God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello all!

Today I’d like to talk to you about the three different depths we can experience in our relationship with God- you can be a:

1.  believer
2.  believer who has faith in Jesus and is thus saved.
3. the follower of Jesus’ teachings- also saved.

The believer is a person that simply believes that God exists. This person doesn’t necessarily believe in Jesus- in fact many believers are of the Jewish faith and they simply believe in the God of the Old Testament. Their Bible is the Torah which is the first four books of the Bible. They are still waiting for their Messiah and do not believe in the Trinity or in Jesus. Their life shows no signs of religious moderation that Jesus taught. If their lives are moderated in any way it is through their man made religion.

The next category, is the believer who has faith in Jesus.

In order to go to heaven we must put our faith in Jesus- His death and resurrection. Remember, even Satan knows and believes Jesus is real but he hasn’t put his faith in Him- he is opposed to Jesus Christ.

This category includes many people and many have varying degrees of faith and works. The best way to describe a person of faith is that their lives are not entirely  molded to the teachings in the bible. You may see the believer attend church every week, but the moment they leave church their behavior doesn’t differ from the secular crowd. You may also see those who are trying hard, like Pastor Charles Stanely states:

although many go through the motions of being a “good Christian” they do not enjoy the power, peace and joy that should come with the abundant life Jesus promised (John 10:10). Eventually the counterfeit Christian life they are living becomes a burden and does not comfort them when the storms of adversity assail.” (pg 1372 Life Principles Bible by Charles Stanely)

Our behavior matters in order to experience the kingdom of God-in other words, to experience all of God’s blessings. And the Kingdom has started with His followers, here on earth:

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”(Gal 5:19-21)

Lastly there are the followers of the Lord’s teachings, those who are living by the Holy Spirit within them.

These are Christians who have studied the Bible diligently and have been rewarded with knowledge and wisdom of God. They are so thankful for the sacrifice of Jesus and His love for all of us, that they have surrendered their life and all their choices to Him. These people have stepped out of the secular lifestyle to follow the teachings in the Bible. They no longer put earning money and having fun on the pedestal of their lives- a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is the main focus of their lives. They have chosen to seek the Kingdom of God first- learning about the Lord and obeying His directives because they know if they do this, God will provide them with peace and every good thing necessary for life. (Deut 28). The person who qualifies as a follower has said: “not my will, but yours be done in my life Lord.” and they have begun the difficult work of stepping out of the secular way of behaving, and into the way the Lord directs us in the Bible. Being a follower of Jesus demands a changed life.

“But don’t just listen to God’s word, you must do what it says. Or you are just fooling yourselves.” (James 1:22 NLV)

The follower of Jesus, realizes that a life that doesn’t follow God’s teachings is a life that misses God’s purpose- we all have a purpose that God wishes to give us when we draw near to Him by reading the Bible.

The person who hasn’t surrendered completely to the Lord will encounter many secular problems, setbacks and sometimes an all out tornedo.

The believers who decide to follow the Lord, will place a high priority on reading the Bible daily to maintain a relationship with the Lord. They desire guidance from Him and they rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to change their behavior. The goal is to have conversations that are ethical, to postpone gratification and to be morally sound- meaning they won’t take part in the celebration of someone else’s sin.

There are negative results from being a follower. Family relations can be strained or fail, due to the fact that a follower will not participate in anything that goes against the teachings of the Bible. Friendships can be lost due to different priorities. This can cause high tension with others. Followers of the Lord Jesus Christ are not perfect people by any means, but they choose to follow the Lord’s teachings and rely on the Holy Spirit to keep them strong in the Lord and the power of His might.(Ephesians 6:10).

“Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.”(Luke 12:51-52)

The follower knows, from reading the Bible, that God highly blesses Christians who follow Him. In many cases, followers of Christ were simply believers at one point in their lives. They participated in all the world has to offer and realized that in order to receive all of the Lord’s blessings- the conditional and unconditional- a person must change their behavior in the way revealed in the Bible. They know that an unmoderated life is a dead end and not secure in any way.

” But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”(Phil 3:7-8)

Having lived all but the last 5 years of my life having faith in Jesus yet changing nothing to fit His teachings, I have come to know that fighting the good fight of faith ( it IS a fight against the secular god- the devil)  is worth the sacrifice.  It’s worth it simply for the peace that God gives IMMEDIATELY.  It’s a secure life knowing that as one follows the Lord, nothing will conquer the person- no illness, financial set back or harsh circumstance will destroy the life of a follower. God is close to the person who follows His teachings and He guides their lives through dreams, visions and a gentle whisper. For an example of how God speaks to the follower, read Post 13 about another following Christian, Dr. Ben Carson. This is a clear example that God works mightily in the lives of people who have surrendered their lives to Him.

“If any of you wants to be my follower, he told them, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?”(Mark 8:34-37)

I hope that you don’t waste any more time before you decide to turn your life completely over to the Lord. All you need to say is “Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins, come into my heart, lead my life, I will make you my Lord and Savior.”

If you prayed that prayer with the utmost sincerity, you will experince the peace of Christ. The Holy Spirit will now start to make you very uncomfortable when you do things outside of the will of God. This is when you have a choice- you can either listen and mold your behavior to it’s leading or you can ignore it. If you ignore the leading, the gentle nudge will get quieter and quieter until you are left to your own choices. The Lord doesn’t force Himself on anyone. The change is hard, but the benefits are worth it!

May I suggest also, that you get into a church that teaches directly out of the Bible so you begin to learn that Lord’s ways are good and pleasing and perfect.

All my best,

Lisa

For more on this subject, read Post 100 entitled “Are You Saved Yet Still Blind?”