Confessions and Being A Good EXAMPLE

lord has made we will rejoice and be exceedingly glad in it because god is good and he is so worthy to be praised well we're ready to have another victorious week trusting god we're ready to have another victorious week leaning on the holy spirit we're having and looking forward to having an another week where we declare that lord we need you we declare that lord we trust you we declare that lord we can't do anything without you and um i think when that becomes a you know a daily thought in our lives that i can't do anything without god and you get to the point where you realize that he is my source he is my life he is my strength he is my way out of no way out of any way he's he's it's him i can't i cannot live this christian life successfully without him and so we welcome you this morning we welcome you as we give praise to god today and uh i want to start off with this question what makes us a christian it's christ that lives on the inside of us it's christ that makes us a christian and it's jesus that lives in us and the old things have passed away and all things have become new and we represent jesus christ we we decide that we're gonna live life representing him [Music] and when you make that decision then you give fruit you give witness to the jesus that lives on the inside of you uh and so you know being a good example is is paramount and and uh you know sometimes when people don't understand the written epistles they look at a living epistle which would be you and i and they check our lives out and when our lives are lining up with the word of god and they can see it and experience it maybe they might want to open the bible and read it because they finally met a real christian um i tell you in the name of jesus let's be determined to be a living epistle when people look at us they see love they see joy they see character you know character is what people have come to think of you and and and character is not just what you do in front of people character is what you do when nobody is looking when nobody is watching you and and you know being a good example as a christian it preaches so loudly and people see your life and and you don't give up you don't cave in you don't quit you don't get so entangled with the vocabulary of the world that you are no longer you know connected to the vocabulary of god and um i'm pressing for that i'm i'm i i want to be a good example uh of a christian i want to be a good example of the word and i want to be a good example of jesus christ and part of that good example is is recognizing you know when you need to change and when you need to repent when you need to ask for forgiveness when you need that's that's that's that's good stuff right there being a good christian is not being flawless you know being a good christian is understanding that you're forgiven and you can't live this life without jesus christ and your trust and your dependence and your reliance always goes back to jesus it always goes back to the word and and we are living epistles we should be the breadth of god's word uh in motion you know we are living epistles we should be uh grace in motion we should be um everything that we claim we believe it should somehow translate into our lives and uh we need to make sure that uh we are people that can be a living epistle to the point where just being around you changes somebody's life just being around you as a married couple they look at you and they say oh wow that's a good example of a married couple uh that's a good example of a man and um that it is important it is so important remember grace is not a license to sin grace is a license not to sin grace uh is the answer for all sin and so it's so so very important that we strive to be the living epistles that god so i'll talk to you about that in in just a moment we're gonna get uh we're gonna a couple of a couple of things we want to deal with today we want to cover you know you being psalms 91 equipped of course and then we want to we want to um we want to make some confessions over over worry i don't want people worried today and i want people in the field and into fear again that they were constantly attacking fear but i want you to take the watch this the gospel of the word of god and um you know no worry no worry no worry uh worry is negative meditation on all of the bad stuff and you know we don't want to spend time worrying and in a sense giving place to the enemy so what do you need here's something i thought about we're always going to god we think the whole relationship is about what we need we think being a christian and and all that is all about what we need have you noticed that it's got to be more than oh i'm saved so god can meet my needs how about oh i'm saved so i can live for jesus and do the things that please him that that's something that's really been on my in my thinking lately it's like you know as a christian am i living life to please me you know god if you don't please me that i don't have to do with you god if you don't give me that then i don't want to have you none do it god if you don't make this thing go the way i wanted to go then ain't gonna have nothing to do with you or am i living this life to please him and and i tell you in my own life i had to make my mind up listen my i'm living this life to please him and it cannot be all about me it cannot be all about jesus pleasing me god knows jesus has done enough when when when are we going to you know get away from ourselves enough to say i want to please you lord i want to please you i want to live a life that will be pleasing to jesus uh if you're there you understand what i'm saying just join me in this confession right here say lord i want to live a life that's pleasing to you and not to me that's powerful that's when you really know that you're in it for the essence of that relationship i am in it i'm a christian i'm in it for the relationship i i i want to know him and i want to be in it for him and it cannot be all about me it cannot be oh god didn't answer my prayer or god i need this i mean we get up all the time god give me that god give me that and we give me give me give me you know thinking his name is jimmy and it's it's like now it's like okay so lord i want to get up and i just want to praise you you god knows he's done enough for all of us for us to take some time and just be grateful and thankful and what can i do to please you and how can i live to please you and ah you know let me say this and we'll start our confessions but you know you know in a relationship a husband and a wife communication is the key to to to a relationship and i don't think you can have a relationship without communication you know i've come to understand the same thing as true the same thing is true where a relationship with god is concerned that many people we say we're christians but when was the last time or how i mean do you communicate with god and and do you have communion with god i mean without communication and without communion there is no relationship there is no relationship and so i'm calling you back to the house of prayer so you can be a house of power uh so you can become a house of perfected praise and all you're doing is praising god wow man communication communication man uh well brother donald you just don't understand the challenges i have in my life i heard this uh sports guy say something and it was really good it was pertaining to athletics but you can use it for life he said without a challenge there'll be no change man i thought about that i said you know that's absolutely true true christian people look for the the the path of least resistance but you know when a challenge shows up in your life that's an opportunity for change when challenges show up in your life that's an opportunity for change are you in the midst of a challenge right now have challenges been showing up in your life well that's an opportunity for you to change uh you've been asking for change and then the challenge comes up and i just believe those challenges exist so that you can can change without a challenge i don't believe you can change um you know if you're in a weight room and you're lifting weights and you're trying to build muscle uh but you're lifting five pounds that's not challenging you it's not challenging your muscles so you're you're not gonna change you're gonna probably be the same thing uh because you know that you're not challenging yourself okay so you know look at it as an opportunity for for change in your life no more running away from the challenges of life look for it as an opportunity in your life so let's get psalms 91 let's um make some confessions over worry and fear and then we're going to talk a little bit about this scripture that i saw in first thessalonians and share that with you about how god wants to use your life as an example he wants you to share your life with other people are you ready let's go i declare that i will dwell in the shelter of the most high god i declare that i will find rest in the shadow of the almighty i declare that god is my refuge and my fortress i declare that you are my god and whom i trust and with great confidence and whom i will rely i declare that god will rescue me from every trap and protect me from every disease i declare that i am covered and protected by his outstretched arms i declare that god's faithful promises are my armor and my protection i declare that i will not be afraid of the terrors of the night nor of the arrows that fly in the day i declare that i will not dread any disease that stalks in the darkness nor any disaster that strikes at midday i declare that because god is my refuge and the almighty god of my home no evil can befall me and no pledge can come near my dwelling i declare that god has ordered his angels to guard defend and protect me and my house i declare that god's armies of heaven will keep me from falling i will walk unharmed and kick anything that is evil from my path i declare that because of god's love for me i will call upon him he will set me above all my troubles he will deliver me from all my fears and he will honor me with his presence and power i declare that he will reward me with a long life and he will show me his salvation i declare that i am psalms 91 equipped in jesus name i am the body of christ and satan hath no power over me for i overcome evil with good i am of god and i have overcome satan for greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world i have no fear i will fear no evil for thou art with me lord your word and your spirit they comfort me i am far from oppression and fear does not come near me no weapon formed against me shall prosper for my righteousness is of the lord yes amen but whatever i do will prosper for i'm like a tree that's planted by the rivers of water i am delivered from the evils of this present world for it is the will of god no evil will befall me neither will any player come nigh my dwelling for the lord has given his angels charge over me and they keep me in all my ways and in my pathway is life and there is no death i am a doer of the word of god and i'm blessed in my deeds i am happy in those things which i do because i'm a doer of the word of god i take the shield of faith and i quench every fiery dart that the wicked one brings against me christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law therefore i forbid any sickness or disease to come upon my body every diseased germ and every virus that touches my body dies instantly in the name of jesus every organ and every tissue of my body functions in the perfection to which god created it to function and i forbid any malfunction in my body in the name of jesus i am an overcomer and i overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of my testimony i am submitted to god and the devil flees from me because i resist him in the name of jesus the word of god is forever settled in heaven therefore i establish his word upon this earth great is the peace of my children for they are taught of the lord in jesus name praise god you know if you're feeling a little down if you're feeling a little overwhelmed you've gotta you gotta speak against that you don't sit there and just let it work on you you say in jesus name i receive the joy of the lord in jesus name i rebuke this feeling of being overwhelmed in jesus name depression you are defeated in the name of jesus and then you just stand the word and if you feel the holy spirit go and pray in tongues and until the peace of god just begins to to just rest upon you but for the what listen the last thing you want to do is just sit up there and tolerate it don't put up with it don't tolerate it and don't uh don't let it remain the word resist means to actively fight against so do something like what we'll start off with your mouth speak against it speak faith meditate on the word until that thing leaves and ask the holy spirit to help you praise god all is well with you in the name of the lord jesus christ no worry say that no worry no fear my god is near and all is well with me in my house in the name of jesus no worry no fear god is near all is well with me and my house now in the name of jesus listen to me folks there is no you can't you can't stand up and just say well you know god god didn't really mean it when he told us to you know forgive one another and love one another and and when he spoke against division and racism and and strife we are examples of jesus christ don't become a part of that don't become a part of that you are an example of jesus christ and you know the bible tells you about strife you can't decide well this is a good reason to be in strife you know it's just like saying it was it was a good reason to to do something stupid come on man come on we have got to understand that we we are christians 24 7. and um we we've got to you know somebody says well it's hard you just don't understand that that ain't got nothing to do with it you got to make a decision either i'm going to do the word or i'm not going to do the work but you have a right to make that decision i'm just here to encourage you to do what the word of god says and and uh to be the example of jesus now let me share this scripture with you uh and see if i can find it first thessalonians two and eight if you have a bible near you this really blessed me first thessalonians uh chapter two and eight and uh i'm gonna read it out of the uh amplified bible as well as the king james first thessalonians what did i say two first thessalonians two and eight uh look at this this this blessed me today um he says in verse 8 he says so so being affectionately desirous of you [Music] we were willing to have imparted unto you not the gospel of god only not just the gospel of god only but watch this but also our own souls because ye were dear unto us so he says not just imparting the gospel of god only but also our own souls now listen to this in the amplified he says so being thus ten being thus tenderly and affectionately desirous of you we continue to share with you not only god's good news the gospel but also our own lives as well oh look at that he's so paul they were saying listen we're not just sharing the gospel but we're also sharing our lives we're not sharing with you information and the power of the gospel but we're also sharing our own lives see it's it's one thing to you know we get a scripture and we preach out the scripture and all this stuff but he says also share your own life for you had become so very dear to us you know that's what taff and i decided to do when this pandemic started we we did we don't we don't want to just share the gospel with you but uh uh we want to share our own lives and that's what we've been doing over the last eight months and this time that we get together we're sharing our own lives i'm i'm sharing with you what spirit of god shares with me and and and and to be that living epistle and to be that good example it is so very very important would you pray this prayer after me lord you are placing me under people who helped me grow when i was a young christian their influence was important in my spiritual development so i thank you for them right now for their patience for their love for their kindness and for their willingness to let me get close enough to really learn how to walk with you now it's time for me to do this for someone else so please lead me to a young disciple whom i can begin to show how to walk in the power and authority of your word i confess that i am a good example to other believers because i walk in the truth of what i preach my life makes the message even stronger people need a good example they can follow and that means they need me the holy spirit empowers me to preach to teach and to boldly model my life before others with confidence and grace i i thus declare what i've confessed to come to pass in me in jesus name amen amen my challenge to you today is to be that living epistle my challenge to you today is to demonstrate a life that somebody can pay attention to and they can benefit and they can grow from and i thank god that in the name of jesus anytime we see darkness in the world we are going to be determined to be the light of this world you walk in love no matter what you be the example of the word of god no matter what and you watch you watch how god diligently begins to deal with your life because you have made a decision that in jesus name i'm going to walk according to the example of jesus christ i love you guys so much have an amazing day today be that living epistle in jesus name i'll see you tomorrow

Channel: Creflo Dollar Ministries

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Length: 24min 5sec (1445 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 13 2021