Today we continue our series, “Progress On Purpose.” I told you that God wants us to walk in “NEW LEVELS IN 2021!” But if we are going to do so, we must be intentional about our progress. With that in mind, as we lay the foundation for the year, I told you that I would discuss “Leveling Up” in five areas:
1. Spiritually
2. Financially
3. Physically
4. Internally
5. Externally
We have covered the first three thus far. Today we are looking at the fourth: Leveling up internally. In this section, I will cover the following:
1. Being anxious for nothing
2. Receiving unshakable peace
3. Joy and peace in believing
4. Relaxing your mind and getting physical/psychological rest
5. The highest form of faith is rest
We have covered the first four. Today, and for the next few days, we will talk about the last one.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things:
1. You are not trying to get God to move.
Enter into God’s rest is key and central to the life of faith. I will give you some thoughts on this as I introduce you to the topic:
— Many Christians get frustrated because they try very hard to, what in their minds is, “get God to move.” They think God is here to respond to them. But they don’t understand God’s already made plans for us. Our job is to discover and walk-out what He already destined.
— In many ways, you are not trying to get God to move. He already moved. He already did all He was going to do. You are not trying to get God to give it to you. If it’s part of His story for your life, it’s already yours. The key is not trying to get God to do… the key is discovering what He has already done for you and then receiving it by faith. Now, faith may require you to DO something, SAY something, or SOW something, but you are not doing/saying/sowing to get God to move. You are doing it because you believe it is God’s will. You believe that in eternity it is already done!
— I will use salvation as an example. We don’t try to get God to save anyone today. He already provided salvation through Jesus 2,000 years ago. All we do today is to attempt to get people to ACCEPT what is already done. When they ACCEPT the gift of eternal life, they are saved. God did not have to do anything. He already did it. All they had to do is RECEIVE it.
— It’s the same with healing. We don’t have to get God to heal anyone today. He provided healing through the stripes of Jesus 2,000 years ago. While people are trying to get God to heal them, He is trying to get them to ACCEPT the healing He already provided.
— When you understand God’s grace and what faith really is — believing and receiving what He has already done — you can enter into God’s rest.
2. The peace you have when you know you have already been selected.
I will give you an analogy most people can understand. I will give you a story of someone in the military believing God for a promotion. I served in the Army for 25 years, and my wife served 21 years. I spent most of my adult life in uniform. Needless to say, I know a few things about the Army. God graced me to get promoted quickly and to receive every promotion I was able to in my career. For that, I am extremely thankful. When you are Soldier, and you have a promotion opportunity coming up, you attempt to do everything YOU CAN to ensure you get promoted. YOU attempt to “DOT EVERY I” and “CROSS EVERY T”. YOU attempt to check every block. YOU attempt to make it through every gate. Once you have done your part, you submit your records before the Board.
You know when the Board meets, and you know when the results are going to be published. When the results are published, you were either selected or not. If you were SELECTED for promotion, your name is on the list. YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN! But it may take up to a YEAR before you actually PIN ON THE RANK!
In that year, you are waiting to get promoted, but you are RESTING WHILE YOU ARE WAITING… BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT’S ALREADY DONE!
Even though you are NOT WEARING the RANK yet, YOU KNOW YOU HAVE IT! You know it’s ALREADY DONE!
YOU KNOW IT’s FINISHED!
YOU KNOW IT’s PAST-TENSE!
YOU KNOW IT HAS BEEN DECIDED!
You know it is ONLY A MATTER OF TIME before you get to PIN ON WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED!
You are not working to get THAT RANK anymore!
YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN SELECTED!
YOU HAVE ALREADY BEEN CHOSEN!
YOUR FUTURE HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED!
IT’s ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!
This is how FAITH works:
— Faith is not about you attempting to get God to put a“YES” on your plans.
— Faith is what happens when God attempts to get you to “REST IN HIS PLANS!”
— Faith is not you attempting to convince God to decide.
— Faith is God attempting to get you to REST IN WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN DECIDED!
— This is why REVELATION must precede Faith. Faith begins where the Will of God is known.
— You can’t be IN FAITH until you know what God has ALREADY DECIDED! But once YOU KNOW, YOU CAN REST!
— In heaven, IT’s ALREADY DONE!
— In the earth, IT’s ONLY A MATTER OF TIME!
*** If you really believe what God has revealed to you, you can enter into God’s rest.
*** Like the Promotion Board Results…
There is often a SPACE BETWEEN God’s PROMISE and the PERFORMANCE! In that space, the devil tries to bring you PROBLEMS!
There is often a SPACE BETWEEN Your CONFESSION and the COMPLETION! In the space, the devil tries to stir up CONFUSION!
WHY? Because faith requires RESTING in what God said, and the devil does not want you to REST!
In 2021, we need to LEVEL UP in this area.
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You are a Spirit, and You speak to me, by Your Spirit, directly. I receive downloads from heaven daily. I receive revelation that far exceeds anything I could receive through education. You speak to me, and I believe and receive everything You say. When You reveal something to me, I know it’s already, and it’s already done. I enter into Your rest where that is concerned. I am not working to earn or deserve anything. I live by faith in what You have already provided. And I labor to maintain my rest. I am not moved, shaken, or stressed by anything or anyone. I enter into Your rest, I live in a stress-free environment, and I walk out every Word You reveal to me. I am the just and I LIVE by faith! In heaven it’s already done. For me it is only a matter of TIME! I level up in my ability to REST in 2021! GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith, in Jesus’s name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
