Our Spiritual Richness

I want to look at what is to be at the core or center of the stillness of mans being. Like the ancient temple that stood in Jerusalem as the heart of that Nations religious order. It like so many others represented the place of GOD's dwelling in the heart and soul of man. But because man was basically under the slave master of Satan, he could not know or think of the Holy ground that man was in the beginning. Now that is not to say that a few men did not know but as a general rule most of mankind was in darkness of soul, not knowing or even acknowledging this fact, that he is first and foremost a spirit incased by a body of flesh and in that flesh he is governed by sin. The nature and character of a self-for-self god, the prince of the powers of the air, with all its evil desires driven by an appetite that is not satisfied. With that said now I will turn my attention to Pastor Hoekstra and his teaching on Grace in which GOD fulfills His work by Faith and Power and that not of our own. GOD brought man back to Himself as a good father would do for is children even one lost son. By making a way for that one son to reconnect with his father through his love for his son. Then I will turn to GOD's restoration of Life to our soul as the central temple of worship in spirit and truth, making use of the ESV translation. All being accomplished under the watchful eye of my LORD to Whom I will give answer.


 "God Fulfilling the Work of Faith with Power"


"Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2Thessalonians 1:11-12)


"These verses provide another opportunity to reflect upon the central point in our last sequence of devotions (from Hebrews). Therein, we examined the extensive consequences of our walking by faith (and thereby drawing upon the effective Grace of GOD). The good things that appeared in these lives was the result of GOD's fulfilling the work of faith with power.


The opening words remind us of the appropriateness of intercessory prayer for one another. "Therefore we also pray always for you." The following terms are meant to remind us of what to pray about: "that our GOD would count you worthy of this calling." GOD counts us worthy to be His children and His servants on the basis of faith, not performance: "not having my own righteousness, which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from GOD (acquired, apprehended) by faith" (Philippians 3:9). The following words from our present text also indicate that true faith in the LORD results in proper performance: "and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power." GOD wants to fully develop in our lives the good things that His own goodness causes Him to desire for us. Of course, He desires godliness for us. He accomplishes this by His own, "the work of faith with power."


When we trust the LORD, the glorious works of GOD are manifested in and through our lives "with power." The power involved in this process is His power. "Now to Him Who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us . . . To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily" (Ephesians 3:20 and Colossians 1:29). This is the process that is vividly portrayed in the lives we have looked at in Hebrews. They trusted GOD: "By faith Noah . . . By faith Abraham . . . By faith Sarah" (Hebrews 11:7-8, 11). The GOD upon whom they relied worked mightily in them, by means of His great Grace: "according to the Grace of our GOD and the Lord Jesus Christ." Our GOD wants to fulfill the work of faith with power in our lives — "according to the Grace of our GOD." This is what brings glory to the LORD on earth, while reminding us that we will enter into His glory in heaven: "that the name of our LORD Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him." Each time and air plane takes off it turns its nose into the headwind to acquire the lift that is required for it to fly. Will our daily life is like that of the air plane we must have head winds of resistance in order for GOD to lift us ever increasingly higher in our knowledge of faith in His Grace.


Given Life by the Quickening of spirit,


John 6:59 Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum taught many things. When many of His disciples heard them, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit Who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.) And He said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is granted him by the Father."


Romans 8:8-11 "Those who are in the flesh cannot please GOD. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of GOD dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. For if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, HE Who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you."

2Corinthians 3:4-6 "Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward GOD. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from GOD, Who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."


1Peter 3:13-4:6 "Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your (set apart as sanctified in your) heart honor Christ the LORD as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be GOD's will, than for doing evil. For Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that He might bring us to GOD, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, in which He went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison (Abraham's bosom or hell), because they formerly did not obey, when GOD's patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to GOD for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of GOD, with angels, authorities, and powers having been subjected to Him. Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the Will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to Hi Wo is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way GOD does."