Do You Believe God’s Word? 48 Benefits We Have In Christ
Do you believe that God’s Word is a creative Word? Mark 11:22-23 says, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whosoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.
[pullquote]God’s Word won’t return to Him void. His Word is ready, willing, and able to produce results in your life. Now the ball is in your court. Do you believe what His Word has to say about you?[/pullquote]
Mark 11:22-23 has been dismantled by “learned” individuals for years. However, in this post, I want to sidestep the usual debate about the elements of Mark 11:22-23. Was it a real mountain or not? Did He really mean whosoever or not? Does it mean I can really have anything I say, or not? Let’s toss all those questions aside.
What I want to elicit from you today is, do you believe that Jesus believed Mark 11:22-23 as it applied to Himself? Do you believe that Jesus believed He could have whatever He said? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that most people would agree that Jesus believed that His words would cause whatever He spoke to come to pass.
When the last chapter of the bible has been realized and we’ve reached the end of days, I don’t think we will be able to look back on anything that Jesus has said and say, Well, He said this or that and it didn’t happen.
Isaiah 55:11 says, “My word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it”.
Psalm 138:2 says that God has exalted His Word even above His name.
Basically in all of this, the bottom line is what God says, goes. His Word is the bottom line in any and every situation. Do you believe what He has said in His Word?
God Creates With His Word
Just look at the creation of the world in the Book of Genesis. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. God said, “Light Be”, and light was. Then He stepped back and saw what He said, and it was good.
God created the heavens and the earth with His Words. Notice that nothing came into being until He said something. God’s Word has enough power in itself to bring itself to pass.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His Benefits….Psalm 103:2
This same God, creator of heaven and earth has provided us, His children with some benefits. If we agree that God can have whatsoever He says, the realization of what He has said about us should cause any burdens we’re currently carrying to dissolve right before our eyes. Do you believe what He has said about you? That’s the deciding factor of if we see the Word become flesh (or real) in our lives.
So What Does God’s Word Have to Say About Us?
Colossians 2:10 – We are complete in Him Who is the head over all rule and authority—of every angelic and earthly power
Ephesians 2:5 – We are alive with Christ
Romans 8:2 – We are free from the law of sin and death
Isaiah 54:14 – We are far from oppression, and will not live in fear
1 John 5:18 – We are born of God, and the evil one does not touch us
Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:16 – We are holy and without blame before Him in love
1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5 – We have the mind of Christ
Philippians 4:7 – We have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
1 John 4:4 – The Spirit of God, who is greater than the enemy in the world, lives in us
Romans 5:17 – We have received abundant grace and the gift of righteousness and reign in life through Jesus Christ
Ephesians 1:17-18 – We have received the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, the eyes of our hearts enlightened, so that we know the hope of having life in Christ
Mark 16:17-18; Luke 10:17-19 – We have received the power of the Holy Spirit and He can do miraculous things through us. We have authority and power over the enemy in this world
Colossians 3:9-10 – We are renewed in the knowledge of God and no longer want to live in our old ways or nature before we accepted Christ
Luke 6:36-38 – We are merciful, we do not judge others, and we forgive quickly. As we do this by God’s grace, He blesses our lives
Philippians 4:19 – God supplies all of our needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus
Ephesians 6:16 – In all circumstances we live by faith in God and extinguish all the flaming darts (attacks) of the enemy
Philippians 4:13 – We can do whatever we need to do in life through Christ Jesus who gives us strength
1 Peter 2:9 – We are chosen by God who called us out of the darkness of sin and into the light and life of Christ so we can proclaim the excellence and greatness of who He is
1 Peter 1:23 – We are born again—spiritually transformed, renewed and set apart for God’s purpose—through the living and everlasting Word of God
Ephesians 2:10 – We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ to do good works that He has prepared for us to do
2 Corinthians 5:17 – We are a new creation in Christ
Romans 6:11 – We are dead to sin. Our relationship to it is broken. We are alive to God and living in unbroken fellowship with Him
2 Corinthians 4:6 – The light of God’s truth has shone in our hearts and given us knowledge of salvation through Christ
James 1:22, 25 – As we hear God’s Word, we do what it says and we are blessed in our actions
Romans 8:17 – We are joint-heirs with Christ
Romans 8:37 – We are more than conquerors through Him who loves us
Revelation 12:11 – We overcome the enemy of our souls by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony
2 Peter 1:3-4 – We have everything we need to live godly lives and are equipped to live in His divine nature
2 Corinthians 5:20 – We are ambassadors for Christ
1 Peter 2:9 – We are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people
2 Corinthians 5:21 – We are the righteousness of God. We have right standing with Him in Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 6:19 – Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit; we belong to Him
Deuteronomy 28:13 – We are the head and not the tail, and we only go up and not down in life as we trust and obey God
Matthew 5:14 – We are the light of the world
Romans 8:33; Colossians 3:12 – We are chosen by God, forgiven and justified through Christ. We have compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness and patience
Ephesians 1:7 – We are redeemed, forgiven of all our sins and made clean through the blood of Christ
Colossians 1:13 – We have been rescued from the domain and the power of darkness and brought into God’s kingdom
Deuteronomy 28:15-68; Galatians 3:13 – We are redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty
Colossians 2:7 – Our lives are rooted in our faith in Christ and we overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done for us
Psalm 66:8; 2 Timothy 1:9 – We are called to live a holy life by the grace of God and to declare His praise in the world
Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24 – We are healed and whole in Jesus
Ephesians 2:5-6; Colossians 2:12 – We are saved by God’s grace, raised up with Christ and seated with Him in heavenly places
John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4; Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4 – We are greatly loved by God
Colossians 1:11 – We are strengthened with all power according to His glorious might
James 4:7 – As we humbly submit ourselves to God, the devil flees from us because we resist him in the Name of Jesus
Philippians 3:14 – We press on each day to fulfill God’s plan for our lives because we live to please Him
2 Timothy 1:7 – We are not ruled by fear because the Holy Spirit lives in us and gives us His power, love and self-control
Galatians 2:20 – Christ lives in us, and we live by faith in Him and His love for us
This is not an all-inclusive list. The scriptures above are just some of the things God has said about who we are, what we have, and what we can do in Christ.
Casting Off Religious Cliches About Who We Are In Christ
One quick note. Notice that “I’m a sinner” is conspicuously missing from the list above concerning who we are, what we have, and what we can do in Christ. The term “I’m a sinner, saved by grace” is a phrase that’s rampant in the Body of Christ and quite frankly, it irks me to no end.
Nowhere in the bible does God call His people sinners. To say that you’re a sinner saved by grace is like saying “I’m an extremely tall short person”. You cannot be both. We have a new nature. It’s true we used to be sinners. And it’s true that we were saved by grace. But when I was saved by grace, I became a new creature (one that never existed before) in Christ Jesus. The bible now calls me the righteousness of God.
Now understand that I’m not saying that we will never sin again. We will. We will never reach a point of perfection while we’re here, in these bodies. But my action of sin does not make me a sinner. When I commit a sin, I’m referencing an individual act of sin. A single individual occurrence. When I sin, He is faithful and just to forgive my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
When I call myself a sinner, I’m referring to my nature. I am not a sinner. And if you’re born again, neither are you. Do you believe you’re are a sinner? I would encourage you to receive the Lord Jesus Christ. Become a Christian and join the family! Click HERE
Do You Believe What He Said?
We’ve established the fact that there is enough creative power in God’s Word to bring itself to pass. And we’ve established that God’s Word always comes to pass. If these two things are true, then we have a monumental dilemma on our hands. Many Christians all over the world live their whole lives and never experience the benefits we have in Christ as outlined above even though these benefits are the Will of God for them. Why?
The Reason Why Christians Fail to Recieve From God
Since God is God and we are who we are, if something isn’t working in our lives, the problem is always going to be on our side of the fence. The reason why we’re not experiencing the things that God has already told us are ours according to His Word is because we’re fighting against God. We’re not cooperating with Him. We’re hindering His power in our lives. The way we think in association with the words that come out of our mouths render the power of God of no effect in our lives. In essence, we don’t believe what He said.
The Centurion in Matthew 8 is a great example of someone who knew the power of words. He also knew how to act on the Word of God in order to receive its benefits.
Matthew 8:5-8 and 13
5 And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6 And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8 The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9 For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10 When Jesus heard it, he marveled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
This centurion knew the power of words. He used words the make things happen in his own life as outlined in verse 9. But more importantly, He knew the power of Jesus’ words.
Can We Really Hinder the Power of God In Our Lives? Absolutely!
Mark 6:1-6 tells us about a time when Jesus and His disciples went back to His hometown. The people in His hometown were people that knew Jesus. They interacted with Him. They knew His parents. They had the opportunity to see Jesus grow and develop from childhood. Jesus was God manifested in the flesh. But Jesus had a human side also. If there is any time we would like to shine, it’s in front of our hometown crowd. We’ve all heard of the “hometown boy makes good” stories and how heartwarming they can be. This was an opportunity for Jesus to do something good among the people He grew up around.
But when He began to teach boldly in the synagogue, the murmurs began. “Where did this man get these things?”, “What’s this wisdom that has been given to Him that He even does miracles?”, “Isn’t this the carpenter?”, “Isn’t this Mary’s son?” The bible says that the people in His hometown, those who knew Him best, were offended at Him. The cloud of unbelief that surrounded the town was so thick that the bible says Jesus could do no mighty works there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. The bible doesn’t say He would not do any mighty works there. It says HE COULD NOT do any mighty works.
What we say, what we think, and what we believe has an impact on what we receive from God even though the will of God is for us to benefit from what He has provided. The question will always be…do you believe what He has said about you?
The Visible Does Not Invalidate the Invisible
It’s Impossible to receive anything from God without faith. We can give all that we have to the poor, serve in our churches until our bodies are worn out, and pray without ceasing for those around us but without faith, all these efforts come to nothing. Without faith, it’s impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6). Our very salvation itself was born out of an act of faith….believing with the heart and confessing with the mouth (Romans 10:9).
Receiving from God doesn’t require you to feel anything. Receiving from God doesn’t require you to see anything. Sense deprivation where the things of God are concerned is what prohibits many from receiving from God. If we can’t see anything or feel anything then we tend not to believe. The fact that you can’t see or feel anything related to the things of God does not render His Word void. God’s Word is true whether you feel anything or not. In the realm of faith, believing what He said must always come first before you see or feel anything. In the world, seeing is believing. In the kingdom of God, believing is seeing.
So in conclusion, Id’ like to encourage you and remind you of the power of God’s Word that is hovering over your life right now, even as you read this. Get an accountability partner that can help get you through the challenges of life. Coach them to ask you the simple question, Do you believe what God says about you? When you’re in the midst of a battle in life, that simple question can help you re-focus and stay strong during a difficult time.
God’s Word won’t return to Him void. His Word is ready, willing, and able to produce results in your life. Now the ball is in your court. Do you believe what His Word has to say about you? Believe what He says about you. Agree with what He says about you. And receive His benefits.
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