Escape by Faith:Tools to FREEDOM

Escape by Faith:Tools to FREEDOM

Spiritual mindedness can seem like a rather nebulous and vague topic. If you ask ten different people for a definition or explanation of spiritual mindedness you will probably get ten very different answers. Conversely, if you ask how to achieve spiritual mindedness, you will likely get ten, “I don’t know(s).” Understanding how to cultivate a spiritual minded lifestyle is vital to our spiritual maturity and spiritual survival preparedness.

In addition to refocusing our attention away from material pursuits and jumping off the merry-go-round of living an earthly minded lifestyle, getting spiritually tuned in and staying spiritually connected requires a change of perspective and mindset. True spiritual mindedness is a mental disposition that is focused on God and spiritual things and understanding how the spiritual realm affects our earthly lives and vice versa. It is a mental disposition that can only be achieved through active unwavering faith in the Most High God.

 Romans 8:5-8

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.  For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Faith is a central theme of the Bible, and yet it is often entirely misunderstood and misused. From cover to cover, the Bible describes accounts of how an individual’s faith saved them from impossible circumstances. A summary of some these faith accounts can be found in Hebrews 11, check it out.

If it is impossible to please God without Faith, we should take the time to understand faith from a biblical perspective, how to build it, and how to use it. It is important to note that the biblical definition of faith does not take into account religious affiliation, sin, or the degree to which one is good or bad, the only factor taken in account is our belief/disbelief.

Hebrews 11:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.

These verses should cause us to start reevaluating how we live. How often do we actually have confidence that what we hope for will actually happen? Confidence is defined as:

Confidence – full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, or reliability of a person or thing

Much of the time we hope for something but believe it won’t happen based on the degree of perceived impossibility. This is directly opposed to the faith that God desires from us. Faith that moves God looks at a situation with confidence, regardless of how impossible it may seem, knowing that victory will be attained. Cultivating this kind of faith requires a mental shift from carnal mindedness, material pursuits and believing only in what you can see to mindful believing and understanding that there are unseen forces in the spiritual dimension that are mobilized by our faith and words.

We need to turn off the mental cruise control that governs our responses to life and learn to respond with faith. Treat your mind like it is a car with a manual transmission. It takes both hands, both feet, coordination and mindfulness to drive. It might not be a very smooth ride at first, but in time, your responses will become more automatic and you will learn how to respond more efficiently to keep the car moving smoothly down the road of life.

 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 The Message (MSG)

The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

It is also important to have an accurate, biblical understanding of who we are placing our faith in. Jehovah God, Yaweh, Yeshua, The Most High God, The Great I Am. These are some pretty lofty titles that for some bring peace of mind and comfort, while for others they are frightening, menacing and imply foreboding punishment. I would like to offer an encouraging reminder that God loves us. Stop and let that sink in for a moment…the supreme creator of all that is…loves you. We all come from different backgrounds and belief systems. Unfortunately, many of us have been taught something contrary to this fact.

Ephesians 2:1-10 New Living Translation (NLT)

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Just remember that God’s plan for salvation was set in motion thousands of years before you and I existed. We are not exempted from the plan because we think we are too sinful or not good enough. God’s love is for each of us. It is boundless, and it is not measured according to our deeds, good or bad, or by our own opinion of our morality.

Romans 8:38-39 New Living Translation (NLT)

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The simple fact that The Most High God loves us so much that he offers us salvation while we are still steeped in sin is reason enough to reach out in faith to believe. I think often times we have the mistaken idea God loves other people more than he loves us because life appears to be going better for them. That, my friend, is a LIE!! If you have believed this lie, then here is where your mental shift needs to begin. God responds to faith, period…and He loves you regardless. The greater your faith in him, the greater his response will be toward you.

Please don’t confuse God loving you (or not) with his perceived lack of response. God loves you and he will respond according to your belief in him. If you struggle with this please read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Jesus healed, delivered, and resurrected people in response to a demonstration of faith by the petitioner not because of how much he loved them. His love was demonstrated on the cross.

He responds to us when we demonstrate confidence in his ability to deliver.  All of the miracles described throughout scripture occurred when someone acted or spoke with faith.  This faith is what released the power of God in their life.  It was not based on God’s willingness to do a miracle. He has already demonstrated his willingness; we need only to demonstrate our obedience and faith.

There is a storm on the horizon. We will not be able to weather this storm with anything but absolute unwavering faith. Most of us are aware of what we are facing…tribulation, new world order, Luciferianism, WWIII…the list goes on. These things are bigger than anything we can prepare for or defend against with material goods. Our single most valuable defensive implement is our faith:

Ephesians 6:16 English Standard Version (ESV)

16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

We will only overcome by our faith in God and. We must resolve to this and start living by faith and keeping our minds spiritually focused.

Hebrews 10:38 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

38 But My righteous one shall live by faith; And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.


Join the conversation:

comments

T_Worthy

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap