If you and I wish to grow we must do so based on faith in Christ. We must embrace Jesus and take Him at His word to us allowing it to become action in us so that when the Holy Spirit has manifested the work of God as a result of our faith we see nothing but ourselves needy and Christ glorified before us.
Other methods may appear to have an appeal but only the appeal made through Christ is valid.
2Corinthians 3:15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
When is the veil taken away? When is our obscured vision opened to see clearly? When we turn to the Lord as Peter did! When we look to Jesus the Author and the Finisher of our faith.
2 Corinthians 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Knowing God begins at the point of faith in which we not only say we believe Jesus, but we act on what we say we believe about Him. As we do we discover the manifestation of God in it and Jesus stands before us glorified in our revelation of Him.
It is then that we see ourselves in truth and we find ourselves able to let go of the things we were trusting in and become able to follow Him into the unknown.
Are you truly following Jesus?
We should not be trying to introduce people to an academic increase of knowledge today thinking that it will produce a greater knowledge of God. We should be introducing them to a person, Christ Jesus.
Christ alone can introduce you to the Father and He alone can save you. Have you been doing what Jesus told you to even if it was a small thing?
Faith is the key that opens the door of revelation. I encourage you to put faith into practice today and do what the Lord said to do.
Do not fear seeing yourself as undone before Him and seeing Him as Lord. He has and will continue to love you and you will find that despite your knowledge of your sinfulness there is One who stands before you as Lord willing to accept you based on His own work done for you.
It is He who enables you to come follow Him!
About The Author
- Tim Atchley
- Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
- I currently serve as Senior Pastor of Harvest Church in Knoxville, Tn. I was sent out from Trinity Chapel of Knoxville in 1993 accompanied by my wife Sheila our four children Sarah, Hannah, Josiah & Isaac and a handful of bold, brave and committed believers determined to plant our first church. Pioneering is hard work but well worth the journey. That is why we desire to make disciples of Christ who will, like us, also embrace the call to plant churches.
