FAITH A SEED OF TRANSITION INTO GLORY!

FAITH A SEED OF TRANSITION INTO GLORY. SOW ONE TODAY!

“The present and future withstands the test of the confession of our faith.”

Rom 5:1 THEREFORE, SINCE we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One).

Rom 5:2 Through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

Rom 5:3  Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

Rom 5:4 And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

Rom 5:5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God's love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us.

I discovered faith as the major pillar where our hopes, trust, confidence, and consistency can lean on. What can we say to be the fate of sojourner in the locality where only the indigenous citizens are legalized to have access to the resources such as food, water and shelter; this could be his greatest risk because as humans we most especially needs food and water to sustains our lifespan. Therefore the courage to survive in such threat of life is called the test of faith.

Consider the instruction of God to Abram, the word said, God commanded Abram to depart, set-off, leave, be out of your land of comfort, your indigenous land, and your land of nationality, your land of sufficiency, your land of dependency to the unknown, strange, and ever foreseen land of independent, the land of non-legalized as a citizen. I sensed the called out of Abram from his own father’s land as means of getting God’s approval of a new nature of existence and which was accompanied with blessing, favor, and eternal covenant, but despite of all the benefits I can’t stop to reason on the changed of Abram‘s national or regional identity, from a legalized land of citizen and turned to be a resident in a strange, you may likewise view it as getting out of a palace to a public house, a landlord turning to be a tenant; whatsoever meaning we may tend to derive for that event will yield nothing good than hearken to the lessons and wisdom in the event.  Gen 12:1 NOW [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father's house, to the land that I will show you.

Your experience is quite the same to that of Abram which involved ‘get out of your own father’s land’ but to you God may be referring to (let’s go of sinful nature, let’s go of fear, laziness, procrastination, complain and excuses, hatred etc) or it may take a form of resource scarcity, limited vacancies of opportunity, rejection etc. Any one of these could appear as a means of testing your real confessed faith. So you need to be sensitive because it won’t come as a friend, hence you need the re-adjustment of self.  Gen 12:10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive (intense and grievous).

Abram was sensitive enough to re-adjusted himself to the new circumstance, he was once in the land where he often get more than enough, but the circumstance in the land of Canaan was not friendly, so Abram has no second choice than to set-off to Egypt where he sojourned to obtain what he needs  to sustains his family and relatives.

Php 4:12 I know how to be abased and live humbly in straitened circumstances, and I know also how to enjoy plenty and live in abundance. I have learned in any and all circumstances the secret of facing every situation, whether well-fed or going hungry, having a sufficiency and enough to spare or going without and being in want.

Php 4:13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

The verse 13 comes at the end of a section where Paul explains that he can be content in every situation. What was Paul’s secret to contentment? He knew that God was with him, whether he was in need or had plenty, was hungry or well-fed, was feeling bad or feeling great. Paul knew that, regardless of circumstances, God would give him the strength to make it through. When are you tempted to be discontent? When things are going well and you have a lot, do you want more? When you are struggling, do you fret and doubt? In both extremes, and everything in between, keep your focus Christ. Remember the source of your strength, and look for his guidance.

1Th 5:16 Be happy [in your faith] and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually (always);

1Th 5:17 Be unceasing in prayer [praying perseveringly];

1Th 5:18 Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].

You might wonder how someone can rejoice or be joyful all the time, especially during painful or difficult experiences. But unlike happiness, which is based on circumstances, joy is a positive and confident outlook on life, despite our circumstances. Knowing that God is in control and that his love surrounds us gives security and confidence. No matter what happens, we should delight in God and praise him for his goodness.

1Pe 1:7 So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested, [your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which is tested and purified by fire. [This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.

1Pe 1:8 Without having seen Him, you love Him; though you do not [even] now see Him, you believe in Him and exult and thrill with inexpressible and glorious (triumphant, heavenly) joy.

1Pe 1:9 [At the same time] you receive the result (outcome, consummation) of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1Pe 1:10 The prophets, who prophesied of the grace (divine blessing) which was intended for you, searched and inquired earnestly about this salvation.

1Pe 1:11  They sought [to find out] to whom or when this was to come which the Spirit of Christ working within them was indicating when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that should follow [them].

1Pe 1:12 It was then disclosed to them that the services they were rendering were not meant for themselves and their period of time, but for you. [It is these very] things which have now already been made known plainly to you by those who preached the good news (the Gospel) to you by the [same] Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Into these things [the very] angels long to look!

1Pe 1:13  So brace up your minds; be sober (circumspect, morally alert); set your hope wholly and unchangeably on the grace (divine favor) that is coming to you when Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is revealed.

1Pe 1:14 [Live] as children of obedience [to God]; do not conform yourselves to the evil desires [that governed you] in your former ignorance [when you did not know the requirements of the Gospel].

1Pe 1:15 But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living.

1Pe 1:16 For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. [Lev. 11:44, 45.]

1Pe 1:17  And if you call upon Him as [your] Father Who judges each one impartially according to what he does, [then] you should conduct yourselves with true reverence throughout the time of your temporary residence [on the earth, whether long or short].

1Pe 1:18  You must know (recognize) that you were redeemed (ransomed) from the useless (fruitless) way of living inherited by tradition from [your] forefathers, not with corruptible things [such as] silver and gold,

1Pe 1:19 But [you were purchased] with the precious blood of Christ (the Messiah), like that of a [sacrificial] lamb without blemish or spot.

1Pe 1:20 It is true that He was chosen and foreordained (destined and foreknown for it) before the foundation of the world, but He was brought out to public view (made manifest) in these last days (at the end of the times) for the sake of you.

1Pe 1:21 Through Him you believe in (adhere to, rely on) God, Who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him honor and glory, so that your faith and hope are [centered and rest] in God.

1Pe 1:22 Since by your obedience to the Truth through the [Holy ] Spirit you have purified your hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, [see that you] love one another fervently from a pure heart.

1Pe 1:23 You have been regenerated (born again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God.

1Pe 1:24 For all flesh (mankind) is like grass, and all its glory (honor) like [the] flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower drops off,

1Pe 1:25 But the Word of the Lord (divine instruction, the Gospel) endures forever. And this Word is the good news which was preached to you.

When gold is melted, impurities float to the top and can be skimmed off. Steel is tempered or strengthened by heating it in fire. In the same way, our trials, struggles and persecutions refine and strengthen our faith, making us useful to God. When you go through tough times, ask God to teach you his lessons and to show you how to use your experience to glorify him. And remember, if you’re being tried by fire, your faith is valuable to God.

Heb 11:1  NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].

Heb 11:2 For by [faith--trust and holy fervor born of faith] the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report.

Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds [during the successive ages] were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible.

Heb 11:4  [Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a better and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. And though he died, yet [through the incident] he is still speaking. [Gen. 4:3-10.]

Heb 11:5 Because of faith Enoch was caught up and transferred to heaven, so that he did not have a glimpse of death; and he was not found, because God had translated him. For even before he was taken to heaven, he received testimony [still on record] that he had pleased and been satisfactory to God. [Gen. 5:21-24.]

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].

Heb 11:7 [Prompted] by faith Noah, being forewarned by God concerning events of which as yet there was no visible sign, took heed and diligently and reverently constructed and prepared an ark for the deliverance of his own family. By this [his faith which relied on God] he passed judgment and sentence on the world's unbelief and became an heir and possessor of righteousness (that relation of being right into which God puts the person who has faith). [Gen. 6:13-22.]

Heb 11:8 [Urged on] by faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went forth to a place which he was destined to receive as an inheritance; and he went, although he did not know or trouble his mind about where he was to go.

Heb 11:9 [Prompted] by faith he dwelt as a temporary resident in the land which was designated in the promise [of God, though he was like a stranger] in a strange country, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs with him of the same promise. [Gen. 12:1-8.]

Heb 11:10 For he was [waiting expectantly and confidently] looking forward to the city which has fixed and firm foundations, whose Architect and Builder is God.

Heb 11:11  Because of faith also Sarah herself received physical power to conceive a child, even when she was long past the age for it, because she considered [God] Who had given her the promise to be reliable and trustworthy and true to His word. [Gen. 17:19; 18:11-14; 21:2.]

Heb 11:12 So from one man, though he was physically as good as dead, there have sprung descendants whose number is as the stars of heaven and as countless as the innumerable sands on the seashore. [Gen. 15:5, 6; 22:17; 32:12.]

Heb 11:13  These people all died controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the tangible fulfillment of [God's] promises, only having seen it and greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that they were strangers and temporary residents and exiles upon the earth. [Gen. 23:4; Ps. 39:12.]

Heb 11:14 Now those people who talk as they did show plainly that they are in search of a fatherland (their own country).

Heb 11:15 If they had been thinking with [homesick] remembrance of that country from which they were emigrants, they would have found constant opportunity to return to it.

Heb 11:16 But the truth is that they were yearning for and aspiring to a better and more desirable country, that is, a heavenly [one]. For that reason God is not ashamed to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God--the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], for He has prepared a city for them. [Exod. 3:6, 15; 4:5.]

Heb 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was put to the test [while the testing of his faith was still in progress], had already brought Isaac for an offering; he who had gladly received and welcomed [God's] promises was ready to sacrifice his only son, [Gen. 22:1-10.]

Heb 11:18  Of whom it was said, Through Isaac shall your descendants be reckoned. [Gen. 21:12.]

Heb 11:19 For he reasoned that God was able to raise [him] up even from among the dead. Indeed in the sense that Isaac was figuratively dead [potentially sacrificed], he did [actually] receive him back from the dead.

Heb 11:20 [With eyes of] faith Isaac, looking far into the future, invoked blessings upon Jacob and Esau. [Gen. 27:27-29, 39, 40.]

Heb 11:21  [Prompted] by faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph's sons and bowed in prayer over the top of his staff. [Gen. 48.]

Heb 11:22 [Actuated] by faith Joseph, when nearing the end of his life, referred to [the promise of God for] the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his own bones. [Gen. 50:24, 25; Exod. 13:19.]

Heb 11:23 [Prompted] by faith Moses, after his birth, was kept concealed for three months by his parents, because they saw how comely the child was; and they were not overawed and terrified by the king's decree. [Exod. 1:22; 2:2.]

Heb 11:24 [Aroused] by faith Moses, when he had grown to maturity and become great, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, [Exod. 2:10, 15.]

Heb 11:25 Because he preferred to share the oppression [suffer the hardships] and bear the shame of the people of God rather than to have the fleeting enjoyment of a sinful life.

Heb 11:26 He considered the contempt and abuse and shame [borne for] the Christ (the Messiah Who was to come) to be greater wealth than all the treasures of Egypt, for he looked forward and away to the reward (recompense).

Heb 11:27  [Motivated] by faith he left Egypt behind him, being unawed and undismayed by the wrath of the king; for he never flinched but held staunchly to his purpose and endured steadfastly as one who gazed on Him Who is invisible. [Exod. 2:15.]

Heb 11:28 By faith (simple trust and confidence in God) he instituted and carried out the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood [on the doorposts], so that the destroyer of the firstborn (the angel) might not touch those [of the children of Israel]. [Exod. 12:21-30.]

Heb 11:29  [Urged on] by faith the people crossed the Red Sea as [though] on dry land, but when the Egyptians tried to do the same thing they were swallowed up [by the sea]. [Exod. 14:21-31.]

Heb 11:30 Because of faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encompassed for seven days [by the Israelites]. [Josh. 6:12-21.]

Heb 11:31  [Prompted] by faith Rahab the prostitute was not destroyed along with those who refused to believe and obey, because she had received the spies in peace [without enmity]. [Josh. 2:1-21; 6:22-25.]

Heb 11:32 And what shall I say further? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, [Judg. 4:1-5; 6:1-8, 35; 11:1-12, 15; 13:1-16; I Sam. 1-30; II Sam. 1-24; I Kings 1-2; Acts 3:24.]

Heb 11:33 Who by [the help of] faith subdued kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promised blessings, closed the mouths of lions, [Dan. 6.]

Heb 11:34  Extinguished the power of raging fire, escaped the devourings of the sword, out of frailty and weakness won strength and became stalwart, even mighty and resistless in battle, routing alien hosts. [Dan. 3.]

Heb 11:35  [Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life. [I Kings 17:17-24; II Kings 4:25-37.]

Heb 11:36  Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment.

Heb 11:37  They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated--

Heb 11:38 [Men] of whom the world was not worthy--roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth.

Heb 11:39 And all of these, though they won divine approval by [means of] their faith, did not receive the fulfillment of what was promised,

Heb 11:40  Because God had us in mind and had something better and greater in view for us, so that they [these heroes and heroines of faith] should not come to perfection apart from us [before we could join them].

It is necessary to have a good start in all our daily encounters, the challenges we faced prepared us for a greater opportunity. All matters and materials we are benefiting from today were once raw materials on process before they became the end products that was extracted out. Likewise we need to pass through the process (preparation stage) that will yield a capable and useful individual in the community. Faith could be smaller than a mustard seed but it could build a great nation and family; it is faith that transit poverty to riches, Move Mountain, heals sickness etc.

I wish you best of February, Happy New Month! Shalom!

© Peter David (Destiny Empower)