12:16-18).

Moses showed it when he worked so hard even when he knew there was no possibility about his entry to canaan. Deutoronomy 3:23-28

Elisha always had insight to God's working so that he complained that God hid a particular case from him. 2 Kings 4:27

Jesus said if it were not so I would have told you. John 14:2. Never was a man so full of God's mind for him as Yeshuah. He knew what God wanted him to do or say. No wonder the soldiers who were sent to arrest him before his time said "No one has ever spoken like that man" John 7:46

Daniel had surety of faith to have believe the message he received from God as the true answer to another man's King.

Paul who at a time was a condemned prisoner still had the certainly of faith to decide whether he wanted to die or live (Philipians 1:20-24). Some years later, he makes up his mind and draws the curtain (2 Timothy 4:6).

the list could go on...

The issue today is that I see myself and other christians waiting to do something right and declare that it was the will of God. Or when the plan crashes, we thank God that it wasn't his will after all. So there exist a gulf between us and the true knowledge of God's will. We are experts in figuring God's will out by probability permutation.

Jesus says in John 8:12: I am the light of the world; he who comes with me will not be walking in the dark but will have the light of life. Or in 11:35 -36 Jesus said to them, For a little time longer the light will be among you; while you have the light go on walking in it, so that the dark may not overtake you: one walking in the dark has no knowledge of where he is going. In so far as you have the light, put your faith in the light so that you may become sons of light. With these words Jesus went away and for a time was not seen again by them

Believers in Christ, we are really missing out on something without which we will not enjoy the true expression of the eternal life we have. We have the surety of God's word. We have the God's guaranty of the promise - Holy Spirit. But why are we not living out the certainty of God's will? Why are we living or making life choices with guesses as though the God for us is perhaps this or perhaps that.

This is my greatest need from God because clearly it is written in God's word. We need to stop living on probability like the children of this world because our Father has the pleasure of giving us this sure kingdom.

Paul testified in 2 Corinthians 1:18-22:

But God is faithful, so that our word to you is not "yes" and "no."

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, the one who was proclaimed among you by us, by me and Silvanus and Timothy, did not become "yes" and "no," but has become "yes" in him.

For as many as are the promises of God, in him they are "yes"; therefore also through him is the "amen" to the glory of God through us.

Now the one who establishes us together with you in Christ and who anoints us is God, who also sealed us and gave the down payment of the Spirit in our hearts.

I am more determine to see this change and encourage you so that we seek our God together that we may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Colossians 1:9-12).

Prayer point: That God will take away the guesses of life that has made us live like those of the World and point in us the power and knowledge of his will for us in spiritual wisdom and understanding.

That we may accept from God, the revelation of life for us daily whether it is unto death or life and that the joy of his revelation will keep us instead of the hope to "make it".

The Danger of Crowd-Effect Safety

- Have you ever had your faith always rise high when in church or in the midst of believers and very low when you are alone?
- Is it harder enjoying personal worship more than corporate worship?
- Does your faith leap only when the preacher says something wonderful in contrast to anytime the word of God is laid before you?
- Do you seem to appreciate God's word more in church or when with other believers than when alone?
- Do you feel the spirit of prayer more when you are in a group more than when alone?
- Does your faith talk tougher when you are in a crowd and weak when faced with that situation in your room?

If the answer to any one of these questions is YES, you are not alone though it wasn't meant to be so. I call it the crowd-effect safety. I would prefer to talk about the solution than define it.

God intended every single believer to be as active individually as he would be when in fellowship with others. Each one of us is to be a living stone so that the entire house would be a living spiritual house (I Peter 2:5).

Psalms 104:4 say He (God) made his ministers flames of fire.

Let take a look at a perfect analogy with Samson in Judges 15:4-5. When he wanted to set an entire farm ablaze, he brought together 300 foxes by their tail, he set the tails ablaze, then let them all go alone.
What is the moral: Together we are a fire. Singularly, I am a fire. - This is God's desire.

Corporate fellowship has its place to keep the spiritual house alive but personal fellowship is excellent because each living stone must be living indeed.

Solution: Don't relegate the place of personal fellowship with God by the study of God's word and prayer, watching, worship, meditation and praise. Once you get started, corporate fellowship will begin to make so much sense and pleasure and your God will begin to feel closer.

No Matter how many people you have together, there will always be a time you will walk alone, face the mountain alone, hunger in the wilderness alone...so please strengthen those arms and knees so that we could stand in those times. And the strength you measure up within you will be all you have when the pastor, friend, mentor, parents, and help you thought you had are not to be found.

Six reasons every believer should pray in tongues

1. One of the basic benefits of being a believer
Mark 16:17 - "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues".
Jesus was not necessarily saying your native dialect is going to change but that your new man should acquire a new language for communication. Is there any reason why a believer would not want any of the signs in Mark 16:16-18?


2. Bypassing your mind in prayer is sometimes very essential
1 Cor 14:14 - "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."
Praying in tongues causes a child of God to communicate spiritual mysteries without even his mind understanding what he is saying. This is beneficial for a very important reason - No one can speak outside his understanding and as long as our mind is hindered by our physical dimension, our petitions will remain so. Praying in tongues therefore enables a physical man on earth to speak beyond the expected dimension of his mind and speak in the realms of the mind of Christ.


3. To identify the things God has freely given.
1 Cor 2:11- 14 says
"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
The scripture is quite explanable. A good reference to explain things would be Adam who had to name all living creatures that came before him. He needed the understanding or intelligence of the physical to do that. In like manner, we need the perfect wisdom of the spiritual to identify, name or appropriate for our profit the things not seen (spiritual). The bible tells us that they are freely given and somehow its like the things that are freely given are those we struggle to get.


4. Building up your most holy faith
Jude 20 says "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost".
The precendence to this verse actually described a lot of decadence that was creeping in the world of then. Our own generation's depth of decay surely thrumps their of course. But it is worthy of note that no matter how dark our world is, God's expectation of growth and fruits from us is not compromisable. Therefore as the world around us (from the internet, TV, music, fashion, lifestyle) grows downwards, our faith must be built up. But still we don't know what we are up against. Therefore, our prayer must be in the Holy Ghost who helps our infirmities and intercedes for us in our weaknesses.


5. The spirit is willing
Matthew 26:14 - "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak".
The spirit is willing to go the way of it source - the giver of its life. The flesh also is seeking to go in the direction of its material - dust. Incidentally we are a house of both. Hence, it is our actions that determine we direction our lives would go. The spirit unto life or the flesh unto death. Praying in tongues especially by a person who is filled with the word of Christ by study and meditation gives his willing spirit strength in the sure times of temptation. And remember Proverbs 24:10 says "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small".

6. You live in the spirit - you should also talk in the spirit.
Gal 5:16 says "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh"
Gal 5:25 says "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit"
John 4:24 says "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth"
Acts 20:22 says "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there"
John 11:33 - "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled"
Seeing that there are a lot of spiritual expressions that a spiritual man could make, praying in the spirit could not be out of the list. Also remember that praying in the spirit is a strong connotation of praying in tongues as described in 1 Cor 14:2 - "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries"

I may not have put down all the possible reasons so I would encourage anyone reading this to add some more to the list (by commenting on the article) for us all to learn. Only try not to repeat points.

God bless.