Many believers struggle with their believing… they find it difficult to believe because their human senses and their natural mind and thinking overwhelms them when situations and circumstances appear contrary to the Word of God. It’s true. Everyone has felt that way at one time or another, and then on top of that, we encounter Christians who are all too eager to inform us that because we have these thoughts and feelings, that we are “wavering” and that God will not answer prayer, because of doubting. It then begins a vicious downward spiral of struggling with believing, to being told that because we are struggling that we can’t expect anything from God, and so it just gets worse and worse.
My friend, I’ve been there, and I know the depression and feeling of hopelessness that comes from that desperate tailspin. And today in this study I want to share with you a little-known mental-shift found in the scriptures that will completely change your outlook. When you see the truths in the Bible that we will be studying today, it will lift you out of despair and into peace. It will reinvigorate your belief from hanging over the precipice, to on the very mountaintop. It is my joy to share this with you today.
In the world today, things are very high-strung. People are very busy going from this thing to that thing. Always in a hurry, and always desperately seeking, but never finding true peace; true inner rest and tranquility. Now the world has many different avenues by which people try to find peace. There are many rituals and tools, and things that people pursue to chase after this inward rest.
The Bible though has another method, one which is opposite to our natural human thinking. We tend to have this idea that in order to really rest that we must shut-off our mind, empty ourselves and relax.. usually in front of the television or with music. But are those activities truly “restful”? What we will be exploring today in scripture is true Biblical rest; what it is, and how to receive it.
You have probably heard it said before, that God is a God of second-chances. But what exactly does this statement mean? What is the implication of such a truth? If God is a God of second-chances, then does that mean that there are no second-chances without Him? And how precisely do we avail ourselves of the second-chances that we are offered?
In this study today, we are going to be answering these questions from scripture. Taking a look at where this popular phrase comes from and how it applies to our daily life. By seeing this truth, you can have security in the completed work of Jesus Christ, and doubt, confusion and fear will no longer steal the peace you have in Christ.
You probably have heard it shouted from pulpit's before “The grass withers, the flower fades, but God's word is forever” – and while that proclamation is absolutely true, the manner in which it is typically spoken, is not. It is usually uttered in a negative way and with the implication of God's judgment. It may surprise you to learn then that the context in which these words were spoken in the Bible was not the judgment of God, but His promises of redemption and blessing. The enduring word of God is not one of condemnation, but words of restoration and salvation.
In this study today, we will see that what is truly center focus in the Bible is actually a desire of God to redeem and restore that which sin has so utterly corrupted. It is sin that God must judge, not necessarily man. God's true desire is to punish the sin but spare the sinner… just as our desire is to destroy a cancerous tumor, but spare the one that the cancer is destroying. So if you have been struggling with a wrong idea or belief about the nature and the character of God, then this study will give you a fresh revelation of His grace today.
Jesus is Lord. What does this phrase mean to you? There are those today who see it purely as a title, or a mantra to be repeated. Yes Jesus is Lord, the God of creation and Savior of the world; never forget that fact... but He is also personal, intimate and able to enrich and provide for every area of your life. Some people recoil from this fact, afraid that it will somehow take away from His Lordship.
This misunderstanding of the nature and character of God has held many people in bondage due to them not receiving from Jesus many of the gifts which He desires to give them; and so we will be studying exactly how Jesus fulfills our lives, and we will be letting the Scriptures teach us these things so that there will not be any confusion any longer.