God does not call you a sinner; you are a saint!!!

Victory Over The Darkness by Neil Anderson

   “God doesn’t call you a sinner; He calls you a saint–a holy one…What you do doesn’t determine who you are; who you are determines what you do.” Page 45 Victory Over The Darkness by Neil Anderson

WOW!!! What a statement!!!

   My actual salvation experience dates back to April 1953. At that time my aunt was attempting to teach me the Apostles Creed. I believed that Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins. I believed that if I accepted Jesus Christ personally as my Savior, when I died I would be in heaven with Him–period end of lessons. The rest of my life I am to try to conform to the image of Christ. As you can read by all the “I’s” above that this has been a long process.

   For many, many years John 8:32 was my prayer, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” I keep asking, “What is the truth?” Finally in 1992, I met someone who told me that truth is not what but who. In John 14:6, “Jesus told them, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life…’” I was introduced to the Neil Anderson books Victory Over The Darkness and Bondage Breaker. The following are a few of the highlights from Victory Over The Darkness.

   “…But ultimately every Christian is responsible for his or her own maturity and freedom in Christ. Nobody can make you grow. That’s you decision and daily responsibility. Nobody can solve your problems. That’s a process you must initiate and follow through with. Thankfully, however, none of us walks through the disciplines of personal maturity and freedom alone. The indwelling Christ is eagerly willing to walk with us each step of the way…

   …Before you can be truly free from your past, you need to know who you are in Christ…

   …The only identity equation that works in God’s kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and meaning.

   …Your Christian walk is the direct result of what you believe about God and yourself…Walking by faith simply means that you function in daily life on the basis of what you believe…Your belief system determines your behavior…

   Anger signals a blocked goal…Feelings of anger should prompt us to reexamine what we believe and the mental goals we have formulated to accomplish those beliefs…

   Anxiety signals an uncertain goal…You are hoping something will happen, but you have no guarantee that it will. You can control some of the factors, but not all of them.

   Depression signals an impossible goal…Some forms of depression can be caused by chemical imbalances…Depression often signals that you are desperately clinging to a goal you have little or no chance of achieving, and that’s not a healthy goal…

   If Satan can destroy your belief in God, you will lose your source of hope. But with God all things are possible. He is the source of all hope. You need to learn to respond to hopeless–appearing situations as David did: ‘Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, the help of my countenance, and my God’ (Ps. 43:5).

   A godly goal is any specific result reflecting God’s purposes for your life that does not depend on people or circumstances beyond your ability or right to control…The only person who can block a godly goal or render it uncertain or impossible is you…

   A godly desire is any specific result that depends on the cooperation of other people or the success of events or favorable circumstances you cannot control. You cannot base your self-worth to your personal success on your desires, no matter how godly they may be, because you cannot control their fulfillment…”

   On page 115 of the study guide, Neil Anderson writes, “Healing emotional wounds from the past will enable you to find victory over the darkness and freedom in God’s light. Dealing with any rejection you’ve experienced is also essential to realizing victory.” There is a word of prayer in which Dr. Anderson writes, “All-knowing and all-loving God, I come before you with David’s words on my lips, ‘Search me, O God’ (Ps. 139:23a). Maybe there is something in my past that, brought to light, into Your healing light, can mean freedom for me. Show me, merciful and gentle God, who I need to forgive and of what I need to forgive them.”

Experiencing Go Through Prayer

Experiencing God Through Prayer by Madame Guyon

   The reader finds on page nine that God delights when we come to Him in simple, childlike confidence.

   Madame Guyon teaches this simple truth and childlike confidence. We must learn to pray from our heart, not from our head. She explains how to sit quietly (while being active) and wait on God.

   “I would emphasis my statement to you-you are called to enjoy God-not only His gifts to you…

   The whole desire of our heavenly Father is to give Himself to every creature according to the capacity in which we will receive Him.”

   This is a small book of only 90 pages, yet it is difficult to try to limit the wisdom and knowledge to just one page.

   Starting on page 31 of chapter 7 The Bitter and the Sweet reads:

   “Be patient, dear ones, during suffering. It was through His suffering on Calvary that Jesus gave the greatest display of love.

   Don't be like those who give themselves to Jesus at one season only to withdraw from Him at another. They give themselves to Him only to be caressed, yet when in times of trouble, they turn back to man for consolation.

   No, beloved friends, you will not find consolation in anything other than the love of the cross and total abandonment. If you will not savor the cross you cannot savor the things of God. (See Matthew 16:23).

   It is impossible to love God without loving the cross. If you savor the cross, you will find even the most bitter things to be sweet.

   ‘To the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet’ (Proverbs 27:7), because it finds itself hungering for God in the same proportion as it is hungering for the cross...

   Jesus Christ Himself chose to endure the utmost severity of the cross...

   (John 14:6)  Abandon [surrender] yourself then in Jesus. Follow Him as the way. Wait for Him to reveal truth to you. Allow Him to animate us with life.

   Abandonment [surrender] is the means God uses to reveal His mysteries to us.

   To bear all the marks of Jesus Christ is much greater than merely meditating on them. Paul said, ‘I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus’ (Gal 6:17). He does not say he merely thought about them, he says he bore them.

   As you abandon yourselves to Jesus, He will reveal those marks to you. You have no choice but to reach after Him. Dwell with Him. Sink into nothingness before Him.

   Accept indiscriminately all His gifts whether sweetness or bitterness. Let nothing retard your course for even one moment...

   If you sincerely love God, you will love all that belongs to Him.”

   In another chapter we read, “The only genuine means of bringing about change is by inward means. You must commit yourself wholly into the hands of a loving God. The simple act of commitment in every circumstance where self exerts itself will, in time, produce a separation of the sensual from the spiritual…

   The nearer your spirit draws to God, the further you become separated from the soulish demands…

   God himself will show you the areas of your life which need attention. Those who are  faithfully abandoning all to God will indeed be purified, polished, and perfected in His timing…”

   A quote from the chapter entitled Matters of the Heart. “Sin takes possession of the soul deficient in faith and prayer. If we would but teach our wandering brethren to simply believe and diligently pray, rather than engaging them in endless reasoning's, we would lead them sweetly into the arms of God.” And for references Madame Guyon gives Psalm 19:7, 119:130; Matthew 19:14, 11:25.

   Other chapter titles include: Thirsting For God, Scriptural Meditation, Surviving Dry Periods, Distractions, Put Off The Old, The Reward of Silence.

   Could our goals in life, our aim for class members, this book and the other resources we use as tools be:

   “To teach man to seek God in his heart, to think of Him, to return to Him whenever he has wandered, and to have a single eye to please Him, is leading that person to the source of all grace. There he will find everything necessary for sanctification…

   Teach the young to pray, not by reasoning or by method or by understanding, but by the prayer from the heart-the prayer of God’s Spirit rather than man’s invention…

   There is no better way to learn how to love God than to simply love Him.”

Victory in Christ

Victory in Christ from Victorious Life by Charles G. Trumbull

Mr. Trumbull starts by asking a question, a rather uncomfortable question, “Is your kind of Christianity worth sending to the non-Christian world”?

   Not, “Is Christianity worth sending?” There is no question as to that. But what about your kind?-the kind that you showed by your life this morning, yesterday, last week, last year. Is that what the non-Christian world is waiting for, what is needed to revolutionize lives there?

   Now there is a kind of Christianity worth sending to the non-Christian world. It is the kind that Jesus Christ lives, the kind that He has always lived. And the Christianity that Christ Himself lives is the only kind worth sending.

   The kind of salvation that Jesus offers is the only salvation worth offering to anyone. So the kind of Christianity that Jesus lives, moment by moment, is the only kind of Christianity worth living…

   Jesus, you know, makes two offers to everyone. He offers to set us free from the penalty of our sin. And He offers to set us free from the power of our sin. Both these offers are made on exactly the same terms: we can accept them only by letting Him do it all…

   Trying is what we do, and trusting is what we let the Lord do…

   Victory is by faith; but faith must be fed; and faith cannot be fed apart from daily nourishment from the Word of God, and daily time alone with God in prayer…

   Having surrendered the whole life to the mastery of the Lord, having given up the pride of the flesh, all luxuries and self-gratification, there is the peril of asceticism. Perhaps fine clothes, or jewelry, or overindulgence in food were among the things that had to go when we surrendered wholly to the Lord. As we find our new joy in Him, not in these things, we may be driven beyond the will of God into an asceticism that dishonors Him. More than one wholly surrendered Christian has mistakenly become indifferent and careless about personal attire or appearance, and has actually become repellent to others because of this mistake. Or, having been delivered from the sin of luxury in jewelry, we may be driven beyond the will of God into supposing that every bit of gold or silver we have should now be given away or sold and the proceeds given directly to the Lord’s service. Christian women have actually sold their wedding rings under this form of sadly mistaken asceticism. The spirit is commendable, but neither the guidance nor the results are necessarily of God.

   We are to maintain a golden mean between the extremes of asceticism and luxury. We are to take care of our personal appearance, our cleanliness, our clothing, so as to be attractive to our fellow men; it is a positive duty to be attractive Christians, both in dress and in appearance, that others may be won to us in order that we may win them to our Lord. We are to do all things to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31).

   This includes our pleasures as well as all else. We are not to believe the lie of Satan that everything that is pleasurable or attractive is sinful. We are to enjoy our meals, for example, not reduce them to the minimum of mere physical sustenance. And so of other temporal details of our life.

   We may get the mistaken idea that when we have a choice between something that is hard and something that is easy, the hard thing is always God’s will. His will may be just the opposite. There is not necessarily any virtue in difficulty, and there is not necessarily any sin in ease. The only question is, What is God’s will for us in each matter that comes before us?

   “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God” (1 John 4:1). And we are never to abandon our God-given common sense in the Victorious Life.

   Here is one way of distinguishing between God’s leading's and Satan’s “angel of light” leading's. To the really surrendered Christian, who is trusting Christ for victory, God’s leading's and promptings never nag, or worry, or harass. Satan’s do just this. If one has a seeming “leading” to do something that in itself is good, yet with the impulse there is a sense of nagging disquiet, almost as though a mosquito or a gnat were buzzing about to try to drive us in a certain direction, that is Satan’s earmark, his calling card; and his false “leading” is to be instantly recognized and rejected. The Holy Spirit’s leadings to the surrendered and trusting Christian come with a sense of peace and quiet, even if they point in a really difficult direction which only the grace of God can enable one to follow.

DO NOT DEPEND ON EXPERIENCES

   The Victorious Life is a supernatural life: it is a living miracle, a thrilling adventure, for it is God’s work and God’s working…

   God wants us to trust, not in supernatural experiences, but in Himself. It is for Him to decide when the unusual shall come into our life, and when our life shall be commonplace and humdrum so far as things of sight and sense are concerned…

   The secret of complete victory is faith: simply believing that Jesus has done and is doing it all. 

Demolishing Strongholds

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Demolishing Strongholds by Marie Malcom Hearn

The forward to Marie’s book was written by Dr. Albert Scardino, [past] Director of Counseling, First Baptist Church of Atlanta.

   Al writes, “Spiritual warfare is real. Satan has a well-organized army and no Christian is exempt from his attacks…(Ephesians 6:10-18)

   On the other hand we know that Satan was defeated at the cross through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ…

   We have found that many people who come to us for counseling are bound up in spiritual strongholds. These strongholds must first be broken before substantial progress can be made in counseling. It is only after a person is released from bondage that they can move forward to freedom in Christ…”

   Marie writes in the preface, “This book is written for Christians who are struggling, puzzled as to why Christianity is not working for them.”

   In Chapter 23, Testing the Spirits, Marie writes, “There are only two supernatural forces in the universe, God and Satan. God does not just ‘have’ power. He is power. Satan is a created being and only has the power that God has allowed him. Spiritual power and spiritual phenomenon have always been a temptation to man. Man has always been fascinated with the supernatural. The natural man likes some ‘feeling’ and ‘manifestations’ to go along with his faith and often falls into the trap of deceiving spirits…”

   (See 1 John 4) “By this you know the spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God…”

   “John is speaking of the spirit. It is the spirit that is to confess the Lord Jesus, not the person themselves to confess.

   Jesus came in the flesh to defeat Satan. Jesus was completely God, yet He was completely man. God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, God is Spirit, and as Spirit He could not die and shed His blood for the redemption of mankind. It was in Jesus’ humanity that He defeated Satan. Jesus never sinned, even one time; therefore He could be the perfect Lamb of God to shed His blood for the redemption of man.

   Jesus never used His authority as God to meet His needs as man. He defeated Satan as man; therefore, spirits will not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh…

   Jesus Christ came in the flesh to destroy the works of the devil and He expects His children to join Him in the battle. Satan has not been completely annihilated, but he has lost his power. He has spiritual lockjaw! His head is crushed. His neck is broken. Satan is not a fierce lion; he is only trying to frighten people with his loud roar. Jesus Christ is the ‘Lion of the tribe of Judah.’

   …Any teacher that is not in harmony with the Word of God is false. The Holy Spirit never denies His Work. If a teacher distorts the Scripture, or adds the thoughts of man to it, it is obviously a lying spirit speaking through the false teacher.

   John gives us another way to discern truth from error. God is a God of love. Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. A sincere teacher will love God and love others. A false teacher will not manifest God’s love.

   When our spirit is troubled and disturbed about something that is being taught, we should search the Word, wait before God in prayer, and be careful to avoid a judgmental, critical spirit. Satan can gain ground there also. However, we must be aware that not everything supernatural is from the Holy Spirit.”

   Mrs. Hearn’s book has more material, more pertinent material than can be covered in one page. I would like to end with this quote from Chapter 27, “Although we must never forget that we have an adversary, and always alert to his attacks, our focus must never be on the enemy. Our minds must be stayed on the Lord Jesus Christ. However, we must understand our adversary’s schemes and methods of attack in order to maintain our freedom over him.”

Daily Experience With God

Excerpts from Daily Experience With God by Andrew Murray

   This book is for everyday practical lessons. The author explains the need for and how to have a morning quiet time with God.

   “Let God’s Word every day, and before everything else, lead us to God. Let every blessing in it be a matter of prayer, especially our need for divine teaching. Let our intense attachment to it be our childlike plea and confidence that the Father will help us. Let our prayers be followed by the vow that as God quicken and blesses us, we will obey His commandments. Let all that God’s Word brings to us make us more earnest in longing to carry that Word to others.

Prayer and the Word

   Prayer and the Word are inseparably linked together: power in the use of either depends upon the presence of the other. The Word gives me matter for prayer, telling me what God will do for me. It shows me the path of prayer, telling me how God would have me come. It gives me the power for prayer, the assurance that I will be heard. And it brings me the answer to prayer, as it teaches what God will do for me. Prayer prepares the heart for receiving the Word from God Himself, for the teaching of the Spirit to give the spiritual understanding of it, for the faith that is made partaker of its mighty working.

   Prayer and the Word have one common center–God. Prayer seeks God; the Word reveals God. In prayer, man asks God; in the Word, God answers man. In prayer, man rises to heaven to dwell with God; in the Word, God comes to dwell with man. In prayer, man gives himself to God; in the Word, God gives Himself to man.

Christ became the Son of Man to show us how to live in complete dependence upon God.

Christ came and showed, in a human life, how man has but one thing to live for: to do the will of God. He showed us how there was one way of conquering self-will–by a death to it, in obeying God’s will even unto death.

The question of how we spend our leisure time is very important. It is then that I turn freely and naturally to what I love most.

‘Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven’ Matthew 6:10. The will of God is the living power to which the world owes its existence.

Deception takes place when the outward–that which pleases the eye, interests the mind, or gratifies the taste–takes the place of truth in the inward part, that hidden wisdom in the heart which God gives.

   The daily, returning morning hour is the time for daily renewing of the Holy Spirit into the image of God as righteousness and holiness. We need a time of meditation and prayer to get our heart set upon God’s purposes. We need a true vision of how the inward man can be renewed day by day into the very likeness of God, changed into the same image by the Spirit of the Lord. Let nothing less be your aim or satisfy your aspirations. The image of God, the life of God, is in you, and His likeness can be seen in you. Do not separate yourself from God and His likeness. Let all our trust in Him mean nothing less than finding His likeness formed in you by the renewing of the Holy Spirit.

   Let this be your daily prayer–to be renewed after the image of Him who created you.”

Prayer Makes a Difference

I Timothy 2:1

1 Timothy 2:1-8New International Version (NIV)

Instructions on Worship

2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. ³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time. ⁷ And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying—and a true and faithful teacher of the Gentiles.

⁸ Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing.

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. accessed 23 July 2014 biblegateway.com.

   After observing the godless trends in our nation, we readily recognize the need for change. But God's solution for our predicament is surprising. Paul instructs Timothy to establish some priorities in the church, and first on the list is prayer "for kings and all who are in authority" (1 Tim. 2:2). The reason for our petitions is so that we can live tranquil and godly lives and thereby have unhindered opportunities to tell others about the Savior (vv.2-4).
   Paul wouldn't have given Timothy this instruction unless he believed the prayers of the church would make a difference in achieving God's purposes for their nation. Our problem is not with the Lord's promise or capability, but with our lack of faith. By focusing on the enormity of the problems or the power of those in office, we lose sight of our sovereign God who waits for us to request His intervention.
   Political policies and legislation are not ultimately determined in conference rooms and governmental chambers, but in prayer closets. The voices that shape the direction of a nation are not necessarily those that ring out in legislative halls, but those that approach the throne room of God with bold faith (Heb. 4:16). As the church believes and prayers, the Lord will respond.
   Knowing that God can change a country, you may be wondering why He has waited so long. Maybe He is asking you a similar question: "Why have you waited so long to pray?" Every authority on earth can be touched by the power of prayer if we are willing to ask and believe God.

Stanley, Charles F. Prayer Makes a Difference. Atlanta: In Touch Publication of In Touch Ministries. July 2014. page 55

The Believer's Journey to the Cross

John 12:23-27

New International Version (NIV) downloaded from Bible Gateway

²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
²⁷ “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour."

   We all know that Jesus walked the road to Calvary, but did you know that believers also journey to the cross? We've all been positionally crucified with Christ, but those who hunger for Him participate in a deeper experience of this reality. Jesus lovingly takes their hand and leads them to the cross. Even though this is the last place anyone wants to go, it's the only way to partake of God's best for our lives.
   The trip to the cross is not one you take with family and friends. It's a lonely journey with just you and Jesus. He strips away everyone and everything you've depended on so that you'll learn to rely only on Him. While we're at the cross, He uncovers layer after layer of self-deception until we begin to see ourselves as He does. Soon our self-centeredness, inadequacy, and failures are laid bare.
   The cross is a place of brokenness, but it's necessary because there's no other way we'll ever bear fruit. If we hang onto our lives and refuse to take this journey, we'll be like a grain of wheat that is never planted and never grows. But those who willingly die to themselves will produce an abundance of spiritual fruit. The only way Christ can live His life through us is if we've allowed ourselves to be crucified.
   God doesn't want you to be content with just your salvation. There's so much more He desires to give you and achieve through you. Are you willing to take the road to the cross with Him? Yes, it's painful, but the rewards in this life and in eternity far outweigh any suffering you will experience.

Stanley, Charles F., The Believer's Journey to the Cross, daily devotions, In Touch Publication, April 2014, page 47.