Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Trading Places

    My pastor taught a series called "Trading Places", and the Word in this series opened my spiritual eyes and set me free from unbelief and depression.  I had never known Jesus as the one with "No Sin."  I knew he did not sin, but I didn't KNOW HIM as the one WITH NO SIN.  What do I mean by this?  He's perfect, He never missed it, He lived 33.. years on this earth without saying anything amiss, never once got anything wrong, and I never let Him show me how to overcome problems or sin or tell me what to do to overcome it, by HIS WORD.  I kept getting in the way with statements like, "Well, everybody's gonna sin!" and "Nobody's perfect."  Not realizing these were just excuses for me to stay in darkness, because there was one, perfect and without sin, the man Jesus Christ.  1 John 3:5-7 : "And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins; and in Him is NO SIN.  Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not:  whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him."
     The Lord opened my eyes to see, that if I would abide in Jesus, I could also walk without sin.  What was I going to abide in?  How?  What is this talking about?  What do you mean?  This kills all I have ever been taught......what?  These words in 1 John 3 stood out at me.  "TAKE AWAY OUR SINS."  Most people who say they accept Jesus, including myself at one time, never really believe that they have been forgiven (acquitted), without any remembrance to the offence or ability to bring it up again, of everything.  Jesus took our sins away, meaning they can no longer drive me, no longer whip me to obey them, no longer defeat me, no longer hang around.  And until you get forgiven you will never see this.  I was a believer, locked up because of my past, not even able to share Jesus correctly because I has a big plank in my eye, trying to pull out the speck in theirs.  I lived in misery, depressed and angry, frustrated, irritated and wanted to give up.
      Did you ever notice Jesus said in John 8:31-32, "If you CONTINUE in MY WORD, then are you my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  Well, here is what I did, I continued in, I am forgiven of everything and he took my sins away.  When the thoughts would come about past sins and depression tried to sit on me, I would continue in saying this, "Nope Jesus forgave me of that and He took that away."  In other words, I let Jesus become my sin, and I took His forgiveness.  In 2 Corinthians 5:21 it says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew NO SIN; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."  I started Trading Places with Jesus, I let him become everything that was wrong with me, my past or anything, and I took or started becoming his way of doing and being right, which was, "He took my sins away", or "He forgave me of that and forgot it, so I didn't remember it either."
     Let Jesus become what you have done wrong, so you can become what he is, it is a gift.  Jesus was a righteous man with NO SIN, who became sin.  We WERE no good sinners, who Jesus MADE righteous, not by any works of our own, but by His work on the cross and the shed blood at Calvary.  Glory to God!  Thank you Jesus.  Praise the Lord.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Hearing Jesus

     A woman was going into a gas station the other day and when I saw her the Lord immediately spoke to me and said, "Pray with her."  Well, I went in to use the restroom and when I had finished, she was already out at the gas pump, so I proceeded to her car.  I said to her, "Ma'am, have you been praying about something?"  She said, "I have."  Looked at me kind of funny and then ask, "Why do you ask?" I then explained what happened when I saw her going in the store and how the Lord had told me to pray with her.

     She consented, and I began to question her to find out what we were going to pray about.  As I dug deeper, she filled me in on her morning.   She had attended a church, and during an alter call, she felt the Lord drawing her to come up and surrender, but fear overtook her and she did not go.  Oh, isn't the Lord's mercy wonderful!

     I prayed with her, and cast the devil out of her and she got blasted by the Holy Ghost!  There was  such an awesome presence of the Lord, and His peace just took over her mind!  It was glorious! 

     At this point, the Lord spoke again and told me to fill her with the Holy Spirit.  After showing her in the word where Christians can receive the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues (Acts 2:4, Romans 8:26-27),  I laid my hands on her and commanded her to be filled with the spirit, and she was, and took off speaking in tongues.  God is so wonderful.

     Here is what I wanted to get too.  This woman, somewhere in our conversation said that she wanted to change, she was pregnant and going to have a child and she knew she needed to change.  But I knew this, unless this woman accepted the Lord Jesus into her heart and completely surrendered to Him, she would have never changed.  She may have changed for a while in her own strength, but would have drawn back into all the hell and misery out in the world that she had been in.  Only Jesus can make you a new creature.  His grace and love is the only remedy for any change in the hearts of men.  She told me that she was going to try to do right and get better.  I told her that she could never do it on her own, but if she accepted Jesus and his spirit and presence into her heart, she would have something in her to lead and guide her into a newness of life, and would not have to try anything, but just obey the working in her spirit and Jesus would change her life for her. 

     You know religious people make what Jesus did hard.  Not for me and some other believers I know, but for themselves and other spiritual babies.  Jesus simply want's us to hear Him, believe and speak what He says and then do what He says, that's it.  When people learn to walk in that, they will find out, like I have, that Jesus is right and should never be questioned, just do what He says.  In John 2:5, Mary made the greatest faith statement in the bible, "Whatever He (Jesus) says, do it."

     I challenge anyone who is a Christian and reads this to obey the inward voice of Jesus.  Anytime you hear him speak, obey immediately with joy and watch your life change.  If you say you don't know how to hear Jesus, you need to get saved, because Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."  I know when Jesus speaks to me, as I know when my mother or father speaks to me, I know their voice.  Well, if you have encountered Jesus before, then you know His voice.  If you have questions, pray the prayer of salvation, and surrender you heart and will to Jesus.  Then, you will begin to hear His voice.

Prayer of salvation and surrender:  Lord Jesus, I believe you are the true son of God.  God sent you on this earth to die for me and take away my sins.  I believe you died, and on the third day, God's mighty power, raised you from the dead.  I repent of not believing in you.  I confess you as my Lord and master from this point forward.  I turn from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to God's power.  I surrender every area of my heart and will to serve you and do what you say.  I forgive everyone who has offended me, and I receive forgiveness for all that I have done.  Come into my heart Lord Jesus and change me, and speak to me, so I will never be the same.  In Jesus name, Amen.