4. BELIEVING YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE

4. BELIEVING YOU ARE WHO GOD SAYS YOU ARE

Introduction:

Miracles can happen. Do not attempt to water Christianity down.

Ephesians 1:3-8 – Blessed and blameless.

Psalm 19:13 –Blameless; we can have blamelessness. We are to keep from willful (premeditated) sins. We can be no longer in the activity of planning and premeditating sin, and at that season of our lives, no sin is presently ruling over us. Not actively engaged in a lifestyle of premeditated sin; it is reactive, rather than proactive.

Ephesians 1:5-8 – As we walk in purity we become people who shine like stars.

Love – All things are given to us in the unfailing love of God. Above all things what must be central is we are loved.

Blessed – We are among those who are blessed of God.

Chosen – “God will not hold us responsible to understand the mysteries of election, predestination, and the divine sovereignty. The best and safest ways to deal with these truths is to raise our eyes to God, and in deepest reverence say, ‘Oh Lord, thou knowest.’ Those things belong to the deep and mysterious profound of God’s omniscience. Prying into them may make us theologians, but it will never make us saints” – A. W. Tozer.

God’s sovereignty cannot be separated from His foreknowledge. God simply reserves the right to choose those who He’s known from before the foundation of the world are going to choose Him. It is not His will for any to perish!

Adopted – Fellowshipping in His sufferings.

Redeemed – He paid the ransom to set us (slaves) free. We are free!

Forgiven – Completely forgiven. You have not finally done it. You do not have that power. The cross has eternal power.

Hebrews 10: 19 – “New” in the Greek means “a fresh kill; new fresh warm blood.” The blood of the cross still runs warm and fresh today to cover our sins. The power is just as vivid as it was the day it was sprinkled before that cross. We have been lavished in grace; we are swimming in it. This is God’s delight! Jesus is real, He is so vivid; real, live, vivid personality. Jehovah Shammah – the LORD is with you! Let God touch you in your feelings.

1. SECURITY – Insecurity is one of the biggest contributors to defeat; pitiful, relational decisions. We have security in Christ! Let God deal with your insecurity.

2. RIGHTEOUSNESS – Anytime we believe God over our own personal belief system, it is credited to our account as righteousness.

Romans 4:1-5 – God justifies the wicked that have faith in Him through Jesus Christ. A Pharisee is a self-righteous meter.  It is all about God and believing God!

Romans 1:17 – From the first to the last it is all about faith. It is God’s grace extended to us through His love, and it is about our faith to believe it.

3. GLORIOUS LIBERATION – Romans 4:6-8. He sets the captives free and drops shackles from our ankles and hands. “Never-double negative” means “No never.” No, not ever! God is not counting up your sins against Him; He is counting our taking opportunities to believe Him. He is counting up what He can call righteous. God is not counting backwards, but forwards.

a. Psalm 32:1-5 – Transgression (pesca, Hebrew) means “rebellious sin.” God is even willing to forgive willful, premeditated sin.

b. Sin (hata’ah, Hebrew) – We have it covered here. We cannot come to God with a bunch of foolishness; we need to come out with it, and let Him deal with it. Get real with Him and take responsibility for our own sins. Fruit of authentic repentance calls for full restoration.

Psalm 32:3-4 – God is too wise not to chastise us for disobedience.

Psalm 32:5-6 – Acknowledge our premeditated (transgressions) sin. The ungodly can be restated into godliness.

4. Romans 1:5 – The more we grow in faith, the more we will grow in obedience. All else is just temporary goodness. True obedience comes from believing what God’s Word says. We listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit say over us “Do this because you’re a this.” If you are in Jesus, you are a “this” and not a “that.”

Luke 22:31-32 – “you” is a plural. There may be no greater sin in existence than denying that we know Him at all. Satan asked for all of them. We don’t know if God gave Him permission for all of them or not, but we know according to the context, that He gave him permission for Peter. God will never give the enemy permission to sift us like wheat, unless we have something that needs sifting. God wants to sift something from our lives.

1. PRIDE – is the enemy of the true ministry.

2. VICTIM – having a total victim mentality.

3. EMBEDDED IMPURITY – God forces us to take an inner view of ourselves.

These are things of the flesh that need to go, so that the things of the Spirit could move in. If God ever releases the enemy to come and sift you as wheat, Christ Jesus will always pray for you.

“You have sinned, but you are not that sin.”