Fear No Fear

(All scripture from the World English Bible, ebible.org, all rights reserved)

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ: May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.
Jude 1:1–2 (emphasis added)

Mathing. Not my favourite thing. Weird time and dimensional stuff. That’s what I like. But when I started to begin to understand how something of God was working/has worked, it immediately led to mathing. Can’t say that that thrilled me. Right up until I understood it was HIS math, not MINE on the line. THAT made me very, VERY happy.

Now God cannot violate His Word (Hebrews 6:18). His Word declares something rather radical from a human point of view. “Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). God doesn’t break the law. Not HIS law and not any MORAL law. That’s why He doesn’t prosper us by making money appear in our living rooms — counterfeiting is illegal. That’s why He tells us to obey the law of the land unless it violates His law (Romans 13:1; 1 Peter 2:13). We’re to keep the law to the best of our ability except where it violates God’s laws. We don’t rebel against a moral government. We don’t that a government abuse it’s citizens. We stand on the Word and preach the gospel. We refuse to obey a government that tells us to stop. Smuggling is wrong. Don’t do it. Smuggling bibles into a country that declares the Word illegal? That’s spreading the gospel. It’s clear, but we can muddy it. Don’t do anything without the leading of the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19–22).

“All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been killed” (Revelation 13:8 — emphasis mine). “knowing that you were redeemed, not with corruptible things like silver or gold, from the useless way of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish or spot, the blood of Christ, who was foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world, but was revealed in this last age for your sake, who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God” (1 Peter 1:18–21 — emphasis mine). The lamb (Jesus, the Anointed One) was chosen before the foundation of the world. Before creation the Son of God volunteered to die for us. Before creation the Father agreed to send His Son to die for us. As a totally righteous man, Jesus chose NOT to sin so that when He got to the cross and received OUR penalty in OUR place, WE could be saved. He walked in the SAME WAY Adam did, but did NOT fail when tempted. But it was spiritually accomplished before creation was created.

We are admonished to have the faith of God (Mark 11:22). You could ask why God would need faith when He knows the end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:10) and has total sovereignty (Ephesians 1:11). But Jesus COULD have decided to rebel. He was a man. He COULD have. His flesh WANTED to rebel. “Then he said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with me”” (Matthew 26:38). “He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done”” (Luke 22:41–42). He STRUGGLED with His flesh, not with His decision. It was IN THE AIR but Jesus stood on the Word. Jesus stood on obedience. Jesus declared He would OBEY. He did it, struggled with it, prayed through it, and REFUSED TO REBEL until His flesh attitude matched His spirit attitude (which was JOY — Hebrews 12:2).

Now. The sacrifice was made IN THE SPIRIT from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8). Spiritually, it was a done deal. But it hadn’t happened yet. God had to have FAITH that the MAN JESUS would obey. God took it on FAITH that it was DONE. Because of that, God could draw on that FAITH and take the healing that spiritual act released and that the physical manifestation WOULD release, and heal people. Don’t disagree, think about it. If God could heal us with a wave of His hand just because He willed to, then WHY would Jesus need to be bruised, have striped flesh, or wounded in order to heal us? If God could heal without the sacrifice Jesus made, then why do we have Isaiah 53:4–5, Matthew 8:16–17, and 1 Peter 2:24? Sure, there is 100% a spiritual component of those verses corresponding to our spirits and salvation BUT Matthew 8:16–17 is a fulfilment of Isaiah and it was both TOTALLY PHYSICAL healing and BEFORE the cross. It could ONLY come to pass by FAITH. God’s FAITH was the catalyst for every healing in the Old Testament. Only by FAITH can you be healed. Jesus told person after person after person by their FAITH they were healed (Luke 18:42; Matthew 5:34; Luke 7:1–10) — and again, this is BEFORE the crucifixion.

God’s FAITH did what the people in the Old Testament couldn’t do. Then Jesus died. The righteous man (Jesus) took the place of the unrighteous man (Adam) and paid the price for rebellion. Law was fulfilled. The first Adam was done away with. The last Adam took his place. If we believe in that, we can benefit from that by entering into the resurrection of the last Adam (Jesus) and live. Now WE can access the faith of God. Before Jesus, we had to rely on ourselves. IN JESUS we get the gift of Grace to receive the gift of God’s faith. By FAITH everything is accomplished. By Grace, through God’s Faith, we are saved (Ephesians 2:8–10). We are restored (Acts 3:19–21). We get given Jesus’ Righteous Spirit (Romans 8:10). We are born again (John 3:3). The old has passed away and we are new creations in HIM (2 Corinthians 5:17–21). HE sanctifies us. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:16–17). As we abide in Christ Jesus, we become both the children of God (Galatians 3:26; 1 John 3:1) and His servants (1 Corinthians 3:9).

There you have the weird time/dimension stuff. God did things in HIS dimension before Time that happened in and at the right time which then went out forward and backward to affect ALL of Time in ALL creation. That’s some first-class God’s ways are above ours and we’ll only fully understand it in heaven. We get to have a part of that because we are IN Jesus and are through Him, servants of God. “but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God: in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in pureness, in knowledge, in perseverance, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in sincere love, in the word of truth, in the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown and yet well known, as dying and behold — we live, as punished and not killed, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing and yet possessing all things” (2 Corinthians 6:4–10). This doesn’t mean that we are poor, should be poor, and that’s all we should expect. That isn’t biblical. What this means (or one thing that it means) is that WE don’t do it at all. WE are not the source. WE are poor. GOD is our source. We are blessed by HIS standards. He will prosper us in supernatural — as in WE didn’t do it — ways. That looks different for everyone and there are millions of ways that it can come to pass. It isn’t all super-duper-sized mansions, cars, and money. It means needs met, plus more, plus an overflow which we can use to give back, bless others, and serve the Lord. It means the MULTIPLICATION of things beyond our understanding (Job 36:26; Romans 11:33–34; 1 Corinthians 2:11).

The depths of God’s LOVE. The depths of God’s MERCY. The depths of God’s PEACE. These are three of the things humanity needs most. If not for His mercy, we would be toast because we ourselves deserve NOTHING but death and punishment (Romans 6:23). We deserve nothing, through our own efforts we can do and accomplish nothing, and we can make no lasting anything (1 John 2:17). If not for God’s love, we wouldn’t know what love was. It isn’t a feeling that naturally showed up in biological entities that evolved from some goo and bananas. Anything with life loves because God IS love (1 John 4:19). Those living creatures that love unconditionally can do so because they aren’t burdened with the feelings and thoughts of humanity. We mess up because we look to ourselves instead of Him. Without God’s peace, we would pick up anxiety. We would pick up worry. We would sink into depression. We would sink into despondency. Without His peace that by-passes all those feelings and thoughts, we would be a total and absolute mess. The world proves all this. Some of the most successful people have killed themselves. Why? No knowledge of God’s mercy, no knowledge of God’s love, and no sense of God’s peace.

God won’t give these things once only. We all have the same measure of faith (2 Corinthians 4:13). But we strengthen and deepen that faith on an individual level by hearing, truly HEARING the Word of God (Romans 10:17). If we truly hear (let him who has an ear, hear) we are submitting to what we find with humility. We are letting God be God instead of telling Him how WE think it should work and go. The level of faith we operate in is ONE of the variables (but thank the Lord not the only one) that the Lord uses to multiply His peace, and mercy, and love to us. We can walk in ever more peace (Philippians 4:8–9). We can get knowledge of just how much Jesus loves us (Ephesians 3:18–19). We can get a better understanding of His mercy (Titus 3:5). We will be UNABLE to walk in fear or choose fear when we are focused on Him and being given these blessings. By Grace they are all ours because we are His obedient children. He multiplies them to us and they will obliterate our fear. Beyond our understanding. Beyond our thinking. Beyond us completely. He provides it. He loves us. And He multiplies it to us each and every day. Amen.

Daily Affirmation of God’s Love: Titus 2:11

God’s Grace is independent of us and our performance — THAT is LOVE. He provides us salvation from sin, death, fear, and hell in every area of our lives. Financially, emotionally, spiritually, in our work, in our entertainment, in our schooling, in our employment, in our giving, in our receiving, in our relationships, in our feelings, in our everything. But Grace doesn’t do everything. It empowers us for everything. Faith is required to accept Grace in order to give permission to the Lord to apply it to our lives. By Grace it is ALREADY done. By FAITH we receive it. Faith is our reaching out to take what God already in His Grace accomplished. Faith is how we let God bring that Grace into our lives. “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through whom we also have our access by faith into this grace in which we stand. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1–2). God has purchased us these things. God has gifted us these things. God wants to multiply these things. God’s Grace is there in each and every situation. But if we don’t use our faith to access this Grace, it won’t manifest in our lives. God is the ONLY one who treats us by Grace every day in every way. We need to grab this truth and let Him apply His Grace in our lives. Through FAITH we are saved. Through FAITH we are healed. Through FAITH we are rescued. Through FAITH all the things of God can be ours. Strengthen your faith (Romans 12:2) and APPLY your faith (James 2:17–26). True faith is our positive response to what you believe God has already done by Grace. Apply that faith. Do what He says, when He says, and how He says. Be submissive and obedient to Him. Let Him move and watch what He will do.

Your Daily Confession of God’s love to YOU:

Today God loves that I _______.