What Does It Mean to be Free from Sin?

Romans 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 YOU HAVE BEEN SET FREE FROM SIN and have become slaves to righteousness.

There are several powerful truths in the phrase, “you have been set free from sin.”

1. God is not holding your sin against you under the New Covenant

2. You are no longer a sinful creature by nature

3. The root of sin has been removed, and you have a new heart

4. You now naturally desire righteousness over sin

STEWARDING FREEDOM

With freedom from sin comes personal responsibility. Believers have the personal ability to respond to God’s grace rather than continue to live in sin. Response ability.

Under the New Covenant, we are free from sin. We are free from sin in that God is no longer holding our sins against us.

Paul explains in Romans 6 that freedom from sin doesn’t give one an excuse to continue in sin; it’s just the opposite. It’s the opposite because we are under grace.

If you have a traditional understanding of grace, you will not grasp the power of “under grace.” Grace is traditionally defined as unmerited favor. It’s equated to mercy. The sentiment is that God shows you grace even though you deserve punishment. That’s incorrect. Grace and mercy are different. Mercy is undeserved forgiveness, but grace is inner strength.

Grace is unmerited favor, but it’s much more. Grace is strength in your inner man. It’s God’s divine influence in your heart that brings capacities. Those capacities empower you to live the kind of life that is consistent with your righteous nature in Christ.

Turn the phrase around; because you are under grace, you’re free from sin. It’s like saying because you are stronger now, you won’t give in to temptation.

FREE FROM A SINFUL NATURE

God doesn’t give you grace just so you’ll behave properly, that’s a side effect. The more excellent news is this; you are a new creature; you are the kind of being that is now righteous. You are not a naturally sinful creature anymore. And because your nature has changed, you live from an internal power that’s stronger than the shortcomings of your former life.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

In your new creation identity, you are God’s handiwork. You are the product of His craftsmanship. You are a vessel that is designed to do good works. God made the sun, and it shines. God made fruit trees, and they grow fruit. With Christ, God made you, and that new you does good works. It’s in His design of the new you for you to naturally desire to do good works RATHER THAN sin.

To be free from sin means that it’s no longer your natural programming. God made a whole new you, and your default is good works.

If we could look at our new life through the lens of his handiwork, rather than worrying if people will sin, we’ll set many more people free.

If you’re worried that people will sin when told they’re free from sin, you don’t understand the beauty of our new creation reality and the empowering nature of grace.

WHAT IF YOU STILL SIN?

1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Don’t sin,
but if you do,
remember that Jesus
died for your sins.

This is what it looks like to preach freedom. Is John advocating sin? Of course not. He understands the revelation that the law is the strength of sin, and freedom is the strength of righteousness.

IN A COVID-19 WORLD

Let’s bring it home. We’re all stuck in our homes right now. Unfortunately all the weird and destructive things people do in isolation are getting worse. Alcoholism and substance abuse are up. The suicide hotline calls are up 300%. Domestic abuse calls are up. Pornography use is up. Child protective services can’t homes, I don’t even want to think about what that might mean. Depression is skyrocketing. Fear is the new normal. I mean, we’re being encouraged to be afraid.

As a result, sin is up. You may even find yourself slipping back into habits and addictions you thought you already conquered. You may be doing things you’re not proud in your time of isolation.

If so, remember:

1. You are not a sinner, you are stressed

2. God is not mad at you, he wants to help you

3. You are not choosing grace, you’re choosing sin

4. You no longer naturally crave sin, that’s why you feel so guilty

5. You can break the pattern and live in freedom

6. Remember Christ’s victory over sin and death and choose grace

How do you choose grace? Be honest with yourself. Remind yourself that you’re the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Meditate on who you are in Christ until your heart opens up and receives the abundance of grace.

Here’s a resource for you. Read these out loud, Feel them. Believe them. and be free!!!

God is a Constant in a World Full of Variables

In mathematical equations, there are constants and variables. A constant has a fixed numerical value, while a variable may be unknown or can variate. In the formula d = 2r; 2 is a constant whereas, r and d are variables. To solve the equation, you work out the problem until you define the variables. In math, once you solve variables, you can build skyscrapers or balance budgets. In science, when you isolate and know the variables, you can cure diseases or develop all sorts of effective medicines.

The point being, if you solve the problems by working out the variables until they are known constants, you’re left with a reliable formula or process, and sometimes a scientific law.

Spiritual Equations

How does this apply to spirituality? Let’s look at some examples:

• Sickness x b = Health

• a + Financial Hardship = More Than Enough

• Depression x Fear + c = Joy

The constants are known. In these cases, the constants are personally experienced. The result or solution is known. But the variable is unknown. How to reach the desired solution is unknown because there are variables.

In these equations, we know God has something to do with the variables, but we’re not sure how He changes the other constants to come to these favorable results.

Here’s the short answer; you’re not going to know.

The problem is this; we think we know what God needs to do to change the unfavorable constants into favorable solutions and results. We try to define the variables in our understanding and end up limiting God’s potential solutions for those variables.

When you try to define God’s responsibilities for Him, you narrow the options He can bring about in your life. In other words, if you think one thing needs to happen, but He wants to do something else, you may close off your heart to the option He’s trying to bring to you.

You may miss the wisdom or direction He’s trying to give you because you are focused on the reality of the constant or your preconception of how to solve the variable.

God Is Unlimited

God is unlimited in His capacities and solutions. He can bring about answers and favorable solutions in ways we can’t imagine. It’s best to allow God to be God and simply trust that He will be God in your life.

Now, you can do this;

You can add your knowledge of who God is to the equation. Acknowledge the variable but also acknowledge what you know about the character of God. In other words, as you’re waiting for God to solve a, b or c, you can think on what’s true of Him.

For example; we know that God is powerful. We know God is a provider. We know God is a healer. We know God is a redeemer. We know God is willing to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory. We know He has defeated the enemy on our behalf. We know that we are in right standing through the sacrifice of Christ. We know that His spirit is in us leading and guiding us into all truth. What else do you know?

So we conclude that we can expect God to solve these equations in a manner that’s consistent with what is known about him. The more you are persuaded of God’s constants, the more you can relax and trust that He is working to solve those equations for you.

So basically, stop trying to figure it out and trust him.

A Warning

The more you try to figure out your life’s equations in your understanding, the less you will be open to His working in your life’s equations. When you add the cares of this world to the equation, and the deceitfulness of riches to the equation, you cause yourself not to be able to receive His solutions.

When you depend on money as your provider, when you look to the government for fix things for you, you limit yourself from perceiving God’s answers. When fear overrides faith, you may even stop looking to God to solve those equations for you.

Be At Peace

There are things you can do to make sure you are primed to receive His solutions. One thing you can do is think spiritually.

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14

So you could say the spiritual mind does receive the things of the spirit. “Receive” is the operative word. The spiritual mind RECEIVES the things of the spirit, and even KNOWS the things of the spirit.

You will not work out your own life’s equations and end up with correct solutions if you try to figure them out with natural logic. If God’s solutions seem illogical to you, you know you are thinking carnally or naturally. If God’s solutions or promises seem plausible to you, you are thinking spiritually. Keep on thinking that way. In other words, stay in faith.

Sometimes faith is a fight. It’s a mental battle to push back rationality, fear, doubt, and emotion in favor of God’s word. Jesus tells us that worry, anxiety, and natural thinking actually limit the growth of his kingdom into our lives. (Mark 4)

Stay open, stay in faith toward God, suspend your desire to work out your life;’s variables with your natural thinking.

God is alive, He is active, He is moving on your behalf, He is bringing you solutions that establish His favorable will in your life. Allow Him to do so by not factoring doubt, fear, and worry into the equation, thereby limiting what you can receive from Him.

I’ll end with a question, what can you do to stay in faith toward him? Go ahead and do that.

How to Hear God in a Crisis

Do you want to know how to hear God when it's hard to hear God? Here's how; if you know what he said, you'll know what he is saying. You don't need a NEW word; you need a LIVING word.

What Is God's Word?

The word "word" is the Greek word, logos. It's where we get the word logic. Logos also refers to the character of the speaker of that word. God's logos is how he thinks, how he treats people, and how he organizes everything he does. It's his way. God has a way about him; that way is his logos.

The logos of God manifests in different ways. We have the written word, which is God's commandments, instructions, poetry, doctrine, and history. The written word reflects the logic and character of his being. The written word can be used to keep us grounded when we feel like we receive a new spoken word from God.

Another aspect of the logos of God is Jesus. Jesus is the Logos of God, made flesh. If you could squeeze God's way of thinking, how he behaves, and how he lives his life through time into a human being, that's Jesus. 

Jesus is what it looks like for God to be human. And Jesus himself is dependent on the words that God has and is speaking.

Living On God's Words

When Jesus was tempted in the desert to prove his identity through external performance, he said: "man does not live by bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

Matthew 4:3 And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." 4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'"

Our immediate reaction to this statement is to think we need to be able to hear what God is saying, especially when we're in trouble. This statement sends us down the path of feeling like we have to be able to listen to what God is saying right now, at this moment. That's partially true, but it's not limited to that.

You may have noticed it's difficult to hear God when you're under pressure. It's hard to live from peace and hear God's wisdom and guidance when the world seems to be crumbling around you.

The good news is if you are intimately familiar with what God already said, you can know what he is saying and what he will say.

God repeats himself. God repeats himself. ;-)

God will not change; he will always be who he is. You can count on that. It doesn't matter if he said it 3000 years ago or 3 seconds ago, his word and his promises are still trustworthy.

Hearing Under Pressure

So it's pretty simple, if you're in trouble or under pressure, you can look at what God has said until it becomes alive in you now. You'll know the word is alive in you when it becomes believable. When it's believable, all things are possible.

When God's word is alive in you, you begin to see his options and hear his leading. The word of God can lie dormant in your intellect, but it's up to you to open your heart in such a way that it gets in your heart and connects with his living spirit.

Yes, God will speak to you. Yes, God can and will give you a new word, but it will always validate his written word.

Become Intimately Familiar with His Written Word

I started wrestling in 5th grade and continued through high school. In high school, we practiced 3 hours a day during wrestling season. We'd spend an hour on mat drills, then an hour on take-down drills, then we would wrestle for an hour. By the time we were in an actual match, we were so familiar with the moves they came naturally. I rarely had to think about which move to use. The position determined the moves. I had several options in my arsenal to choose from, no matter the situation.

The written word of God is like this. If we know it intimately, God has something to work with. He may or may not quote chapter and verse to you, but he will certainly speak a concept that is consistent with something that's already written.

Know the word. If you know his written word, you will hear his active voice more clearly. When the two come together is where you choose faith, open to his grace, and move forward.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (more on this in the full sermon above)

Notice the progression, the word starts in the spirit, makes its way to the place where the spirit meets the soul, then it works its way from the soul into the joints and marrow. The bone marrow is the innermost aspect of the human body.

The word of God is seeking to make its way into our entire being. It's up to you to yield to his word in your inner man. When you yield, it becomes alive and nourishes every aspect of your being. It becomes wisdom and guidance for specific things in your life.

When we engage the word at this level, it will hide in our hearts and our minds until we need it.

God's word, his logic, his promises, his character will work its way into our entire being and, at just the right moment, will spring forth and touch our lives in so many ways.

God is unlimited, he has infinite potentials to be God in our lives, but if we do not renew our minds in his logic, we will miss his leading and be limited to our best efforts.

Get In The Word

I want to encourage you to get in His word. Know scripture. I don't mean from a legalistic perspective where you have to read so many hours a day but know the concepts. Know the big picture of what Jesus accomplished and your identity in him. Then you can dig deeper into the nuanced instruction and wisdom.

You may not always understand what you're reading, but you're tucking away God's logic in your heart for him to breathe on it when you need it.

YouVersion has a great app. I recommend downloading their app and subscribing to the free Bible Project reading plans. 

You don't need a NEW word, you need a LIVING word.

If you're in a crisis and need to know what God is saying, become moved by what he has already said. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The Truth About Suffering and Tribulation

This blog contains highlights from the sermon “The Truth About Suffering and Tribulation” by Clint Byars. We encourage you to watch the full message.

““Do you finally believe?” Jesus replied. “Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!””

— John 16:31-33

God is not the author of your suffering. It's not in his script for your life. Tribulation and suffering are in the world, but they're not from God. If you should find yourself suffering religious persecution, God promises that He will comfort you.

These two passages address the issue of suffering.

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction (tribulation), so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction (tribulation), with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction (tribulation) we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that "was to” (was meant to) make us (But that made us) rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

Verse 9 can be a little confusing; here's how it reads in the original language.

Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that made us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

We usually read it this way.

But that was meant to make us rely not on ourselves…

The word "meant" is implied unnecessarily. The implication is that God purposed or allowed them to suffer, so they would rely on him and not themselves. But what Paul is saying is that it happened, and their response was to rely on God.

It's a subtle nuance, but it's an important one. When we find ourselves suffering due to persecution, our response should be to rely on God for comfort. And when we're comforted, we can then comfort others because we know that God will comfort them too.

It clearly says God will comfort us in suffering, but it does NOT clearly say the suffering was from God, you have to read that into the text.

God is not the author of our suffering. He comforts us when we find ourselves in it. And the only kind of suffering that God says we must endure is for preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of Jesus.

Suffering With Christ

2 Corinthians 1:5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

1 Peter 4:13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Aren't we supposed to share in Christ's sufferings? In other words, if Christ suffered, aren't we supposed to experience the same things?

It's a fair question; let's look at what Jesus endured.

• He was persecuted for saying that God was his father.

• He was called a blasphemer for claiming to be the Messiah.

• He was arrested by Rome on the Jew's behalf, for claiming to be the Messiah.

• Once arrested, he was beaten and tortured.

• He was nailed to a cross.

• He was made to be sin for us.

• He passed into the grave from which he rose again.

You could be persecuted like Jesus was persecuted, but only partially. You may be persecuted for preaching that Jesus is the Messiah. You may be arrested and beaten for preaching the Gospel. You may be killed for not rejecting your faith in Jesus. But you cannot suffer for your own sin, Jesus did that for you. You can not be beaten to gain healing, by His stripes you were healed. And God will not kill you as a sacrifice for the salvation of the world.

The only suffering that we can share in is the preaching of the kingdom of God

Life's Circumstances

There is no Biblical context for God, causing someone to suffer through ordinary life circumstances. Here's my point; some teach the illness, job loss, lost property, sick children, and depression are part of God's plan, so you'll suffer and turn to him.

There is no Biblical corroboration for the idea that God will cause adverse situations in your life to make you suffer and learn patience or become more holy. People make that stuff up.

People find themselves in difficult circumstances and wonder why God allowed it or what he's trying to teach them. In difficulty, we often turn to God and come out of it more dependent on him. Because of the outcome, we wrongly assume God allowed it for that desired end. That sounds logical, but it's unbiblical, there is no case of God treating people that way, ever. You may say, "what about Job," I address that in the video above.

Conclusion

You might suffer, even to the point of losing your life, for preaching the Gospel. In that situation, God promises that he'll comfort you. Paul teaches us that if we find ourselves under religious persecution, we can turn to God and be strengthened. As we're strengthened, it helps us persevere, and we come out with hope and patience. But you can not say that God will mess around with your life's circumstances, to make you suffer, to teach you patience.

Viral Love: The Church Can Spread Love Through Unity in the Midst of Uncertainty and Fear

The world is freaking out, and we have the solution! When we allow God to love us we are made whole. From that wholeness we will trust God deeply. When we trust him, we walk in his promises and experience His provision, even during a pandemic. The world needs this kind of wholeness, the world needs peace. How will the world know this love that makes us whole? Through a united church.

Unity Starts With Personal Peace

Jesus gave us his peace. His peace is more than inner tranquility; it also means wholeness. Jesus gives us his wholeness. Jesus gave us his whole and complete relationship with the Father. We have peace / wholeness with the Father. Amen!

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Out of that whole relationship, we can unite with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Then we can turn that love toward the world and inspire them to respond to God’s love and receive peace. It starts with God and flows through us to the world.

A Diverse Church Unified In Our Sonship

If we can lay down our denominational differences, we would realize that there are billions of people who call Jesus, Lord. Those are our brothers and sisters. We’re called to love each other in such a way the world concludes that we’re Jesus followers.

John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

We may express our beliefs differently, we may have different callings and giftings, we may have different focuses within the body of Christ, but we’re all one family in Christ. If we can lay aside our differences and acknowledge this singular truth, we will be a powerful force in this world. And the world needs the church to be powerful right now.

Our unity in Christ as children of God should compel us to walk in love toward one another, the kind of love that testifies of our sonship in Christ.

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I also pray for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

It’s Simple

It’s a simple process:

• God loved us and died for us while we were still sinners

• We respond to his love for us by loving him

• Jesus commands us to love one another

• Jesus says our love for one another will testify that we’re his disciples

• Jesus prays that we’ll be united in him in such a way that it compels the world to believe

• The result is believing world because we loved one another and turned that united love to the world

While the world is still in shock from the Coronavirus, the church has the opportunity to show them our inner peace and our united love, which will compel them to believe God sent Jesus for them too.

Pray

Take some time to pray and open your heart to God’s leading. He will show you who to love and how to walk in love in these uncertain times. I walk you through a meditation to hear from Him at the end of the message at the top of this page.

When You Pray, Believe That You Have Received and it Will Be Yours

Jesus said, “all things are possible for those who believe,” and “believe that you HAVE RECEIVED and it WILL BE yours.” We can either take him at his word or come up with all kinds of explanations and rationalizations about why he didn’t really mean those things. Folks will bring up theological points like context and audience, but the bottom line is, he said them.

For reference purposes, here are the passages:

MARK 9:22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” 23 “ ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” 24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Mark 11:22 And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

“All things are possible for those who believe,”
“believe that you HAVE RECEIVED, and it WILL BE yours.”

You could say all things are possible for those who believe they have received.

Where does your mind go when you read those statements? Do you say amen, and that’s it, no matter the circumstance? Do you think of a time you prayed and nothing happened? Do you think of a time when you felt like you had a word from God, but it didn’t happen? Do you think of a theological system you were taught and reason these passages into a comfortable place in your mind? Where do your thoughts go when you read those statements? Your thoughts and emotions will give you a clue about what you believe in your heart.

Believe that you have received what?

“Believe that you have received, and it will be yours.” Believe that you have received what? What can you legally expect to receive? What can you legitimately pray for and expect to receive if you believe? Everything that God has given you in Christ.

So that begs the question, what has he given you in Christ? Everything he accomplished, paid for, and received in Christ’s atoning work.

What did he accomplish and pay for? That’s the real question.

Look at it from this perspective; We received an inheritance from God. Jesus died as the testator of God’s last will and testament to enact everything that God left us in his will.

Jesus died to leave us an inheritance

Hebrews 9:   15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it. 17 For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

We are joint-heirs with Jesus, heirs of God

 Romans 8:16 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.

Jesus inherited Heaven and all that God has

Hebrews 1:1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness as our inheritance made secure forever in the shed blood of Jesus.

It’s legal for you to expect everything consistent with the nature and character of God. For instance, God is a healer, provider, comforter, counselor, and father; it is legal for you to expect to experience God in all of those capacities. It’s is theologically correct for you to expect to receive from God things that are consistent with those aspects of his character. He has given them to you, and they are yours, as you believe.

Homework Assignment

If I may, I’d like to give you a homework assignment. Make a list of all the things Jesus accomplished in His death, burial, and resurrection. Just start with a list of things you know, write them down. Then list the scriptures for those things; it’s ok to use a search engine to help you. Then meditate on the fact that each one of those things is yours now. I’d love to see your lists in the comments.

Let Me Pray For You - Join Me As I Walk You Through A Psalm 91 Prayer and Meditation

“His Faithful Promises Are Your Armor and Protection
”

— Psalm 91:4

In these uncertain times, we can turn to the spirit and Word of God. We pray you experience strength in your inner man as we pray and meditate through Psalm 91.

Ephesians 3:14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. 20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Personalize this Psalm, take it as a word from God for you and your family. Don’t just read the words, use your imagination and see yourself experiencing these promises. Get your heart involved and feel these promises as true for you and your family.

Psalm 91:1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. 3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. 4 He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For he will order his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! 14 The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”

What Do We Know?

The scientific world asks, “what do we know” when seeking to establish accurate results. The Law Enforcement community asks, “what do we know” when trying to examine evidence and find the truth. The same question can be asked when seeking to establish God’s Word in your heart.

“What do I know to be true about God” is an excellent question to ponder when you pray. Start with what you know is true, then pray about the things you need to pray.

Our prayers are usually motivated by need, fear, and worry. It’s ok to pray about what you need and the things that you’re worried about, just make sure you know what God has said about those things before you pray.

For example, if you are in debt or you’re behind on your bills, and you pray to God for financial help, make sure your heart is aware of who God is regarding finances.

“Father, I know you are a provider. I know you desire to meet my needs out of your riches in glory, exceedingly, abundantly above all I can ask or think. I know you are a good father who will not give me stones when I ask for bread. I know that Jesus was made poor that I could become rich. I know you desire to bless me so I can be a blessing to others. I thank you that you know what I need before I even ask. I thank you that you want me to be prosperous and be in health above everything else. I know you can make a way where there is no way. I thank you for the testimony of Jesus finding money in a fish’s mouth. I thank you that we have the testimony of Jesus multiplying food. I thank you that your spirit is in me, leading me and guiding me into all truth. Because you are a provider and want all these things for me, I can rest in you, I can trust you, I can let go of fear and worry and be confident that you will lead me into success. I am willing to do whatever you lead me to do, Father, thank you for a clear step to take to experience you as my provider.”

Think of an area you have been praying about and craft a prayer like this that is more focused on who he is than you need.

How Do We Know What We Know?

The idea is to become aware of who God is and acknowledge that he is that in your life. You don’t even have to ask him for things. He knows what you need. A better way to pray is to acknowledge who he is simply. Meditate on who he is until you are more moved by who he is than your need. Meditate and pray on the nature and presence of God until he is more real than your struggle. Become confident in God in your heart, and then something very magical happens, the kingdom and off of God’s promises will grow into your life.

Here’s how Jesus explains it in Mark 4 —

The kingdom of God is as if a farmer should scatter seed on the ground. The ground is your heart. The farmer sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed (Word/kingdom) sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The seed produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

God’s word will bear fruit after its kind. When you meditate on who he is (spreading seed in your heart), his kingdom will grow in you and into your life. We don’t know how it works, we can’t control the process, but if we allow his word to abide in us, his word, his promises will manifest in our lives.

Prayer is a time to spread seed in your heart and your life. Prayer is the continual watering and cultivation of that seed you’ve spread. It’s important NOT to let worry, fear, cares of this world, and the lust of other things choke out those seeds from growing.

Pray God’s character into your life. Pray the identity of God rather than rehearsing your problems. Pray God’s truth and watch your life reflect his will.

You Must Be Sanctified to Encounter the Presence of God

Coming in contact with the presence of God will kill you if you have not been appropriately sanctified. Sanctification means to be cleansed or purified in a specific way. Once something is consecrated, it is holy, or fit for use by God.

Under the Old Covenant, you sanctified yourself, under the New Covenant, Jesus is your sanctification. Under the OC, you cleansed your outer man. Under the NC, Jesus cleanses your inner man.

To be sanctified under the Old Covenant, you took a bath, washed your clothes, and abstained from sex for two days.

And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you forever.” When Moses told the words of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people. Exodus 19:9-11

That was for the average person; the sanctification process for the priests was much more involved. (See Exodus 29) Keep in Christians are kings and priests under the New Covenant (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 5:10), so the Exodus 29 purification process would have applied to us.

I hope you read through Exodus 29 because it will make you thankful for New Covenant sanctification.

Hebrews 10:8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Holiness

To be clear, you have NO HOPE of being holy on your own!!! I can’t stress that enough. Jesus is your sanctification, which leaves you holy!!! From then on, you are to live worthy of that gift you were given in Christ.

Grace, God’s influence in your inner man, his spiritual strength in your heart, will teach you to live godly. You can not be holy in your behavior, but you can yield to his grace and be empowered to live worthy of the holiness he gave you in Christ.

Sanctification and Prayer

I wanted to lay out the idea of sanctification so I can talk about prayer for the rest of this article. Prayer is a time to spend in communion with the direct presence of God. That was impossible under the Old Covenant. If you encountered God’s presence, you died. Not so now, that presence lives in those who have placed faith in Christ. That means inside, you must be holy for God’s presence to live in there.

Because the God who said, Out of darkness light shall shine, is the One who shined in our hearts to illuminate the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God and not out of us.—2 Corinthians 4:6-7

You can not make yourself holy, and you can not become more holy, you can only live in a manner that honors the work of Christ in you. The very fact that you have changed means you have a power in you that Old Covenant believers didn’t have, and you can live worthily. But how you live in and of itself is not your sanctification; the blood of Christ is.

Prayer is a time to turn your attention to God’s transformative and powerful spirit within you and yield to the shaping of his hands in your inner man.

You can not take enough baths or wash your clothes enough times to get God’s spirit inside you; only the blood of Jesus can wash you clean enough to be acceptable to interact with God.

Holiness is an acknowledgment of God’s presence within you!! Prayer is a time to reverently honor the work of Christ on your behalf and be thankful for making you a new creation that can be inhabited by God!!

How to Pray

When you pray, acknowledge that God is holy. Acknowledge that he is in you. And give thanks that he has done a work in you to qualify you to be inhabited by him.

Pray until you perceive his presence within you. Pray until your heart is confident in his power within you. Pray until you have hope that God is working on your behalf to bring about his goodwill in your life. Pray until your emotions match his promises. Pray until you believe that your circumstance really can change.

Too often we pray out of fear and worry. We “pray” and then go right back to the same fear and worry, as if God’s presence in our lives is ineffective.

Prayer is first and foremost a gift. It is a time to get your mind and heart in alignment with God’s promises and perspectives. If God said it, If Jesus paid for it, you have the legal right to expect it in your life, whatever the guarantee may be.

Prayer is not magic; it just shifts your inner man back to dependence on God. Prayer is a mind-renewal process. Pray until God’s promises are believable, then don’t back down and don’t lose heart.

I hope you take the time to listen to this sermon, I go into much more detail on this subject. I pray it’s a blessing to you.

I Am Free to Love You When I Set You Free from My Judgements

““Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

— Matthew 7:1-5

To Jesus, judgment is when you “look at the speck of sawdust in another person’s eye.” He says, STOP IT! Don’t do that! When you look at the speck, you no longer see that person, you only see the speck. The speck is whatever issue or behavior you are judging about that person.

His remedy is to remove the plank in your eye so you can see clearly to help them remove the speck from their sight. The plank in your eye is your judgment of that person. Your opinion is clouding you from seeing the person apart from the speck, and you only see the problem. Remove your opinion, and you will see clearly to help them.

Notice he doesn’t say to ignore the speck. Jesus wants you to address the speck if you see someone caught in a sin, you are to help restore them. But if you only see their problem, it will blind you from healthily helping them.

God is not holding our sins against us, and we should not hold people’s sins against them either. Love keeps no record of wrong. Does that mean they get away with it? No way, they’ll reap what they sow, but you’re not the judge, jury, and punisher.

Removing Your Spouses Speck

What if that speck is in your spouse’s eye? Be careful! Seriously, approach with care in your eyes rather than judgment. If your spouse has an issue you need to address, make sure your motive is love before you approach them. You can not trust your intentions if you are not motivated by love. They will not hear you if your motivation is to be right or show them where they’re wrong. Approaching your spouse from any other motive than love will shut them down.

Marriage is a blessing, remember that when you need to deal with an issue with your spouse. Remember that women want to be loved, and men want to be respected. Men, connect to your love for your wife before you deal with that problem. Women, communicate with your husband respectfully, not in a demeaning way when you address the issue.

Love seeks to restore, not be right!!

Marriage Is A Blessing

Seriously, marriage is a blessing. Someone commits to helping you for the rest of their life. That person makes you a priority in their own life, for the rest of their life. They commit to love you and be your partner in life, helping you through every single struggle and failure. What a blessing it is to have a partner for life!

Unfortunately, lots of folks don’t see a marriage that way. Marriage has become a negotiation, a chess match. Too often, husband and wife drift apart due to lack of communication. We’re pretty forgiving creatures if we’d talk to one another, talk in such a way that we find common ground, forgiveness, and restoration. Too often, our communication server to further validate our judgments, offenses, and hurts regarding our spouse.

I’m certainly not advocating putting up with infidelity or abuse; I’m talking about a couple that lacks the effort to work things out.

You can do this! You can have a healthy, thriving marriage. You can have the kind of marriage that is a testimony of God’s love for us. But one of you is going to have to go first.

It’s time to lay aside your judgment and love your spouse. It’s time to take the first step. Someone is going to have to go; first, it may as well be you.

LOVE GOES FIRST!! BE LOVE IN YOUR HOME!!