LET THE REAL YOU COME FORTH!

 Ecc 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time.

 satan rules the world’s system within which we live (Jn 14:40) He utilises lies and deceptions to mould the characters of people, to steal their peace and joy and keep them in bondage!

 He knows how to play on people’s weaknesses and push the right buttons, in order to create: Competitiveness (Mt 20:20-24)  Peer pressure (Gal 2:11-13)  Pride (Mt 25:33)  Covetousness ( Mt 19:21-22) Our reputation (Gal 2:6), and comparing ourselves with others (2 Cor 19:12).

 These ways prevent the real us from coming forth! They mask our true identity!

 The Greeks had a word for this. They called it ‘Hypocrite’! A hypocrite was an actor who covered his/her face with a mask when playing various roles. 

 When Jesus told His disciples in Gethsemane that they would all deny Him and be scattered, Peter boldly replied, “Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.” (Mt 26:33)

 Peter proclaimed twice with vehemence that he would not deny Jesus and if it came to it would die with Him! (Mt 26:34-35)

 We all know the outcome of the story! When the pressure came on Peter, he capitulated and swore he didn’t even know Jesus!

 This was hypocritical behaviour of the worst kind! But who of us at times have not done or said similar things!

 So often, we know we are being a hypocrite but feel powerless to change the masks! We are like a chameleon continually changing colour to blend in with our surroundings!

 Only the grace of the Lord Jesus can bring inner change that sets us free to be our real selves, so that no matter the peer group or circumstances, people see the unique us!

 The key Greek thought of the word grace is: The divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life! This divine influence is the life of Jesus within.

 As we feed upon (meditate) Him in His word, we will experience the masks dropping away and our behaviour being influenced by His life. A life that exalts and brings honour to His name!

 Then the new YOU, the real YOU, will come forth in strength, power and beauty!

Meditation Point: Only the life of Jesus (the living word) within is powerful enough to change the life of the flesh and replace it with the life of the Spirit!

1 Jn 4:19 We love Him Because He First Loved Us

5 Good reasons to receive the Father’s love:

1) His Love Changes Us: Love does not judge, condemn, shame, accuse or reject! Love makes allowances for weaknesses and majors on strengths. This creates an atmosphere for change!

Even when Jesus addressed the issue of Peter’s betrayal at breakfast on the shores of Galilee, 3 times He made him admit that he only had phileo love (friendship love) not agape love (sacrificial, unchanging love) for Jesus.

But each time Peter confessed his weakness, Jesus said to him,  ”Now go, feed my sheep”. He corrected Peter whilst at the same time telling him he wasn’t finished, he wasn’t washed up, there was still a work for him to do!

Prov 10:12 Love covers all sins!

2) His love Brings Security: When we know we are loved, it gives us the strength to overcome all obstacles and setbacks.

When Jesus rose up out of the waters of baptism, the Father couldn’t hold back any longer and in an audible voice He boomed across the thousands gathered there, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased!”

The Father was affirming His Son at a strategic point in the beginning of the Son’s ministry, for Jesus would straight way go into the wilderness and fight His first major battle against satan.

It was knowing His Father loved Him that gave Him the strength, not only to face satan but defeat him!

Song of Songs 8:6 Love is invincible when facing danger and death!

3) He Loves Us For Who We Are, Not For What We Can Do:

Only when we know we are loved unconditionally will we stop performing in order to get love and change to a receiving kind of love.

Under the Old Covenant, maturity of love was measured by how much man loved God.
Under the New Covenant, maturity of love is measured by how much man can receive the Father’s love!

1 Jn 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

4) His Love Accepts: When we know we are loved unconditionally, we will run to the Father not run from Him!

Many times, when a young child has done wrong, he/she will go running to their Father! Why! The child wants to know they are still accepted in the midst of their wrong doing! This knowledge in the child breeds security and stability!

Hence, the Father wants us to run to Him and worship Him. Then, when His tangible presence comes, it heals our hurts and wounds, and He becomes Daddy God to us!

Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Jesus).

5) His Love Removes Fear: Fear either immobilises a person, or makes them run away! Fear causes panic and destroys relationships. But knowing we are loved ejects all fear from our lives, enabling us to face upto and walk through difficult circumstances!

1 Jn 4:18 Perfect love casts out all fear.

Let us settle it in our hearts once and for all, we need never fear God ever again. Listen to His word: ‘For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound, well balanced, disciplined mind’! (2 Tim 1:7)

We finish with Paul the apostle’s words, proclaiming that the whole of his Christian life and ministry, is founded on the Father’s love for Him!

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Meditation Point: Let us stop trying to prove our love for God. That is an Old Covenant concept! Instead let’s be New Covenant people and ask the Father to teach us how to receive His love! Put Him to the test! He will not fail you!

CAUGHT BY PURSUIT!

Gen 2:24 A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The relationship of Adam and Eve foreshadows that of Christ and His Church!

God defined marriage as a man leaving his parents home and joining himself to his wife!

One of the meanings for ‘joined’ means to ‘catch by pursuit’; The Lord Jesus left His Father’s abode and pursued and caught His bride to be, the Church!

You see, He knew about you before you knew about Him! You didn’t go after Him, He came after you! He loved/s you first that you might love Him!

Such is the way of grace: The Bridegroom initiates – The Bride responds!

The Lord Jesus doesn’t stop pursuing you now He’s caught you! He’s always pursuing, always initiating new things with you in mind!

Two Become One: When Adam and Eve joined together, they became, ‘one flesh’!

When God joins Himself to a believer, He creates in Him a new spirit and fills that spirit with His Holy Spirit. There is a joining, a mingling together of God’s Spirit and the believer’s spirit! The two have become, ‘one’.

1 Cor 6:17 He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

Initiator or Responder: Many believers get their relationship with Jesus the wrong way round!

They’ve been taught by a law gospel that says ‘YOU’ must love the Lord your God with all ‘YOUR’ heart, mind soul and strength.

This is a nail that is hammered repeatedly and becomes fixed in their minds. Hence they try with all their might to show their love for Jesus by works, outward performance or keep telling Him they love Him.

They are trying to initiate their love relationship and it always ends in burn out, defeat and hopelessness! This is an Old Covenant relationship with God!

There are also numerous believers who don’t know ‘HOW’ to love Jesus and simply mouth the words in prayer or worship!

God says to you today, “Stop being an initiator and become a responder”!

“Stop your works, outward performance and telling me that you love Me”

“Instead simply worship Me for who I am and ask me to love you!”

“Give Me time to work a revelation of my love for you in your life, and out of gratitude for loving you, the desire to love Me in return will arise in your heart!
This is New Covenant relationship – responding to Jesus love for us!

Listen to the Apostles testimonies:

Gal 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

1 Jn 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Jn 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea.
The tsunami wave of grace sweeping the global Church today, is the voice of Jesus
calling out to you and I, “Stop trying to prove your love for me and let me love you! Simply ask me to teach you how to respond to my love!”

1 Jn 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Meditation Point: it is not us loving Jesus, but allowing Him to love us! Ask Him to reveal His love for you!

Phil 4:8 Meditate (think) on these things.

God Chose You As His Dwelling Place

Under the Old Covenant of law, God chose the place where He would dwell. Under the New Covenant of grace, God didn’t choose a ‘place’ to dwell, He chose a ‘person’, and that person is you my friend!

Ps 132:13 For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place.

1 Cor 3:16 You are the temple of God and the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Under the O.C. of law, the people had to go to the place of His choosing to worship Him. Under the N.C. of grace, you don’t need to go to Him, for He has chosen to come to you.

Deut 12:5 You shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.

John 14:23 Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

At the beginning of this New Year, you may be feeling depressed, a failure, unstable, insecure, in need of comfort and strength, or you’ve lost your focus or direction in life.

God says to you, “All your sins, failures and weaknesses have been washed away by the blood of Jesus! Let go of them, put them behind you, and choose to forget them!”

“I chose you not on the basis of your success and achievements. I chose you because I love you. I dwell in you, not because I have to, but because I want to.”

“Let me love you as you are, not what you think you should be!”
“Rest in me today, I say, rest in me today! The only thing that impresses me is that you come to me as you are!”

You Are His Eternal Habitation Not His Visitation!

Under the O.C. Of law, God’s presence with His people was dependent on their obedience to His word. Obey and His presence remained, disobey and His presence lifted!

King Saul experienced this bitter truth! After repeatedly disobeying God’s commands, the scripture says, ‘The Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul’ (1Sam 16:14)

After committing adultery with Bathsheba, King David pleaded with God, “Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me!” (Ps 51:11)

But under the N.C. Of grace, God’s presence with His people is not dependant on their obedience but the obedience of Jesus!

Rom 5:19 For by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, so also by one man’s obedience (Jesus) many will be made righteous.

His obedience has made us righteous, perfect and holy in the Father’s sight, therefore the Father can legally send the Holy Spirit to live in and remain with us forever!

Jn 14:16 I will pray the Father and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever!

Nothing that you or I can do, will ever make the Father withdraw His presence from us!

You are the eternal dwelling place of God! He will never leave you!

Heb 13:5 God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not leave you helpless nor forsake you nor relax My hold on you! Assuredly not! (AMP)

You Are The Father’s Glory

When the first Adam fell into sin, he forfeited his right to the glory of God. Mankind inherited a glory-less life! Rom 3:23 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God!

‘Ichabod’ = ‘The glory has departed’, was written over our lives!

But when the last Adam (Jesus Christ) sat down on His throne at the right hand of the Father, the glory was restored to mankind. We sit there with Him having been glorified with Him.

Jn 17:22  ”The glory which you gave me I have given them, that they may be one just as we are one!”    Rom 8:30 Those whom He justified, these He also glorified.

God’s design is to fill the earth with His glory through each individual.

Hab 2:4 The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord!

Today, see yourself as the glory of God! You are different from others for you are a glory carrier of God!

Just be yourself and the glory will shine through you!

Confession: Thank You Father that I am a glory carrier. You are shining out of me as I go about my daily business. I don’t have to try to let your glory shine, I just have to be myself.

Phil 4:6 Think (meditate) on these things!

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WORK OUT — WHAT GOD WORKS IN

Phil 2:12,13  Work out your own salvation; For God is working in you, giving you the desire and power to do what pleases Him!

When a revelation of God’s grace is quickened to us, (as we feed this revelation) it will change our heart motivations! We will experience God birthing in us His thoughts, plans and visions.

He will release the desire (passion, impetus) and power (ability, strength and provision) to fulfill them.

When God is the initiator of a thing, it will work in us:

a)  Faithfulness. b) A spirit of excellence. c)  An overcoming determination. d)  A success mindset.

As we work out these things, the glory of Jesus and His person is revealed in us and through us to the nations.

The early Church was so successful in revealing Christ that their opponents were forced to proclaim, “These are they who have turned the world upside down!”  (Acts 17:6)

Ask Him to work in you His purpose for your life, that Jesus may be revealed to the world!

Prayer:  Father, please reveal in me and through me a revelation of Jesus (the grace of God) that the world may see that You are the living God. Work in me Your purposes and plans, that i may work out those things that please You.

The Grace of Hard Work

The critics of the grace revelation that’s sweeping the world, say, that grace is too easy, it’s cheap and makes people lazy!

Let us read what Paul the apostle has to say about this!

It was to Paul that God gave the revelation of grace. (Gal 3:1-8) (he too was opposed, criticised, attacked and left for dead). Hence, Paul became the apologist for a whole new movement.

What did Paul have to say in his day to those who said grace was easy, cheap and made men and women lazy:

1 Cor 15:10  By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain;  but i laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Paul says that he worked harder than all the other apostles, not because he was better, but because the grace of God was with him.

My friend, do not fear to embrace the revelation of grace. It will not make you weird, lazy or licentious, rather it will break your chains of bondage, heal your hurts, wounds and sicknesses and release you to fulfill the will of God for your life.

The grace of Jesus will not leave you empty but fill you with deep satisfaction!

Meditation Point: God’s grace will give you the desire and power to fulfill God’s will for your life. His grace will also cause you to work hard!

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Married To Mr Law or Mr Grace

Rom 7:3 So if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress.

In Rom Ch 7 Paul symbolises law and grace as two husbands. As New Covenant believers he shows that we once were married to Mr Law, but when we came to salvation we died to Mr Law and became married to Mr Grace!

However, if we still insist on living by the law, we are committing adultery with Mr Law. The law teaches that if married to one man, a wife marries or unites herself to another man, she is committing adultery.

Today many believers are living schizophrenic lives. They want the love, strength and freedom that Mr Grace gives, but are pulled back by the judgemental, condemning and controlling Mr Law.

The Galatian Church began their Christian life joined to grace, but were enticed to return to living by law. The lure of the flesh proved to much!

Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are you now made perfect by the flesh? It behoves us not to make the same mistake!

The Law Dominates

Rom 7:1 The law has dominion over a man/woman as long as he/she lives.

If we insist on living by the law, we bring ourselves under the dominion of the law. Dominion means to ‘rule over, dominate and influence’.

We have no choice in the matter, like it or not, we are forced to obey the commands of the law! ‘You must do this’ ‘You shall do that’.

Living by law means we’ll never truly come to know God as ‘Father’, and our relationship to Him will be one of fear, distance, insecurity and unworthiness!

Rom 8:15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba Father!”

Grace is the polar opposite of law. Grace gives a person free-will to choose a relationship rooted in love, respect and acceptance.

Jn 14:6 Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me!”

We can only know God as Father when we receive the revelation that we are not slaves but Sons. Only pursuing a relationship with Mr Grace (Christ) will set us free to know God as Father.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as I look to You, please open the eyes of my spirit to see myself as a Son and to see God as Father. Thank you Lord!
Self Imposed Laws

An aspect of the law that needs unmasking is called, ‘Self Imposed Laws’. These are laws that been passed down to us by family and society!

Examples: I must keep the house clean and tidy at all times, i must not shame the family name, I will never go into debt, i will not show weakness (men), i cannot allow anyone to see me without make-up applied and hair in place (women)!

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm then, and do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!

Without realising it, we can live with a host of self-imposed laws that condemn, control, judge and dominate our lives and behaviour, leaving in their wake, guilt, fear, shame and rejection!

Behaviour that gives ground for self-imposed laws to flourish would be, rescuing others (Prov 19:19), perfectionism (Gal 3:3), people pleasing (Gal 1:10), and comparing ourselves to others (2 Cor 10:12).

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help me to step out of the bondage of self-imposed laws. Give me strength to trust you and step into the freedom of being myself!

Phil 4:8 Meditate (think) on these things.