DIG for Tuesday the 18th of August…..what we need to say more is, “I am”……Ephesians 4 v 24

At the bible study last night we were discussing our position in Christ, and how the understanding of that is far more important than any works, deeds or religious performance.

The account of when Moses asked God what he should tell the people was shared, especially the part where Moses says who shall I say sent me.

God said to tell them that I am hath sent you (Exodus 3 v 14).

Now I am not suggesting that we talk like this but it was suggested that we say, “I am” a lot more.

When people talk about righteousness we need to say, “I am”.

When people talk about the love of God we need to say, “I am”.

When people talk about forgiveness we need to say, “I am”.

God used His Word to justify who He was; we also can use the Word to justify who we are through Christ.

We can say, “I am”, because the Word says so; we need no further justification.

I can say that I am righteous, forgiven and loved by God because His Word says so.

We can all say we are holy and we are saints because they Word of God says so.

We can stand up and rightly say, “I am” when we are talking about being holy and being a saint.

Are you a saint this morning, are you holy, are you righteous, are you loved by God and are you forgiven?

I am!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for your Word and thank you for the truths we read within about who we are in Christ and through Christ”.

Ephesians 4 v 24…..And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness

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DIG for Monday the 17th of August…..wonderful words and just when I needed them…..Proverbs 3 v 5 and 6

My Bible fell open on my desk tonight at Proverbs chapter 3, with my highlighting of verse 5 and 6 clear for me to see; and boy did I need to see that tonight!

Sometimes we have issues and problems in our lives with no clear solution, yet we have to do something.

We pray, seek the Lord and then base our decisions on what we think we hear; or that is how we should do it.

God’s way is always the best way, far better than our way.

When we make decisions sometimes we will look back and think, “Was that the right decision?”

In a case like this if we have sought the Lord and made an honest decision, then we have to stop worrying about it and move on.

OK, we may not make the correct decision all the time, but if we have prayed and sought the Lord we have more chance of making the right decision.

Don’t let worry and doubt creep in, accept your decision and move on.

You may be right, you may be wrong; but worrying and stressing will not change what you did.

Trust in the Lord, and trust in yourself; trust that you did hear Him correctly.

The Lord wants to direct our paths more than we want Him to.

He has a plan and purpose for us, and He wants us, and those with whom we have a sphere of influence, to proper and be in health.

Seek the Lord, ask for His advice, listen then do what you think the Lord has told you.

That is a good model, and a model that does not include looking back with anxiety and stress.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that we can trust you and seek your face for all decisions that we need to make”.

Proverbs 3 v 5 and 6…..Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths

DIG for Sunday the 16th of August…..no condemnation, no damnation…..Romans 8 v 1

Did you know that the phrase “in Christ Jesus” is Paul’s way of saying born again?

So if you have invited Jesus onto your life you will know that you are indeed born again.

What a great chapter Romans 8 is as it states from the outset that there is nothing you can do that puts you at odds with Jesus Christ.

The word condemnation used in verse 1 is a crucial word in the Greek; it actually means damned as well as condemnation.

That is the truth; if you are born again you are not damned.

There is no need to fear hell or satan (yes, small “s”, he is not important).

If you get thoughts that tell you that you are no good and that God does not love you then you know that this is not from God.

Religion constantly tells you that you have to do this or that or you will lose your salvation; what does that tell you about a great deal of religious attitudes?

Paul makes it clear that if you are born again there is no opportunity for damnation, none!

This is not based on your actions but on the prefect act of Jesus and the finished work of the cross.

There is nothing you can do that can separate you from God’s love.

Or would you rather cut out Romans 8, and especially verse 1 from your Bible?

Believe the Bible!

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am free from condemnation and damnations because of my faith in Jesus and His finished work”.

Romans 8 v 1…..There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit

DIG for Saturday the 15th of August…..lots of benefits that should never be forgotten…..Psalm 103 v 2

My Bible opened up this evening at Psalm 103, telling me not to forget all the benefits from the Lord.

This fits right in with the series of messages that I am currently preaching at MGF.

We are looking just now at our true identity, about who we are in Christ and what we have through Him.

All the things we have been made and given because of Jesus and His finished work are the benefits that David was writing about in this Psalm.

We should never forget that we have been reconciled and forgiven (2 Corinthians 5 v 18 and 19 and Ephesians 1 v 7).

We should never forget that we have been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 21).

We should never forget that we are holy and saints (Ephesians 4 v 24).

We should never forget that above all things God wants us to live in health and prosperity (3 John 2).

We should never forget that by His stripes we were healed (1 Peter 2 v 24).

We should never forget that Jesus was made poor so that we might be made rich (2 Corinthians 8 v 9).

We should never forget that we have been accepted into God’s family and are no joint-heirs with Christ (Ephesians 1 v 5 and 6 and Romans 8 v 17).

Remember these truths and you will be blessed.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for all for all the benefits that you have given me as a gift of grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ”.

Psalm 103 v 2…..Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits

DIG for Friday the 14th of August……you may sin, but that doesn’t stop you being a saint…..Ephesians 4 v 24

I have been writing and teaching a lot recently about our position in Christ and how this is important in comparison to our performance.

For example we are righteous as a gift of grace through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ rather than anything we do.

The same is true for holiness.

We are holy simply by being born again; we are declared as a saint through our position in Christ.

Holiness is not about what we do, it is about what we are.

When Paul wrote to the church at Corinth (twice) he called the brothers and sisters saints (or holy ones) (1 Corinthians 1 v 2 and 2 Corinthians 1 v 1).

Now the believers in this church were not perfect in their performance, we just need to read some of the things Paul was telling them.

He called them saints because of their position in Christ and with Christ, not because of their holy works or religious performance.

The same is true for us; we are saints because we were made holy when we were born again.

Our new man, our born again spirit, was created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4 v 24).

The real part of us (our born again spirit) is now as holy as it will ever be!

You can, and probably will sin, but this will not affect your holiness (that is not an excise to sin by the way).

As you realise you are a saint, as you tell yourself that you are holy, your mind will be renewed, you will be transformed and you will lead a more holy life; this is what the Word says (Ephesians 4 v 23 and 24 and Romans 12 v 2).

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that I am holy and that I am a saint”.

Ephesians 4 v 24…..And that ye put on the new man, which after God was created in righteousness and true holiness.

DIG for Thursday the 13th of August…..God wants all to be saved and it has always been this way…..2 Peter 3 v 9

I had the pleasure of listening to the testimony of a fellow pastor at a men’s breakfast this morning.

He mentioned how he was thankful for all the times God had His hands on him prior to becoming a Christian, more often than not without him realising.

God has a plan and purpose for every person born, and part of that plan and purpose is salvation.

God wants everyone to come to salvation (2 Peter 3 v 9).

As the pastor was talking I was reminded about many things that happened in my life prior to coming to the Lord.

I can now see that God had His hand on my life, after all His plan and purpose for my life was to become a pastor.

The same will be true for you.

God has something unique for you to do as well and He will be telling you about this.

You may think, but I’ve not heard anything; the truth is that He will be talking to you but the key is for you to listen and understand.

Eventually (and I do say eventually) my friend testifying this morning and I heard the call of the Lord, listened and obeyed.

God will be putting people across your path, be speaking to you, trying initially to see you saved and then to move you towards His plan and purpose for your life.

He will not force you however, you need to listen and obey.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you have a plan and purpose for my life, help me hear what you are saying to me today”.

2 Peter 3 v 9…..The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance

 

DIG for Wednesday the 12th of August…..faith not actions, that is what is important…..Hebrews 11 v 6

Hebrews 11 is what I call the faith chapter. Here we see how important faith is rather than actions, even actions that include good works and religious performance.

Hebrews 11 is full of great people of our faith, and these people are indeed great people of faith.

It was by faith and through faith that they succeeded and moved into the plan and purpose that God ad for them.

Yes, I have to agree that they did many mighty things, great deeds and actions but these always came after faith.

And it was not their actions and great deeds that pleased God; look at Hebrews 11 v 6 if you don’t believe me.

This verse says that it is their faith that pleased God, telling us that it is faith that is important; faith is the key.

This was important for Abraham, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Moses and Rahab.

Do you think it is any different for us today?

No it is not, but we are to have faith in something different.
Under grace and under the New Covenant we are to have faith in Jesus and His finished work.

We are to have faith in His performance and faith that we are made righteous as a gift of grace through faith in Him.

Many stumble at this and try to achieve through their own performance, trust in Jesus and His performance and succeed.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord for the finished work of Jesus Christ and thank you that we can have faith in Him and His performance”.

Hebrews 11 v 6…..But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him

DIG for Tuesday the 11th of August…..past tense, that is the new covenant…..Ephesians 1 v 3

Many people think that the Christian walk is all about getting through this life on earth and then receiving good things once we get into Heaven.

Now, I don’t doubt that Heaven is going to be awesome and full of wonderful things, but life is meant to be good (or abundant) for Christians while here on earth (John 10 v 10).

Life under the new covenant is not meant to be a life waiting for good things.

God wants us to have good things right now, including healing and prosperity for example (3 John v 2).

The new covenant is all about what Jesus has done and what we have received as a result.

The new covenant is all about what already has been done.

We have already been forgiven and reconciled to God (Ephesians 1 v 7 and 2 Corinthians 5 v 17 and 18).

As a gift of grace through faith in Jesus we have already been made righteous (2 Corinthians 5 v 17).

Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ and our faith in that we already have all spiritual blessings (Ephesians 1 v 3).

We are not meant to be waiting for blessings from God, we are meant to be enjoying those blessings right now.

Can you see that Ephesians 1 v 3 is a verse in the past tense?

We already have all spiritual blessings; indeed we already have all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1 v 3).

We have it all now, we have all we need already, and God has already provided for all we need through Jesus and the new covenant.

It is time to stop looking forward and start enjoying these blessings.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that through Jesus you have already provided me with all spiritual blessings”.

Ephesians 1 v 3…..Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

DIG for Monday the 10th of August…..never be in doubt that God loves you…..Isaiah 53 v 10

Many of us know verse after verse about how God loves us, but sometimes we do not actually feel it or believe that He loves us.

At a time like this we should head for Isaiah 53 v 10 and see how much God really does love us.

Isaiah 53 is a prophetic chapter telling us about the coming of Jesus and what He would do with regards to sin, sickness, poverty and disease.

Verse 10 is very graphic speaking about what God would do to Jesus to achieve His mission.

The Word says God would “bruise” Jesus.

The Hebrew word here is “daw-kaw” and means to crush, to destroy, or to beat to pieces.

Jesus was utterly destroyed on the cross for us and it pleased the Lord (Isaiah 53 v 10).

He loves you so much that He was prepared to utterly destroy His only begotten Son.

He did that for you as it pleased Him to see mankind reconciled and forgiven.

Once sin was dealt with it pleased the Lord to offer you salvation and righteousness.

Through faith in Jesus and His finished work we can be made the righteousness of God and that pleases Him.

God wants every man to come to repentance and be saved; that is what pleases Him.

And to achieve this He “bruised” Jesus; and He did it just for you because He loves you.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you loved me, you still love me and you will forever love me”.

Isaiah 53 v 10…..Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand

DIG for Sunday the 9th of August…..don’t give up on anyone, God never does…..Acts 9 v 3 and 4

Saul was a terrible man in the eyes of the first Christians; he persecuted them, watched the death of Stephen and was on his way to persecute more of them in Damascus.

He was a zealous Jew who was intent on wiping out this new faith in Jesus off the face of the earth.

No one in his or her right mind would have predicted that he would go on to spread the Gospel, evangelise most of the known world and write the majority of the New Testament.

Yet God did not give up on him; God had a plan and purpose for his life.

God spoke to him and turned his life around and changed him for the better.

God did not give up on him and Saul heard him.

God wants everyone to be saved (2 Peter 3 v 9) and has a plan and purpose for everyone.

Even the vilest offender in our eyes is not beyond redemption.

Even the most horrible person in our eyes is not beyond hearing from God and having their life turned around.

Saul, who obviously became Paul, is a picture for us to never give up on anyone; we should never think anyone is “too far gone” to be reached and touched by God.

We are to play our part by not giving up on people, on friends and family who just do not seem to want to hear from or about God.

We should keep on in there, telling them about the Lord and showing them his love, mercy and compassion. We never know when a person will hear and respond.

Speak this out today…..”Thank you Lord that you want every man to come to repentance and be saved”.

Acts 9 v 3 and 4…..And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and head a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutes thou me?