The Grace Message is about No Condemnation!

You have a future. A bright future filled with success and great destiny. Not only does the Bible tell you so, but it's likely you've received numerous prophecies from church members and leaders declaring the great future you have ahead of you and the plans God has for you. But for some reason, you just don't feel like that's you. You don't feel good enough for such a future.

It is so unfortunate that some of the world's most successful people today are unbelievers. There are more Christians than any other faith in the world. Where are they in society's elite? I have no doubt that they should be there. The reason they're not? Shame and guilt. Far too many Christians feel too unworthy to step into their bright destiny and thus end up settling for mediocre lives. Unbelievers on the other hand have dreams in their hearts that they pursue with all their might and aren't ashamed to do so. They don't think twice about being worthy for such success.

Why is that? I believe it has to do with how we view God. Too many Christians intrinsically believe that God is keeping score of their lives and that they constantly fall short. While unbelievers have so distanced themselves from consciously being aware of God that they don't care what He might think, and thus have no hinderance to feeling worthy enough to go after their dreams.

Whose the better person of the two? Neither of the two are better than the other. Both are equally loved by God. The unbelievers are at least accessing some of their Earthly inheritance. While the believer has access to the Life Source of the Universe, Jesus Christ. But what good is having such access if we're not drawing on Him?

God isn't some distant Being waiting to judge us on the “Last Day” and evaluate whether we make it into Heaven or not. He is a Father who wants to see us succeed now. In whatever area it is that we find ourselves. Whether it be in our Grade 11 mid-year exams, our swimming trials on the weekend, or an audition for the lead role in a Hollywood Blockbuster!

Christians are the most powerful beings on the planet when they realise who they are, and what their Father is like. An incorrect view of our Father and ourselves will limit us in our destiny. We are part of a generation of God's children who will supersede the accomplishments of the unbelievers in this world. God is removing the cloaks of shame, and His children are rising up to take their place as those who inherit the Earth! (Check out Romans 4:13 for confirmation of that promise)

My passion is to help Christians throw off the shame of not feeling good enough for God and their bright futures, because I believe when they do, we will see the world changed. So allow me to take you on a journey of seeing how much God values you, and how much He wants you to succeed. Are you ready? Let's go...

First and foremost, if you are a Christian, God is for you. He is not against you. And He is most certainly not holding your sins against you. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:19:

“God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.”

The Scriptures are full of this wonderful Truth that God is not counting our sins against us! Not only does He not hold them against us, He removes them entirely!

David had a revelation of this Glorious Truth in Psalm 103:12:

“As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgression from us.”

How far is the East from the West? It's infinite! My friend, your sins have been infinitely removed! They are gone... FOREVER!

When we Christians get the revelation that God does not hold our sin against us, we will realise that He looks at us with Love and passion. He doesn't see the sin and the failures, because in His mind they have been removed. And if He doesn't see the sin and the failures, why do we focus on them? God wants us to move from a “sin-consciousness” to a “God-consciousness”. For so long, we've focussed on sin. Trying not to do this sin, exposing that sin, etc. But the point was never to focus on sin, the point is to focus on the Lover of our souls who empowers us to change the world!

You see, it's the devil who has conned us into believing that we aren't good enough for God, and therefore certainly not good enough to accomplish anything great and walk into our inheritance. Scripture tell us that he is the one that accuses us when we fail, not God! Revelation 12:10 reveals satan as the “accuser of the brothers”. He is the one accusing us for our failures, not God!

This is why when Jesus finished His Work on the Cross He disarmed the powers of darkness. Colossians 2:11 clearly shows us:

“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the Cross!”

The only power the devil has is to accuse us of our sin and failures. And God removed that power by removing our sin and failures! It's because of this Glorious Truth that Paul could declare in Romans 8:1 that “there is therefore now NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!”

Notice a keyword there? NOW. There is NOW, right now, right this instant, no matter what you just did, NO CONDEMNATION! None whatsoever! None at all! God is not condemning you for anything! God is not pointing out your failures. It's not His nature. It's not His will. His will is to point out your bright future and reveal His Love for you. If you just sinned, He is standing with arms wide open waiting to Love on you and remind you of your worth as His child. When you receive that Love, you'll be empowered to change.

The more you realise how much Daddy Loves you, and how great His plans are for you, the less you will find yourself sinning and instead pursuing the great destiny He has for you.

Like the vision of Joshua in Zechariah 3:4, the time has come for us to allow God to remove from us our garment of shame, and wear the rich garments of royalty. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15:22, we need to realise our Rich Father has clothed us with His Best Robes despite our failings.

We are royalty! We are children of the Most High God! We are princes and princesses of the most powerful Kingdom in the Universe! There is nothing to be ashamed of!

Rise up, take off your shame and never wear it again. Jesus wore it for you, and then He destroyed it entirely by dying on the Cross. He killed your shame! Now take your place as the royal child of God that you are. And get out there and change the world.

Glory and Grace 2012 Summary Recap

Glory and Grace 2012 was simply an incredible time.  God moved in so many of our lives, and we will truly never be the same again.  There are mighty things happening in the spirit realm, and as we turn our ear to Heaven, we will be aware of what to expect and prepare ourselves accordingly.  In this blog post, I am just going to highlight some of the stand-out points that the speakers made in order to recap on what was shared, and to provide a reference for you to remind yourself of what inspired you.

Here are some of the important points made and shared:

Session 1 - Wednesday evening - Rob Rufus
- God so loved the world He didn't send a Message, He sent a Person!
- Theology and doctrine can never replace the Glory of the Presence of God.
- True identity comes from a true vision of how God sees you.  We need revelation of this!
- How God saw you before time began is how God sees you today!
- We must learn in our identity not to fall into the trap of self-pity.
- If you keep reaching for more power deeper than the level you understand your identity, eventually you self-destruct.
- Nothing can stop your destiny when you see yourself the way God sees you!
- "Blessing" means "the empowerment to prosper"
- Untested faith is no faith at all.
- We must make the Gospel of Grace attractive by the lives we live and display to the world!
- Most of us have been trained from childhood to see ourselves negatively.

Unfortunately I was unable to take notes during Fini de Gersigny's Session 2.  You can download it on our sermons page:  http://www.highwaysermons.com/sermon/?date=2012-1-01&enddate=2012-12-31&series=16
The sermon is entitled:  "A call to spiritual fathers"

Session 3 - Thursday morning - Rob Rufus
- The Bride of Christ exists to change the culture of nations.
- Our business is to change the world, see the lost saved and to equip to change the world!
- Our weaknesses are an invitation for other people's strengths
- True service in the Kingdom must come out of a place of a secure heart
- The church has manu vision casters but not enough vision carriers
- "Your seed will dispossess cities!"  Abraham's promise from God.
- If cities do not dispossessed by the sons of God, He will be guilty of perjury.
- The Law condemns the best of us, Grace approves even the worst of us

Session 4 - Thursday Evening - Isi de Gersigny
- The voice of God is faster than the sound of reason
- Too many of us doubt what God has done in our lives because we think it was us who did it!
- God doesn't grieve the way we think He does, because He is not in time
- God doesn't need to change His mind about who you are
- Nothing is birthed without waters
- Creation recognises the sound of God
- When you agree with God you resonate with His reality and you start to manifest His Nature
- God is so worthy, that we will never run out of the desire to cry our how worthy He is!
- You can have as much revelation as you want to
- You can become as much revelation as you want to
- The greatest gift God ever gave us is the gift of hunger
- Prepare your kids for Heaven
- Revelation 5:8 - You are never worshipping alone
- The angels come from the Face of God and look for your voice, and they match it with THE Voice of God!
- Don't be intimidated by the Bible, God won't give you all 5 loaves at once!  He will give you the Truth of Manna and multiply it in you.
- When God reveals something to you, bury yourself in it.  Saturate yourself in it.  SAY IT!  Because when you say it, you create it!

Session 5 & 6 - Friday morning - Rob Rufus
1 Corinthians 1:17 - What empties the Cross of its Power?
- When you go back to Law, your faith stops completely!
- If you take the Law off people but you don't release them into faith you will have worse people!
- I don't just want the doctrine of faith, I want the spirit of faith!
- Galatians 3:12 - The Law empties the Cross of its Power
- Faith in the Power of God is unbelief in the wisdom of man
- A man hearing how He is the righteousness of God is not compatible with being stuck in sin

Session 7 - Friday evening - Rob Rufus
Mark 5:21
- Faith mobilises us to touch and engage the Power of God
- There is something very dangerous about passive self-pity
- You need 3 gifts to raise the dead:  1) Faith to do it. 2) Miracles to uncongeal the clotted blood etc. 3) Healing for whatever killed them in the first place.
- Faith cannot work with condemnation
- Faith is knowing you can receive good things from God that you don't deserve
- People say "I don't have time to meditate on God's Word".  Well, worrying is meditating on the demonic!
- "I'm not aggressive with people. I'm aggressive with the devil!"  Smith Wigglesworth
- Jesus didn't say "my anointing made you well", He said "your faith has made you well."
- Fear will make you run from God, faith will make you see God Face to Face
- Look at Mark 6:56, after the miracle of the woman with the issue of blood.  Her faith set a divine precedent for all to touch His cloak and be healed!

Understanding God's Grace in All Its Truth

Colossians 1:6
All over the world this Gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's Grace in all its truth.

Reading through Colossians after Steve's recent series on the book, this verse jumped out at me.  Two powerful truths are revealed.  Firstly, the Gospel was bearing fruit all over the world and growing.

Think about this...  Before Paul arrived on the scene, Judaism and Greek mythology were probably the two most popular religions.  Within 300 years, Christianity had become the world's most believed upon faith.  How did that happen!?

Romans 1:16 gives us a good answer:  "The Gospel is the Power of God".  The Message of the Gospel is the most powerful message anyone can ever convey.  So powerful that it will spread like a wildfire naturally.  One only has to look at this worldwide "Grace revolution" we are in to see that.  People everywhere are coming into this revelation because the message is the Message of the Gospel!  Just this week I received an email from a lady in Cape Town who had been watching Joseph Prince's teachings on TBN every week and finally the revelation of Grace penetrated her heart and she started Googling "Grace" and came across "Highway to Grace".  She said her life has been completed transformed by this revelation.  Stories like this confirm the power of this Message.

Another side to the Gospel's power to bear fruit is not only in global understanding, but in personal growth.  This message is one that naturally produces faith in God's goodness.  If you find yourself still battling in a certain area, still feel like there are areas you need to adjust etc.  Be patient.  The seed of the Gospel that has penetrated your heart will start to germinate and produce some beautiful fruit!

Paul then goes on to say in the second half of this verse that the Gospel has borne fruit "since the day... you understood God's Grace in all its truth."  Notice that word "all"?  That's intriguing.  Could it be that it is possible to understand God's Grace in fractions of its truth?  Could it be that the more of its truth we grasp the more fruit we will see?

Friends, God's Grace is bigger and wider and more powerful than any of us will ever come to comprehend.  We never stop learning from it, and we never stop loving it.  Continue to soak yourself in New Covenant books and teachings and grow in your understanding of God's Grace.

Maybe like the woman in Cape Town that emailed me, you've heard the message of Grace so often but it hasn't had that much of an impact on you.  Don't stress.  Don't try to believe it.  Keep soaking yourself in it, and eventually this Powerful, World-changing Message will grip you so tightly that you will never be the same.

May you forever stay in the Rays of God's Glorious Grace.  And may you forever grow in your understanding of it!

Highway to Grace "Snippet"

The following is a snippet taken from the "Introduction" of Steve Wheeler's latest book "Highway to Grace".  May it bless and inspire you in your walk with God!  For more information on the book and to buy it online, log on to www.highwaytograce.com

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After twenty years in the ministry I had a rude awakening.  I realised that I had been mixing the Covenant of Law into the Gospel of Grace.  I was sincerely doing my best to preach the Gospel as best as I knew how.  But I confused the covenants that God made with Abraham, Moses and Jesus. 

I spent years teaching that God’s blessing is proportional to our fulfilling certain conditions.  Year in and year out I preached “What you should be” and “What you shouldn’t do”... “Ten things you should do to get God to bless you”... “Pray harder, longer, louder”... “Twist His arm with a 21-day fast”.... 

Now I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that God’s blessing comes solely because Jesus fulfilled the conditions for me.  At the Cross Jesus cried out, “It is finished”.  The Greek phrase used there is “teta lestai”, meaning “paid in full”.  This is a financial term meaning that no debt remains outstanding.

Many attending church religiously every week have no idea what was accomplished on the Cross.  You will never enjoy your inheritance when you remain ignorant of what is rightfully yours. 

To fully appreciate God’s Grace, we have to understand what the Finished Work of the Cross means for us.

At the Cross:

• the Old Covenant was obliterated
• every sin – past, present and future – was forgiven and wiped out
• sickness, death and hell were forever defeated
• we were co-crucified, co-buried and co-resurrected with Jesus.

Because of the Cross:

• we have become a new species re-created in Christ
• we have been seated at His right hand in the heavenly places
• we reign in this life as kings.

For too long God’s goodness has been doubted and the Work of the Cross diluted.  Mixing Law and Grace has caused the Gospel to be polluted.  Not separating the Covenants has resulted in confusion.  

Grace is not just some subject we can tag along with all our other Bible doctrines.  Grace is the essence of who Jesus is, what He did and how He will forever relate to us.  To understand Grace fully we have to think of Grace as being a Person: Jesus himself. 

I want to spend what’s left of my life here on earth unapologetically declaring the Gospel Truth:  God’s Grace given to us through His son Jesus Christ.   

“So what is our part then?” you may ask. 

Our part is to believe this Good News.  Faith is the ‘positive response’ to what He has already accomplished at the Cross.  Only Faith pleases God. 

The Bible teaches that Faith was deposited in our hearts as a gift when we heard the Truth of the Gospel.  You have all the faith you need.  Now you have to exercise it.

A life-changing journey

Understanding this message and seeing its life-changing impact is a process.  As a church we’ve been on the journey for over three years now.  A revelation of the Gospel of Grace is renewing our understanding of who we are in Christ.   And Grace has changed our understanding and approach to church, spiritual disciplines, preaching and leadership.
  

The results we are beginning to enjoy include a greater freedom to be who God has called us to be.  I regularly have people telling me that they are reading the Bible with new passion and revelation.  The Gospel of Grace is producing a new boldness to step out and trust our Father to demonstrate His Kingdom rule on earth.  Testimonies abound from those who are reaching out to the lost with this awesome message of Undeserved Favour.  There is far less ‘performance mentality’ in our church life.  I hear of unsaved people coming into our meetings and experiencing love and unconditional acceptance. 

We are enjoying a guilt-free relationship with our Father, and are expecting – and seeing! – greater things from Him because of what Jesus accomplished on the Cross for us. 

Over the past few years we have had our fair share of trials, disappointments and misunderstandings.  We have made some mistakes in our language and in our exuberance.  At times the ‘pendulum’ has swung excessively, and there have been more questions than answers.  I will address many of these in this book.

As Andrew Wommack says, “We haven’t arrived yet. But we have left.”  With the benefit of hindsight there are many things I would do differently.  But by His Grace we are where we are – and we are still moving in the direction of Amazing Grace.

We have taken more ground than we have lost as a church.  We have had more victory than failure; more joy than sorrow.  And with Jesus’ help we never want to go back into legalism; we never want to hear those dreadful words:  “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?” (Galatians 3:1)