The natural reaction when things aren’t going our way and situations look bad, is to work more, try harder, strive more intensely – yet as we examine the scriptures, what we find is a different reaction being demonstrated over and over again. A reaction that is not one of stress, worry, striving or fear, but a reaction of rest.
This is not the kind of reaction that we typically expect, because it is not a worldly reaction; and it is not a worldly type of rest either. It is not “sitting on your hands and doing nothing” as opponents of this rest might imply; but it is a rest that originates in our spirit, as we behold the finished work of Christ and live our new identity in Him.
There is a persistent idea, and ideology among some Christians, that has been around for quite some time actually, which says that as believers, we must maintain a certain level of guilt and shame. That every time we fail in our behaviors or fall short in our performance, that it is right and proper to feel guilty, and be ashamed, and that to not feel these things indicates some level of depravity – or worse that we have a seared conscience, and God has given us over to a carnal mind (whatever term they use, it’s the same underlying idea).
I have heard these ideas over and over again. They often seem as though they are “holy” and “right”, and anyone who doesn’t agree is a heretic.
However is this what the scriptures actually teach? Is the perspective of perpetual guilt and shame based on our behaviors and performance, truly biblical? Is this the abundant life and freedom and peace that Jesus died for us to have? That’s the question that we need to answer – and we will answer it today in this study.
There’s an interesting group of verses in James chapter 1; a stipulation regarding asking God for things, the verses end with the pointed statement that a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. That seems like a fairly serious thing to be… but what exactly does it mean to be double-minded?
If we don’t understand the term, how do we really know if we are double-minded? How can we avoid double-mindedness?
It’s important to understand this, not only for our own peace-of-mind, but also so that we can actually receive things from God… because He truly does want us to receive His gifts, but double-mindedness can stop us.
So today we are going to explore this, and answer these questions… as always in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Romans chapter 5 verse 11 contains an interesting statement. The verse reads: “And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.” The verse reads: “And not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received reconciliation.”
And it led me to this line of thought and question: What does it mean to be reconciled? And do we honestly rejoice in our reconciliation?
Sure, we may hear talk about rejoicing, but how often do we even think about our reconciliation to God through Jesus Christ? If we are honest with ourselves, many times we act and think as if we still have not been reconciled at all!
So today in this study, we are going to explore this topic and answer these questions, because Paul spends quite a bit of time explaining this – not without reason – he clearly wants us to know and understand the precise reason and foundation for why we can truly rejoice in God.
Most people enjoy receiving gifts. For believers, this is also true of spiritual gifts. Now the term “spiritual gifts” has been somewhat misunderstood over the years to mean spiritual realm only with no earthly effects; when in-reality, spiritual gifts are actually gifts from the Spirit of God, which have very great earthly effects. In-fact, the gifts which the Spirit of God gives can completely transform your life, and the lives of those around you as well.
The trouble comes in when people start chasing after these gifts, as if they do not have them; and some have even been taught that the gifts are no longer active and that they are no longer being given.
What I want to share with you today in this study, is how because of the finished work of Christ, in Him you already have been given every single gift. You do not need to strive for, beg for, or plead for God to give you any gift. You do not need to sacrifice in an attempt to merit the gifts, because the sacrifice has already been given – Jesus Christ Himself.
The title of this study today, is honestly a topic that people have struggled with from the very beginning of time. When a thought, emotion or feeling comes your way, especially a negative or even oppressive one, what do you do about it? How do you handle it?
For some, thoughts, emotions and feelings can be controlling and even rule their life. Some people are held captive by their emotions, and allow their feelings to rule their life. But what can be done about it?
Well, in-fact God has quite a bit to say on the subject, and we are going to answer these questions today, as always by looking at Jesus, and seeing the reality of His finished work for us.
Over the years I have had a number of people ask me: James, things just aren’t working. Things just don’t look good. What am I supposed to do?
And I can understand how these people feel. I can understand their heart. We have all of these promises which God has given to us; what is the proper way to respond if what we are currently seeing doesn’t seem to line-up with what was promised?
Well, today we are going to answer those questions.
And the answers will strengthen our understanding of what is actually going on, as well as to enhance our perspective of God’s Grace and goodness, even when the situation looks bleak.
The last two weeks we have basically begun our journey to look at the names of God, and already we have seen some amazing things about God and His character, including some things which may have possibly shattered some preconceived and long-held ideas about Him.
For example, we’ve seen that He is always with you. That He will in-fact never leave you – which is a pressure-point for some people who have believed that God comes and goes, or that He ignores and leaves us if we manage to upset Him through bad performance.
We also saw that He is a provider, not just of our bare essential needs, but also a great many of our wants and blessings on top of all that as well.
Today, we are going to continue with this theme, as we look at the ultimate provision and protection that He has offered, as we look at another name of God, one which is guaranteed to break down some spiritual barriers.
On several occasions, I have been in conversations where I have bluntly asked someone, “are you righteous in the sight of God?”, and then the person in question would hesitate, they would pause, and consider their life and their behaviors, and then with shakiness in their voice answer “I think so...”. This reveals the fact that when it comes to righteousness, such people as the ones I have spoken with, really have no confidence at all in their righteous standing before God; and it’s precisely for this reason that they aren’t standing on the proper foundation… they aren’t standing in Christ, but instead are looking at their own behaviors and performance and judging their righteousness and their standing before God based on that, instead of on the finished work of Christ.
This has a more damaging effect than you may imagine at first, because righteousness by faith in Christ is at the very core of our new identity, and it is very important to successful spiritual warfare; to the utilization of our power in Christ. As we studied last week, God has given us power; He wants us to have it and make use of it… but we will never have success, unless we stand on the proper foundation, and approach from the correct perspective.
So today in this study, we look at the importance of knowing, truly knowing beyond doubt that you are righteous.