The Wisdom That Is From Above

 James 3:13-18

 

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your heart do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."

 

We should understand that God attempts to inspire us in the components of wisdom by the Holy Spirit. It is in the soul where we make our decision to receive it. You have heard it said, "a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link". If the soul is weak, either because we have not yet heard or having heard, are unwilling to do (wayside ground), the blessing of His grace will produce little, if any, fruit. It falls to the ground as a torrent of water does little to help parched ground- it rushes past before it may be taken in. Satan's wisdom too often finds a place for rumination in the soul. At that point, the carnality of man is enticed, drawn away from the peace of His wisdom.

 

 

The answer lies in the soul's willingness to be a peacemaker. God's inspiration by the Holy Spirit awakens, alerts, reminds and warns us. (Without this empowerment it is impossible to overcome. Satan strikes at the weakest part of our souls.) He strengthens us to make peace (or produce peace in a place of temptation), displaying the fruit of righteousness! Be wise and understand this battle. As He inspires you in this, there will be less ground for Satan to sow his seed! What a blessing to recognize Satan's assault AS he comes to steal rather than after he has stolen. Christ is being formed in you!

The Appointed Time

"Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an APPOINTED TIME; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries (has not come), wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry (stay away forever). Behold the proud, his soul is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." (the understanding God has given) (Habakkuk 2:2,3)

When is the APPOINTED TIME? When the Lord knows we are ready to undertake what He has planned as He would! When we want no glory but rejoice in His righteousness and His way being made in the earth. He desires to "make our feet like deer's feet, to make us walk on our high hills."  (Habakkuk 3:19)

 

We see there was a wide void between what God wanted for Judah and what they were willing to do. Correction had to come to them in the form of the Chaldeans: a bitter, hasty, terrible, dreadful and fierce people.

 

In Luke 17:5 the apostles asked Jesus for something, that He would "increase their (our) faith" after He had instructed them to forgive a brother who sins against them seven times in a day and seven times returns to repent. Sounds like a reasonable, in fact, excellent request. Jesus replies in v.7 "and which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'come at once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'PREPARE something for my supper and GIRD YOURSELF and SERVE ME til I have eaten and drunk, and AFTERWARD you will eat and drink'?

 

One can imagine the strength, vitality and fitness of deer's feet. In that strength, vitality and fitness the deer scales the high hills before it. Likewise, we christians must prepare (study to show ourselves approved) gird ourselves (humble ourself will under His mighty hand and in His sight) and serve Him(rather than serving ourselves). His vision for all christians is that we be strong, vital and fit in Him; for Judah then and the church now. Then He can disperse us to our individual callings because we have proved to Him that we will do those things commanded us. He knows when our soul is upright in us.

The Righteousness That is of Faith

 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, 'the just shall live by faith'." (Romans 1:16,17)

For from the gospel (the written word breathed upon by the Holy Spirit to man's spirit), the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. (Faith in it's purest form is a revelation to man in the knowledge of God. That revelation is accompanied by an understanding of what to do from there, how to apply the revelation in our daily lives. When we willingly obey according to that revelation, we have become a believer of IT!) It is my understanding that the christian will receive little in addition to that which has been revealed until he/she willingly obeys what he/she has heard (that living word that we know we heard from God).

 

When we receive the Lord's salvation we are washed by His blood. His blood makes us righteous, as we heard the message of salvation and willingly obeyed. We BELIEVED and were washed clean of our sin. If the righteousness of God is revealed by faith, and we willingly obey (the works of faith), we are becoming the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Revelation by revelation He is building us up as a spiritual house (just as a physical house would be built). "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:10) Are you still learning what it means to believe? Then, you are still learning what it means to become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

 

"Little children, let no one deceive you. He who PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS is righteous, just as He is righteous. Each time we hear Him speak (faith), and we willingly obey, we are being BELIEVERS and PRACTICING RIGHTEOUSNESS unto completion in Him, being made the righteousness of God in Christ!

He Who Is Least

 

"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but HE WHO IS LEAST in the kingdom of heaven is greater then he"  (Matthew 11:11). Lets understand that Jesus is not talking about the departed saints and their habitation as there is no "suffering violence" (verse 12) where the Father and the Son reign. Jesus is talking about the kingdom of heaven that came into fruition when He arrived. So, it seems, we should discuss what we think our Lord meant when He said that those who are least in the kingdom are greater than he (John).

John the Baptist was an old testament prophet who was integral in readying Israel for her Messiah. His ministry was to call the people to the "baptism of repentance" for "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" or right before them. He admirably fulfilled that call as our Master said again "among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist". The new testament saint is similar to John as we also are born of women. The difference is we are also born of God! Our fathers and mothers made us but we dads and moms in Christ gladly step aside and allow God the Father to reign over our families! We have been born again by God with His Holy Spirit through our Savior, Jesus Christ!

 

Yet Jesus said that "the LEAST of these in the kingdom of heaven are greater than he (John)". If you are familiar with the previous submissions to this blog, you may know where I am about to go. The new testament saint is born of God and should be filled with the Holy Spirit which empowers those to be "witnesses to Him". It is my opinion that the HE WHO IS LEAST in this kingdom is the one who has allowed God to refine out the carnality in his/her soul. When the Apostle Paul said "I am less than the least of all saints", he was informing us that he has allowed God to have His way in him and, as a result, he said "by the grace of God I am what I am and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, YET NOT I, but the grace of God that was with me (1 Corinthians 15:10)". Jesus informed Paul, "My strength is made perfect in (your) weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). In fact, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 is a great example of how Jesus made Paul one of the "least" in this kingdom.

 

It is my intent to open these concepts to you if you have not already heard. Our King, by the Holy Spirit, will breathe life upon His truth and make it real to you!

What I Do Have, I Give You

 

 Acts 3:1-9
 

"Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, 'Look at us'. So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. Then Peter said, 'Silver and gold I do not have, but WHAT I DO HAVE, I GIVE TO YOU. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.' And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them- walking, leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God. Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."
 

What did Peter and John have to give? In this instance, Peter and John HAD a gift of faith from God which enabled them to provide to the lame man a supernatural answer superseding what natural men could provide- perfect bodily soundness. Peter and John received a revelation accompanied by the anointing of the Holy Spirit to bring forth victory! When we HAVE what Peter and John HAD, it is the awesome arm of God rightly ordering issues on earth- sometimes to us for others; sometimes to others for us; sometimes to us for us. It is the inspiration of the Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit.
 

"I will open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." The truth He shares with us is so rich we have to tell others. The anointing He provided Peter and John had to be distributed to the lame man. As we experience the fullness of who He is, He will show us how to distribute what we now HAVE!

These Things I Do, You Also Will Do, And Greater!

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; AND GREATER works than these he will do, because I go to My Father." (John 14:12)

Greater works than Jesus did? Jesus healed the sick, cast out demonic strongholds, fed thousands from an amount that could only feed a few and caused a gold coin to be found in a fish's mouth to pay a tax debt. All obviously supernatural events. Each act amazed those who experienced them; amazed them because they could never have imagined those things within themselves. They had neither the insight, inspiration or power to bring those things to pass. Through the washing of His blood that takes away our sins and the new birth and infilling of the Holy Spirit, the inspiration comes along with the empowerment to do the things Jesus did! We also will cast out devils, lay hands on the sick for recovery and be protected from danger, all in the name of Jesus Christ.

But, He said GREATER WORKS than these miraculous acts will the believer do! 

"Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness' "(Matthew 7:22,23)  The miraculous and helpful acts Jesus did were a sign to mankind that the Kingdom of Heaven had come to men. Those acts continue to this day because the Father wants creation to know that He is! Jesus clearly says that men can do supernatural things in His name yet still be practicing lawlessness. Lawlessness persists only where willing obedience is absent. Jesus willingly obeyed His Father to the death and is now glorified and at the right hand of the Father.

Jesus never knew them because they would not pay the price to be as close to Him as He is to the Father. The GREATER WORKS are those things that we are called to do that separate us from the carnal, lawless direction of our soul; to be one with the Father and the Son who are one.

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses (those folks who did it His way!), let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Jesus, as the head of all things to the church, sets the race), looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God".
(Hebrews 12:1,2)

These Signs Follow Those Who Believe!

These Signs Follow Those Who Believe!      Mark 16:17,18

"And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; THEY WILL TAKE UP SERPENTS; AND IF THEY DRINK ANYTHING DEADLY, IT WILL BY NO MEANS HURT THEM; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  In context, the serpent would be in your hands. I have never done that. I am unaware that I have ever drunk anything deadly. I would say few of you have, either.

A few weeks back, I was painting around the outside of a house. I noticed a number of bees were gathering around the untreated wood on the house, relatively close to me. I was not scared but concerned of their activity. It was at that time the Holy Spirit quickened me to this portion of scripture- even if your encounter is not taking up a serpent or drinking anything deadly, the supernatural protection of God can still be with you.  Having been familiar with this portion of scripture, I confessed it, thanked God for it in the name of Jesus Christ. We finished the job without a bee sting although they were present throughout.

Late summer mowing can be a dusty experience. I was about to start mowing- dreading the dust that would undoubtedly enter my sinuses. Again, the Holy Spirit quickened me to this scripture reference. I confessed it, thanked God for it in the name of Jesus Christ. I completed the mowing, dust everywhere. There was no sniffling. Just one sneeze. No runny nose after. No allergic response.

We have a little dog living in the house. As you know, they go just about anywhere they please, even up on the bed. They like to be with you as much as possible. Prior to entering into God's salvation, I would experience a significant allergic response with that much dog where I rest. I am applying the revealed truth. Much better.

This portion of scripture describes supernatural protection and deliverance- for you and for others. These should be signs to you in your personal relationship with God. These signs will show a lost soul that the God we speak of is real!