Short answer is yes.
But not because God needs us to in the sense that He has a shortfall in His character, nature or ability (which was the context of Sunday), but because we need to and He wants us to. As AnD111 tweeted during the service “Wanting you is far more valuable than needing you”… want is from a position of strength and power.
Myth: God needs me
Big question! Short answer – yes, it can be damaging! When can it be damaging?
1. When it ignores timing. Convenience often aims to obviate time. However the harvest formula is “seed + time = harvest” (Ecc 3). Seed can take time to germinate, grow, etc. Consumers may pay a premium for the convenience of instant gratification, whereas contributors understand the variable called time and invest anyway.
2. When it creates a ME attitude. The attitude that may exist with a convenience mindset can pervade church; that is, I want it the way it suits ME, when it suits ME and if I don’t get it that way I will complain or quit.
Convenience givers are usually pleased according to their OWN measures; contributors give because they know God is already pleased according to HIS measures (Matt 6:33). Thanks for the question!
We could run out patience (sure we have all experienced this), but the question isn’t whether we could but whether we should! To say we *should* run out of patience is to say we should run out of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5) – so the answer is no. A side thought to consider – maintaining patience motivated by love will either bring change or become such a frustration to the other person that they will lose patience with you! Either way, you have not compromised yourself in the process. A side, side thought… remember that patience is not some feeble acquiescence to being treated badly, nor is it an excuse to avoid lovingly confronting someone or something.
Both. *Is* precedes *has* or *does*. Point two of the message last Sunday explained that God is patience, therefore He has patience. They are not mutually exclusive because God cannot contradict who He is. For example, God IS Great (Psalm 94:4 “God IS great and worth 1000 hallelujahs”) and He HAS greatness (1 Chronicles 29:11 “To you, O God, BELONG the greatness and the might, the glory, the victory, the majesty, the splendour; Yes!). Great question!
He promises in Hebrews 13:5 “I’ll never let you down, never walk off and leave you”. God is motivated by love and it is a love that does not reject us, let us down or run out of patience. It may *feel* like He has left us at times because we reject Him, but that feeling doesn’t make it true, His promise does. As a footnote for another occasion: Everything is sustained by God (Col 1:17 in Him all things hold together) – including us. So if He left us, what would sustain us? Hmmmm…
Have you ever watched a movie where you missed the first five to ten minutes and as a result the rest of the plot seems lost to you? I have… fortunately it was a chick flick so it didn’t matter 🙂
The Already Got It series can be like that if you miss a foundational reality – that there is a spiritual realm and that realm is the preeminent realm of life. If we do not accept this reality (or do not understand this reality), then everything we have preached in this series will make no sense at all.
Let’s be honest for a moment, if this reality was not real I would be asking questions like;
How can you say I already have healing when I am not well?
How can you say I already have provision when my bank account is low?
How can you say I already have redemption when I feel so unworthy and at times unloved?
These are very real questions for people. The answer is not found it what I feel or see with my physical senses, but what God has said in His Word and what has already been done in the spiritual realm. And we need to understand that the spiritual realm has priority. Our role is to take from what God has already done in the spiritual realm by faith and release it into the physical realm. We are the faith bridge between the spirit and the physical.
Here’s a testimony of the power of what I am speaking about. I used to suffer from severe headaches. I have had them put me in hospital on occasion. Often I would start the weekend with severe headaches and the migraine pain would be unbearable. About a year ago (give or take a few months) I decided not to accept this as “normal”. So I started to censure my headaches and insist that my physical body submit to the spiritual reality of the healing that has already been provided. I started to quote Scripture to my body out aloud such as 1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. As I continued this journey, step by step, my headaches have progressively lessened in intensity and frequency quite considerably, now it is rare for me to suffer in my body like I once did. I am learning, like you, to apply the reality of the healing in the spiritual realm by bridging it to the physical realm. That’s my ‘faith role’ in all of this.
Here’s the key thought: the physical realm must submit to the spiritual realm – and we need to;
1. Know what God has done
2. Believe what God has done
3. Insist that the physical experience submit to the spiritual reality
It’s not about “fake it til you make it” or “say it is so, when it isn’t so, in order for it to become so”. It is about realising what has been done in the spiritual and bridging it into the physical by faith. Let me also encourage you; sometimes things change in the physical realm the first time we insist it submits to the spiritual realm, and sometimes it is a growth journey of learning how to apply what the Lord has done to our physical realm[1]. Either way, His Word is truth and I encourage you that we need to persevere until we have the breakthrough in the physical. Remember;
God has already done it,
Jesus has already won it,
I’ve already got it!
Never give up on the truth, because it has set you free! (John 8:32) This is exciting!
Think it through
· Am I motivated by what I see in the physical or what I believe in my heart about the spiritual?
· We are responsible (by faith) to apply what God has already done
(And, as I have said throughout this whole series, I encourage you to enrol for the Hidden Man of the Heart Faithequip series that starts THIS SUNDAY! We live from the heart).
Key verse
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood (a bridge builder between heaven and earth), a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
_______________________
[1] That’s what is often called ‘growing in grace’. It’s not that grace grows, it’s that I grow in my understanding of His grace (2 Peter 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ).
© 2011 Ps Phil Linden.
If you look aro
und our car park any given Sunday you will have undoubtedly noticed that there are some cars that have lot of optional extras; spoilers, mag wheels, low struts and fluffy dice (ok, maybe not, but sometimes I reckon they should). We all agree on the need for a car, but some add other things to improve the quality of the journey (heated seats come to mind).
For many Christians, being saved is similar to the picture of the car with optional extras. Most agree that at the core of salvation is forgiveness, but some people miss the fullness of what the word ‘saved’ actually describes. The word sozo (Greek) is translated to the word saved in English and it means forgiven, healed, delivered and prosperous.
Saved =
Romans 10:9 If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you will be saved (sozo).
Saved = Healed
Mar 5:21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed (sozo) and live.”
Saved = Delivered
Luke 8:36 Then those who had seen it happen told how the oppressed man had been saved (sozo).
Saved = Prosperous
2 Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
On the Sunday morning before I shared this message with the church, the Holy Spirit told me to look at what Jesus said He was anointed to do. Luke 4:18 for the Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor (and goes on to reveal the good news); to proclaim freedom for the prisoners (forgiven), recovery of sight for the blind (healed), release the oppressed (delivered) and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour (prosperous).
When I saw this I was pretty excited! Jesus ministry was about all benefits of salvation (and I had not linked this scripture until an hour before I preached). The complete salvation package is about forgiveness + healing + deliverance + prosperity! Healing, deliverance and prosperity are not the optional extras ‘tacked’ on to forgiveness – all four components are the core of salvation: they are the total salvation package!
Friend, as wonderful as forgiveness is, don’t only live in forgiveness that has already been provided; live in the healing you already have, live in the deliverance you already have, live in the prosperity you already have. Draw from the well of what we already have and bring it into daily life with increasing measure. Remember ALL His benefits…
Psalm 103:1-3 Bless the Lord all my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits; who forgives all your sins (forgiven), heals all your diseases (healed), redeems your life from the pit (delivered), crowns you with love and compassion and satisfies your desires with good things (prosperous). There it is again!!
And if Jesus has already done it – I’ve already got it!
Think it through
· The saving work of Jesus provides forgiveness, healing, deliverance and prosperity
· I need to cooperate with His Spirit to bring this into my world for the benefit of daily life
· I will not forget or neglect ALL OF His benefits
Key verse
Psalm 103:1-3 Bless the Lord all my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name. Bless the Lord oh my soul and forget not all His benefits.
© 2011 Ps Phil Linden.
Sin is not an Issue With God!
We left off on Tuesday with the following statement: Jesus as our “kinsmen redeemer” has already brought the gift of salvation to everyone. It is by faith that a person receives what was done 2,000 years ago.
Most of us believe that in order to be saved, we need to ask God to forgive us of our sins. But that isn’t what the Bible teaches. In 1 John 2:2, it states that Jesus was given as payment for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. Jesus didn’t just die for those He knew would accept Him; He died for every sinner who has ever lived on this earth. And He died before you or I ever committed a single sin.
Here is a radical truth: Sin is not an issue with God! The Lord isn’t waiting for us to ask Him to forgive us of our sins. The sins of the entire world—past, present, and future—have already been forgiven. God has already done His part; it is now up to you to receive the truth by faith and make it a reality in your life. Amen!
Here’s another radical truth: Jesus hasn’t saved, healed, delivered, or prospered a single person in the last 2,000 years. What God has provided by grace 2,000 years ago now becomes a reality when mixed with faith. Faith appropriates what God has already provided. Faith doesn’t move God; He isn’t the one who is stuck. Faith doesn’t make God do anything. Grace and faith work together, and our part is to accept what God has already done.
The question is – like Brooks from ‘Shawshank Redemption’ (from part one) has the conditioning of our life before Christ made us incapable of receiving the provisions of Christ’s redemption? Is the freedom as a New Creation in Christ too confronting? Or are you willing to linger on the slave market of sin and remain open for the highest bidder?
The power of not selling ourselves is realised when the Spirit continually confirms to us our position in the family (Galatians 3 and 4) and empowers us to walk in that freedom in daily life (2 Cor 3:17). When we know we are a child of God, we will have no desire to act or think like a slave and no desire to accept a substandard bid. Being free is a great start and that freedom has power and is outworked in our daily lives when we live as new creations who know we are sons and daughters of God. From slave to son – that’s the work of our kinsman redeemer, Jesus Christ!
Reject every offer or bid for your soul. No matter how slick or tempting the pitch is, remember this:
I AM NOT FOR SALE!!! I HAVE BEEN REDEEMED!
Think it through
Meditate on these key thoughts…
I am redeemed, I am bought with a price
I am no longer a slave – I was bought for the purpose of being set free
I am no longer for sale
I was bought with highest bid the world will ever see, so I won’t even bother entertaining another bid
Know It, Believe It, Confess It – Personalise it every day!
Ephesians 1:7 In Him we HAVE redemption through His blood
Colossians 1:13-14 He HAS rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we HAVE redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1Corinthians 7:23 I was bought at a price; I am not going to become the slave of men.
© 2011 Ps Henry Betschel.
Redemption is such a significant and big topic that we are providing two devotionals this week – today and Friday. Today is part one of “Not for Sale”.
A favourite movie of mine is Shawshank Redemption. It tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a New England Banker convicted of murdering his wife and her lover. Sentenced to Shawshank State Maximum Security Prison he earns the respect and friendship of many inmates because the prison bars fail to dominate his spirit and twist his heart through unforgiveness and bitterness. His thirst for freedom sustains him for the twenty years ‘inside’ until he finally sees his dream come true.
In total contrast, is one of Andy’s friends, Brooks Hatlen, an older inmate who has spent the majority of his life locked up in prison. Brooks is released back into society because his debt to society had been paid. However, Brooks is so conditioned to “Prison Life” and his Identity of “prisoner” that he cannot assimilate to a life of freedom and the dignity of making choices. His mind had been captured and conditioned to ‘prison standards’ dictating his thoughts and actions to the confines of a prison cell leaving him with no alternative but to commit a crime ensuring his return to the familiarity and safety of prison.
A fascinating movie that reflects an unmistakeable parallel to the Christian experience in which many fail to comprehend and adapt to the total freedom that redemption through Christ has brought them.
Redemption is a familiar concept found in both the Old and New Testaments. It refers to either prisoners of war or slaves who having lost both their freedom and freewill must now live to serve the will of their new masters. Redemption is the payment of a price or ransom that removes the slave from the open market and reinstates a soldier to the ranks of those loyal to their nation. Both enjoy freedom because someone valued them enough to pay the ransom.
Mankind – in the person of Adam- negotiated a “better deal” with Satan and cut himself off from the leadership of God. The “better deal” became a bitter life of slavery and servitude as Satan like Pharaoh put God’s people to accomplish his demonic agenda regardless of cost and freedom. This sin against God now lived out in a million different ways, required forgiveness in exchange for a ransom that only God Himself in the person of Jesus Christ could pay.
The price was set and Jesus took on humanity so that he could come as “Kinsmen Redeemer” aka. one of our own.
KINSMAN. From Websters 1847 dictionary, kinsman is simply defined as ‘a man of the same race or family; one related by blood.’ i.e. to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative’s property, marry his widow, etc.): avenger, deliver, purchase, ransom, revenger.”
REDEEMER. Again, from Websters 1847, redeemer is ‘one who redeems; the Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ.” Redeemed is ‘to purchase back; to liberate or rescue from captivity or bondage; to rescue and deliver from the bondage of sin and the penalties of God’s violated law, by obedience and suffering in the place of the sinner, or by doing and suffering that which is accepted in lieu of the sinner’s obedience. John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! (1Peter 2:23-25)
Jesus as our “kinsmen redeemer” has already brought the gift of salvation to everyone. It is by faith that a person receives what was done 2,000 years ago.
Up next…
Not for Sale – Part Two: Sin is Not an Issue With God!
© Ps Henry Betschel.
The Roman army in the day of Jesus and Paul was fierce to say the least. Whenever the army won, they would parade the king of the enemy around the streets of Rome, stripped naked, ‘thumbless’ and beaten, for three reasons;
a) to display they had won completely
b) to let the people know they didn’t need to fear the enemy any more
c) to cause a big victory party in the cities!
Onya Maximus!!
This picture of Roman conquest is used to describe what Jesus has done to Satan. Colossians 2:13-15 says “Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them, triumphing over them in it”. He has already stripped Satan of all power (Adam lost it, Jesus took it back), stripped him of authority (Adam forfeited it, Jesus reclaimed it) and exposed him as having nothing left to fight with except his lies. Many people think we ought to fight Satan, but why fight someone who is already beaten? Why re-fight the loser Jesus has permanently beaten?
And because Jesus has already won, everything that He has achieved is credited to us, and therefore we are in the winning position in Him. If God has already provided victory in Jesus, then I’ve already got victory too! We are seated in victory – not in the future, but now! Ephesians 2:4 says “God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even though we were dead in sin, made us alive with Christ – by grace you are saved – and He raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in heavenly realms in Jesus Christ”.
People may have labelled you as a child; a problem child, terrible, useless, stupid, ugly, incapable, never amount to anything, the list goes on and on. People may label you now; dumb, easy morals, a loner, unstable, and sadly the list may go on there too. Let me say, none of that is your true identity when you are positioned in Christ. It is a deception of the enemy and needs to be booted to hell with him. In Jesus, by His Spirit, the Word says you are a winner, accepted, loved, capable, forgiven, gifted, anointed, powerful, and competent, and praise God the list goes on here too!!
And we have a choice in life – to live down to the names and labels put on us, or to live up IN the position as a winner, seated in heavenly places. To position our thinking we need to:
Know HIM and HIS victory
His victory has put YOU in THE winning position
WALK in that victory in daily life
How do I walk in that victory in daily life? Here are some practical tools;
a) Be prepared before the challenge
Don’t wait until there is a problem, prepare now. How? If the enemy is defeated and his only weapon is deception, we prepare by knowing the truth. John 8:32 “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free”.
· Take God’s Word and meditate on it.
· Spend time with people of the Word.
· Stay positive in the Word.
b) Get on the attack instead of always being on the defensive
i) Praise is a powerful weapon in the battle. It drives the enemy nuts and he won’t stick around!
ii) Speak out loud the perspective of God. Verbalise the right position: I rebuke those thoughts in Jesus name, I am seated in victory, I am the head and not the tail, I am above and not beneath, I HAVE THE WINNING POSITION BECAUSE IF HE’S DONE IT, I’VE ALREADY GOT IT!
c) Send in the truth
When someone is sick – send in the truth about the healing provision. Where someone is oppressed – send in the truth about freedom in Christ. Wherever there is need – send in the truth about provision in Christ. Whatever the circumstance – send in the truth!
Think it through
· Meditate on it – sit down with family or a friend and find five affirming verses about God’s perspective of you (ask your small group leader if you need help with this).
· Praise it – spend time thanking God for the victory of Jesus.
· Shout it out loud – in the car, in the shower, before bed, whenever you can (!!) – reinforce the truth and reposition your mindset: “I am not what the world says I am, I am not what my past says I am, I am not what the enemy says I am, I am ONLY what GOD says I am”. Then shout out the five verses you found under the section “meditate on it”.
Key verse
Colossians 2:13-15 “Having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of them, triumphing over them in it”.
© 2011 Ps Phil Linden
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