I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name's sake. 1 John 2:12 People have asked me from time to time, "Pastor Prince, why is an understanding of the complete forgiveness of my sins so important for me to walk in God's unmerited favor?" This is a good question. Friend, when you don't have a clear sense of your complete forgiveness, you will constantly be on an emotional seesaw. Sometimes, you feel that things between you and God are all right, but at other times, you don't think that it is so. Sometimes, you feel confident that the Lord is with you to make you a success, but at other times, you feel like you blew it and the Lord will not help you until you confess your sin and make amends.
The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all. Ecclesiastes 9:11 Beloved, never forget that "the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong.... but time and chance happen to them all." God wants you to have the right timing—His timing, and nothing is left to chance because you are God's child. Psalm 37:23 says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord." You are that "good man" because you are the righteousness of God in Christ (see 2 Cor. 5:21).
"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. But the father said to his servants, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'" Luke 15:20, 22-24 One of the most beautiful parables in the Bible is the parable of the father of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). Many commentators call this the parable of the prodigal son, but the real hero of this story is the father and his love for his two sons.
For as he thinks within himself, so he is. Proverbs 23:7, NASB Be encouraged to know that you don't have to be afraid of the battles in your mind. Jesus said, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).Based on God's Word, right believing is the key that unlocks the treasures of God in your life, giving you access to the fullness of His love, grace, favor, blessings, and forgiveness. Jesus has already paid the price on Calvary's hill. The hindrance then between you and your victory is your wrong beliefs. The battle has to do with your beliefs.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life, which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 As we press deeper into the power of right believing, I want to show you practical ways in which you can be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Right believing is all about renewing your mind and uprooting the wrong beliefs that shape your thinking and behavior.
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." Luke 10:17–19 Our Lord Jesus sent seventy disciples out against the kingdom of darkness, as "lambs among wolves." Look in today's Scripture at the exchange between the seventy disciples and the Lord Jesus when they returned. My friend, the power and authority our Lord Jesus gave them to operate in is the power and authority we have as believers today!
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10 Soon after the tragedy of September 11 had taken place, some believers publicly declared that God was judging America because of her sins. When I heard that, I could just imagine some terrorist somewhere in Afghanistan agreeing with them and thinking that "god" was indeed using him to judge America. Can you see that something is amiss when both believers and terrorists agree on the same thing?
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord. Psalm 97:5 No matter where you are, the Lord is with you. Even in the midst of your fears, while you are alone in your room, He is there with you. The moment you begin to be aware of His presence and cultivate His presence, all your fears, anxieties and worries will melt like butter on a hot day, or as the psalmist David puts it, "The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord."
"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!" Matthew 7:11 Our enemy the devil is well aware that the moment you learn to receive God's grace, you will start to reign in life. So he has been working hard to prevent you from receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. The devil has been using controversy as a device down through church history to prevent believers from having access to the most powerful truths of God.
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. Genesis 39:1–2 Would you consider the young man Joseph, who was about to be sold into slavery, "a successful man?" Of course not! Yet, God says in His own words that Joseph was a successful man. God's definition of success is contrary to the world's definition.
Follow Up
