Don't Let COVID Steal Your Dreams
How much power have we given to COVID to keep us from doing the things we know God has called us to do? I don’t want to beat you up, I want to encourage you to consider moving forward. Don’t neglect your gift, use it to serve, and find a way to use it now.
“Use whatever gift you have received to serve.” This reminds me of Moses. God called him, and Moses tried to disqualify himself multiple times. When he started to become open to following God, he asked God how he was supposed to accomplish what God was asking him to do. God said, let’s start with what’s in your hands.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
How much power have we given to COVID to keep us from doing the things we know God has called us to do? I don’t want to beat you up, I want to encourage you to consider moving forward. Don’t neglect your gift, use it to serve, and find a way to use it now.
“Use whatever gift you have received to serve.” This reminds me of Moses. God called him, and Moses tried to disqualify himself multiple times. When he started to become open to following God, he asked God how he was supposed to accomplish what God was asking him to do. God said, let’s start with what’s in your hands.
As you know, Moses had a shepherd’s staff in his hands, and God glorified himself through it. He wants to do the same through whatever is in your hands.
Many of you have passions, callings, and dreams that are on hold because of COVID-19. I have spoken with many people who seem to be waiting on following God until COVID blows over. I always ask them why they’re waiting on COVID. The answer usually has something to do with not knowing what is acceptable. Most people want to be respectful of others, but our response has rendered us ineffective for the Kingdom.
I understand not wanting to cross other people’s boundaries, but you can’t allow the way the world responds to this virus to keep you from following God’s calling on your life. Life goes on, your call remains, it may be time to consider how you can move forward. Don’t let COVID steal your dreams. Quit waiting to do those things you know God has called you to do.
I encourage you to watch the video above and follow along as I read through this passage from 1 Peter.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
What a powerful and holy assignment we carry, we speak for God, and we do so in His power. God will give you the strength to do those things you want to do but don’t know how to do. That strength is His grace in your inner man. This weekend I begin a new series on God’s grace. I want to focus on how you can lean into His grace and increase the capacity of your heart to experience His supernatural strength in every aspect of your life.
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God Wants to Save People, Not Reject Them.
God wants to save people, He is not looking for a reason to reject people. He is not looking for a reason to reject you. He did everything He could to remove the things He had against you in the sacrifice of Christ, to make life with Him secure by faith rather than works.
BUT
He does seem to give us a warning in Hebrews. I’ll cut to the chase, the warning is; don’t reject Jesus and go back to Old Covenant sacrifices. Yes, that’s the “willful sin” the author of Hebrews warns about, rejecting Jesus and trusting in the blood of goats and bulls rather than Christ.
Now, you don’t have a temple to take your goat to, but you do have your dead works that you think make you clean again with God (more on this in the sermon). Jesus’ lifeblood cleanses you, and God’s circumcision of your old nature makes you new. That alone is your righteousness and your removal of sin.
God wants to save people, He is not looking for a reason to reject people. He is not looking for a reason to reject you. He did everything He could to remove the things He had against you in the sacrifice of Christ, to make life with Him secure by faith rather than works.
BUT
He does seem to give us a warning in Hebrews. I’ll cut to the chase, the warning is; don’t reject Jesus and go back to Old Covenant sacrifices. Yes, that’s the “willful sin” the author of Hebrews warns about, rejecting Jesus and trusting in the blood of goats and bulls rather than Christ.
Now, you don’t have a temple to take your goat to, but you do have your dead works that you think make you clean again with God (more on this in the sermon). Jesus’ lifeblood cleanses you, and God’s circumcision of your old nature makes you new. That alone is your righteousness and your removal of sin.
Can You Lose Your Salvation?
I recommend watching the sermon above for a much more detailed explanation, but the short answer is this; you didn’t earn your salvation through works, you can’t lose it through works. And it’s not your works that keep you saved. The lifeblood of Jesus and His finished work on the cross save you and keep you saved. Period, end of story.
But some passages need to be addressed, such as Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.
What do we do with this passage? We put it in the proper context.
Apostasy was indicated by a single word; these added clauses describe the depth of the fall, whilst they explain the futility of all effort towards recovering the fallen. Both the writer and his readers knew well what was involved in "falling away" in such a case as this. To go back to Judaism implied an acceptance of all that Jews had said and done against the Son of God, a return to the bitter hate cherished by the falling nation against the Crucified, a repetition in spirit of all that Pharisees had done, and without the palliation of ignorance; for the highest evidence for Christianity--that of true and deep Christian experience--had been given to them. Again, the words used clearly describe a continuing state. Not the punishment for a past act, but the hopelessness of an existing state, is brought before us here. It is therefore of those who, with a distinct conviction of the divine mission of Jesus, have deliberately joined His foes, unite in denouncing Him as a "deceiver" (Matthew 27:63), rejoice in His shame, and thus "for themselves crucify a second time the Son of God," that the writer says, "It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance."
from Ellicott’s Commentary
The author of Hebrews is speaking to a persecuted church. Some of them were wary of the persecution and questioned the true identity of Jesus. Many of them chose to reject Jesus and resume animal sacrifice for the atoning of their sin. Imagine that you go to God will a dead goat and say, “this is my righteousness. I reject the blood of Jesus and choose to bring you the blood of this goat as my righteousness.” Doing that is like unjustly crucifying the Lord again.
That’s the warning in Hebrews 6 and 10. Continue trusting in Jesus rather than rejecting him and going back to Old Covenant sacrifices. It’s actually straightforward to understand, but some preachers love to scare people out of sin, so they misinterpret what’s being said.
Please watch the full sermon for much more on this topic.
We Are More Than Forgiven, We Are Co-Heirs with Christ.
Have you ever received an inheritance? Have you taken the time to draft a will for your children? The process requires great detail. You have to list every asset and decide who it goes to. You can place age stipulations or other guidelines if you so choose. Or you can simply pass down all that you have without restriction. God did this. Through inheritance, he gave you everything.
God handcrafted a will for you that is full of great and precious promises. In Christ, God predetermined what He would leave you in His last will and testament. His inheritance makes for a glorious afterlife, but it has benefits now too.
“Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
The New Covenant is not a new set of rules to follow, it’s the last will and testament of God. It’s what He predetermined to leave His heirs upon death. Notice the inheritance language in this passage.
Hebrews 9:15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.
God’s Last Will and Testament
Have you ever received an inheritance? Have you taken the time to draft a will for your children? The process requires great detail. You have to list every asset and decide who it goes to. You can place age stipulations or other guidelines if you so choose. Or you can simply pass down all that you have without restriction. God did this. Through inheritance, he gave you everything.
God handcrafted a will for you that is full of great and precious promises. In Christ, God predetermined what He would leave you in His last will and testament. His inheritance makes for a glorious afterlife, but it has benefits now too.
Physical Healing
The simple answer is this, you inherited everything Christ inherited, as a co-heir. I have covered what we have in the New Covenant (God’s last will and testament) in my last 5 articles, so I won’t take the time to list all that Jesus accomplished for you again. This week I want to focus on two specific aspects of your inheritance.
1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.
You are more than forgiven, you have received great and precious promises from God, which includes healing.
Some say Peter is referring to spiritual or emotional healing, but Jesus paid for your sins in His physical body, not just in his spirit or emotions. He endured physical disease so you could have health. He endured the effects of sin in his body, so you could be free from the death of disease.
Jesus secured that promise for you and God gave it to you in his will. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it, God left you physical healing in His will.
Financial Prosperity
2 Corinthians 8: 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.
God left you all of His wealth. It is His good pleasure to give you His kingdom. That has been His plan from the beginning, as evidenced in His promise to Abraham. God told Abraham that He would bless him and make him great. He promised that He would bless his offspring so they would be a blessing to all nations. Part of this blessing is incredible wealth.
God has blessed you with great wealth, he made sure of it in his will to you, which Jesus secured in His death. You can choose to believe that God wants you rich in spirit, or rich in your relationships, as some people claim this passage is teaching. But God wants you financially rich too. Your father wants you to be so extravagantly blessed so you can be a blessing to all nations, thus fulfilling his original promise to Abraham.
I won’t take the time to cover why you haven’t received the health or financial blessing God left you in Christ, I’ll simply end by saying it’s yours now. Repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus. Change your mind and trust that there is nothing but GOOD NEWS for those who are citizens of Heaven and children of God through Christ.
Jesus Our Substitute, He Died for you and as you.
Jesus didn’t just die for you, He died as you. He died in your place. He became like you so you could become like Him. He became your sin so you could be righteous. He was diseased so you would be well. He was punished so you could be free. He was rejected so you could be accepted.
Read along with me through these passages. This sermon is more of a meditative walk through Isaish 52:13 through 54:10.
Here is one of my favorite set of promises from this section of scripture. Notice how God defines Himself; your husband, the Lord of Hosts, your redeemer, the God of the earth, the Lord who has mercy. We must allow God to define who He is and how He wants to operate in our lives. In this selection of scripture, He makes Himself more than our Lord, He describes a very personal and intimate relationship. He is our husband, He is the one who has mercy on us.
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
Jesus didn’t just die for you, He died as you. He died in your place. He became like you so you could become like Him. He became your sin so you could be righteous. He was diseased so you would be well. He was punished so you could be free. He was rejected so you could be accepted.
Read along with me through these passages. This sermon is more of a meditative walk through Isaish 52:13 through 54:10.
Here is one of my favorite set of promises from this section of scripture. Notice how God defines Himself; your husband, the Lord of Hosts, your redeemer, the God of the earth, the Lord who has mercy. We must allow God to define who He is and how He wants to operate in our lives. In this selection of scripture, He makes Himself more than our Lord, He describes a very personal and intimate relationship. He is our husband, He is the one who has mercy on us.
Yes, He is the Lord of Hosts, which denotes His powerful authority, but He uses that reference to illustrate how He exercises His authority in our lives. He loves us, He wants to take care of us in the context of relationship. He wants us to be free from our past. He wants to be kind to us. He not only wants to, He swears to. This is a big deal. God swears to be kind to you, to no longer be angry with you.
Why? Because of what the Messiah accomplished in the previous chapter. He was your substitute, making you clean and holy before Him. Forever sealed in His new covenant of promise.
Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6 For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” says your God. 7 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. 8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
I pray you allow your self-image to be defined by God’s perspective of you. I pray you reshape your self-worth in light of how your husband cherishes you. I pray you find rest in the finished work of Jesus. And I pray that you live open and free with the Lord, no longer afraid of Him. You can trust Him, He went through great lengths to be in your life.
God Removed Your diseased Sinful human Nature and washed you clean with the blood of jesus
God performed spiritual surgery in you when you placed your faith in Christ. When you believe in Christ for salvation and the forgiveness of sins, He goes to work. Here’s the procedure you undergo to become born again:
You placed your faith in Christ.
God removes your heart of stone.
He removes the “body of the sins of the flesh.”
He washes you clean with the blood of Christ (This step makes you holy)
He then gives you a new heart.
Next, He places His Spirit in you, joining Himself to you forever.
This makes you acceptable to Him because of His finished work in you. You cannot improve on His work, and you cannot invalidate His work. It’s His work.
You come off His operating table as a new creature, that is now His child, and a co-heir with Jesus, fully equipped with the authority He shares with you, to go into the world doing the works He did and making disciples of all nations.
All of this is possible because God made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ”
God performed spiritual surgery in you when you placed your faith in Christ. When you believe in Christ for salvation and the forgiveness of sins, He goes to work. Here’s the procedure you undergo to become born again:
You place your faith in Christ.
God removes your heart of stone.
He removes the “body of the sins of the flesh.”
He washes you clean with the blood of Christ (This step makes you holy).
He gives you a new heart (that wants to obey).
He places His Spirit in you, joining Himself to you forever.
This makes you acceptable to Him. You cannot improve on this work, and you cannot invalidate this work. It’s His work.
You come off His operating table as a new creature, a child of God, and a co-heir with Jesus, fully equipped with His authority, to go into the world doing the works He did and making disciples of all nations.
All of this is possible because God made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21
I want to highlight “step 3.”
The “circumcision of the body of the sins of the flesh” is perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of the Gospel, yet I believe it to be one of the most important. It seems to be missed by most Christians. If you do not understand what happened in this spiritual circumcision, you will believe that you are still a sinner by nature. Or you might believe that you have two natures. Both of which are incorrect.
The result of the circumcision God performs in you leaves you with one nature, a nature that is no longer opposed to God or prone to sin. This procedure removes your guilt of breaking God’s commands. And the removal of your mere human nature makes you the kind of being that can live in the fullness of God’s illuminated presence forever. You truly are a new creation.
Paul refers to the same spiritual circumcision in Romans 6.
Romans 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.
The body of sin was rendered powerless AND removed from you. Let’s look at the original language for more understanding.
apekdysei tou sōmatos tēs sarkos
This Greek phrase is translated as “removal of the body of flesh.” Some translations read “removal of the body of the sins of the flesh,” depending on the emphasis.
What does this phrase mean?
Apekdysei is pretty self-explanatory, it simply means to remove. It’s also translated as laying aside (as if you’re done with something).
Somatos basically means body, but it’s literal and figurative. For context, we see that the circumcision we’re evaluating is done without hands, meaning it’s spiritual in nature. It’s something God does, who is spirit. So in Colossians 2:11, the context is a spiritual body that is being removed.
Sarx means flesh. Sarx also has two applications, the skin on your body as well as your human nature. In regard to “human nature,” Sarx is defined this way: mere human nature that is opposed to God and prone to sin. Since we’re talking about a spiritual circumcision on a figurative “body,” the conclusion of what is being removed is not the physical flesh but rather the “mere human nature that is opposed to God and prone to sin.”
God removes your mere human nature that is opposed to Him and prone to sin. He removes your sin nature. After this procedure, you no longer have a mere human nature, you have an eternal, spiritual, righteous nature, which is no longer opposed to God and prone to sin. Now that’s GOOD NEWS!!! Will you believe it?!
Couple that with the fact that God gives you a new heart and places His spirit in you. That leaves us with the conclusion that you truly are a new creation. No longer at enmity with God by nature. No longer a sinful creature by nature. No longer a mere human. You are now the righteousness of God in Christ! A child of God! A fully equipped ambassador of Heaven!
NOW REPENT - change the way you think about yourself and believe the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom of God! The GOOD NEWS Gospel that tells you how magnificent you now are as the result of the finished work of Christ in you!
Selah
I pray that you renew your soulish mind to your true spiritual identity. It’s not just something that God credits to you, you truly are a NEW CREATION!! Believe it and live from the power of it!!
Listen to the full sermon above for more on this subject. I will also begin a new series in March 2021 focused on the grace of God, which what God supplies to you, enabling you to live in the power of your new creation identity.
