Who We Are In Christ

Romans 8:1-2 NLT

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.

One of the biggest challenges we will face as a Christian, is our identity. Life is always trying to put labels on us concerning who we are and what we can do.
We all have had failures and set backs. We all are limited in what we can do and what we can change in our own abilities. But with God, we can overcome any set back or short coming we may have.

Philippians 4:13 NLT

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Through Christ we can accomplish anything! The key to living victorious in Christ is totally depending on Him. We have to put Him first and seek Him and ask Him everyday to help us in every area of our lives. We can overcome any obstacle in this life, if we put our trust in God and obey His word. So be encouraged you have the almighty God on your side!

1 John 4:4 NLT

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

Waiting On God

Waiting on God to answer our prayers is what we must learn to do in order to live a victorious life. Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have patience but it must be developed. And unfortunately the only way it can be developed, is through difficult times. Because if everything is going the way we would like it to, well patience is not necessary. So God has given us everything we need to be successful, but we must be willing to endure. I don't know anyone  personally who likes to endure hardships. But if you are living and breathing you are going to deal with difficult situations in this life.

James 1:2-4 NLT

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

I wish I could tell you that these verses in James are some of my favorites, but they are not. But they are some of the most important verses in the Bible for us as Christians.
Because if you think about it, we are either coming out of difficult times or heading towards difficult times.

John 16:33 NLT

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

So be encouraged and keep seeking God. He is faithful and He will deliver you from whatever adverse circumstances you may be dealing with.

Hebrews 10:35-36 NLT

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

Remember that we are victorious in Jesus Christ, if we do not give up and quit.

Matthew 7:7-8 NLT

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

He answers our prayers, maybe not the way we think He should. But He knows what's best and is faithful to lead us to victory!

The Peace Of God

Isaiah 26: 3 NKJV

You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on you, Because he trusts in you.

There are many people in the Body of Christ, predicting judgements coming to America and the rest of the world. I believe so myself, but as a believer in Jesus Christ, we have nothing to fear. God promises us in His word to protect those who honor Him, by obeying His word. So as I see it, this is an opportunity for us to be a witness for Him, when things that people trust in start to fail. If you remember after September 11th, people were crying out to God. But unfortunately when things got better people went right back to living for themselves and ignoring God's Word. 

Well many well known men and women of God in the Body of Christ, are saying there are much worse things that are coming than September 11th. For me I can't even imagine such a thing. But there is one thing I do know is that every time this nation turned its back on God as a whole, something happened to bring us back to Him. So we must not live in fear. But I do believe it is a time to draw closer to God, and we must be ready to be a witness, to those who will be looking for comfort when times get rough. So no fear, but we must be prepared to be a light in these upcoming dark days. After all that is what our Lord called us to do.

The Joy Of The Lord

The Joy of the Lord is not the same as happiness. Being happy depends on our circumstances being favorable to us. We are happy because everything is going well with us.

But Joy is solely based on us allowing the Spirit of God to manifest in our lives. Joy is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit. When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we also got the nine fruits of the Spirit too. Because they are the attributes of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5: 22-23 NKJV

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

We have to remember who we are in Christ and what we have in Him, if we are going to allow the Joy of the Lord to flow in our lives in adverse circumstances.

Romans 8: 31-32 NKJV
³¹ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

Romans 8: 37-39 NKJV

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ 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.

So you see if we remember that we are victorious through Christ Jesus, we will be able to maintain our Joy in spite of living in adverse circumstances.
We must make sure that we are seeking the lord and fellowshipping with him on a daily basis. Because without that, we will not be able to flow in the fruit of Joy.

John 15: 4-5 NKJV
⁴ Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
⁵ “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

I am not saying it is an easy thing to do, but with God's help we can do anything. We have to fight the good fight of faith in order to keep our Joy when times are tough. But it's possible with God.

Philippians 4:13 NKJV
¹³ I can do all things through Christ^[a] who strengthens me.

So make a quality decision today to allow the Joy of the Lord to flow in your life. Because that is an awesome witness to those who don't know the Lord. When they see us going through difficult times and we are walking in His peace and Joy. That's when they will see that we have something that money and success can't buy. And then they will be open to hear what we have to say about our awesome God!

Walking In Love

Loving others the way God wants us to is not easy all the time. But if we are committed to pleasing our Savior, then we have to obey this command.  Yes I said command, because it is not a suggestion.

Matthew 22:36-40 NLT

“Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment.  A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

So you see it is a command and not something that is an option for us as followers of Jesus Christ. But let's look at these verses a little closer, and in them we can see the key to giving us the ability to love people who are not so easy to love.
First thing is to love the Lord with all our hearts. So you see if we give God our hearts completely,  He will give us the love that we need to love others who don't love us.

John 15:4-5 NLT

Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

So this is the good news if we stay in fellowship with the Lord, we will be able to walk in love. But as this scripture in John says without Him we can do nothing. So loving the people who are unloving to us is possible with God.

Philippians 4:13 NLT

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

We can love others who are difficult to love with God's help.
And remember if we do not walk in love, we only hurt ourselves.  Because God can not answer our prayers if we are not forgiving others and loving them unconditionally.

Mark 11:25 NLT

But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too. ”

So when we are dealing with difficult people when can ask our loving Savior to give us the love we need to overlook what they are doing and love them, just like He loves us.

1 John 4:16-17 NLT

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

So be encouraged when dealing with difficult people and remember we may be their only chance to see what true love really is. It is the Love of God that draws sinners to Jesus Christ.

The Prayer Of Faith

Today we are going to talk about the prayer of faith. I know there are many different types of prayer. But we are just talking about this type of prayer for today's discussion. The Bible gives us clear instructions on how to pray this type of prayer.

James 5: 14-15 NKJV
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

James 1: 5-6 NKJV
⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

According to the Word of God if we pray in faith God hears and he will answer our prayer. Now the Bible did not give us a time frame on when the answer will come. It could come right away or we could have to wait years before we see an answer.

Hebrews 6: 12 NKJV
 
¹² that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

We have to apply patience when we do not see our answer to our prayers. It is not easy but with God's grace we can do anything that His word tells us to do. He gives us the strength that we need to endure the circumstances until He brings a change in our lives. We have to trust that He knows the right timing and when we are ready to receive what we are praying for. We also have to understand that He sometimes doesn't answer our prayers the way we think He should. He is an all wise God and He knows what is best for our lives. A lot of times we do not get what we asked for because it is not the best thing for us in the long run.

So be encouraged and trust our awesome God and know that He will answer your prayers and do what is best for you!

Does healing belong to us today?

By Rev. James Young

Isaiah 53: 5

But He was wounded for our transgressions,  He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.

According to the word of God we are healed already. Jesus paid the price for our sins and diseases. So it is a matter of receiving what Jesus did for us by faith. Just like we did not enjoy the free gift of salvation until we accepted it by faith. It is the same with our healing. We have to believe God's Word instead of how our body feels. If we will stand on the word concerning healing, in due time our bodies will line up with the word of God. Faith speaks what God says instead of what the circumstances may be saying to us.

Proverbs 18:21

Death and life are in the power of the tongue; And they who love it will eat it's fruit.

So Faith speaks life and not sickness or disease. According to the word of God, we will have life or death according to what we talk about on a consistent basis.

Mark 9:23

Jesus said to him, if you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.

So be encouraged and get into the word and write down scriptures concerning your healing and confess them over your life until you receive what our Lord paid for on the Cross!

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It's time to draw close to God

By Rev. James Young

James 4:7-8 NLT

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you...

We are living in the last days. Now Jesus said that nobody knows when the end of time will come, except the father. But it is looking like all the signs are pointing to the end. There are wars and rumors of wars. Mass shootings in schools and churches and in public places. Our rights as Christians are being slowly taken away under the so called separation of church and state. Our safety and protection is only in the Lord.

Psalm 91: 1-2 NLT

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty;  This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;  He is my God, and I trust Him.

The Bible tells us that things in the world are going to get worse not better. It is going to get more dangerous, so our only protection is drawing close to the Lord. We have to trust in Him and not put our trust in man. Government will fail us, people will disappoint us, but God will never fail us.
Remember what Jesus told us: In the world we will have tribulations, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world! Church it's time for us to seek the Lord like never before.  He is our hope in a world that is growing more hopeless each and every day.

So don't be too busy to spend time with the Lord each day. Busyness is not our friend, we have to change our routine and cut out things that keep us from spending time with the Lord. So take inventory of your schedule and make a quality decision to put God first in your life. I can assure that you will not regret putting God at the top of your to do list everyday.  He is waiting to fellowship with you and to guide you to that secret place of His protection and safety.

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Wisdom for successful living part 3

By Rev. James Young

Proverbs 9:10 NLT

Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.
knowledge of the Holy One
results in good judgment.

When the Bible talks about the "Fear" of the Lord; it is not
saying that we should be afraid of our loving father.
But what it is saying is that, we should have a "holy respect" for God. In other words we should respect and
honor Him above any person or thing in this world. Most of us if we agree with a particular law or not honor
the law and obey it as well.

All of us have people in our lives, who have had a impact
on our lives, and because of that we honor and respect them.
Well God deserves our honor and respect and worship. He
unlike humans will never turn His back on us and will always be there for us as well.  So when we honor God like we should, pleasing Him and obeying His word will be very important to us.

 

So whatever you may be going through right now, remember God is on your side and He will never let you down. Even when we don't like what's going on in our lives wisdom says, I will trust Him because I know that He loves me and He knows what's best. So be encouraged remember, He will heal your hurts and pain and bring joy into your life again!  Trouble doesn't last always!

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Are You Thankful?

Psalm106: 1-2 

Praise the lord ! Give thanks to the lord , for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Who can list the glorious miracles of the lord ? Who can ever praise him enough?

 

Are you thankful for all that God has done for you?  There is so much to be thankful for, but if we allow our enemy to control our thoughts, we will be complaining instead of praising our great God.  You see being thankful is determined by what we focus on. If we focus on our problems then we will not be thankful, but if we focus on God's goodness then we will be thankful. 

 

Isaiah 26:3 NLT

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

 

When I first read this verse years ago, I wondered how do I keep my mind on God?
Well we do that by keeping our mind on the Word of God.

 

John 1:1 NLT

In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.

 

So we have to focus on the promises of God when life is not going our way. It is a choice that we have to make sometimes hour by hour when we are in a hard place.
But God is faithful and He will deliver in due season. So we have to choose to think about what He has done for us instead of what He isn't doing for us right now!  Just focus on how He delivered you in the past, and the most important thing is that you are saved and one day you will spend eternity in Heaven with our awesome God!

Your 2 minute sermon # 6 by Rev. James Young

Wisdom for successful living Part 2

By Rev. James Young

Proverbs 3:13 NKJV

Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;

How do you define success?
Well, if you are a Christian, we are supposed to define success according to the word of God. The world defines success by money, fame and how many things you own. I heard a story about an elderly Sunday school teacher, who never taught a large class neither was she well known. Now by the world's definition she would not be considered a very successful person. But even though she never taught large classes or was well known, one of her students was a kid named Billy Graham.

 

And we know Him today as one of the greatest evangelist to have ever lived.
He has led millions of people to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So in God's eyes that unknown Sunday school teacher was a very successful person. So don't let the world define your idea of success. If you are doing what God has called you to do you are very successful!
So be encouraged and keep being faithful in being successful in God's eyes! 

Wisdom for successful living

By Rev. James Young

Proverbs 3:13: NKJV

Happy is the man who finds wisdom,
And the man who gains understanding;

The Bible tells us that obtaining the wisdom of God, is the most important thing we can do in this life.
Well that is going to take a lot of dedication on our part. We live in a busy world with a lot of things to demand our attention. But we have to ask ourselves the question, do we believe that God's Word is true?

 

Well if we answered yes, then we have to make sure that we put seeking God's Word and prayer on top of our lists of things to do on a daily basis. If we are too busy to seek the Lord, I can assure you that we are not living the life that He desires for us to live.
The good news is we can change our schedule and put God first and start living the life He has designed for us to live!

Standing on the Word part 3

By Rev. James Young

Galatians 6:9 NLT

So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up.

Hebrews 10:35-36

Therefore do not cast away
your confidence, which has a great reward.
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

Standing on the word of God when everything we can see, is looking like our prayers are never going to get answered
requires patience. God has given patience to us as one of the fruits of the spirit. But we have to allow it to work in our lives. We do that by keeping our mind on the promises of God instead of our current situation.
But in order to have strength to endure our trials, we must have a consistent prayer life.
Prayer will give us the strength to apply God's word and be patience, while we wait on God to answer our prayers.
So be encouraged God has given you everything you need to be victorious!

      

Standing on the Word part 2

By Rev. James Young

When we talk about standing on God's word, it is not easy on our flesh. Our flesh or natural man lives by the 5 senses. It has to see before it believes. That's why we have to meditate on the verse of Scripture over and over again that deals with our problem.
Romans 12:2: tells us that we have to renew our minds with the word of God. Then and only then can we begin to have God's peace while we wait for our prayers to be answered. So cut off the TV for a hour and use that time to renew your mind and I promise you will be glad you did. God has great things in store for you so be encouraged trouble doesn't last forever!

Standing on the Word

By Rev. James Young

When I was a kid growing up in church, I used to hear the phrase "just stand on God's word". So I used to wonder what good would it do to put the bible on the floor and stand on top of it. Well of course when I got older I found out what they were talking about.
When we are standing on His word it means to get a particular scripture from the Bible that pertains to the  problem we are having at the time and confess what God says about the situation and not rehearse the problem over and over again.

Proverbs 18:21, says death and life are in the power of the tongue and they that love it will eat it's fruit. In other words whatever we talk about on a consistent basis will be what manifests in our life.
So be encouraged and get the word of God in your mouth and watch God change your circumstances and give you the victory!