What the Recent Killing of 8 People in Atlanta Area Spas Tells Us About Sin and Guilt

Regarding the recent killings in Atlanta area spas.

Police say Robert Aaron Long (21) who went on a rampage at three spas in Georgia has been charged with eight counts of murder in connection with the attacks. He is charged with the murder of eight Asian Women in the Atlanta area.

I pray for the victim’s families and I pray for the young man’s family, and for him as well.

I’m heartbroken over these killings. The young man that murdered 8 people said he did it because he had a sex addiction and he was trying to eliminate the source of temptation.

This is an extreme example of the fruit of guilt and shame related to sin. If you do not process your guilt and get help from God, you will in some way destroy your life. Christ dealt with our guilt for our sin before God, but we must receive grace to help in time of need for us to process it.

I want you to know you don’t have to continually struggle with the guilt of sin. You can not only be forgiven but you can overcome those life-controlling issues that make you feel ashamed.

God wants to help you. He judged and punished your sin already in Christ, not so you can continue is sin, but to clear the relationship between you and Him, making it possible for Him to help you in spite of your failures.

God is not going to condemn you for your sin, but you might.

You might become so ashamed that you do something that ruins your life forever.

You might have your sin under better control than this man, but it’s still destroying your life and probably causing you to have a low level of guilt and shame, always nagging at your heels.

Jesus in you is stronger than the desire to give in, and His spirit in you is trying to help you have new desires so you can be totally free.

Go to Him, ask for help, He’s waiting, He loves you and will help you. He will not reject you, He will love you and give you strength.

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How to have Spiritual Strength

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in hope of the glory of God.”

— Romans 5:1-2

God wants to help you. He wants to give you strength to live in the abundant life Jesus inherited and shares with you. God helps you by giving spiritual strength to your inner being. Do you know how to yield to that strength and be empowered by it?

You already do it, you just aren’t always aware intellectually when you do. The good news is, you don’t have to earn it. You can’t do anything to convince God to give strength to you, you can only yield to it and receive it freely by faith.

Grace Is God’s Power Working Through You

The active spiritual force of God’s spirit living through you is GRACE. Grace is God’s divine influence in your heart to give you capacities and abilities. The easiest way to receive grace and live under God’s power in your heart is to cease from the efforts of your own flesh. You don’t have the kind of strength it takes to change your desires and bear the fruit of God’s spirit in you. But He’ll give it to you.

When it comes to bearing the fruits of the spirit, or operating in a gift that God inspires in you, or living in the power of His righteousness; the more you stop trying to do those things in the strength of your flesh and depend on His Spirit to strengthen you with His grace, the more you will live under the power of grace.

Paul gives us a functional description of grace working from the hear in Ephesians 3.

Ephesians 3:16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

This sounds a lot like Romans 5 where Paul says we access grace by faith. Faith doesn’t convince God to give you grace, it responds to and receives the spiritual influence God is already extending to you, in your heart.

Keep in mind, faith works by love. For you to access grace by faith, you must first be aware of God’s love for you and be willing to respond with love toward him. This is the cycle of love and faith, which will access the strength God is trying to give you.

You could say it this way, if you can humble yourself and allow God to love you into wholeness, you will be in the best heart posture to receive the grace that comes with His love.

Paul prays that you would experience God’s love in your inner being or your heart. His love makes you whole, to the point that you are filled to the fullness of God. He actually gives you strength to experience His love so you will be whole and complete in Him. That strength is GRACE.

The Love Faith Grace Loop

God loves you and gives you GRACE to experience the spiritual, transformative power of His love for you. It’s like a love loop that begins with His love for you, to which you respond by loving Him, to which He responds by giving you power, to which you trust Him to give you power, to which He responds by giving you wisdom in how to follow Him, to which you respond by obeying Him from the heart.

How To Practically Live In Grace

I think it’s safe to say that you want God’s will accomplished in your life. Am I right?

To live the way He would lead you to live and see His will accomplished in your life, you must follow him when He leads. The problem is; we don’t always yield to His leading. You want to in your mind, but your heart sometimes desires another way. Not because your heart is evil, but because your heart may be more persuaded of your own understanding in any given area.

I have more good news, you follow God better than you realize. I’m positive that you follow God regularly without even being aware of it. As a new creature in Christ, you are hard-wired to follow God from the heart without intellectualizing the process. Seeing, hearing, and obeying God from the heart is natural for you as a child of God. (see God Removed Your Sin Nature)

There is one nuance I must mention, you effortlessly obey and follow God from the heart in the areas your heart is established in His Word and your new creation identity in Him, which makes the primary goal; having your heart established in the Word of God.

When I say “Word of God,” I do mean the Bible, but I specifically mean that you’re influenced in that given area by God’s ways, His logic, and His truth. To have your heart established in His Word, truth, and grace is to not only know what the Bible says but it is also to be fully persuaded that His way is THE way in that area. Whether it be behavior, sexuality, relationships, emotions, finances, etc.…

Establishing Your Heart In Grace

You have victory in the areas where the Word of God is established in your heart. If you're struggling with a particular area of life, you simply need to get the Word established in your heart in that area, pretty simple.

How do you get the Word established in your heart?

There are many ways, may I suggest meditating on the Word. Meditate in His Word in the areas you want to persuade your heart of His perspective and His truth.

There’s a process to your heart being persuaded through meditation. This is not a formula, these are just key elements in getting the logic and ways of God beyond your conscious mind and rooted in your heart. Keep in mind, meditation is simply thinking about something until it becomes true to you. We do this all the time with fear, worry, and doubt. Now it’s time to do it with God’s logos.

The Process of Meditation:

• You have the correct information (scripture)

• You decide that God’s logic and perspective are true

• You become willing to believe His logic more than your own understanding

• Now that you agree with His Word mentally, you think about it until it changes your emotions

• As you are holding His truth in your mind and heart, you send away thoughts and emotions that are contrary to what His logic (Word) says

• You repeat this process as many times as it takes until your natural responses are in alignment with His logic

Homework

Create a confession plan, There is power in your words. There is great power in hearing yourself speak God’s Words. Your homework assignment is to create a list of scriptures and statements in the area you’d like to establish your heart in God’s grace and speak it out loud at least twice a day. Speak out the Word until your feel the emotions of the truth behind what you’re saying. If you just speak it without feeling it, you’re sending a subtle message to your heart that you don’t believe it.

You’re not just trying to create an emotional experience, you are actually programming your whole being to believe God’s Word. You are programming yourself to believe it and live from the truth of it.

Here’s an example. Let’s look at the example of peace. Let’s say you struggle with fear, worry, anxiety, or maybe even anger.

Use a Bible study resource to look up those words and know what the Word says about them.

Fear: https://www.openbible.info/topics/fear

Worry: https://www.openbible.info/topics/worry

Anxiety: https://www.openbible.info/topics/anxiety

Then look up what you want operating in your life. Let’s go with peace, joy, and confidence.

Peace: https://www.openbible.info/topics/peace

Joy: https://www.openbible.info/topics/joy

Confidence: https://www.openbible.info/topics/confidence

Copy and paste the ones that speak to you and print them out, or write them down. Keep that list with you and speak them out.

Also, make the passages FIRST-PERSON STATEMENTS.

For example:

2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Say it this way:

God has not given me a spirit of fear, God has given me a spirit of power, God has given me a spirit of love, and God has given me a peaceful and sound mind. I have a peaceful mind that God Himself gave me. I can think from this peaceful mind anytime I choose, If I feel fear or anxiety in my mind or body, I can choose to think from the peaceful mind God gave me. Fear and anxiety are not from God. Love, power, and peace are from God. God is giving me love, power, and peace in this very moment, I choose to yield to what God is giving me. I have a loving, powerful, and peaceful mind.

I pray this is helpful your you, try this and let me know how it goes.

Living Under Grace series

I will continue in this series throughout March. I pray you join us at Forward Church in person or online. Join us live on YouTube or Facebook Sundays at 10 am EST. Watch this series on YouTube.

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Grace Is Greater Than Mercy

Clint Byars · Grace Is Greater Than Mercy - Clint Byars

“For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

— Romans 6:14

When you emphasize living under grace rather than Law, some people think you're preaching a dangerous message. Why? Because of the confusion about mercy and grace. Because of this misunderstanding, some people hear permissiveness rather than empowerment. Let’s define mercy and grace.

MERCY is when God treats you better than you deserve. God is being merciful when he forgives you, even when you don't deserve it. Mercy is when God doesn't punish you for your sin, even though you deserve it. God is merciful when He blesses you despite your failures. We can look at King David and see God's great mercy in the life of someone who made so many mistakes. God can legally extend mercy to you because your sin was dealt with in Jesus.

GRACE is a supernatural power that works in your heart that gives you capacities and abilities. It's a divine influence in your inner man to strengthen you. God gives you grace through unmerited favor, but grace is more than just favor, it's strength. Grace is available before you sin, but thankfully mercy is available if you do commit a sin.

Mercy is undeserved forgiveness, while grace is a spiritual strength from God that brings about transformation.

You are under grace, not Law. That means you are under a power that strengthens you to live above the power of your flesh. Under the Law you must live for God out of your own strength, but under grace, God gives you His strength to live. God knows you can not live up to His standards in your own strength, so He gives you the ability to live the kind of life He wants you to live.

Even if you fall short of living in His power, He still loves you, forgives you, and counts you as righteous because of the work of Jesus.

What does it mean to live under grace?

We were under the Law, but now we are under grace. We used to be under a system where we had to live up to a certain standard to qualify for God's blessings. Now we are in a relationship with God in which He has made us His children and has given us His kingdom. He has given us everything He has, through Christ.

The issue is that what He has given us is primarily spiritual. Everything that Jesus paid for in our atonement is in us right now, in spiritual seed form. As we exercise faith in Christ, we make room in our hearts and lives for our inheritance to manifest from spiritual seed form to something tangible or substantive in our lives.

Faith doesn't make God move or cause Him to give us things, faith hosts God's presence within our inner man and allows God's spiritual power of grace to build His character and promises into our lives.

God is not withholding anything from us, but what He has given us must be received by grace through faith.

So how do we access grace by faith and experience the power of grace in our lives?

Romans 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoiced in the hope of the glory of God.

It's important to know that Christ HAS justified you, and because of that, you are at peace with God, you are in right standing with God. Your relationship is whole. And because of that, you can live in grace. You keep your faith in Christ, and it accesses grace. But faith is not a power you use to move God.

Faith simply means "to be persuaded of." Great faith is fully persuaded of the character and power of God. Little faith is not entirely sure that God will be who He says He is.

You access grace by being confident in who God is and who you are in Him.

Romans 5:20 The Law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now that we are under grace rather than Law, we can experience life and not death. The Law never produced life for us, it only condemned us and revealed our sin. But grace strengthens us to live in righteousness, which has been given to us in Christ.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Believe it or not, I hear this question often, in various forms. If you preach grace properly, the legalist or mixed covenant believer will always misinterpret what you say. They will think that you minimize sin and advocate lawlessness, which couldn't be further from the truth.

The Apostle Paul encountered that mindset often. He continually explained the mystery of our new birth and pointed people back to the righteousness that's available by faith and not Law. He also continually gave an invitation to live in the power of grace. The invitation to live in the power of grace remains today.

Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master because you are not under the Law but grace.

How do you access grace by faith? You count yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. This is a mind-renewal exercise. You died, and the life you now live is Christ alive in you. It takes faith to believe and understand that. It takes faith to say that sin has no power over you when you keep struggling with sin. But it's true, you are dead to sin and alive to the power of God available because you're in Christ. As you believe the truth about who God is in you, your heart will allow you to receive power.

Grace gives us rest from our works. Grace fills the void that our weakness creates. Grace is available at every turn.

Do you know how to access grace with faith?

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

The doctrine of grace is easy to understand, but living in the power of grace can be difficult. It's not something you can make happen. It's not something you can earn or activate with your understanding. It's something you enjoy by faith.

The truth is, no one can tell you how to enter into grace by faith other than the Holy Spirit. He is your teacher. But we do have insights into how it works. Paul already gave us one…

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. Romans 6:13

Apply this Tool for Transformation

How do you offer yourself to God as an instrument of righteousness?

The answer is different for everyone. Some folks stop and pray and receive grace easily and move on. Some people have a few boundaries in place to remind them to slow down and depend on God. Some people have different habits and tools that keep their hearts sensitive to God.

Many people have no real plan to offer themselves to God and receive grace in their time of need. I encourage you to make a plan and work the plan. Ask God to help you. He will not control you or make it happen without you getting your heart involved, but he will help you.

Take some time to use your imagination. What does it look like to face temptation yet walk away without giving in? What does it feel like? What does it look like to make a healthy financial decision? What does it feel like to be out of debt? What does it look like for you to be empowered by God's grace and not allow your emotions to shipwreck your day?

It's between you and the Holy Spirit to work out a way of living where you can turn your heart to Him at any moment and receive power from Him. You don't have to discern a message from Him, you don't have to work a miracle, you don't have to have a vision, you simply turn the eyes of your heart to Him ever so slightly and make room for His grace to strengthen you.

Expect His grace to be there. Lean into it. Remind yourself of a few truths about your new creation identity. Be willing to change, and watch His grace work wonders in you.

I will continue in this series throughout March. I pray you join us at Forward Church in person or online. Join us live on YouTube or Facebook Sundays at 10 am EST.

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Don't Let COVID Steal Your Dreams

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

— 1 Peter 4:10-11

How much power have we given to COVID to keep us from doing the things we know God has called us to do? I don’t want to beat you up, I want to encourage you to consider moving forward. Don’t neglect your gift, use it to serve, and find a way to use it now.

“Use whatever gift you have received to serve.” This reminds me of Moses. God called him, and Moses tried to disqualify himself multiple times. When he started to become open to following God, he asked God how he was supposed to accomplish what God was asking him to do. God said, let’s start with what’s in your hands.

As you know, Moses had a shepherd’s staff in his hands, and God glorified himself through it. He wants to do the same through whatever is in your hands.

Many of you have passions, callings, and dreams that are on hold because of COVID-19. I have spoken with many people who seem to be waiting on following God until COVID blows over. I always ask them why they’re waiting on COVID. The answer usually has something to do with not knowing what is acceptable. Most people want to be respectful of others, but our response has rendered us ineffective for the Kingdom.

I understand not wanting to cross other people’s boundaries, but you can’t allow the way the world responds to this virus to keep you from following God’s calling on your life. Life goes on, your call remains, it may be time to consider how you can move forward. Don’t let COVID steal your dreams. Quit waiting to do those things you know God has called you to do.

I encourage you to watch the video above and follow along as I read through this passage from 1 Peter.

1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

What a powerful and holy assignment we carry, we speak for God, and we do so in His power. God will give you the strength to do those things you want to do but don’t know how to do. That strength is His grace in your inner man. This weekend I begin a new series on God’s grace. I want to focus on how you can lean into His grace and increase the capacity of your heart to experience His supernatural strength in every aspect of your life.

Join me on Facebook or YouTube, Sunday mornings at 10 am EST.

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God Wants to Save People, Not Reject Them.

God wants to save people, He is not looking for a reason to reject people. He is not looking for a reason to reject you. He did everything He could to remove the things He had against you in the sacrifice of Christ, to make life with Him secure by faith rather than works.

BUT

He does seem to give us a warning in Hebrews. I’ll cut to the chase, the warning is; don’t reject Jesus and go back to Old Covenant sacrifices. Yes, that’s the “willful sin” the author of Hebrews warns about, rejecting Jesus and trusting in the blood of goats and bulls rather than Christ.

Now, you don’t have a temple to take your goat to, but you do have your dead works that you think make you clean again with God (more on this in the sermon). Jesus’ lifeblood cleanses you, and God’s circumcision of your old nature makes you new. That alone is your righteousness and your removal of sin.

Can You Lose Your Salvation?

I recommend watching the sermon above for a much more detailed explanation, but the short answer is this; you didn’t earn your salvation through works, you can’t lose it through works. And it’s not your works that keep you saved. The lifeblood of Jesus and His finished work on the cross save you and keep you saved. Period, end of story.

But some passages need to be addressed, such as Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

What do we do with this passage? We put it in the proper context.

Apostasy was indicated by a single word; these added clauses describe the depth of the fall, whilst they explain the futility of all effort towards recovering the fallen. Both the writer and his readers knew well what was involved in "falling away" in such a case as this. To go back to Judaism implied an acceptance of all that Jews had said and done against the Son of God, a return to the bitter hate cherished by the falling nation against the Crucified, a repetition in spirit of all that Pharisees had done, and without the palliation of ignorance; for the highest evidence for Christianity--that of true and deep Christian experience--had been given to them. Again, the words used clearly describe a continuing state. Not the punishment for a past act, but the hopelessness of an existing state, is brought before us here. It is therefore of those who, with a distinct conviction of the divine mission of Jesus, have deliberately joined His foes, unite in denouncing Him as a "deceiver" (Matthew 27:63), rejoice in His shame, and thus "for themselves crucify a second time the Son of God," that the writer says, "It is impossible to renew them again unto repentance."

from Ellicott’s Commentary

The author of Hebrews is speaking to a persecuted church. Some of them were wary of the persecution and questioned the true identity of Jesus. Many of them chose to reject Jesus and resume animal sacrifice for the atoning of their sin. Imagine that you go to God will a dead goat and say, “this is my righteousness. I reject the blood of Jesus and choose to bring you the blood of this goat as my righteousness.” Doing that is like unjustly crucifying the Lord again.

That’s the warning in Hebrews 6 and 10. Continue trusting in Jesus rather than rejecting him and going back to Old Covenant sacrifices. It’s actually straightforward to understand, but some preachers love to scare people out of sin, so they misinterpret what’s being said.

Please watch the full sermon for much more on this topic.

We Are More Than Forgiven, We Are Co-Heirs with Christ.

“Romans 8:15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

The New Covenant is not a new set of rules to follow, it’s the last will and testament of God. It’s what He predetermined to leave His heirs upon death. Notice the inheritance language in this passage.

Hebrews 9:15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. 16 For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. 17 For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive.

God’s Last Will and Testament

Have you ever received an inheritance? Have you taken the time to draft a will for your children? The process requires great detail. You have to list every asset and decide who it goes to. You can place age stipulations or other guidelines if you so choose. Or you can simply pass down all that you have without restriction. God did this. Through inheritance, he gave you everything.

God handcrafted a will for you that is full of great and precious promises. In Christ, God predetermined what He would leave you in His last will and testament. His inheritance makes for a glorious afterlife, but it has benefits now too.

Physical Healing

The simple answer is this, you inherited everything Christ inherited, as a co-heir. I have covered what we have in the New Covenant (God’s last will and testament) in my last 5 articles, so I won’t take the time to list all that Jesus accomplished for you again. This week I want to focus on two specific aspects of your inheritance.

1 Peter 2:24 and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed.

You are more than forgiven, you have received great and precious promises from God, which includes healing.

Some say Peter is referring to spiritual or emotional healing, but Jesus paid for your sins in His physical body, not just in his spirit or emotions. He endured physical disease so you could have health. He endured the effects of sin in his body, so you could be free from the death of disease.

Jesus secured that promise for you and God gave it to you in his will. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it, God left you physical healing in His will.

Financial Prosperity

2 Corinthians 8: 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

God left you all of His wealth. It is His good pleasure to give you His kingdom. That has been His plan from the beginning, as evidenced in His promise to Abraham. God told Abraham that He would bless him and make him great. He promised that He would bless his offspring so they would be a blessing to all nations. Part of this blessing is incredible wealth.

God has blessed you with great wealth, he made sure of it in his will to you, which Jesus secured in His death. You can choose to believe that God wants you rich in spirit, or rich in your relationships, as some people claim this passage is teaching. But God wants you financially rich too. Your father wants you to be so extravagantly blessed so you can be a blessing to all nations, thus fulfilling his original promise to Abraham.

I won’t take the time to cover why you haven’t received the health or financial blessing God left you in Christ, I’ll simply end by saying it’s yours now. Repent and believe the Gospel of Jesus. Change your mind and trust that there is nothing but GOOD NEWS for those who are citizens of Heaven and children of God through Christ.

Jesus Our Substitute, He Died for you and as you.

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”

— Isaiah 53:4-5

Jesus didn’t just die for you, He died as you. He died in your place. He became like you so you could become like Him. He became your sin so you could be righteous. He was diseased so you would be well. He was punished so you could be free. He was rejected so you could be accepted.

Read along with me through these passages. This sermon is more of a meditative walk through Isaish 52:13 through 54:10.

Here is one of my favorite set of promises from this section of scripture. Notice how God defines Himself; your husband, the Lord of Hosts, your redeemer, the God of the earth, the Lord who has mercy. We must allow God to define who He is and how He wants to operate in our lives. In this selection of scripture, He makes Himself more than our Lord, He describes a very personal and intimate relationship. He is our husband, He is the one who has mercy on us.

Yes, He is the Lord of Hosts, which denotes His powerful authority, but He uses that reference to illustrate how He exercises His authority in our lives. He loves us, He wants to take care of us in the context of relationship. He wants us to be free from our past. He wants to be kind to us. He not only wants to, He swears to. This is a big deal. God swears to be kind to you, to no longer be angry with you.

Why? Because of what the Messiah accomplished in the previous chapter. He was your substitute, making you clean and holy before Him. Forever sealed in His new covenant of promise.

Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6 For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” says your God. 7 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. 8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.

I pray you allow your self-image to be defined by God’s perspective of you. I pray you reshape your self-worth in light of how your husband cherishes you. I pray you find rest in the finished work of Jesus. And I pray that you live open and free with the Lord, no longer afraid of Him. You can trust Him, He went through great lengths to be in your life.

God Removed Your diseased Sinful human Nature and washed you clean with the blood of jesus

“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ”

— Colossians 2:11

God performed spiritual surgery in you when you placed your faith in Christ. When you believe in Christ for salvation and the forgiveness of sins, He goes to work. Here’s the procedure you undergo to become born again:

1. You place your faith in Christ.

2. God removes your heart of stone.

3. He removes the “body of the sins of the flesh.”

4. He washes you clean with the blood of Christ (This step makes you holy).

5. He gives you a new heart (that wants to obey).

6. He places His Spirit in you, joining Himself to you forever.

7. This makes you acceptable to Him. You cannot improve on this work, and you cannot invalidate this work. It’s His work.

8. You come off His operating table as a new creature, a child of God, and a co-heir with Jesus, fully equipped with His authority, to go into the world doing the works He did and making disciples of all nations.

All of this is possible because God made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

I want to highlight “step 3.”

The “circumcision of the body of the sins of the flesh” is perhaps the most misunderstood aspect of the Gospel, yet I believe it to be one of the most important. It seems to be missed by most Christians. If you do not understand what happened in this spiritual circumcision, you will believe that you are still a sinner by nature. Or you might believe that you have two natures. Both of which are incorrect.

The result of the circumcision God performs in you leaves you with one nature, a nature that is no longer opposed to God or prone to sin. This procedure removes your guilt of breaking God’s commands. And the removal of your mere human nature makes you the kind of being that can live in the fullness of God’s illuminated presence forever. You truly are a new creation.

Paul refers to the same spiritual circumcision in Romans 6.

Romans 6:6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

The body of sin was rendered powerless AND removed from you. Let’s look at the original language for more understanding.

apekdysei tou sōmatos tēs sarkos

This Greek phrase is translated as “removal of the body of flesh.” Some translations read “removal of the body of the sins of the flesh,” depending on the emphasis.

What does this phrase mean?

Apekdysei is pretty self-explanatory, it simply means to remove. It’s also translated as laying aside (as if you’re done with something).

Somatos basically means body, but it’s literal and figurative. For context, we see that the circumcision we’re evaluating is done without hands, meaning it’s spiritual in nature. It’s something God does, who is spirit. So in Colossians 2:11, the context is a spiritual body that is being removed.

Sarx means flesh. Sarx also has two applications, the skin on your body as well as your human nature. In regard to “human nature,” Sarx is defined this way: mere human nature that is opposed to God and prone to sin. Since we’re talking about a spiritual circumcision on a figurative “body,” the conclusion of what is being removed is not the physical flesh but rather the “mere human nature that is opposed to God and prone to sin.”

God removes your mere human nature that is opposed to Him and prone to sin. He removes your sin nature. After this procedure, you no longer have a mere human nature, you have an eternal, spiritual, righteous nature, which is no longer opposed to God and prone to sin. Now that’s GOOD NEWS!!! Will you believe it?!

Couple that with the fact that God gives you a new heart and places His spirit in you. That leaves us with the conclusion that you truly are a new creation. No longer at enmity with God by nature. No longer a sinful creature by nature. No longer a mere human. You are now the righteousness of God in Christ! A child of God! A fully equipped ambassador of Heaven!

NOW REPENT - change the way you think about yourself and believe the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom of God! The GOOD NEWS Gospel that tells you how magnificent you now are as the result of the finished work of Christ in you!

Selah

I pray that you renew your soulish mind to your true spiritual identity. It’s not just something that God credits to you, you truly are a NEW CREATION!! Believe it and live from the power of it!!

Listen to the full sermon above for more on this subject. I will also begin a new series in March 2021 focused on the grace of God, which what God supplies to you, enabling you to live in the power of your new creation identity.

Righteousness is not earned or maintained Through The Law

If you read the Old Testament, especially the Old Covenant Laws, and feel condemned GOOD JOB! You’re taking it seriously. That’s what the Law is supposed to do, condemn you and highlight your sin. Even some of the teachings of Jesus were delivered through the lens of the Law. He did so to point out your inability to keep the Law.

For clarification, there is a difference between the Old Testament and the Old Covenant. All the books of the Old Testament are the inspired Word of God. But the Old Covenant, the agreement between God and the nation of Israel, along with its 600+ rules and laws, have been fulfilled by Jesus, thus rendering the set of laws obsolete.

Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

We’re not throwing out a huge part of God’s Word, we’re simply putting the Law in its proper perspective as affected by the finished work of Jesus. Jesus is the end of the Law for the believer. The Law was made obsolete regarding righteousness for you. Jesus didn’t throw out the Law, he just fulfilled it for you.

“Romans 1:15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

You are saved by grace through faith, and you stay saved by grace through faith, not through the Law. You don't start a spiritual journey with God based on the free gift of righteousness and then keep it by your works.

Yes, your salvation will produce good works, but the presence of those works is not the security of your salvation, Jesus is. Don’t let any academic, sola Scriptura minded person cause you to question your salvation based on the level of fruit they think is necessary. The blood of Christ alone secures your eternal redemption.

Jesus is your once and forever sacrifice for sin. He is the one that holds your place in God’s everlasting covenant of peace. Rest in his finished work.

Take a look at these passages to make sure your perspective of the Law is correct. As I taught in my series REPENT AND BELIEVE THE GOSPEL, we must have a finished work hermeneutic. Everything we know about God must align with what Christ accomplished through his sinless life, substitutionary work on the cross, sacrificial death, conquering of death and the grave, and his ascension to glory with his own blood. Every belief we have about God's character and will must align with who Jesus showed us God to be.

God doesn’t change, the stories in the Old Testament are true. He gave the Israelites the Law, but we don’t stay there regarding our relationship with God. Jesus changed everything.

Read through these passages and make adjustments in your thinking, repenting along the way, to make sure you believe the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ!!

Romans 7:12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.

Matthew 5:17-19 Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Galatians 2:16 Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 3:24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

Romans 3:20 because by the works of the Law none of mankind will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.

Romans 3:28 For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Romans 7:4 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you also were put to death in regard to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were brought to light by the Law, were at work in the parts of our body to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

What stands out to you as you read through these passages? Did you recognize any areas where you are mixing the Old and New Covenants? What do you need to change in your thinking to align with our deliverance from the Law?

Fear God, But Don't be Afraid of Him.

Jesus said this:

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt WORSHIP the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. -Matthew‬ ‭4:10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

When quoting this passage:

Thou shalt FEAR the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name. - Deuteronomy‬ ‭6:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I think we can trust the son of God’s interpretation of scripture. To Jesus, fear didn’t mean “be afraid of,” it meant to honor and respect. Fear is an old English word for revere and respect, it doesn't translate well in our modern vernacular. Worship and love God, but don’t be afraid of him.

“We need have no fear of someone who loves us perfectly; his perfect love for us eliminates all dread of what he might do to us. If we are afraid, it is for fear of what he might do to us and shows that we are not fully convinced that he really loves us. So you see, our love for him comes as a result of his loving us first.”

— 1 John 4:18-19 TLB

If you’re worried about what God might do to you if you make a mistake, it reveals that you aren’t truly convinced of his love for you. God’s correction and training in your life are not through harsh judgment and pain, it’s through wisdom and guidance.

God is a loving father who will train you in the way you should go. If you fail, simply remember that Jesus was your substitution. Jesus bore the penalty of your sin. Not so you can now get away with it, but so that he could remove God’s wrath from you and relate to you as a child rather than a sinner. God is not mocked, you will reap what you sow, but God is no longer keeping a record of your sin to punish you.

God Loves You

God commands you to love him, but we love him because he first loved us. So in effect, God commands us to respond to his love for us. To put it another way, God commands you to let him love you. How can you be afraid of someone that wants to love you that much?

You probably know that God loves you, but a lot of people don’t. People don’t know that it’s the kindness and mercy of God that draws people to repentance. Too many preachers think they need to scare people with hell and judgment. When in reality, if we would lead with love and tell people about the incredible lengths Jesus went through to show us God’s love, people would more readily receive his love and receive the gift of eternal life.

Christians are often not very good at loving each other, much less our enemies. We often have an angry view of God, thinking he’s just itching to judge someone. No wonder much of the world is turning away from Christianity. We’ve done a poor job of representing the true intentions of God toward people.

The Gospel means GOOD NEWS!! The Greatest news is that God loves us, and we have nothing to fear. Maybe you need to hear this today. But I can promise you this, someone in your life needs to hear about God’s actions in Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Not to get them to say a prayer so you can get a salvation notch on your belt, but so they can be set free from fear, guilt, and shame.

Be a carrier of good news. Preach the Gospel. Tell people about God’s love. Your friends and family are starving for it.

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