You are right!

You are right.
- Pastor Ashish Mathews

2 Corinthians 5.21
For He made Him who knew no sin to  be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

In Christ, we are the righteousness of God. Righteousness means right standing with God. It means the ability to stand in the presence of God without a sense of guilt, inferiority, shame, fear or condemnation. It also means a state or a condition of being right. You are rightness of God.

Paul said, In the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. It's vitally important for us to understand that Jesus not only took our sin, he became our sin on the cross. This is the reason he compared himself to a serpent when he spoke to Nicodemus and said, As Moses lifted up the serpent so shall the Son of man be lifted up. You see righteousness was only imputed to Abraham meaning that one day he will be made righteous. But bless God, righteousness is not only credited or imputed to our account but we are made the very righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Its nothing to do with our works, its only because of what Jesus did and our faith in who he is and what he has done.

Because you are right with God, you are accepted and approved by God. He is well pleased with you. You are his beloved. He finds no fault with you and in you. Because you are right with God, you have a right to have all your prayers answered, a right to walk in divine health, a right to access the angelic ministry, a right to prosper and a right to be free from the sin and curse of this world. You have rights, privileges and responsibilities. Grow in the word and become righteous conscious instead of sin conscious. The blood of Jesus has made you right. You are right therefore think right, speak right and live right for the glory of God. Jesus is Lord!

“I am the righteousness of God in Christ. The blood has made me as righteous as Jesus himself. My Father accepts me, approves me and is well pleased with me. I am established in righteousness and I live in victory every day of my life. Hallelujah.”

What is the fear of the Lord?

Proverbs 9.10
“The fear of the Lord  is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

The fear of the Lord means to respect and honour the Lord. It has nothing to do with being scared of the Lord like you would be scared of a poisonous snake or some wild animal. It simply means to love what He loves and to hate what he hates. It means to obey the Lord.

You honour the Lord in your thoughts, your words, your actions, in private and in public. When Joseph ran away from Potiphars wife it was because of the fear of the Lord. It was because of the fear of the Lord that Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar at Gods command. Daniel would not defile himself with the kings meat or drink his wine as it was offered to pagan gods. It was because of the fear of the Lord that Jesus died on the cross. Proverbs says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride, arrogance, evil way and perverse speech. The fear of the Lord has great rewards even though it may seem like you are going down and there is no benefit to be seen. You see it was the fear of the Lord that took Joseph to prison, that took Jesus to hell and took Daniel to the lions den. And it was the same fear of the Lord that took Joseph to the prime minister position, Jesus to the throne of God and Daniel to become the second most powerful person in Babylon.

Friend, the fear of the Lord oftens taken you down before it shoots you to the top. So be encouraged, the Lord is on your side. It may look like there is no benefit in honouring the Lord but hold on, for you will see the glory of God. As you grow in the knowledge of God and his glory, you will begin to honour, respect and adore Him. You will understand life and you will deal wisely in all the areas of your life. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. God bless you.

God's character under attack!

Genesis 3.1
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

Since the beginning of time, nothing has been more attacked than Gods character. Unless you know God its very difficult to trust him. But if you know Him for yourself, you will enjoy him all the days of your life.

If Satan can convince you that God is a liar, then his word has no integrity, its a lie and therefore you cannot trust Him. Thats exactly what he did with Adam and Eve, Satan convinced them that God is not giving them His best. He is hiding the best from them. Had they known God intimately, they would have understood that every good and every perfect gift comes from the Father of lights, who never changes. He always gives us his best, the best. Let me tell you another thing. God is always right. Thats his character. He can never be wrong. Whatever he says, whenever he says, however he says, wherever he says it, He is always right. He cannot make a mistake. He is good which means he can never be bad. He is love therefore he can never be selfish. He is light and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. The Bible says God is not a man that he should lie nor a son of man that he should change his mind. Will he say something and not fulfill it?.

As believers we must make knowing God our number one priority. Paul said I want to know Him and the power of His resurrection. He prayed for the Ephesian church that God may grant them the spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may know God. God is not keeping himself away from us. He has given us his word and His precious Holy Spirit that we may know God fully and be completely and totally full of him. The more you know God, the easier it is to trust him. The less you know God, the difficult it is to trust God. God is good and his mercy endures forever. He is the Father of mercies, the Father of lights, the Father of spirits, the Father of glory and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hallelujah.  Jesus is Lord.

Salvation is a gift. Receive.

Ephesians 2. 8,9
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it  is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The word saved comes from the greek word sozo which means to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger and destruction, to make well, to restore to health. It means deliverance, safety, preservation, health, well being and prosperity. It means shalom, which means nothing missing, nothing broken.

This salvation that we have received has nothing to do with our works because its a gift. The Bible says all of our good and righteous works are like filthy rags in the eyes of God. Nothing we do can save us. No religious activity can save us. No sacrifices can save us. No starving ourselves to death can save us. No giving of all that we have can save us. Salvation cannot be earned by working hard or by doing good works. Salvation is way too expensive for a human to pay for it. All the money in the world cannot buy it. Its beyond our works. If any human on earth could earn it or deserve it then there was no need for Jesus to come. Every one of us deserved death and hell. Our sins have separated us from God and Romans says the wages of sin is death.

Jesus shed his blood on the cross, died for us, went to hell and suffered for our sins. When he had fully satisfied the claims of justice, he was justified in the spirit and was born again. He defeated the devil, the one who had the power of death and rose again victorious on the third day and He entered the Heavenly tabernacle and placed his blood on the mercy seat and obtained eternal redemption for us. Hallelujah. Salvation is a result of faith in the finished works of Jesus Christ. Not our works, but his works. He is the reason we are saved. Friend, our salvation is a reality today because Jesus Christ purchased it with his own blood. Because of what He did, we are saved, healed, delivered, prosperous, safe and sound. Blessed be his name forever and evermore. Jesus is Lord.

Faith is a shield

Ephesians 6.16
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

Satan sends his fiery missiles and arrows towards every believer because his only objective is to steal, kill and destroy. His missiles are thoughts, ideas, suggestions that are contrary to the word and also trials, pressures and persecutions to challenge believers to give up on the word.

As a believer, you are born of the word therefore you can only be sustained by the word of God. Jesus said my words are spirit and they are life. His word is our life. The foundation of faith is the word of God. No word, no faith. No faith, no power. Without faith, we cannot do anything for God and his kingdom. Its only faith that pleases Him. Can you see why Satan is so desperate to steal the word out of your heart and mouth?. Paul said we are not ignorant of the schemes of Satan. Any and every missile that Satan sends across your path can be quenched by the shield of faith. Faith is a shield. Faith in Gods word is a shield. There is no missile in Satans arsenal that faith cannot quench. Friend, faith is the victory that overcomes the world.

The disciples were scared when they faced a storm missile and woke Jesus saying that He doesn't care. Jesus rebuked the storm and asked the disciples, 'Where is your shield?'. Have faith in Gods word. Have faith in Gods character. Have faith in the finished works of Jesus Christ. Have faith in God. Your faith will open the door to Gods grace, God's power and then All Is Well. Glory to God. Jesus is Lord.

Wow Faith.

Luke 7.9
When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turned around and said to the crowd that followed Him, “I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”

A centurions servant was sick and people  requested Jesus to help. As Jesus was coming towards the house, the centurion requested Jesus not to come because he was not worthy to have Jesus in his house but just speak and his servant would  be healed. Jesus was amazed at his faith.

The centurion understood just like the Roman government had given him authority, God had given Jesus of Nazareth authority over Satan and his kingdom of darkness. He knew the power of the authorities is in their words. This is the reason he asked Jesus to speak because the word of the authority is equal to the presence of the authority.  Jesus said that the centurion had great faith. Jesus marveled at his faith. Let me tell you about the authority of Jesus, when Jesus ascended on high, he said all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to him. Ephesians  says Jesus is sitting on the right hand of God's throne far above all principality,  all power, all might, all dominion and every name which is named not only in this age but also in the one to come. God has put all things under his feet and made him the head of the church which is his body. Can you see the  position he holds and the authority he has? When he says Yes, no one can say No.

This Jesus is the same Jesus who tells you I will never leave you nor forsake you. I am your Shepherd and I will meet all your needs according to my riches in glory. By my stripes, you are healed. I died for you and rose again on the third day for you.  You are my child and I know you by your name. I will protect you and keep you for i am always with you.

Rich Inheritance.

Ephesians 1.11
In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

The day you received Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, you were born into the family of God.  You got born again. You were included in Christ and in Him you received a possession,  a heritage, an inheritance.

Peter says we were born into an inheritance that  is incorruptible,  undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for us. God has not only given us a rich inheritance in Christ but He has also qualified us to partake, to enjoy the inheritance. He cannot enjoy it for us.  Its for us, we have to enjoy the inheritance of the saints in the light. Paul said to the Ephesians church elders, I commend you to God and to the word of his grace which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. As we grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we will enjoy and partake of the inheritance that God has so graciously given us because of the finished works of Jesus Christ.  It's one thing to have the inheritance and it's absolutely another to enjoy and partake of it. The day you got born again, you were marked, stamped and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that this inheritance belongs to you now and that you are qualified by God to use it and enjoy it.

Friend, In Christ,  your wealth is beyond measure. You are extremely wealthy. Paul knew we couldn't comprehend this with our minds, hence he prayed that the eyes of our understanding being enlightened,  that we may know the glorious riches of the inheritance in the saints. Our part is to grow in the revelation knowledge of this inheritance so we can partake of it and bless humanity. Praise the Lord.