WALKING WITH CONFIDENCE IN CHRIST

[Albert Finch]

"Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." - Matthew 7:24-27

The Lord responds to those who are standing on the bedrock of the full redemption that He has accomplished in their behalf and are trusting in His faithfulness alone. This requires of us a breaking out of the mold of past insecurities (our house built upon the sand), and an entering into the security of being seated with Jesus in His Throne, at the right hand of all power and authority (our house built upon a rock).

Here, as we rest in the victory that Jesus gained for us upon the Cross, our Heavenly Father, who brought Jesus forth into resurrection life from a grave that appeared to be a total defeat, will also lift us from our place of discouragement and vacillation into an overcoming victory in His presence.

If you have noticed that others are being used by the Lord in some special way, has it ever caused you to feel that "This" is for everyone, except me? If we will ask, knock, and seek (Matthew 7:7) revelation of the CALLING in Christ that rests within us in simple child-like trust and wait upon Him in anticipation, we will be released from the limitations that we have placed upon ourselves so we also can enter into all that the Lord has made available for us. Now, we can walk in confidence with Him.

LET THE EYES OF YOUR UNDERSTANDING BE ENLIGHTENEND

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." - Ephesians 1:18-19

There are times in which the Lord lifts us into His presence and the "eyes of our understanding" are "enlightened." During these times, no matter how short they may be, we become aware that there is a far greater potential within us than we had realized. The Lord greatly desires to open this buried treasure and fill it with His PURPOSE for our life.

HIGHER DIMENSION OF COMMUNION

There is a "deep" within the Lord that is crying out to a "deep" within us, that He might find the satisfaction which He anticipated when He created us. Thus, "Deep calls to deep," as there is a higher dimension of communion with our Lord that He seeks to bring us into.

"Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over me." - Psalm 42:7

"All [Your] waves and [Your] billows are gone over me": The Lord not only deals with our sin nature, but also with our willingness to settle for less – the seemingly "good things" that can rob us of the highest to which He is calling us.

THREE AREAS WHICH WE ARE TO MOVE INTO SPIRITUAL STABILITY

"Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death..." - Philippians 3:8-10

First, "That I might know Him."

This speaks of information about the Lord, but beyond this, it speaks of an intimate "knowing" the Lord as a person. We must move beyond being satisfied with information about the Lord, into an active, personal relationship with Him.

We are to experientially enter into the recognition, not only of His presence and power, but also of His person and feelings, and respond to Him accordingly. Through regeneration we are made one with the Body of Christ, so we can relate and respond to all that is in the Head (our Lord Jesus Christ).

Second, that we might experience the "power of His resurrection."

We cannot experience resurrection unless we first have died to our self-life. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." - Luke 14:27

The true Christian life, which is to be a disciple of Christ, is a life of sacrifice.This "taking up of our cross" means that we 'die' to the right to do as we please, and surrender 'unconditionally' to the Lordship of Jesus. It was on the Cross that Jesus suffered the ultimate injustice, but He did not retaliate, or ask the Father to retaliate, but rather to forgive.

Third, are those who enter into the "fellowship of His sufferings."

This is not the fellowship of our sufferings, but our fellowship with Jesus in His sufferings. Examples of this are the sufferings of the Lord over lost humanity, and over our spiritual dullness or lack of spiritual desire. He has so much to give, and so few who are willing and sensitive enough to receive. He desires our fellowship and longs that we come to Him. He has a PURPOSE for each of our lives.

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY