How To Please God And Receive Everything You Ask For
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
— 1 John 3:21-22
The key to pleasing God is, keeping His commandments. If you keep His commandments, your heart will be confident before Him, and you will receive whatever you ask. What a powerful promise! It’s almost unbelievable, but that’s exactly what John said.
It begs the question, what are the commandments you’re supposed keep? He gives us the answer in the next verse.
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“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”
The key to pleasing God is, keeping His commandments. If you keep His commandments, your heart will be confident before Him, and you will receive whatever you ask. What a powerful promise! It’s almost unbelievable, but that’s exactly what John said.
It begs the question, what are the commandments you’re supposed to keep? He gives us the answer in the next verse.
And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment. 1 John 3:23
Believe In The Power, Character, and Authority of Jesus Christ
It’s not the letters J E S U S that you are to believe in, it’s His power, character, and authority you are to believe in. Specifically, believe in those things in light of His sinless life, sacrificial death, and resurrection, which implies His power over death and the grave. As well as the fact that He inherited the keys to God’s kingdom. And received all authority, over all things.
I’d say that’s a pretty powerful “name.” Take a moment and remind yourself exactly who Jesus is. He deserves all glory and honor, He is worthy to be praised!!!
Believing in the name of Jesus and loving people helps your heart stay confident toward God. When you’re confident toward God, your heart is in a position to receive from Him. It’s also true that your heart is not in a condition to receive from Him if you are not confident toward Him.
The issue is not God’s willingness to give you what you ask/pray for, it’s the confidence of your heart that makes the difference. To put it simply, living God’s way brings confidence.
It’s important not to be over-confident and slip into self-righteousness. It’s also important to notice that keeping His commandments isn’t what causes Him to give you what you ask for. Receiving from God is a matter of the heart. Jesus teaches this same idea in Mark 4 and Matthew 13, the condition of your heart determines the degree to which you will receive from Him.
A Kingdom Key
This nuanced understanding of a confident heart and receiving from God is enlightening. If you approach this concept from a different angle, you can apply it this way. If you are having trouble connecting with God and feel like He doesn’t hear your prayers, you can take a step toward confidence and “open your heart” a bit more by intentionally keeping His commandments.
Meaning this. If you are struggling and are having a hard time allowing God to lead you, or you are falling back into a sin habit, you can intentionally keep His commandments and realign your heart with God.
The issue is on your side of the equation, not God’s. You can not earn or qualify for God’s blessings through believing in the authority of Jesus and loving people, but you can adjust your heart back to a posture of trust and faith toward Him. You can repent (change your mind) and remind yourself of who Jesus is.
Repentance is remembering that Jesus is your advocate and your propitiation, as John wrote earlier in his letter. It’s about acknowledging that Jesus is your sin offering, as well as the whole world’s sin offering. It’s easier to love people when you see them through the lens of Jesus’ actions toward them. He died for them too, no matter who they are, what they’re doing or who they vote for.
Keeping the commandment of believing in the power, character, and authority (name) of the Lord Jesus Christ should always result in confidence in who He is in your life and your circumstances. It should be a daily exercise to believe in the fulness of who Jesus is. This not only pleases God, but it teaches your heart to be confident toward God.
If you’re honest with yourself, you lose confidence in God from time to time. You lose that confidence because you believe in the name (power and authority) of the problems in your life. A simple adjustment of focus, back on the power, authority, and character of Jesus, helps you regain confidence in Him.
“Oh yeah, that’s who Jesus is in this situation. That’s His promise. That what He paid for. That’s what He promised me. That’s who He will be in me.”
A Second Kingdom Key
The other “secret” revealed in this passage is that loving people also helps your heart remain confident toward God. For me, when I seek to help/love people, I’m often reminded that I can do very little for people. They must engage God for themselves and allow Him to bring them to a place of wholeness. Loving people somewhat forces me to recapture confidence in Jesus because He’s the only answer I have for people.
Loving people aligns your heart with God’s heart.
When you know His love for you, and you allow that love to spill out onto others, your inner man reaps the benefit of conformity into the image of Christ. You don’t earn this image, you don’t gain more of that image, you merely align your heart with God, and the byproduct is transformation.
God isn’t angry with you or even unhappy with you if you lose confidence in Jesus from time to time. He’s not holding it against you if you are not a kind and loving person, He just can’t do much for you when your heart is not confident toward Him.
A confident heart toward God isn’t afraid of Him. It’s more receptive to His leading and instruction. It’s more willing to turn away from sin and embrace His transformative grace. You need grace, you need God’s favor and divine influence in your heart to continue to walk in love. God doesn’t expect you to be able to keep His commandments on your own. He gives you the very faith to believe. But you MUST respond and allow that grace and love to manifest through your heart into your mind and actions.
Do you want to receive everything you ask for from God? Believe in the power, character, and authority of Jesus and love people. In doing so, your heart will be in such a place of confidence to not limit what God can and will do through you.
Love On Purpose
What is love? As a reminder, here are the attributes of love. Commit them to memory. See yourself as this kind of person. Ask God to empower these character traits in the appropriate situations. Commit to walking in love, and watch your heart grow more confident toward God. From 1 Corinthians 13:3-8.
Love Is
Patient
Kind
Does not envy
Does not boast
Is not proud
Does not dishonor others
Is not self-seeking
Is not easily angered
Keeps no record of wrongs
Does not delight in evil
Rejoices with the truth
Always protects
Always trusts
Always hopes
Always perseveres
REPLY
Does It Mean You Have Never Met God If You Sin?
Can you lose your salvation if you sin? It's an age-old question that has sparked debate, split churches, and sent people into mental health facilities. We know that we're saved by grace through faith and not by works, but some seem to think you might lose your salvation by works. Or they at least want you to believe you are not truly saved if you sin.
For the record, sin is bad. Sin sows death into your life, it hardens your heart to God, it destroys marriages, erodes culture, and the list goes on. Don't sin! But if you do sin as a Christian, don’t forget you’re forgiven.
What does it mean if you sin as a Christian? Does it mean you have never met God? Or does it mean you are not presently experiencing Him?
Let's remind ourselves of a few key points already addressed in 1 John to make sure we understand John's thoughts on salvation and forgiveness.
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“Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”
Can you lose your salvation if you sin? It's an age-old question that has sparked debate, split churches, and sent people into mental health facilities. We know that we're saved by grace through faith and not by works, but some seem to think you might lose your salvation by works. Or they at least want you to believe you are not truly saved if you sin.
For the record, sin is bad. Sin sows death into your life, it hardens your heart to God, it destroys marriages, erodes culture, and the list goes on. Don't sin! But if you do sin as a Christian, don’t forget you’re forgiven.
What does it mean if you sin as a Christian? Does it mean you have never met God? Or does it mean you are not presently experiencing Him?
Let's remind ourselves of a few key points already addressed in 1 John to make sure we understand John's thoughts on salvation and forgiveness.
He's writing so you'll know your sins are forgiven because of Jesus. 1 John 2:12
He instructs us to not sin, but if we do, to remember that Jesus is our advocate. 1 John 2:1 (more on that point here)
He's writing so that we would know we're saved and have eternal life, not to make us question our salvation. 1 John 5:13
He instructs us to confess our sin, admitting that Christians may commit sins. 1 John 1:9
These are just a few points to keep in mind when seeking to understand 1 John 3:6. Let's dig into this passage a bit further to make sure we understand 1 John 3:6.
Verb Tenses Matter
If we think through this passage at face value, there are two possibilities.
If you sin, maybe you're not truly saved.
If you sin, you're not presently experiencing God.
Point #2 takes a bit more investigation.
Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 1 John 3:6
Seen means “to perceive” as with the eyes of your heart. And known means “to understand” or “have knowledge of.”
"Has neither" and "known" are both perfect tense.
The basic thought of the perfect tense is that the progress of an action has been completed and the results of the action are continuing on, in full effect. In other words, the progress of the action has reached its culmination and the finished results are now in existence. Unlike the English perfect, which indicates a completed past action, the Greek perfect tense indicates the continuation and present state of a completed past action. (From http://www.ntgreek.org/learn_nt_greek/verbs1.htm)
Based on the verb tenses of seen and known, we can say this; if one sins as a Christian, it doesn't mean they have never known him, it means they are not presently knowing him.
From Enduring Word Commentary
https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/1-john-3It is very important to understand what the Bible means – and what it does not mean – when it says does not sin. According to the verb tense John uses, does not sin means “does not live a life style of habitual sin.” John has already told us in 1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. In 1 John 1:8, the grammar indicates John is speaking about occasional acts of sin. The grammar of 1 John 3:6 indicates that John is speaking of a settled, continued lifestyle of sin. John is not teaching here the possibility of sinless perfection.
This is where English fails us. The Greek language has seven verb tenses, whereas English only has three. It's difficult for the Western mind to grasp the concept of a past action being effectual or ineffectual in the present. It can actually go back and forth. Meaning something that happened in the past can either be continuing to have an impact on your now or not, and it can change.
In this verse, the present effectuation of a past action (knowing God) is dependent on whether or not you are walking in the light, otherwise known as walking in love.
John wants to drive the point home of the importance of walking in love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ, he ties it to whether or not you are presently experiencing God (abiding in Him).
His point is this; if you are allowing God to abide in you or influence you at the moment, the evidence will be the keeping of Christ's commandments, which are loving God and loving people. It’s kind of a big deal to John.
What Are You Abiding In?
If you sin as a Christian, the completed results of seeing and knowing him are not presently continuing in you, because you are not currently abiding in him. You must be abiding in something else, ie, the flesh (all that's in the world is…).
When you put together the definition's specific application with the tense, as well as the context "whoever abides in Him does not sin," you get a more full picture that shows that we're talking about an ongoing experience rather than a single action in the past.
If you're presently experiencing God or knowing God, or abiding in Him, you will not have hate in your heart for your brothers, and you will not go back to your former way of life, as he describes in the rest of chapter 3. But if you do commit a sin, we still have 1 John 2:1-1.
Can We Trust the Bible?
So is the Bible flawed? No, it just wasn’t written in English, and we don't have seven different verb tenses in English. It can be challenging to grasp the proper understanding. We have to dig a bit more.
A legalistic mindset will always gravitate toward works-righteousness. A finished work mindset will always gravitate to matters of the heart.
We are complete in our spirit, but we still must subdue the desires of the flesh and not yield our members (bodies) to sin. Our eternal self is in Him, safe and secure, but we can still commit acts of sin when we're drawn away by the lust of the flesh, but that doesn't mean we're not saved.
Rest in your salvation that's secure in Jesus, and be intentional to keep your heart open to God so you will not be lured by temptation into sin. And for John, the best way to abide in God, and make sure you're continuing to allow God to abide in you, is to love your brothers in Christ.
How Do I Love?
Here's a list of the attributes of love. Read through this list and see if the Holy Spirit gives you any instructions. Now is the time to commit to walking in love. Jesus commands it. Our brothers and sisters in Christ need to feel it from us. And the world needs to see it from Christ’s body.
From 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
Patient
Kind
Does not envy
Does not boast
Is not proud
Does not dishonor others
Is not self-seeking
Is not easily angered
Keeps no record of wrongs
Does not delight in evil
Rejoices with the truth
Always protects
Always trusts
Always hopes
Always perseveres
REPLY
Jesus Testifies of Your Righteousness in the Courtroom of Heaven
Can you be confident that you are saved?
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1 John 2:1-2 NKJV
John gets to the point, don’t sin, but if you do, remember that Jesus was judged and punished for your sin. He implies that God will never judge you or punish you for sin, because Jesus was your sufficient sin offering. It’s a binding, legal transaction that God honors.
Does that make you want to sin? I hope not. That would be unwise and dishonoring of the salvation Jesus died for you to receive.
There’s more going on here than just a reminder that you’re forgiven in Jesus. Looking at these passages in legal terms, and in the setting of a courtroom bring out the deeper meaning.
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.”
John gets to the point, don't sin, but if you do, remember that Jesus was judged and punished for your sin. He implies that God will never judge you or punish you for sin because Jesus was your sufficient sin offering. It's a binding, legal transaction that God honors eternally.
Does that make you want to sin? I hope not. That would be unwise and dishonoring of the salvation Jesus died for you to receive.
There's more going on here than just a reminder that you're forgiven in Jesus. Looking at these passages in legal terms, in the setting of a courtroom, exposes a deeper meaning.
Heaven's Court Room
In the courtroom of Heaven, you stood guilty for your sin. The penalty of death was your sentence. You could not bear that penalty, so Jesus stepped into your place. He became your sin and bore the punishment you deserved so that you could have eternal life through Him. He didn’t just die for you, He died as you. In His selfless act of sacrifice, you were forgiven and offered the gift of righteousness.
Jesus served your sentence, which included overcoming sin, becoming a curse, passing through hades, and conquering death. He did this for all of us. He became and overcame everything that keeps humankind from uniting with God in spirit for eternity.
In Him, we are qualified to inherit God. Jesus satisfied all of God's wrath and judgment toward sin, once and for all.
Jesus satisfied the court of Heaven for you and now testifies in Heaven of your righteousness in Him.
The righteous judge has become your loving Father in Christ. John is writing to assure the one who commits a sin that Jesus has served out the penalty on their behalf (propitiation) and now declares you as righteous.
The Sin Issue
In addition to encouraging Christians to walk in love/light toward one another, John also addresses the sin issue. But he addresses sin from the perspective of a forgiven, righteous child of God.
He wants you to know that your salvation is sure in Jesus, but he does admonish against continuing in sin. The message is this, if you are not living "worthy of that salvation," it's not because you have lost your salvation. And it's most likely not because you were never born again in the first place. If you're not living worthy of that salvation, it's because you have forgotten you're already forgiven.
I shared this passage in my previous article, but it applies here as well.
2 Peter 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither [e]barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (forgiven) NKJV
It’s clear that John wants you to know you’re saved because of what Christ did.
1 John 2:12 I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake. NKJV
John is preaching the Gospel. He's reminding the reader of their salvation in Christ, despite their sinful actions. He warns against sin, but not at the risk of loss of salvation. And he is not trying to cause the reader to question their salvation.
“If you were truly saved…”
This letter is often used by legalistic Christians to question the authenticity or people’s salvation.
It goes like this; “if Christ truly saved you, you would not desire to continue in sin. Therefore, if you continue in sin, maybe you're not saved.”
Have you ever been subjected to that kind of reasoning? It's external and legalistic, yet people fall for it because they feel bad for their sinful actions. You may have even condemned yourself with the same logic. You shouldn’t feel good when you sin, you just shouldn’t question your salvation over it. Sinlessness doesn’t equate to salvation, it’s by the blood of Jesus alone.
John wrote his letter so that you would know that you're saved.
1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. NKJV
John clearly states his letter's intention, yet performance-centered religionists use this letter to scare the daylights out of people and make them question their salvation. Salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus alone!! It's not by works. You don't earn it by works, and you can't lose it by works.
Yes, a Christian should yield to the transformative grace of God in their hearts and live worthy of Christ's salvation, but you're going to stumble, and that doesn't mean that you are not saved. Remember, the prevalent sin issue John is addressing is loving our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It's not very loving to use the Bible to cause people to question the saving power of Christ's blood - just a thought.
Please watch the whole sermon for more on 1 John 2:1-10.
In next week's article, I discuss the concept of practicing sin or practicing righteousness.
How Do You Walk In The Light?
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
— 1 John 1:7
God calls us to walk in the light. Do you know how to do that? What if you don't walk in the light, do you lose your salvation? The answer is straightforward when you let the Bible speak for itself. John clarifies "walking in the light" a little later in his letter.
1 John 2:9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
WALKING IN THE LIGHT IS WALKING IN LOVE.
A casual reading of 1 John may leave thinking that walking in the light is staying out of sin, and walking in darkness is sinning. But when you read the whole letter, you see that the author defines his own terms. 1 John does directly address sin, but that's a different issue than walking in the light/love.
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“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
If you don’t read the whole letter of 1 John, you might think this passage ties your behavior to your salvation. You’d be wrong. While a Christian should display a godly lifestyle, this passage is actually talking about something else when it uses the phrase “walking in the light.” The answer is straightforward when you let the Bible speak for itself.
1 John 2:9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Walking in light = walking in love
John certainly addresses the sin issue, but walking in love and staying out of sin are actually two different topics in this letter. They affect each other, but are two separate issues nonetheless.
Why is that an important distinction? Because it’s important that you know that your salvation is not based on your sinlessness. Your salvation is secure in Jesus. However, a Christian should display godly behavior and character. If he doesn’t. he should remember he’s already forgiven.
Confession of Sin
1 John 1:9 is a hot button issue in the Finished Work message.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
We have to keep in mind we’re already forgiven and Jesus is our continual advocate with the Father.
1 John 2:12 I write to you, little children, Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
Forgiveness is not the result of the confession of sins, confession is when you assure your heart that you are forgiven and you admit the truth about your destructive behavior so you can release it and turn away from it.
Confess means to “say the same thing.” Confession is not asking for forgiveness again and again, confession is to say the same thing about your sinful actions that God says. God says you’re forgiven, so when you say the same thing about your sins that God says, you're actually reminding yourself that you are already forgiven because of the finished work of the cross. He's faithful and just in his forgiveness toward you that he's already extended to you in Jesus.
So when you confess and say the same thing God says about sin, your conscience becomes cleansed of unrighteousness. Why is this important? So you can live in the freedom of grace rather than the bondage of condemnation.
The prescription for sin in a believers life is to remember that you’re already forgiven. If you find yourself continuing in sin, according to John you should remember that Jesus is your propitiation, remember that he advocates for you, walk in love toward your brothers and remember that you’re already forgiven.
You don’t earn forgiveness through confession and you don’t earn righteousness through sinlessness. Consider this passage.
2 Peter 1:5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. (forgiven)
A believer should absolutely display Godly character, and live worthy of the salvation we’ve been given, but if we don’t, we shouldn’t question our salvation, we should remember we’re already forgiven. In freedom we live well, in condemnation we are doomed to repeat our sinful patterns. The strength of sin is the law, the strength of freedom is grace.
Today's Church
In John’s letter he addressed false prophets and deceptive teachers who walked away from their faith in Jesus. They were seeking to harm house churches in that region and cause them to walk away as well. John wrote to warn them of deception and call them into unity through brotherly love. He said the fruit of their salvation should be fellowship with one another.
This letter is especially relevant for today's church. We are playing into the enemy's tactic of division. The body of Christ is being played by politicians and mainstream media to pick sides against each other. We must rise above the issues that divide us in the temporary world and unite in our spiritual identities, as children of God. Race, political party, and economic status are weaponized against us, and we’re falling for it.
The world is starving for answers and solutions. People in the world are craving a sense of belonging. Unfortunately, people are picking their groups based on their perceptions of who the bad guys are. We're picking sides based on temporary injustices and fallen human issues.
We can do better, we must do better. If you are a Christian, you owe it to your fellow brother in Christ to lay aside anything that may divide you in this world and unite in your love for one another. In this, we show the world that we follow Jesus. Then out of that unity, we turn our gaze toward the world and collectively show them the unifying and saving love of God. Love is our goal, and unity is our strategy.
Rise up church! Rise above church! Don't fall for the divisive tactics perpetrated against us. Unite in our heavenly father and WALK IN THE LIGHT by WALKING IN LOVE toward one another!!
DESTROYING THE STRONGHOLDS OVER OUR NATIONS AND OUR LIVES
The devil and demonic forces have been stripped of any and all authority by Jesus Christ. Any place the enemy seeks to exercise influence is an affront against the authority of Christ and, in fact, illegal. The spiritual enemies of God and man have no right to exercise authority over humankind.
However, some humans are deceived and participate in the strategies of the enemy. The places where mankind is in agreement with Luciferian and satanic doctrines are marked by their control over mankind and the destruction that follows. A stronghold becomes established.
But a stronghold influenced by spiritual dark forces is not the presence and power of the lying spirit itself, it's mankind's mindset as a result of that influence.
To say it clearly, a stronghold is a mindset.
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“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.”
The devil and demonic forces have been stripped of any and all authority by Jesus Christ. Any place the enemy seeks to exercise influence is an affront against the authority of Christ and, in fact, illegal. The spiritual enemies of God and man have no right to exercise authority over humankind.
However, some humans are deceived and participate in the strategies of the enemy. The places where mankind is in agreement with Luciferian and satanic doctrines are marked by their control over mankind and the destruction that follows. A stronghold becomes established.
But a stronghold influenced by spiritual dark forces is not the presence and power of the lying spirit itself, it's mankind's mindset as a result of that influence.
To say it clearly, a stronghold is a mindset.
A stronghold over a city is a collective mindset, not demons controlling a city. Demons may be influencing people who are in control of a city or a nation, but if the people repent, change their minds, and stop believing the deception, the deceiving spirits themselves have nothing left to attach themselves to and must flee.
We are in a time where there is a battle for our minds. Whether that be Christianity itself, politics, racial issues, sexuality, money, whatever it may be.
The devil has no power other than persuasion. If men agree with him, the enemy has influence, if we don't, he doesn't. Our goal as believers is to help people change their minds (repent). It's the kindness and goodness of God that draws people to repentance.
Regarding geopolitics, it seems that Luciferian, blood-drinking, pedophiles have gained influence at a certain level. The revelation of Jeffrey Epstein's pedophile island and all the global influencers that were connected with him is shocking. I'm not suggesting all world leaders and rich people are pedophiles, but it's being proven that there is a faction of them seeking to gain power in the world.
How do we stop them, as well as any other enemy of God? We preach the Gospel. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. It's the kindness of God that draws people to repentance. We unleash the Holy Spirit that has been placed in our hearts, and we let him roam free in our lives, which will; bring transformation on a personal level and inspire us to walk in our kingdom influence before others.
Stay strong, children of God. Jesus has already won the victory. The enemy is running around seeking whom he may devour for just a little longer. Stand in your authority as a blood-bought child of God and spread the good news that righteousness with God is by grace through faith and not our works. Let people know that in Christ, they can be delivered from the power of darkness and translated into His kingdom. Stand up for godliness and righteousness and participate in the increase of the kingdom of God!
God Placed Heaven In Your Heart
We are living in volatile and uncertain times. There are all sorts of voices and influences fighting for our attention. In some cases, we’re not even sure what to believe.
Regarding COVID-19, I read that it isn’t mutating, then I read another article that says it is. Some say once isolated to test for vaccines, the virus dies quicker than they can test it, others say it lasts longer than usual. Our own health care officials say the church is dangerous but it’s unclear if the virus is spreading due to protests. One thing we know for sure is that God’s promises are sure, let’s stand on those.
But since we can’t really trust the majority of news sources, we must listen to another source. I’m not pushing a conspiracy theory as much as I’m addressing the 24-hour news cycle. News outlets are forced to squeeze every drop out of a story. Often times they release stories before they know all the facts. This is a problem.
That leaves us with one option that will not give us fake news, the spirit of God. If I could teach you to do one thing and one thing only, it would be to hear and follow God. But how do you do that?
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#6 from Nurture Spiritual Desires
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart...”
We are living in volatile and uncertain times. There are all sorts of voices and influences fighting for our attention. In some cases, we're not even sure what to believe.
Regarding COVID-19, I read that it isn't mutating, then I read another article that says it is. Some say once isolated to test for vaccines, the virus dies quicker than they can test it. Others say it lasts longer than usual. Some say masks will save people, others say they’re unhealthy. Our own health care officials say going to church is dangerous, but then say it's unclear if the virus is spreading due to protests. One thing we know for sure is that God's promises are sure. Let's stand on those.
Since we can't really trust the majority of news sources, we must listen to another source. I'm not pushing a conspiracy theory as much as I'm addressing the 24-hour news cycle. News outlets are forced to squeeze every drop out of a story. Often they release stories before they know all the facts. This is a problem.
That leaves us with only one option that will not give us fake news, the spirit of God. If I could teach you to do one thing, it would be to hear and follow God. Because if you consistently follow God, your life would continually point people to Jesus, glorify God and be a blessing to the families of the earth, including yours.
So how do you hear and follow God? It’s all about the heart.
Your Hear God From The Heart
This is what most people think about the human heart.
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? 10 I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings. NKJV
But you have to know this as well.
Ezekiel 36:25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. 28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
God puts His spirit in you and gives you a new heart so you can hear His spirit. You received a new heart here.
Colossians 2:11 In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands. 12 And having been buried with Him in baptism, you were raised with Him through your faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.
God removed the old heart in a spiritual circumcision. He cut away the old, dead inner man and put in a new one, along with His spirit.
This new heart is directly connected to God's spirit, which not only lives in and through you but has joined it/Himself to you. God's spirit is alive in you and pours that life, light, and love into your new heart. You follow God from this new heart.
Nurture Spiritual Desires
I don't suggest you follow your heart, I suggest you follow God, but you do that from the heart. So you want to make sure your heart is receptive to His leading.
You do this by learning to live from your spiritual senses and desires. You see with the eyes of your heart. You receive revelation with the eyes of your heart. You can taste and see that what the Lord is giving you is good for you. You can hear His voice in your inner man/heart. You already know you can feel his presence. I think, at times, I have even smelled a sweet aroma related to His manifested presence.
We're talking about spiritual vs. carnal thinking. Spiritual thinking turns the eyes of the heart to God in any given situation to consult His Word and hear from His spirit. At any point, regarding any issue, we can turn to God's written Word and allow it to become the Living Word in our hearts.
This is how grace works. God's spirit/Word/life empowers, teaches, and sustains us. It's a real thing that happens. We really can receive joy in sadness. We really can receive the power of righteousness in the face of temptation. We really can allow His spirit to flow through us to heal people. We really can yield our mouth to His spirit and pray with our spirit in unknown languages.
His spirit is alive and active in your life!!
The message above says so much more on this topic. I hope you watch the full sermon, I really believe I said clearly what God placed on my heart for this season. Watch it and let me know what the Lord inspires in you. Take action! Don't let the volatile political season discourage you. The world needs hope, and it lives in you!!
The Body of Christ is God's Promise to the World
Christ is the seed. He is the fulfillment of the promise that through Abraham, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Christ offers deliverance from sin and death as well as eternal life for all who trust in his finished work.
It’s pretty simple to understand that Christ is the seed that blesses all nations, but you are actually included in part of that fulfillment as well. The Body of Christ in the earth, blessing all nations is the residual effect of Christ being planted in the earth.
Christ continues to bless the nations of the world through his spirit AND his body. YOU!!!
Not only do you enjoy the blessings -
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#5 from Nurture Spiritual Desires
“Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
God made a promise to Abraham. The promise is found in Genesis 12.
1 Now the LORD said to Abram,“Go forth from your country, And from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; 2 and I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
The blessings and cursings are found in Deuteronomy 27 and 28, read through those when you have time.
Who Is Abraham’s Seed?
Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ.
Christ is the seed. He is the fulfillment of the promise that through Abraham, all the families of the earth will be blessed. Christ offers deliverance from sin and death as well as eternal life for all who trust in his finished work.
It’s pretty simple to understand that Christ is the seed that blesses all nations, but you are actually included in part of that fulfillment as well. The Body of Christ in the earth, blessing all nations, is the residual effect of Christ being planted in the earth.
Christ continues to bless the nations of the world through his spirit AND his body. YOU!!!
Not only do you enjoy the blessings -
Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”— 14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
But you also are part of the fulfillment to be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
Join-Heirs with Christ
How are you part of the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham? Christ received the promise of the New Covenant, and you are in Him. You are in Christ. Indeed, you are a joint-heir with Christ.
ROMANS 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Side Note: The suffering Paul refers to is not walking away from the faith under any persecution you may face. The only kind of tribulation and suffering God endorses is persecution fo proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus. He’s not referring to everyday troubles in the world.
You inherited God. Specifically, you inherited God’s spirit, and He gave you the right to be His child. He gave you His spirit once you decided to come to Him through Christ. From then on, you have the same spirit in you that raised Jesus from the dead.
His spirit has a plan and a purpose for the world. That plan is to spread the news of the Kingdom of God and advance the Kingdom of God. We participate in that plan as we spread the good news of His kingdom.
How Can I Bless All the Families of the Earth?
How can you spread that good news? How can you let people know that God loves them? How can you be the hands and feet of Jesus and participate in the advancement of His kingdom? In general, you can walk in love with people and take advantage of opportunities to tell people about Jesus. But I want to challenge you to dig a bit deeper.
I recently heard about Sean Feucht. Sean is a worship leader out of California. He is holding public worship gatherings in places like Portland, Seattle, and parts of California where worship gatherings have been shutdown.
I love what he said. What caught my attention is that he wants to change the narrative. It’s simple yet profound. People scroll their news feeds, read their news apps, and watch tv, only to see the same stories of protest, unrest, and division. He wanted to inject something else into people’s news feeds, something hopeful.
What he chose to do is hold worship gatherings that have experiences the most unrest in our nation. And it’s working. I am personally inspired, I talk about in the sermon above. Watch this clip of Sean.
Well done, Sean!! I will act on this inspiration and do something to change the narrative in my community. I pray you will as well. No matter how large or small, if every believer stood up like the protestors, we’d make a loud noise for Jesus that people couldn’t deny. That’s where true racial reconciliation will come from. That’s how we’ll plant healthy seeds of economic reform. That’s how we’ll affect legislators. The Body of Christ can stand up to release hope and healing. What will you do?
Your Thoughts AND Your Words Have The Power of Life and Death
Your thoughts about yourself and inner self-talk have the power to produce life or death. Think about it. What happens when you’re feeling sorry for yourself or you spend time beating yourself up in your mind? How does it feel? How do those kinds of thoughts influence your inner state and your choices? Same question about your words. You are nurturing yourself or killing yourself. You are planting seeds of life or death.
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#4 from Nurturing Spiritual Desires.
Check out these two powerful truths. 1) To be spiritually minded is life and peace, but to be carnally minded is death. 2) Life and death are in the power of the tongue.
What you think and what you speak are planting seeds of life or death. The direction of your thoughts in any given area will determine the outcome of that issue. The content of your words in any given area will determine if you’ll reap life or death.
Think life and speak life.
Self-Talk
Your thoughts about yourself and inner self-talk have the power to produce life or death.
Think about it. What happens when you’re feeling sorry for yourself or you spend time beating yourself up in your mind? How does it feel? How do those kinds of thoughts influence your inner state and your choices? Same question about your words.
You are nurturing yourself or killing yourself. You are planting seeds of life or death. (I speak about this in more detail in the sermons above.)
Nurture Life
Try this. Identify an area you’re struggling. Identify the emotions associated with that area. In the days to come, notice how you think, speak and feel about yourself in those areas. Whether it be health, finances, relationships of your profession
Once you get an understanding of what you think and feel about yourself, take it to the Word of God. Do a search in the Bible for the kinds of thoughts you have; depression, anxiety, lack of focus, fear, over-confidence, etc…
Adopt what the Bible says as your new self-talk and thought life. I recently posted a 30 minute video in the Facebook group for our church, it may be helpful.
A Secret Weapon
It’s a good idea to guide your mind to Biblical truth and speak healthy things, but what should you do when you can’t seem to pull yourself out of the funk? Fortunately, God gave you a secret weapon to bypass your thoughts and self-talk.
“The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself”
Tongues means language. Praying in unknown tongues is praying in a language unknown to you. But something IS happening. Your spirit is praying. And, God is praying for you, through you. Praying with your spirit bypasses your thoughts and words and gives God’s spirit the reigns of your life. Who doesn’t want that? When you use this gift, everything will work out for your good—more on that in the sermon above.
All Believers Have the Spirit
If you’re born again, God’s spirit lives in you. You don’t have to wait for a second blessing, an infilling, or anything else. What does need to happen is for you to yield to His spirit and allow Him to come upon you. The Holy Spirit is in you to come upon you. He used to come out of Heaven to rest on people, then go back into Heaven. But now Heaven is in you. So He still comes out of Heaven to rest upon you and empower you, the good news is He never leaves.
It’s up to you to be empowered by the Holy Spirit in any gift, whether it be praying in the spirit, healing, receiving provision, or casting out devils. Praying in the spirit is not when God takes control of your mouth and makes you speak. Praying in the spirit happens when you make a conscious decision to make unknown sounds, as an act of faith, and trust that God is using the power of life and death in your tongue for His purposes.
Remember, life and death are in the power of the tongue. Allow God to merge His power with the authority you have as a human in this world, and pray His purposes for you and the world around you, through you.
How to Think Spiritually and Have Life and Peace
Spiritual thinking isn't necessarily when you're hearing God tell you mysteries, or you hear angels singing and secrets about other people, spiritual thought is merely coming into agreement with how God thinks.
God gave us lots of instruction on how to think and what to think about. In fact, in Romans 8, we learn that the focus of our thoughts ultimately determines whether we'll experience life or death.
If we think as God instructed us to think, we will have life. If we use only our five natural senses to inform our thoughts, it will produce flesh-based thinking that will always lead to death. It's death because we're trusting in our own effort, and we can not bring ourselves into spiritual life.
Here are a few passages on how to think and what to think about. If you not only know them but also apply them, you can radically change your life and experience what God has given you in spiritual form.
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Message #3 from my series Nurturing Spiritual Desires.
“For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace”
Have You Ever Wondered How To Think Spiritually?
Spiritual thinking isn't necessarily when you're hearing God tell you mysteries, or you hear angels singing and secrets about other people, spiritual thought is merely coming into agreement with how God thinks.
God gave us lots of instruction on how to think and what to think about. In fact, in Romans 8, we learn that the focus of our thoughts ultimately determines whether we'll experience life or death.
If we think as God instructed us to think, we will have life. If we use only our five natural senses to inform our thoughts, it will produce flesh-based thinking that will always lead to death. It's death because we're trusting in our own effort, and we can not bring ourselves into spiritual life.
Here are a few passages on how to think and what to think about. If you not only know them but also apply them, you can radically change your life and experience what God has given you in spiritual form.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Your life is a reflection of what you think about, good or bad. When you allow God's spiritual seeds of truth and wisdom to take root in your heart and mind, you will experience radical transformation.
Joshua 1:8 Keep this Book of the Law (instruction) always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.
Meditating in God's divine prescriptions (Law) is not a flesh-based effort to do everything perfectly. It's planting God's instruction and wisdom in your heart to the point that they bear fruit in your life. The harvest is success and prosperity.
Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true... and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
This is a life application exercise in and of itself. No matter what you are facing, you can ask yourself what the truth is in this situation? What is God's truth? What is the honorable thing to do? What is the good report in this circumstance? And so on…
Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
Christ isn't necessarily located at God's right hand, "right hand" is a position of authority. The instruction is to set your mind on the supremacy and authority of Christ. And when you do, remember that you are a co-heir with him, he gave you the keys to his kingdom. You share in Christ's inheritance. Maybe you can find a few other passages that speak of your authority in Christ.
Ephesians 4:22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
The attitude of your mind. That's another facet of thinking. Not only does he instruct you on how to think and what to think about, but also how you feel about what you're thinking about.
You must own your identity in Christ. As you do, you experience the harvest of his spirit in your life. Jesus explains the mystery of the kingdom in Mark 4. The bottom line is this, the receptiveness of your heart to his word will determine the degree of the kingdom you will experience in this life. So how do you make that happen? He explains that too. It's like a farmer that plants a seed, he sleeps and wakes up, and the seed produces after its own kind.
Thinking according to these instructions is like planting seeds. They WILL bear fruit after their own kind. It's THE mystery of the kingdom.
How to Think Spiritually and Have Life and Peace
To overcome the deceitful desires of flesh-based thinking, you have to walk in the spirit. To walk in the spirit you must first have to think spiritually. Being spiritually minded simply means to be mindful of spirit. A life-view that places the kingdom of God as your true reality is the kind of view that lends itself to spiritual thinking.
You don't have to figure out how to get into a different dimension, instead become mindful that God placed a different dimension in you. As you nurture spiritual desires and turn away from improperly fulfilling natural desires, God's nature takes over more and more of your being.
In spirit, you are complete in him, but as you are mindful of spirit and apply these instructions regarding thought, your spiritual identity will grow its way into the rest of your being.
Watch the sermon above. I walk you through a group exercise of how to turn away from a deceptive desire and nurture a spiritual desire by holding God's word in your heart and mind.
Nurturing Spiritual Desires
Every situation in life is an opportunity to have faith and trust God. In the world, we will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world. That doesn’t mean you’ll never have a problem in your life; it just means that he promises to be with you and provide a way out by following his spirit.
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Message #2 from my series Nurturing Spiritual Desires.
You have desires, God-given physical, emotional and spiritual desires. All of those desires can be fulfilled in healthy ways. But as you are fully aware, you can fulfill emotional and physical desires in unhealthy, sinful ways.
James tells us in his letter that temptation in our lives comes from our natural/carnal desires.
James 1:14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Some translations say “evil desires,” and some say “lust.” A more accurate translation might be “carnal” desires or physical desires. Physical desires are not evil, but when you seek to fulfill them in ways others than what God prescribes, it can turn into sin, which leads to death. I’m not really talking about “sex, drugs and rock n roll” type behavior, I’m talking about the inner desires and attitudes that drive behavior.
Let me paraphrase, “you are tempted when you are drawn away by your carnal desires.”
Side note, remember, the temptation and subsequent trial of your faith are to be welcomed as an opportunity to develop patience and wisdom, but DON’T SAY IT’S FROM GOD. James 1 has been used to teach that God sends the trials, but verse 12 on make it clear that the trial is not from God, it’s from how you seek to fulfill a desire. Read last week’s article “Overcoming Temptation and Unbelief,” for more on that topic. click to read
Nurturing Spiritual Desires
In the sermon, I teach through the first half of Romans 8 and discuss the secret to life or death; it’s the way you think. For the sake of this article, I’ll skip to the practical part.
Our goal is to desire what God desires for us. I’m sure that you agree that sin is terrible and to be avoided at all costs. But what about fear, worry, and doubt? Those are thoughts, emotions, and attitudes that are perversions of spiritual desires as well.
When you have the opportunity to enjoy the fruit of patience, you get in a hurry and make a wrong decision. When you have the opportunity to apply God’s wisdom but worry yourself into a “logical” conclusion, you are nurturing carnal desires. When you have a need and know what God’s word says but still wonder if he does anything about it, you are improperly acting on a desire that could turn your heart toward him.
Every situation in life is an opportunity to have faith and trust God. In the world, we will have trouble, but Jesus has overcome the world. That doesn’t mean you’ll never have a problem in your life; it just means that he promises to be with you and provide a way out by following his spirit.
Every time you feel yourself nurturing anxiety, fear, doubt, or worry, remember that it’s a God-given desire that you are just using improperly. You can shift your focus and change your inner state by asking God for wisdom. When you feel like you can’t “hear God,” you can always turn to his written word. He saw ahead and made provision for us, in every situation, even global pandemics.