INCREASE YOUR FAITH - 2

The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith (that trust and confidence that spring from our belief in God). Luke 17:5 (AMP)

Our human will is powerful enough to resist God and quench the Holy Spirit, but it is not powerful enough to lead us into salvation or righteousness. Jesus answered the wealthy young man when he asked how to enter the Kingdom of God. “Sell all your possessions and follow me.” But the man turned away because his will and identity were in bondage to his wealth.

We can use self-determination to be disciplined in matters of faith. However, the Holy Spirit’s presence in our heart is the only acceptable indication of righteousness in God’s eyes. (Eph. 1:13)

To increase our faith we have to understand how to yield our will to the Holy Spirit.

VOLITIONAL FAITH (Your Will)

1. Bringing your will into cooperation with God’s will. (Gal. 5:22,25)

2. Understanding what God’s will and expectations are for Christians. (Heb. 12:14)

3. Recognizing that human will alone is insufficient power to know or

live in the truth. (Rom. 3:23)

Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation — but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:12-16

INCREASE YOUR FAITH

The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" Luke 17:5

I am beginning a new series on how to increase your faith. If understanding faith was simple we would all be like the Apostle Paul. If living by faith was simple we would already be like Daniel or Esther. So, let's make a study of faith, be inspired by truth, and obey the Holy Spirit into increased faith.

I like using the Amplified Version to compare scriptural meaning. The apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith (that trust and confidence that spring from our belief in God). Luke 17:5 (AMP)

This helps us see that our faith flows like a spring or is produced like fruit from our beliefs. As you believe that Jesus Christ is the Truth then you will not put faith in other teachers and you will begin to discern false teaching even if it is subtly camoflauged.

Faith influences and is formed in your mind, emotions, will, conscience, relationships and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Through the series we will break down each of these areas:

INTELLECTUAL FAITH (Your Mind)

1. Encouraged by the reading, studying, meditating in God’s Word. (Psalm 1)

2. Receiving knowledge of the truth and revelation in the truth. (Eph. 1:17-18)

3. Reading and evaluating other resources that support Christian truth. (Phil 1:9-10)

4. Recognize that the soul needs more than intellectual propositions. (Romans 8:16)

5. Knowledge of Christ includes experiences in his presence. (Acts 4:31)

6. Avoid the temptation of over dependency of intellectual faith. (John 5:39)

7. Avoid the temptation of anti-intellectual faith. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; Romans 8:5-6 (NIV)

The NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series #7

The Truth Revealed
True belief in Jesus requires a revelation from God himself. He calls you unto himself by his kindness. He gets your attention by a preaching or a teaching and prayer. He comes in when you surrender a place in your heart for him. He sets before you a divine plan of salvation from sin and death and a journey in freedom to be set apart from the entanglements of the old sinful character in your soul. The Holy Spirit brings understanding to the Word of Truth deep in your spirit. Understanding the Bible by intellect alone is religious knowledge. Knowing Jesus Christ because he has been revealed in your spirit by the Holy Spirit is worshiping in spirit and truth. This is a step that other belief systems try to produce by teaching that you have “divine” power of your own accord. They deny that a huge sacrifice was required to open the door that we might be restored to a relationship with the Divine.

Views of who Jesus Christ is:
Buddhism – Man, Wise and enlightened man who taught similar things to the Buddha.
Hinduism – Man/god, Incarnation of God akin to Krishna, or wise man.
Islam – Man, True prophet sent by God, but superseded by Muhammad.
Mormonism – Man, Son of God, Savior, originally one of the spirit beings that all humans used to be. Has a physical body.
Universalism – Man, Great teacher, faith-healer, "incarnation of God's love."
New Age, Free Masonry, Theosophy, Kabbalah – Man, Great teacher who understood earth energy like other great religious leaders.
Christianity – Fully man/fully God, Incarnation of God, second person of the Trinity, Son of God, Savior.

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. 1 John 4:4-6

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 1 John 2:20

Rather, let our lives lovingly express truth [in all things, speaking truly, dealing truly, living truly]. Enfolded in love, let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him Who is the Head, [even] Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One). Eph 4:15 AMP

THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series #6

A Leap of Truth Through the Gospel of John

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 3:3
In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

John 4:22-24
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth , and the truth will set you free."

John 14:6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 16:12-14
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

John 17:16-17
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

John 18:37
Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me."

If anyone has trouble believing that Jesus Christ is the true Truth, they should ask in prayer for God to reveal this in their spirit and soul. If you genuinely want to know God you should seek him by asking for that revelation even if it takes more than once or over several days. Trust and wait. The Holy Spirit will meet you and make the truth known, and believing grows deeper and deeper.

THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series #5

Live By the Truth
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:21

Let’s break down that verse because it has a great discernment message in it. We will work on the assumption that the true truth, the really, absolute true truth is Jesus Christ and a there is no other way to know the Almighty God-Creator of Heaven and Earth-who loves you with all of his massive heart.

If you “live by the truth” – This means that you know Jesus not just know about him. Even following the Bible’s commands religiously is not “knowing” Jesus, but knowing a lot about him. You get to know him by believing him; that what he says about himself is the true truth. Then you identify with him by making a commitment to form a trusting relationship with him. As you do that, by praying and asking him into your heart, he gives you the Holy Spirit to live and remain in your spirit.

“What he has done has been done through God” – Can you see that? God gives you part of Himself, the Holy Spirit, so that what you read in the Bible makes sense and then he empowers you to obey it and have your life changed by the truth from the inside out.

In other words, you don’t have what it takes in your own spirit and soul,or your own intellectual efforts to understand God or live by the truth until he, the Truth, lives within you.

“So that it may be seen plainly” – This is the value of discernment; that you see plainly or clearly. No confusion, no mixed messages, not serving two masters, and not being double-minded, just living by the truth.

The universal “truths” of Buddhism or New Age teachings would have you become one with the energy of the earth but they don’t take into consideration that you are becoming one with the Prince of the Power of the Air (Satan’s deceitfulness).

Jesus calls you to find your identity in him in order to become who God created you to be for His Kingdom purposes; eternal life with Him. You don't lose who you are but you become who you were meant to be by his powerful truth working in you.

"May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts..." Eph 3:17 AMP

THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series #4

Knowing the Truth

The way that you spot a counterfeit is by being very familiar with the real thing. Then the deceit loses its sublety and becomes blatantly obvious. The same is true when it comes to knowing the Truth. False teachings become obvious, and evil spiritual motives will be detected and exposed without giving in to fear of any kind.

Is there a discipline for developing discernment of the Truth? Yes. Join centuries of Christian faithful by learning to pray the Scriptures.

Here is a place to start:

• Read Psalm 145.
• Make sure you understand the message of praise and worship.
• Pray through the psalm making the inspired words of God your words of praise back to Him.

Some other Psalms to pray through include: 1,23,24,25,45,51,84,90, and 139.
After you work through these you will discover others or portions that are meaningful to you.

Another essential method of developing discernment is to pray through Bible passages that form your identity in Christ. We need to undo spiritual hindrances from our soul and spirit through forgiving others their offenses against us, and seeking forgiveness for known and unconfessed sins. We also need to renounce hindering beliefs and lies that we have come to believe about ourselves. This is called "demolishing strongholds," (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).

Then we need to form our new identity as one set free by the Savior. So pray through passages that fill you with the truth of who you are in Christ.

- Read Ephesians 3:16-21
- Make sure you understand, or at least accept, that Jesus wants to form this in you through the Holy Spirit.
- Pray through the passage and let those words soak into to your mind and heart.

Look at how powerful these verses sound in the Amplified version:
16 May He grant you out of the rich treasury of His glory to be strengthened and reinforced with mighty power in the inner man by the [Holy] Spirit [Himself indwelling your innermost being and personality].

17 May Christ through your faith [actually] dwell (settle down, abide, make His permanent home) in your hearts! May you be rooted deep in love and founded securely on love,

18 That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God's devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length and height and depth [of it];

If you pray through those verses over the next couple of weeks you will begin to discern, experience and know the truth because the Truth is dwelling within you.

THE NEED FOR DISCERNMENT Series #3

Love in the Time of Politics
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 1 Corinthians 13:6

In recent news a pastor in Florida had announced he would burn copies of the Qur’an on September 11. He wanted to announce to radical Muslims that their hatred and violence toward the US would be met with the sharp rebuke of destroying what they held in high value. He did not follow through in the end.

In my point of view, that pastor, was not making a statement of faith in Christ but a political statement and perhaps at the same time making a declaration of faith in a civil religion. Basically what he did was use his position as a Christian minister to voice a sense of injustice. But he ended up reducing his faith to the level of the radical hatred of his opponents.

Here is a look at a more effective response:
(Love) is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 1 Cor 13:5-6 (Amplified)

Note that the word “love” is described as “God’s love in us.” This is a good translation from the Greek word agape which can only be expressed by the Holy Spirit within us.
On our own strength as people we fall short of this class of prevailing, truth-producing, hope-satisfying, peace-making love.

A better response than burning Qur’ans would be to build a school for Muslim children or give wheelchairs to their disabled. The military has the duty through the government officials to confront the terrorists. Therefore we must pray for our national and military leaders. We must also pray for our enemies. We must pray that the Church represent the Kingdom of God effectively and not be bound up by political and personal agendas.

Discernment of truth and righteousness requires knowledge of the Word of God, inspired by the insights from the Holy Spirit, and confirmed in the Body of Christ. That is when the love we express will prevail.