Are You Living in Defeat or Victory?

PRAY OVER THIS

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.” Ephesians 1:17-21

 

PONDER THIS

We have something that Adam never had. Adam was innocent; we are righteous. Adam was there in the Garden of Eden, and he sinned. But you and I have the Lord Jesus Christ as part of us. Don’t think of the Church as an organization with Christ as the president. The Church is an organism. It is a body with Christ as the head, and what is true about the Lord Jesus Christ is true about you. Jesus did not defeat Satan on His own behalf—He defeated Satan on our behalf. We have been co-executed, co-risen, and co-exalted with the Lord Jesus Christ. He became a son of man so that we might become sons and daughters of God. He took our sins so that we might be innocent. He became guilty so that we might be acquitted. He was filled with despair so that we might be filled with joy. He took our shame so that we might take His glory. He endured the pains of Hell so that we might have the blessings of heaven. The Lamb has triumphed. He has prevailed, and that’s why He commissioned us in Matthew 28:18-20: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

How have you lived in defeat despite Jesus’ victory on your behalf?

If you are a follower of Jesus, how has your shared identity with Him changed your approach to life? If you are not, how do you need to respond to Him today?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of ways you live in defeat daily. Make a corresponding list of ways Jesus has achieved victory in these areas.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Heaven’s Relief in the Coming Wrath

God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted . . . when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (2 Thessalonians 1:6–8)

There will come a time when the patience of God is over. When God has seen his people suffer for the allotted time, and the appointed number of martyrs is complete (Revelation 6:11), then a just and holy vengeance will come from heaven.

Notice that God’s vengeance on those who have afflicted his people is experienced by us as “relief.” “God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted.” In other words, the judgment on “those who afflict” us is a form of grace toward us.

Perhaps the most remarkable picture of judgment as grace is the picture of Babylon’s destruction in Revelation 18. At her destruction, a great voice from heaven cries, “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her!” (Revelation 18:20). Then a great multitude is heard saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants” (Revelation 19:1–2).

When God’s patience has run its long-suffering course, and this age is over, and judgment comes on the enemies of God’s people, the saints will not disapprove of God’s justice.

This means that the final destruction of the unrepentant will not be experienced as a misery for God’s people.

The unwillingness of others to repent will not hold the affections of the saints hostage. Hell will not be able to blackmail heaven into misery. God’s judgment will be approved, and the saints will experience the vindication of truth as a great grace.

John Piper 

Bible Study

Ephesians 1:22-23

[22] And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, [23] which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Ephesians 2:1

By Grace Through Faith

[1] And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Colossians 1:18-20

[18] And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. [19] For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, [20] and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Jeremiah 23:24

[24] Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD.

John 1:16-18

[16] For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. [17] For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. [18] No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

How Do You Deal with Guilt?

PRAY OVER THIS

“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.” 2 Corinthians 7:10

 

PONDER THIS

It is important to know the difference between accusation and conviction. The Holy Spirit is the convict-er; He will convict you of sin. The devil is the accuser; he will accuse you of sin. Accusation comes from Satan and causes you to feel hopeless and helpless. Judas was an example of this: he betrayed the Lord and was filled with remorse, which led him to suicide. His remorse did not draw him back to Jesus; it drove him from Jesus. True conviction draws you to the Lord. True conviction causes brokenness that leads you to be broken over your sin and to be broken from your sin. Simon Peter was convicted of his sin when he denied the Lord; he wept bitterly, and God restored him.

Satan accuses you not only before God, but he also accuses you to your face. He wants you to focus your attention on anything but Jesus. He wants you to live under the dark cloud of guilt and despair. When I teach about sin, I will not harp on guilt because that is not what brings true conviction and repentance. Guilt only brings remorse and beats people down; it becomes a tool of the devil.

When have you experienced conviction? How did you respond?

How have you seen the pain of guilt in your own life?

PRACTICE THIS

Consider the last time you beat yourself up for something God has forgiven you of. Talk to God in prayer about that now.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Powerful Root of Practical Love

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. (1 John 3:14)

So, love is the evidence that we are born again — that we are Christians, that we are saved.

Sometimes the Bible makes our holiness and our love for people the condition of our final salvation. In other words, if we are not holy and not loving, we will not be saved at the judgment day (e.g., Hebrews 12:14; Galatians 5:21; 1 Corinthians 6:10). This doesn’t mean that acts of love are how we get right with God. No, the Bible is clear again and again as Ephesians 2:8–9 says, “By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not of works, so that no one may boast.” No, when the Bible says that we are saved by faith but that we must love people in order to finally be saved, it means that faith in God’s promises must be so real that the love it produces proves the reality of the faith.

So, love for others is a condition of future grace in the sense that it confirms that the primary condition, faith, is genuine. We could call love for others a secondary condition, which confirms the authenticity of the primary and essential condition of faith which alone unites us to Christ, and receives his power.

Faith perceives the glory of God in the promises of future grace and embraces all that the promises reveal of what God is for us in Jesus. That spiritual sight of God’s glory, and our delight in it, is the self-authenticating evidence that God has called us to be a beneficiary of his grace. This evidence frees us to bank on God’s promise as our own. And this banking on the promise empowers us to love. Which in turn confirms that our faith is real.

The world is desperate for a faith that combines two things: awestruck sight of unshakable divine Truth, and utterly practical, round-the-clock power to make a liberating difference in life. That’s what I want too. Which is why I am a Christian.

There is a great God of grace who magnifies his own infinite beauty and self-sufficiency by fulfilling promises to helpless people who trust him. And there is a power that comes from prizing this God that leaves no nook or cranny of life untouched. It empowers us to love in the most practical ways.

John Piper 

Bible Study

John 5:24-25

[24] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

[25] “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

1 John 5:10-12

[10] Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. [11] And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. [12] Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

John 20:31

[31] but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 3:36

[36] Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Satan Uses Guilt to Enslave You

PRAY OVER THIS

“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” Romans 3:19

 

PONDER THIS

What is guilt? Guilt is a reality; it’s the result of the filthiness of our sin. And guilt can cause all kinds of emotional and physical baggage. Guilt brings anxiety and depression. The soul becomes a window covered with the dirt and grime of guilt, and, therefore, everything we look at is colored or discolored by the guilt in us. And guilt can make you sick. If you carry around a load of guilt, it can make you physically ill. David said in Psalm 32:3, “When I kept silent, my bones grew old through my groaning all the day long.”

The man who is haunted by the ghost of guilt is not driven to God. You would think he would be. But the truth of the matter is that a person with unresolved guilt is driven further and further from God. So many people today, who are into things they ought not to be into, are there simply because of guilt. Satan is the accuser. He wants you to sin and then suffer the consequences. He wants to cripple you and then blame you for limping. He wants you to be doubly defeated. He is the accuser and also the enticer.

When have you been overwhelmed with guilt?

How do you typically respond when you are overwhelmed with guilt?

PRACTICE THIS

Confess your sins, turn from the sinful practices that are promoting guilt, and walk surrendered and free.

LWF Adrian Rogers