Throughout the Bride of Christ we know the death of the sinless Jesus paid the penalty for all the sins of mankind. That sacrificial act of Jesus has become the focus of the vast majority of ” church ” organizations. This focus leaves most parishioners feeling vaguely guilty at the end of each sermon. They are kept in a constant state of looking for all the things they must do or give to be worthy of that sacrifice. The continuing theme of that religion is “what must I do to be saved or forgiven?” Forgiveness is our hoped for destination.
Last Sunday morning (the Sunday after Easter) I was delighted to listen to Greg Lindsay of Discovery Church Colorado. Greg said some really important stuff and you can listen to his messages at http://www.metooplace.com. Although I would not agree with all of Greg’s views, this particular message revolved around a very important theme. It can be summarized as follows:
FORGIVENESS IS NOT OUR DESTINATION.
IT IS THE STARTING POINT OF OUR JOURNEY.
Greg went on to point out: Central to success in our journey is the process of re-examination of the conclusions we have held about ourselves. We must allow Holy Spirit to show us the lies the enemy of our souls has seduced us into accepting. Lies like: I am not good enough; I am not worthy of God’s love; God has no interest in talking to me; I cannot hear God; I will never amount to anything of eternal value; etc.,etc., etc.
The following Wednesday I drove from Colorado Springs, CO, to Farmington, NM. Thursday morning I was driving along with my friend Ken on the way to his office. I asked, “So what has Father God been speaking about with you?” Ken’s response was, “Papa has been teaching me about the importance of believing I am His beloved son and He is pleased with me.”
In John chapter 6 Jesus teaches that the work of God is to believe in him who was sent. When Jesus spoke those words He was the sent one. Now He has sent each of us His disciples into the world just as He had been sent. Thus, for each of us, the work of God continues to be believing in myself as one whom Jesus has sent. When we believe, we see the works of God happening around us. When we do not believe, or when we choose to believe the lies the enemy is telling us about ourselves, we miss out on seeing those works of God.
Of course, it is essential that we believe in Jesus and accept the redemption and forgiveness He sacrificed His life to provide. But, if we actually are to follow Jesus, we must also turn away from believing the lies the enemy has sown in our minds about ourselves. Replace those lies with Truth.
I am a loved son of the Creator God.
I am the righteousness of God.
I am the word of God become flesh among the people.
I am sent; when I believe in me, works of God happen.
People who receive me are being blessed.
Jesus is sending me as a gift to other people.
As we accept Father’s unconditional love, forgive the people who have hurt us, and, release people from judgements we have made, the lies of the enemy will become easier to recognize. As we continually repeat, remember, and believe the Truth above, Holy Spirit will establish us and mature us to walk in our God given anointed identity as sons.
His, thus Yours,
Stuart
His-Family 
Funny how I’m at this women’s retreat for Stillness and Simplicity and in our first stillness excerise we were asked to write down any negative thoughts we had about our selves And then ask Holy Spirit to Convict us of any sin, etc. But the funny thing is all I heard were beautiful reassurances of who I am to Abba. It’s a gift to not hear the negative but hear the truth and then believe it.
LikeLike
You see the thing is before salvation, these things the enemy whispers (or in some cases shouts) in our ears are true…we are NOT worthy, we are NOT good, we CANNOT hear God, etc, etc. But after we receive God’s wonderful gift of salvation, these statements become lies because now we have been made beloved children of God, adopted into His family. He always loves His children and He has made us good, worthy of love, etc. We need to make that very important paradigm shift from outcasts to beloved children. The tricky part is that when we disobey our Father God, the enemy delights in saying “See? I TOLD you you are no good”, etc., etc. That’s when we need to follow Jesus’ example as our big brother & come back at the enemy with God’s truth, repent of our disobedience, turn from it, and get up and move forward, always moving in God’s love and acceptance. Thanks, Stuart. 🙂
LikeLike