Overcomers

1 John 5:4–5 “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Practicing the "Present-tense" of God

This is a play on the saying "Practice the Presence of God".

God is in the "present". "Now" is when we hear his voice. Now is when we should pay attention. Now is when He guides us. "Pray without ceasing" (1 Thess. 5:17) makes more sense when we understand we should not trust in what we understood in the past concerning His guidance today.

Prov. 3:5-6 also makes more sense.  "5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Hallmarks of Biblical faith

Anticipation and expectation are hallmarks of Biblical faith. They indicate the presence of hope that comes from even the smallest glimmer of understanding.

Not hope based on wishful thinking. But on a promise embraced. Not on a scripture verse claimed, but on a personal word spoken by the Holy Spirit that bears witness to Biblical truth and relates to our situation. Faith comes by "hearing" God's voice and hearing God's voice comes by knowing the written word of God. (Two witnesses)

"Developing an ear for His voice seems to be at the heart of this issue, for faith comes by hearing, not having heard (see Rom. 10:17). Faith implies a present tense relationship with God. What we know can keep us from what we need to know if we don't stay childlike in our approach to life and ministry." Bill Johnson

Signs?

"Then they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying "signs". Amen" (Mark 16:20).

Discernment.

Discernment begins with thinking about your thoughts.

Understand that your thoughts have 3 origins*

• A Thought can originate from a man’s spirit (Self)
• A Thought can originate from God’s Spirit (Good)
• A Thought can originate from another spirit, either angel (good) or demon (Evil)

And then it continues with "taking every thought captive to the Lordship of Christ."

You consider a thought by, asking does it line up with the character of Jesus Christ and, is it in harmony with the full counsel of God's written word. But it is with the Lordship of Christ, as we ask Him what He thinks, that we have the opportunity to accept or reject the thought we are thinking.

Reading the Bible and praying without ceasing,  are essential activities for success in the spiritual war the enemy wages against us.

Deut. 11:18 “You shall therefore lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 

2 Cor. 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

The battle takes place in our thoughts and we are to..

Jer. 7:23

But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Potential?

potential...

1. The inherent ability or capacity for growth, development, or coming into being.

2. Something possessing the capacity for growth or development.

WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR IDENTITY it is important to understand that God sees us from a perspective of our potential.

It is this potential that is the foundation of His love, commitment and longsuffering.

With insight and understanding of our God given potential He rebukes, chastises and disciplines us with exhortations of humility, honesty and demonstrations of unconditional love.

He calls us to be overcomers, blameless, willing to admit our mistakes, dependent on His guidance. Willing to serve His purposes.

In this light we should make our CHOICES!

When seeking God’s will you shouldn’t be asking what does God want me to do. You should be asking who God wants you to be. It is then He will show us who we are.

Spiritual discernment.

https://www.gotquestions.org/double-minded.html

"A double-minded person is restless and confused in his thoughts, his actions, and his behavior. Such a person is always in conflict with himself. One torn by such inner conflict can never lean with confidence on God and His gracious promises.

Correspondingly, the term unstable is analogous to a drunken man unable to walk a straight line, swaying one way, then another. He has no defined direction and as a result doesn’t get anywhere. Such a person is “unstable in all he does.”

Repent, repentance... It's a lifestyle!

Call to repentance (noun) metanoeo leads to a change of mind,

repent (verb) metanoia which leads to a change of ways/action.

Repentance is an ongoing process of transforming the mind.

Tactics vs Strategy

"The terms tactic and strategy are often confused: tactics are the actual means used to gain an objective, while strategy is the overall campaign plan, which may involve complex operational patterns, activity, and decision-making that lead to tactical execution."

Games in the digital age.

A few years ago, my two sons, Hudson and Harrison invited a few of their friends over to play "video games."

Later in the evening, I went into the front room to see how things were going.

I was surprised to see only one of Harrison's friends in the room, Jacob.

Hudson was on the desktop computer with a headset and microphone. Talking to a number of online players that he was teamed up with as they battled another team on a multiplayer internet game.

Harrison had a PlayStation handset and was conversing with his teammates via his iPad as they battled on the big screen tv connected to the PS1 network.

I asked Jacob why he enjoyed playing these online games. He said "because I like overcoming obstacles, winning the battle, and discovering more of what the game has in store. I can be more than just me." 

Don't we all like feeling victorious? Feeling and "being" are two different things

Today I came across this...

http://www.psychologicalscience.org/index.php/news/releases/getting-to-the-heart-of-the-appeal-of-videogames.html

It is interesting what the Lord said to me 8 months ago...

  http://www.randolphbrown.com/2015/12/vicarious-generation-that-been-occupied.html

Confession of a Fully Actualized Kingdom Saint?

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/4009928.Avery_T_Willis_Jr_

I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed.

I have the Holy Spirit's power.

The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made -- I'm a disciple of His.

I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with

low living,

sight walking,

smooth knees,

colorless dreams,

tamed visions,

worldly talking,

cheap giving,

and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.

I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by

faith,

lean in his presence,

walk by patience,

am uplifted by prayer,

and I labor with power."

"My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be

bought,

compromised,

detoured,

lured away,

turned back,

deluded,

or delayed.

I will not flinch in the face of sacrifices, hesitate in the presence of the enemy, pander at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity."

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ.

I am a disciple of Jesus. I must

go till he comes,

give till I drop,

preach till all know,

and work till he stops me.

And, when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me... my banner will be clear."

Crucible?

a place or occasion of severe test or trial.

"the crucible of combat"

a place or situation in which different elements interact to produce something new.

How is love expressed?

Certainly it is expressed by the willingness to die for your friend.

But for most of us, what is the common expression of love? Or should I ask the evidence of love?

It is a commitment to relationship no matter the response from the one you love. It is a commitment to their highest good even when they walk away.

It is a willingness to say, "please forgive me". When you have made a mistake.

This love can only be expressed, transfered or passed on when you have experienced it yourself. It comes from an overflowing understanding of your own unloveliness, and the price Christ paid to have a relationship with you.

It is the understanding that you aren't sinless but you can be blameless.

Leverage?

A pivot point where pressure is multiplied. Accusation is the pressure. The accuser has a case. The point is guilt. Guilt is a function of the Spirit. The mind tries, but can not reason it away. Excuse and blame give control away and the lever is lengthened. So we are lost and condemned. Yet.
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.
Certainly good news.

Authentic Faith?

The difference between "authentic faith" and a "trust in their own understanding" has huge ramifications on how our "faith" is lived out and therefore passed on.

Biblical principles are made alive by the Holy Spirit as one realizes their need to be guided. Thus knowledge is acquired... If a man knows to do good and doesn't do it, that is sin

The problem is when we trust in our own understanding. (Prov. 3:5-6)

Faith implies a present-tense relationship with God. Present-tense is used in grammar for actions that are happening now. We reside/exist in the Now, and so does our relationship with God. It is impossible to have "Faith" in God without a relationship with Him where His presence is experienced in the present.

We think that we have the ability to anticipate the contingencies that our choices will propagate. But we forget "we see through a glass darkly"! Our perspective and therefore our understanding is limited. But God's is not.

Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the children of God.

The Battle Front.

In every battle there is the "front". In WW2 they were defined geographically. Initially though they were defined by ideas that individuals expressed. These ideas propagated, to influence other individuals in geographic locations. The real battle front is relational. It is the battle between truth and lies. It is a battle between the one who loves our soul and the one who wants to destroy us. It is a battle waged in the hearts of those who know His guidance, provision and care and those who need to know.

Priorities. The difference is between temporal and Eternal. Many will be surprised when they find out where their priorities were.

Knowledge shall increase.

Knowledge? It is knowing what is fact. Fact is truth. Fact becomes truth as it happens/occurs. Facts are knowable. And knowledge is increased as facts are shared. Knowledge puffs up. Makes you believe you can anticipate the future. Pride has only one predictable outcome. It is an unwelcome surprise for all who trusted in their own understanding/knowledge.

I am you father.

I would give my life for the chance that you would become all that God created you to be.

Go

Go to the brook Kidron. And there I will provide for you.

FAKS Framework Explains...

How you came to believe, what is happening in your life now. And where God wants to take you.

It has to do with what to believe and why.

It reflects the battle narrative of overcoming the flesh and the enemy of your soul.

Ever think about your thoughts?

Have you ever argued with yourself? How is that possible?

I believe what I believe. If there is contradiction in my "thoughts" then that is evidence that some of my thoughts are not my own.

Cognitive Dissonance?

Humanistic term that tries to explain the spiritual battle we all experience.

The "Goal" of Existential (Christian) Therapy

Existentialism --> life is pointless --> crisis reveals our helplessness --> Jesus reveals the solution --> Bible is the witness --> Holy Spirit is the guide --> Faith is how it is accomplished.

Potential.

It is why God never gives up on us.

Potential!

"If I were to wish for anything, I should not wish for wealth and power, but for the passionate sense of the potential, for the eye which, ever young and ardent, sees the possible. Pleasure disappoints, possibility never. And what wine is so sparkling, what so fragrant, what so intoxicating, as possibility!"
                                Soren Keirkegaard

Angst

Has everything to do about the future.

Keys to Wisdom.

Humility, a teachable heart and radical dependence on the counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Is Wisdom "Acquired"?

Experience provides the opportunity for Knowledge to be gathered. Wisdom is the "state of mind" that gives one the potential for insight, discernment, good judgement and Understanding. This state of mind has its beginning in humility and is cultivated by a teachable heart.

Prov. 9:9 "if you correct a wise man, he will become all the wiser."

James 3:13-18 "Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. 18 And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

John 14: 26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

Trick's of the trade?

A clever ​method used by ​people who are ​experienced in a ​particular ​type of ​work or ​activity.

Through trial and error one can learn "tricks of the trade". We can all learn from "our" mistakes. At least a wise man can.

But there is another, some might say, better way. "Tricks of the trade" can be passed on from one to another, if the other has a teachable heart.

Experience and knowledge compared to Wisdom and understanding.

One does not mean you have the other. Experience and knowledge is a function of our ability to remember. Wisdom and understanding is a function of our ability to anticipate and reason. The problem is that knowledge puffs up, and pride is a stumbling block to wisdom.

Humility is the first step a wise man will make. A teachable heart is the path to understanding.

Relationships? Plumbing the depths of Prov. 3:5-6

How many do you have? I’m asking about relationships.

Take a moment; the total, though you underestimated it, will surprise you.

At home, at work, at school, at church... you get the idea.

Okay, I am defining "relationship" as anyone who knows you.... okay they might forget my name, but because I have interacted with them, they have established an opinion of me (You).

And therefore are predisposed to react to me in a certain way if confronted with me again.

That person, after experiencing you, after whatever time has passed, however, God has convicted you and provided Grace to overcome when your paths cross again, do you think you can possibly know what to say or respond?

Only God understands explicitly your relationships. Therefore, then, because of this, we should look to His insight and understanding to give us "the" response to those we should again come across and have to give an answer to. Of course "again" is the additive to the concept. The concept is that we should "look to His insight and understanding" in every situation, with every person, whatever our relationship, and trust and then obey. The obeying part speaks of our response to whomever we are relating to. The "whom-ever" are those in our path.

This is an argument for Prov. 3:5-6