Integrity- People of God

Believe that Jesus is the Son of God. This belief is not just a cognitive saying of mental reasoning or thought it is intentional ongoing dependence on all that is true in Christ. Belief is a set and un-moveable dependence on and obedience to the love of God for us that is displayed in the gift of Jesus Christ.

God works within the confines of our times and through the hearts, souls and the culture of fallen man. God’s plan for man was what He created, a perfect world and He gave mankind dominion over it all but because of sin mankind forfeited all they had and gave dominion over to Satan. Mankind has been battling this fallen world system ever since.

Even though we rebelled and gave our authority and dominion over to Satan. God would not leave us in our fallen state without hope He sent Jesus to restore God’s kingdom on the earth. Every person is given the opportunity to choose life or death, to choose Christ or stay in this fallen world system of destruction. God made it so simple that anyone can be saved, just believe.

Romans 10:9 Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
Romans 10:10 with the heart a man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

When we believe right we will act right – out of the heart the mouth speaks. When we continue to speak the word of God our heart will believe it and the saving power of God will transform our lives. God has given us Grace which is His divine influence upon our hearts, favour and joy.

God has given us His Peace which is quietness, a rest in our lives, minds and spirit. This happens when our minds are occupied with God our Father and Jesus as our Lord and Provider. Some people want to speak of Jesus as a Saviour but they want to reject Him as being their Lord. They will call on Him to save them but they do not want Him as Lord over their lives, to tell them what they should do, say and how to act. Some people will try and live in both camps, this fallen world system part time and then want to be in the kingdom of God when it is convenient

If Jesus is Lord of our life then we must die to self. The one person that stands in the way of Jesus as Lord is self. We want to be saved but we want to do what we want to do and continue living the life we had before we knew Jesus. It cannot be done.
Revelation 12: 11 And they overcame him (Satan) by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death.

We are able to overcome self, this world system, the attacks of the enemy and persecution from the world but it is done in the power of the Holy Spirit which is given when we accept the Blood of Jesus as payment for our sins and He becomes Lord over our lives. The words and testimonies we hear and say gives us hope and increases our faith and this is how we grow in faith. Many people want to stop but there is a third part to the overcoming process, to not love their lives more than Christ. It is when we put self to death and all our selfish, self-centeredness away that we can truly live for Christ. Jesus becomes Lord and our life is not our own.

We can be full of Joy when we are in fellowship with God and know His word. The good news is that God has brought His kingdom back to the earth and we are part of that kingdom. God has given us a circle of people, friends, family, neighbors and co-workers to pray for and display God’s image before them. They are not always the nicest or kindest of people but God has allowed us the opportunity to represent Him in their lives.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

It is when we love and pray for those that do persecute us that we are acting like children of God, it is then when we start looking like and acting like our Father. Paul says in Philippians that he is confident that God who begun a good work in them will perform it until Jesus Christ returns. Paul says he is confident that God will perform the good work He begun in us that we will be transformed into the image of God in Christ Jesus. It is God who will be working in us to transform us.

We were born with a fallen nature and trained in this fallen world system to hate, lie, and to be concerned only with our selves. We are told to be transformed from this old way by renewing our minds to God’s way of living and thinking. When we give our lives to Christ He becomes our Lord and we are re-born into a different kingdom, the kingdom of heaven on earth. Though our spirit is saved our minds and habits haven’t been changed and this is done by reading the word of God and through the power of the Holy Spirit living in us and guiding us in the things of God.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (This is how you do that…)
Romans 12:2 Be not conformed to this world; but be transformed by renewing your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We are to understand what really matters are God’s priorities, the love of God flowing through us and that we live pure and blameless by doing what we know is right. Just do what God has shown you to be right no matter the hurt or the cost. We may suffer people’s slander and insults but we will show grace and forbearance. Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered.

Jesus showed grace to the sinner but walked in truth. We too should have a high standard for our own lives and give much grace, mercy and love to others for their failures. This proves our belief in God and He is able to perform the good, acceptable and perfect will in our lives.