Faith, Hope, and Love

We the church need a revelation from the Holy Spirit of true Biblical faith, hope, and love. Too many wrongly define faith as what is actually presumption, hope as wishing, and do not consider obedience to be a necessary component of love. But Scripturally, our hope of our own glorification is that we have Christ within us (Col. 1:27). This hope is not a wish – this is something we can know (1 John 5:13). We have no doubt, and the fruit we produce testifies of who is dwelling in us, even to unbelievers (Matt. 7:15-20).

In Heb. 11:1, Paul writes that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not [yet] seen.” If your faith has no substance to it, and is without evidence, then you are without true Biblical faith, and your hope is suspect. Faith without works is no faith at all (Jas. 2:14-26). So though we are justified by faith (Rom. 3:30), we are judged by works (Rom. 2:6), and our faith will naturally produce works of righteousness if our faith is righteous.

Furthermore, Jesus said that if we love Him we will keep His commandments (John 14:15). You say you know God as a King and as a Father; yet, if being a servant in His kingdom and an adopted son in His house you are without allegiance or obedience, then you do not love your King or your Father. I am not speaking of immaturity, but of insincerity, when I say that we are to no longer sin if we love Jesus with true Biblical love.

Of these three, love is the greatest (1 Cor. 13:13), because it is not possible to have true hope or true faith without true love. Love must spur on our hope, that our hope would produce love-based faith. A Biblical hope in the coming restoration of all things must produce Biblical faith – which true faith births Biblical works – these works, or this faith, being the fruition of Biblical love.

But a wish can only lead to presumption, and presumption to lethargy and complaining, which cannot value or practice obedient love. This is a foundational reason why the western church lacks power. We must come back to the Biblical definitions of faith, hope, and love that the Holy Spirit would pervade the body of Christ and that Jesus’ bride would have a fragrance about her that ascends to the throne room as a pleasing aroma.

I speak to all our minds: “All false images of God be torn down and become dust, to be blown away by the wind! Prepare, make room, and clear the pathway for the true to come and take its rightful place! Joyfully receive with thanksgiving the knowledge of God, that we all would, as many members of one body, both benefit from God and be prosperous to God!”

I speak now to God: “Holy Spirit, remove the rubble of the fallen strongholds of our common enemy! Jesus, our Slain Lamb, our High Priest, our Forerunner – come and strengthen all that You have made new within us, for we desire to love You with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength! Father, of the overflow of Your heart for us, speak to us, that we would live by Your every word daily here in the wilderness, from Egypt to the land promised by You!”

This is wisdom:

Tonight at E-12, an end times Bible study group I attend, we touched on a topic that, on the way home, my wife and I discussed more in depth. The topic was on different types, or levels, of fasting, and the differing purposes of each. A speech fast will accomplish things that a sleep fast cannot; a Daniel fast will shift certain things that a water-only fast can’t touch; a one day fast has a distinctive mission that a forty day fast could never achieve.

My wife Kelly, as a nursing mother, cannot (and yes, should not) fast food. But as a mother, she is called to unique fasts that I, as a father, am unable to even sign up for. One is not more effective than the other – we must fast according to the Lord’s will. He alone knows fully of all the varying aspects we are to address, and will be addressed by, as we agree to fast. To prepare for and partake of (and even to successfully complete) a three week water-only fast with zealousness yet without wisdom cannot ever produce the full effect apportioned to you had you fasted as the Father willed, even if the fast He would have had you do was something much “less” than what you effectuated by your own strength.

Allow an example. Someone very close to you, a child of yours or your spouse, has been buried alive. There are a number of tools you have at your disposal: a shovel, a gun, and an atomic bomb. Though the atomic bomb is, without debate, the most powerful of the tools afforded you, and the gun would certainly be preferred over the shovel in some other context, you wisely choose the shovel. The bomb would not save your loved one, and bullets would be useless – only the shovel could bring them out alive.

Something that Kelly wrote on her blog was that part of the fasted lifestyle of a mother is one of pouring your entire being into your child(ren), and entrusting them to our Father, knowing and understanding that His plans for your child(ren) in this life may very well end in martyrdom – meaning that though you only desire that they be safe, you prepare them to die for Jesus! This daily fast does not include giving up food, but your very life, that another life might face death and neither of you be offended at the One whom they’re dying for.

Though this may sound incorrect, martyrdom in itself (when you partner with the will of God – 1 Pet. 4:19) is actually a type of fast, or at least, acts in much the same way as fasts do. At the opening of the fifth seal, John heard those who had been slain for Jesus’ sake, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Surprisingly, God’s reply to them was to “rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.” Only by the blood of the martyrs can certain battles be won. Only by the shedding of blood can there be remission of sins (Heb. 9:22).

So let us always ask our Lord “how?” when He tells us “go!” lest we endeavor lighting a candle in a darkened cave using a grenade. And never be jealous of another’s function, or haughty of your own, but let us bless one another and exercise wisdom in application that we would be unified. Our Father created each of us to be unique, and He loves us all for who we are in Him. As sons and daughters of the Most High, be secure in *your* identity in Christ, and edify others in *their* identity.

In closing, I’d like to share a quick testimony. I have a very good friend whom I used to be envious of because of his particular anointing. Continually I would bring in prayer to the Lord questions and accusations and vows – I wanted what my friend had. So Father spoke to me, and began calling out to me, but He called to me using my friend’s name! I was taken aback – “No, Father, I’m Ben! My name’s Ben!” He replied, “But don’t you want to be someone other than who I’ve created you to be?” And I realized then, by His grace, of His love for *me* and for all that I am, with my strengths and my weaknesses. I want to be faithful with the calling on my life, but I cannot do so if I am not both aware of and confident in His decisions.

Holy Spirit, give us revelation and comfort!

The Lord spoke to me…

Today marks the first day that I have ever gone out evangelizing. I went with a friend, TJ, who is a seasoned evangelist, and quite an extrovert. As a major introvert, it’s not so much that I’m afraid of conversation as it is that conversation wears me out, whereas TJ seemed to become more and more energized as we went along. The balance, I think, kept us going strong throughout the entire three hour period.

We decided to proclaim the good news at some of the strip malls of Overland Park, speaking with the workers of every store without customers, which just happened to be most all of them. I learned a ton from TJ – he has a gift that I am jealous for, where he is able to direct a conversation to his desired end, even when he is not the one primarily speaking! It was awesome to watch him so easily control the dialogue. And while all that was invaluable, without contest the most important thing I walked away with was the revelation of the immense power of a person’s testimony.

This is a confession: Unbeknownst to myself (this laid dormant for nearly three years), I have loathed my own testimony. I see now that I had felt I could only tell a select few my personal story of how I came to salvation, and this only to charismatic Christians, because I was brought up in a spiritually dead church. When I would tell people, I would skip most everything, because I could not imagine prophecy, demons, dreams, or signs having any positive impact on their lives, or on their relationship with me. In the page “My Testimony”, I have publicly shared those parts that in the past I so frequently removed.

What changed my mind? The Lord spoke through TJ, and His words washed over me as with water; then (as weird as this may sound) He spoke through me to me, sealing my heart as by fire. He told me that most people in the world are spiritual people with spiritual encounters, and that this would only continue and amplify as the Day approaches. My King has given me a powerful testimony to declare truth to the darkness, that He would make a distinction between His people and His enemies. And moreover my Father spoke lovingly to me of His joy in how it was that He captured my heart in love for Him and for His Son and for His Spirit, and that from endless ages past He knew me and of how it was that He would pursue me. Words cannot express the joy that my “Yes” to Him meant – surely even the Word made flesh could only laugh and dance! How long He had been waiting for that day!

Thank You, Father, for outrunning me, and for doing it in the perfect way that You did! And for all those pursuing other lovers, get ‘em, God!

Life

Have you ever watched a video of an abortion? (I know this seems *way* off topic, but in the grand scheme of things, I assure you, it’s not.) I am forever marked by it. My knees will henceforth be ever prostrated before the glorious mercy seat in intercession that abortion would end. The womb was created to be the cherished place where a child is nurtured and formed by our Father’s hands, but of late it has become an unsafe house where there is no reciprocation of love from the bearer of the rejected bit of tissue, which thing awaits uncaring metal clamps and suction.

Though the child is without the faculties to give audible voice to the great pain of starvation or of dismemberment, he or she is not totally without expression – babies in the womb feel pain just as they would outside the womb, and react much in the same way. Can you imagine condoning and performing the same procedure to a child of the same age who was birthed naturally? What makes a person a “person”?

Jesus, release vivid dreams to the women who have scheduled abortions of what will take place in that room, both naturally and spiritually. Send to them the Comforter to bring them hope and love; send to them a godly couple who would joyfully adopt their baby. Make it known to them that they are far from being cornered into needing to abort their baby, and then produce for them the open door of escape. Pour out the spirit of adoption upon Your church, Jesus. Together we ask this in Your name that the Father would be glorified. Amen.

The Gift I Gave Gloria

My wife Kelly and I had gone shopping, searching for the perfect gift to bless our friends with, and after quite a long time of weighing our options, we chose and went to see them. We came bearing flowers. This is more Kelly’s love language than mine, and so I wanted to give out of the treasure of my own heart. My love language is poetry, so, I wrote baby Dae a song:

“O Glorious Dae!”

O Glorious Night! O Glorious Night!

The dew on the grass will be quite a sight

When the sun in the morning comes to such a height,

Making known to all the Father’s delight!

 

O Glorious Morn! O Glorious Morn!

The stars are hidden in the sky they adorn!

Angels are rejoicing with trumpet and horn:

“Glorious Beloved last night was born!”

 

O Glorious Day! O Glorious Day!

The sun is ashamed because your parents pray!

Know they love you, hear them always say:

“Love the Lord Jesus, O Gloria Dae!”

 

O Glorious Eve! O Glorious Eve!

The moon in the heavens could never achieve

The radiance of the joy that your parents did receive:

“He gives what we ask when with asking we believe!”

 

O Glorious One! O Glorious One!

All creation groans – we have come undone!

Forsaking all, to You alone we run:

“We give You Gloria as You gave us Your Son!”

 

O Glorious Dae!

No, that’s not a misspelling – our very close friends, the Sundby’s, just had a baby girl tonight! Dae is her middle name, which is Hebrew for “Beloved”. Praise God for this little one, Gloria Dae Sundby! Let her be a lover of Jesus all the days of her life – we ask this in Your name. Amen!

Jesus’ Inheritance

In the previous post, I brought up John 5:17, where Jesus says, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working,” but I haven’t yet spoken of what I believe He meant. We are to be at rest, and the Father is to be at rest in us, yet we are also to do the works befitting of love. Is this a contradiction? I don’t believe it is, for we are not to only focus on our inheritance, but in Jesus’ inheritance. We do not have an inheritance apart from what Jesus will be given, and therefore we ought to be more diligent in seeing Jesus receive the fullness of His reward, for it is His birthright.

We ought to put His desires first, and not that we may receive more, but that He may be given what is due Him. Should anything be withheld from Him? Is He not worthy of our all? He gave His life for His enemies that some might turn to Him in love! But as it is written, “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:14-15); we must be found contending for a sending!

Though I am very afraid of street preaching and of evangelizing (I am very much an introvert and a bit of a recluse) – and I’m sure that I’m not the only one – we really ought to be *more* afraid of *not* speaking. If by our words we will be judged (Matt. 12:37), then it follows that by our lack of words we will also be judged. The tongue was likened by James to a bit in a horse’s mouth, to the rudder on a ship, and by a small fire with the ability to spread into a much greater fire (3:3-5). Sometimes a ship needs to make corrections, but sometimes it needs to stay on a straight course. And I would consider myself, like the tongue, to be “a little member”, able to cause either perfect order or awful destruction. Jesus, tame my tongue!

Father, I *so* desire to be a chosen vessel of Yours to bear Your name “before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15)! My passion is the be “a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for [You,] Master, prepared for every good work” (2 Tim. 2:21)! The fear of the Lord is ever within me, as I take to heart Your word, that we teachers “shall receive a stricter judgment” (Jas. 3:1) – that it is not enough to know of You, or even to know You intimately; no, we must be obedient to walk out what it means to be Christ followers (cp. Matt. 25:1-13; 1 Pet. 2:21).

Holy Spirit, work mightily through us at the parade outreach, that Jesus would receive His full inheritance, not just in those who love Him, but in those who *will* love Him by our words! Speak through us on that day, in Jesus’ name I ask. Amen.

Entering His Rest

Yesterday (Monday – my dates have been wrong) I didn’t get a chance to write as I wanted to, so I’ll write now for then, and later for now (if that makes sense). At FCF Mike Bickle spoke about our highest calling – being a house of prayer. All day yesterday I was striving to have what I had on that Sunday. The harder I tried, the further I seemed from it. I was practically begging the Lord that it would be made known to me what exactly it was that I had on Sunday that I was overlooking Monday. I was sooo desperate for the peace and joy again – I’ve never felt so alive as I did on Sunday. (I had always believed that I was alive, but I now know that I was very mistaken!)

Well, I’ve been spending most all of my time for the past month in the book of Hebrews, and the Lord brought me to chapter 4 verses 9-11, which says, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who had entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” I was so excited by this, because I felt that I *had* entered that rest on Sunday! So what did Paul mean that God ceased from His works? In John 5:17, Jesus comes across as saying that His Father has never stopped working… how was I to understand these passages?

I again asked Him to show me what Gen. 2:2 meant; that “on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.” After waiting on Him, He brought me to Isa. 66:1-2, where He spoke saying, “Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist. … But on this one I will look: on Him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.”

He then taught me that the works He ceased from doing on the seventh day was the work of making a resting place for Him to dwell in! Next He showed me that it is the nature of spirits to seek rest, even unclean spirits (Matt. 12:43-45). God is spirit, and created us with a spirit, and each of our hearts are like a tabernacle – only the Holy Spirit or only unclean spirits can rest there; both cannot abide within the same tabernacle. I was *so* encouraged, because I knew beyond all doubt that it was the Holy Spirit who was at rest in my heart!

To “be diligent to enter that rest” was not what I was doing on Monday – on Monday I was leaning upon my own strength to enter that rest, which made it impossible to do that which I wanted so badly. The rest that we are to daily enter is by God’s grace, given us as we stand boldly before His mercy seat (Heb. 4:16), placed behind the veil, which we enter through to the Presence by hope (Heb. 6:19). Faith without substance is presumptuous faith, and not true faith at all; true faith is “the substance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1), by which we obtain the promises given us and embrace them until we are all made perfect and receive those promises. Daily we must obtain these promises – such as the promise of God abiding in us who love and obey Him (John 14:23) – and be violent to take them.

Ceaseless prayer is violent. Humbling ourselves that we would receive His grace is violent. True faith in Jesus, our High Priest and forerunner, is violent. Obedience to His word to the death is violent. Confessing that we are “strangers and pilgrims on the earth” (Heb. 11:13) is violent. Having nothing in common with the ways of the world, that the world would hate us and not be worthy of us, is violent. Let us be violent!

Jesus, let the lost and the compromising enter Your rest! I ask You that at the St. Patrick’s Day outreach many demons would be stirred from their perches, and that the Holy Spirit would come like fire to burn away all that hinders love. Father, give us Your heart for the lost! And I ask for myself, and for all who would agree with me, that You would even take us (for but a short time – have mercy!) to the place where there is no rest day or night, that our hearts would be sealed and our faces set like flint to bring those not of Your fold through Your gate, that they would be made to “lie down in green pastures; [and to be led] beside the still waters” (Ps. 23:2). Let many enter Your rest on that day, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Realigning my Heart

I spent most of my entire day praying short prayers that God would give me His heart for the lost – for the hopeless, the compromising, and the hard of heart. I’d find myself wandering off track, and by these quick prayers I’d be suddenly thrust back on focus. This caused me to walk out my entire day in prayer. Surely this is what Paul meant by “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17)? If it is, then this is not beyond our reach! It’s actually quite simple and revitalizing. A posture of prayer can be maintained throughout the day (whatever the day holds for us) because our Father desires that we never be without Him. It is by His grace, but He is not stingy to give us this grace – we must but ask, and it is ours freely. To be honest, today was the first full day where I have prayed continually, but knowing what I now know (that this isn’t something only available to but a few), I do not want another day to pass where I deviate from the posture of prayer. My inheritance is to be a house of prayer – a resting place for God – and so as I have been given this promise, and have today obtained it, I will embrace this as a lifestyle, obtaining it daily, that on that Day I may receive the promise in full. Jesus, give me a burden for the lost – that they too may obtain and receive this glorious promise!

White for Harvest

34 … “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. 37 For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.” (John 4:34-38).

Here Jesus sows into one woman’s life, who then evangelizes to her entire city of the Christ (vv.28-29), and when the city stops everything and seeks Him (vv.30, 39), Jesus releases His disciples to bring in the lost and reap souls that they did not labor for. Do this at the St. Patrick’s Day outreach Father, in Jesus’ name! Let there be many waterpots left behind (v.28); forsaken, that they may draw from the deep well of the Spirit and never thirst again for anything less than living water.