8. The Humility of God

If anyone could be without humility and have pride surely it would be God Himself.  After all He is majestic, all powerful, all knowing, ever present, eternal and Creator.  No one compares to Him.  Part of our humility as we will discuss in more detail later is of course as Moses put it, ‘Ascribe greatness to our God’.[1]  Worshipping and praising our great God.  We see pictures and displays throughout the Bible that present and show to us the endless wonder of our God – He speaks and the world is created.  He brings life into barren wombs.  He delivers His people from Egypt with awesome and majestic displays of His power!  Walls crumble, giants tumble, fire falls, lions tamed and the dead are raised with God entering the scene.  Revelations we see a picture of the splendid and awe inspiring throne room of God; a sinless and perfect zone with angels proclaiming the praises of God constantly, spectacular beasts around the altar 24/7 declaring the holiness of God and elders throwing their crowns before God and bowing in adoration and worship.
What an awesome God we serve!  Amazing, powerful and perfect in all He does.

Despite all God’s glory and power and majesty we discover also the humility of God.  Check out this amazing passage that is recorded by the Psalmist, “The LORD is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens. Who is like the LORD our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?“[2]  This passage starts off declaring how high our God is and that no one compares to Him and then it actually states that God has to humble Himself to look at the things that are in the heavens and the earth!?!?  God actually has to make Himself smaller in some way, reduce His greatness and power to just look into the heavens and earth.  Wow!!!  Even in heaven, a sinless, perfect, glorious atmosphere God has to in some way humble Himself to be there.  Amazing!

The humility of God doesn’t stop there; God created mankind to have fellowship with them and even though we have sinned God continues to want to have communion with us.  He desires communion and intimacy with us so much that even though mankind has fallen short of His standards God humbles Himself further and comes to earth as a man to take on our sin and punishment so that we could be free to once again have clear and open relationship with Him.  A verse which we have already looked at states that ” Though he was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.   Instead, He gave up his divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.  When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross”.[3]  The awesome humility shown by Jesus not clinging onto a perfect, comfortable existence but coming to earth to make a way for us to free.  He came not as a full grown man, with legions of angels behind Him forcing His way onto earth and demanding people kneel before Him.   He didn’t come as rich, successful and bucket loads of charm wooing and buying His way into men’s hearts.  No, no, no He came as the weakest form of mankind a baby, born not in a palace but a stable.  He has experienced everything that we go through the Bible states – what humility to show towards us.

Remember also God the Father and His humility towards us.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life”.[4]  God didn’t not withhold anything from us!  He didn’t try some second rate plan but sent the best of Heaven to take our place and restore relationship with Him.  God would have been just and right if He had decided to roll earth up, wrap the universe in a ball and destroy it and start it all over again.  But no, so much is His love and humility toward you, so much is His desire for intimacy and relationship with you that He was willing to move empty Heaven of its greatest treasure and allow mankind to spit, beat and reject Jesus as He took our place the wrath of God upon Himself for us.  Amazing!

Jesus not only in humility came to us but exampled humility to us.  His sinless life showed us in every aspect how to be in humility to both God and man.  Though He was still fully God – He chose to fully also be man and live as we do.  He showed humility in His dependence upon the power of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Father.  Jesus was born by the Holy Spirit;[5] lived and was guided by the Holy Spirit[6] and was raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit[7] - talk about absolute dependence upon the Holy Spirit.  Jesus stated at the beginning of His earthly ministry the ultimate words of humility and dependence upon the Holy Spirit when He quoted the words in the book of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”[8]  Preaching the Gospel to the poor, healing the sick, seeing the captives freed, going to the rejected and unaccepted and bringing them to the light and life of the world.  That’s our Jesus;  His great humility shown towards us.  He was rejected by His own people, by the religious elite but to those who were willing to hear His grace, mercy and power was poured out.  Finally He laid down His life for all of mankind on the cross, in obedience to His Father’s will, He took our place and made the only way through which we can be restored and accepted into right relationship with the Father.  What amazing and self-sacrificing humility!

Now Jesus has made a way for us – He has died and been resurrected from the dead by the power of God – anyone who believes, repents and accepts Him as Lord and Saviour will be saved and adopted as children of God.  That could of been the end of the God’s humility; He has done the finished work through the cross; a way has been made – but no!  Such is God’s humility that not only does He make a way but then He draws us into that way and to Himself and sends His Holy Spirit into every open life that would surrender to God.  Jesus after He has been resurrected doesn’t just disappear and leave everyone to work it out, He doesn’t come in some overpowering blast of glory and demand acceptance and worship.  He again shows His humility, walk with two disciples on Emmaus Road patiently sharing the truth, He is prodded in His wounds to prove He is the Christ and He is experimented on, given fish to prove He is no ghost.  He serves breakfast for His disciples bringing them back to their call to be fishers of men – showing them with grace and tenderness that without
Him they are catching nothing; bringing them to the ultimate question that He desires and longs for an affirmative answer; “Do you love me”?  Splendid is His humility towards us; how could we ever reject Him and answer no?

This is where it just goes beyond amazing – Jesus leaves to go and prepare a place for us; and God gives us even more of Himself; the Holy Spirit.  No longer is God just on us or with us – which in itself is amazing but
He goes even further and live in us!  Wow!  Oh I know I am going to be harping on this point often throughout this book, but we so need to know, understand, belief, recognized and live with this one truth in our hearts and mind – God now lives within us!  We are His temples, His dwelling place.  To what extent is up to us; is He just in our foyer, the doorway and entrance of our lives or does He have full reign in every room of our lives.  See this is not just amazing – that He lives in us, but even more stunning is that He wants to use us and allow His power to flow through our lives.  His amazing humility is present for those who would come to Him just as they are in weakness and frailty and say God use me for your glory.  More often then not God does not come to a person a blast them away with His power and glory in some theophany experience – in fact in all cases God comes knocking on our hearts asking for entrance.  The instrument that He likes to use the most as a knocker or doorbell is a life that is filled with the Holy Spirit – one person sharing the greatness, humility and love of God to another.

Friends, God doesn’t come and blast away our will and ability to choice by overpowering us with His power and glory – as much as He is willing to move in that way.  His choice is to come in humility, gentleness and love; with open arms He calls out to whoever will listen.  With grace and mercy He knocks on our hearts.  Let me ask you this, what earthly king gets of his throne and comes and knocks at the door of your home and states that they want to spend time with you; and yet the King of all kings comes and knocks on our the door of our hearts and lives.  What’s more is that He is unrelenting in His pursuit of us, despite rejection and betrayal He persists continually in His attempt to have relationship with you and me.  Beloved before we can export and show humility before God and others we must daily accept the continual and constant humility of God as that He gives to us.   He is our prime example and even more importantly our source of true humility.

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[1] Deuteronomy 32:3

[2] Psalm 113:4-6

[3] Philippians 2:6-8

[4] John 3:16

[5] Matthew 1:18

[6] Luke 3:22, Luke 4:1, Acts 2:22

[7] 1 Peter 3:18

[8] Luke 4:18-19

6e. What to Battle For (In Prayer)

“Target Acquired”

 So now that we are all dressed up in the armour of God and we know who our enemy is, do we just go for nuts and smash whatever we can?  Or do we stand around looking good but with no where to go, no target or purpose to go after.  Paul after stating all the pieces of armour of God on that we are to pray; pray with all supplication in the Spirit.[1]  That’s great, God’s armour is to stand against the devil and to be used in prayer but for what purpose?  Remember we are more specifically talking about going to war in prayer, but I believe  this can very well apply to all that we do and pray.  Our focus, our pursuit should always be that the Kingdom of God might be extended and God might be glorified.

Jesus said we are to “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness”.[2]  He actually promises that as we do this He will take care of all other things.  The prayer Jesus taught His disciples began with the pronouncement of letting the Kingdom and will of God being done in earth as it is in Heaven.[3]  In other words that the Kingdom of God be extended here on earth as it is perfectly seen in Heaven.  Jesus prayer to the Father that we see recorded in John 17, He prays for Himself, for His disciples and all who will follow Him.  He prays for unity, truth and love to be given to us.  For what purpose or goal does Jesus pray for these things to be evident in those who believe in Him?  That God may be glorified and that His righteousness might be evident in and through our lives.

Friends, prayer that will tear down the kingdom of this world and see the kingdom of God extended is the target and purpose of our prayers; it is the reason we go into battle.  When we pray for the salvation of our family members, colleagues and people in our cities and nations we are praying with the purpose of God’s kingdom being extended; that they would be taken out of the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of light.  When we pray for holiness and righteousness for the people of God we are coming against the powers of this world that would hinder God’s people from living a pure and powerful life.  We are praying that the kingdom of God would be expanded in our lives so that we would glorify God and bring honour to His name.  We are seeking first His righteousness!

We are to see the enactment of Christ’s victory in our lives, homes and community for the purpose of the extension of God’s Kingdom and that Jesus might be glorified throughout the earth.  Jesus has given us the authority to stand in His name and push back the realm of the
devil.  “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”  And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but ratherrejoice because your
names are written in heaven.”[4]  Wow!   Like lightning from the sky the devil fell and was defeated.  But in this Jesus again tells us our purpose and the reason that we should rejoice and be glad… that the Kingdom of Heaven is being populated with our names!

As the church of Jesus Christ and the people of God we have been given the authority to forbid and permit things on earth to be as they are in Heaven.[5]  We have been given the armour, we have been given the authority and marching orders and we have the purpose and target.  Let us battle in prayer and see the extension of God’s Kingdom.  Let’s fight the good fight for the souls of men and women.  Let’s declare the healing of those who are down and out so that God might be glorified.  Let us fight for the righteousness of Christ to be evident in and through our lives, so that the world might sit up and take notice as we draw attention to our holy God!  Stand up soldiers, it’s time to get serious about prayer and take ground through the power of prayer and the authority given to us in Jesus Christ!

“God we right now determine in our hearts to pursue the extension of Your Kingdom in our lives, in our homes, in our families, in our places of work and study and in our communities through the battle ground of prayer.  Holy Spirit teach us what it means to pray.  Teach us what it means to take ground for Your glory.  Teach us how to pray in such a way that Your Kingdom is extended through the coming in of souls.  Hallelujah we love and in everything want to be obedient to You, our Great and Mighty Warrior King!”

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[1] Ephesians 6:18

[2] Matthew 6:33

[3] Matthew 6:9-13

[4] Luke 10:17-20

[5] Matthew 16:17-19; Matthew 18:18-20

6f. The Sword of the Spirit

Sword of the Spirit

“God’s Word”

We are told right away that the Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God; the Bible!  Now I don’t know if it is just my imagination running wild, or it could be just my male blood getting the better of me, but I have often picked up anything that half resembled a sword; an umbrella, a ruler, a pool noodle, a stick; and started swinging and pretending to fight.  There is a sense of power that comes when we hold this weapon of a sword.

My friends, we have a sword in our procession, and it is the Word of God.  We are told in this very book that the “word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”[1]  How silly would it be for a soldier to go into battle without their weapon? It would be just as foolish for the Christian prayer warrior to enter into the battleground without God’s Word written on their hearts.

You don’t know how pumped I am right now to talk about God’s Word; I love God’s Word; I
wish I could memorize and know all of it.  Often while praying, I just carry God’s Word in my hands just to remind myself of the simple fact that whenever I pray according to God’s Word I am swinging a mighty sword in the spiritual realm.  It is the very truth of God revealed to us.  Without writing a whole book on God’s Word which I would love to do one day; here are a few points we need to remember about the Sword of the Spirit that the Holy Spirit has given so that we might be equipped.

The first thing we need to understand is that God’s Word is living.

We do not gather around God’s Word to do an autopsy and dissect it to try and get some more revelation.  God’s Word is not dead; it is alive!  The Word became flesh and dwelt among us[2]… this should be the cry of our hearts every time we come around the Bible; Father, let your Word become flesh and abide in me and let me abide in Your Word.  In fact Jesus said that this would be one of the characteristics of His disciple.  He said, “If you are my disciples, you will abide in My Word and My Word will abide in you, and then you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”[3]  We must allow God’s Word to examine our lives daily and live in us.

God’s Word to us is about the impartation of life into our spiritual man not knowledge.  Too many times we fall into the very trap that Adam and Eve fell into.  We give them a hard time for going after the tree of knowledge of good and evil and not going to eat solely from the tree of life.  We must guard ourselves from going into the Garden of God’s Word with the motive of purely seeking after knowledge.  We desire to abide in God’s Word and God’s Word to abide in us because it is life.  Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God; the bread of life.  To live we must not just study what bread looks like or the benefits of it; its texture, complexion and softness.  No!  We must consume and eat it and allow the bread of life to sustain us.

Jesus stated to the devil that a person doesn’t just live of physical bread alone, but infact on every Word that comes from the mouth of God.[4]  God’s very Word is what gave us life and is what sustains us day by day.  Our each and every breath is a gift from God.   Let us be sure to approach God’s Word in an attitude of awe and reverence ready to submit our lives in humble obedience – God’s Word is alive!

Second, God’s Word is powerful.

Beloved, if it was good enough for Jesus to use when He came across the path of the devil in the desert and was tempted, it is good enough for us.  “It is written…”, what absolute power there was when Jesus said these words, not only because He knew the words and had memorized the Scripture, but also because it had the backing of all Heaven behind them.
The Bible says that it is as strengthen ourselves in God’s Word and as we abide in God’s Word that we will overcome the wicked one.[5]

God spoke and the very universe came into existence!   How amazing and crazy awesome is our God that He can just speak the Words and they go out and come into existence.  What’s more is that He has given us a Book in which contains the very Words of God.  Whoever will have the faith to read what God has said and believe it will see His power and glory displayed.  Infact the Bible let’s us know that faith comes through hearing the Word of God![6]  As we allow God’s Word to infiltrate the way in which we think and live, faith will continue to increase.

I love the story told in the Gospel of Matthew of the centurion who just simply believed that if Jesus would just give the word and say His servant would be healed then it would be done.[7]  Jesus actually was amazed at this bloke’s faith and understanding of the power of God to go forth and do and heal the servant.  God’s Word is powerful and as we believe what He says we will truly see how amazing and mind blowing His Word is.

The Word of God will go out and it will return with results.[8]  That is there is such power in the Word of God that when you speak it out with faith it is going to have an effect.  I have never read in any Gospel passage Jesus speaking healing over someone and it not having results.  We need to have that same belief and trust in the words of Christ given to us in the Bible; that when we come into a situation speaking something in His name it is going to happen!  God’s Word is living and eternal.[9]  It gives life and will go on forever.  Praise God!

If you are filled with the Holy Spirit and unwavering belief in the Word of God, friend you have all you need to go out and see the Kingdom of God extend!  This only comes as we meditate, abide and allow the Word to infiltrate our very beings.   I love the story of a chaplain who went into a hospital and told a man that was extremely sick that if he just stood on the Word of God he would be healed.  Well as soon as the chaplain left the sick man got his Bible placed it on the floor and stood on it and he was miraculously healed!  Child like faith encountering the Word of God brings power.

Thirdly, from God’s Word we can know God’s Will and how we are meant to pray.

Jesus told His disciples how they were meant to pray; where do we find this out? In God’s Word, the Bible.  Where do we find out about God’s heart and what we need in order to live and have an effect in our generation? God’s Word.  “If you abide in Me, and My Words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”[10]  It is only as we are in God’s Word that first of all our will becomes aligned to God’s will; then we will have the desire and the heart cry of Christ within us, and only then will our prayers and requests be answered.  Agnes Sanford put it this way, “Prayer is not a matter of getting what we want the most.  Prayer is a matter of giving ourselves to God and learning His laws, so that He can do through us what He wants the most.”

A well-known verse says “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”.[11]  Not only is it a case of finding out God’s will in a general sense; but also as we delve into God’s Word, the Holy Spirit leads us into the specific plans and purposes that He has for us.  As Jeremiah tells us, “the plans and purposes I have for you are good, to give you a future and a hope”.[12]  He continues, “Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”[13]  As we align ourselves to God’s Word and know that His plans are good it will inturn push us to call out to Him and pray in accordance with His will.

Fourthly, God’s Word is Truth! 

Take God at His Word!  A passage asks the question; because we see people speak and say things and they turn out to be false, misleading and have no power does this mean that God’s Words is not true?  “Does man’s unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness”?  I love the answer Paul gives, “Not at all!  Let God be true and every human being be a liar.”[14]  Ha!
Let God be true and let every other voice be a liar.  Beloved, get into the book.

It’s power is not limited to just a ka-bang factor; it is sharp enough to divide and discern what is truth, what is the motive or intent behind what is being said, and what is spirit or flesh.  How vital it is for us to always to live in a place under submission to God’s Word.  If it is not in the Book throw it out!  Whether it come from the guy next door, world leaders, the pope, a pastor or even an angel and it is different from the Word of God get rid of it!  Don’t entertain it for a second.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse!”[15]  This was so important to the Apostle Paul that he actually repeated it and used such strong language as to actually say that a person that gives a different gospel to the one given in God’s Word that a curse would be brought upon them.  Heavy stuff; but it goes to show how much importantance God places on His Word.  One of the last Scriptures in Revelations states that if anyone adds or subtracts from the words of prophecy found in it that the plagues mentioned in the book would be added to them.[16]

Friends, while this is a very stern and serious warning, do not fear to enter into God’s Word if you are a sincere believer and have the desire in your heart to truly follow Christ.  He will lead and direct you; He will guide you into all truth.  My dad, decades ago as a new believer in Christ read about how the anti-Christ would come and that no one would be able to buy or sell without the mark of the beast.  Now the thing about my father is that he is a fantastic provider and takes the commands of Christ seriously to love his wife as Christ loves the church and to lay down his life for his family.  So my father determined as a new believer, yes naively, that he would take the mark of the beast so that his family wouldn’t have to and so that he could provide for us.  What’s more he told no one of his plans.  Wow! When I first heard this I was amazed at how sacrificial an action he would do to protect us; however misguided it was at the time.

Well it so happened that God came to my mother in a dream and told her of what dad’s plan was.  He further told her to tell my dad, number one, obviously not to do it, but then further reassured him that if the time came that He would take care of my father and provide for him and his family.  Now my dad was sincere in his following of Christ and even though he got it wrong for a time God’s mercy and grace guided him back to truth.  How gracious is our
God!  Delve into the Word of God with sincerity and the honest desire to follow Christ and trusting that He is the Good Shepherd and will lead His sheep into pastures that a green and full of truth.

I pray these few points about God’s Word stir you to take up your sword of the Spirit and grasp it more firmly then you ever have.  Training yourself in the Word of God is one of the most profitable thing you could ever do.  Mediate, learn, read, study, memorize.  Do whatever you can to allow the life of the Word of God to saturate you and spread life.  It is one of the greatest oxymoron’s I can think of… one of the most powerful weapons in the world that actually spreads and gives life!

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[1] Hebrews 4:12

[2] John 1:14

[3] John 8:31-32

[4] Matthew 4:4; Luke 4:4

[5] 1 John 2:14

[6] Romans 10:17

[7] Matthew 8:5-13

[8] Isaiah 55:11

[9] 1 Peter 1:23

[10] John 15:7

[11] Psalms 119:105

[12] Jeremiah 29:11

[13] Jeremiah 29:12

[14] Romans 3:3-4

[15] Galatians 1:8-9

[16] Revelation 22:18

 

17. God is for You!

Let me end by saying this; Yes, God is holy, but He does not just stay on some high mountain of holiness and demand that we climb to the peak in our own strength.  Every time we sin falling back down to the bottom of the mountain to try and start again.  No, no, no, it’s not like that at all.  He wants His life, holiness and power in you so much that He gave His Son to come and make a way for us.  Not only has Jesus made a way for us to come to the Father but then Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to come and live and dwell in us, perfecting Christ’s image in us!

God moves Heaven and earth to have relationship with Whoever accepts Him and desires to be near Him.  That’s why He dealt with sin.  That’s why He empowers and blesses us.  That’s why He longs not only for us to draw near to Him but also to be a light to those around us, displaying His love.  When we sin He doesn’t get His stock of lightning bolts ready to blast us; no in gentleness He comes and convicts us and draw us back into right relationship with Himself.

I know multiply times throughout this book this theme has come across – that God is for you.  He is for us!  If we can just grasp this one point and have a right response to every approach and call that He makes we would truly see a great reviving in our hearts and communities.  Understand this; God desires to pour out His Spirit and send revival more then we ever can.  Father desires that none would perish but that all would come to salvation in His Son, Jesus.  He desires to bring renewing and restoration into relationships, families and communities.   Healing for the broken hearted and emotional soiled.

We need to know and understand that the righteousness of Jesus Christ is greater and far more powerful then the filthiest most disgusting sin that the devil could ever convince and accuse you of having.  Not that we take the power of sin lightly, not at all.   Throughout the whole Old Testament we are made strongly aware of the power of sin.  Whenever someone came into contact with a leper, the symbolic representation of sin throughout the Bible, that person became unclean.  The leper was to be put away from the rest of the people.

However the New Testament we see a massive change happen through the coming of Christ.  Whenever Jesus came across a leper He never turned in the other direction and bolted.  No!  He healed them!  He showed the power of His righteousness, grace and mercy overcame the power of sin and being unclean.   Whenever we sin God won’t run away; no if you are in Christ and you confess your sins, His power and righteousness overcomes all sin.

The power of the righteousness and holiness of God doesn’t just scratch the surface of sin or cover and hide sin.  If we open our lives, believe and accept Christ’s cleansing His power will penetrate the very root of sin in our lives and wash us absolutely clean.  Isaiah declared, “Though you sins were like scarlet they will be washed as white as snow.[1]  Know that power of Christ’s righteousness and holiness is greater then any power of sin.  Freedom is available for you!   And it is only as we experience this freedom that we can truly share,
tell and export the power of grace and mercy to others in and through revival!

“The Holy Ghost in you is stronger then all the arguments of the flesh.  Determine not to let the flesh rob you from the joy that is in Christ.  There are multitudes of Christians today who have fasted and prayed; but never entered in”. – Ps David Wilkerson

Let’s See What God Can Do!

Can you hear the sounds of revival?  Can you hear the sound of the coming rain of the Holy Spirit?  Jesus is coming back and it will be for a glorious bride; a glorious, pure
church.  The Church of Jesus will not be cowering in a corner, counting baked bean cans in a basement and just holding out till Christ’s return.  No!  It will be a church that is empowered by the Spirit, moving in signs and wonders, seeing the captives set free, the spiritually blinded eyes being open and constantly proclaiming and living in the glory and presence of our great God!   Oh what a time to be alive.  What a time to be full of courage, strength and reliance upon Christ; what a time to be called to live fully surrendered to God, set ablaze for Jesus and empowered and sensitive to the Holy Spirit!  A Call has been sounded will you hear this call?

 “If My People will humble themselves, pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will their cries, forgive their sins and heal their land.”

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[1] Isaiah 1:18

16. No Condemnation

Let’s confront now feelings of unworthiness and being overwhelmed by sin.   This is the flip side of denial and no recognition of even having sin in your life.  Often if the devil cannot blind you to sin and your need for a Saviour and grace then he will reverse his tactics and come in and try to bring condemnation; making your sin appear bigger and impossible to be saved from and diminishing the power of Christ and His ability to not only save from sin but also change and transform your life.

In John 8 we come across the story of a woman who has been brought to Jesus with all the charge of adultery.  It clearly states that the scribes and Pharisees that dragged this woman to Jesus were motivated by the chance to trick and trap Jesus.  The law of Moses clearly stated that anyone caught in adultery must be stoned to death; but under the Roman rule they could no put anyone to death without permission from the Roman authority.

The scribes and Pharisees came stating that they had caught this woman in the very act of adultery (how they did this and where the partner in the act was is interestingly not revealed) and that the law of Moses demanded that she be stoned to death.  “But what do you say, Teacher?” they asked ready to pounce on His reply.

If Jesus chose to put the woman to death then He would have been stepping out in rebellion against Roman rule; however to not do what Mosaic Law instructed would have also been unthinkable in the eyes of those that had brought the woman to Jesus.  Isn’t it interesting that when we discover that we cannot attain to the higher standards of Christ or of anyone that is righteous for that fact that we then go about trying to bring the downfall of that person to our own standards.

I love how Jesus could always discern a trap but never ran away from it; but always with wisdom was able to see the trap disassembled and come to nothing.   Now there is only speculation as to what Jesus wrote in the sand but obviously combined with what He said it was enough convict the accusers.  “Whoever has not sinned can cast the first stone”, Jesus declared.   Scriptures state that the accusers left one by one til it was only Jesus that stood with the ability to condemn and throw the first stone at the woman if He so decided.  It was just Jesus and the woman left.

Jeremiah 17:13 states, “O LORD, the hope of Israel, All who forsake You shall be ashamed. “Those who depart from Me Shall be written in the earth, Because they have forsaken the LORD, The fountain of living waters.”  In the previous chapter of Johns account of Jesus and the woman, Jesus speaks plainly that anyone who is thirsty is to come to Him and whoever believes in Jesus out of their hearts would flow springs of living water.[1]  Interestingly Jesus encounter with another woman earlier, the Samaritan woman, brought about this same lesson on Jesus being our fountain of living water springing up into everlasting life.[2]  However those that disregard their need of water and forsake Jesus the fountain of living water shall be written in the earth, as the prophet Jeremiah had spoken of.

Friends, you may feel just like the woman brought to Jesus; condemned by a multitude of voices.  The devil is known as the accuser of the brethren.[3]  Through others and through our own mind and thoughts he throws accusations at us.   The devil will accuse us when we have sinned and when we haven’t.  No one is exempt from his accusations and the feeling of condemnation that he brings upon believers in Christ.  The righteous man Job had accusations leveled at him by the devil before God.   Jesus, sinless in everyway, had accusations brought against Him constantly.

Generally the devils tactics against non-believers is to dull any sense of conviction of sin and to silently trap them deeper and deeper within its deadly grasp.  The believer however he would try to turn conviction of sin into condemnation, trumpeting the magnitude and the weight of sin of the person til they feel that they are too deep and buried in sin to be able to call out to the One Who has the power to free them.   The feeling of being unworthy and unacceptable and thinking that one has to get to a certain standard of righteousness before Jesus would even look their way is the lie that penetrates the condemned heart.

Beloved, firstly recognize that Jesus has defeated the accuser.  Though the accuser would bring the law and its weighty punishment against you, whether rightly or wrongly, whether you are innocent of the crime brought against you or guilty recognize that Jesus has dealt with the accuser, the sin, the punishment and that it is no longer you surrounded by the world that you must listen to and answer.  You now stand alone before Jesus; it only matters what He speaks and what He says.  If you are of a sincere, broken and repentant heart then know that you now stand in the loving courtroom of Christ.

The stones that were meant to be leveled at you have been dropped.  The sins and crimes against the law which were proclaimed against you have been written in the sand and wiped clean.  The Saviour has taken your sin and punishment upon Himself and it has
been buried and proclaimed dead!   Hallejuah!  Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive glory and honour!   Christ is now your mediator before the Father.

Then when all the accusers had left one after the other Jesus then turned to the woman and asked, “Where are those that have accused you? Has no one condemn you?”.[4]  Gone.
“No one, Lord”, was her reply.  “Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more”.  Oh, let these words of Jesus sink deep into your heart.  If Jesus is the only One we need to listen to and He does not condemn you then you are free to go and He gives you the power to sin no more!  I do not condemn you!  I DO NOT CONDEMN YOU!

Friends!  These are not the words of man; this is the voice of God speaking; Jesus Christ speaking not only to the woman before Him, but through the very Word of God to you and I today.  He does not condemn you!   Take God at His Word.  If He says you are clean… you are clean.  If He says that in the sight of God you are as righteous as God is through Christ
Jesus, you are!  If He says that if you confess your sins, He is faithful and just to forgive your sins and cleanse you from ALL unrighteousness; then it is true!

If God through His word says that there is therefore now no condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit; then believe it, walk in the Spirit and believe God’s Word.[5]  Furthermore it goes on to state that nothing can separate you from the love of God.   No demon in hell, no height, no power of sin, nothing; zero; zip…  nothing.

Believe the voice of God, believe His Word.  Scripture states, let God be true and man be a liar.[6]  Let God be true and every other voice, every other accusation, every other condemnation be a lie.  Let there be a belief, a voice, a rebellion against condemnation that would declare, “God whether its a reality in how I feel or not, I am going to take you at Your Word.  You say I’m clean, I’m going to believe You and start living as someone that is clean.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.[7]

Beloved, if while you were sinners, completely against and alienated from God, He loved you, how much more is He for you now?  How much more does long for you to enter into His throne room now that you are His Son or Daughter?  How much more are His plans and thoughts toward you good?  If you come to Him with a sincere heart you can enter boldly into His presence with confidence in the finished work and access granted for those in Christ.  “If you put away the sin that is in your hand and allow no evil to dwell in your tent, then you will lift up your face without shame; you will stand firm and without fear”.[8]  Know that there is no condemnation for those with sincere and repentant hearts and run with confidence in the Spirit!

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[1] John 7:37

[2] John 4

[3] Revelation 12:10

[4] John 8:10

[5] Romans 8:1

[6] Romans 3:4

[7] Romans 8:37-39

[8] Job 11:14-15