Thursday, June 11, 2009

Faith, Hope, Love-Work Out Your Salvation

1 Corinthians 13:13 Right now three things remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Philippians 2:12 My dear friends, you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I'm absent. In the same way continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

We are told to "work out" our salvation with fear and trembling. I know that these words directly from the bible are absolute heresy for most "churches" today because 1. they refuse any notion of "working out" your salvation. 2. The bible says we do it with "fear and trembling" but the babylonian church has'nt been given a "spirit of fear" so they refuse to obey this piece of scripture all together. For those of us whose heart is to absolutely obey the Word of God down to the letter, how do we "work out" our salvation? We are saved by grace THROUGH FAITH.....and FAITH is our "work" it takes FAITH to do the "work of God" which is to believe.

Back to faith, hope, love:

1 Thessalonians 1:3 Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father;

Does it surprise you that the "work" our Lord expects from us is "working" our faith and laboring love, being patient in hope? How can your faith be "working" if you never use it? (parable of the talents Matt 25) Love isn't a feeling, its a decision. Jesus first loved us so much that he died for us when we were sinners. Love came with some tremendous pain for our Lord.

The kingdom of our God is advancing itself all around the world today through the few who are truly "in Christ." Each person is in a different position with different gifts and able to apply "faith, hope, love" in different ways. You don't have to look overseas to find the opportunities to do this "work" of God. How many opportunities for "faith, hope, love" do you have within your own household? How about when you step out your front door and people are so torqued up on stress and fear that your natural reaction would be to club them but instead you do the "work" and apply "faith, hope, love."

Our Lord left the possibilities wide open for us. We are looking for the Lord's return each and every day, but is that all we're doing? Just looking at the sky and saying "hurry up Lord?" I believe that the Lord expects us to be "putting out" as the Navy SEALS call it while we are here on earth. That means DOING in accordance with how our Lord would have us do things. Men tell you to "go to church" as your duty to God. Jesus tells you to BE the church by WORKING OUT your salvation in fear and trembling by applying faith hope, love while we are here.

Our Lord specifically pointed out this word FAITH in conjunction with him coming back for us. Luke 18:8
... But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" One of the areas we apply/work our faith out on a daily basis is for the escape from all that is coming sometime in the future. The Lord impressed me yesterday with the idea that those who take his word for what it is at FACE VALUE will be the happiest in the long run.

If our God said it, and you take it in the most plain literal way, you will be the closest to hitting the target. The bible was NOT written for "christian" scholars. It was written for children. Children naturally apply GREAT FAITH because they haven't had time to be brainwashed yet by the world and its babylonian forms of religion.

Matthew 18:3
... and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children,you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Holy Spirit doesn't have to argue with a child for 10 years to get them to believe what he said is fact/truth when he tells them clearly what he plans to do. There is an escape from ALL coming and that's a fact. That's what was written clearly in Luke 21:36 for us to accept as children.

The escape from all will arrive at its appointed time. While we wait for it I believe the Lord has been speaking to me for weeks on this subject of faith. I think he's trying to get a point across to somebody and I know I'm one of them. Without faith its impossible to please God. When he comes back, if you are sitting around watching the sky but your faith hope and love are lacking, I don't know, that won't be good..I know our master is looking for people today who will exercise GREAT FAITH like the centurion and the woman whose child was sick:

Matt 8:8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

Matt 15: 22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil. 23 But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us. 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25 Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26 But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs. 27 And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. 28 Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

The Lord is going to vomit lukewarm "christianity" out of his mouth at some point in the future (rev 3:16). While the lukewarm church is being tossed, should'nt we be striving to make the Lord marvel at our faith? Should'nt that be the goal? Or is it enough to be serviced once or twice a week by your hired hand spiritual employees and hope to skid into heaven by the seat of your pants? I can tell you this, if the Holy Spirit is not there, you have no business there either. When you go into these babylonian temples and the only life there is the "interpretive dance" and the "christian theatre acting troup" you need to keep looking.

How people can drag themselves around to these places days on days, weeks on weeks, years on years, seeing no power, no mountains moved, no FIRE is beyond me. I guess if being part of the walking dead is good enough then far be it from me to criticize. Once this fire burns inside you it becomes IMPOSSIBLE to tolerate the lie presenting itself to the world as christianity. Something inside you wants to leap out and grab people and shake them.

The truth can be found in your bibles, and on your knees before the Lord seeking his face for yourself without any interloper in between. Most husbands and wives don't invite a hired hand helper to sit between them on dates or lie between them in bed at night so WHY would they pay someone to stand between them in their relationship to the Almighty to find out what the Lord is saying to them today? GET THE MIDDLE MAN OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Faith...hope...love and the greatest of these is love, first love for Jesus then for your fellow man. Who knows how much time is left? Lets be found doing what we know pleases our Lord when he comes back. Let us be walking in GREAT faith, hope and love when he arrives. What does a person have to fear if they are doing these things? John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

grace and peace