Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the NET, netbible.org, all rights reserved)

Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:20-21 (emphasis added)

Where is the Kingdom of Elohim? “Now at one point the Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God was coming, so he answered, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is in your midst.”” (Luke 17:21). If the Kingdom of Elohim is within us, then everything in the Kingdom that doesn’t rely on our being perfected in completed redemption (1 John 3:2) is ours now today. “For this reason we also, from the day we heard about you, have not ceased praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may live worthily of the Lord and please him in all respects—bearing fruit in every good deed, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for the display of all patience and steadfastness, joyfully giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the saints’ inheritance in the light. He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:9-14). That’s what is available to us. Why don’t we as a global body show it?

The power is in us because Ruach HaKodesh is in us and He is the power of Elohim. “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). “John answered them all, “I baptize you with water, but one more powerful than I am is coming—I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Luke 3:16). “And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”” (Luke 24:49). Ruach HaKodesh is the power in us. He is the power of Elohim. Everything the Father does, He does by the Word (Jesus) through whom the power (Ruach HaKodesh) flows. It’s how Jesus was raised. “Moreover if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:12). That’s the power. It can accomplish anything the Father wants it to. Does that mean the Father doesn’t want it to move? No. It means it will move in and through us based on our understanding.

Understanding is more than knowledge. It’s the power of comprehending. It’s a mental grasp. It is more than knowledge. It’s knowing what the knowledge IS. It’s knowing how to APPLY it. Without understanding, knowledge is a fact-based opinion without really knowing whether the facts represent truth. “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding but only in disclosing what is on his mind” (Proverbs 18:2). We need Adonai to give us knowledge, understanding, AND wisdom. “For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). Adonai isn’t hiding anything from us. We can have the wisdom to truly understand the knowledge we have of Him, but only IN Him. We can connect all the dots. We DON’T have to rely on our own smarts and our own accomplishments or our own ability to study and seek. We have access to the mind of Messiah Jesus (1 Corinthians 2:16). It is already inside us. The mind of Jesus is ours. The power of Ruach HaKodesh is inside us. Everything that was needed to raise Jesus from the dead into full, complete, and total health and knowledge and life and victory is inside us. That’s WONDERFUL news. Why don’t we walk in that? We know it won’t work for our whims and selfish desires (James 4:3-6). We know that all things with a name are subject to Jesus and His power (Philippians 2:10-11). We know we can have everything we ask for according to the Father’s will (1 John 5:14). So why aren’t we ALL walking in it? Well… is it WORKING?

The only way to make something work is to understand it. Almost everything that is sold comes with instructions and warnings. The warnings are all the ridiculous things that people have done, so the companies warn against them and anything else they can think of in order not to get sued. The instructions are so that people understand how the item works, and hopefully not wing it and do something foolish. The instructions are also there to instruct people as to what the item can do. Hidden features that maybe they weren’t aware of. To be able to make the most of the product. The Kingdom of Elohim works the SAME WAY.

There is a plethora of examples in scripture showing us the FOOLISH things people have done. One of my favourite examples are the kings in the Old Covenant. Every evil king brought trouble to the nation and bad times. Every good king (there were few) brought prosperity and good things. We have the advantage of looking at it from a distance in time. But you’d think SOMEONE would clue in that the bad kings had generally short reins and bad conditions in their country, while the good kings had longer reigns and better countries. The difference between what made a good or a bad king was whether they followed Adonai. But they often did not heed the warnings. Warnings that were repeated and repeated over long periods of time while Adonai Elohim held back the judgment on sin that was justified and called for. Out of love, Adonai didn’t give them what they deserved until there was no other choice. Until they were adamantly, completely, and totally determined to follow their own way.

We have the same kind of warnings – without the judgment looming because Jesus TOOK the judgment on Himself on the cross. As believers we have been redeemed. We won’t see judgment for our sin. We ARE called to one day give account for our actions (Matthew 25:14–30). Also for our words. “I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36-37). Can any of us hope to get through that unscathed without serious revelation of what we do and say mean? That’s one of the things Ruach HaKodesh does for us. Correcting us. Teaching us. Reminding us about who we are in Jesus. That’s how we can apply the warnings to make sure we don’t step wrong OR do anything foolish.

What about the instructions? Do we UNDERSTAND them? Do we know both WHAT we have and HOW to get it? How DO we get the power working in us? It takes knowledge AND understanding AND wisdom. Wisdom we are encouraged to ask for. “But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). Ask for it while believing. Ask for it while refusing to doubt. It’s the SAME thing Jesus said. “And whatever you ask in prayer, if you believe, you will receive” (Matthew 21:22). Adonai WANTS to give us wisdom. He WANTS us to make use of it. Wisdom in our actions and words will save us SO MUCH trouble. Only a foolish person rejects that kind of offer. “Fearing the Lord is the beginning of discernment, but fools have despised wisdom and moral instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

We get knowledge simply by putting information into our brains and through our brains into our hearts. We get knowledge from experience, from our senses, and we also get it from a respected source of information on that particular subject. The word ‘ABBA’ means SOURCE. Jesus instructed us by example to look to our source in trouble: the FATHER (Mark 14:36). Paul points us in the same direction (Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6). The best source of knowing the Father’s will is the Word He gave us. The Word is the most trusted source of information about Adonai Elohim and His Kingdom that has ever been created. It is a manifestation of Jesus Himself (John 1:1-5, 14). Reading it, hearing it, listening to preaching about it, taking notes on it, and thinking about it are all ways to get the Word in us. They should all be done at one time or another. The more knowledge we have the more it will benefit us. Because when we seek the knowledge, Adonai gives the understanding.

“Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2). Adonai renews our mind. And that is the key to the whole thing. If we don’t LET ourselves be influenced by Him, we won’t understand. If we REJECT what He tells us, we won’t understand. If we do not SUBMIT to what we find in the Word, we won’t understand. It is by submitting in humbleness to what we find in the Word that we receive understanding. We can take the Word at face value. We can simply BELIEVE what it says and choose NOT to doubt it. We are ALLOWED to. When we do, HE will take it from there. He’s doing the legwork. We just need to listen and obey. To confess what we believe in the face of doubt. To ENGAGE what we see we are allowed to have. That submission to His opinion BY CHOICE. That engagement of what HE made available to us. THAT is how we get it working in us. Not by OUR efforts but by our submission to HIS WILL.

The power is ALWAYS there. But we have access to just exactly the amount that we submit to. Not doing that? That’s what holds us back. We NEED to submit (Matthew 11:28-30). It is how it all works. HIS point of view, not ours. HIS instructions, OUR obedience.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 53:3

“He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.” Men would hide from their association with Him. Men would hide from Him in order to not BE associated with Him. Coming to be a blessing, He would again in this way be despised. “Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A slave girl came to him and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it in front of them all: “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” When he went out to the gateway, another slave girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus the Nazarene.” He denied it again with an oath, “I do not know the man!” After a little while, those standing there came up to Peter and said, “You really are one of them too—even your accent gives you away!” At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed” (Matthew 26:69-74). Even Peter tried to hide his association with Jesus. So did almost all the other disciples. They loved Him, but they were frightened and hid from Him. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

Yeshua is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Matthew 16:16b