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 been dealing with entering into God’s rest for a few days. This message will flow in that same vein.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. You can rest when you believe God made plans for you before the world began!
(Ecc 3:15 AMP)
That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by [so that history repeats itself].
— Your life has already been mapped out.
— God already prepared for your success.
— When you are stressing and relying on human ability, you are either: 1) pursuing something that God did not plan for you to have (which leads to frustration), or 2) you are trying to work for something that is already done.
— There is a difference between providing faith (and action) to receive what You believe God has already provided and you (as a mere human) trying to make something happen on your own.
*** Success in Christ does NOT come with MORE TRYING! Success in Christ comes as a result of MORE DYING!
*** You must DIE to the person you BECAME ON YOUR OWN so that you can LIVE THE LIFE God planned for you to live.
*** ONCE YOU DIE, YOU CAN REST! Because at that point, when God looks at you, He sees what He planned. As the test says, history — or HIS STORY, the story God saw play out before His eyes — can then repeat itself in your life!
(Ecc 3:11 AMP)
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
*** FAITH peers into ETERNITY, FROM TIME, and then COMES BACK ONLY TO REST IN WHAT IT SAW!
*** FAITH peers INTO HEAVEN, FROM THE EARTH, and then COMES BACK ONLY TO REST IN WHAT WAS REVEALED!
— Faith does not believe IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
— Faith is KNOWING it is ALREADY DONE!
— Faith is what happens when you get this divinely implanted sense of purpose in your heart. You will NEVER be satisfied until you become what you saw! But at the same time, you are RESTING in the fact that you SAW IT, and you know it is only a matter of time before it comes to pass!
(2 Tim 1:9 KJV)
Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
This text teaches us that:
— God saved us, but He did not JUST save us. He saved us AND called us to our divine purpose.
— God called us to a HOLY calling, so our lives can be about something more than just selfish desires.
— God did not call us based on our performance or merit. God called us solely based on His purpose and grace.
— God did all of this in Christ Jesus BEFORE the world began!
(Eph 2:10 ERV)
God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.
— We are not saved by works, but we are saved FOR WORKS!
— There are good works that God already planned (in advance, before the world began), that we should do.
— We were born to do these things. So once you discover them, you can REST in the fact that God called you to do it, and He has already prepared everything you would ever need to get it done!
2. You can rest when you are FULLY PERSUADED of what God has promised you.
— Truly living by faith means you have accepted God’s Word, you are led of His Spirit, you are resting in what He promised, and you ONLY do what He leads you to do.
— When you are at this point, the Word can work in your life unhindered.
— The Word is free to produce a harvest, because you have not produced any weeds (the cares of this world, the love of money, or selfish desires) that are are competing with the Word.
— When you live this way you are showing God you believe it’s already done!
3. You can rest when you know you cannot disqualify yourself from something you never qualified for in the first place.
Going back to the analogy of the promotion list. Let’s say that God reveals to you something He planned. He confirms that your name is on the proverbial list. But you then do something wrong. You sin. You miss the mark. You mess up. At that point, satan will tell you that you disqualified yourself from God’s promise. If you believe satan, you are being deceived. Here are some problems with satan’s argument:
— God already knew you were going to mess up, and He called you anyway.
— You were not called by merit or performance. You were called by grace.
— God did not promise it because you are good. He promised it because HE is good!
— YOU CANNOT disqualify yourself from something YOU NEVER qualified for in the first place. Jesus qualified you.
Meditate this scripture:
(Romans 11:29 KJV)
For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
(Romans 11:29 NIV)
For God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.
That’s enough for today. I will close out this teaching tomorrow.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You have called and commanded me to walk and live by faith. You are now teaching me to truly understand what that looks like! You made plans for me before the world began. I was born ignorant of those plans. So I pursued life on my own terms. I was then Born-Again. Now Your Holy Spirit reveals TO me what was prepared FOR me, but concealed FROM me! This revelation becomes a divinely implanted sense of purpose, and I will never be satisfied until I fully become what You reveal. For me to get there, I must REST in Your promises. I declare that I do. I know it’s already done. I am fully persuaded. Therefore, I rest! Living this way, I Level Up my life 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!
