Free Gifts Anyone?

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, -  Ephesians 2:8

We were saved how?  Did we have to repent of every sin?  Recite ten Hail Marys and seven Our Fathers?  Did we have to earn it?  No, no and no.  It is the gift of God.

All the other blessings–health, abundance, marital success, business prosperity, peace of mind and so many others promised to us–are free gifts as well.

The price has already been paid at the Cross for us to receive these things.  They are already ours through the covenant Jesus made with God.  The one Jesus sealed with His blood.  The one we are partakers of because we have accepted Christ.

Jesus paid the price already, and for us to pay the price, to earn our blessings, is double jeopardy because the price has already been paid.

All we have to do is claim the promises and receive them.  Don’t pay twice for something that is already yours.

Established By Grace?

it is good that the heart be established by grace… – Hebrews 13:9

It is good that our hearts are established by grace.

Grace is receiving the good that we don’t deserve, receiving all that Jesus is and all that Jesus deserves and not what we deserve.

When we establish ourselves on the Gospel of Grace, when we take our eyes off ourselves and put them squarely on Jesus for all our needs–jobs, customers, health, the ability to act right–then we will see our lives blossom.

As we look to Jesus and depend on what Jesus did for us, we are tapping into the real power of the Cross.

The real power isn’t in living right and trying to do it all ourselves.  The real power is in depending on Jesus for everything.  When we do this, we will find ourselves doing right through no effort of our own.

Are You A Conquerer?

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. – I John 5:4

God has overcome the world.  This is our victory, our guarantee, that we have conquered the world, that we have won the battle against the devil through Jesus Christ.

This is our faith.  This is what we are to put our trust in, our confidence in.  We have to rely on this fact–that God overcame the world, that it is a done deal, that we already have the victory.

Keep shouting the victory, keep praising God, long  before you see the battle won in the physical realm…and like Jehoshaphat you too will see your enemy confused and turn on himself.

Did I Hear A Shout?

But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. – I Corinthians 15:57

We have been given the victory.  The battle was won at the Cross 2000 years ago.  The devil is defeated.

The devil in Greek is diabolos, which is two compound words.  Dia means by way of  and Bolos means to throw at.

Although the devil is defeated, he still throws accusations at us, that both condemn us and cause us to doubt God.

The battle is no longer on the field.  It is in our minds.

This is why we have to know that we have the victory, that the victory has already been won by Jesus at the Cross.

We have to be like the people at Jericho and shout the victory before we see the victory won in our lives.

When we shout the victory before we see anything, we are saying, “God, I have faith that my circumstances will change.”

Do what God told me to do: shout the victory, shout it and shout it some more.

As we continue to shout the victory, our walls, our mountains, our circumstances, will start falling down.

Do You Rest On Yesterday?

“Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; and let them say continually, ‘Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant’” – Psalm 35:27 (NKJV).

Say continually.

We cannot rest on yesterday’s praise, yesterday’s shout of victory, yesterday’s prayers, yesterday’s meditation of the Word.

We have to speak the Word continually.  We have to praise God continually.  We have to shout the victory continually.

We do not do these things to get God to move on our behalves.  We are not in a battle.  The battle was won at the Cross 2000 years ago.  We have the victory.

We do it to keep our minds and our eyes focused on the Lord and what He has already done for us, on what is already ours.

Speak God’s Word continually over your situations.  It may not move God, but it will move your circumstances.

Did You Come To Jesus?

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:29

Come unto Jesus.  This is where we miss it.

We are trying to conjure up faith enough to be healed, to be saved from our destructions, to be abundant, but all we have to do is come to Jesus.   God sees this as faith.

The people in the Bible who didn’t receive their healing and didn’t receive whatever they needed, didn’t come to Jesus.  It is as simple as that.

If we come to Jesus, we can be confident that we will receive what we ask if it is God’s Will.

If we pray the Word in Jesus’ Name over our situations, we will receive if we do not diakrino ourselves.

Diakrino is the Greek word used in Mark 11:23 for doubt.  Dia means by way of and Krino means condemn yourself.

If we rest in Jesus’ efforts instead of ours, we will receive from God every time.

Are You Living In The New Covenant?

The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways. – Deuteronomy 28:7

Many Believers, who are supposed to be living in the New Covenant, insist on living according to the Old Covenant.

They see the above Scripture and the ones in Deuteronomy 28 and say, “These things cannot happen in my life because Deuteronomy 28:1 says ‘And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:’”

It does say that, yes, but all of the conditions for all of the promises were fulfilled by Jesus when He lived on this Earth.

Why?  Because, as human beings,  there is no way for us to do all of the commandments or to hear and obey the voice of the Lord accurately every time.

Now, because Jesus fulfilled all the conditions of the promises, all of the promises are ours to inherit.  This is the benefit of being in Christ under the New Covenant.

The Conditions Fulfilled

Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. – Deuteronomy 29:9

This is one of many of the conditions of the Old Covenant.  If the Old Covenant worked, there would have not been the need for a New Covenant.

Jesus came and fulfill the conditions of the Law for us.  Why?  Because we could not.

The Law was never meant for us to keep.  Instead the purpose of the Law was to show us that in and of ourselves, we cannot live up to God’s perfect standards.  Therefore we needed Jesus.

Even after we accept Christ, we cannot keep the Law.  Only Christ could.  Everything we do must be Christ working in us and not of our own efforts because our efforts are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Confidence Based On God

For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. – Proverbs 3:26

I had trouble sleeping many nights. I would stay awake all night.  Not because I couldn’t sleep.  No, the devil tormented my mind.

God led me to quote four Scriptures before I went to bed, which I still do.  Now I am not able to stay up all night.  Those four Scriptures are like spiritual sleeping pills without the side effects.

As long as my confidence is based on the Word of God, I sleep through the night.  When it wasn’t, I barely slept at all.

Our Heritage

Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. – Isaiah 41:11

The plans of those who come against you and plot against you will come to nothing.  They will ashamed and confounded.

Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”

It is our heritage as God’s children that God thwart the plans of our enemies.  It is our assurance as children of God.

When our enemies mess with us, they mess with God.  And God will not allow people to mess with His children…just as we won’t let people mess with ours.