FINISHED WORK TRUTHS

A Brief Scriptural Synopsis of the Finished Work of the Cross of Jesus Christ: 

* We are ALREADY cleansed and perfected by virtue of the Finished Work!

"For by ONE offering He hath PERFECTED for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14) I love the way the Amplified Bible expresses this also; "For by a single offering He has forever COMPLETELY CLEANSED AND PERFECTED those who are consecrated and made holy." There is nothing more that we can do to enhance this cleansing and perfection that was provided by His one offering. All we do is rest in His offering.

* We are ALREADY sanctified by virtue of the blood of the finished work!

"Wherefore Jesus also, that he might SANCTIFY the people with his own BLOOD, suffered without the gate." (Hebrews 13:12) In the past I have always thought of sanctification as a process, however the Word clearly states that I am sanctified by ONE offering of the blood of Christ. So the process involved is not a process of being sanctified, but rather a process of renewing my mind to the fact that I am ALREADY sanctified!

* The WORK was FINISHED before it even started (in a sense)!

"...although the works were FINISHED from the foundation of the world." (Hebrews 4:3) "..the Lamb SLAIN from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 13:8) Because Father is outside of and not confined by our time/ space continuum, He sees the end from the beginning. When He creates, He creates things finished and complete in spirit, even though there may appear to be a process or period of time for that thing to come into manifestation in this natural realm. For example, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, was slain from the foundation of the world... however it did not come into manifestation until 2000 and some years ago. Yet, it was finished before it even started. Indeed, it is a Finished Work!

* We must appropriate the Finished Work by FAITH!

"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, NOT being mixed with FAITH in them that heard it. For we which have BELIEVED do enter into rest..." (Hebrews 4:1-3) Indeed it is a Finished Work, but in order for that work to be manifested in my life, I must appropriate it by faith. "Now FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]." (Hebrews 11:1 Amplified Bible) It seems that most everything in this spiritual life we are living is appropriated and activated by faith.

15 Things Jesus Did Say

15 Things Jesus DID Say: (in simple terms)

“There’s only one litmus test to authenticate if someone gets what I’m about – love.”

“The kingdom of God is here and now, which means it’s not somewhere else and later.”

“If you’ve reached perfection on your journey, feel free to judge others. Otherwise, be quiet.”

“My peace is not as this world gives. Your strategy to control circumstances in order to be happy won’t work… ever.”

“You religious people have your nose buried in the Law feeling all smug about your spiritual maturity. But you wouldn’t know my truth if it knocked you in the head.”

“There is no mountain, sacred place or church building where God expects to be worshiped. True worship is a way of seeing – it’s spotting and honoring the Divine, expressing yourself from your heart. It's really a lifestyle.

“You think you are doing well because you have not been hauled off to prison for murder, but your harsh and critical spirit is no different.”

“Embracing my truth will make you a heretic in most people’s minds and you will be persecuted. No worries; you’re on the right track in my kingdom.”

“God and I are one, you are included.”

“I have to die.  You are already dead.  If you believe you have to die, you’re going to create a religion around my human personhood and personality, rather than embrace and give expression to my spirit and truth.”

“Don’t say you love God and then hate people. Those two things can’t be true at the same time.”

“You and God are not separated and never have been. You are connected to God like a branch to a vine – the essence and nature of God is the sap running through your veins.”

“You can’t reduce my way to a book or the law.  I am the Living Word.The same Spirit that filled and led me fills and leads you. Follow that Spirit.”

“You think your humanity is an affront to God. If this were true how could I be one with God?”

“You look into the sky to find God that sits on a throne. You want to see God?  Look within.

MAKING GOD HAPPY

This an article written by a friend of mine. Enjoy.

MAKING GOD HAPPY

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Happy:  Having, showing, or causing great pleasure or joy – Webster’s Dictionary

Today I was sent a Facebook post that seems to be going viral. I don’t pay much attention to social media, but this one caused me to look closer in response to a check in my spirit. It was about an exhortation given in a sermon by Victoria Osteen, co-pastor at Lakewood Church. It caused quite a stir because she seemed to be saying that we obey God and do good for our own self; that the key to making God happy is to first make yourself happy. This was not a direct quote of what she actually said.

On the surface this sounds like she is advocating pleasing yourself above pleasing God. I don’t think that was her intent at all. After listening to the video, I’m sure of it. Her intent was to simply encourage people to be happy because it pleases God when His people are happy. If you look at the definition of happy, you will see that happiness is linked with joy. We know that the joy of the Lord is our strength and Jesus gives us joy. But, happiness is a choice that we must make every day. What she was saying is we’re not making a decision to be happy for God, but for what it does for our own souls. It pleases God when we make a decision to be happy regardless of our circumstances and live in the joy of the Lord. Victoria could have said it better, but it wasn’t rehearsed and sometimes the words don’t exactly express what is in our hearts.

I’m not so concerned with Victoria as I am with the Body of Christ which is so quick to judge another in the high court of social media. I wasn’t there. I didn’t hear the whole sermon. I wasn’t sitting in the presence of the Holy Spirit. I saw this clip that could have been interpreted as heresy, but instead a voice inside of me said, “Defend her”. I know that voice well. He gave me no other instructions, but I knew what I had to defend.

I may not know what makes God happy, but I do know what grieves the Spirit. We are not to judge each other. Every follower of Christ has already been judged and found guilty. It is only through the blood of Jesus that we stand in righteousness. Jesus gave us another commandment to add to the original ten which would sum them all up into one commandment. We are to love one another. When we look in the Word at what love is to God we see that love is patient, kind, doesn’t envy, is not proud, not self-seeking, not provoked, thinks no evil  … Let’s stop there. It thinks no evil. In other words, we don’t think evil of those we love. We give them the benefit of a doubt. We do not criticize or slander others, especially in gossip. We support and defend those who are under attack.

This is a pastor who has devoted her life to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ and shepherding His Church. Can we not protect her from the wolves? The enemy is always looking to get a mob gathered to attack someone who makes an innocent mistake. Jesus never said or did anything against the will of the Father, yet he was falsely accused and murdered because those who claimed to love him deserted him and some even joined the very mob that crucified him. This ministry has suffered attacks before and will continue to do so, but not at my hand. I believe that it makes my Father happy when I walk in love with my brothers and sisters in Christ. They aren’t perfect. They make mistakes. But if they need correction, the Father knows how to correct His children and it is always in love and to bring them to repentance. It is never to tear them down for the sake of gossip in the social media.

Our leaders are under severe attack by the enemy of our souls. He is pulling every evil trick that he can find to bring them down. Love conquered him before and it will continue to defeat him because it never fails. We can’t keep ripping each other apart in the social media sites as we hid behind our laptops and smart phones. I remember Jesus asking for the accusers to step forward when a woman was being accused of adultery. They all had sin in their hearts and He made them see that they were no better than this woman. If you are perfect and have never said anything that others misunderstood your meaning, then perhaps you can put your self-righteous post on Facebook. If, like me, you remember the pain of having those in the family of God turn on you, perhaps, you will decide not to get involved in this feeding frenzy. Instead, lift Victoria up in prayer. If she has strayed in her thinking, the only true righteous Judge will correct her. Regardless of whether she was wrong or right, refuse to persecute her.

Part of the reason that it is so hard to get people to come to church or even consider Christ is the fact that Christians no longer stand together. They have become as nit-picky as the ungodly. We have to stand up against sin and beware of false teachers, but many times it’s not about cleansing the church that sends us off on witch hunts. We are to protect each other in love because our adversary the devil is roaming about stirring up trouble hoping that we will kill one for him to devour.