The enemy loves to put thoughts into the believer’s mind. Those thoughts (if meditated on), produce strongholds, which produces feelings, which lands you into bondage… all because you listened to the devil more then your heavenly Father! I am going to use a common stronghold here in this teaching as an example… an incorrect perception of who you are in Christ. There are many other strongholds out there, but this teaching will give you a general idea of how many strongholds are formed.
Tag: Spiritual Help
What is the difference?
Conviction shows you the answer (the Blood of Jesus, which washes away sin), while condemnation shows you the problem (the sin, the past and your failures). Condemnation shows you the problem, but conviction shows you the answer.
Condemnation shouts, “Your past! Your sins! You loser!” But conviction shouts, “The Blood of Jesus washes away sins! Come to Jesus and be forgiven of your sins! You can be forgiven! Your sins and past don’t have to be a part of you anymore!”
What is conviction?
Conviction is known in the Bible as Godly sorrow. God’s Word tells us that Godly sorrow is what leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Condemnation tells you, “You are such a failure! Look at what you did!” while conviction tells you, “Come to me… and I will forgive you!”
Not only is God willing to forgive your sins, but He longs (deeply desires) to do so! Isaiah 30:18, “Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.” (NASB)
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.”
Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
Conviction shows you the answer to your problem. Conviction shows you the blood of Jesus that wipes away your sins!
What is condemnation?
Condemnation comes from Satan and is meant to tear you down. Condemnation continually points out what a failure you are, and how badly you’ve messed up. Condemnation is showing you the problem, but avoiding the solution.
Jesus did NOT come to condemn the world (John 12:47). There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Satan on the other hand is KNOWN for accusing the brethren (Rev 12:10).
Why won’t you ever hear God telling you what a failure you are? Because Jesus said, “I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.” (John 12:47)
Condemnation versus Conviction
A lot of believers hear condemning thoughts, and some believers even think it’s God telling them these things. My friend, nothing could be further from the truth! God NEVER tells you what a loser you are. Jesus said He came not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 12:47)!
My advice to you
First, sit everything that bothers you on the back burner, and seek your heavenly Father’s love. Seek out a living relationship with Him and seek to learn of His deep love for you… it will change your life! If you are up to reading a book that will lift you up and build your relationship with God… I recommend a book called Blessed Beyond Measure by Gloria Copeland. I want to warn you, it is known to change your whole perspective on life!
Second, make the choice to release those hurt feelings, and allow God to heal the wounds. As you grow in His love, this choice will become much easier to walk out. If you continue to seek out a loving relationship with Him, it will change your whole perspective on life, and forgiving others will come naturally, and healing of those wounds will also become a very real and tangible reality.
How do you forgive somebody?
Forgiveness is a choice. We must choose to forgive those who have done us wrong, then lay the whole mess in God’s hands, and leave it there. Give your hurts and hard feelings to Him. Think about Jesus… here they murdered Him (they didn’t do that to you or I!), and yet one of the last words that left His mouth were crying out “Father, forgive them!” Look at the depth of God’s love for us! God’s deep love for us was expressed through Jesus’ death on the cross. When we begin to comprehend the great expression of love that was towards us, that same love will begin to grow in our hearts, and flow out to others. That is why it is important to grow in God’s love and become well aware of how deep and rich it is, because when we understand His love for us, we will find that forgiving others becomes naturally and the choice becomes much easier to make.
A little real life story
One time I had somebody say some things that was very belittling about me, and most people would have been offended. After they were gone, the Lord spoke to me… He told me to go turn on some worship music and spend some time with Him… I did… and within no time, instead of thinking about what they’ve done to me, I was weeping before the Lord for them in prayer… begging God from the bottom of my heart to bring them to come know Jesus… I felt a love inside me well up that was not mere human emotion… I felt the love of God flowing through me! Instead of letting it get to me, and looking at what they had done, I got my eyes on God’s love for me, and that love flowed right through me to them… as a result, I loved them as Christ loved me. It’s one of the most beautiful feelings in the world!!
The key to forgiving others… grow in God’s love!
If you reach out to God, and seek a deeper relationship with Him, He will draw near to you, and you will find that deeper relationship with Him. God’s Word is clear about this fact:
Luke 11:9-10, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
James 4:8, “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you…”
The relationship is yours for the taking! Christ wanted this relationship with you so badly, that He gave His life for it! Your heavenly Father wants this intimate relationship with you even more than you do.
What kind of a relationship does God want with us? An intimate love relationship! The Lord gave me a powerful revelation of this not long ago, and I wrote a teaching on it. It is a must-read if you want to take your relationship with the Lord to a deeper level. The teaching is titled A love relationship with Jesus.
Spiritual warfare: How to forgive others (Part 2)
How to deal with unforgiveness
As I have pointed out, unforgiveness is a form of hatred, which is actually a lack of love. If you are bitter with somebody, then the love of Christ is not flowing through you. So how do you solve that problem? You need to grow in God’s love. You need to come to realize that deep and beautiful love that He has for you. As you learn of His love for you, your spirit will respond and you will love Him in return. When you love Him, your love will begin to flow through you to others around you. When that happens, it becomes more natural to see Christ’s forgiveness flowing through you to them.
How do you come to know the love of God? You spend time with Him. You research His Word to see what it has to say about His great love for you! Work on developing an intimate relationship with Him, and you will come to know His love. Here are some verses that can get you started:
John 10:11, 15:13, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep… Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”
Romans 2:4, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?”
1 John 3:1, “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God…”
Look at this one… you aren’t loved for what you’ve done… but because of who you are! Even before you came to Christ, He loved you so much that He died for you!
Romans 5:8, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (NLT)
1 John 4:9, “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”
If you have a hard time forgiving others, it’s because the love of Christ isn’t flowing through you. How do you solve this problem? Start working on your relationship with your heavenly Father so you can come to know of His great love for you, and then your spirit will respond and His love will begin to flow through you naturally. When that begins to happen, forgiving those who have wronged you will become much easier.
It is nearly impossible for somebody who is flowing in the love of God to hold bitterness (a form of hate) inside! If you struggle with bitterness, it’s because you lack the love of Christ in your life! You need to become grounded and rooted in the love of Christ, if you want His love to flow through you!
I believe Jesus made it clear that if you love Him, keeping His commandments will naturally follow. If you love Jesus, carrying out His love will come naturally to you:
John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
What was His big commandment? To let His love flow through you to others around you, and love them as He has loved us:
John 13:34, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”
Persecution Live 