What makes someone a Christian? One who has accepted Jesus Christ as the only atonement for their sins and who lives out the teachings of Christ is a Christian.
What does that mean, "to live out" Christ?
It means to practice what Jesus taught. It does not mean we will not mess up or miss the mark. The more we show up to practice his presence, to be present in the moment with God, hearing, listening, and obeying, the more skilled we become in exercising our senses to discern good and evil, and instead of falling in the same hole every time on the same street, we learn to take the path of righteousness and avoid the street altogether. We begin to make Christ more evident in our life when we train our senses to follow the Spirit of God rather than our sinful human nature.
Many times our fears override what we should believe and our carnal desires put a strain on our spiritual walk. If we don't remain vigilant and value this great treasure called salvation we can take for granted or worse yet, stop believing the Word of God.
Here are 10 verses in scripture that I find many mainstream Christians have stopped believing:
1. 13 I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who [g]infuses inner strength into me; I am [h]self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency]. Philippians 4
That CPA exam? That thesis paper? That doctoral defense? That weight loss goal? Yes, YOU CAN do it!
When we stop believing we can,we minimize the power of Christ in our lives.
2.
John 8
36 So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.
36 So if the Son liberates you [makes you free men], then you are really and unquestionably free.
When we don't believe this, we will keep going to the altar asking God to free us from something he has already freed us from. We will let condemnation and sin guilt over the past hold our mind hostage. We will let unworthiness bind us and low self esteem blind us.
3.
Matthew 5
13 You
are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its
strength, its quality), how can its saltiness be restored? It is not good
for anything any longer but to be thrown out and trodden underfoot by
men.
14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
When we don't believe this, we will be surprised when we are challenged to SHINE, appalled when people try to snuff out the light, and afraid when people want to sample this Gospel that we preach.
4.
Revelation 22
12 Behold, I am coming soon, and I shall bring My wages and rewards with Me, to repay and render to each one just what his own actions and his own work merit.
12 Behold, I am coming soon, and I shall bring My wages and rewards with Me, to repay and render to each one just what his own actions and his own work merit.
When we don't believe this, we
* Waste time
*Become consumed with vanity
*Think warning the ungodly of judgement is not an immediate concern
*Justify sin and rewrite scripture to suit our nature
5.
Psalm 22
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
But You are holy,
Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
God inhabits the praises of His people, us included in that ONE Man.
When we don't believe this we will not praise. We won't experience God's manifest glory in our lives. God does not like to hang in the atmosphere of complaint. He enjoys a party in HIS HONOR. That's what worship and praise is.
6.
Hosea 4
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
When we don't believe this we allow an open door for deception and disillusionment. We are urged to study to show ourselves approved to God, not ashamed, and rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Even through the verse above we see the generational effects of rejecting the knowledge of God. (see also Proverbs 12:1)
As Pastor Elliot Sheppard says, "The devil loves sinners and dumb Christians!"
7.
Mark 11
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
When we don't believe this, we won't pray and we most certainly won't pray specifically.
Which leads to...
8.
Proverbs 18
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
When we don't believe our tongue is a BIRTHING wheel, setting in motion the cycle of death or a cycle of life,
*we will curse our future
*we will bury our dreams under our doubts
*we won't see the correlation between our past words and our present harvest
which leads us to ...
9.
Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
When Christians don't believe this
*they'll hurt people
*they will have no remorse for their actions
*they won't think ahead
10.
Exodus 20:3
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
When Christians don't believe this
*they set up idols
*they make excuses for the idols
*they anger God
*they rationalize their need for or devotion to the idol
God goes on in Exodus in specifics. Here he says:
5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
You want to know where some generational curses stem from? Check what your grandmother, grandfather, uncle, etc. CHERISHED and HELD as IDOLS. The iniquity of these things can visit even the Christian and cause undue warfare and oppression in their life as a result.
In the stirring words of Pastor Elliot Sheppard:
The devil is the Prince of Darkness therefore he loves those who stay away from KNOWLEDGE!
Knowledge that:
1.Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
2. The devil has been in heaven, a place we have yet to go.Therefore he knows the advantages we forfeit by staying in the dark
3. The Word of God is the language of God, the Bible is the manual.
4. God hangs out in the earth realm through his saints and their praises.
5. Even God's people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. So the devil has made dumb Christians to believe that 4 hours a week of church and 40-60 hours at work is normal.
6. Read number five again.
I hope I stirred you to BELIEVE again. Believe what the scriptures have said. Don't be a Christian in name only! If we want to have Outrageous Church, we must stand outrageously against unbelief!
Watch this testimony of healing from my husband Robert:
vimeo.com/29933836
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