Fear No Fear

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

(See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called God’s children—and indeed we are! For this reason the world does not know us: Because it did not know him.
1 Corinthians 3:11 (emphasis added)

The Father had a great idea. Set up a family trust. He would gift His Only Son, who would be the trust. The Son would be able to spend assets where He desired – guided by the Father in all things – and grant them to beneficiaries at His discretion. The Son would have ultimate authority over everything, and let the beneficiaries conduct business in His Name. They would be elevated into the family in order to participate in the trust. As long as they operated as He did – guided by the Father in all things – He would grant them any and all assets needed to accomplish their tasks for the trust. The trust would take care of them and ensure proper assets were available for personal use so no one would be destitute. There would be no limits to the number of beneficiaries who could participate, as long as they met the basic criteria. It would be a self-perpetuating trust with no limits. AND there would be an inheritance granted for those who passed over into the Father’s country. Everything was nice, legal, and guaranteed. The only problem was that not everyone who was part of the trust believed all the articles of the trust. They refused to act like they were beneficiaries. They acted simply as members.

I’m a member at Costco. I have the right to enter their places of business anywhere in the world and purchase their merchandise. I need to show my card to get in. I need to show my card to purchase my products. I’m not supposed to let others use my card. I cannot get in or purchase without a card. That’s it. I am a member. They can’t force me to purchase things. They can’t make me buy one thing or another. They can’t turn me away as long as my card is valid. That is how a significant number of believers operate as believers in Messiah Jesus. They flash their bibles to get into church. Pay their tithes, double checking that it IS tax deductible. They sample the singing. They peruse the messages. And they go home disappointed if they don’t feel a ‘buzz’. Their time away from church is about the same as everyone else’s. Job site grind, meals, entertainment, lovers, kids, chores, errands, bills, stress, pets, and the HOA. Other than the occasional church visit – or even weekly attendance – there is nothing much that’s different between them and everyone else. They’re proud members of the church, looking forward to heaven, and have a mentality to match: same ‘ol same ‘ol here, reward in heaven.

I’m looking to be more than a member. That is ONLY because I have the right to be a relation. We are in the Age of Grace, which has nothing to do with sin. Mercy cleansed my sin because I did NOT deserve it. I was a sinner because I was born in sin. Like an Asian is born from Asian parents. It is part of who I am. That Asian could be born in America and be an American. In England and be English. In South Africa and be South African. But no matter where they are born, when born of two Asian parents, their DNA will also be Asian. We are ALL born from Adam and Eve, so we ALL share their DNA. Their spiritual DNA as well as the natural – which got quite diversified over time. They rebelled and their heavenly nature died. Their dead spirits were sinful. Their nature became sinful. They still had function. They could speak, work, act, and had free will, but they were dead inside and sinful. So were we when we were born. If Jesus hadn’t come to kill us so the Father could resurrect us into Jesus, we’d still be dead. We deserved it. We did not 100% in word, thought, and deed keep all of the Law of Righteousness. Jesus did. By Mercy, He paid the price and became sin and died so we could become Righteousness in His New Life. Mercy. So Grace, then, is the call so that we could be shown mercy AND it is all the rest (Ephesians 2:8-9). Being saved is enough. We already don’t deserve it. But through GRACE we can be sons and daughters of Adonai Elohim Most High. Mercy got us inside the Kingdom. Grace put us inside the Royal Family.

It doesn’t end there. Yes, Grace invited us in. But we have to exercise our rights. Our will must be engaged. The fullness of the blessing is available to us. How much blessing we see the physical arrival of is directly proportional to how much of Jesus’ love we understand, because that is how we see His power operate in our lives. The more we know His love, the more we respond with our love, which is evidenced by humble submission to His point of view, which lets His power work in us because we’re not fighting Him and rebelling and moving out of trust in Him. “that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us” (Ephesians 3:16-20). We CAN have the strength to comprehend Jesus’ love for us – through Grace. We CAN be filled with all the fullness of Elohim – through Grace. The power of Elohim CAN be at work within us – through Grace. We don’t deserve it, but He is offering it to us. Will WE respond? Will we take it? It’s hard to get past not feeling worthy. It’s hard to get past years and years of religious minds telling you that you can’t have it here. It’s hard to get past all the quick-fix promises. It’s hard to see ourselves as He sees us. But it is the key that gets your hands filled. If we are tutored in our RIGHT to walk in the FULLNESS of our royalty, we can have ALL of it.

My youngest sometimes comes to me while looking longingly at the candy jar. After some eye bats, I’ll hear ‘I want one of the candies, but I know I’m not going to be allowed…’ and trails off to give me the opportunity to jump in and give one despite it being too close to a meal. This is how most believers function. ‘I want to be healed, but I know you might not want to…’ ‘I know I’m in financial trouble, but I have treasures stored in heaven…’ And it goes ON and ON. It’s pitiful. Half begging and half being coy. Trying to put one over on the Big Beard or trying to seduce Him into accidentally giving you what you want. Maybe even dabbling with that trust stuff to see if your declarations will get your hand in the Divine Cookie Jar. It is a sad attempt rooted in selfishness. We don’t get what WE say. WE are not the progenitors of this Family Plan. We are the beneficiaries of it. All of us. None of us deserve it. But it is being offered to each and every one of us. Will we take it? Only if we agree we are part of the family – and not that one weird cousin seven times removed no one has seen in a decade.

“The Spirit himself bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children” (Romans 8:16). If you don’t recognise it in your spirit, you’re not listening to His. “So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, because you have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20). We don’t have to stay ‘members’. We can be who we really are. Family. “And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ)—if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:17). Joint heirs. Connected together. Both are required to move forward – almost as if we’re yoked (Matthew 11:28-30). Co-operative action, co-operative words, and co-operative minds. That’s what we get to walk in. It won’t be easy. The more we walk where we are meant to, the more we look and act like Jesus. Those who hate Jesus will hate us. On addition, the devil will try and derail us, frighten us, demoralise us, or otherwise keep us from believing, trusting in, operating with, or sharing the Word. No one takes joy in persecution, but we CAN take joy in Jesus who overcomes all persecution and takes us with Him.

The early church walked with real power working through them. We can do the same. Nothing has changed except our willingness to accept the Word at face value and believe we can trust it. We’ve forgotten we are family. That we ARE what Jesus IS right NOW, HERE, on THIS earth (1 John 4:17-21). Don’t let religious thinking rob you. Have what HE says you can have. Walk where HE says you can walk. Do what HE shows you. Speak what HE tells you. Don’t be derailed with selfishness. You can have what HE says you can, exactly as HE says it in HIS Word. In HIS family, you don’t HAVE to be sick because HIS blood is CLEAN. It cancels sickness. It cancels disease. It cancels mental problems. It cancels genetic conditions. It cancels bloodline issues. It cancels hereditary conditions. You’re in a NEW family, connected to a NEW type of DNA. NOTHING swimming ANYWHERE in the past can TOUCH you – if you know who you are in Messiah Jesus and walk in that. We can have what He says. All of it. He is our generous, loving, merciful, gracious, and GOOD Father. He dotes on us. Accept it. Accept Him. Accept WHOLENESS. You can have it. He says so.

Daily Affirmation Jesus IS Messiah: Isaiah 60:1-3

“Arise! Shine! For your light arrives! The splendor of the Lord shines on you! For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor appears over you. Nations come to your light, kings to your bright light.” Because of Messiah, nations would walk in the light. The Law came to the Jews. Grace would come to the Jews first, and they would be the example, the explaining teachers to take it to the rest of the world. The Messiah would shine on them, and then through them, to the whole world. “For my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples: a light, for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32). “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). The disciples and the apostles and the Twelve took the message to all the world that they knew, shining the light of Jesus for all to see. The nations came to the light of salvation through Jesus. Jesus IS Messiah!

Your Daily Confession of Jesus/Yeshua’s Identity:

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

Matthew 16:16b