Living in the Abundance of God (8 page)
Read Living in the Abundance of God Online
Authors: John Osteen
The devil has made certain that the body of Christ is all caged up. We have been fed biblical birdseed when we need meat to become eagles. Millions of Christians are behind cages, locked up in doctrines that say miracles have passed away and the days of supernatural direction are over.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, these cages are being opened, and we are beginning to fly together. We are learning the great truths of the Word of God. We are experiencing the abundant, victorious life of Jesus Christ!
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D
IVINE
S
IDE
God, through Jesus Christ, has delivered us from Satan’s power. “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (Colossians 1:12–13).
God has delivered us from the authority of Satan. That is not something we need to ask God to do for us. He has already done it! It is an eternal truth. “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ…. and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power…. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:8, 10, 15).
Many times we try to win the battles of life with philosophy or the traditions of men. Jesus has spoiled the principalities and powers, and if we will believe Satan has no power over us, we will reign through Jesus instead of giving into defeat.
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RACTICAL
A
PPLICATION
Every Christian must study the Word of God and learn to resist his enemy for himself. The way to do this is through prayer and faith. We must say what the Word of God says. First Peter 5:7–8 says, “… casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13).
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness” (Ephesians 6:14).
C
ASTING ALL
YOUR CARE UPON
H
IM
,
FOR
H
E CARES FOR YOU
.
B
E SOBER, BE VIGILANT
.
“And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15).
“Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one” (Ephesians 6:16).
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
G
OD WANTS US TO RULE AND REIGN
over Satan in this life through
PRAYER AND FAITH.
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IVINE
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God, through Jesus Christ, has forgiven all our sins. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).
Our sins are forgiven, not on the basis of the sins we have committed, but on the basis of the riches of His grace. God’s grace is rich and free!
Have you ever held a tiny baby? You admire that baby and talk about how sweet it is. That baby has no past. As a newborn Christian, you have no spiritual past.
I don’t care what your past was. I do not care how many sins you have committed. When you come to God, your past sins cease to exist.
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RACTICAL
A
PPLICATION
Every believer of the Lord Jesus Christ must learn to act on the Word of God instead of on what he sees, feels, or hears.
When it seems that you have failed, do not condemn yourself. “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
If you feel that you have missed God or failed your fellowman, do not continue in that state of mind. “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin…. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:7, 9).
Be quick to get back into the light with Christ. Confess your sin and believe that He has cleansed you. “Let the redeemed of the L
ORD
say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy” (Psalm 107:2).
The secret to victory is acting fearlessly and confessing boldly! Satan is afraid of you!
God, through Jesus Christ, has redeemed you.
God, through Jesus Christ, has made you a new creature.
God, through Jesus Christ, has delivered you from Satan’s power.
God, through Jesus Christ, has forgiven all your sins.
That is part of the abundance of God that you can receive and enjoy! We reign in life as kings through the gift of righteousness!
The secret to victory is
ACTING FEARLESSLY
and confessing boldly.
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OEL
I
n the Living Bible, Ephesians 6:14 says, “You will need… the breastplate of God’s approval.” Every morning, no matter how you feel or what you may have done wrong the day before, you can get up and say, “Father, I thank You that I’m forgiven. I thank You that You approve me and that I am your friend.”
If you’ll do that, you’ll be amazed at what begins to happen. Your whole self-image will change. That heavy load of guilt and condemnation will be lifted off you. You’ll get your joy back. You’ll go out to meet the day with a whole new attitude. But it does not happen automatically; it is something we must do. Just as we put on our clothes every morning, we need to get up and consciously put on God’s approval
.
Don’t allow a sense of guilt and shame to follow you around. Shake off that sense of unworthiness. You may be dealing with a lot of faults. But remember, God is still working on you. You may not be all you want to be, but at least you can thank God you’re not what you used to be. Stop looking at how far you have to go, and take a look at how far you’ve already come
.
An Abundance
of
Joy
for
Your Heartache
and
Pain
W
herever I go, I find that believers misunderstand God’s secret formula for all of us to live in the abundance of God and to be victorious in life: simply put, it is joy. When the Bible states, “Do not sorrow, for the joy of the L
ORD
is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10), they tend to read in the word
happiness
for the word
joy
, which creates a host of problems.
We need to know the difference between happiness and joy. If you were to win a million dollars, you would be extremely happy. But that does not necessarily mean you would experience an ounce of real joy. Our happiness goes up or down according to what happens in our lives—that’s an outward thing. But joy is the fruit of our relationship with the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). If we have put our faith in Jesus, the newborn spirit that we have received from God has real joy.
The joy of the Lord, not some happiness that we get from material things or other people, is our strength. And the Bible says, “A merry heart does good, like medicine” (Proverbs 17:22). It is good to have joy and have a merry heart on the inside of you. It doesn’t say a merry mind does good; it says a merry heart does good like a medicine.