24.3 Give
© 2018 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38). – And it is even more abundantly evident, if, according to the same as Melchizedek another priest arises, who has not come into being according to a law of a fleshly commandment {the entire law of Moses}, but [has come into being] according to the power of an indissoluble or endless life. (Hebrews 7:15-16 – JSV).
It is abundantly evident to me that “Give, and it will be given to you” and “the power of an endless life” are concepts intrinsically tied together. They are the “same thing,” just two different ways of speaking of that same thing.
The Power of an Endless Life. “Give” is the action verb by which God Himself sustains His own life. We will come back to “give” and all the incredible things that flow out of it, but let’s first position this “power of an endless life.”
I find little remaining in my mind regarding some sort of “end” of life. I do not think in terms of “going somewhere else.” There is, for me, no “unfinished business.” I have lost nothing of the things I love except for a short season after which they will certainly come back around to me again. I look forward to the next 1000 years inside this heaven/earth living in all the fruitfulness of this Word of Christ I so love.
And if my physical frame should die momentarily, it makes zero difference, for I possess all that is mine now through faith.
Faith. “Faith” means that I regard the Word God speaks far beyond any physical appearance. “Faith” means that I pattern all the thoughts of my mind by the things God actually says, rather than by any press of outward appearance or human judgment.
Here is what God actually says. And this is the testimony, that the life unfolding the ages God has given to us, and this life is inside of His Son. The [one] having the Son, has the life (1 John 5:11-12a – JSV). – And He said to me, “It has {completely] become! I am the A and the Z, the source and the completion. To the [one] earnestly desiring, I will give out of the fountain of the water of life freely. The [one] presently and actively overcoming will inherit this {water of life}, and I will be his God and he will be My son (Revelation 21:6-7 – JSV).
Desire and Confidence. We need one more piece inside this continuum. – For all who have been conceived out from God overcome the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who now is the [one] overcoming the world, if not the [one] believing that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5 JSV).
The fountain is Father, the water of Life is Jesus freely given, the only life I am, and that life is not only an endless life, but out from it is the unfolding of all things forever. And the mechanism that causes all this to be my only reality? My earnest desire coupled with my CONFIDENCE that Jesus, the Son of God, IS my only life.
The Source and the Completion. God alone is my immediate and continuous source; everything I am and experience comes out from all the fullness of God energeoing inside of me. This LIFE that is the Son of God inside of me freely flows, without hindrance or restraint, resulting in my absolute and unlimited possession of two things, first, of the life itself, and second, of that free flowing that unfolds all things in my immediate world.
I perceive myself to be less “in control” than ever. But this is perception only. When I perceived myself to be “in control,” I was absolutely NOT. Now that I feel as if I am not in control of anything at all; I am completely in control by LIFE always flowing out from me creating the present world in which I live.
An Immeasurable Flow. This, then, is the power of an endless life, that the world in which I live is coming every moment out from me, out from my absolute confidence that Jesus is my life. And that the connection from all the fullness of God through Jesus my life and out into the formation of my world is without hindrance or limitation of any kind. An immeasurable flow freely given, coming through the willingness of Jesus in Gethsemane, and flowing out from my own confidence and intention to shape and direct ALL into the goodness of God.
The most wondrous part of all this wonder, however, is that none of it comes by my inner fortitude or my outward abilities, but by Oour Spirit says the Lord and I together.
No Sorrow with It. Now we can place again our defining verse. – Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you (Luke 6:38).
You must know that by the very action of writing this lesson, my own story of self is being entirely re-designed. Let’s add another point. – The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it (Proverbs 10:22). Inside the thinking of abundance, a thought remains that something will happen and all this goodness will go wrong. That thought is banished by the Word of Christ and the being of Father.
No Limitation. Jesus said one word: GIVE. He added no qualifications to that word. – This is the same as Revelation 11:3 And I will give to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy {Christ}… The translators do not understand the word, “Give,” and so they add “power” after it, as in “I will give power.” But adding “power” limits and confines that word “give” when the Spirit of God meant NO such limitation. Nor is this “give” a separated or one-time commodity. Rather, it is that quality of Jesus alive inside of us that causes ALL that is in Father to flow out through us.
And so “Give” means “Give God,” give everything that is God.”
The Assurance of the Return. But then look at what follows that absolute and unlimited “Give.” – And it will be given to you. God never gives anything without expecting a full and complete return. This is how God lives.
In fact, this is how electricity works. With alternating current electricity, no power goes out that does not also, then, return. And so the electrical engineer must account for both the flow out of that current and its return back. And thus the hot wire carrying the power out is always matched with a return wire in order for the flow to move. And even more, a third “ground” is added, because the power is so great that the return MUST BE assured.
The Increase of Profit. Now, in all of this discussion, we have never left our context, and that is the hospitality we provide to visitors coming to our Community as well as the service we give to one another.
In the natural world, this is called “free-market capitalism,” which is based on the simple principle that you cannot “take” anything from anyone. Rather, if you have a need, and your neighbor has the thing that you need, you must first give to your neighbor what you have that he or she needs, and then the return of blessing (profit) will come back to you. Now, people in today’s world who have taken possession of a Karl Marx demon, call this “giving to others” in order to receive back what you need as being “selfishness and greed.” And they want to end this wondrous flow of giving and receiving by which the world has prospered.
Give Big. Alas, we must bring in a bit more of Karl Marx, the demonic mutterings that rule today’s mental zoo, but we will wait until the next session to do that.
Why did Bill Gates become the richest man on earth? For the simple reason that he gave something of great value to each one of hundreds of millions of people, including you and me. This letter could not come to you apart from the gift Bill Gates gave to us. As he gave to many, so he has received in return.
You see, if ten percent of all Christians were to receive from me the wondrous Word I have to share with them, by engaging with the Bible Studies program at Christ Revealed Bible Institute, I would soon have $240 billion dollars in my bank account, at $10 billion a month.
Dream Big. At that rate, I could establish the places for 500 fully furnished Christian Communities every month.
Now, in myself, I am incapable of establishing even the beginning of one little place, but I am not in myself, but inside this free-flowing God. And if one is to “dream,” why dream small. A vast and inconceivable dream is no more effort than one tiny and limited. Nonetheless, we do not obsess over the return, rather, we live in the expectation of God flowing through us in all abundance towards others, and by so doing we expect Father Himself coming back to us in all things.
So – what if several of us walked together inside this way of thinking?
Running Over. You see, first I connected us with God Himself flowing through, then I placed the wildest of expectations in front of our minds, but now, in that same thinking, let’s come back to the immediate and practical, not just of our vision of one simple Christ Community, but also of our present and continuing daily lives. – Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
I’m sorry, but no matter how closely I look, I cannot find a theology of poverty in the New Testament. Instead, I find the power of an endless life flowing out from the hyper-hyper-abundance of an exuberantly too-much Father.
Being Just Like God. Here is what that means to us. – Not that I speak as to poverty; indeed, I have learned inside whatever I am, to be content [to be sufficient]. I know also to be lowly {just like God – gentle and lowly of heart – let this same mind of Christ, lowliness, be in you}, I know also to abound {just like God – all abundant overflow} inside of all. And in all, I have learned the secret {the Jesus Secret} and to eat to be fully satisfied [that is, stuffed], and to be hungry and to abound over and above and to suffer need. I am strong for all inside of the [One] empowering me (Philippians 4:11-13 – JSV).
We cannot suffer loss; we cannot be excessive. The power of an endless life flows through us unfolding all things before us as we together step forward every step inside the love of God.
Our One Measurement. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you. – Until we all reach [or – arrive at the destination of] the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, into being a complete or perfect man, into the measurement of the maturity of the fullness or completion of Christ (Ephesians 4:13 – JSV). We have only one measurement to give, and that is all the fulness of the completion of Christ.
When I am cleaning the toilet of a rented RV, when I am selling a package of hot dogs to a picnicker, when I am showing a group of people how to do square foot gardening, when I am writing this letter, I am giving the measure of the fulness of Christ.
My Confidence. And how do I know that I am giving the measure of the fulness of Christ? – My confidence that I am. – You are part of Christ IF you are confident – that you are part of Christ.
But my God will fill full all your needs, according to His riches and wealth inside of glory inside of Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19 – JSV). – Let this same mind be in you – let this same mind be in you. – Now to the One who is able above all to do hyper-abundantly more than we ask or think, according to the power energeoing inside of us, to Him be the glory inside the Church and inside Christ Jesus, to all the generations, to the time-period of ages. Let it be so [in me as You speak] (Ephesians 4:20-21 – JSV).
Bearing Fruit to God. We never leave this way of thinking in any loss or in any abundance, in the smallest of tasks or in the greatest of endeavors. And every “mistake” we might make, Father and us together turn it into abundant goodness for others, by Oour confidence together in Oour precious Holy Spirit.
Inside of and out from this way of thinking, every work we do is a good work bearing fruit to God. – By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:8). And every gift we give, not only ministers abundant blessing to the one receiving that gift, but also returns back to us again in ever greater abundance of joy.
This is our inheritance forever; this is the power of an endless life.