A very old scam with a long history, is called the “Bait-and-Switch”, were people are promised goods or services at a substantial discount, and then later come to find out that what they were promised is either not available, or not as good as was originally expected. The customers are then often highly-pressured to consider more expensive items instead of what they were originally promised.
In the United States, such actions are generally considered to be “false advertising” and many lawsuits have been filed over the years for such practices.
So it saddens me when I see people falling victim to the exact same type of bait-and-switch tactics in modern Christianity. There’s a lot of this going on today and most people don’t even realize that it’s happening to them. In many ways it happens very slowly and subtly, over a period of years, and it ruins people’s spiritual lives.
Well, the scriptures are not shy in warning about it, and so today I want to share with you some common bait-and-switch tactics in Christianity that I have come across, and how you can avoid them by knowing the truth of Jesus Christ.
In my past, I lived a life in deep fear. It was crippling, it was debilitating, and it caused me to miss out on many things, many pleasant experiences, and many years with family and friends. Things that I couldn’t enjoy because of my fear. Fear that was totally and completely irrational – but it didn’t seem to be so at the time, because I was believing a lie instead of the truth.
Jesus said, in John 8:32, that you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free. And we have studied that in the past before; but many misinterpret that to mean “you shall know things about the law” – when the people that Jesus was speaking to were Jews… they already knew the Law – and while the Law was true, it was not “the Truth” that would make them free.
The truth that will make them (and us) free today is not about religion, rules, traditions or the laws of the old covenant. The truth that will make us free, is specifically the truth of Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished, and your identity in Him today. That is an identity of His beloved, an identity of His perfect righteousness, and holiness, an identity completely safe and secure in Christ. That is your identity today. And what I want to share with you in this study, is how knowing the truth of His perfect love, can shatter your fears today.
We all want to improve. It’s natural to want to be better, do better, achieve greater things. This natural desire drive us to constantly strive farther, higher, to reach beyond perceived limits. It has fueled the creation of new inventions and discoveries, and caused us to explore new ground and even beyond our planet.
There is one area though, where this natural desire can get us into trouble… and that is the area of our spiritual identity. Because we tend to judge our standing and our progress by our performance; by the things that we achieve, or how good we are doing presently. And when we seem to have failed, our natural reaction is to become depressed, discouraged, even angry, and then clench our fist even tighter and declare “This time I’ll do better!” – and we get ourselves into a vicious cycle of determination, failing, guilt, and then back to determination. And it repeats over and over again.
What I want to share with you today, is how to break that cycle. Many people are deceived into thinking that if they just try hard enough, or focus more, they can get out of it themselves… but that is actually part of the trap. The way out doesn’t come by your strength, effort or force of will, but through knowing the truth of Jesus Christ that makes you free. As you see this truth, you will finally be able to break out of this performance-driven cycle, and be free to live and love, through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Psalms 91 is one of the greatest Psalms for those who believe on Jesus Christ, because it is a detailed list showing us all of the many ways in which God demonstrates His love for us – and what the finished work of Christ has given to us, even in this life.
In Part 1 of our study, we looked at the foundation: our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our connection to Him, our oneness with Him – as mentioned in verse 1.
In Part 2 last week, we looked at the many gifts and blessings that are included in that relationship in verses 2 through 14.
Now today, in this third and final part of our study on Psalms 91, we conclude by completing the circle, as this all returns once again to our relationship with Jesus Christ, our personal connection with Him, as we see the final blessings and marvelous promises for us, found in the final verses of the chapter, verses 15 and 16.
In last week’s study (part 1), we looked at the foundation of receiving everything mentioned in Psalms 91, by looking at the first verse. If you have not yet seen part 1, I highly recommend that you view that study first as again, it lays the proper foundation for everything that we will be examining today in this study – the foundation of course, is Jesus Christ and His finished work; and the relationship that is possible because of it.
Today we examine the blessings themselves… and hold on tight, because this is a fantastic journey beyond even your wildest dreams. Ephesians 3:20, mentions that Christ is able to do exceedingly, abundantly far above all you can ever ask or imagine – by His power that works in us! And we are going to be seeing exactly what that looks like today, in Psalms 91.
Psalms 91 is one of the more well-known Psalms in the Bible… or I should say it has a well-known reputation. It is often thought of as a “Messianic” psalm, meaning that it applies to Jesus Christ Himself, and there is certainly that aspect to it. However, I believe that there is another layer to this Psalm; a layer that is in the text that has largely been forgotten in Christian circles today.
This layer, as you may have guessed from the title of today’s study, has to do with our position in Christ Jesus today, and the many blessing that come with that. There is an entire treasure-trove of blessings here that have for the most part, been left unclaimed, for no other reason than no-one is being told about them! An issue that I am going to solve today in this study.
As I’ve mentioned the last couple of weeks… I talk to a lot of people who claim to be believers in Christ, but seem to have more defeats than victories, They are constantly recounting the details of their latest trial, latest hardships or their latest burdens. From their perspective, the enemy is always on the offensive, and they are always on the defensive, struggling just to survive and make it through another day.
I see this quite often and it’s sad, it should not be. There are millions of people who have been deceived in the worst possible way, to quite literally spend their entire lives being subjugated by an already defeated fore. A foe who has been completely beaten and spoiled by Jesus Christ Himself.
Today what I want to share with you, is the victory (yes, victory!) that you have in Christ today, right now. Not sometime later when you get to heaven, but right now today in this world. And by seeing this, you will not need to live another single second in defeat. You will no longer be held hostage by a powerless enemy any longer.
All throughout scripture, we are encouraged to testify and rejoice for what God has done. We sing plenty of songs about it in church, and listen to others singing out it on radio and TV (some of the time!), but for many people it doesn’t really go any further beyond the weekly ritual of singing hymns or listening to Christian radio or TV. Think about it… when is the last time you actually rejoiced – even sang to God, personally for something He has done specifically for you? Not in a corporate church setting; not with a group… just you and God?
For most people, they can’t even remember that far back, and the question is, why is it so rare? For something that the scripture encourages us to do, why doesn’t it occur more often? Why do Christians spent more time complaining and depressed, instead of singing and rejoicing?
Personally, I believe they are not focused on the right thing. I believe that their vision is skewed and they are looking at themselves and their current circumstances instead of looking at Jesus and seeing the victory that He has already won – I know that I have lived that way for quite a long time, and I recognize the signs and symptoms of it very well. So today I want to share with you an encouraging study on seeing the mercy of Jesus, and how it causes you to overflow with genuine, real rejoicing.
Of the many lies that the enemy has spread about God, few are as varied, as widespread and as damaging as what I have come to call, the lie of “Almost.” In-fact this particular lie is so prevalent, and takes so many forms, I can say that it comes up in some fashion in almost every conversation that I encounter about the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Let me give you some examples of this Almost lie, and what it looks like:
You almost have your miracle, just keep persevering.
You almost conquered your sin, just try harder.
God is almost pleased, just keep at it.
Now all three of these may sound right, they may even seem encouraging… I mean, what’s wrong with telling someone to keep on trying, right? Well to use a colloquialism: The devil is in the details – which in this case is literally true. The lie, is in the “almost” part of it, implying that the things which Christ paid for on the cross have still been left undelivered, or that additional steps are required to attain them. And this lie has kept many people in bondage, some even for their entire lives.
So today, what I want to share with you, is what the scriptures say regarding what you have in Christ Jesus – not sometime later, not after jumping through religious hoops, but right now, this very moment.
Over the years, I have had many discussions with people about the devil… mostly regarding ways that they are fighting against him, or resisting him. I have heard of many different methods, from arguing with him, ignoring him, screaming at him, performing deliverance rituals. There are literally hundreds of unique ways in which people have come up with over the years to resist the devil.
The scriptures however, do not leave us guessing about the way in which to do so. You may be surprised that the many methods I have mentioned, have all been heard inside of Christian communities, and none of them have any real foundation in scripture. So what I want to share with you today, is what the scripture actually says regarding resisting the devil. And by seeing this, you can resist him with absolute confidence knowing that you already have victory in Christ Jesus.