Ephesians 5:29-30
29”because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church 30because we are parts of his body.” NASB
The enemy has lied to many people, including God’s people and has made them believe that He is not capable of taking good care of them. Satan has them going about being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine that all it does is cause them to walk in more defeat in all areas of their lives because they do not know who they are and that God has prepared a plan beforehand of how He would have them enjoy the riches of His glory on this earth (Romans 9:23). These riches of God’s glory are available to them when they consciously commit to walking with Him and seeking first His Kingdom. The more they pursue God’s Kingdom and His ways, the more they will attract the atmosphere of heaven that brings heaven down to their lives. But this defeat did not start in our generation.
We know from the accounts in the Bible how Adam and Eve lost their relationship with God and their favor which was a demonstration of His glory in their lives (Genesis 2-3). When they were expelled from the Garden of Eden (the place that represents the realm of God where His glory abounds), they were sent to live like people from whom the glory had departed (1 Samuel 4:21-22). This signifies that because they succumbed to the lies of the enemy and disobeyed the command of the Lord and ate the forbidden apple, this act of disobedience caused them to be cut off from the glory.
The earth was also cursed and the spirit of this world (the Antichrist spirit) who tempted them, rules in it because Adam and Eve had relinquished their authority to have dominion (expand God’s Kingdom) in the earth to him. But Jesus bought back our redemption and dominion with the shedding of His blood and by dying on the Cross on our behalf. He took the punishment as the Antichrist and was hung on the gallows (Cross) in our place (Esther 7:9-10). Our job is to enforce the triumphant victory and reconciliation to the Father He gave us at Calvary when He took our punishment upon Himself. And the Church is the one called to demonstrate what Jesus did for us who believe in Him and His work on our behalf, just as it was manifested through the early Church.
Through intimacy with the Father by the reading of His word, times in praise and worship, fasting, and by living a lifestyle that glorifies Him as our Lord and God and obeying His commands, we allow Him to take us through every process that will ensure the removal of the influence of the Antichrist spirit in our lives. Every process we go through serves for our minds to be set free from every stronghold of the spirit of this world in every area that we are challenged. This way we can repent from the mundane and wicked ways we have followed which means that we separate ourselves from the twisted thinking that comes from the enemy of God’s supernatural glory by renewing your minds to the truth of God’s Word as we meditate on it so we can change the way we think that will help us live lives that will be obviously marked by God and others will be able to notice the difference.
1 Samuel 15:22-23 says in the Message Version,
“22-23 Then Samuel said,
Do you think all God wants are sacrifices—
empty rituals just for show?
He wants you to listen to him!
Plain listening is the thing,
not staging a lavish religious production.
Not doing what God tells you
is far worse than fooling around in the occult.
Getting self-important around God
is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors.
Because you said No to God’s command,
he says No to your kingship.
This is what is found in the world and as the result of disobedience to God’s ways because people do not know them. This does not exempt us from receiving the outcome of disobedience. That is because we were created to worship God alone, follow His ways, and serve Him with absolute single-heartedness (Matthew 4:10). Therefore, when rebellion which is the sin that we inherited from Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command exits in our lives, we will see the evidence of a life full of defeat and heartache. Instead, as stated before, God wants us to enjoy the riches of His glory in our lives that brings His Shalom in every area. This means that we will have His peace that brings, according to the Strong’s Concordance # 7965: completeness in number, welfare, wealth, prosperity, peace, rest, favor, health, quietness, tranquility, contentment, peace in human relations, peace with God, especially a covenant relationship with Him, and peace from war.
When we learn to seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness, He will reveal His will for our relationships with others as we learn to love them as we love ourselves. For that, we also need to learn to receive the love of God for us which helps us know how to love ourselves and that way extend mercy and grace instead of retaliation when a wrong is done to us. This also means that we give the situation over to God for Him to fight our battles. The ways of God’s Kingdom for interpersonal relationships is that we forgive and extend mercy and grace, and when prompted, we turn away from every wrong relationship that could cause us harm and does not glorify God in our lives.
Likewise, through our pursuit of God and His ways, we can learn to handle our finances and resources and become givers instead of hoarders. This way we are expanding His Kingdom on this earth with the things He has entrusted to us not only for our own enjoyment, and welfare, but also so we can be conduits of His blessings to others that will help them know they are loved by God and He never leaves them nor forsakes them. He is always thinking of us and knows the little and the big things we need and is always only a prayer away.
Equally important is how we take care of our bodies which are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This means that when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, His Spirit comes to dwell inside of us. Thus, through our walk with God, in His glorious presence, we can be set free from every lustful and promiscuous lifestyle and learn to live with integrity with our spouses and every relationship we choose to honor as we choose to esteem others higher than ourselves. This way we are allowing the glory of God to be manifested through us for them.
In addition, every process we go through, although it may take more time in the wilderness of testing than the world is willing to accept in order to accomplish things it deems important, is also designed to help us make our trust in God and in His Word of promise to us stronger. In other words, our faith in His faithfulness also provides a firm foundation of His Kingdom in us that cannot be shaken or fall like the things done under the influence of this world will when the storms of life come. During those times in the valley of the shadow of death, we can stand firm knowing that we will see come to pass what God said He would do for us because He is willing, is able, and has the power to do it. So as we obey and do everything He commands us to do, He will do what we cannot do.
Furthermore, every yes we give to God in obedience to His Word and His commands, even when what is asked of us is to carry our cross, will lead us to the place of resurrection where His glory will bring the victorious manifestations of life to the dead areas of our lives. But this requires that we renew our minds to the truth of His word that provides for us the revelations of what Jesus gave us access to and how we can position ourselves to obtain it, understanding that we are also required to present ourselves as living sacrifices that represent His perfect will for others to see. Romans 12:1-3 says,
“1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3 I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” MSG
It takes the opposite Spirit from the spirit of this world to walk in the glory of God. That is why the Bible says that we are in this world but are not of it (John 18:36). We belong to another Kingdom that is ruled by the One who is the Sovereign God and is relentless in His pursuit of us. His glory is the atmosphere of heaven and He desperately wants to bring heaven to us on earth. This requires our partnership with Him through our prayers and devotion to Him in everything we do with thanksgiving for such lavish and unending love that chases us down until we can only think of how good He is to us and that He is with us always.
No other god or idol can pursue us with so much love and desire to have us live in His glory on this earth. His love is in the glory. The fire that also comes from this glory burns the dirt and the dross in us brought by every lie of the enemy that made us turn from Him and from His ways through our cultural beliefs and traditions, and other background knowledge that did not come from Him and formed our mindsets as well as how we have chosen to live. This is what happened to the prophets of Baal during Elijah’s confrontation on Mount Carmel. At Elijah’s single plea to God to send His fire of glory, God answered and sent it. This fire removed the blinders that had these prophets of witchcraft bound to the influence of the Antichrist spirit brought by their following of Jezebel, the seductress, and false prophet, and then they could see that He is the only God there is.
God also says in His Word that He makes the simple things of this world make those who think they are wise by the wisdom of this world seem foolish (Isaiah 44:25). That is because their wisdom does not give them the same results that come when we follow the wisdom of God found in His Word or that He might prompt us to follow by His Spirit. In the world, there is toiling and strife, hard work, and lack of grace. It is when we do the opposite of what is usually seen in this world that we get to see the manifestation of the riches of God’s glory in our lives.
When the world says to hoard because we may need the item another time, God says to give because it is best to give than to receive; when the world says to fear, God says we are at peace when our minds are set on Him and as we meditate on His word and promises. When the world says to push and shove our way through the latter of success, God says to serve others on our way up and honor them no matter how old they are or whether they have a title or not. When the world says to hustle around and try to make things happen for ourselves and in our own strength and time, God says to trust Him with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding, and as we acknowledge Him in every area of our lives before we attempt to carry out any new plan or endeavor, He will reveal to us what to do and how to do it.
This means that without walking with God and learning who He is and our identity in Him, we will not be able to see His glory that brings His supernatural power in our lives which defies the natural laws and makes the impossible things possible, makes a way where there is no way, and makes the invisible visible. Only Almighty God can provide for us out of the riches of His glory everything that He knows we need when we ask Him in prayer and do what He says. He will give us the things the world thinks would be impossible to obtain. God is a creative God and His glory manifests the created things we need that the spirit of this world cannot provide or create.
To Him alone be all the glory.▪
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