If you are NOT happy today – you will never be happy!

No Joy In Your Salvation?

Now I know that some of you walk in joy almost daily.  My good friend Emmanuel has talked about GOD’S Joy on numerous occasions.

It was the joy of the LORD that freed some of those in our home fellowship from drugs and addictions.

Hopefully I can show you a trick/ or trap of the enemy that has been used on me (and
all of you) countless times before – robbing you of joy and fulfillment.

Let me say it again, that if you have no (or little) joy today – you will never have more.

It won’t get better! Because you need a revelation of Joy – now!

Why is that? And I thought this was going to be good news? I hear some of you ask.

Hang in there – it gets better - way better! Remember we are talking about Joy and the solution to your joyless problem.

You see, many of you have been hoodwinked (tricked) into a lie that the devil has used millions of times and you are his next victim

Here is the normal Christian life according to Romans 5 : 2-4 (AMP – which means Amplified Version)

2Through Him (JESUS) also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God's favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.

3Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.

4And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation.

Breaking it all down:

We enter into this state of GOD’S favor (GRACE) and walking in this LOVE we firmly and safely stand. (See verse 2). Eric’s thoughts: “That’s good, I want to safely stand!”

Because we (experience and understand) this great GRACE we are full of Joy now – exulting and triumphing and rejoicing in our sufferings. (Verse 3)

Eric’s thoughts: “Hmm, full of Joy now”.

This pressure we are experiencing, if we see JESUS only does something good for us (not for the world) but for us.

Here it is:

It produces in us HIS Character and puts us in habitual joy and confidence (in our GOD who gives us HIS LIFE every day, not death but LIFE).(verse 4)

Ok so that is all nice and good, but how where is this trap? And how does it play out in my life? I’m still depressed and cranky!

Note: depressed and cranky is not a fruit of the SPIRIT (see Galatians 5).

In the Garden of Eden when the enemy tempted Eve (remember it says that Eve was deceived not Adam).

For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.  1 Timothy 2: 13-14

There are 2 things I wish to point out, hopefully you get it and perhaps by the SPIRIT HE can bring us all further into it.

One is a minor point (sidebar thought) the other is the main point. Note: this sidebar point I need more revelation on this all just came to me as I write, but there is meat here.

Minor (Sidebar) Point:

(new revelation I just received as I’m writing this main message to you)

First Eve was deceived not Adam. So Adam didn’t sin at first and not by deception but willingly. Do you remember the Bible talks about willful sin?

She was deceived (not him), he couldn’t live without her (they were part of each other) and so willingly sinned to be with her.

Adam wasn’t tricked here or deceived but he still sinned but in a different way.

(more on this later). .

There is a difference between being deceived in sin and willful sin, I don’t know more to say about this yet, (as this is new to me) but the SPIRIT teaches us all things. John 14:26

Boy I can hear this discussion already started.

Back to the Main point:

The devil’s trap is to deceive and tell you what you think you are lacking. “if you eat this fruit you will become like GOD, knowing good and evil”. He says. Genesis 3:5

She was already made as a daughter of GOD and she had everything and lacked nothing in the garden – which is now you (inside you) the secret kingdom.

“No”, came the lie, you need this revelation and your eyes will be opened and will become like GOD. The implication is that you are not all there yet, you are not truly fulfilled – lacking so, no real joy.

But we know that when we have HIM (JESUS) we have access to DAD (GOD) for everything. We are in the same place as Adam and Eve.

Romans 8:32 says “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”

Here is the trap.

If you see only what you lack, then you are looking with natural (carnal minded eyes), eyes of flesh and that has nothing to do with faith.

Faith only sees what GOD has said, and promised and it trusts that this JESUS who loves me, heard my prayer and is working all this for my good.

But if you are looking to something (longing for something) and want it so bad, you are not seeing that all things are yours already. You believe a lie that only if I had this ________________ (you name it) thing/person, then I will be happy, you say to yourself.

It is all future happiness, joy someday when this ___________(something) happens.

WRONG and you are chasing a lie!

You then make wrong, rash decisions – suffering the consequences. You get hurt over and over again.

You are allowing your carnal mind (flesh) to dictate to you what you need, and not the SPIRIT which delights in GOD and puts to death the carnal mind.

Once you get the thing, (if you even get it at all) it doesn’t satisfy (like the forbidden fruit) and you fall further from the provision of GOD and certainly are not operating in any faith. Its crushing you.

Without Faith it is impossible to please GOD. Hebrews 11:6

Adam and Eve took the forbidden fruit.

Abraham went another way to have children – not trusting GOD.

Only Joshua and Caleb saw the Promised Land the way GOD saw it – the other 10 spies died on the spot of a plaque. Numbers 14:36-37

Peter took his eyes off JESUS and to the wind and waves and started to drown.

Get it?

Always wanting and never taking by faith what is already yours.

One state will leave you dry and frustrated and zero answers to prayer.

The other place will leave you refreshed, and full of joy with all your prayers answered.

Always lacking never satisfied.

Or Always satisfied never lacking?

Stop being hoodwinked.

Start recognizing that all things are yours, and that you are blessed NOW! (see 1 Corinthians 3:21 and John 17:10)

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

Who wants fullness of Joy in their life? Psalm 16:11

Who wants some Great Gain in their life?

I for one do!

You won’t get abundant life in the Kingdom listening to lies and telling GOD you are not happy with this GIFT of LIFE that HE has given you.

Let me close by this question to you:

How many of you feel real good, when you give someone else a gift (or a child a gift) and they open it and toss it aside?

How does that make you feel?

Your life is a gift.

This Christian LIFE is a gift – JESUS LIFE is a gift!

Prayer:

Thank you DAD that I have YOU, and that you never leave me, and you are in me, working through me in your great LOVE.

Pour Your LOVE through me, that I can refresh others today – thus refreshing YOU (giving to you, through giving to the least).

Thank you that I have a home and food and family and friends and all your promises that are IN JESUS who is IN me and I in HIM.

I choose to see YOU at work here, and rejoice that this is working for my good, as only good comes from you and I have you – amen.

The Gift, The Giver & A Hand Held Massager Machine

A gift opens the way for the giver
And brings him before great men
Proverbs 18:16

The other day, my youngest son brought in to my home office, one of those
hand held personal massaging units. And before I knew it, I was being treated
to a very nice back massage as I was working on my computer answering emails and writing this blog.

I also knew one more thing.

I knew that my son, wanted to play this 'certain computer game', and that to
put me in the right frame of mind (for his sake), he would give me a gift, and it would
be this back massage.

But without ever asking me, "Dad, I want to go on the computer and play this new game, can it?".

Now just so you know, we semi-control the video games being played in our home. It is treated much like a movie or TV. Its done after we get our work done, as a reward, not as anything else. And believe me, when I tell you, that my wife still thinks they play too much. Its just that, we don't allow them to just go on 'anytime' they feel.
So, as he is giving me a very relaxing massage, the LORD reminds me of this scripture that "the gift opens the way of the giver". As mentioned above.

So, I explained to him that children often think of gifts as some wrapped present under the Christmas tree, or on a birthday. But really the gift is another word for GRACE, and it is anything done or given freely (undeserved to the other).

And when its given in love (not trying to really create a direct effect) not forcing anything, it opens the way! If you are in an impossible place or predicament. Or if you feel the way is closed, but you wish it could be opened.  Struggling for some kind of break through - try love.

NOTE: there is a genuine gift and then there is a bribe which is not love and not what we are promoting here.  Catch the flow of this and you will open the doors to greater things.
Note: this isn't a 'do this and get that', 2 step program. NO a thousand times NO. When a Mother gives her child a birthday gift, she is not expecting another gift back. But she has opened the way between Mother and child some more hasn't she?
Just like our son, he does it out of love for Dad here, but it also opens the way for him too. If the way was perhaps a bit closed, well that little old massage didn't hurt any, did it?

It sure made my back feel better!

And if you ask the LORD, where to give, to help open the way (HIS WAY) for HE is the WAY, then you are asking a great thing, and it opens the way for greater miracles.

You can ask the LORD to supply you something to give.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10

-eric

Zeal!

Once we begin to understand that the Church is a "called out people" and not a building or business or institution, we start to really relish our times of 'fellowship' we have with fellow brothers and sisters. I would say these are 3 prominent things (about Home Church):
1) we learn lots!
2) we laugh hard!
3) we eat (sometimes too much)

But how does this relate to zeal?
"Zeal for your house consumes me" John 2:17
As we have been enjoying 'house church' or what some call 'simple or organic church' for many years, we have learned that GOD'S house is in each of us - in one another.

Lately, however, the LORD has been placing on my heart this word "zeal".

In our Home Fellowship, we've seen most brothers and sisters stay together and grow together - its a wonderful thing!  But we've seen some that have come and gone, or wandered away and others that stay but don't ever seem to 'get it' like many of the others.

Why?

Zeal.

We get the word 'Zeal' from the 'Zeo' meaning 'to boil'.

When you are zealous, you have too words that go together "passion and commitment" = zeal.
It's when you realize how much 'in love' you are, and 'how important this is in your life', you have zeal. 

Now admittedly when we think of boiling over, we think of someone blowing off steam, or very angry.  And that can be zeal too.  Remember JESUS throwing out the buyers and sellers in the temple?  HE (JESUS) was angry - and this is where the zeal word comes in.

Now remember its not 'anger' means 'zeal' - NO!
It is a passion and commitment to someone or in our case the 'Church' (our brothers and sisters in fellowship together).

The Jews at the time when JESUS threw them out of the Temple area, for buying and selling developed an interesting plan to make money and avoid taxes.  Something corporations pay executives and accountants and marketing firms to do everyday.

You see, the Jews were being occupied and controlled by Rome and the one thing the Romans wanted (and were good at taking more than they were entitled to) was their tax, but they had no regard for a countries religious systems, as long as you served Caesar and paid your tax.

So the Jews had to go to the temple and have sacrifices offered over their many sins and had to offer their tithe 1 out of ever 10 animals belonged to the LORD and was offered up - it was all food and livestock and NOT money.  You CAN NOT tithe properly today - its impossible and besides puts you under a curse and not blessing, but I've shared about this many place elsewhere, this is not the time.

So, what did the Jews do?
They had a marketplace set up in the outside walls (gentile area) of the temple and sold 'pure animals' without spot or blemish.  So, you come up to the area, offering your pure sheep and some Levite who worked as part of the priesthood (which is you and me in JESUS today) would inspect your sheep offering.  Looking for fault, would reject your sheep, knowing he wasn't supposed to look everywhere for the smallest black hair amongst all the white.  So, your offering is rejected, and he instead offers you one of his sheep (just as white as yours is) but is 100% accepted by GOD (they would lie to them).  So they sold it and took profit.

But they went one step further.

They had their own currency, so you would exchange your Roman Denarius for one of their coins.

It was a money exchange, but they took their percentage on that too!
And it was a way that they didn't have to disclose how much they were really making to Rome.
What a plan!  And if you didn't want to buy one of their doves or sheep, then you would still have sin and a problem between GOD and yourself - and nobody wanted that.

JESUS comes and says "NO, this is NOT right" and starts over throwing the tables and little boothes (like an outdoor market or flea market) and driving everyone out.

You see its all about being in relationship with GOD and then seeing GOD or HIS SPIRIT in everyone, thus making them brothers and sisters, so that you can learn and grow and laugh together on this JESUS Journey.  Growing more and more in HIS KINGDOM which is invisible but eternal, and effects and overrules this natural world we live in.

But if you want in, then you have to understand how much GOD loves you, as a DAD and wants to 'give to you' and never 'take from you'.  You can get around fellow believers, who want the same thing and you enter into fellowship with GOD and man - and its powerful and freeing.  You begin to walk with GOD and hear HIS voice and see HIS love in one another.

But if you are not zealous - you are dying.  People that know their GOD and can feel HIS presence and peace and power in them, they become very zealous and it consumes them!

Is that you?

-eric