Trust

Trust

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, www.livingjoyministries.com, http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

Awakened early on February 7, 2014, God began to speak to me regarding the simple word “Trust”.  It is always good to listen to Father God when He speaks to us in our human spirit. The first thing He said was a term that I knew of but had not heard in a long time and that was the term “date certain”.  My memory and understanding of this word goes back to receiving materials and supplies when I worked as teacher and principal.  “Date certain” was the guaranteed date of delivery for materials and products. It was a contractual agreement for a time when materials would be there when you needed them.

God said to me the “Date certain” for the Believer on anything is “Now”. Trust operates in the now moment.  Trust does not encompass what is not reality or what is futuristic.   The reality of life is that we live it one moment (second) at a time.  The next moment cannot be lived because we may never experience it on this side of Eternity.  We live moment by moment.  We should trust God moment by moment and leave the next moment in His hand to deliver. 

All earthly plans do not come to pass.  All heavenly plans have a “date certain”.  God exists in Eternity and we exist in time.  God’s operations are not limited to a time block but have all of Eternity to be manifested. 

As I listened to God’s voice in my spirit, He began to say that to build trust (in Him) we should meditate on His word concerning God the Father.  Jesus speaks much of God and His relationship as Father with us in the book of St. John. This is exciting because the relationship between Father and child is one of overseeing, nurturing, and being trustworthy.  We can trust Him because He Is “Father”.

God said,” Most Believers trust Me when they think they know where I am going in their lives. I establish trust in you when you may not have a hint as to where I am taking your life.  I ask sometimes “blindness” as I build trust in you”.

Trust is validated or dissipated the moment the desired outcome is tampered with or changed. Trust has to Be in God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit and not in the desired outcome.  If what we “see” does not match what we desire, we sometimes cease to trust. This trust was born of “human flesh anticipation”.  If we trust when we do not “see” what we desire and continue to trust, we are trusting God to reveal His plan.   God gives answers in His divine way for His divine purpose, in His divine timetable.  Here is the established fact concerning Father’s activity. He always works for our good!   We can trust Him no matter what we see or do not see.   He is Father and trustworthy.

Trust comes into our lives on the heels of total surrender to God, dying to the flesh, and meditating on the “Logos” (written) word.   You then begin to hear the “Rhema” (God-inspired) word in your spirit.   Trust in God is an internal work of the Holy Spirit in the Believer.

Trust cannot be received as a gift.  It must be built, grown, assembled internally through experience with God.  The Holy Spirit is the “Overseer” of your trust expedition in God.

Here are three stages of trust I have observed and categorized.

Stage 1:  We Want to Trust (Hysteria)

We begin at a place where there is reasoning, questioning, anger, self-pity, mental assent, and sometimes wrong interpretation of God’s word.   All of these are common occurrences in our desire to trust. God’s word remains primarily in the soul (Mind, will, emotions).

Stage 2:  We Gain the Tools of Trust (Roller Coaster)

We begin to understand the importance of God’s word (reading, meditating, and speaking).

We vacillate between being assured of God’s promises and not being assured of His promises (doubt constantly bombards).  We move forward, go back, and sometimes we stand still.   We don’t go instantly into “Hysteria” every time a new challenge comes.  We are building trust.  The aim in stage 2 is always to trust God and move forward.  The word of God is now no longer only in our soul (mind, will, emotions); it is beginning to move into our spirit. 

Stage 3:   We Trust (Abiding)

As maturity sets in for the Believer, we receive peace and absolute confidence that we can trust God.  We have knowledge of the word abiding deep within our spirit.  We have experiences of His “Dates certain” in our lives.  He has proven Himself over and over to be faithful.  We are continually meditating on the word of God.  We are cultivating (speaking and doing) the Word of God in our lives.  We understand the ministry of God the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit to our lives.  In short, we trust no matter what we see.

Ask God to reveal, clarify, and settle your trust issues with Him.  This request will lead to His revelation of your total inclusion in His plan.  This plan was in place before the foundation of the world.  You can

Trust!

Reading:           The entire book of St. John

This book unveils the relationship between God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and man.  Relationship is the foundation of “Trust”.

Completion

Completion

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, www.livingjoyminisries.com  http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

1^st Peter 2:24, “He (Jesus) personally bore our sins in His [own] body on the tree [as on an altar and offered Himself on it], that we might die (cease to exist) to sin and live to righteousness, By His wounds you have been healed.”

The body Jesus took to the cross was one of corruptible human flesh as well as the supernatural (divine Godhead, second Person of the Trinity).  The body of Jesus the Holy Spirit resurrected from the grave was only the divine Godhead, second Person of the Trinity with a supernatural body.  His resurrected body no longer bore flesh, blood, and bone components.  The  human body (flesh, blood, bones) characteristics were necessary for His earthly mission, however when it was completed, He shed those physical body components.

It is important for Believers to know and understand that the physical body of Jesus took the beating, scourging, wounding,  and death purposefully.  It is also important to know that the physical part of Jesus completed its work of bearing (in His own body) the penalty for sin and sickness.

 Isaiah 53:5 says, “But He (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that at wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.”

The sins of the Believer (every man who accepts and follows Christ) were laid upon the human flesh body of Jesus as well as upon Jesus the divine Godhead, second Person of the Trinity.  The human flesh body of Jesus no longer exists.  It served its purpose and was shed at the resurrection.  When Jesus comes to live inside of a newly created man (Believer, 2^nd Corinthians 5:17), He comes as the supernatural divine Godhead, second Person of the Trinity Who once bore human flesh.  He brings completion to this new creation (Believer) because He has already dealt with everything that would defeat him in this life.

Colossians 2: 9-10

 “For in Him (Jesus) the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily (the resurrected) form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. And you are in Him,

made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the God-head—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature].  And He (Jesus) is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power].”

John 14:23

“Jesus answered, if a person [really] loves me. he will keep my word [obey my teachings]; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home (abode, special dwelling place) with him.”

John 1:16

“For out of His (Jesus) fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual  blessing and even favor upon favor and gift [heaped]  upon gift.”

The following truths are revealed in the previous scriptures:

The fullness of the God-head is in Christ Jesus.

The Believer has the Presence of the God-head inside of him upon accepting Jesus.

The Believer is full and complete in Christ Jesus.

The Believer has entitlements because of being in Christ Jesus

The resurrected Jesus who comes to live inside of the Believer no longer has the flesh and blood body that bore the penalty for sin, sickness, poverty, and spiritual death.  In the resurrected Jesus is the fullness of the God-head with penalties paid and mission finished. That physical body was done away at the cross. The cross also abolished our sin, sickness, poverty, and spiritual death.  These things are forever settled for us with the presence of the God-head in us! Hallelujah!

 The penalty for sin, sickness, poverty, and spiritual death has been paid by Jesus Christ who lives inside of you, Galatians 5:1, “In (this) freedom Christ has made us free [and completely liberated us ]stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery [which you have once put off].”

·         When sin and spiritual death challenges your flesh, remember sin has already been laid upon the flesh of Jesus Christ and shall not be laid upon you.

 2nd Corinthians 5:21.

 “For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness.”

·         When sickness challenges your flesh, remember sickness has already been laid upon the flesh of Jesus Christ and shall not be laid your flesh.

Isaiah 53:5 

“But He (Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that at wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.”

·         When poverty challenges your life, remember poverty has been laid upon the flesh of Jesus Christ and shall not be laid upon you.

 2^nd Corinthians 8:9.

“… [in] that though He was] so very rich] yet for your sakes He became [so very] poor, in order that by His poverty you might become enriched (abundantly supplied)”

Have you waited upon the Lord for anything?  The completed work has already been done.  It will manifest in the natural because God completes everything from the end to the beginning. (All Scripture Amplified Version)

To “See” or “Not to “See”

Happy 2014

The followers of Jesus Christ (Christians) are sometimes notorious at observing circumstances and drawing wrong conclusions. The eighth chapter of Mark presents a discourse on the earthly ministry of Jesus that shows how Believers can” see” and “not see”.  In this chapter Jesus feeds 5,000 hungry people who had been listening to His teaching.  Verse 2 shows the compassion Jesus had for this group of people.  He is a compassionate Savior.  Verse 4 shows the reasoning of the disciples in discussing the physical possibility of feeding the group.  Christians sometimes are focused on the natural world with all of its deceptions.  This sometimes causes their faith to be abandoned in the face of opposition.

In this instance Jesus needed with start in the natural circumstances so that they could track His supernatural intervention in them.   He asked them in verses 5 & 6 what food was available.  He then commanded that the people sit down (prepare to receive).   Through prayer He implanted supernatural power into the circumstance.  We can and must do this also in our life circumstances. There were seven loaves of bread available and a few small fish.  I like the fact that Jesus could get the job done with “small fish”.  It is not only the “big fish” that can get the job done.

Verse 7 points out the fact that praise and thanks played a big part in His supernatural operation.  We will never see God’s will by reasoning and figuring out how He will answer our prayer.  We just need to make our request known to God and begin to praise and give thanks.

You would think that after this great miracle, that the religious people (Pharisees) would have been praising God for the mighty Man from Galilee!  Instead they came to Jesus seeking a “sign” that He was indeed a “Miracle Man”.   Jesus groaned and sighed (verse 12) at this bunch because they had no clue to the mystery of Heaven that was standing right before them.  Let us not be like the Pharisees, blind and clueless to the grace, mystery, love, and compassion of the Savior of the world Jesus Christ.

Verse 15 is a key piece in successfully living the God-Life (Zoe).  Jesus (warning His disciples) says “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (religious deception) and the Herodians (world system deception)”.  These two “blind fields” will kill your faith and drain the life from your walk with God.  

 Because Jesus mentioned leaven, His disciples thought that He was checking on their food supply again.  They were immediately operating in the reasoning of the natural circumstance.  We are supernatural people and must anticipate the supernatural intervention of God always in our lives.  We won’t be successful here on earth if we regard and limit ourselves to the natural world.  Verse 17 & 18 points out that we can have eyes and “not see”.  We can have ears and “not hear” if we are going to reason ourselves into the will of God.

 Stay in God’s word in study and meditation and the word of God will cause you to walk in the supernatural power of Jesus Christ.  You will not resign yourself to what is seen in the natural, but will begin to see in the supernatural where all things are possible in God.

A confirming manifestation happens further along in this power packed 8^th chapter of Mark in the city of Bethsaida.  Jesus encounters a blind man who wants to see (verses 22-26).  Jesus “spit” on the eyes of the blind man (Hey, it’s in the Bible!) and asked him if he could see anything.  His reply was that he saw men as trees walking around. Jesus then put His hand on his eyes and he began to see clearly.  This humbling act probably didn’t bother the blind man.  After all he was receiving his sight.

 Sometimes our ability to “see” manifests in the humblest of circumstances, places, and people. Our deliverance under the guidance of the Holy Spirit cannot be orchestrated and dictated by us.  After all Father knows best.

We need to choose to “see” rather than “not to see”.    Your reasoning ability cannot deliver you and cause you to “see”.  Jesus can!   The panacea for seeing is as follows.

“To See”

·        Continually reading, studying, and applying God’s word to our lifestyle

·        Walking in love and compassion towards God’s creation (mankind) as Jesus did on earth

·        Refusing to be deceived by the religious system and the system of the world

·        Offering prayers, praise and thanksgiving in and for everything

·        Maintaining unbroken fellowship and union with God through the intimacy of worship

“Not To See”

Cancelled  

(For Children of the Most High God!)

“They veil their heads and not their hearts”.

“They veil their heads and not their hearts”.

Recently I was awakened by the Holy Spirit and heard the above words from God in my spirit. As I begin to listen to the Father, I realized that He was releasing His heart concerning some members of His Body.  God's word and knowledge of it has become so available to the body of Christ. We live in a world that makes information available to us instantly. We have the word of God on our televisions, on our telephones, on our computers, and in the 6 to 10 different versions of the Bibles we own. We have been given knowledge of the word of God in abundance.

 Sometimes the knowledge that we have causes us to be on a knowledge overload. We learn principle after principle, we gain truth after truth and yet our lives sometimes do not change. We do not constantly and consistently conform to the image of Christ. Fenelon (writer in the 1600s) once said,” We can gain more knowledge than we can live up to in a lifetime”.

The saints of old missed out on all of our technological advances that give us God's word at our fingertips. Yet the saints of old found Him in His word, prayer, meditation, and pure worship. I believe that they missed out on nothing concerning relationship with the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Their heads were veiled with knowledge and experience with God. Their hearts were veiled with obedience in the presence of Almighty God.

God once said to his people," Rend your hearts and not your garments (Joel 2:13)“. God was simply saying their outward appearance did not match what was in their heart. He alone sees and knows the depths of our hearts and is alone the interpreter of who and where we really are in Him. Our heads and hearts can be veiled in the presence of our heavenly Father.

A “Veiled head” represents the presence of knowledge and an awareness of what God's word says. Our knowledge is often reflected in our ability to speak and say what is found in Scripture. This gives a false sense of having attained to the execution of scriptural principles in our lives. However, it does not really guarantee our execution or “living out” of the word of God in our lives. We can have the word, know the word, speak the word, and still not execute it in our lives. Man truly looks on the outward appearance and not the heart (1^st Samuel 16:7). Therefore, it is easy to appear having reached a goal when nothing is further from that truth.

A “Veiled Heart” is first submitted to God's will. Obedience is the key to being veiled in presence of God. A veiled heart is secondly sinless (dying daily to wrong choices according to God’s word). A veiled heart is a seeking heart.  A veiled heart seeks God's will constantly. It is possible to say we are in God's will and not be there. It is possible to say that we're sinless and yet practice sinning.  It is possible to say we have a seeking heart and not to have one. God's desire is that every heart in the body of Christ be veiled before him in purity and obedience. When we come into worship before God Who knows all our of hearts desires, Who knows all of the ponderings of our hearts and Who knows the very intent of our hearts, we must be pure.

So put on those worship veils and worship. Cover your heads and most of all cover your hearts with obedience to the knowledge that has been so freely given to Believers.

"Dig Deeper"/ "Contraception"

“Dig Deeper”

September, 2013

Early in September, 2013, I sat in the presence of the Lord and He spoke these words to me, “Dig Deeper”.  The Holy Spirit is the One who unveils to us the will of Jesus and the Father in our lives.  I received these words and did not take any offence at the Lover of my soul admonishing me to have yet a closer intimacy with Him.  I began to pray and confess, “Lord I am digging deeper” knowing that He would unfold to me His perfection for my walk with Him now and continually.

In our study of God’s word, my husband and I were in the book of Ezekiel which depicts a vision-journey of Ezekiel to Jerusalem.  In chapter 47, there is the symbolic viewing of a life-giving stream   (“river of water of life”).  In these passages (47:3-5), Ezekiel is taken to ankle deep waters, knee deep waters, waist deep waters, and finally waters that could only be navigated by swimming. When I came upon these scripture passages, they began to unfold within me an understanding of the command to “Dig Deeper”.  I’m sure that the understanding of “digging deeper” will continue to unfold throughout my life.

The life giving flow that God desires for each of us does not reside in measures where we are assured of our spiritual standing with things we have learned and practiced.  There is a depth that God is calling us to where we cannot depend on our past or present knowledge of Him.  We must get to the place where we begin “swimming under the power of the guidance of the Holy Spirit” totally and completely.  In this state, we will realize that it is God and God alone who is bringing forth His will in our lives.  We are not leaning to our own understanding because it does not work in this arena where Jesus is Lord of “All”.  Self interest, self-absorption, self-will, pride, subtle pride, and all that the Holy Spirit reveals and illumines must be abandoned by us to “swim” in the waters of His presence.  It is when we “swim” that His perfect will is unfolding for our lives.

I am challenged by my Savior to “Dig Deeper”.  I invite you as Believer to ask the Holy Spirit how this challenge can unfold in your life.

 “Dig Deeper”

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

 “Contraception”

9(/29/13)

Contraception: 

A device or chemical used to prevent pregnancy.

Spiritual Contraception:

Any device or practice allowed in the life of the Believer to prevent the conception, growth, development, and production of God’s will.

As I sat in the presence of the Lord, He spoke the word “contraception” to me.  I immediately knew what the word meant and awaited His explanation of this release.  He began to elaborate in my spirit that His people are allowing hindrances (i.e., contraception) to abide in their lives that shut down the natural spiritual pregnancies that are supposed to happen, come to term and  bring forth the fruit of His will in their lives.

When pregnancy is prevented, it disorders the flow of nature and reroutes hormones in the physical body.  This is also true in the body of Christ.  When the will of God is shut down in our individual lives, we do not prosper spiritually.  We become stagnant, self-absorbed, self-directed, self-willed, and generally running our own show.  This brings us to the point where we cannot get pregnant and produce the fruit that is to bless the body of Christ.  Christ blesses us to be a blessing.  When we shut down the blessing of proper fruit production, we cannot bless others.

I prayed a prayer that God would first reveal to me the contraceptive measures I am allowing in my life that would hinder the spiritual pregnancies that should come forth in me.  I want to produce all that God has ordained from before the foundation of the world for my life.

Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to impregnate you with God’s will and purpose?

Are you taking/allowing contraceptives (spiritual hindrances) to shut down the God ordained spiritual pregnancies?

What are you allowing that is preventing the spiritual pregnancy ordained by God?

Name the contraceptives and begin to ask the Holy Spirit to help you obey God.

Marsha Deveaux Johnson, http://hepzibah40.blogspot.com

Happy New Year in Jesus!

“Read the gospels, see what I did, and do what I did.”

(Rhema word from the Lord Jesus given to Marsha Deveaux Johnson many years ago)

What did Jesus do?

Even though He was fully God, He did nothing of Himself. John 5:30

We must follow Him in this example.  Our lives must totally reflect the will of the Father.  Jesus accomplished God’s will for His earthly mission by death on the cross.  We must also accomplish God’s will for our earthly mission by the death of our self life.  We must daily surrender to God’s will and purpose totally.

Even though He was fully God, He did not minister under His own power. Luke 4:18, Acts 10:38

We must follow Him in this example.   We must not minister out of our own selves and acquired knowledge.  Total dependency must be upon the Holy Spirit for ministry.  The Holy Spirit led path for ministry yields to fulfilling God’s purpose and “Life”.  Self propelled ministry leads to aborting God’s plan and “Death”.

His earthly purpose was not to please Himself, but rather to bring the lost back to relationship with the Father. John 3:16-17, Mark 16:15-20.

We must follow Him in this example.   It is also our purpose to bring the lost back to relationship with the Father.  Whatever we desire to pursue as a career in life, we train for it.  Our training for being like Jesus is to first accept Him as our Savior.  We then invite Him to live His life in us.  We immerse ourselves in His word and exchange our life for His life.   It is only then that we can fulfill our purpose on earth.

2013 Good News!

Isaiah 3:10-11

“Say to the righteous, it shall be well with him:  for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.  Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him:  for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”

Immerse

To submerge into liquid; to become deeply involved; to baptize by submersing the body completely in water (God’s Word/Power).  2013 is the year of immersing into the word and power of God!  Be ready to do this for Eternity!

Dismissing Christ

Recently God spoke to me in a dream. I interacted with people I knew who were trying to get a project done that required creative thinking.  Things got to a point where the discussion was so heated that one person was asked to leave by the group leader.  Since I knew both the group leader and the person asked to leave the group, I was led to talk to the leader in the dream. 

I began to say to the leader that I knew this person and also knew that there was a personality flaw.  However, the person was gifted, talented, and a clear thinker.  I said to the leader that dismissing this person was cutting off the success of the project because of the contribution they could make if guided in the right direction.  I began to encourage the leader to work with the person in order to get the best results for the project.

The dream was so very real to me and God began speaking to me immediately when I awaken.

I will share His thoughts as I interpreted them.

·         God is the One who dismisses people from our lives or circumstances.  We should never discount or “write off”  human beings.  God created them in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26) and within them is the capacity to change and to offer the world their potential in Him.  If an individual is not supposed to be in a given life or circumstance, Father will in His divine wisdom order the steps of a Believer (He will exit any who He has not ordained for your life and/or circumstance) (Proverbs 20:24).

·         Keep an “open heart” (of love) toward other people regardless of their faults and differences.  The only thing God hates is sin.  He does not hate sinners.  As a matter of fact, He sent Jesus to die for us while we were sinners (Romans 5:8).  An open heart of love will always be protected by God.  A closed heart that despises and dismisses others can never be honored by God.   If you dismiss man, you have inadvertently dismissed God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  God’s eternal purpose is:  “Man with Him for Eternity.”

·         When we isolate, dismiss or exclude others based on any set of circumstances, we say to our Eternal Creator and Father God that His creation does not measure up to our standards for existence on earth.  Well, as Believers we do not have the right or privilege to do that.  It was Jesus Christ who died for the sins of all men regardless of race, creed, color, and social status.  Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord don’t get to eliminate and decide who is not welcome into the God-life fold.

·         There are criteria for the God-life and each man either chooses to confirm (accept) or deny (reject) the privilege of entering into Eternity with God.  A person accepting God through Jesus is responsible for obeying His word, loving others, and making disciples.

·         Always negotiate from a standpoint of love.  If you seem at a point of vulnerability there, God is your Protector, Shield, and Covering.  You will never lose.  Love always wins  and hate always loses.

The God-life is contingent upon whether or not you are surrendered and being led by the Holy Spirit.  If you are, you will have a respect and love for all of God’s creations, regardless of the race, creed, social status, or color.

 “You dismiss Christ by dismissing the people for whom He died.”

Abraham and Sarah corrupted God’s plan for the “son of the promise” and yet God still made a covenant with Hagar (Genesis 16:10-16), the outcast. He does not dismiss His creation, but rather gives an opportunity for them to change, be healed, and to serve His eternal purpose.

I end this blog with God’s word in two versions of the bible.  This is His heart toward all of His creation.

Acts 17:26, King James Version.

“God made of one blood all nations to dwell upon the face of the earth and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, though He be not far from every one of us:  for in Him we live, and move and have our being…”   

Acts 17:26-27 Amplified Version

“And He made from one [common origin, one source, one blood] all nations of men to settle on the face of the earth, having definitely determined [their] allotted periods of time and fixed boundaries of their habitation (their settlements, lands, and abodes).  So that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after Him and find Him, although He is not far from each one of us.”