According to Your Faith

"According to your faith, let it be to you."  Matthew 10:29

"For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live."  Romans 8:13

"Therefore we always pray for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and worth of faith with power..." II Thess. 1:11

"...looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith."  Hebrews 12:2

If you are a seeking believer, Christian then after a while we do know  completely and understand, from whence we came - a pile of flesh into the living Spirit of God through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ came to dwell inside our hearts - quickening from sin and death our dead spirits - alive with HIM.  The "landlord" of sin and death impacted all flesh.  And there is a degree of satanic, sinful flesh to which men experience.  Some have gone down to the "basement" of that depravity, others maybe not quite down to the cellar, but it's still all sinful and satanic.

And nonetheless, all were impacted.  But now that Christ Jesus has come in, what does He want to do? 

Many things.  Oh so many.  We have to know what has happened to us.  We have to know WHO came to dwell inside of us.  We have to allow His Holy Spirit to drive out "stuff" from our lives, bodies, thoughts, memories that are so contrary to the Person and Will of Christ, the New Man, the New everything.

The Scriptures tell us plainly to be "being renewed in the spirit of your mind."  Ephesians 4:23  Paul admonishes us not to go back to the ways of the "old man" which are corrupt, deceitful and lustful, but to continue on in the things of God so that the new man who is Christ in us, is strengthened in the Spirit of God and in Truth.

The more the child of God discovers the ability and power of the living Christ, the more our appetite increases to rid ourselves from our walk, the fleshly ways of the world, religion, and ways of man who do not have Christ.  And just a reminder:  this is NOT religion or ideas and principles flesh tries to walk by.  If we think this, we still do not understand WHO it is who dwells inside.

The Holy Spirit's ministry to us is to teach us Christ in us, our hope of glory.  His ministry is glorious.  He is the One who makes real and pure the truth of God inside of us.  He is the One God sent to direct us into all Truth and to be led by Him, to be empowered by HIM and Him alone.

The inner man is God's glorious sanctuary within us.  The outer man - the body and soul are in touch with the physical world, the senses, and all that have accumulated through the years.

The Spirit of God's ministry is also to "put to death," all lies, all error, anything that is contrary to life and truth found in Jesus Christ alone.

Our reliance and dependence on HIM is key.  If we do not recognize that HE alone is our the Way, the Truth, and our Life, we flounder.

The one who has the occupation of refinishing furniture takes that old piece of wood and "sees" the glory He can make of it.  If the piece of furniture could talk, we would hear , "Ouch, stop that, don't do that, it hurts!"

So the master of the furniture would say, "Do you want me to get the glory out of you that I already know is there, or do you want me to stop and you go ahead and be that old piece of wood only to continue to corrode and fall away?"

Endure hardship.  Endure the working of God.  For the Son of God already lives in the heart - and the Father "sees" the image of Him, bringing HIM out of these jars of clay.

The "sandpaper" of trials, all kinds of them are working for our good.  God says so.  They are meant to spur us on to continue to seek God and drive us to the ONLY ONE who is able to make us walk and glorify His name for real.

There is no other power but Him.  The flesh is ungodly.  Jesus Christ is everything of goodness, fruitfulness, light, and glory.

So without faith in Him it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God.  It's impossible to really arrive.

Without keeping our eyes on Jesus Christ Himself in us, for us, and to us, we cannot reach the goal Paul said he endeavored to keep:  "To press on, that I may lay hold of THAT for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me..."   Philippians 3:12

If we truly have faith in Jesus Christ alone and His ability to conform us to His image alone, we will arrive.  "According to your faith, be it unto you." 

Praise the Lord, He has given us His Word and His Holy Spirit to know what in the world to believe - WHO to believe in.  So without this close fellowship with Him, listening and letting HIM be the TRUTH speaker, revealer, teacher, and our all in all, how could we possibly think we are going to be a true vessel of His glory?  Flesh can only fake it for a little while.

It started with faith in Jesus, it stays with faith in Him, and will end in faith in Jesus Christ.

Let us know Him and the power of HIS resurrection Life within,

Sue Gaither