14/04/17

The Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again to bring colour and significance to the lives of all who believe in Him. The Bible is clear that God’s plan for His people is that they will always come out on top no matter what negative things get thrown against them. God is never behind any perpetual failure, defeat, sorrow, etc. God is good, and He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for us so that He could legally extend His goodness to us.

Abundant life

In John 10:10, the Lord Jesus gave the mission statement for His coming to earth, when He said,
‘I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly’.
Jesus does not come into our lives to bring destruction, defeat, depression, stagnation or anything else negative. He comes to cause us to experience the God-quality of life. His agenda is always to make things better for us.
While He lived here on earth, the Lord Jesus Himself had constant victory. He was faced with many challenges, but He always came out victorious. It is that same kind and quality of life that He has now legally made available to us through His cross.

Born again to overcome

By virtue of the new birth, every believer in Christ has been legally positioned for victory.
‘For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith’ - 1 John 5:4.
If you are born again, God says you have already overcome the world. Not you will, but have! Therefore, you are not a victim or a failure. See yourself as God sees you. You are a winner by birth, by the new birth.
On the day you got born again, Papa God infused your spirit with His own life, nature and ability. You have in you the resurrection life of Jesus. You are anointed (2 Corinthians 2:21; 1 John 2:27). You are blessed with all spiritual blessings available in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 1:3). You have what it takes to be the person God created you to be (2 Peter 1:3). You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Christ in you is your wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).
You can accomplish the calling God has placed on your life. You can be the biblical husband or wife that God has called you to be. Through Christ, you can be the successful manager, teacher, banker, lawyer, farmer, preacher, or whatever your calling in life is. You are a ruler by design.

God qualifies you

Maybe you have messed up your life so bad that everyone says you will never recover. Well, the good news is that Jesus specializes in healing, restoring and beautifying messed up lives. He came to ‘preach the gospel to the poor; …. to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’ - Luke 4:18.
If no one wants you any more, God wants you. If everyone has written you off, God writes you in. If everyone says you just don’t have the qualifications to fulfill the calling God has placed on your life, that is evidence you are material God can work with to accomplish great exploits. 1 Corinthians 1:27-28 declares,
‘But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are’.
It is not your natural credentials that qualify you; it is God’s calling. If He has called you, He has qualified you. When He called you, He was fully aware of your past mistakes, your ‘flawed’ personality, the blunders you would make in the future, etc. You may be a surprise choice to people or even to yourself, but not to God. He knew you when you were still in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5), and He ordained you to be a success in your divine assignment.

Forgiven and blessed

Speaking to the Jews soon after Jesus rose from the dead, Apostle Peter told them,
‘Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities’ - Acts 3:26).
Jesus rose from the dead to bless, not curse you. And top of those blessings is forgiveness of your iniquities.
If you have believed in Christ, you have been forgiven. Now, that is shouting ground! You are not seeking to be forgiven, or hoping to be forgiven some day after you growl in the dirt, and confess all the sorry things about you. Right now as a believer in Jesus, you have been forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). Papa God no longer remembers any of your sins.
Some people have been told that even though they have been born again and are now new creatures in Christ, God is still punishing them for the sins of their ancestors. There is no such teaching in the New Testament. Yes, under the Old Testament, God punished people for the sins of their ancestors to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5). But then in Jeremiah 31, Papa God promised that a day would come when He would no longer punish children for the sins of their ancestors:
‘In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: …. for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more’ (Jeremiah 31:29-31, 34).
The day that Jeremiah prophesied about arrived when Jesus gave His life and paid for our sins. Now in Christ, there is no generational curse upon the believer. Since God already punished His Son for all, ALL, of your sins, including the one you inherited right back from Adam, He cannot turn around and punish you for the same sins. He is too just and holy to do that!
No man can curse you when God has blessed you (Numbers 23:20). Relax. Jesus took the curse! Believe the gospel, not what people say. Check the Word of God for yourself. You are blessed. You are called to inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9)

Righteous New creation

You are a new creation in Christ. You are not just an old sinner saved by grace. You are a child of God, a king and a priest unto God, an ambassador from heaven earth. Before you were born again, you were an old sinner, but since accepting Christ, you have been saved by grace. You are now the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). In Christ, you were re-created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24).
And since you are righteous, you have unfettered access into God’s presence. That positions you for victory. You have been justified. Before God, it is just as if you never sinned. God is not angry with you anymore. Jesus took God’s wrath that you deserved when He died on the cross.

Avoid sin

Yes, committing sins has consequences because we aren’t just dealing with God. In Christ, we have been forgiven of all sins - past, present and future - , but sin also affects our relationship with people and with the devil. If you sin against people, they will not always treat you with grace. And the devil will find an open door into your life (Ephesians 4:27). Furthermore, sin will harden your heart towards God (Hebrews 3:13), and you may miss out on a lot of things God may be saying to you. So as much as possible, you must avoid sin. Flee from all forms of sin; even the very appearance of sin (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
But if you ever fail (as we all do sometimes), don’t let that sin dominate you. As long as the blood of Jesus avails (and it always will), remember that even in your greatest mess, you still have boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies (the presence of God) by the blood of Christ (Hebrews 19:20), not by your goodness. Christ has eternally opened up for you the way to Papa God and no power can close that access.

Stay away from messages of defeatism

Child of God, the devil hates you. The devil wants you to be a failure; to be a casualty. He wants people to see you in a sorry state so that they can think serving God doesn’t profit. Don’t let the devil get away with his scheme. A lot of times, he uses even preachers to gain inroads into our life, by getting us to submit to teachings that put burdens of guilt and condemnation upon us.
Don’t submit to anything that puts you down; that prophesies doom, failure, destruction to you. You have to fight for your freedom in Christ. It won’t always be easy, and you will most likely face some serious opposition once you begin to assert your right to be a victor but stay with the truth of the gospel. You have only one life here. Live it well!
Focus on Jesus. Your work will never be perfect but Christ’s work on the cross for you was perfect. Put your trust on what Jesus did for you; not on what you do for Jesus. You are a winner in Christ, not in your own good works. Christ came to save you because you have no ability to save yourself. Let Him save you. Let Him bless you. Let Him make you a champion. Let Him turn you into a star.
Believe the gospel.