1 John 4:4 NLT
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
Key!
As believers, we have already WON. Period.
It has been written, ”It is finished.”
When these words came out of the mouth of Jesus, it came after He paid the price for our sins. All of them. Past, present, and future. Our sin has been removed from us and tossed into the depths of the sea, never to resurface.
As far as the east is to the west and behind the back of God, never to be looked at again.
We are to give up the doubt, shame, and guilt. If the Word of God says it, who are we to question it?
If we have faith, how can we doubt it? And why do we insist on thinking that our sin is too great for the grace of God?
This should do several things for us:
1. It should release the chains of guilt and shame of our past.
Romans 5:20 NLT
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
Our sin can not overcome the grace of God.
Psalm 86:5 NLT
”Oh Lord, You are so good, so ready to FORGIVE, so full of unfailing love for ALL who ask for Your help.”
His posture is to forgive, our posture should be to repent, and He is full of unfailing love when we ask for His help.
Help to live in His light, help to live for Him, and help to remove the strongholds of sin in our lives both, conscious and unconscious.
Repent, turn away from our sin and turn to God.
James 4:8-10 NLT
Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.
Look at the pattern set before us:
– ”Come close to God, and God will come close to you.” The first move is in our hands. This takes humility.
We are to wash our hands, to come clean.
”Purify our hearts…” How do we do that?
We read the Word of God as often as reasonably possible, maintaining the effectiveness that God wants us to have in this world.
When we read the Word of God, we are ”purifying our hearts” with the only thing capable of doing that.
Our neighbor can’t do that, the person we know who seems to have it all together can’t do that, the rich guy we work for can’t do this; it can only be accomplished by humbly reading and applying the Word of God to our lives.
– Repent. We have to agree with God that the way we were living was not right. We do this with remorse, sorrow, and tears.
There is no excuse or justification for what we have done or how we lived.
”Heavenly Father, I was wrong and I am sorry. Please help me see it another way.”
– ”Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will lift you up in honor.”
When we come humbly before the Lord by immersing ourselves in the Word of God, His words will guide us, give us hope, and show us how we should live in this world.
And if we are humble and submitted, these words will affect our behavior and stand as a witness to the people watching us, both believers and unbelievers.
It will provide hope, and help strengthen those in God’s family.
And it will be used by God to soften the hearts of those who He has chosen.
2. It should give us the desire to continue living in His will.
If we utilize the Word of God correctly, by looking at it as a mirror of our hearts, guiding our actions, not as a magnifying glass to judge those around us and by pressing our will on the people around us, God will use our submitted hearts to change the world around us.
We need to recognize that the result is in the hands of God.
Our job is to submit to the Word of God.
God will use that to make the changes around us, and His outcome will result in something that will surpass anything we could imagine.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word, let it dwell richly in my heart, guiding my actions, accomplishing Your plan, which is superior to anything I can imagine.
Use my life to serve Your purpose, soften my heart, and please make me sensitive to Your Spirit and the needs of those around me.
I humbly and thankfully submit my will to Yours.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏🏻❤️
