BY FAITH ROOTED IN LOVE
Friday – December 9, 2016
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word publication. God is so good. Today I am reminding us all to pray for the Church in this nation. Pictured is a beautiful Church in Windsor, Connecticut. Decree the awakening, the repentance, the arising and tearing down of the high places which puts us in a place to walk in triumph.
Ephesians 3:14-17 (KJV)
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
I left off yesterday discussing that the Apostle Paul’s prayer for the folks in Ephesus was for a strengthening of their inner man (spirit and soul). He is praying that Christ dwell in their hearts by faith. Let us think about this a moment, he wants ‘Christ’ to dwell in their hearts. Christ can be interpreted as Messiah, the Anointed One, and the Anointing. At salvation we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit in a real way. All that the Messiah is, all that The Anointed One is, and all that the Holy Spirit is must be knowledge in our hearts. Only then can it be a reality in our lives. Notice for a moment that this is the seventeenth verse of the third chapter of the tenth book of the New Testament. Ten is the number of responsibility, three is the number of divine completeness, and seventeen is the number of victory. So this is what we have when Christ dwells in our heart (mind) by faith in love. However do not miss the fact that our divine completeness which brings victory is our responsibility (developing knowledge of God, faith, and love).
The word ‘hearts’ in this verse (Ephesians 3:17) is the Greek word transliterated to English as kardia and it is the decision center of the mind. Think of this area of the mind as the front door and foyer and it is here we decide to let whoever or whatever is knocking or standing in the foyer entrance or not. We are to let in only the Word of God not the doctrines of demons. We grab hold of the good, the Word of God and we keep it, we meditate upon it, and we guard it from the devil and all other ideas that seek to take a place higher than the Word of God (high place). Let’s look at a passage of Scripture which is very similar when the people became discouraged when Moses died.
Joshua 1:7-9 (KJV)
7 Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
8 This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.
9 Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
Notice in this passage right off the bat God tells Joshua to “Only be thou strong and very courageous”. Only thoughts and words of strength and courage, zero persisting thoughts of weakness or cowardice. You keep the Word of God in your thoughts and in your mouth no matter what. The passage ends with God commanding Joshua not to be confused with fear (dismayed) and know (not an emotional deal) that God is there with him wherever he goes. How does faith in God come? By hearing and hearing the Word of God. Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Under these circumstance prescribed by God Himself, who made Joshua’s way prosperous and successful and who will make our way prosperous and successful? We do, we sow obedience to the Word and God obeys His own Word and performs it in our lives.
The building of our knowledge of God and the building of our faith in God is not the whole story, love, Bible love, love like God’s love, is involved. God’s love, our love, is selfless (unselfish), is cognizant of Blood Covenant, and obeys the Scripture. Paul points out that our love must be rooted and grounded. The better the fertilizer, the more the water, coupled with some pressure on the tree (like wind) causes the roots to increase and stabilize the tree. When pressure comes we must turn immediately to the Word of God, doubling up on the Word and cast the care of the pressure down and over on God. The more prolific and the deeper the root system is in good ground the more stable, and the stronger the tree. Okay, we are building our knowledge and faith but these are stabilized and are functional by love. We must be upon a firm foundation of faith and hope (grounded) with a prolific and active root system (love). The more we make His motivations the goals of the Kingdom of God ours the better our root system. The more that we are grafted into the same root system as Jesus, we are restored, we are sons, we have eternal lives, and we are soon receiving an uncorrupted body like unto His. The more we obey the Word of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit the more our root system is strengthened and can have a root system just like Jesus when He was in the earth. O What A Savior!
Please give the following Special Message your prayerful attention concerning partnership with this Ministry.
SPECIAL MESSAGE
As the end of the year rapidly approaches we at Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word publications ask that each of you consider contributing to this ministry. This is how friends of the Ministry become partners. A Partner is one who contributes to this ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, even annually) and prays for the successful mission of this ministry for the glory of God. A Friend of the ministry is one who has been using the ministry resources and hopefully praying for the success of this ministry to expand the Kingdom of God for the glory of God. If this ministry has added value to your life I would encourage you to contribute to the ministry but only as led of the Lord. It is impossible to reap without sowing. To those of you who have been faithful partners with this ministry please receive our heartfelt gratitude.
Philippians 4:17-20 (KJV)
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
For those who are friends of this ministry and do not believe you are led of the Spirit of God to be partners we are grateful for your friendship and prayers.
3 John 1:2 (AMP)
2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
