“Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV)
“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” (Luke 6:38 NLT)
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
I am beginning today by reminding myself what the Bible teaches about the first step on my path to Kingdom of Heaven Manifestation: “I know.”
“Knowing” in the Bible is far more than intellectual understanding. It is an intimate spiritual act of the Holy Spirit in which the seed of revelation knowledge (the Word) is implanted in my spirit, conceived, developed, and birthed into my life. As I wrote a couple of blogs ago, the best examples of this are Adam and Eve in the Old Testament, and Mary in the New Testament. In both cases they received the Word, believed it, acted on it, and conceived the Truth. The result was the birth of God’s plan for humanity brought into this Earth through them. When the Holy Spirit plants a seed of Revelation Knowledge in my heart it radically changes everything. It is through this process that “I know” who “I am” and what “I have.” These steps are forever settled in Heaven and Earth, and are moving me forward in experiencing the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven in my life NOW.
The next step is “I expect.” Expectation is the product of “hope” and “faith.” Both of these are defined as “fervent expectation” based on the Truth of the Word. Hope is primarily future tense, and faith is primarily present tense. Bible hope is the fervent expectation of the fulfillment of the promises of the Word in the future. Faith pulls that hope for the future into today based on what was done in the past. Hope gives me vision for a bright tomorrow. Faith gives me victory today. Both of these are based in the finished work of Christ, and the promises of His Word. Knowing who “I am”, and what “I have”, in Christ gives me hope and faith to build expectation of experiencing the manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven in my life today; and even greater manifestation in the future. Hope comes from knowing the promises of the Word. Faith comes from hearing the Word over and over again. Together they create my expectation of seeing my life become “Heaven on Earth” regardless of what takes place all around me.
When I build my life expectancy on the Word (not experience, media, politicians, religion, family, or friends) I realize that I am blessed beyond measure, and that this blessing is for the purpose of becoming a blessing to all around me. I have access to all of the resources of Heaven in order to become the pipeline through which my Heavenly Father meets the needs of the “world” in which He has placed me.
The following examples describe how this works…
…Do I need financial provision? Yes! Then I need to go to the Word to build my expectation through hope and faith in the finished work of Christ and the promises given regarding provision. Once the Word has been received, believed, and conceived, I need to allow it to birth the expectation of provision. But it doesn’t stop there. James said that faith without an appropriate “work” is “dead” (void, empty, powerless). I need to put action to my expectation by becoming for others what it is that I am expecting to happen for me. What in the world does that mean? Thanks for asking. If I need provision then I need to become a provider. Once expectation for God’s provision has been birthed in me I need to take a step of faith and provide for someone else’s need by sacrificially giving. It could be through a gift to someone in need, an offering at Church, giving to a missionary, etc. While hoping for a future financial blessing, by faith I am being a blessing to someone else today. This launches the cycle of Blessing (giving and receiving) as I bless, am blessed, and bless some more (and it goes on and on from faith to faith, victory to victory, and glory to glory).Just like with provision, this process will work in every area of my life.
…Do I need healing? Yes. Go to the Word. Receive, believe, conceive, and birth expectation for healing based on the finished work of Christ and the promises of the Word pertaining to health and healing. Then while hoping (fervently expecting) for the manifestation of healing, by faith become the healer that Jesus commissioned me to be (“heal the sick”) by praying for, laying hands on, anointing, and/or encouraging those in need of healing. Thus the cycle of Blessing (giving and receiving) is activated.
…Do I need wisdom for making a decision that will impact my life and/or the lives of those in my family? Yes. Once again, I need to go to the Word. Receive, believe, conceive, and birth expectation for wisdom based on the finished work of Christ and the promises of the Word in the area of wisdom and guidance. While hoping (fervently expecting) for wisdom, by faith I need to look for opportunities to share wisdom and guidance in areas where I have already received it with someone in need of direction. As with any other area of my life, this will kick in the cycle of Blessing (giving and receiving).
…Whatever I need is available to me in the Kingdom of Heaven. Actually, I already “have it”; whatever “it” is. I am simply “working out my salvation” by tapping into what was planted in my spirit through salvation when the Kingdom was placed within me. The fastest, most effective, way to experience the manifestation of “it” is to build expectation by creating hope and faith from the Word; while at the same time giving “it” away (faith’s work) to someone else in need (blessed to be a blessing).
I am excited about…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 95: “Path to Kingdom of Heaven Manifestation: …”I know” who “I am,” and what “I have”, therefore “I expect” that “I will”… Part 4:: “I Expect”