Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…In last week’s blog, I made this distinction between Christianity and all other religions: In other religions, “we do to get”, meaning our standing with God is based on our works or performance. If we successfully adhere to prescribed rules, regulations and rituals, our standing with God is secure, and hopefully will even get better. The intent is to make bad people good, or good people better.
Christianity is in a class by itself. Sometimes it is laden with religious overtones, which encourages observers to say, “All religions are the same. It’s about keeping the flock in line.” (Truth be told, in my BS days {refer to last week’s blog, #321}, I was guilty of making that exact comment!) But Christianity, in its “purest form”, is about having a personal relationship with a loving God who has made it possible for us to spend eternity with Him.
Christianity is not based on works or performance, but instead is based on faith – choosing to believe the truth as revealed in God’s Word, the Holy Bible. We believe the Holy Bible was/is God’s way of revealing Himself to Mankind so we can choose to enter into that all-important relationship. In this Book, He reveals who He is, what He thinks, what He thinks about us, what His plans are concerning us, what His standards are, what His promises are, and how we can achieve those promises. In fact, 2 Peter, 20-21 states : “Above all you must understand that no prophecy or Scripture ever came from the prophets themselves or because they wanted to prophesy. It was the Holy Spirit who moved the prophets to speak from God.” The more we are transformed by this truth, the stronger our faith!
On the cover of Neil Anderson’s book, “Victory Over the Darkness” (one of the books used in my “Freedom in Christ” ministry at Grace Church St. Louis), is this synopsis: “Realizing what it means to be in Christ, and understanding the power that comes from that identity.” In that sentence is THE answer for achieving the abundant life Jesus promised. I am privileged to have the opportunity to talk with Christians who are struggling with life issues, and my experience has revealed that not many actually understand what it means to be in Christ, but even fewer understand the term “power” in this context.
To be in Christ means we have made a choice to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. That was, and is, God’s plan for our salvation. When we do this, we are justified (made right) in His eyes, and this immediately becomes our new identity: our sins are forgiven; we inherit eternal life; we are gifted with the indwelling Holy Spirit; we are now worthy and acceptable in God’s eyes because we are covered with the blood of Jesus; we are grafted into God’s family; we are now a Saint (a follower of Jesus); we are heir to every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms, and are heir to all the promises in the Bible. This new identity is confirmed in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “We are a new creation in Christ, the old is gone (we are no longer slaves to our sin nature), the new has come.” (the Holy Spirit) When this powerful truth becomes engrafted in our hearts, how can we not be filled with confidence, security, peace and joy?
At this point we have everything we need for living a Godly life. (Ref. 2 Peter,1:3) But truth be told, we haven’t yet taken the first step toward becoming the person God created us to be. Now He wants us to be transformed into the image of His Son, so we can further His Kingdom on earth by sharing the truth, love, life, and power of Jesus’ message. (To review His message, refer to last week’s blog, #321) The more we grow in our relationship with Jesus, the more He becomes Lord of our lives. But there is, however, one unavoidable consequence that comes with our new identity in Christ. Now all of us have targets on our backs!
Let me say something that might shock you. Prior to your new identity, you were living in the domain of darkness under the influence of satan. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us, “Satan is the god of this evil world. He has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News (the truth about Jesus) that is shining upon them.” Prior to being in Christ, you lived to satisfy and exalt yourself. That is the very definition of “Sin”. You didn’t know you were sinning, you just did what came naturally. Therefore, satan had you in the palm of his hand, so there was no reason for him to bother you. But once you made a decision to move into the domain of light (the domain of His Son), satan declared war on you. His purpose now is to separate you from God, and to shipwreck your best effort to live the Christian life. Unfortunately, he is a master at his craft! But even more unfortunate…you are no match for him!
Thankfully, God knows we’re only dust. He also knows that through our own strength, we will almost always succumb to satan’s evil schemes. We proved that, without a shadow of a doubt, from the fall of Man (when Sin entered the world) until the coming of Jesus Christ 2020 years ago. This is confirmed in 2 Corinthians 2:11: “We are not oblivious to his sly and evil ways”, and again in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy!” Whether you want to be or not, you are now at war with the “Father of Lies”. (John 8:44) Being unaware of that fact, or trying to ignore it, will almost certainly ensure your defeat. Your enemy is ruthless and insidious. 1 Peter 5:8-9 describes him this way: “Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in your faith.”
Satan’s greatest victory is convincing us he doesn’t exist. Since he is a spirit and not a physical entity, it is easy to convince unbelievers that this whole idea of a spiritual realm is a myth or a fairy tale. Because we are limited by our five senses and our finite minds, it is impossible for us to grasp spiritual realities without the indwelling Holy Spirit leading us to that truth. But truth be told, Jesus spent an extraordinary amount of time talking about satan and warning us of his cunning tactics. And He wasn’t talking about a symbol or a fictional character, but a very real spiritual being with supernatural power to destroy us.
So, you might be asking yourself, “How does satan work? How will I know if I’m being accosted by him? Well, first of all, he is a tempter. He loves to plant lustful thoughts in your mind that entice you to return to your old behaviors such as addictions, sexual exploits, or the unadulterated quest for wealth, power and control. When you struggle with anger, hatred, jealousy, lying, cheating, stealing, depression, anxiety, guilt, shame or remorse, satan is the author of all those emotional conditions. Remember, this is a battle for your soul, which consists of your mind, emotions and will. This is his playground! Any choices you make that are contrary to the teachings of Jesus (love, mercy, grace, compassion, kindness, acceptance, or being of service) are inspired by satan.
Granted, the above scenario does not paint a very encouraging picture. Now let me cap it off with the final exclamation point. “For the wages of Sin (being out of line with God’s will) is death!” But here’s the good news in the midst of that darkness: “But the free gift from God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 6:23) God always prefers mercy over punishment. He knows what it’s like to live in this fallen world; He knows what it’s like to live in these fleshly bodies, and He knows that we’re no match for our enemy, satan. Therefore, His plan for our salvation also provides for those who are still alive and trying to live a Christian life under stressful conditions.
In order to secure our victory over the darkness, He gave us the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit to do for us what we proved we could not do for ourselves. Ephesians 2: 10 tells us, “The Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will give us everything He promised.” This is the power that Christians have that unbelievers do not have because they are still under the influence of satan. This gift cannot be bought, nor can it be earned. But sadly, most Christians, who already have this power inside them, don’t know how to tap into this spiritual treasure. Therefore, I am going to present a crash course entitled, “Tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit”…right after I tell you what the Holy Spirit does and does not do.
He (a real spiritual entity; the essence of Jesus Christ in us {Ref. John 14:17) does not fix things for us. He empowers us to accomplish His purpose. He also does not respond to any request that exalts “self”. His sole purpose is to empower us to make choices that are in line with God’s will, and to honor Him by becoming the person He created us to be. When that is our motivation, He empowers us to be THE VICTOR through Jesus Christ.
We begin by calling the Holy Spirit into action. Whenever we begin a sentence with” Holy Spirit”, we have just opened the door to the supernatural realm. Then we ask Him to empower us with His wisdom, strength, courage, patience, perseverance, insight, eyes to see, ears to hear – whatever it is we need to accomplish His purpose. For instance, if you have an interview for a new position, you might say, “Holy Spirit, I need your courage, and your words to speak today. I want this person to see Your light in me. Help me to honor you today at this interview. Thank you, Lord Jesus”
This process is about YOU getting out of the way so the Holy Spirit can work through YOU to accomplish His will. The more you do that, the more you will thank God for His supernatural guidance. In Christ, you can be your own action hero, because you have a a supernatural power that would make Superman, Batman or Wonderwoman envious. Think about that. That’s your gift from a loving God who wants you in His eternal family.
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May God Bless You abundantly,
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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