Our True Identity

Ephesians 1:3-8

When I hear a believer announce, “I’m just a sinner,” I feel like saying, “That’s what you used to be.” A lot of folks cling to a view of themselves as a patched-up, slightly-better-than-before version of their old self. The Bible contradicts that opinion: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). In fact, according to Scripture, we’re dramatically different once we are complete in Christ.

The question is whether people will trust in what they feel or believe what God says about them. His Word calls us saints (Rom. 1:7), disciples (Matt. 28:19), and fellow heirs with Jesus Christ (Rom. 8:17). If your opinion is that you are “just a sinner,” then you cannot fully experience and enjoy your identity in Christ.

Believing what God says about our new self is a choice. Satan certainly conspires to convince believers that God’s Word doesn’t apply to them. He knows that people held captive by spiritual poverty back away from opportunities to share the gospel and serve the Lord’s kingdom. It’s much easier to spiritually bankrupt someone who already thinks of him- or herself as “just a sinner” than it is to conquer a disciple who knows God is his loving Father.

Our true identity is defined not by our past actions but by the Savior’s. Jesus purchased our lives with His blood and brought us into relationship with God the Father, who adopted us as beloved children. We have every reason to hold our heads high, stand firm, and courageously proclaim the gospel.

Message By Dr. Charles Stanley

Spending Our Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-22
The word “inheritance” usually brings to mind the money and real estate handed down from one generation to another. But God has an even greater legacy to share with His children—one that they are given the moment they enter His family.

Galatians 4:7 tells us that believers are God’s heirs. First among our priceless treasures is a living hope in Jesus Christ that cannot be taken away (1 Peter 1:3). What’s more, He pledged to supply our needs according to His riches (Phil 4:19). In other words, we already have all that we need for an abundant and victorious life. However, some folks get stuck in spiritual poverty because they refuse to view themselves as adopted children. Failing to tap into their inheritance, they’re like a man who sees himself as a poor, sinful creature: he wanders through this big angry world hoping to hold on to his meager scrap of faith until he’s lucky enough to die and go to heaven. Of course that man misses the blessings available in this life, because he’s not looking for them. How differently people see themselves when they look through the eyes of Jesus. Christians who live like the beloved, empowered heirs that they are will lavishly spend their inheritance of grace to benefit everyone they meet. God gives all believers a pledge of inheritance out of the unsurpassed riches of His infinite grace. We are spiritually rich citizens of heaven who have nothing to fear in this world. Choose to live boldly for Christ, and see how abundantly God pours out blessing from the legacy already set aside for you.

Message by Dr. Charles Stanley

Today’s Thoughts: Weary People with No Holiday Cheer

You, O God, sent a plentiful rain, whereby You confirmed Your Inheritance, when it was wear. 
Psalm 68:9

I was shopping in Costco during the summer months and ran into an old acquaintance from a Bible study class we attended together. I asked her how she was doing and her response was, “Well, I have the most difficult time keeping the faith in the summer and during the holidays.” Her words were absolutely honest and sadly enough very true. We grow weary in doing good at different seasons of life. The holidays tend to be one of those seasons. After talking with so many women at retreats, Bible studies, live radio programs, women’s events and even through emails, we have found that many Christians are basically weary(or at least the people who talk to us). Circumstances, people, finances, negative words and thoughts have all contributed to not having a desire to persevere. We know that the right thing is to persevere, run the race with endurance, and not lose heart, but sometimes it seems too difficult to just keep going, day in and day out. If we were really honest, most of us would admit to having thoughts like, “How can I do it all? How is this going to work out? Why does life have to be this hard?”  The added pressure of the holiday season demands more of our time and attention. Suddenly we find ourselves having no time to pray or seek the Lord. Instead, we try to spiritualize and justify our position by saying we are doing all these things for others as if we are living a sacrificial life. However, we can’t give others something we do not have. We can become unspiritual in the process. My father frequently said, “When your output exceeds your intake, your upkeep is your downfall.” It is too easy to fall down in the holiday seasons.  Why? Because God does not ask us to sacrifice but to obey. Jesus defined obedience in John 15 as abiding in Him. We need to take the time to be with the Lord. Lift your eyes toward Him, open your heart in prayer and seek the Lord. He will help you and He is able to provide rest for the weary soul.

Shalom

Make extra effort

Text: Luke 19:3 KJV
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

Whatever you want to do, whatever you want to have, don't look at the limitation confronting you, don't look at the hindrance, just make an extra effort. You're closer to your answer than you think. Zacchaeus was a man who has heard about Jesus and was willing to meet him one day. Then the day came when he heard that Jesus was in town, he thronged out to see Him, but he could not because of his stature and the crowd. He should have given up and just go home straight, but no, he was desperate. He wanted to see Jesus at all cost. He climbed up a tree to see him. To his surprise, Jesus was already looking for him too. He mentioned his name and asked him to come down. That day, Zacchaeus received the greatest blessings of life. This marked the beginning of something great in his life. Thank God he didn't give up. Just as Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus, Jesus was waiting for him to come. He was also looking for him. That day, salvation came to his house. Don't give up yet, don't be discouraged yet. May be you are just one step away from your answer. Just Make an extra effort and you're there already.

Prayer: I will never be discouraged. I move in divine direction and I will never miss my way in the Name of Jesus. Amen!

Message by Pastor David O. Adedeji

REGULATIONS

Read: Colossians 2

Key Verse: “Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.” - Colossians 2:23  

There is a difference between man-made regulations and the commands that come from God. When God gives a directive, it is to guide, provide, and protect. Many people reject God’s authority by trying to rationalize their ‘clever’ excuses and attempt to ‘intellectually’ explain their rebellion! What do you think are the five most common commands from God that are ignored or despised in your community? God’s Word can be trusted and is designed to give you life, even when it is unpopular. On the other hand, there is a common tendency to add bogus regulations which do not come from heaven. They have the appearance of being ‘spiritual’ but they are full of false humility and have no lasting value. Legalism is devising human commands and acting as if they are sacred and from God. Dead religion includes taking pride in the ability to maintain performance according to human standards. What regulations have you experienced that did not come from God? Jesus wants to change you from the inside out with His presence and transformation!

For more from Pastor Jesse Bradley and Activate Media Ministries, visit www.activatelife.org

2 Corinthians 9:15

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”

It’s not hard to lose our zeal for Christ and Christmas alongside the commercialism that capitalizes off the holiday season. In the busyness of the season, it’s possible for the Creator of Time to stretch our minutes to spend a moment with Him. Often, we run through life, especially around the holidays, convinced we don’t have time to sit in silence with Him. Our neglect to carve space to be with Him frays our minutes. Do we trust Christ with our lives? This Christmas, we can strengthen our relationship with Jesus to reveal things we didn’t know or perhaps forgot. Jesus has the power to soften our hearts to the point that just a glance at a manger scene brings a tear of love for our Savior at Christmas time.

To do What’s Most Important, First Clarify What’s Most Important

“We can choose the sounds we want to listen to; we can choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right. But first of all we must define among ourselves what is good”
(Job 34:3-4 TLB).

Ever feel like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done—and still sleep? To make the most of your time, you must clarify what’s most important. Stop saying, “I can’t get it all done,” and start realizing that it’s not all worth doing. You can’t get it all done because God doesn’t expect you to get it all done. In clarifying what’s important, you’ve got to know what matters most and what doesn’t matter at all. You’ve got to know what counts and what doesn’t count. You’ve got to know what’s going to last and what’s not going to last. Most of the ways you spend your time won’t have any impact in a year—much less in 10 years or in 50 years or for eternity. So you’ve got to know what you value most. And you have to clarify what is and isn’t important. The greatest gift that God has given you is salvation by Jesus Christ. He came and died on the cross so your sins could be forgiven. You need to accept that gift. The second greatest gift you were given in life is the freedom to choose. Job 34:3-4 says, “We can choose the sounds we want to listen to; we can choose the taste we want in food, and we should choose to follow what is right. But first of all we must define among ourselves what is good” (TLB).It’s amazing to me that most people have never done this. They go through their entire lives having never taken the time to define what matters most to them—to literally sit down and write out their values. They’ve never said, “This is what is good, and this is what is bad. This is what I want out of life, and this is what I don’t want.” Why write it down? The evangelist Dawson Trotman often said, “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and the fingertips.” In other words, when you can write it and you can say it, it becomes clearer. If you’ve never written down what’s important to you, it’s still fuzzy in your mind. You must define what is good. You must clarify what matters most. When you haven’t clarified what you want out of life, you’re indecisive all the time, because you can’t do what’s good until you decide what’s good. You can’t do what’s important until you decide what’s important. You can’t practice what you want to do in life until you clarify what you want to do in life

Message by Rick Warren

Knowing Christ

Key Verse: “I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death.” - Philippians 3:10

At the heart of Christianity is a relationship with the Savior. Keeping the law, religious rituals, and asking for more blessings are not the crux of the faith. Jesus paid the full price for your sins and He is risen; put your trust in the Messiah, not just the facts. Doctrine is very important and obedience is how we live out our faith, but do not reduce Christianity into mere morality. How is your relationship with Jesus?

The apostle Paul passionately wants to know Christ and considers everything else in his life compared to this goal as minor. Walking intimately with Jesus is going to include His power running through you and experiencing suffering deep inside of you. The second aspect is surprising to people living in prosperity and often rejected. If you are wholeheartedly following the Lord, persecution will come. Be intentional this week about seeking Jesus more than any other goal you have.

For more from Pastor Jesse Bradley and Activate Media Ministries, visit www.activatelife.org

Isaiah 53:4-5

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
 

The person who says he has no problems is not telling the truth. God has not called us to live in deceit and fantasy. A mere confession that we are problem-free is not biblical faith, but delusion. What we are free to confess if we are in covenant with Christ is that there is not a need we have, problem we face, crisis we encounter or dread looming before us that has not been dealt with in the atonement of Jesus Christ. How, when and where He manifests the outcome to us is His business. Ours is to celebrate what Christ has done in bearing all our iniquities on Himself

Message by Dr. Ed Young

Jesus Christ the Sin Bearer

Matthew 26:26-27

The cross is so common in our culture that most people don’t think twice when they see one on a church. But unfortunately, familiarity with the symbol can actually get in the way of understanding what it truly means. So let’s stop to consider how Jesus became the bearer of sin. We begin with Scripture written long before Jesus was born. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, explains how man chose to disobey God. Because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, their descendants are all born under the curse of death, having inherited a sinful “flesh” nature. In Leviticus, God’s laws for the Jewish nation included observance of Yom Kippur, the day each year when the Israelites fasted, prayed, and sacrificed an animal to atone for sin. In essence, the goat would bear the wrongs done by the people and suffer the penalty that divine justice required. Centuries later, Isaiah prophesied that a Savior would atone for transgression once and for all (Isa. 53:5, 8; Heb. 7:27). After another 700 years, John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Messiah had come, though He was totally different from what the people expected—so much so, in fact, that they rejected Him and requested His crucifixion. In all, God gave 613 laws through Moses. But none of us can perfectly follow even the Ten Commandments. In fact, one reason He gave us these rules is to show us our need for a Savior (Ps. 19:7; Gal. 3:24). Meditate on those commands (Ex. 20:1-17), asking God to speak to your heart.

Message by Dr. Charles Stanley

The Power Within

Acts 1:8

God's Spirit works in every believer. He does not limit Himself to pastors and missionaries. If you've received Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, then residing within you is the same great power that raised Christ from the dead (Rom 8:11) The Holy Spirit pours His energy into creating godly character in all who follow the Lord. The fruit of the Spirit is so named because it is the character and conduct that the Holy Spirit produces in believers. These are qualities that we can't generate consistently on our own. The most powerful message we can give isn't a testimony or sermon; it is the life we live when the pressure is on, temptation is tremendous, or we are buried under an avalanche of problems. What the world most needs to see in this modern culture is godly families loving one another, business people working with integrity and frugality, and young men and women who choose moral purity. In a word, the world needs to be exposed to believers who are obedient. By showing peace instead of anxiety or practicing patience rather than speaking a sharp word, a Christian bears witness to the beauty of the gospel. We attract unbelievers to Christ through our words and deeds. They may turn down a doctrine, but they cannot ignore a righteous life. The strongest gospel message does not come from a pulpit. The most powerful witness for Jesus Christ where you work, where you live, and where you relax is you. Submit to the Holy Spirit's work, and He will produce a great harvest of spiritual fruit in your life.

Message by Dr. Charles Stanley

What Could Go Wrong?

“A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences”(Proverbs 22:3 TLB).

It’s smart to expect the best but to prepare for the worst. Solomon expressed this idea in the Bible: “A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences” (Proverbs 22:3 TLB). The wise person recognizes there’s going to be problems in any decision and prepares for them. Even the Bible knows about Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. You can’t ignore problems, because they’re not going to ignore you! Problems are inevitable. They are a part of life. The wise person doesn’t deny their inevitability. A wise person prepares for them by asking, “What could go wrong? And what will happen if it does?” There’s a difference between preparing for a problem and solving a problem. Never confuse the decision-making phase of faith with the problem-solving phase. They are two different things. If you have to solve all the problems before you make a decision, you’ll be paralyzed and unable to make any decision at all. By the way, this means you don’t have to have all of your doubts about Christianity and Christ settled before you make the decision to follow him. If someone had told me this, I probably would have made my decision to follow Christ much, much sooner. I still don’t understand a lot that is in the Bible. For the rest of our lives, we’ll be working out all the problems and doubts that come with faith. You don’t have to have all of your doubts resolved. You don’t have to have all of the problems figured out or solve them before you make a decision. But to be wise, you must make a decision in faith, knowing that problems will come, doing your best to plan for them, and trusting God to give you what you need to confront them

Message by Rick Warren

Proven Truth

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. Isaiah 11:1-2

The promised Deliverer will be the One on whom the Spirit of God rests. “Anointing” is the term used to describe the Holy Spirit’s “coming upon” a person. Thus, the Deliverer will be The Anointed One—Messiah from the Hebrew language and Christos from the Greek.  The completeness of the Holy Spirit will be upon the Promised One. He will be the appearing in the created world of all God is, and will have all God’s authority and resting on and operating within Himself.

Message by Dr. Ed Young

Proven Truth

The LORD God said to the serpent, " Because you have done this, Cursed are you more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you will go, And dust you will eat All the days of your life; And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel." Genesis 3:14-15

In earth’s early morning, God promises He will send a Deliverer. The serpent backed humanity into a corner and the biological father of the race—Adam—took the wrong way out, trapping all his descendants in his choice. But God, who sees the panorama of all time, tells the serpent and promises humanity that, though the slithering snake will inflict a non-deadly wound on the Deliverer, the Promised One would crush the serpent’s head, smashing his authority and power. All history is a build-up to this promise, and all history after the Deliverer comes is a build-up to the establishment of His Kingdom universally.

Message by Dr. Ed Young

Discipline

Key Verse: “Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul.” Proverbs 29:17

Two mistakes parents make are either being excessively harsh or being way too lenient. These extremes can undermine a child’s character. The danger of not having any discipline in the home is that the child begins to think he can just do whatever he wants in life. Where there are no limits or consequences (parents rationalize it by saying they just want it to be fun or deep down they are simply afraid of the child), immaturity results, self-centeredness prevails, and a haughty sense of entitlement can be very evident. Children actually want to have healthy morals, justice, accountability, God’s standards, and clear loving consistent direction at home. They might not describe it like that, but their soul longs for it. Do not let your child be the king of the house, it is unhealthy for everyone. Jesus is the king, you are the leader, and your child is to be respectful. Everyone in the house will have peace when these God-given roles are honored.

For more from Pastor Jesse Bradley and Activate Media Ministries, visit www.activatelife.org