Faithfulness: The Key to Living in the Eternal Realm

God is cultivating faithfulness in His people now. It is a fruit of the Spirit, and very much a necessity for us to develop in our lives. Faithfulness is the key to walking in the eternal realm. In this realm we are not bound by time restrictions. A greater level of freedom and accessibility to God’s promises wait for you in this realm. There are things you will be able to access in your life now, instead of waiting a lifetime to receive them. The rewards of faithfulness can be accessed “ahead of time” if you are proven faithful. Yes, faithfulness takes time in order to be proven, but be faithful to God and watch things smooth out in your life!

God knows the faithfulness that is in your heart, even before it is walked out in your timeline. This may take some “quantum” thinking to understand but remember that God is not bound by time. As you live a faithful life now, remaining consistent all the time, Then the “all the time” or “eternal” benefits become yours now.

Being faithful is being loyal to the Lord no matter how things are going in your life—good or bad. Being faithful is being consistent—consistently loyal. This opens the doors for the eternal realm of heaven to come flooding through. Let’s look at an example of faithfulness.

"The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord."  Job 1:8-12

Notice that God pointed Job out to Satan, “Look at My servant Job.” He doesn’t try and hide us from the enemy, hoping he won’t bother us. He brags on us like a proud parent would. However, keep in mind when the enemy comes before God and makes accusations, he is accusing both us and God. He accuses God of being unjust, unfair, etc. (The only reason Job is such a shining star is because you have blessed him. If You took away Your blessing, he would curse you). And he accuses us of not really being as loyal to God as we appear.

Criticism and accusation are both works of the enemy and they work together. If we participate with him in either one, we are partnering with him against God-whether we criticize/accuse God Himself or other people. No matter what is going on in your life, don’t resort to criticisms or accusations!

After this, Job lost everything—his possessions and his children. Yet he worshiped the Lord, so Satan went back to the Lord.

"Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the Lord. The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “From roaming about on the earth and walking around on it.” The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man fearing God and turning away from evil. And he still holds fast his integrity, although you incited Me against him to ruin him without cause.” Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life. However, put forth Your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh; he will curse You to Your face.” So the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your power, only spare his life.” Job 2:1-6

Notice that God gave Satan boundaries that he was not to cross. The first time he said not to touch Job. The second time he could touch him but not kill him.

Why did God allow Satan to do this to Job? Because God is a God of integrity. Once Satan accuses, there is an accusation on the table before God and He, God, will respond to it. He doesn’t ignore it or blow it off. You can be sure if an accusation is made against God’s integrity, justness, His children etc. He will address it!

How does He address it? He presents evidence to support/prove His position. If He says we are righteous, and the enemy brings accusations against us, God presents the evidence that we are righteous. What is the evidence?

• The blood of Jesus
• The scribal records of our deeds—our witness or testimony

“Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.” Revelation 12:11-12

We overcome the accusations of the enemy by the blood of the lamb and by the written evidence of our testimony.

The Scribal Records/The Word of Our Testimony

The scribal angels bring records of when we worshiped God during tough times, when we were faithful, when we were true to His Word and His ways. These kinds of things are recorded and brought to address the accusations of the enemy. It goes something like this:

•  God points us out—look at My servant!
•  The accuser accuses
• God presents evidence—and we are His witnesses
  
        The scribal angels bring the records of when we overcame and when we didn’t. If we repent, then our sins are blotted out. (See Isaiah 43:25, Acts 3:19, Colossians 2:14) and the evidence shows only the times we have overcome.

In the courts of heaven, we ask to see/hear the accusations against us. By doing so we can repent of what we need to, and gain understanding of what the enemy is accusing us of. If you see an accusation, repent. The enemy does falsely accuse, but there may be some truth, or partial truth, to the accusation. Don’t try and justify yourself, Jesus is your justification! Thank God He gives us time/space to repent, like He did Jezebel in Revelation (Rev. 2:21).

If there is no evidence, or enough evidence, of you overcoming in a particular situation or type of situation, God may allow the enemy, within boundaries, to bring situations that will prove/test you and your faith. God is a just God, and He will allow His Word to be proven to be true. His Word is at work within you. It will be tried within you (see Psalm 18:30). Evidence will be needed that you are all God says you are. Your attitude, behavior, and words during this trial becomes the evidence.

Give the scribal angels something good to record! Stay faithful during the tough times! Don’t waste your trials. They are evidence used to silence the accusations of the enemy!

The Blood of Jesus

Thank God for the blood of Jesus.

All of what we do is being recorded, but thank God when we mess up, we can plead the blood of Jesus—ask that the blood of Jesus speak on our behalf—and receive forgiveness so our sinful deeds are blotted out. To be His witnesses we must overcome, and as we do we prove that the blood of Jesus is not just enough to forgive our sin, but to change us and empower us to live a righteous, holy life! This is the evidence our advocate Jesus presents to the accuser—His blood and our overcoming testimony! Consider all the promises to those who overcome in Revelation 2-3.

Since we are His witnesses, what are we a witness to?

The saving, forgiving power of His blood, which is awesome, but we are also a witness to the power of His blood to change our heart, enabling us to overcome. We are a witness to the work of Jesus—testifying that it was enough for us to be changed, filled with His Spirit, and live righteously, even in the face or temptation of evil.

So remain faithful—consistently loyal--to God and His Word at all times. This trying of your faith is precious (1 Peter 1:7). God knows that. He isn’t throwing you under the feet of your enemy to be trampled on. He knows the power of His righteousness within you. He has faith that you will overcome. Let your faith and faithfulness mingle with His to create a powerful, overcoming life with access to the eternal realm of heaven!

Read Part II Here