Tag: sin

Because of the Blood

Part 1 – He made us Righteous

Have you ever stopped and realized what the Blood of Jesus has done for you? Have you ever thought of what He has bought for us? What do we get to experience because of the Blood?

  1. He made us Righteous
  • Question: What is righteousness? Answer – A right standing before God.
  • Romans 5:9 “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”

Christ lived a life that completely fulfilled God’s demand of righteousness and thus offered himself on the cross as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. Our own doing, and our own achievements could by no means compare to the sacrifice of what Christ gave.

Without Christ paying the penalty for sin, we would have never been justified

Isaiah 64:6 “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the ind, take us away.”

Nothing makes us good enough to be accepted in God’s family than only through the Blood of Jesus, that’s when we become justified, that’s when we become righteous before God, He sees the blood when He sees you, He doesn’t see your past, he doesn’t see the mistakes, he sees a blood-bought child of God.

Question: What made Christ become the ultimate sacrifice for us to be made righteous? His Love.

JOHN 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whosoever would believe in Him, would not perish but have eternal life.”

— Christ became the lightning rod, absorbing all of God’s wrath so that you and I could stand justified, righteous in his presence!

– When you question the love that God has for you, look to the Cross!

“God made Him who knew no sin to become sin so that you and I might become the righteousness of God” – 2 Corinthians 5:21

Sin That Dwells Within Part 2

“The ground that you had gained yesterday, will be a battle for today”

Just like a soldier on the battlefield who is always aware of his surroundings, expecting a battle at any given moment. We too should be on the lookout.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful… 1 Peter 5:8

2. EXPECT A DAILY BATTLE

LIVING A LIFE FOR GOD ISN’T EASY, WERE SWIMMING UPSTREAM. THOSE WHO ARE NOT WALKING IN THE FLESH, FEEDING THERE OWN DESIRES BUT WHO ARE WALKING IN THE SPIRIT WHO ARE NOT GRATIFYING THE DESIRES OF THE FLESH, THIS DEVO IS FOR YOU! HERE ARE A FEW REMINDERS:

– EXPECT THE GROUND THAT YOU GAINED YESTERDAY TO BE CHALLENGED TODAY.

– EXPECT THOUGHTS THAT ARE CONTRARY TO THE WORD OF GOD TO FLOOD YOUR MIND

– EXPECT PERSECUTION

– EXPECT WEAPONS TRYING TO BE FORMED

BUT KNOW WHO YOUR CAPTAIN ON THE BATTLEFIELD!

“BUT KNOW THAT THEY WHATEVER WEAPON FORMED AGAINST US SHALL NOT PROSPER”

REMEMBER THE PRESENCE OF TROUBLE DOES NOT PROVE THE ABSENCE OF GOD.

REMEMBER WITH EVERY OPPOSITION DOES NOT SIGNAL DEFEAT BUT RATHER MARKS THE BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE. 

EVEN THOUGH JESUS HAS DISARMED THE ENEMY, HE IS WANTING YOU TO BELIEVE THAT HE IS STILL ARMED, HES NOT REAL.

HE HAS DECEIVED MANY, BUT WE ARE TOLD TO NOT TO BE IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES. 

WE MUST KNOW:

HE IS AFTER YOUR DESTINY, AFTER THE INHERITANCE THAT WE HAVE THROUGH CHRIST. HE IS AFTER OUR SOULS. 

BUT WE MUST REMEMBER THAT :

JESUS OUR VICTOR OUR CAPTAIN IS ON THE BATTLEFIELD, THE ONE WHO NEVER LEAVES NO MATTER HOW INTENSE THE BATTLE RAGES. NO MATTER HOW HOT THE FIRE GETS, NO MATTER THE PRESSURE THAT BUILDS, HE WILL NEVER FORFEIT.

TO KNOW THAT WHATEVER WEAPON THE ENEMY MIGHT FORM AGAINST US, WITH GOD IT SHALL NOT PROSPER!

–   EXPECT HIM TO MOVE ON YOUR BEHALF

  • EXPECT HIM WHEN THE ENEMY COMES IN LIKE A FLOOD THAT GOD WILL ALWAYS RAISE STANDARD
  • EXPECT HIM TO GIVE YOU STRENGTH THROUGH THAT TEMPTATION
  • EXPECT HIM TO BRING YOU THROUGH
  • EXPECT AS MANY AS OUR FOES, WE HAVE FAR MORE FOR US THAN AGAINST US.
  • EXPECT THAT THE GOD OF THE VALLEY IS TOO THE GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN!

The Blessed Hope

blessed hope.jpg

 

The Resurrection of Christ brings hope. The late Emil Brunner once said, “What oxygen is for the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of human life.”

As the human organism is dependent on a supply of oxygen, so humanity is dependent on its supply of hope. Yet today hopelessness and despair are everywhere. Peter, who himself was given to despair during the episode of Calvary, writes in a triumphant note, “Blessed be the God and who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.”

There is hope that mistakes and sins can be forgiven. There is hope that we can have joy, peace, assurance and security in the midst of the despair of this age. There is hope that Christ is coming soon-this is what is called in scripture “The blessed hope”

Our hope is not in our own ability or in our goodness or physical strength. Our hope is instilled in us by the resurrection of Christ!

 

cropped-gfj-logo

Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are

COME OUT

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand”…- Matthew 3:1,2

…Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. – Matthew 3:4-6

 

Why would God’s spirit preach in a wilderness? God brought thousands out of the city, away from the comfort, away from the luxury, away from the distractions.

How far would you be willing to go in order to receive the blessings of God?

God wanted to save and preserve those who love Him and leave those in the city to fall to there own demises.

Sometimes we must see the prosperity and blessing in the desert rather than the corrosion and weathering of the city.

Sand erodes by the ocean, but is preserved in the desert

What Is Your Source?

The thought of losing my job, my bank account being drained, losing all my friends, my car, my business;  These are all gifts from God that are not promised for tomorrow. Our health can be compromised, a relationship can end and we are left empty. Why? How? They were broken cisterns that could hold no water. Sometimes I believe we can turn our blessings into a curse. 

God tells Jeremiah 2:13 ” For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that could hold no water.”

Let us not forget that our main source, the One true well is not our personal belongings or our own achievements but staying near the well which is Jesus Christ. Only Jesus promises to satisfy our thirst. Are we focusing on Him as the priority relationship in our life? Or have we turned to someone or something else for your satisfaction? 

Why does God hate sin?

Preaching Notes

So what’s so bad about sin?

1. Not of God – Psalm 97:10 

“O you who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.”

a. God has a plan for your life and a purpose

preserving def: maintaining something in its original state.

Gen 2:15-17 

 15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

SIN=DEATH

Romans 6:23

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2. Stops His work in us – Romans 6:12-14

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

WHEN YOU COMMIT a sin it creates a wall between you and God.

imagine every time you commit this one sin that you cant get victory over it and you don’t repent its life adding a stone on your foundation until it piles up and you don’t hear the voice of God, you cant get no where in life its like their is someone holding you down and you cant get back up. HAS NOW BECAME A STRONGHOLD.

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what events take place before committing a sin?

A thought takes place

(bitterness,lust,anger, and other strongholds come in)

Gen 3:1-7

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

verse 6 = THOUGHT – IMAGINATION = STRONGHOLD

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, /THOUGHT and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, /IMAGINATION she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. /STRONGHOLD 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden.

PET SINS

 Sometimes we cling to something that was part of us before we became God’s followers.

no big deal.
it won’t affect my relationship with God.

we try to hide it like Adam and his wife hid from the presence of God.

Proverbs 28:13 

“People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy.”

We read in Acts 10:34 “So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality…” (ESV) or more plainly in GOD’S WORD ” Then Peter said, “Now I understand that God doesn’t play favorites…”

He is not interested in our talents, our abilities, our possessions.

ALL HE WANTS IS US!

The Hope

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.”

Romans 8:11

“If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.”

We Christians have no excuse to allow pet sins to interfere with our walk with God. Let’s do away with ungodly acts and turn wholeheartedly towards the Cross.

Boundless Power

“Behold one of the great Physician’s mightiest arts; he has power to Forgive sin! Before the ransom had been paid, before the blood had been literally sprinkled on the mercy-seat, he had power to forgive sin. Hath he not power to do it now that he hath died? He has boundless power now that he has finished transgression and made an end of sin. Hear him pleading before the eternal Father, pointing to his wounds, urging the merit of his sacred passion! What power to forgive is here! “He is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins.” The most crimson sins are removed by the crimson of his blood.” – Charles Spurgeon

Here are a few questions that came to mind after I read this quote.

Q: What more shall we need if Christ be all for us to succeed?
A: Nothing

Q: If He is the way maker, why instead do we make a way?
A: We try to be in control, it’s nature for us.

Q: Are you allowing the Spirit to overrule your life?
A: __ YES __ NO