God's Living Trust

 Matthew 25:13-30

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. 14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. 19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 

22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of  teeth.’”NKJV

God is a Living God. Jesus died on the Cross, but He rose again. This gives Him the right to draw Revocable Living Trusts when it comes to handing out His promises to us. This means that they are conditional to our obedience to Him, to His word, and commands for us. A living trust can be revocable because the person that writes it can change or terminate it. 

It is called living trust because this person is still living, and it is called trust because it is a legal arrangement and the grantor of this trust appoints a manager. However, if the appointed person continues to fall short of his or her expectations, the grantor can then decide to entrust His assets and investments to be managed by another because He knows how costly it could be to allow mismanagement to continue.

God is the exact same way with us. Luke 12:48 says, For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required; and of him to whom men entrust much, they will require and demand all the more.  AMP

In God’s economy, there are more multiplications than additions, so when he looks at the fruit of what He has entrusted to us, He looks for the multiplication, the profit, the turnover, the yield, the increase, or earnings. In other words, He invests in us so that His image and likeness of His Son can be revealed through us to others in the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and in the works he has called us to do as we go to replenish the earth, multiply it and subdue it.

For this, He takes us to a process that leads us to our destinies in Him where our yielding to Him continually helps us increase in fruitful works which are the result of our relationship with Him. This way, we live doing as the Father does and saying as the Father says.

But whenever He does not see the good fruit of the character of Christ in the person He has invested in after periods of pruning and testing, guiding, and leading. Then He is left with having to take from the unfruitful person and give to another who has been faithful and yielded to His process to do His will and follow His ways no matter what they had to go through to multiply and increase what was given to them.

Luke 13:6-7 says, “6And He told them this parable: A certain man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find [any]. 7So he said to the vinedresser, See here! For these three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and I find none. Cut it down! Why should it continue also to use up the ground [to deplete the soil, intercept the sun, and take up room]?” AMP

That is why Jesus cursed the fig tree. It looked good and full of fruit from a distance, but looking up close there was no fruit. That is because the tree had signs of a rotten root and Jesus knew that its withering was imminent. Therefore, just like the above Scripture states, why should that tree be allowed to take up space that should be left for a another that will bear the necessary type of fruit because the soil was not the problem, the tree was. So at His word the tree withered up at once (Matthew 21:19).

Matthew 3:10 also says, “And already the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” AMP

This word is an admonishment to stop and take a look at the type of fruit we are bearing. Is God being glorified in us and through us or are we worth going again through the fire of testing so the wickedness and evil ways in us that we have refused to let go off can be removed so we can be aligned with His plan and purpose for us. He wants to use us effectively to advance His Kingdom and what we must reflect is the ways of God, not the ways of the world. By going to the necessary pruning, we will be able to yield better quality fruit.

This is an important time for believers, so let's take heed to God's call to watch our ways and our fruit. To Him alone be the glory. ∎ 

Overthrowing the Jezebel Spirit 1

Esther 1:20-22

²⁰ So when the king’s decree is made and proclaimed throughout all his kingdom, extensive as it is, all wives will give honor to their husbands, high and low.

²¹ This advice pleased the king and the princes, and the king did what Memucan proposed.

²² He sent letters to all the royal provinces, to each in its own script and to every people in their own language, saying that every man should rule in his own house and speak there in the language of his own people…AMP

There are examples in the Bible of devoted women who were submitted to God through their honor and devotion to their husbands as the head of their households. I can think of Abigail, said to have been a woman of beauty and of good understanding, and who before she married David, had already shown submission to her first husband, Nabal even though he was considered a fool (1 Samuel 25:3).

There was also Ruth, who forsook her former ways and gods to follow her mother-in-law Naomi and her God (Ruth 1:16) to the land where she met Boaz, a prominent man of God who became her husband, and to whom her devotion and submission as unto God, gave Ruth an important position in the land and as an ancestor of King David (Ruth 2-3).

But there are also examples of women who from the beginning of creation have tried to usurp the position of head of the house from their husbands. This position represents God as the head, but the lack of honor of these women was one in which through their positions of authority, some could have and others did cause an avalanche of disrespect, abuse, rebellion, witchcraft, and an outright violation of divine order and disregard for the righteous judgments of God in the hearts of all those under their influence.

This time I’m thinking first of Eve, who made an executive decision to disobey the command of God to not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil without consulting first with her husband Adam. This resulted in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. There was also Vashti, who refused to come forth at the command of King Xerxes to be shown as his beautiful queen for all to see. Because her disobedience seemed to have been her habit, this last decision was the catalyst that caused the king to divorce her for he was put in a compromising position in front of all the people in the land high and low. One other example is Jezebel who would not take no for an answer and would murder and steal to get what she wanted for her and her family and led many away from God throughout the kingdom in order to worship her god Baal instead.

These actions were gradually one worse than the other and gave entrance to the spirit of Jezebel in the land. This spirit commands power and authority whether it is appointed or not. It also disregards other positions of authority and threatens when it feels threatened. Submission and honor are the operative opposites of the ways of this spirit—and it is one of the three-part deity of the Antichrist spirit (religion and mammon are the other two parts). Through manipulation, the spirit of Jezebel wants to rule everything in a perverted way and leads all under its influence away from God, communion, and intimacy with Him, and from the ways of His Kingdom. 

Surprisingly, many in the body of Christ are found with different degrees of this influence in their lives which came from generational sins of rebellion and perversion. Under its influence, these people try to manipulate their way through their circumstances and also manipulate the word of God and His timing to get the things they want without fully paying the price required to obtain them. When the spirit of Jezebel is at work in a person, it is to derail them from God’s path and destiny for them. This spirit has also been found causing chaos in the body of Christ to overpower established authority and order and when not detected and dealt with, has caused great damage in the lives of God’s children, in ministries, and families.

Revelation 2:20-23 in The Message version speaks of the character of this spirit and the outrageous things done in the body of Christ when gone undetected. It says,

^20-23 “But why do you let that Jezebel who calls herself a prophet mislead my dear servants into Cross-denying, self-indulging religion? I gave her a chance to change her ways, but she has no intention of giving up a career in the god-business. I’m about to lay her low, along with her partners, as they play their sex-and-religion games. The bastard offspring of their idol-whoring I’ll kill. Then every church will know that appearances don’t impress me. I x-ray every motive and make sure you get what’s coming to you." The Message.

In addition, pride and haughtiness can be found in the Jezebel spirit which leads to the undermining of the admonitions and a lack of respect of those in positions of authority who, according to Romans 13:1 are placed in such positions by God. For this reason, humbling ourselves and not grow weary as we continue to act nobly and do right is important for in due season we shall reap the reward God has promised to us (Galatians 6:9). 

Romans 8:6 admonishes us to live a life led by the Spirit of the Lord which does not gratify the desires of our sinful nature (passed down from other generations and that has not been washed with the water of His Word and burned in His holy and purifying fire). Psalm 51:17 says that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, and He does not despise a broken and contrite heart when, according to 2 Chronicles 7:14 comes to Him for help with repentance asking for His help to turn from our wicked ways so He can hear our prayers and heal our lands (our lives, families, finances, ministries, businesses, relationships, etc.). To Him alone be all the glory.∎

Holiness vs. Haughtiness

This is another excerpt from my upcoming book.

³ “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
⁴ God blesses those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
⁵ God blesses those who are humble,
    for they will inherit the whole earth.
⁶ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
    for they will be satisfied.
⁷ God blesses those who are merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
    for they will see God.
⁹ God blesses those who work for peace,
    for they will be called the children of God.
¹⁰ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

¹¹ “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. ¹² Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

The blessings we receive outlined in the beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) also serve as the balance we use to measure our walk of humbleness by which we grow in righteousness that leads to holiness because the nature of God and that of the devil are complete opposites. God’s children grow in levels of righteousness that lead to holiness. This was established by God when He called the Israelites out of Egypt and made a covenant with them on Mount Sinai saying  that they shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). Also, because God continues to lead those He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9), He prepares us and sanctifies us (sets us apart) to be holy for He is Holy (Leviticus 21:8) to show that we belong to Him as we partake of His holy nature (Numbers 16:3-7). For this reason, we should not run from God’s chastening designed to remove filthiness that keeps us from displaying His character in us. (Hebrews 12:10).

Romans 6:16, 19 tell us, ¹⁶Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. ¹⁹Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy NLT.

This means that we must continually grow in levels of righteousness that leads to holiness which reveal the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-25, ²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. ²⁴And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The opposite of righteousness that leads to holiness is pride that leads to haughtiness. The characteristics of a haughty spirit are, according to Galatians 5:19-21, ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, ²¹envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  

In addition, God resists the proud because we are to walk in humbleness before Him. James 4:6 says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble because if pride is allowed to grow in a person’s heart leading to haughtiness, this person can start believing that he or she can be like God and will start behaving and talking in a defiant way, even mocking God.

One example of someone that was expelled from the presence of God because of pride that led to haughtiness is Lucifer—the Archangel who covered the throne of God with his worship. Isaiah 14:12-15 relates,

¹² “How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

¹³ For you have said in your heart:

‘I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

(to be worshipped and take God’s place in the hearts of the people)

On the farthest sides of the north;

¹⁴ I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

(in the hearts of the people) I will be like the Most High.’

¹⁵ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,

To the lowest depths of the Pit. (Emphasis mine).

This spirit is concerned only with satisfying self at the expense of anything that stands in its way, even God. But God sees that when the cup of iniquity is full (Genesis 15:16), the full measure of His wrath is poured on them who are controlled by this spirit to the point of being cast out of the land (Isaiah 22:17-18). Proverb 16:18 also says that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. This is what happened to Goliath, the philistine giant who was defeated by the Spirit of the Lord which came upon David—a young man that was prepared by God, and who constantly lived before the Lord in righteousness. Goliath was a sorcerer who came against God’s people and defied God with arrogance thereby entering into an unacceptable and never tolerated territory in the sight of God. Goliath was a giant not only in stature, but also in his own mind, and in the minds of those who, led by the spirit of fear, were gripped by the tentacles of insecurity and inferiority and fell prey by believing the lies of this giant in the arrogance he showed morning and evening for forty days. By this time his cup of iniquity was filled, and the full measure of God’s wrath against him and his army was inevitable.

David said in 1 Samuel 17:26 “For who is this uncircumcised philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And in verses 45-47 ⁴⁵Then David said to the philistine “You come to me with the sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. ⁴⁶This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. ⁴⁷Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”

Another example of an arrogant and haughty king that was removed from the land because of his relentless oppression of God’s people was the king of Assyria. The Scripture says that he was used by God for a season, but he thought he was invincible and better than God. Isaiah 10:12-14, 16-17 states,

¹²Therefore it shall come to pass, when the Lord has performed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, that He will say, “I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his haughty looks.”  

¹³For he says:

            “By the strength of my hand I have done it,

            And by my wisdom, for I am prudent;

Also I have removed the boundaries of the people,  

And have robbed their treasuries;

So I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man.

¹⁴          My hand has found like a nest the riches of the

people.

And as one gathers eggs that are left,

 I have gathered all the earth;

And there was no one who moved his wing,

Nor opened his mouth with even a peep.”

¹⁶          Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts,

            Will send leanness among his fat ones;

            And under his glory

            He will kindle a burning

            Like the burning of a fire.

¹⁷          So the light of Israel will be for a fire,

            And his Holy One for a flame;

            It will burn and devour

            His thorns and his briers in one day.

When we learn who we are in Christ, and by communion with Him allow God to train us to defeat everything that would want to exalt itself against the knowledge of God in our minds (2 Corinthians 10:5) so our walk of humbleness is more evident, then we can defeat, as we are instructed by His Spirit, the haughtiness of the enemy and those who follow him to oppose the purposes of God in our lives and the lives of those we are called to influence. When our minds are stayed on God we can ascend in worship with clean hands and a pure heart because choosing to worship the Lord puts us in a humble position while we exalt him above all other things and people (Psalm 24).

Obadiah 17 explains,

¹⁷ “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance,

And there shall be holiness;

The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.

This corresponds to the spoils of the battle that the Lord is fighting for us. Choosing to worship God also puts us in a position of advantage in which we experience triumphal victory over the enemy. Satan seeks his worship in our hearts, and that is why he tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:8 when, after taking Him to the peak of a very high mountain which symbolizes worship, he showed Jesus the nations of the world and all their glory, and offered them to Jesus if He would bow down and worship him. But Jesus responded that only God is to receive our worship and hearts to serve Him. Jesus also knew that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. The world and everyone who live in it (Psalm 24:1); therefore from this point of victory Jesus could tell Satan who is really worthy of all praise—the Most High God through Him.

When we worship the Lord and choose to live a lifestyle that glorifies His name we are being perfected in holiness (Romans 7:1). Ephesians 1:4 admonishes that God has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. To Him alone be all the glory.

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