Saturday 20 June 2009

God is not angry with you

I believe that God is not angry at people. We have heard so many things about an angry God, but think of it this way, God (The Father) so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever believes, might not perish, but have everlasting life. God is the One who did something out of love. He sent His beloved Son. If His Son came and showed us such love, that He would die for the ungodly, why would He now be angry at us? We think Jesus is mad at us for being so sinful that He had to come and die to save us. No way, He loved us so much, and He proved His love in this, that at the fitting time, Christ died for the ungodly.

Jesus makes it very clear in John 3, and John 8 that He did not come to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He said in John 8 to the Pharisees: You judge after the flesh, but I judge no man. In John 5:45, Jesus said the following: "Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust." The accusing voice in you life is not the voice of the Holy Spirit, or of Jesus Christ, or of the Father, but the echoe of the preaching of law of Moses that you have heard throughout your life. Your own conscience accuses you because your conscience is concsious of the law of Moses. God never accuses anyone. The word Satan in the origional means: "Accuser". Think of that for a while. Satan uses the law as a weapon to accuse you. Jesus said that we should not think that He will accuse us to the Father. We need to realise that Jesus did not vindicate Himself when He was accused by the Pharisees, Saducees and Scribes. Their only aim was to kill Jesus. He did not seek His own will or His own way, but was obedient unto death, so that we can be made righteous and be set free.

He took our accusation, and bare the punishment for our sins. He was innocent, yet He did not speak out against His accusers who accused Him of everything we did wrong. he did that out of love for us, so that we can be free. Jesus Christ took all accusation and condemnation upon Himself, for our sakes, therein fulfilling the law and ending the world system of the law. Rom 10:4 says: "Christ is the end of the law." How then will Christ accuse you? He himself has been appointed to be judge over the living and the dead. John 5:22 says "Even the Father judges no one, for He has given all judgment (the last judgment and the whole business of judging) entirely into the hands of the Son"

Rom 8:31 says: "What then shall we say to [all] this? If God is for us, who [can be] against us? [Who can be our foe, if God is on our side?]
8:32 He who did not withhold or spare [even] His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not also with Him freely and graciously give us all [other] things?
8:33 Who shall bring any charge against God's elect [when it is] God Who justifies [that is, Who puts us in right relation to Himself? Who shall come forward and accuse or impeach those whom God has chosen? Will God, Who acquits us?]
8:34 Who is there to condemn [us]? Will Christ Jesus (the Messiah), Who died, or rather Who was raised from the dead, Who is at the right hand of God actually pleading as He intercedes for us?

Remember that a Judge make one of two judgements. Guilty, and Not Guilty. We are all guilty under the law of Moses, and the Law of Moses will forever judge every person who dwells on the earth, but Christ is the end of the law, and those who believe in Christ, are now saved from the verdict of Guilty, because Jesus has already been accused, condemned and sentenced for your sins. To accuse you again of your sin, will result in unrighteousness prevailing, because a Righteous Judge will never punish the same sins twice. Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God.

Those who disbelieve His salvation is conemned already, because the Law of Moses Condemns them, and they refuse to take the only true salvation offered to them: being acquitted on the grounds of Christ's death. Because Jesus died, and rose again, and because the Father has appointed Him to be the judge of the living and the dead, it is impossible for God to Condemn you if you believe in Jesus Christ. God can not go against His own Word. For God to Condemn a believer, He would have to go against His own purpose of saving the people of the earth from judgment and damnation on the grounds of the law of Moses. If you go to a Porsche dealership and buy a brand new Porsche Carrera 4S, paying a very high price for it, you would go against your own purpose of buying the car to enjoy it, if you then turn on it and attack it with a big hammer. It just doesn't make sense. God loved you so much that He paid for you with His own life and His own blood. Now you are His, and He has saved you. Heb 13:8 says "Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is [always] the same, yesterday, today, [yes] and forever (to the ages)." He will not turn and start hating you.

In John 10:8-11 Jesus says: 10:8 All others who came [as such] before Me are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not listen to and obey them.
10:9 I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture.
10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).
10:11 I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep.

Who came before Jesus? The Pharisees, Saducees and the Scribes. What did they subscribe to adn teach? The law of Moses. What was their single aim? To kill and destroy Jesus. The law and the teachers of the law came before Christ did. Judgement according to the writings of Moses came before Christ. That is the thief and the robber. It will only steal from you, kill you, and destroy your life if you listen to a law which has been fulfilled 2000 years ago. You need to listen to the Words of the Good Shepherd. He came to give us life and life in abundance.

John 3:16 again says: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
3:21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

The law came before and condemned all people. Christ came to save. Those who believe in His goodness, are saved from the wrath of the law, those who do not believe are condemned already by the law of Moses that was already in the world when He came.

Isaiah 54:4 Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded and depressed, for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the shame of your youth, and you shall not [seriously] remember the reproach of your widowhood any more.
54:5 For your Maker is your Husband-the Lord of hosts is His name-and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He is called.
54:6 For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken, grieved in spirit, and heartsore-even a wife [wooed and won] in youth, when she is [later] refused and scorned, says your God.
54:7 For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and mercy I will gather you [to Me] again.

(The Father forsook Jesus on the cross)


54:8 In a little burst of wrath I hid My face from you for a moment, but with age-enduring love and kindness I will have compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
54:9 For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will not be angry with you or rebuke you.
54:10 For though the mountains should depart and the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord, Who has compassion on you.

The Lord Swore that He will never be angry with you again. By faith, we come to know Him for Who He really is. The law will only judge us, but God will only set us free and give us mercy and grace. All the wrath and anger of God because of sin and guilt, was poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross. You can now believe in His love. He will never do anything that could harm you. He will never put you through anything that is in the least scary or difficult. Every Good and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father of lights in Whom there can be no variance or shaddow cast by His turning.

1 John 3:18 Little children, let us not love [merely] in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity).
3:19 By this we shall come to know (perceive, recognize, and understand) that we are of the Truth, and can reassure (quiet, conciliate, and pacify) our hearts in His presence,
3:20 Whenever our hearts in [tormenting] self-accusation make us feel guilty and condemn us. [For we are in God's hands.] For He is above and greater than our consciences (our hearts), and He knows (perceives and understands) everything [nothing is hidden from Him].
3:21 And, beloved, if our consciences (our hearts) do not accuse us [if they do not make us feel guilty and condemn us], we have confidence (complete assurance and boldness) before God,
3:22 And we receive from Him whatever we ask, because we [watchfully] obey His orders [observe His suggestions and injunctions, follow His plan for us] and [habitually] practice what is pleasing to Him.
3:23 And this is His order (His command, His injunction): that we should believe in (put our faith and trust in and adhere to and rely on) the name of His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah), and that we should love one another, just as He has commanded us.


If your heart is filled with the law of Moses, you will accuse yourself, and you will feel guilty. That means that you have not realised who God is; Who Love is. God is only good, and He is not confused about His identity. Jesus and the Father tenderly loves you, and He will never rebuke you, ever! Only Believe!

Wednesday 3 June 2009

Sin is condemned in the flesh

Rom 8 says
8:1 [There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Jesus condemned sin in the flesh. The sin dwelling in you is already condemned. The sentenced is passed. You have been justified, but the sin in you have been condemned. Now you don't have to worry when you do something wrong, because the condemnation is not for you, but for sin in you. This means that you will remain, and the sin will gradually disappear, as you embrace the life of the Spirit. If the sin has been condemned, and you made righteous, you can now live in the Spirit of Life. Life mortifies the sin in your bodies. It carries out the sentence against sin. It executes the sin that have been condemned to death. So the sin is on death row, and you are the executioner. You don't need to be intimidated by the sin, because you have the authority to mortify it. How do I kill the sin? I live in the Spirit, and the Life kills the sin and death that was at work in me.

8:5 For those who are according to the flesh and are controlled by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue those things which gratify the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit and are controlled by the desires of the Spirit set their minds on and seek those things
which gratify the [Holy] Spirit.

If the executioner will listen to the prisoner on death row, and be intimidated by his threatenings, the executioner will become afraid, and will start doing what the prisoner demands, although the executioner still has the upper hand. If you look at the sin dwelling in your body, the sin will use the law of Moses against you, and try to intimidate you by fear of death. We can only be intimidated by the law, if we don't realise that Jesus Christ has Himself justified us and declared us righteous. So let your thoughts dwell on what Christ did, and mind the things of the cross of Christ, and the holiness and glory that He has given you by grace through His sacrifice on the cross, and refrain from thinking that you are guilty and evil, because of accusation that comes by the law of Moses. The rightfull and just requirement of the law is now fully met in you, because Christ dwells in you. The sin is condemned in you, and has no power over you.

8:6 Now the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising from sin, both here and hereafter]. But the mind of the [Holy] Spirit is life and [soul] peace [both now and forever].

We want to execute the sin that brings death that has already been condemned by Christ Jesus. The law of Moses only deal with natural things and not with spiritual things. It is thoughts of flesh, and not thoughts of the Spirit. The law will only bring a mind of condemnation and guilt. This is the mind of the flesh. So the law failed in securing man's salvation, because man was fleshly. Because man was fleshly, the law could not produce something spiritual. But Christ had the Spirit of God, and He fulfilled the law for us. He has now freely given us His Spirit, which gives us the mind of the Spirit, the mind of Christ.

If you try to reason without the Gospel, and without the Holy Spirit, you will only think fleshly thoughts. If your reasoning is guided by the Holy Spirit, and focused on what Christ did on the cross, you will mind the things of God, because you will realise that you are justified and made righteous by grace. This thinking, that comes through the spirit, produces life, and kills sin in your body. If you think you're guilty of sin because of the law, your thinking will produce more and more sin, and you will experience more and more death.

8:7 [That is] because the mind of the flesh [with its carnal thoughts and purposes] is hostile to God, for it does not submit itself to God's Law; indeed it cannot.

The prisoner's thoughts are hostile to the thoughts of the guard, because the guard has the power to kill it. The prisoner will try everything to try and intimidate the guard. The thoughts produced by the law, i.e. the thoughts of condemnation and guilt can not submit to the law of God, which is the Law of the Spirit of Life, which is that man has been justified freely by grace, and that we have been made alive by the Spirit. So if we allow the thoughts of condemnation and death in our hearts, a war will ensue, and the peace will disappear. Just think of Christ, and what He did for you, live in the Spirit, and your will kill the sin (prisoner) which is trying to intimidate you by the law of Moses.

8:8 So then those who are living the life of the flesh [catering to the appetites and impulses of their carnal nature] cannot please or satisfy God, or be acceptable to Him.
8:9 But you are not living the life of the flesh, you are living the life of the Spirit, if the [Holy] Spirit of God [really] dwells within you [directs and controls you]. But if anyone does not possess the [Holy] Spirit of Christ, he is none of His [he does not belong to Christ, is not truly a child of God].
8:10 But if Christ lives in you, [then although] your [natural] body is dead by reason of sin and guilt, the spirit is alive because of [the] righteousness [that He imputes to you].
8:11 And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.
8:12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, but not to the flesh [we are not obligated to our carnal nature], to live [a life ruled by the standards set up by the dictates] of the flesh.

You don't have to obey the dictates of the sin that lives in you. You have been made free from it, and God gave you the Spirit of Christ, so that you van live through Him. Living the life of the Spirit, kills the life of the flesh in you.

8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

It does not say that if you live after the flesh you shall go to hell. You can not loose your salvation. It simply means that your body will die, but you can live the life of the Spirit, and verse 11 says that the Spirit of God will the restore to life your mortal body. That simply means that you will live and not die. It means immortality, everlasting life.

Acts 24:16 Therefore I always exercise and discipline myself [mortifying my body, deadening my carnal affections, bodily appetites, and worldly desires, endeavoring in all respects] to have a clear (unshaken, blameless) conscience, void of offense toward God and toward men.

It is by the Spirit. You can not do it by trying in the flesh.
Gal 5:16 But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).
5:17 For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the [Holy] Spirit, and the [desires of the] Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are
prevented from doing what you desire to do.
5:18 But if you are guided (led) by the [Holy] Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.

Col 3:1 IF THEN you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, thus sharing His resurrection from the dead], aim at and seek the [rich, eternal treasures] that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
3:2 And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

Don't try to overcome sin. Think of what Christ did for you.

3:3 For [as far as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God.
3:4 When Christ, Who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in [the splendor of His] glory.
3:5 So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is
employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God).
3:6 It is on account of these [very sins] that the [holy] anger of God is ever coming upon the sons of disobedience (those who are obstinately opposed to the divine will),
3:7 Among whom you also once walked, when you were living in and addicted to [such practices].
3:8 But now put away and rid yourselves [completely] of all these things: anger, rage, bad feeling toward others, curses and slander, and foulmouthed abuse and shameful utterances from your lips!
3:9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old (unregenerate) self with its evil practices,
3:10 And have clothed yourselves with the new [spiritual self], which is [ever in the process of being] renewed and remolded into [fuller and more perfect knowledge upon] knowledge after the image (the likeness) of Him Who created it.

You can not win when you try by yourself to overcome your sin. Do not try it. Christ has won already. He has condemned sin in the flesh already. He has done it in His body. He has withstood sin unto the pouring out of His own blood. He has been tempted in every respect as we are yet without sin. He was holy blameless and spotless according to the law, and He did die without cause for your sins. Sin has been condemned in His flesh, so that the righteous and just requirement of the law might be fully met in you, who live in the Spirit! He has given you His Holy Spirit.

You need to look at what he did, and live in the Spirit. Enjoy Christ. Enjoy your life in Him. By doing that, you mortify the deeds of the flesh. By letting Christ have full freedom in your body, and by totally yielding your life to the Holy Spirit, His life kills the sin and death in your body. You need to yield to Christ. He can't believe on your behalf. This is your role. Believe in Him, and yield to His Holy Spirit. Constantly turn away from self and the law, and turn to Him. Turn away from trying by the law, and look to what He did. If you sin, don't think you're condemned, believe that you're forgiven by what Christ did. You do have an advocate with the Father pleading for you. You are forgiven and free, don't listen to the lie that tries to convince you of sin and guilt and condemnation. That captivity has been led captive, and you have authority over it in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Tuesday 2 June 2009

Living in the Word

Today at 16:00 my programme is broadcast on the Spirit Word Channel. The name of the programme is Living in the Word. It is a series of 4 programmes broadcast on the first Tuesday of each month at 16:00 or 4pm Central Africa Time (GMT+2). We have died with Christ to sin and the law, and have been justified, set free and placed in a position of rulership through His grace. Find out more by watching.

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