Tag: Faith the fruit of relationship

The Kingdom of God Series – A Key to the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God

Chapter Seven
(See Chapter Seven Part Two)

Keys to the Kingdom of God
Matthew 16:19

The Parable of the Sower

Individual Ministry and Fruit

In our consideration of the Kingdom of God we must begin with the Parable of the Sower as it is one of the keys to understanding all of the other parables of which Jesus spoke.

“And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable?
and how then will ye know all parables?”
Mark 4:13

There is a key hidden within this parable which gives us understanding and wisdom to begin to comprehend the wonder, the mystery and understanding to all the other parables. It is here buried within this one parable the introduction to us of our entering INTO the Kingdom of God.

Through the ages theologians, seekers of truth and teachers of God’s word have wrestled with the mystery of the Kingdom of God concerning God’s Sovereignty and the responsibility of man; the parable of the sower introduces us to the very core of this subject. God’s answers are given in such a way that it never fully satisfies the carnal curiosity of man. For there is very little to be gained in the intellectual knowing of a truth whereby we are better suited for this Kingdom, for it is in our hearts participating in Him whereby we are made partakers of His Kingdom.

“And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing”
1 Corinthians 13:2

Though each of us possessed all understanding of the mysteries of His Kingdom and possessed all knowledge we would be none the better. We could have perfect doctrine and be able to speak of such things without flaw we would be considered in the eyes of God as nothing. We must once again reiterate… “the Kingdom of God is not in word… it is in power”. Power to love, power to walk, and power to be the living extension of His Light into this dark and sinful world. Light is nothing less than His Life being resident within us. His life ruling and reigning over the hearts and lives of His Own.

“In him was life;
and the life was the light of men”
John 1:4

It is His LIFE in us which is the light of men. While it is very important to have right teaching and a proper understanding of His ways those things in themselves will never bring us (within the core of our being) to the power to reveal and display His majesty. It is His Life in us which is becoming unto us, The Way, the (verity) Truth and the Life whereby we are made partakers of His Kingdom.

Jesus in His presentation to us of the Kingdom of God begins with this fundamental truth…

“The sower sows the Word…”
Mark 4:14 (LITV)

(To be continued…)

Christ our Righteousness

Christ our Righteousness

“As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness:
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness”
Psalm 17:15

Beholding is the path to becoming. It is in the seeing of Him that we are actually changed.

“But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord”
2 Corinthians 3:18

From Genesis through Revelation we read of those who had one purpose in life: to see Him who is the matrix from which all things come into being. He is the One by whom all things are created and for whom all things are created. The pursuit of this one thing has been the uniting purpose of all who have His Spirit within their hearts.

Righteousness is the vehicle through which we see Him. I cannot immerse myself in sin and iniquity and expect to see Him. The cry for righteousness within the human heart arises out of a pure desire to see Him. The pursuit for holiness or righteousness with any other motive will always lead into an abyss of religion and darkness.

“I will behold thy face in righteousness”

“I will” speaks of confidence and the assurance of one who knows the grace and the wonder of his God. There is no doubt concerning this. This righteousness is the result of a heart submitted to the purging, dealings and searching of His Spirit.

“Little children, let no man deceive you:
he that doeth righteousness is righteous…”
1 John 3:7

Religion concerns itself with words; God concerns Himself with the reality of a life. The true substance of righteousness is revealed in the doing not in the speaking. Righteousness is revealed in the things we do for they are the true expression of what we are.

It is in the desire for authenticity that our true need for Him is discovered. The greater the desire for true righteousness, the greater is our need for the grace to make it so. This is the righteousness of God in Christ for it brings us to complete dependency upon Him for its growth and development. His life reigning in us reveals His righteousness.

The pursuit of God is an ever growing, ever living and ever deepening journey into the life and righteousness of God Himself.

“For therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith…”
Romans 1:17

It is a continual unfolding of His righteousness in us through the development of our growing faith to walk and live in Him. This desire is summed up by David:

“I shall be satisfied,
when I awake, with thy likeness”
Psalm 17:15

To settle for anything less is unthinkable.

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Thought for Today – Hearing –

Thought for Today

Hearing

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,
and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet”
Revelation 1:10

In spiritual things hearing is the fruit of relationship. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them…” The issue of today is one of relationship and obedience. John prefaced his introduction of the great unveiling of Jesus Christ with a glimpse into his own walk and relationship with the Lord. In our daily walk, as we live and abide within the awe of His Holy Spirit, there is an ability to hear the “great voice” of God calling us to higher and deeper places in Him. It is the precursor to the seeing of greater things. A true walk in the Spirit of God cannot produce pride or self-sufficiency; the fear of the Lord is the atmosphere and the very nature of any heart that is alive in Him. There can be no real touching of His Spirit while walking contrary to the wonder of His Life.

“…but to this man will I look,
even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,
and trembles at my word”
Isaiah 66:2

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Truth and Travail – Part One excerpt from coming Book

Truth and Travail

“And Adam knew Eve his wife;
and she conceived…”
Genesis 4:1

Travail is the fruit of conception. While many may know the teachings and scriptures of God’s Word the travail of the mystery is lacking. Conception is the fruit of relationship; deep, intimate relationship. It is a sharing that goes beyond the casual relationship, beyond the confines of religious prayer meetings and Sunday services. It is an affair of the heart where intimacy and love is known between the Bride and the Bridegroom. While a man may have many friends and acquaintances, there is something far deeper and more profound in the relationship with his wife. From that intimacy we see conception, travail and the birth of something new. There is the wonder of a new creation, a separate being which is the expression of the love shared. This natural expression is simply the revelation of something deeper, purer and holy in God’s wisdom (Ephesians 5:31-32) concerning His purposes in the earth.

“And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary:
for thou hast found favour with God.
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb,
and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS”
Luke 1:30-31

This purpose is for all who have received Him into their lives; the bringing forth of the Son in all of His Glory, humility, grace and wisdom. Just as a woman cannot conceive by her own will so it is in the Spirit. Conception is the fruit and wonder of relationship. It is not of the work of men but the result of intimacy with God in the Spirit. Those who do not know the stirring and moving of God deep within their hearts will never experience the conception and travail of His Spirit. While many are content with the forms and appearances of religion there is something deep at work within those who have conceived of the wonder of “another life” growing within the womb of their spirit.

Mary’s life was the means of the very incarnation of God. In the wisdom and glory of God, by means of the Holy Spirit, “…the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”. In like manner that same transaction between God and man has been occurring for centuries in those who yield to the purpose and Lordship of the Holy Spirit. The expression of every individual will be in proportion to the depth of relationship between them and their God. What each of us do with the sowers seed, the given talents and the “pounds” spoken of in the parables, determines the fruit of our lives. The interaction between every believer and God is not determined by what one knows but by how one loves and obeys Him.

It is on the basis and the very essence of His Life within us (conception) that we are being born again as His nature is imparted and augmented in the human heart. This is the interaction of God in man. It is not the result of someone uttering a prescribed prayer or statement; it is the result of receiving the very person of Christ Himself into the human heart.

“But as many as received him,
to them gave he power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on his name”
John 1:12

The power to become sons is on the basis of receiving Him. The human egg within a woman must receive the life of the man in order for conception to occur. This is the Holy Truth of His Life within us. May God open our eyes to the miracle and wonder of His birth within us. It is “not by might, nor by power but by His Spirit” that these things are true.

The validity of conception is revealed by the changes wrought within the life of a believer because of another life living within. Religious conformity will never accomplish the revolutionary power of change that only comes by the transforming life of the Son.

“And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind”
Romans 12:2

Religion is about conforming to a teaching or a prescribed mode of behavior. Living truth is about transformation whereby we are changed from the fallen Adam into the “express image” of God Himself.

The power and truth of this is portrayed in the heavens concerning this day. The Bride of Christ is with child, crying out and travailing in birth, in pain, to bring forth this Holy expression in the earth (Romans 8:19-23). Those of His Bride know this travail. The religious cannot understand such things for it can only be known through the impelling force of being with child.

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered”
Revelation 12:1-2

(To be continued in Part Two)

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info

Faith: The Evidence of Relationship

Faith: The Evidence of Relationship

“…for I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded…”
2 Timothy 1:12

Our relationship with God is not based upon the quality of our faith rather our faith is the result of our relationship with Him. Faith is the evidence in the life of one who is abiding in Him. It is the effect in a life caused by our learning of Him. This persuasion to stand in the midst of great trial, the ability to endure the seeming contradictions of this life, and to remain steadfast in the Word of God, is grounded in our knowing of Him. Faith is not a blind religious belief in a teaching or concept; faith is a “substance” which is rooted in the very character of God Himself. It is the fruit of a heart which has, in a corresponding measure, come to know HIM. Faith lays hold of that which it “sees” God doing and joins itself to Him. For this reason faith can never be without works; God is always working, always moving and always invading the lives of His Own.

Peter sees Jesus walking on the water and feels the draw and the impulse to walk with the Son. A living faith is one in which the heart (because of Love) ever seeks to identify with the object of that Love. Faith is simply the expression of Peter stepping out of the boat; it does not need nor seek the opinions of others in the boat for it sees Christ. The ability to rise up and step into the stormy sea is trust. Trust is the means by which faith is exercised. It is the terra firma upon which a man walks. Men who do not know God cannot trust Him. They may hold a religious creed that says right things, they may mentally ascribe to His Word, but it is in the actual doing that true faith is revealed.

“And they that know thy name
will put their trust in thee”
Psalm 9:10

Relationship with God is the purpose of the New Testament. He called the disciples that “they might be with Him”. Their time spent with Him produced men who turned the world upside down.

“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men,
they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them,
that they had been with Jesus”
(Acts 4:13)

It is our relationship with Him that determines the cause and the effect of our lives in the world around us.

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men…”
2 Corinthians 5:11

Those who know the terror of the Lord persuade men. The cause of someone seeking to persuade men of their accountability unto God comes from “knowing”. Men who know not, do not.

“Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth,
the same shall he receive of the Lord…”
Ephesians 6:8

The cause in a person’s life to do good and bless others is effected by the knowing of God. Those who know not God live unto themselves. The reality of our relationship with Him is revealed and shouted out to the world everyday by the effect produced within our lives. This evidential expression is called “Faith”.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,
the evidence of things not seen”
Hebrews 11:1

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith…”
Galatians 5:22

FAITH BEING THE FRUIT (or effect)
Of the Spirit ruling in our lives

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info