Apostle Don Meares
“11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
God is a God of tremendous specificity. Before you were born, God had a plan and a purpose for you. The essence of life is to discover that plan and purpose because you will be held accountable and judged according to how you fulfilled that plan.
When you accepted Christ as your Lord and Master, you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. However, you must repent from your sin, so that you will be washed by the blood of the Lamb. Hebrews 9:22 says:
“22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.”
Repentance not only removes our sin, but it also brings forth healing from our sicknesses. Baptism in water is also very important. Unfortunately, many Christians do not understand what baptism in water is about.
When a person decides to be baptized in water, the old man is buried, and the new man rises to the newness of life set free from the bondage of the world, the flesh, and the devil that controlled a person’s life before they were baptized in water (see 1 Peter 3:21, Colossians 2:12) . This act identifies that a person belongs to the Lord Jesus. That through Him, they have been bought with a price, and no longer belong to the world. When you get baptized, you are no longer part of the kingdom of darkness. Doing these things show our witness and how the Gospel has done its work in us.
Baptism is more than an outward sign that a person belongs to Christ. When you get baptized, you will receive faith, a new personal spirit, and the Holy Spirit. Then, when you have been immersed in the Holy Spirit and in water, you will receive the speaking of tongues (1 Corinthians 14:2). It is a way to build up your faith and speak mysteries from God and to God. It gives us the power to bear witness in Heaven (1 John 5:7-8).
Establishing the Six Basic Principles of Christ
“Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits.” – Hebrews 6:1-3
If you do not believe in repentance from dead works, faith for God, baptism of the water and the Spirit, laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment, you cannot grow in your faith. You have to understand these things so that you can grow and know your individual purpose. Therefore, you must establish yourself in these principles.
First: Repentance from dead works
The dead works are not a part of your purpose. Rather, God has prepared for you to do good works as part of your individual and corporate purpose. Psalm 139:15-16 says that before you became a seed in your mother’s womb, you already existed in God. Repenting from dead works will help you develop your personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Your personal purpose as well as your corporate purpose tied to the local church where you are planted, are crucial parts of carrying out these good works.
Second: Faith in God
This is where you begin in your walk. This is what you experience as a result of being washed and under the blood and being baptized in the Holy Spirit and water.
Third: The Doctrine of Baptisms
You can receive much more by faith in the waters of baptism. However, faith can only come to you to experience the things that the Word of God teaches. If you have heard them, or you have taught them, faith will come. Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Fourth: Laying on of hands
Laying on of hands and praying, not just for the sick but for other people, allows us to bear witness to God’s power and authority in our lives. Those who are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ can minister to others through this.
Fifth: Resurrection of the dead
As Jesus has resurrected from the dead, so will those who have been born again when He comes again (1 Corinthians 6:14). This truth is essential for us who follow and obey Him for the resurrection power that is in Him is also in us (Romans 8:11).
Sixth: Eternal judgment
Whatever you achieve down here on earth will influence your eternity as you will be judged for your deeds (1 Corinthians 3:13-15). Don’t live for life here on earth. Decide to live for the life to come. This is where most of your life will be lived. Not here, but in eternity.
These principles are critically important because when we know these principles, we will have the authority and power coming from our Lord Jesus Christ. When we have the Spirit of God, we will see the vision, and we will be led to do God’s will here on earth.
Walking in God’s individual purpose for you
First, we must discover the individual plan and purpose that God has given us before we were born. You were born for a divine purpose. You discover this when you come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit that dwells in you. When you are under Christ’s Lordship, your heart and spirit become acceptable to reproduce the seed of God’s Word and government.
Next, you must then walk with God by faith. You have to take up your cross daily. You need to connect with Him by prayer. A part of living by faith is to be faithful in your priestly requirements before God as an individual. It also involves a lifestyle of praise and worship.
Lastly, we must understand that the walk of love is greater than the walk of faith. In 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, the Apostle Paul writes:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.”
You can have all the gifts, but if you don’t have love, it will be for nothing. Without the fruit, the gifts will not be operable. The fruit is vital. It starts at home and in the church.
The fruit we bear will reveal whether or not we are a disciple of Jesus. Our obedience matters. It has to do with our ministry of reconciliation. This will allow us to be salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13). Our fruit and our obedience will encourage others to become disciples too.
As those under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we are to live life by God’s written Word, the Bible. Our obedience must be based on His Word. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” Furthermore, He said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
What you hear from the Trinity must agree with His Word, or God did not speak to you. His voice will not contradict His Word and vice-versa.
As a disciple of Jesus, we must walk in praise and worship. When you understand the power of praise, then you have to realize that praise deals with attitudes and that there is a way that you have to follow to approach God as the King of kings. Come before His presence with singing, not murmuring, not complaining. You won’t get very far if you come to God with your problems. That is not the way of approach. We are to enter His gates with thanksgiving (Psalm 100:4) and not our problems. Walk down the courts with praise. These are the attitudes we must develop. Many of us never even get into the Holy place because we live in attitudes that are not under the Lordship of Jesus Christ,
In pursuing our purpose, we must also fulfill our calling as a priest under God. Psalm 51:17 reminds us, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.” Grace comes through humility when we sacrifice ourselves to do the will of God. We must also remember that we are under a new covenant, no longer under the law of the Old Testament (see Romans 7:6).
As part of the priesthood, now that we are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we are also commanded to give our tithes. The Bible makes it clear in Malachi 3:10 that you have to bring the tithes to the storehouse, the house of God. This is a part of the new covenant. Living under the Lordship of Jesus, we must bring a sacrifice of praise and joy. We are also to sacrifice our bodies. The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 12:1:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”
Lordship is where the Lord Jesus makes his decisions in life through you. Choose to always be in the place where the blessing of God is optimal in your life. We were created for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and with this, we must be a dwelling place for God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22).
The essence of life is to fulfill the complete will of God that He planned for your life. We must also realize that we are not to live on our own and must fulfill the plan God has for us before we were born. On our own strength, we won’t be able to do this, but we will be victorious when we are surely under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
