justified – ThrivingBranch

The Importance of Knowing That You’re Righteous

June 30, 2019June 29, 2019Leave a Comment

On several occasions, I have been in conversations where I have bluntly asked someone, “are you righteous in the sight of God?”, and then the person in question would hesitate, they would pause, and consider their life and their behaviors, and then with shakiness in their voice answer “I think so…”. This reveals the fact that when it comes to righteousness, such people as the ones I have spoken with, really have no confidence at all in their righteous standing before God; and it’s precisely for this reason that they aren’t standing on the proper foundation… they aren’t standing in Christ, but instead are looking at their own behaviors and performance and judging their righteousness and their standing before God based on that, instead of on the finished work of Christ.

This has a more damaging effect than you may imagine at first, because righteousness by faith in Christ is at the very core of our new identity, and it is very important to successful spiritual warfare; to the utilization of our power in Christ. As we studied last week, God has given us power; He wants us to have it and make use of it… but we will never have success, unless we stand on the proper foundation, and approach from the correct perspective.

So today in this study, we look at the importance of knowing, truly knowing beyond doubt that you are righteous.

It’s Okay to Admit the Truth

May 26, 2019May 25, 2019Leave a Comment

I invite you to perform a little experiment… the next time you’re in a Church-building, or a Christian setting, listen to the things that the people often say about themselves. You’ll usually hear things such as:
– Oh, I’m just a sinner saved by grace.
– I’m a work in progress.
– I’m a piece of metal that’s being refined.

And there are other things as well, but these are the most common phrases that I often hear. And with each of these phrases, there is one common point in all of them – that the work isn’t finished yet.
People are going around constantly telling themselves and others that, well no, Jesus really hasn’t finished the work yet… that it’s still in progress. This is what most people actually believe, and it saddens me, because it’s really not the truth.

What I want to share with you today in this study, is what the scriptures actually say regarding your status right now as a child of God, washed and redeemed by His shed blood and broken body for you. And that in-fact, it is okay to admit the truth of what He has done for you.

The Power of Love

May 28, 2017May 28, 2017Leave a Comment

God is Love. A lot of people have that sign hanging in their homes, or as a sticker on their car, some even have it tattooed on their body. But do you know that there is great power, even divine power in love? We often don’t stop to think of the implications of that statement that God is Love; and not just any kind of love, but divine love. You see the world has greatly corrupted the idea of love… some see it as synonymous with sexual intercourse, while others see it as something cruel and hurtful. However divine love is not like our corrupted human ideas of love. Divine love is so much more, and so much better, and so very powerful

The Bible says that we can have all knowledge, all wisdom, and all understanding, but if we do not have love, we are empty… we are noise without substance, and what we will be studying today, is the power of divine love. Because there are many who think that love is weak, but in reality, it is the strongest and greatest of all.

Behold, All Things Are New

May 21, 2017December 23, 2016Leave a Comment

A verse of scripture that is well known among believers is 2nd Corinthians 5:17, which says “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new”. It is an amazing statement – if we stop even for a few moments to meditate on what it means and the reality that it presents to us, we will be wonderfully amazed. I would imagine that most of us have at the very least one thing in our life that we want to change… and that is exactly what this verse is offering through Jesus Christ.

Even so, most people never see the reality of this in their life – they are still very much entrenched in the old; they are still bound by who they used to be, instead of who they are in Christ Jesus. There are a great many believers still spiritually living in the past, hanging out in the graveyard of what now is dead, instead of living in the newness of life which Jesus brought. So today we will be studying how to live in the present reality which Jesus has brought, and to live in it now without any more delay. If you have been looking for a breakthrough in your life, this study will set you free through Christ today.

Your Reality in Christ, and Why Some Never See It

February 26, 2017February 7, 2021Leave a Comment

God’s will for you is nothing short of perfection. That fact must be completely understood right from the very start. His will for you is perfect and that is exactly what He has given to you as a gift. Perfection. He has given you Himself. He has given you Jesus, and through Jesus, you are madeperfectly justified, perfectly righteous, perfectly redeemed, perfectly holy, perfectly whole and perfectly healed. He paid for these things to be yours in Christ, and for all of those that have received Jesus, this is actually your reality today, as amazing as that sounds.

Why is it then that some never see this reality for themselves? Why is it that for some this reality seems to be nothing more than a fleeting wish. Why do some shrug it off as a fantasy. These are questions that many believers struggle with, these questions have even shipwrecked the faith of some people. And so we will be examining these questions today, and see what God’s Word says about them, in the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ, so that these questions will not stumble people any longer.

Receive the Righteousness of Christ and Be Blessed

January 15, 2017August 16, 2016Leave a Comment

One of the more common questions that people ask, is how to receive the blessings of God. They are looking for something to do, some action to perform that will bring about miraculous change – almost like a magic spell. They are looking for some new bit of wisdom that will suddenly enlighten them to see a way to acquire what they are searching for. They often think that if only they could find this elusive bit of wisdom, all their questions would be answered and all doors would be opened to them… and so they keep going from this to that, from here to there, hoping to stumble across it somewhere.

Well, today, I am going to show you the hidden treasure. We are going to see it straight from scripture. And as we see this truth today, every door of blessing will be open to us. We have often heard it said that the best place to hide is right in the open, and this truth, this valuable gem and pearl of wisdom has been right in-front of us all along.

The LORD Destroys Your Pursuers

October 23, 2016July 6, 2016Leave a Comment

As we grow more and more in the truth of Grace and the reality of the finished work of Jesus Christ and what He has done, one of the things that happens is that we see more clearly what He has freed us from. We begin to see that many of the things which we have blindly accepted all of our lives without question and a lot of the things we put up with, simply need not be upon us. We have grown accustomed to many afflictions, hurts, pains, diseases and infirmities – we regard them simply as “facts of life” without giving them a second thought.

In this study today, we will be looking at the truth of what the scripture says regarding these things. As we see what Jesus has done for us, we will also realize that we need not suffer the things which we have accepted as natural, and how we are actually more free than we have even imagined.

Your Obedience is to Jesus’ Obedience

September 25, 2016September 25, 2016Leave a Comment

Have you been struggling to be obedient? In many Christian circles today, the focus is on obedience. Many times people say that obedience is important – and I completely agree… the Bible has much to say on the topic of obedience. Where we tend to differ, is the manner of that obedience. And this manner is defined in the covenant that we are under today as believers in Christ. It is important to understand our covenant today in order to truly understand the type and manner of obedience that is required by the covenant.

Most people automatically assume that when they see the word obedience in the Bible that it is always referring to outward obedience via performance and actions. This was certainly true in the Old Covenant of the Law of Moses. However the Bible describes a different type of obedience for believers today who are under the New Covenant of Grace in Christ. This is what we will be studying today, because it is very difficult to be obedient under the terms of our covenant if we do not know what the terms are.

Grace is the Cure for Carnality

July 31, 2016July 29, 2016Leave a Comment

All across the world, good and honest believers have this idea that they must work at “doing good”. They must struggle and strive to “do the right thing”, to make God happy or to prove their love for Him, or whatever the underlying motivation may be; it leads to the same place: a merit-centered, man-centered mentality which is not focused on God, but is focused on self-performance and behavior.

Many believers think that if they themselves or their fellow brother or sister in Christ is failing in a particular area of behavior, that it is due to some sin in their life, or that they are just being lazy and they need to try harder. But is this what the scriptures actually say?

In this study today, we will be taking a look at what God has to say on this very subject, and how God’s diagnosis of the problem of wrong behaviors is not what we might expect. As you see this truth, it will give you a new mindset regarding this issue, and a new confidence in your relationship with God as well.

Be Sure in Christ and Never Fall

June 19, 2016June 19, 2016Leave a Comment

A common belief among the church is we should exhort each-other to holy living, which we commonly believe to be to stop committing sinful acts. This has actually caused a lot of confusion, resentment, bitterness and condemnation with many in the church due to the fact that it takes the center focus away from Christ and puts the focus back onto ourselves and our own works. It may surprise you to learn then that God has a completely different diagnosis and prescription for living a strong life in Christ (your holiness is actually already taken care of, as we have studied previously); but as for living a strong and solid life built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, the typical way in which the church body handles this is not only detrimental, but actually opposite to what scripture says!

That’s why, today in this study we will be examining from scripture what God says about living a strong life in Christ. How it happens, what can hinder it, and how we should react if we see someone else struggling (or ourselves!) and hint: it is not by pointing out their faults! If you have been wondering what the real Biblical solution is to strength for living, this study will reveal the “secret”.