Dear friends,
I would like you to have a life full of victory over sin. I would like you to live a life of godliness and exhibit more Christian characters, such as self-control, kindness, goodness and other fruits of the Spirit. Please read and meditate on what is written below.
The Secret Of Godliness
Knowing that you are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in your life. I know how this revelation has changed me and transformed my life. Jesus himself said that those who are forgiven much will love Him much. Those who are forgiven little, or correctly, those who think they have been forgiven little, will love him only little. Luke 7: 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But, he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
The more you realize that you have been forgiven much, actually, all of your sins, the more will you love the Lord Jesus. Forgiveness does not lead to a lifestyle of sin. It leads to a life of glorifying the Lord Jesus. The only reason people don’t love Him much is that they do not understand how much they have been forgiven. Therefore, we cannot boast on our love to God, but we should boast on God’s love to us because the Father takes pleasure in seeing His Son to be crucified and die so that He can draw us near to Him. 1 John 4: 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Many preachers are telling believers that they have to exhibit more Christian characters, more self-control, more godliness and more brotherly kindness. I totally agree that all these qualities and good and necessary, but the question is, how do we develop them? How should preachers help believers to exhibit more Christian characters? When asked for the solution, most people would say, “Discipline! We need to focus more on the Ten Commandments and develop discipline, and then self-control, godliness and brotherly kindness will come.” While they sound very good, that is not what the word of God says. 2 Peter 1: 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. It is clear that if a person lacks good Christian qualities like self-control, godliness and brotherly kindness, it is not because he lacks discipline, but because ha has forgotten the main clause of the new covenant. The secret of every godly man and woman is their belief in the truth that they have been forgiven. Their godliness stems from a revelation of their forgiveness, which leads to victory over sin.
How Are You Forgiven Of Your Sins?
We do not have to confess our sins in order to be forgiven. We confess our sins because we are already forgiven. Confessing our sins is about being open with God and talking to God knowing that we have been forgiven. Confession in the new covenant is just being honest about our failures and our humanity. Fellowship with the Father is not broken because our forgiveness is not contingent on what we do, but strictly contingent upon the finished work of Jesus at the cross.
There are preachers who teach that unless we confess all our sins, we would not be forgiven. Some even say that if someone dies without having confessed all his/her sins, he/she would end up in hell. Such teachings made the forgiveness of sins man’s responsibility, instead of something that was dependent on what Jesus’ blood has already accomplished. Such teaching can put you in severe bondage. Such teaching was built on the following verse: 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. People have taken this verse and built a whole doctrine around it when actually, chapter 1 John1 was written to the Gnostics, who were unbelievers. For us believers, the moment we received Jesus, all our sins were forgiven. We are not to live from confession to confession, but from faith to faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work.
If you really believe that you need to confess all your sins to be forgiven, do you know what you would be doing? You would be confessing your sins ALL THE TIME! How then can you have courage before God? What if you forget to confess just one sin? You cannot have the boldness that you are righteous. How can you have liberty as a child of God? I tried it, and it is impossible.
Let us not build a whole doctrine based on one verse. If confession is vital for your forgiveness, then Apostle Paul, who wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, has done us a great injustice because he did not mention it even once – not once – in any of his letters to the church. Confessing our sins all the time will make you only more sin-conscious. But knowing that you have been forgiven for all your sins, in the past, present and future, will keep you forgiven-conscious. And knowing that you are forgiven for all your sins will give you the power to reign over every destructive habit and live a life of victory!
The Consciousness Of Jesus' Finished Work Brings Victory.
Once you believe that all your sins are indeed forgiven and that God does not hold anything against you, faith will spring forth. Faith will be there for healing. Faith will be there for prosperity. Faith will be there for restoration in your marriage and family. Jesus said to the paralytic man, "Son, your sins are forgiven you, " before He said, "Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house." Why? Because Jesus knew that unless the man had the assurance that all his sins had been forgiven, he would not have the faith to be healed. This is what people need to hear. This is what we need to teach in the church. The devil's strategy is to make you feel like you are not qualified to enter God's presence. He will give you a thousand reasons why you don't qualify for God's blessings. The truth is that the blood of Jesus qualifies you to have constant access to the Most High God.
Amen!
Dedo Suwanda
PS. The content of the article above was extracted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Destined to reign - Part 3 - The Gospel that Paul Preached
Dear friends,
The power of the Gospel is to live each walking moment having the confidence that all your sins have been forgiven. Contrast this with living with a perpetual sense of guilt and condemnation that comes with thinking that when you sin, fellowship with God is broken, He no longer answers your prayers, He is far away from you, and until you repent and confess all your sins, the Holy Spirit will not return. There are so many Christians, even mature ones, who are still confused about the teaching of forgiveness. The best way to understand the Gospel is to go back to what the apostles preached in the early church.Let us examine what Paul, the apostle of New Covenant, preached. After all, he was the apostle whom God appointed to preach the Gospel of Grace.
Let us start by examining Acts 14: 8-10:
Acts 14: 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. When this crippled man heard Paul speaking, he was filled with faith to be healed. How did the man come to be filled with faith?
Look at what the Bible says about faith. Romans 10: 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The man at Lystra was filled with faith because he heard the word of Christ. In many English translation of the Bible, the word of Christ was translated the word of God. You see, faith does not come simply hy hearing the word of God, which would encompass everything in the Bible, including the Law of Moses. There is no impartation of faith when you hear the Ten Commandments preached. Faith comes only by hearing the word of Christ. To hear the word of Christ is to hear preaching and teaching that have been filtered through the New Covenant of Grace and the finished work of Jesus Christ. You can preach from "Genesis" to "Revelation", but it has to be from the perspective of Jesus and His grace. Christ is in the Old Testament concealed, and in the New Testament revealed.
What was preached by the Apostle Paul?
Let us go back one chapter to Acts 13. Paul's sermon in Acts 13 climaxed in verse 38-39:
Acts 13: 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man (Jesus) forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. The power of the Gospel that Paul preached is found in the forgiveness of all your sins for "everyone who believes". There is no other qualification for being forgiveness for your sins.The old covenant was based on justification by works (obedience to the Ten Commandments). You have to perform to be forgiven. But the new covenant of grace is based entirely on justification by faith (believing in Jesus Christ).
There is power in hearing and hearing the Gospel of Jesus. That's how faith comes. The more of Jesus you hear, the more of His grace you receive. The more revelation you get of His "finished work at the cross", the more you will receive an impartation of faith for any situation, even the seemingly imposible ones. Are you faced with an impossible situation today? Are you trusting the Lord for a breakthrough? If so, I encourage you to get hold of good teachings that are full of the good news of Jesus. Faith will be imparted to you as you hear more and more of Jesus. Then, you will stop being pre-occupied with yourself, with your lack, and with your weaknesses, but you will become fully occupied with Jesus, His beauty, His perfection and His grace! Amen!
Rightly Dividing the Word
There is a lot of confusion and wrong believing in the church today because many Christians read their Bibles without rightly dividing the old and the new covenants. When reading the Old Testament, we need to read with the perspective of Jesus or the new covenant of grace. Take an example of the verses from Psalm 51 below. David wrote this Psalm after he committed sin with Bathsheba and repented. These verses were used in a worship song that I used to like and sing frequently. It may sound harmless, but it is very misleading. Psalm 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Why is it misleading? As a believer under a new covenant, the Holy Spirit will never leave us forever.
Even when we are reading verses from the New Testament, we must read it with the right context. For example, we don't realize that even some of the words which Jesus spoke in the four gospels (in the New Testament) are part of the old covenant. They were spoken before the cross as He had not yet died. The new covenant begins only after the cross, when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of the Pentecost. It is important to realize that the cross made the difference. In addition, we also need to examine who Jesus was speaking to. At times, He was speaking to the Pharisees, who boasted in their perfect law-keeping. With them, Jesus brough the law to its prinstine standard, such that it was impossible for any man to keep. Take a look at what Jesus said in Matthew 18: 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. Do you think that Jesus expects us to do that, or does He want us to rightly divide the Word, and understand who He was speaking to in that passage and what He meant? He said all that so that man would come to an end of depending on Himself and begin to see that they desperately need a Saviour. So learn to rightly divide the Word of God whenever you read the Bible. Not everything that Jesus said was spoken to the church or the believers.
The Main Clause of the New Covenant
Hebrews 8: 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he (Jesus) finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.... 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
This is the main and final clause of the new covenant: "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” God does not remember our sins any longer. How can you still think that God is punishing you for the sins you committed in the past when something that seems bad happening in your lives, such as lack in finances, sickness or accidents? If you don't believe in the main and final clause of the new covenant, you are rejecting the new covenant and negating the finished work of Jesus at the cross. That is disobedience.
I pray that you receive the revelation of grace from God, and you will be liberated from the bondages resulted from the wrong teaching in the past that are not based on the new covenant.
Dedo Suwanda
PS. The content of the article above was extracted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince.
The power of the Gospel is to live each walking moment having the confidence that all your sins have been forgiven. Contrast this with living with a perpetual sense of guilt and condemnation that comes with thinking that when you sin, fellowship with God is broken, He no longer answers your prayers, He is far away from you, and until you repent and confess all your sins, the Holy Spirit will not return. There are so many Christians, even mature ones, who are still confused about the teaching of forgiveness. The best way to understand the Gospel is to go back to what the apostles preached in the early church.Let us examine what Paul, the apostle of New Covenant, preached. After all, he was the apostle whom God appointed to preach the Gospel of Grace.
Let us start by examining Acts 14: 8-10:
Acts 14: 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. When this crippled man heard Paul speaking, he was filled with faith to be healed. How did the man come to be filled with faith?
Look at what the Bible says about faith. Romans 10: 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. The man at Lystra was filled with faith because he heard the word of Christ. In many English translation of the Bible, the word of Christ was translated the word of God. You see, faith does not come simply hy hearing the word of God, which would encompass everything in the Bible, including the Law of Moses. There is no impartation of faith when you hear the Ten Commandments preached. Faith comes only by hearing the word of Christ. To hear the word of Christ is to hear preaching and teaching that have been filtered through the New Covenant of Grace and the finished work of Jesus Christ. You can preach from "Genesis" to "Revelation", but it has to be from the perspective of Jesus and His grace. Christ is in the Old Testament concealed, and in the New Testament revealed.
What was preached by the Apostle Paul?
Let us go back one chapter to Acts 13. Paul's sermon in Acts 13 climaxed in verse 38-39:
Acts 13: 38 Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man (Jesus) forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. The power of the Gospel that Paul preached is found in the forgiveness of all your sins for "everyone who believes". There is no other qualification for being forgiveness for your sins.The old covenant was based on justification by works (obedience to the Ten Commandments). You have to perform to be forgiven. But the new covenant of grace is based entirely on justification by faith (believing in Jesus Christ).
There is power in hearing and hearing the Gospel of Jesus. That's how faith comes. The more of Jesus you hear, the more of His grace you receive. The more revelation you get of His "finished work at the cross", the more you will receive an impartation of faith for any situation, even the seemingly imposible ones. Are you faced with an impossible situation today? Are you trusting the Lord for a breakthrough? If so, I encourage you to get hold of good teachings that are full of the good news of Jesus. Faith will be imparted to you as you hear more and more of Jesus. Then, you will stop being pre-occupied with yourself, with your lack, and with your weaknesses, but you will become fully occupied with Jesus, His beauty, His perfection and His grace! Amen!
Rightly Dividing the Word
There is a lot of confusion and wrong believing in the church today because many Christians read their Bibles without rightly dividing the old and the new covenants. When reading the Old Testament, we need to read with the perspective of Jesus or the new covenant of grace. Take an example of the verses from Psalm 51 below. David wrote this Psalm after he committed sin with Bathsheba and repented. These verses were used in a worship song that I used to like and sing frequently. It may sound harmless, but it is very misleading. Psalm 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Why is it misleading? As a believer under a new covenant, the Holy Spirit will never leave us forever.
Even when we are reading verses from the New Testament, we must read it with the right context. For example, we don't realize that even some of the words which Jesus spoke in the four gospels (in the New Testament) are part of the old covenant. They were spoken before the cross as He had not yet died. The new covenant begins only after the cross, when the Holy Spirit was given on the day of the Pentecost. It is important to realize that the cross made the difference. In addition, we also need to examine who Jesus was speaking to. At times, He was speaking to the Pharisees, who boasted in their perfect law-keeping. With them, Jesus brough the law to its prinstine standard, such that it was impossible for any man to keep. Take a look at what Jesus said in Matthew 18: 7 “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes! 8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. Do you think that Jesus expects us to do that, or does He want us to rightly divide the Word, and understand who He was speaking to in that passage and what He meant? He said all that so that man would come to an end of depending on Himself and begin to see that they desperately need a Saviour. So learn to rightly divide the Word of God whenever you read the Bible. Not everything that Jesus said was spoken to the church or the believers.
The Main Clause of the New Covenant
Hebrews 8: 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. 8 For he (Jesus) finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.... 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
This is the main and final clause of the new covenant: "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” God does not remember our sins any longer. How can you still think that God is punishing you for the sins you committed in the past when something that seems bad happening in your lives, such as lack in finances, sickness or accidents? If you don't believe in the main and final clause of the new covenant, you are rejecting the new covenant and negating the finished work of Jesus at the cross. That is disobedience.
I pray that you receive the revelation of grace from God, and you will be liberated from the bondages resulted from the wrong teaching in the past that are not based on the new covenant.
Dedo Suwanda
PS. The content of the article above was extracted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince.
Destined to Reign - part 2 - Do You Have the Right Perception about God?
Dear friends,
Have you ever been told the followings:
1. the more you know, the more God would hold you accountable, and your punishment for falling short of His expectations would be more severe than someone who knows less, and
2. the closer you draw to God, the more trials and tribulations you would experience?
Wouldn't you rather be more ignorant than learn more about the Word and attract greater chastisement should you fail? Wouldn't you rather stay away from God than draw closer to God? Can you see how wrong teachings about God can rob you of all that He has for you?
Contrary to the above, you will learn that the closer you draw to God, the close you are to all the "answers" to all your problems. You will draw closer to the Miracle Worker, the Healer and your Provider, Jehovah Jireh. The Devil would love for you not to find out the truth , so that he can keep you in bondage, sickness and poverty. As long as you continue to have the wrong perception of God and withdraw from Him and avoiding intimacy with him, the Devil will keep you bound in the life of defeat.
One of the most evil teaching that you would have heard is that God will chastise His own people with sickness, diseases, accidents and tragedies. You can become very afraid of God, and you may not want to draw near to Him because you are afraid of Him. Do you know that this errornous teaching is actually based on the old covenant and not the new covenant? In the book of Leviticus, God says to those who fail to obey His commandments, ``I will chastise you seven times for your sins.`` (Lev. 26:28) But, we are no longer under the covenant of law, but we are under the covenant of grace. Jesus has borne all our chastisement and punishment on the cross. Jesus has been chastised on our behalf. Look at these verses from Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53: 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
You may ask, how about the verse in Hebrews 12: 5 (NKJV)? 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
The original Greek word for `chastens`here is poorly translated. It does not mean to punish, but it means `child training` or `discipline`. The question is how would God discipline His children? Our God is not an angry God who looks for opportunities to destroy us. He is our Father, or even, our Abba or Daddy. If you earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more does your heavenly Daddy who loves you know.
We should be enjoying the finished works of Jesus at the cross. Read Psalm 103 for all the benefits we can receive from the finished works of Jesus at the cross: Psalm 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. He forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems you from destruction, crowns you with lovingkindness, and satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. It is hard to believe if there are believers today who fight vehemently for the right to be sick, broke, and defeated when God is full of grace and mercy and wants us to be healthy, prosperous, and protected from all evil occurences. Let's start to expect good gifts from the Lord.
Open your eyes and see the evil conspiracy of the devil to keep believers in bondage with errorous teaching about God that are not based on the new covenant of grace. Whenever you hear a teaching that puts fear in your heart, you can be sure that it is not the gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news of Jesus Christ always liberates, and His perfect love removes every fear . (1 John 4: 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.) The good news always imparts faith and exalts the finished works of Jesus Christ on the cross. Amen!
Dedo Suwanda
Note: The above paragraphs are extracted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince.
Have you ever been told the followings:
1. the more you know, the more God would hold you accountable, and your punishment for falling short of His expectations would be more severe than someone who knows less, and
2. the closer you draw to God, the more trials and tribulations you would experience?
Wouldn't you rather be more ignorant than learn more about the Word and attract greater chastisement should you fail? Wouldn't you rather stay away from God than draw closer to God? Can you see how wrong teachings about God can rob you of all that He has for you?
Contrary to the above, you will learn that the closer you draw to God, the close you are to all the "answers" to all your problems. You will draw closer to the Miracle Worker, the Healer and your Provider, Jehovah Jireh. The Devil would love for you not to find out the truth , so that he can keep you in bondage, sickness and poverty. As long as you continue to have the wrong perception of God and withdraw from Him and avoiding intimacy with him, the Devil will keep you bound in the life of defeat.
One of the most evil teaching that you would have heard is that God will chastise His own people with sickness, diseases, accidents and tragedies. You can become very afraid of God, and you may not want to draw near to Him because you are afraid of Him. Do you know that this errornous teaching is actually based on the old covenant and not the new covenant? In the book of Leviticus, God says to those who fail to obey His commandments, ``I will chastise you seven times for your sins.`` (Lev. 26:28) But, we are no longer under the covenant of law, but we are under the covenant of grace. Jesus has borne all our chastisement and punishment on the cross. Jesus has been chastised on our behalf. Look at these verses from Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53: 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
You may ask, how about the verse in Hebrews 12: 5 (NKJV)? 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons:
“ My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.”
The original Greek word for `chastens`here is poorly translated. It does not mean to punish, but it means `child training` or `discipline`. The question is how would God discipline His children? Our God is not an angry God who looks for opportunities to destroy us. He is our Father, or even, our Abba or Daddy. If you earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more does your heavenly Daddy who loves you know.
We should be enjoying the finished works of Jesus at the cross. Read Psalm 103 for all the benefits we can receive from the finished works of Jesus at the cross: Psalm 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. He forgives all your sins, heals all your diseases, redeems you from destruction, crowns you with lovingkindness, and satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. It is hard to believe if there are believers today who fight vehemently for the right to be sick, broke, and defeated when God is full of grace and mercy and wants us to be healthy, prosperous, and protected from all evil occurences. Let's start to expect good gifts from the Lord.
Open your eyes and see the evil conspiracy of the devil to keep believers in bondage with errorous teaching about God that are not based on the new covenant of grace. Whenever you hear a teaching that puts fear in your heart, you can be sure that it is not the gospel or the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news of Jesus Christ always liberates, and His perfect love removes every fear . (1 John 4: 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.) The good news always imparts faith and exalts the finished works of Jesus Christ on the cross. Amen!
Dedo Suwanda
Note: The above paragraphs are extracted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince.
Destined to reign
Dear friends,
You are destined to reign in life because you are believers in Jesus Christ. You are called by the Lord to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy life of victory. It is not His desire that you live a life of defeat, poverty and failure. Whatever your vocation is, you are destined to reign in life because Jesus is Lord of your life. When you reign in life, you reign over sin, over the power of darkness, over depression, over poverty, over every curse, and over every sickness and desease. You reign over the devil and all his devices.
The power to reign is based entirely on Jesus and Him alone. Refere to the following verse:
Romans 5: 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
The secret of reigning in life lies with receiving everything that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross. The Bible states very clearly that we are to reign in life through Jesus Christ just by receiving two things from Him: the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. God's ways are contrary to man's ways. Man thinks that God's blessings are based on his performance and good works. His way is not about achieving, but about receiving.
The world's system of success is built on the twin pillars: self-effort and dilligence. There are some "laws" that you have to abide by and some "methods and techniques" that you have to keep on practicing before there can be any results. We have been taught to focus on achieving, on doing and on relying on our self-efforts. We are driven to "do, do, do" and forgetting that Christianity is actually "done, done, done". Everything that we need to reign in life has been accomplished on the Cross. It is finished. The world tells us that the more we do, the harder we work, and the more hours we put in, the more success we will achieve. I'm sure that you've heard that you need to "pay the price" and "no pain, no gain".
We, believers, have taken the system of the world and apply it to their Christian life. Instead of depending of God's grace for His favour and blessings to flow, they depend on their self-efforts to try to deserve God's favour and blessings. You cannot earn God's blessings by your performance. God's blessings are are based entirely on His grace. His blessings over your life have to be undeserved, unearned and unmerited.
The above paragraphs are quoted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince. That book opened my "eyes" recently. I have read the Bible, in particular, the Old Testament, without proper context, i.e., without including Jesus and His works in it. I read so many verses that specified "conditional" blessings of God. Some of my favourite verses were from Deuteronomy 28. They have gone deep in my mind and my heart that I have to obey God and His commandments. Deuteronomy 28:1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. I thought If I do not obey, I will be cursed. Deuteronomy 28: 15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
Yes, God wants us to be obedient to His words and His commandments, but it is in regards to receiving Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord, including receiving His abundance of grace and His righteousness. More importantly, God is interested in more than our obedience and submission, but in an intimate relationship with us. However, I have mixed up His command for "obedience" with His command to "fulfill the Law of Moses" of the Old Testament. Grace and Law do not mix. Galatians 5: 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. I have been keeping myself from God's abundance grace and blessing because I kept trying to mix grace and law, which is impossible. I acknowledge that Jesus is my Saviour and my Lord, but I was also trying to keep the Law of Moses to get His blessings and favour. Every time I broke the Law or comitted a sin, I felt like I had just lost the right for the blessings, and I had to repent to get that right again.
The moment you place the Law of Moses between you and God again, you are negating the finished works of Jesus, for if righteousness could come through the Law, then "Christ died in vain". Christianity cannot be reduced to an impersonal list of do's and don'ts.Righteousness, and everything else that comes with it, is a gift, not a reward for perfect obedience of the Law.
I have been righteous all along, not because of my performance, but because of His works. Jesus has never stopped the pouring out of the blessings for me. Christian life is a life of rest in Jesus Christ and His finished works (at the Cross). It is time to rest from your own effort and to enjoy Jesus, and you will reign in life. We need to live by such faith and led by the Spirit. Galatians 5: 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, [4] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
I hope you receive the points I am trying to get across to you. Start receiving His abundance grace and His righteousness so that you will reign in life.
Dedo Suwanda
You are destined to reign in life because you are believers in Jesus Christ. You are called by the Lord to be a success, to enjoy wealth, to enjoy health, and to enjoy life of victory. It is not His desire that you live a life of defeat, poverty and failure. Whatever your vocation is, you are destined to reign in life because Jesus is Lord of your life. When you reign in life, you reign over sin, over the power of darkness, over depression, over poverty, over every curse, and over every sickness and desease. You reign over the devil and all his devices.
The power to reign is based entirely on Jesus and Him alone. Refere to the following verse:
Romans 5: 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
The secret of reigning in life lies with receiving everything that Jesus has accomplished for us on the cross. The Bible states very clearly that we are to reign in life through Jesus Christ just by receiving two things from Him: the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. God's ways are contrary to man's ways. Man thinks that God's blessings are based on his performance and good works. His way is not about achieving, but about receiving.
The world's system of success is built on the twin pillars: self-effort and dilligence. There are some "laws" that you have to abide by and some "methods and techniques" that you have to keep on practicing before there can be any results. We have been taught to focus on achieving, on doing and on relying on our self-efforts. We are driven to "do, do, do" and forgetting that Christianity is actually "done, done, done". Everything that we need to reign in life has been accomplished on the Cross. It is finished. The world tells us that the more we do, the harder we work, and the more hours we put in, the more success we will achieve. I'm sure that you've heard that you need to "pay the price" and "no pain, no gain".
We, believers, have taken the system of the world and apply it to their Christian life. Instead of depending of God's grace for His favour and blessings to flow, they depend on their self-efforts to try to deserve God's favour and blessings. You cannot earn God's blessings by your performance. God's blessings are are based entirely on His grace. His blessings over your life have to be undeserved, unearned and unmerited.
The above paragraphs are quoted from the book "Destined to Reign" by Joseph Prince. That book opened my "eyes" recently. I have read the Bible, in particular, the Old Testament, without proper context, i.e., without including Jesus and His works in it. I read so many verses that specified "conditional" blessings of God. Some of my favourite verses were from Deuteronomy 28. They have gone deep in my mind and my heart that I have to obey God and His commandments. Deuteronomy 28:1 “And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. I thought If I do not obey, I will be cursed. Deuteronomy 28: 15 “But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.
Yes, God wants us to be obedient to His words and His commandments, but it is in regards to receiving Jesus to be our Saviour and Lord, including receiving His abundance of grace and His righteousness. More importantly, God is interested in more than our obedience and submission, but in an intimate relationship with us. However, I have mixed up His command for "obedience" with His command to "fulfill the Law of Moses" of the Old Testament. Grace and Law do not mix. Galatians 5: 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. I have been keeping myself from God's abundance grace and blessing because I kept trying to mix grace and law, which is impossible. I acknowledge that Jesus is my Saviour and my Lord, but I was also trying to keep the Law of Moses to get His blessings and favour. Every time I broke the Law or comitted a sin, I felt like I had just lost the right for the blessings, and I had to repent to get that right again.
The moment you place the Law of Moses between you and God again, you are negating the finished works of Jesus, for if righteousness could come through the Law, then "Christ died in vain". Christianity cannot be reduced to an impersonal list of do's and don'ts.Righteousness, and everything else that comes with it, is a gift, not a reward for perfect obedience of the Law.
I have been righteous all along, not because of my performance, but because of His works. Jesus has never stopped the pouring out of the blessings for me. Christian life is a life of rest in Jesus Christ and His finished works (at the Cross). It is time to rest from your own effort and to enjoy Jesus, and you will reign in life. We need to live by such faith and led by the Spirit. Galatians 5: 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, [4] drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
I hope you receive the points I am trying to get across to you. Start receiving His abundance grace and His righteousness so that you will reign in life.
Dedo Suwanda
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