GraceUncovered

Authors home articles Gracelife

GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

Right Standing with God Comes ONLY by Faith

by

This week’s Forward Moment: The Spirit of the Living God is Active

 

 This week’s FREE message

If you’re going to take God seriously you have to take him at his word. You have to humble yourself and accept his truth as your foundation for your worldview. If we find in his Word information that is personal to you, you must allow it to redefine who YOU are in light of this truth.

You behave according to who you believe you are. I want to help you understand and naturally live from the new creation reality that you are righteous because you’re in Jesus. The best way to do that is continually remind you of your inheritance as a child of God promised in his new covenant that is upheld by the blood of Jesus.

Righteousness – as he ought to be
Righteous – innocent, faultless, guiltless, approved of God or acceptable to God

Is it a reality to you that Jesus became your sin so you could become his righteousness? This is important because if you’re serious about transformation and allowing his grace to teach you godliness then you must change who you think you are to the righteousness of God in Jesus to have any hope of outwardly living that way.

You live out of your identity. The believer under grace is delivered from the law of sin and death and the law was nailed to the cross of Christ, never to be held against you…from there we are to allow that finished work in our spirit become effectual in every aspect of our being for the sole purpose of glorifying God.

I gave you an exercise last week but I’d like for you to repeat it.

Say out loud: I am righteous

Go ahead, now is as good a time as any…

When you say it, pay attention to your inner thoughts and feelings. Do you start thinking about what you did last week? Do you start thinking of a doctrine you’ve learned along the way? Or do you take a deep breath of relief and become filled with thankfulness for what Jesus did for you?

You can take any truth or promise and apply the same exercise. Try it with provision, “God is my provider,” and persuade your heart of God’s will to be your provider.

All things are possible to those who believe!

 

CHECK OUT THIS SERIES FOR MORE ON RIGHTEOUSNESS

Message Titles

1. Why Covenants?
2. Why the New Covenant?
3. Eternal Life
4. Sons of Glory
5. God is Committed to Us

Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

The Law was never meant for righteousness so God offered a New Covenant in Jesus Christ through which we can receive eternal life. But have you ever wondered why God created covenants at all? You will be grounded in God’s purpose for making promises and you will have unshakable confidence in your salvation.

$5.00 – Add MP3s to Cart Loading

The post Right Standing with God Comes ONLY by Faith appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Right Standing with God Comes ONLY by Faith

by

This week’s Forward Moment: The Spirit of the Living God is Active

 

 This week’s FREE message

If you’re going to take God seriously you have to take him at his word. You have to humble yourself and accept his truth as your foundation for your worldview. If we find in his Word information that is personal to you, you must allow it to redefine who YOU are in light of this truth.

You behave according to who you believe you are. I want to help you understand and naturally live from the new creation reality that you are righteous because you’re in Jesus. The best way to do that is continually remind you of your inheritance as a child of God promised in his new covenant that is upheld by the blood of Jesus.

Righteousness – as he ought to be
Righteous – innocent, faultless, guiltless, approved of God or acceptable to God

Is it a reality to you that Jesus became your sin so you could become his righteousness? This is important because if you’re serious about transformation and allowing his grace to teach you godliness then you must change who you think you are to the righteousness of God in Jesus to have any hope of outwardly living that way.

You live out of your identity. The believer under grace is delivered from the law of sin and death and the law was nailed to the cross of Christ, never to be held against you…from there we are to allow that finished work in our spirit become effectual in every aspect of our being for the sole purpose of glorifying God.

I gave you an exercise last week but I’d like for you to repeat it.

Say out loud: I am righteous

Go ahead, now is as good a time as any…

When you say it, pay attention to your inner thoughts and feelings. Do you start thinking about what you did last week? Do you start thinking of a doctrine you’ve learned along the way? Or do you take a deep breath of relief and become filled with thankfulness for what Jesus did for you?

You can take any truth or promise and apply the same exercise. Try it with provision, “God is my provider,” and persuade your heart of God’s will to be your provider.

All things are possible to those who believe!

 

CHECK OUT THIS SERIES FOR MORE ON RIGHTEOUSNESS

Message Titles

1. Why Covenants?
2. Why the New Covenant?
3. Eternal Life
4. Sons of Glory
5. God is Committed to Us

Hebrews 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

The Law was never meant for righteousness so God offered a New Covenant in Jesus Christ through which we can receive eternal life. But have you ever wondered why God created covenants at all? You will be grounded in God’s purpose for making promises and you will have unshakable confidence in your salvation.

$5.00 – Add MP3s to Cart Loading

The post Right Standing with God Comes ONLY by Faith appeared first on Forward Ministries.

We Are Changed by the Power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

by

 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes Romans 1:16a

Information in and of itself is not effective. You might learn something from gaining information but unless it touches your heart or you apply it to your life, it’s just information.

The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ was prophesied by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. They all shared the same points about a coming new covenant and God’s messiah.

1. I will sprinkle you clean with fresh water
2. I will give you a new heart
3. I will put my spirit within you
4. I will no longer hold your sin/trespasses against you OR I will remember your sins no more

Through faith in the effectual power of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, any person is washed clean from what separates them from God, forgiven, made into a new creature and engrafted into God himself in Christ.

Knowing that intellectually won’t help you much when you need to be free from guilt. Being able to quote the right scripture won’t liberate your soul from sin. But personalizing the cross and experiencing the exchange that too place on the cross in Jesus is power to your soul and empowering to your heart.

Learn to influence your heart with the truth. Learn to look at Jesus and what he did and assimilate that exchange into your heart, mind and soul for freedom from your past.

Try this exercise:

Say out loud, “I am righteous.”

Then notice how you feel.

Say again out loud, “I am righteous.”

Pay attention to what you think after saying that.

Say out loud, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.“

Do you hear a conflicting system of theology combating that statement? Do you have qualifying thoughts afterward? Like, “but I still sin.” If you think your righteousness depends at all on your behavior or ability to stay out of sin, then you are self-righteous. This doesn’t mean sin is OK, it just means Jesus alone is the reason I’m righteous.

You can walk yourself through many new creation identity truth’s just like this to see what you really believe. If your thoughts and feelings don’t agree with the truth statement you make, take some time to persuade your heart of truth just like I show you in the video on this page. The truth you experience in your heart will set you free!

For an additional meditative exercise to persuade your heart of the truth, go through Isaiah 53 and personalize every word…see yourself in the exchange and feel the freedom from guilt, shame and sin as you personalize the work of Christ.

 

Isaiah 53

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The post We Are Changed by the Power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Use this message to learn how to gain wisdom from Christ and apply it to life

by

What good is it that you have the information about God’s love and the forgiveness of sin in the sacrifice of Christ if it doesn’t help you when you’re depressed, broke and confused? Sure you’re going to Heaven but you may need a little bit of Heaven in your heart right now. In this above message, I walk you through how to feed on truth and apply it.

Wisdom comes much like inspiration. Wisdom does not come typically after logical carnal thought, it’s spiritual truth in application so it may come in a form that feels like your own idea that you could reason away. Wisdom is spiritual fruit so one must be persuaded by spirit and influenced by spirit to let wisdom come to pass.

The parable of the sower in Mark 4 is all about the heart. The heart is the missing element of understanding and experiencing transformation. Everything you believe is in your heart. You automatically do what is in your heart. Jesus teaches that his kingdom works through the heart. He likens the kingdom like someone who casts seed in the ground, sleeps then wakes up and he doesn’t know how it actually works but the seed produces after it’s own kind.

You can’t understand the physicality of how spirit works but it works like seed. You can’t force growth, you can’t genetically modify growth, you can’t fabricate growth, it has to be natural and organic.

Transformation or spiritual formation or growth or however you want to put it comes because it’s in you in fullness in seed form already because Christ is in you. Now you must yield to that until he takes over every area of your life.

That’s the process…

What comes next is putting in the sickle to reap the harvest. More on that in the coming weeks…

Use my message from above to develop the skill of applying the truth of who you are in Christ to your heart. And like the kingdom in soil, that truth, that process of feeding on Christ will further your process of transformation unto manifestation.

The post Use this message to learn how to gain wisdom from Christ and apply it to life appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Jesus and the Destruction of Death (A Communion Meditation)

by

No, that’s not the name of a heavy metal band, that’s the goal of the cross…the total obliteration of death and its effects on mankind. The blood of Jesus takes us from dark to light…from death to life.

The mission of Jesus and our appropriate response is less about right and wrong and more about life and death. We believe unto life…eternal life. There is no humanly way possible to escape the destruction of sin, which is death…so God dealt the final blow in Jesus. Of course we await the time when the last enemy, death, is put under the feet of his body but regarding our spiritual life, death has lost it’s sting.

Take a moment and commune with Jesus, remember his body and blood and allow his spirit to manifest his life through you.

The post Jesus and the Destruction of Death (A Communion Meditation) appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Where Should I Stand When I Pray?

by

Prayer is more about speaking God’s will over a person or situation because he has given us authority to represent him and establish his will in the earth. This of course means you need to know God’s will. There’s a simple way to determine His will in most areas…

IF JESUS PAID FOR IT, IT’S YOURS NOW!!!

No if, and’s or but’s about it. It’s not a “prosperity gospel” or “health & wealth” concept to acknowledge that God’s will for you is that you walk in what Jesus paid for. So what did he pay for?

From Isaiah 53

He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.

He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole. He was bruised so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.

He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.

He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.

But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Because of what Jesus has done for us and where we now are in Him, prayer can be an intimate discussion with God over the affairs of your life. And outwardly toward the world we are delegates and representatives decreeing what our God wants. Prayer should not be from a place of confusion or wonder it should be from a place of confidence in his will and then speaking it into manifestation.

The next time you pray…

  • Remember what Jesus did for you
  • Assure your heart that the effects of his actions are for you now
  • See Jesus as an overcomer in that situation
  • Affirm that you are in him, that you are a joint-heir
  • Speak the will of God as evidenced in the finished work of Jesus

The post Where Should I Stand When I Pray? appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Healing Division Through Love for One Another

by

Now that the election is over, the church needs to repent (change our minds) and unite in the knowledge of the son of God unto maturity. The only strategy we have to effectively reach the world with the Gospel is our love for one another and our unity in love toward the unbelieving.

God’s strategy is unity in his body.

The enemy’s strategy is division in the body.

Which one “won” during the recent US Presidential election cycle?

The main tactic of the enemy against the church is division. The division we see on the church is by design, the design of the enemy. We must recognize that we’re splitting in the name of truth but we’re overlooking what unites us, we have the same Father, we have the same Jesus, we are brothers and sisters in a family that transcends doctrinal differences. All believers in Christ our Lord are united in one spirit. Naturally the devil wants to make us think we’re disconnected and get us separating in this world to sow dischord in God’s plan to reach the unbelieving world.

As an example, I want to expose how one man and his ideas can play into the strategy of the enemy and create dischord in the body of Christ. Saul Alinsky has had a major influence on modern politics. As we just saw, political views created much division in the body of Christ. Alinsky wrote “Rules for Radicals” which is a Marxist inspired mandate to break down a God centered society and make people dependent on the state. He uses divisive tactics like ridicule, race bating, cultural war bating around the illusion of fairness. Alinsky dedicated his book to Lucifer, describing him as “the very first radical who won his own kingdom. This confused man is cited by many modern liberal politicians as a great influence in their lives.

If we are engaging in divisive tactics we are falling for the plan of the “original radical.”

I’m not interested in rebuking the church, I want to pull us together so we can unite in the knowledge of the son of God rather than divide over theological differences, race, denominational differences and political agendas.

Even in differing opinions, we all bleed red and those who have said yes to Jesus are in the same family. Those who are not believers are still our brothers and sisters in the human race. My prayer is for respect, decency, maturity and love to filter our relationships and communication. We’re all in this together.

We all have influence over each other. Each and every one of us are highly suggestible. Let’s try an experiment and treat other people how we want to be treated and speak over them things we’d want in our own lives and see how it goes. We reap what we sow, even from each other.

The post Healing Division Through Love for One Another appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Death Can’t Hold You Down

by

The resurrection of Jesus multi-faceted but there are two main points I want to focus on in this article. The atonement aspect of his sacrifice and God’s testimony in Jesus of his will for us.

The obvious take away that we must personalize about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is the exchange of our sin for his righteousness, the trading of our sickness and disease for his healing, our shame for his acceptance and our death for his life.

But Jesus is also God’s testimony to mankind of what he wants for us. God did in Jesus what he wants for all of humanity. He set him free from death, he gave him eternal life after the resurrection, he gave him a place next to his own seat of authority in his eternal kingdom…and the list goes on. These are all things God wants for you.

God did not give us the example of Jesus for us to live up to, he gave us him as an example of what he wants to do in our lives. God knows we can’t be good enough, holy enough, righteous enough, heal ourselves, provide eternal life for ourselves…so he gave us those things in Jesus. The fact that God put all of humanity’s sin on Jesus and Jesus died with that in himself then God set him free from death because Jesus remained faithful to God and his promises is the evidence that God wants those things for us.

Take some time to look at the resurrection and all that Jesus endured as a promise to you of what God wants for you.

And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Acts 4:33

The post Death Can’t Hold You Down appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Help Me Build Discipleship Resources and Get Access To Every Class

by

Many of you use my GOOD GOD and GOOD NEWS booklets to communicate the simple message of God’s goodness and the basic message of the cross in your personal ministries, I have a new idea for a few video courses that will simplify a essential topics that you can use personally and in your ministry toward others. More on that below…

I want to change the way people see God. I want people to trust God because when people trust God, they open their hearts to him and his transformative grace shapes them into His image. I have no greater joy as a minister than to see people have an encounter with God’s spirit and it set them free from oppression, depression and fear. But far too many people still don’t know how to connect with God’s spirit and allow him to strengthen them in their inner being.

I am in the process of developing a few courses that are designed to help people rebuild their identity in the finished work of Jesus, discover the call on their lives, create a plan to walk out their passions and become a disciple of Jesus that is walking in his power.

I believe the Lord has shown me a way to streamline many of my teachings into a few thorough yet easy to use video courses. These courses will be available on-demand (online) and through flash drives that we can send around the world. When I say WE, I mean you too. I want to partner with you as you disciple others.

Each course will come with a workbook and “motion exercises” to develop your supernatural heart and divine mind. Romans 12:2 says we are transformed by the renewing of our mind…I want to help you renovate your mind, root your heart in truth and help you experience transformation in a lasting way. And I want to put tools in your hands to give to others who are ready to experience real transformation.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

These courses will cost money to produce and distribute. There are equipment, production, design, development and distribution costs.

I am looking for partners who believe in what we’re doing through Forward Ministries. As a thank you for partnering with me, I will give you access to each and every course as they are developed. AND if you’re a regular supporter, I will allow you to give access to people you are ministering to. I know how difficult it is to find easy to use, concise resources to facilitate discipleship in this message.

This will be a lengthy process so I need people who are committed to helping me develop resources that can be accessed around the world. These courses will also equip pastors and ministers to effectively disciple their congregations in the finished work of Jesus. And they will empower you to be more effective in your personal ministries toward your friends and family.

I am connected with several international pastors that need good, easy to use, Gospel based materials to disciple their people and reach their communities. I am contacted weekly by pastors who need materials to establish the hearts of their people in the good news of the Gospel. I’m sure you know people who could use these resources.

Here are the courses so far. Most of them I have taught on Wednesday’s at my church so I’ll just need to film, develop the workbooks then prepare for distribution.

  • New Creation Identity: Our Joint-Inheritance with Jesus and the Authority of the Believer
  • Why Am I Here? Understanding Your Purpose, Living Your Dreams and Fulfilling Your Call
  • Living Forward: Taking Steps Toward the Desires of Your Heart
  • Communicating the Gospel: A Systematic Discourse in Teaching Others The Good News
  • Grace and the Supernatural: Prayer, Gifts of the Spirit and Offices of Administration
  • The Cross: Understanding the New Covenant Through the Old Covenant Sacrificial System
  • Specific books in the Bible as this grows

WILL YOU HELP?

If you said yes, and I pray you do, there are two immediate ways to help.

PRAYER – Agree with me in prayer that these courses will be used by God to establish thousands of hearts in the Gospel. Begin to pray for those you’d like to give these courses to.
PARTNER FINANCIALLY – Support financially with a recurring or one-time gift.

Your prayers of agreement will increase the effectiveness of this effort. Your financial support will ensure a professional production and easy to use delivery system.

Many of you already give regularly and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! Most people on my email list never give, and that’s ok! I will still continue to send free audio messages weekly and short videos on a regular basis. But this is an appeal to those of you who believe in this message and have been impacted to the degree that YOU WANT TO HELP.

As your gifts are made, I will add you to a Partners list to keep you updated and send you SNEAK PEEKS as courses and their related materials are produced. If you’re already a regular supporter, you will automatically be added to this list.

Thank you for your prayers and consideration in partnering with me to establish people’s hearts in grace!

PARTNER WITH ME TODAY AND LET’S CHANGE THE WAY PEOPLE SEE GOD!!

Keep in mind, people who set up recurring gifts will be added to my sneak peek list and will receive updates as resources are produced!

CLICK TO GIVE A ONE TIME GIFT OR SET UP A REGULAR OCURRING GIFT

The post Help Me Build Discipleship Resources and Get Access To Every Class appeared first on Forward Ministries.

God’s Discipline Has Nothing to Do with Punishment or Judgement

by

Does God discipline? If so, what’s his mood as he’s doing so? Is he angry? Does he discipline as an angry father? I have good news for you!

P.S. You can browse through my last few blog posts for links to more teachings in this series, I pray these messages on God’s goodness assure your heart of His love for you.

The post God’s Discipline Has Nothing to Do with Punishment or Judgement appeared first on Forward Ministries.

James Says God Doesn’t Tempt or Test Us But Paul Says God Tests Our Hearts, Does the Bible Contradict Itself?

by

James 1:13 instructs us to never say God tests or tempts us but Paul says God tests our hearts (1 Thessalonians 2:4). Does the Bible contradict itself? Maybe there’s something we’re missing about these concepts.

 

The post James Says God Doesn’t Tempt or Test Us But Paul Says God Tests Our Hearts, Does the Bible Contradict Itself? appeared first on Forward Ministries.

Categories

Recent Posts