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Sermon of the Week 
Wednesday, May 06 2015

You are what you believe you are….

If I were to ask most Christians, what their biggest problem was…they would probably say that their problem was their circumstances, or their sins, their weight, their friends, their physical condition, their family, their church, their job, their finances, their spouse, their relationship with God, their schedule, their responsibilities, their out of control emotions, where they live, their lack of skills or talent…That’s just to mention a few….. But God would respond by telling us that “None of those things are the real problem”

So, WHAT IS THE PROBLEM, THEN, YOU MIGHT ASK……..LET’S LET GOD ANSWER THAT FOR HIMSELF….

John 12:36 “While you have light, believe in the light, that you may be the children of light”. Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, Whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them”

What this is saying to us is….that our problem is with our beliefs. Every area of our lives is a reflection of what we believe. The reason we have so many problems in our lives is because we have so many beliefs that have not been transformed. There are 4 areas of belief that shape our entire lives.

These are: Beliefs about yourself… Beliefs about God… Beliefs about others…and Beliefs about your circumstances

Romans 12:2 says: “We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.” Proverbs 27:3 says: “As a man thinks (believes) in his heart so is he.”

The way we think in these four areas of life will determine how we experience life…. The way we think in these four areas of life will determine how we experience each of these four areas of life. It is of the utmost importance that we not allow ourselves to be deceived and believe, what God thinks about each one of these areas! To believe what God believes about you…To believe what God says about Himself…To believe what God believes about others…To believe what God believes about your circumstances.

The problem with deception is that it is very deceiving. If we knew we were being deceived we would never let it keep happening…..If we, as believers, are the victims of deception in areas which affects our belief system, then surely our number one priority, if we are to experience personal transformation should be the renewing of our minds, so that we think, see and do life, the way God sees it! We can only change our conduct and our actions by changing our beliefs! And that is impossible, if we do not acknowledge that it needs fixing...However, usually we focus on what, how, where and when we do things, and we don’t focus on Why we do what we do!

Folks don’t lose weight and keep it off, until they change the way they think and believe about food! We don’t successfully change, until we change our beliefs about why change is necessary….

Believing Correctly will help you to…. Overcome sins you have been struggling with…Be set free from your negativity and depression…Help you experience a peace that transcends understanding and goes beyond feelings …. it will Strengthen your relationship with God….Get more results with less stress than you’ve ever imagined possible….Allow you to rest confident in God’s goodness, not your own performance and ability….Let you Focus on your beliefs not just your conduct…Focus on growing and developing, not guilt-tripping and self-defeating….

It is important that we don’t allow Satan to deceive us about the important work of the Holy Spirit in every area and function of our lives….

John 16:8 “And when He (the Holy Spirit) has come, He will convict the world (those without Christ) of sin, and (those who know Christ) of righteousness, and of judgment (upon Satan and His works) v9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged”.

Notice that unbelievers are convicted of sin…..and the rest of verse 9 says as believers, the Greek word used is elegchôs which means, “to bring to light.” In other words we are convinced of righteousness, that means when we fall short, He reminds us that we are the righteousness of God in Christ…When we are believing and acting in a way that is below what God says we are….He “brings to light” what Christ has made us to be, so we can now operate in that….

I become “convinced” so that my beliefs can become my daily experience, shaping me into His image! Have you ever tried to say something nice to someone to encourage them and they have taken it the completely opposite way? Maybe you told them that they look great, and they take it that they looked terrible before….and have lost a lot of weight only for them to think you are commenting on the fact that they must have been fat before.

We’ve all experienced people taking what we clearly say and completely misinterpreting it on some level at some point in life. Why does this happen? It’s quite simple really, this happens because of one of two reasons. Either the person is not confident in and of themselves, or they do not trust that you are really saying what you are saying, because they do not trust you as a person.

Now, we can trust the Holy Spirit, and we can always trust His motives. The truth is that you are the righteousness of Christ. You are righteous! That’s why the Holy Spirit is constantly (convincing) you of this fact. If your beliefs are messed up in this area, you won’t live like it is true! Imagine that I get angry at a loved one and Holy Spirit starts to convince me of my righteousness. He says…“you are full of peace and joy… you can be so much greater than what you are settling for right now”, But if I believe that I’m a filthy, dirty, rotten sinner what am I going to hear? I’m going to hear condemnation and conviction of sin. I’m going to hear “ I’m disappointed in you, you got angry and you are supposed to be peaceful and full of joy. You really messed up this time!”

So, instead of repenting and rising to my potential….I will be weighed down in guilt and condemnation. Just to prove my point about how guilt and condemnation centered we are….I’m going to start quoting a verse and I want you to finish it…. Romans 3:23 All have sinned and……you would respond (come short of the glory of God)…Now who here today, can complete this sentence which is finished in the next two verses…(verses 24 and 25) “Our Redemption, that is in Christ Jesus, v25 whom God set before us as a propitiation (atonement) by His blood, is to be received by faith. This was to show God’s own righteousness, because in His divine forbearance he has forgotten our former sins (as though they never existed).” We can Quote the condemning part, but often miss the redemptive part in shaping our belief system!

If God’s voice to you is always hard and condemning and finger pointing at everything in your life….the problem may be that you are hearing Him through the unredeemed beliefs that haven’t yet been transformed through the work of grace! And if you don’t feel He ever speaks to you, perhaps it’s because you’re afraid of what He’s going to say, and you’re not sure you want to hear it….

Let’s settle it once and for all, He’s totally for you, even if He doesn’t like what you may be doing….He loves you like no one ever has, before or since. He totally and completely loves us as we are, but He loves us enough to not leave us that way! Ask for a hearing heart and a listening spirit, because He is speaking, personally, privately, specifically, lovingly, graciously and continuously.

John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that hears My words, and believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life”. Luke 6:47 “Whosoever comes unto me, and hears My words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like, v48 He is like a man which built an house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock”.

IF YOUR LIFE IS BUILT ON THE ROCK OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN CHRIST, YOU CAN STAND FAST, AND OVERCOME EVERY THING THAT COMES AGAINST WHAT YOU HAVE BUILT UPON HIS WORD…..

We are not sinners saved by grace, because having been saved by grace, it is as though we never were sinners! The work of justification means that our past never existed in God’s mind! It is so totally erased, that all He sees is a blank page, covered by the blood of Jesus, and marked “Cancelled”! We are saints saved by grace, and we are redeemed, transformed, new creations in Christ Jesus. We have been made the righteous of God, we didn’t earn it or deserve it, He made us to become that!. We must identify with the new nature, not keep dragging around the old as part of our new identity. So, our beliefs in that work of justification, release us to think, speak and act differently than we ever did before….

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. v18 And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation, v19 this is because God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, (holding it over their heads) and has committed unto us the same word (of the ministry) of reconciliation”.

We were not created to worship God…. God is not so insecure that He needed to create us to worship Him. God did not create man to have more beings worshiping Him… He has millions of angels to do that….He is all sufficient in and of Himself. In fact, even if we didn’t worship Him the rocks and all creation would cry out His praise.

We were created to enjoy having an intimate relationship and fellowship with Him and out of that relationship and fellowship, comes our worship, our praise, our devotion and our good works….

Our challenge is not to love God more but to receive and to embrace His love more and more. As we focus on God’s love for us our love for Him will grow. It is in letting God love us, that we learn how to love ourselves and others, and it is then that we learn the true capacity of our own love! It is then, that we become more involved in loving than being loved in return, and our feelings don’t get hurt, and we don’t get easily offended at others, because it is in the very act of loving, that we are expressing His love and then experiencing that love flowing back to us.

We are told in Mark 12:30 “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength”.

This verse is called the greatest commandment, and yet, love cannot be commanded or demanded, because it must be given freely, by choice, and from a free will! We choose to love, because when we were unlovely, He loved us, and gave Himself for us! It was unconditional and it was undeserved!

The same is true of Holiness….Holy living is not achieved out of obligation or from trying hard, but it comes out of believing, trusting and falling in love with the Lord. We cannot achieve holiness, by how we act, how we speak, or anything we do out of our own effort….I say this because, Holiness is what Christ has made us to become….we don’t get saved and become 10 percent Holy….then work and strive to reach the place where we are a little more holy than the areas where we are not holy…

So we strive to become 51% holy, where holiness now outweighs the other part that is unholy….Even if we become 80% holy, then we are still unholy!....When we try to measure holiness on a percentage scale, we turn salvation into a system of works and bring ourselves back under condemnation. We reject grace and make it all about how well we perform instead of what God has imparted out of His own love and grace. 1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should show forth the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: v10 Which in times past were not a people, but are now are the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy”.

Holiness means “set apart, reserved for, and separated” unto Him….He did that when you received Him as your Savior and made Him your Lord! His standard for holiness is not what we do, or what we say, or how much our good outweighs our bad. Rather His standard is who He has made us to be! He set us apart for Himself, for His blessings, for His provision, and for His promises…..His grace gave that to us, we don’t earn it or deserve it! The question is, what will we do with it!!!!

Let’s not fall for the age-old trap of thinking we are earning something based on our own effort. We are not overcoming our sin and becoming more righteous, rather we are being convinced by the Holy Spirit of who Christ has made us to be and as we believe it more and more, it begins to be manifested in our lives more and more.

You CAN BE HOLY, because YOU ARE HOLY! What is your part in this? Just receive what God has already provided in Christ from a place of trust and belief. Then out of that reality and truth, you begin to talk, think and act as you believe you are! Can you thank the Lord right now that He has made you holy!!!!

Francois du Toit said… “Any information that dwells on your lack and emptiness and leaves you with a sense of always falling short rather than emphasizing our completeness in Christ, is a clear distraction from the truth” – We are not orphans or abandoned children, but we are beloved sons and daughters of the most High God!

Jesus said in Matthew 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? v31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? v32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. v33 But seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.

We do without, and we suffer lack, because we believe things, which have limited us, blocked us and stolen from us….Jesus always put the emphasis on what we believe and why we believe it.

Mark 16:17 “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues v18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover”.

What we believe will be the ruling influence of our actions and our words…

Robert Anthony…“You can have anything you want if you will give up the belief that you can't have it.”

Dennis Waitley…“If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't, for belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.”

Saint Augustine…“Seek not to understand, so you can believe, but believe so that you may understand.” Satan’s deceptions never change God's mind about us, but they often succeed in changing our mind about God…

Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? v32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God has always been and will always be for you….He is there for you right now, working out things, before you ever get there….He has gone ahead of you, to make sure all you need is available to do whatever He has asked you to do. God looks at you through the finished work of Christ on the cross, He said, “It is finished”… then, He went further to seal it by rising from the dead!

You can’t impress God with anything that you’re able to drum up by sweating and trying and striving. He’s already impressed with you, since you are created in His very own image, redeemed, set apart, called and anointed!!! He loves you as you are, not as you think you ought to be. The Holy Spirit is not trying to change God’s mind about us, but He is convincing our minds about God and what God believes about us and sees us to be in Christ.

We could compare the Christian life to the Four Key Elements… Earth, Wind, Fire and Water….

The first element, is Earth, and it represents the grounded life…Jesus was called the Son of man and Son of God…He had a spiritual linage and an earthly linage….. this element is about allowing Christ to develop our whole person, as He shapes us and molds us more and more, into His image and likeness. It is about expanding and growing in faith and our belief about who we are and what we have in Christ, so that our earthly experience comes into alignment with our spiritual heritage and position…. It’s about living a life that is deeply rooted in constant, unchanging values like faith, family, and character, which are fueled by regular study of the Scriptures, habitual meditation and conversation with God, a prayerful listening ear to hear His voice and living our lives with a desire to be pleasing to Him.

The element of earth speaks of nurturing our earthly relationships with generosity, attentiveness, time, caring and tenderness. It speaks of opening our soul to every event that stimulates and inspires integrity, honesty, perseverance, true courage, faithfulness, goodness, and compassionate Christ-like love… Are we living in the grounded element of earth?

The second element is wind, and it speaks of the inspired life…..It is what powers the sails of our Spirit and propels us forth, when all else falls short….Like a sailor who knows how to set the sails of his boat to catch the slightest breezes God might send his way, we catch the winds of the Spirit’s inspiration, and allow it to carry us in the direction of God’s will and God’s ways.

The wind of inspiration may come as dreams, visions, the quite inner voice of God, prophecy, words of knowledge and as wisdom from above. This inspiration allows the church to be edified, guided and directed by God……Are we living in the element of Wind?….

The third element is Fire…..and this element is about living the passionate, anointed and empowered Life which breaks us out of mundane, common place, same old--same old Christianity and creates an atmosphere and climate for super-natural, extraordinary living, even in ordinary places and situations! It is a life that is spiritually motivated, kingdom oriented, and actively engaged with God’s new creation mission of redemption and restoration, in this world which He loves so much.

Fire speaks of that which continually cleanses, refines, purifies and consecrates us! Fire compels us to take a stand, even when we stand alone….it compels us to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves…to be a faithful servant and supporter of the abandoned, the rejected, the lonely and the outcast. Are we living in the element of fire?

Last is The Element Of Water…..Water pours from the highest mountains and flows through the lowest valleys…. The ocean water that has touched the shores of Key West, has made it’s way around the world….It speaks of the global impact which every believer can have in prayer, in giving, in witnessing, In relationships….

Who could have known that as John the Baptist stepped into the Jordon to baptize Jesus in that remote area of the world, that what was done in those waters would echo around the globe. When we move in the river of God, it takes us places we never planned to go, and allows us to accomplish things we never imagined we could ever do….Do we allow the element of water to take us to the lowest areas of our community or the highest levels, as God wishes it? The call goes out….

John 4:14 “Whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst again, for the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”.

Just as our physical body is mostly water, and must have water to sustain it, the body of Christ functions best, in the river of God….God has so designed us in His body, the church, that we all have a vital place, just as each part of our body, joined to every other part….is positioned, fashioned, and designed to flow together in God’s great river of His plan of the ages. No part is more important than any other part, and the body could not be whole and complete without every connection, functioning and working as it was intended by God….!

Ephesians 4:15 “But speaking the truth in love, that we may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: v16 From whom the whole body is fitly joined together and is compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, making increase of the body by the edifying of itself in love”.

May God continue to transform our thinking that we may believe and trust Him that we are what He sees us and designed us to be, so that we may continue to receive all that He has prepared for us! You can’t improve on what He has done, and nothing needs to be added to it, or taken from it….

His work and His plan for you and me is perfect, complete, and is ours as we believe and receive it! He has made provision for each of us, and the future which is planned for each of us is beyond our wildest expectations, and it shall come to pass, even as every generation that has come before us is able to see how their time fits together and connects with every other generation before them, to connect the dots of the Father’s eternal purpose.

Each part lived out by every person is a vital link to that which will come after. May we be true to our generational calling, as it was said of David, may it be said of of us….. Acts 13:36 “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, was laid to rest with his fathers…”

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that you should shew forth the praises of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”

There is a new manifestation of His Kingdom waiting for us to discover, each day of each year! Jesus is letting us know that if we will let go of all our self- limiting, negative, beliefs about life and faith and the church, we can move into a gospel of God’s good news story repeating itself again and again!

We are not about hanging on to the past, but welcoming another opportunity to live out and tell our story. Yes, we may get stung here or there, but there’s lot’s of honey as well!

Luke 12:29 "Don't spend time thinking about what you will eat or drink. Don't worry about it. 12:30 People who are ungodly run after all of those things. Your Father knows that you need them. 12:31 "But put God's kingdom first. Then those other things will also be given to you. 12:32 Do not be afraid. Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom”.

Jesus is telling us to reorient our thinking . . change our direction. Stop living like it's yesterday, or last year, or some point in our past. Stop reliving the pain, the disappointment, the mistakes, the failures… and know that it may have happened, but it is not who you are, but it is an opportunity to reveal the real you. Your past has an expiration date, but your future goes on into forever!

Feelings follow thoughts like a caboose follows a locomotive. If the locomotive goes into the valley, then the caboose will follow it down into the valley. But if the locomotive goes up a mountain, the caboose will also go up the mountain. If my thoughts go down, my emotions go down. If my thoughts go up, my emotions and actions go up... My mind, thoughts and beliefs, are the engine and my words, emotions and actions are the caboose!

The problem for most of the listeners in Jesus’ day, wasn't immorality or criminal behavior. It was just the spiritual rut they were in; Jesus was calling them to turn away from their comfortable, theologically fortified status quo. They needed to turn from their empty religious routines, their flimsy faith, their small expectations, their fears and doubts about God, their religious prejudices, their cynical unbelief, and their fear of rejection. They needed to turn from beliefs that bore no good fruit in their daily lives, and routines and patterns that didn't include love for others and a passion for seeing lives transformed! They needed to grab the “gusto” of spiritual transformation and revival!

Jesus asks us to lift our expectations. The kingdom is here whether you believe it or not, but your decision to believe it will open a door for you to participate and enter in to it. We are partners with God in creating who we are and who we will be… He has given us the hammer and chisel to work with Him in shaping and forming who we will be!

If you helped create it, then you can help change it! Our faith isn't about playing it safe, but taking the personal risk to work as partners with God to perform his works in our circles of influence at school and work, in our neighborhoods, with family members and friends. It’s about believing that in every situation, He will make a way where there is no way! He has given us the tools we need to carve out the change that is needed! It’s knowing that the Holy Spirit within us will give us the right approach, the right thing to say and the right way to say it, in each situation and with each person. If God be for us, who and what can stand against us!!!

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