The
Object of faith is the crucified Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ….Romans 3:21-26
NKJV But now the righteousness of God apart
from the law is revealed, bring witnessed by the Law and the Prophet , 22 even the righteousness of God,
through faith in Jesus Christ, too and on all who believe. For there is no
difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25
whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to
demonstrate His righteousness because in His forbearance God had passed over
the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrated at the present time
His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus.; Ro. 4:24-25 NKJV 24 but also for us, it shall
be imputed to us who
believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, 25 who was delivered up because
our offenses and was raised because of our justification, and
then compare in 1 Cor. 1:30 NKJV But of Him you are
in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God----&
righteousness & sanctification & redemption--; Hebrew 1:9 You have loved righteousness & hated lawlessness;
therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness more than Your companions.
THE Principle
of the faith excludes boasting: Romans 3:27-31 NKJV Where is boasting them? It is excluded.
By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 therefore we conclude
that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. 29 Or is He
the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles also, 30 since
there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the
uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then make void the law through faith?
Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.; Romans 4:4-5 NKJV
Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to
him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith
is accounted for righteousness. Also
found in Romans 9:30-33 and then compare
with Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3 3:4-8; Phil. 3:7-9
THE
Nature of Faith is an abandonment of all self-sufficiency and self-reliance in
favor of a whole-hearted commitment to “the revealed “ word of the invisible
God. See in Romans 10:4
for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.; Ro. 10:9-10 NKJV that
if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that
God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 for with the heart, one
believes unto righteousness/ with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
( 2 )
& then compare with Hebrews 11:7. The righteousness
of God: unto eternal life, seen in Romans 5:21 so that as sin reigned in death,
even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
1. Without “the righteousness of God”
which is received by faith in Jesus Christ, man truly remains lost. He is
separated forever from God…..to be spiritually dead in sin: Galatians 5:4 …….2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NKJV 7 and to give you who are troubled
rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,
8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those
who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 these shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory
of His power. In Christ, we are given a new position which is defined &
motivated to practice. In unity with Him in His death and resurrection, we now
Christ are made into what God requires.
Separated
forever from God…..to be spiritually dead in sin: Romans 2:1-16; Romans 9:1-5 I tell
the truth in Christ, I am not lying my conscience also bearing me witness in the
Holy Spirit, 2 that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart, 3 For
I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my
countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom pertain the
adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God
and the promise; 5 of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the
flesh, Christ came, who iover all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.;
Romans 9:30-33; Romans 10:1-4; Galatians 5:4 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
Righteousness
is related to salvation, forgiveness of sin, & eternal life…See in Romans
1:16-17; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:1-2; Romans 10:1
So
when we speak of a faith having quality, what is to be seen? Genesis 28 gives
us details that faith is relational. Genesis
28:16-18 NKJV 16 Then Jacob awoke from
his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.”
17 And he was afraid and said, “How
awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is
the gate of heaven!” 18 Then Jacob rose
early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up
as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.
In the
thousands years before us, oil's primary
use was for food. Olive oil, a high-quality fat, gives the body more energy
than carbohydrates do, and at the same time, it has fewer byproducts when
metabolized. People of the Mediterranean area have known for millennia that
natural fats are good for us, and the fat in olive oil is especially
beneficial. While we might think of oil as just some cooking grease, the people
of the Middle East held a far different view.
1. The Hebrew word translated as "oil,"
shemen (Strong's #8081), literally means "fat" or "grease,"
but figuratively, it means "richness," an important idea to keep in
mind. The word is also translated as "fruitful." Hence, oil symbolizes
wealth, abundance, health, energy, and a vital ingredient for a good life.
2. For the people of the time, then,
olive oil was almost like liquid gold. In fact, oil sometimes functioned as a
kind of currency. When properly made and stored, it will keep for years and
thus hold its value. Biblically, abundant oil is a sign of prosperity
(Deuteronomy 32:13; 33:24; 2 Kings 18:32; Job 29:6; Joel 2:19, 24),&
running out of oil is indicative of famine and hard times (Joel 1:10; Haggai
1:11). In the Proverbs, excessive use of oil signifies wastefulness (Proverbs
21:17), while saving oil is characteristic of a wise man (Proverbs 21:20).
While we no longer attach such value to oil, we need to understand its
importance to life for those in the Bible.
(
3 )
Relationship
was presented but refused: Exodus 20:18-21 Now all the people witnessed the
thundering, the lightning flashes,
the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19
Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us and we will hear; but let not go
speak with us, lest we die. 20 and Moses said to the people, “Do not fear; for
God has come to test you and that His fear may be before you, so that you may
not sin.” 21 So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick
darkness where God was.
1. People were refusing the close
relationship with God
2. They turned to Moses to hear and
then tell them what He said
3. But God came to bring relationship
with those who would believe, walk in faith toward Him. 1Cor. 10:2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud & in the sea, 3
all ate the same spiritual food,4 & all drank the same spiritual
drink.For they drank of the spiritual Rock that followed them & that Rock
was Christ.5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies
were scattered in the wilderness.
4. 1 Corinthians
10:2 tells us that the
Israelites were “baptized into Moses”—referring not to water baptism, but to
the fact that they became united with him as never before as they recognized
his leadership and their dependence on him. So it is with Christ. When we were
baptized into him (Matthew 28:19), we achieved a profound identification.
5. Matthew 28:19 God therefore &
make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father &
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ..Unity with the Father: Romans 6:5 For if
we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also
shall be in the likeness of His resurrection.
And what
was His resurrection? Only those who knew Him saw Him again! And we will know
this resurrection, this taking when raised up. And speak to tell others!
Romans
6:3-5 NKJV 3 Or do you not
know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His
death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into
death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead b the glory of the Gather,
even s o we also should walk in newness of life. 5 for we have been united
together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the
likeness of His resurrection,
1. identified with Christ’s death and
resurrection that we actually did die with him and truly were raised with him,
so that we now share in his resurrection life.
2. Galatians 2:20 tells us: “I have been
crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
Galatians 6:14 says: “...the world has been crucified to me, and I to the
world.” Just as we died with him, we were also resurrected with him. “If then
you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of God” (Colossians 3:1).
(
4 )
Communion with God and People is Given by Holy
Spirit : 1 John 1:3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that
you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the
Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. and 1 John 4:13 By this we know that we abide in Him and He
in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.
If we have not the Holy Spirit in our lives, we
cannot love others in our lives. Holy Spirit enables us to love others! So from our
foundational passage found in Matthew 25:1-13
Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps
and went out to meet the bride groom. 2 Now five of
the them were wise and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish
took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but
the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
5 But while the bridegroom was
delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6 and at midnight a cry was heard, ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to
meet him!” 7
Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the
foolish said to the wise,’ Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going
out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for
us and you, but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And
while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in
with him to the wedding; and the door
was shut. 11
Afterward the other virgins, came also, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”12
But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13
Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of
man is coming.
1. From verse 2 the foolish: taken from
moros numbering 3474 means dull, stupid, heedless, blockhead….likely to they
are not enlightened, do not have the Holy Spirit so they are not born again
unto God
These were all asleep. So no one was awake watching for the Lord!
2. Again God put forth a relation
initiate by Himself. And we keep in step with the Holy Spirit for that
relationship: Ephesians 4:29-32 NKJV 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your
mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to
the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you
were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger,
clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind
to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Galatians 5:24-25 NKJV 24 and those who are
Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us keep also walk in the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV
14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love
of God, and the communion ( fellowship) of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
(
5 )
Looking
at the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), citizens of the ancient
Mediterranean world also filled their lamps with oil. The oil not only burns as
fuel in the body, but also as fuel for fire. Used as medicine, as the Parable of the Good
Samaritan reveals we also see that olive oil protected and nourished the skin
and scalp in this dry desert region. As
we learn from Leviticus and Deuteronomy, God commanded oil to be used in the
consecration of sacred people and things, in addition to its use as an
ingredient in some of the offerings. In
looking at the oil placed on young David the son of Jesse. Oil was placed on
Saul to be king.
As seen, all
the uses of oil and the value it adds to life, we can understand why it
symbolizes richness, fruitfulness, abundance, & vitality. We can also grasp
why it played such an integral part in the consecration of things like Jacob's
pillar, representing the richness, fruitfulness, and abundance of God being
poured out. While the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will certainly produce
abundance & fruitfulness (see Galatians 5:22-23), it is more accurate to
say that oil and the Holy Spirit are often parallel, but not exclusively so. As
the example of Israel shows, God frequently provides abundance without
imparting His Spirit.
When
God revealed Himself to Jacob at Bethel in the dream, Jacob was a lying,
cheating, supplanting scoundrel fleeing for his life.
1. God initiated a relationship with
this cheating scoundrel who was on the run.
After the night of sleep, having a dream and God's words to him, he now
was a man with a future.
2. Change had taken place in his life,
even though God had not yet given him His Spirit. God made promises concerning
his descendants & his safety. He promised never to leave him, a taste of true
abundance through this experience with God, & the source of everything oil
represents.
3. In His visitation of Jacob was
similar to the man pouring fine, expensive oil on a dumb rock: It set something
apart with abundance that was ordinarily common and unremarkable.
4. Jacob had his first experience with
God. It was powerful indeed & a monument of sorts was created. We are told
that he piled up some stones & poured some oil over them & then called
it ‘the house of God.’ Yes, there it is….he had created a very cheap monument
that he used as an example to his great experience with our great God! It was
in the middle of nowhere & was a meeting with God in the quiet place. His experience was something that had cost
him nothing.
( 6 )
In Gen. 28:16-17
KJV Jacob himself said, “ Surely the Lord is in this place; & I knew it
not. 17 And he was afraid, & said,
“How dreadful is this place! This is none other but the house of God,
& this is the gate of heaven. Jacob had not been changed by
meeting with God in that moment of time. He was still Jacob! He was still known
as the one who manipulates by calculating his next move . Was he using his
strategy on God? Genesis 28: 18 tells us
this: Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put
at his head, set it us as a pillar, & poured oil on top of it.
1. That word “pillar” has the numbering 4676 & has the meaning of
idol.
2. BUT another rock was anointed
with oil and that was Jesus. He came to have a meal at the house of a Pharisee
and His feet were anointed for the task ahead. He would be the burden bearer! Mark
14:3-9 NKJV ¶ 3 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as He sat
at the table, a woman came having an
alabaster flask very costly spikenard.
Then she broke the flask, & poured it on His head. 4 But there were some were indignant among themselves, & said,
“Why was his fragrant oil wasted? 5 For
it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii, & given to the
poor. And they criticized her sharply. 6 And Jesus said, Let her alone; why do you
trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
7 For you have the poor with you always, and whenever
you wish you may do them good; but Me
you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could: she has come beforehand
to anoint My body for burial. 9 Assuredly, I say to you wherever this gospel is preached in the whole
world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
Those indignant to give
extra to the Lord that is; as in worship & to glorify Him will in no way
operate in it. She came to do the work
beforehand. She came before anything occurred to Jesus. She came exhibiting
abundance for Him, for His life & His burial to be one heart with Him
always!
3. Fausett’s gives this:the scent held
in this precious oil was like a strong Valerian acting on the nerves….It is
noted that the nervous system makes us who we are….
4. the
most important function of the nervous system is to integrate & respond to
the environment—it lets us be mobile, independent units in a rapidly changing
world.
5. So God is moving on them, on
their nervous system to move for life, to move for victory. The nervous system
is essentially an extension of all the processes that occur in the rest of the
body, but on a much faster timescale. Because of this, the more rudimentary the
nervous system, the less “self”-directed control a creature has over its own
movement.
(
7 )
For example, if in my belief, I
think that plants are drastically more intelligent than humans, they simply
can’t move like we can. A tree can spread seeds certainly, but a human can
literally fly around the world of their own volition. The seeds will go where
the animal takes them, or where the wind blows them.
Basically,
nervous systems are for moving. Things would be breaking open unto the new.
Jesus would bear the sin of the world but do we know it, hear it and obey it?
Is resurrection on our minds when considering His return. This is for the first
trip, for His first-fruits like Him?
As from Matthew 25:1-13 and the five wise and five foolish virgins,
we find Holy Spirit
is valid and important. The five wise virgins possessed a reserve of God's
spiritual richness, fruitfulness, and abundance, which would include the Holy
Spirit but not be limited to it. They had these things because they had an
active, growing relationship with Him. The foolish virgins had a measure of
those things, but they were foolish because they did not have enough. They did
not take the time to prepare and ensure that they had everything they needed to
last through the times of darkness.
Quality of Faith is having an abundance of prosperity of the
Lord. It is the blessing of Jacob, the faith of Abraham, and the salvation in
Jesus! It is also belief in His work: His salvation, His death on the Cross,
His burial and His resurrection. That faith is strength and is overcoming. It is looking forward to future, it is
never forsaken, an inheritance received, that rough places are smoothed, that
what is not seen will be seen by Him, who calls us by name, and leads us in
paths we have not known being guided by Holy Spirit always looking to reach and
touch Him in the ways to see as Mary did.
Quality is
just that. It is transforming you from being the dust of the earth to being the
image of God. Belief in Him who is true always, not sometimes. 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 Amp. Bible But we, brethren
beloved by the Lord, ought and are obligated [as those who are in debt] to give
thanks always to God for you, because God chose you from the beginning as His first fruits (first converts) for
salvation through the sanctifying work of the [Holy] Spirit and [your] belief
in (adherence to, trust in, & reliance on) the truth. 14 It was to this end
that he called you through our Gospel, so that you may obtain and share in the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
There is no “coasting” into meeting with Jesus for when we look at the
terms of the Gospel. It is by holding in that “faith” that reliance where all
our trust is in HIM! Labor is trouble and Jesus knew it
and saw it. He came to bring the Gospel and the power to resurrect dirt. He is
our perimeter. He is heaven on earth where the kingdom is spoken of and seen
daily. We are fixed, firm & resolved to faith, fixed in sound judgment, defending
our faith done in the maintenance of integrity, exhibiting zeal with a faithful
love. Amen.
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