Open Your Gift of Mind Blowing Goodness!
Isaiah 55 is all about God’s promise of salvation for mankind. God’s plan to bring us back into relationship with him through Jesus is so incredibly awesome that people struggle to understand it. In that way, regarding His GOODNESS, mercy, promises, grace, acceptance, joy and peace toward those of us who believe, God’s ways are so much higher and greater than we’ll ever understand!
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 (AMP)
When Jesus died for you, He made it possible for you to have a free gift. When you give your life to Him, you can access His peace, joy and freedom. However, Philippians 2:12 instructs you to “work out” your salvation “with reverence and awe and trembling.”
“...work out your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ].” Philippians 2 :12 (AMP)
Salvation is a free gift given to you but it takes work to get its full benefit into your soul. I am not talking about earning your way into Heaven. Once you give your life to Jesus, you will go to Heaven but there is more to the gift that you need to open.
Have you ever started a project that you didn’t fully complete? Let’s say a man wants to repaint his car. He gets it primed and all the rust spots covered with reddish paint, but then he stops there and drives it around like that for the next few years. He’s so close to being finished, but he just doesn’t take that one extra step! Well, the Bible is saying that a lot of Christians haven’t fully completed their salvation. No wonder they struggle!
We all need to enthusiastically go after complete salvation.
The word “saved” in the Greek language means so much more than we may realize. Saved in the Greek language is “sozo” and it means “to save, deliver or protect,” so it certainly does refer to being saved from an eternity in Hell but it also means “to be made whole (health, prosperity and peace of mind).”
Wow! Think about this for a minute. The free gift we receive when we give our lives to Jesus includes being made whole in our health, finances and minds! What does this all entail? To start with, you receive the rights to kick out sickness and disease, be in a great financial situation and have emotional strength and peace. Meditate on all that salvation really means to you and begin to believe it really and truly is yours right here and now.
Now, having to complete your salvation does not mean that you’re not saved enough to get into heaven. It’s not about working to earn your salvation. Remember that your Spirit man has been reborn.
You are right with God the moment you accept Christ, and you’re going to heaven when you die. However, salvation refers to more than being saved from hell. It also means to be saved from sickness, poverty and every curse mentioned in Deuteronomy 28.
Complete salvation involves walking out God’s promises and becoming more like His Son Jesus.
The more you renew your mind to the promises you have in Him, the more joy and wholeness you will experience in your mind, emotions, health and relationships. And the good news is you’re not on your own. Philippians 2:13 makes it clear that this walking out process is not done in your own strength, but it’s the result of letting God work in you.
We are made right with God the moment we give our lives to Christ, and there’s nothing we need to do to add to that fact. We are instantaneously delivered from things like sickness and poverty, but we need to renew our minds and believe in order to experience those promises.
“For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (AMP)
But it can’t come from our own strength. The truth is that God is “at work” in you! How is God at work in you? Well, Philippians 2:13 tells us! He gives you the desire and ability to fulfill His purpose and do what pleases Him. Isn’t that great news?
People ask me how to get a passion for God. It’s not by having someone pray for you or lay hands on you. When you focus on Jesus, when you get into the Word, you become energized. Desire is cultivated. The more you study God’s Word, the more you get a desire for His Word. And the more you passionately serve God and tell others about Him, the more you become energized to reach out to others even more!
At first it might feel difficult, but as you discipline yourself to keep doing it, something begins to happen. God’s power goes to work! Keep going and you’ll start to love doing things God’s way, and His power is in you to do it.
Are You Experiencing Your Freedom
If you’ve given your life to Christ, you have a new identity, but you have to work at putting off the old and believing the new. Philippians 2:12–13 calls this working out your own salvation with fear and trembling. In modern vernacular, this basically means that you have been set free, but you have to work it out into your life to experience it.
You’ve been set free, but are you experiencing freedom in your mind? Or do you feel trapped in anxiety, depression and fear? I realize that there are sometimes physiological causes behind some of these emotions, so take care of yourself physically, but don’t forget the spiritual side of things. You can learn to put off the old you and its limitations, and realize the new you and what you’re capable of through Christ.
Are you experiencing freedom in your financial and relational world? Or do you feel trapped— like nothing will ever change and there’s nothing you can do about it? Forget about that old way of thinking. You have the nature of God and the mind of Christ!
Don’t ever stop renewing your mind! We all have work to do in one area or another, so we need to constantly refer to the Bible to help us realize who we truly are and what we’ve been given. Get into God’s Word and start to do what it says you can do and become who it says you are!
You Cannot Earn It: We receive what He earned for us.
Jesus earned back your right to every promise God has ever made. All you need to do is believe it. It is not about you. It’s about Jesus. According to Ephesians 2:8-9, your salvation has nothing to do with your good behaviour. It is a gift that you receive when you believe.
“God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)
God is not waiting for you to do something good enough for Him to grant you that better job or a clean bill of health. He is only asking you to believe.
If you ask Him, Holy Spirit will reveal things to you as you read and meditate on God’s Word. It is not about praying the right prayers or saying God’s Word the right way. The power of God’s Word lies in the little “Ah ha” moments that change your entire perspective. Over time, they take a cumulative effect. What you once believed only intellectually becomes a life- changing, confident heart belief that changes everything.
Keep in mind: sometimes miracles happen instantaneously. Other times they unfold over me. Even if you do not see an immediate change, continue to believe. The truth is that you don’t need to qualify yourself for God’s blessings. For believers, God’s favour and grace are free.
It’s the same with salvation. When you gave your life to Christ, you were saved by grace through faith. Salvation is not something you earned; it was a gift. If salvation was something you could earn through good works, then it would give those who did a good job of following the rules the right to look down their noses at those who are struggling. But salvation is not of your own doing (Ephesians 2:8). “It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself ” (Ephesians 2:9, AMP).
You accepted Christ, but He’s the one who restored your relationship with God. The truth is that the same process applies when it comes to God’s blessings. Maybe you haven’t lived a perfect life, and you wonder if you really qualify for God’s blessings. The essence of the good news is that you DO! If you’ve accepted Christ, you have every one of God’s promises as well as His incredible power, ability, stamina, wisdom and provision. Now that’s good news!
Not Just Another Religion: Learn What Jesus Did For You
Being able to recite every story in the Bible is nice, but it’s useless if you don’t know what happened at the cross. You need to understand how Jesus’ sacrifice changed everything for you personally if you want to get your heart-beliefs right.
"For as many are the promises of God, in Christ they are (all answered) “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 1:20 (AMP)
Jesus earned you the rights and privileges of a child of God. That truth is so powerful; I can’t emphasize it enough. If you don’t realize who you are now that you have a
relationship with Him, you will become just another religious Christian trying to earn your blessings.
Because of Jesus, you are going to heaven, but you’re also saved from poverty and sickness. That’s what salvation means. Every promise God made is yours according to our verse today, and you have been given life “in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)” (John 10:10, AMP)!
Aim Higher!
Some people think that Christianity is just about getting to heaven, and that their time on the planet is meant to be endured. I thank God for heaven, but I want to walk out every freedom Jesus gained for me on this planet too!
Salvation isn’t just about being saved from hell.
It also means that we can walk in freedom in every area of our lives here on earth. God our Father walks through the valleys with us. He helps us to succeed in every area of life. But to take advantage of this help, you first need to realize that you have an entirely new identity in Christ.
Who are you? You are not some sort of genetic coincidence or accidental by-product of evolution. Think about it! If a tornado hit a junkyard, it’s not going to somehow put an SUV together. When things are left to chance, chaos results, not intricate design!
You were custom-made. You have a destiny! As a believer, you have the nature of God inside you!
"You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child?" Galatians 4:4-7 (The Message)
Let this realization change how high you aim. Let it transform how you think about your potential. Allow it to alter how you see yourself. You are empowered to change and grow and to do more than you ever dreamed possible! Because you have God’s nature, you can and will succeed!
You Are God's Favourite
According to Romans 5:17, following Jesus causes two things to reign in our lives:
1. Abundance of grace.
God’s grace is His full provision. Through grace you receive salvation, blessings, promises and the ability to fulfill your calling. Grace is also God’s favour towards you. If someone is “favoured,” they get preferential treatment. For example, if a student is favoured by the teacher, they get an unfair advantage. They are the teacher’s “favourite.” Jesus causes God’s favour to REIGN in your life when you give your life to Him. You get preferential treatment with Him. You are His favourite! If you were the teacher’s favourite, you could expect every day to be great. You can expect amazing new opportunities and blessings from God every day!
"For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17 (NKJV)
2. The gift of righteousness.
You don’t earn a gift. It’s free. You cannot earn a right relationship with God. Ephesians 2:8 echoes this thought, saying “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (NKJV). The Greek word for saved in this verse is derived from “sozo,” which can also be translated as “heal” or “make whole.”
Therefore, Ephesians 2:8 could also be said this way: because of God’s favour, you are healed. You are made whole mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually when you simply believe. Believe it! Say, “Thank you that I am your favourite, God, and that I am healed and made whole because of Jesus!”
God gives you access to His blessings and He gives you favour you don’t have to earn as a believer. God’s miracles and blessings are not just for those who deserve them! They’re for every believer!
The Truth is Simple
The good news Paul is talking about in this verse seems almost too simple: we are right with God just because we trust in Jesus. It’s so straightforward, in fact, that many people trip on it.
We’ve been cultured to believe that we need to earn everything we get, so the idea of salvation being a completely free gift seems too good to be true. But it is the truth.
"For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile." Romans 1:16 (NLT)
Jesus gave His life to pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind. As believers, we may still suffer earthly consequences when we make poor choices, but God is not angry with us. He’s not out to punish His kids.
No matter what we do or fail to do, if we’ve accepted Christ, we don’t have to worry about God punishing us. We still may suffer the consequences of our bad decisions, but these are not from God. Jesus took our punishment, so we don’t have to pay the price. He also sealed the deal so that every one of God’s promises is ours.
Some will say that every promise in the Bible has an ‘if ’ attached to it, and you have to meet certain conditions before you will get the promise. Actually, that was only true in the Old Testament. The agreement Jesus made with God says that when you follow Jesus, every promise is “Yes” and “Amen” through Him (2 Corinthians 1:20, NLT). Don’t get tricked out of the power of the gospel because it seems too simple!
Remember, you don’t have to earn God’s blessings in your life. You just need to access them! Jesus paid the price and qualified you for every blessing of God. It really is that simple!
Some would argue that if you believe you are righteous, you believe God’s laws are useless. After all, why follow His ways if He’s going to love you anyway? Actually, obeying God’s laws and principles serves a different purpose. While obedience doesn’t earn your salvation or forgiveness, it does help you to live a great life. Following God’s commands is the best way to live, but Jesus is the only one who makes you right with God.
"Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose." Matthew 5:17 (NLT)
You began your relationship with Christ through faith righteousness—through believing—and believing is what keeps you in right standing with God. Don’t move into works-righteousness, thinking you have to earn it.
None of us can be right with God through our own works. Trust that you’re right with God because of Jesus, and then thank Him for the power and ability He has provided you. This ability called grace can rise up in your life to break habits and win over temptation. You can also begin to experience His joy, even when you have no reason to be joyful, and His peace, even when you have no reason to be peaceful.
God’s principles are beautiful. They create a foundation for great families and countries, but they don’t make you right with God. Trust in the fact that Jesus made you right with God in- stead and, just as Jesus said, “All things are possible to him who believes” Mark 9:23 (NKJV).
The decision to follow Christ is the only thing that can change your standing with God.
With tears in their eyes, people tell me they’ve lost their salvation. For some, a bad habit hooked them, causing them to spiral out of control and costing them dearly—their marriage, home, health, peace of mind. They feel like they’ve lost their salvation because they’ve done wrong, but it’s not true. When you gave your life to Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit came to live in your spirit. Your spirit received a new nature. It was a rebirth. Spiritually speaking, you are not who you used to be.
Doing something that goes against God’s principles doesn’t undo that rebirth. A bad decision may be incredibly destructive in your life and may hold all kinds of negative earthly consequences, but it doesn’t change your standing with God. You still have a new nature within you—the nature of God.
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand." John 10:27-28 (NKJV)
So, if you feel like you’re a hypocrite because your life doesn’t measure up to the Christian standard you think it should, that doesn’t make you less of a Christian. If you feel like there’s something wrong with you and no one else has the issues you do, you need to know the truth.
The truth is that when you gave your life to Christ, you received the nature of God within you. And you are empowered to rise above! Salvation and all it includes is yours!
Defeating the Enemy
When Christians get fixated on Old Testament law, it eventually causes us to feel defeated. We need to understand the finished work of the cross. We get ourselves into all kinds of trouble when we mix law and grace, old covenant and new covenant.
Since the enemy knows the Word well, he’ll use that as an opportunity to use the Word against us. He’ll grab an Old Testament law out of context and attack us with it, and if we don’t realize what Jesus did for us on the cross, then we have a piece of armour missing and we’re open to attack.
"Stand therefore...having put on the breastplate of righteousness...And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:14-17 (NKJV)
In battle, if you have a breastplate on but you’ve forgotten your helmet, where do you think the enemy will aim? The enemy will always attack you in the areas where you hold misbeliefs—areas where you haven’t sufficiently renewed your mind in God’s Word.
A spiritual attack is not a great big black cloud of demonic power rolling your way that nothing can stop. Spiritual warfare isn’t scary! After 30 or more years of pastoring and dealing with everything under the sun from demonic possession to attacks, I’ve realized that the only thing we really need to understand to deal with the devil’s attacks is what Jesus accomplished on the cross.
If you can get someone to believe a lie, you can control them. In fact, this is Satan’s greatest tactic. Satan has no real power. If he had the power to stop us, he would have by now. How easy would it have been for him to stop the spread of the gospel if he could have just snapped his fingers and killed every preacher on the planet? Jesus stripped Satan of his authority and power, but one thing he is still really good at is getting people to believe lies.
I have found that Satan often takes a one-two punch approach. If you ever watch professional fighters, you’ll notice that they don’t win by learning just one punch. Executing a series of blows is much more effective.
Satan takes a similar approach. Often his first tactic is to try to tempt you to do something wrong, but this is closely followed by a second tactic: condemnation. He instantly lies to you and tries to get you to think that God is angry with you or that He wants to punish you for what you’ve done.
"Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, or the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.” Revelation 10:12" (NKJV)
That’s why it is so important to know the truth about the gospel, because then you can be at peace. As a believer who has received the salvation Jesus provided, you are right with God. He accepts you. He’s forgiven you. He wants nothing but blessings for you. And the more you realize this, the more you are able to walk in His peace!
Being a Christian is not about following a bunch of rules perfectly. It’s a way of life that starts with a belief. You come as you are, with all the baggage, hurt, guilt and shame, and this powerful Jesus washes you clean and makes you a new creation. When you believe Jesus is Lord and you declare this belief, you are put in right standing with God and are saved. You receive Salvation!
God’s grace is within you to help you live the way you’ve always wanted: victoriously. You are in right standing with God. You can have a great relationship with Him because of Jesus and have everything you need within you to live victoriously!
