Sermon: Enlightened, Transformed, Healed by Beholding Jesus in the Word

                                           

Thank you, Pastor Gordon and the rest of the pastoral team for letting me speaking to the whole church today.

I really appreciate it!

All of this started out with the blessed opportunity to share a great testimony, which I will share again.

Thursday, April 21, I had a stroke! I am only 41 years old, and I had a stroke! I suddenly had trouble swallowing, and I felt numbness along the right side of my body. When I called 9-11, I could not speak or saying anything intelligible.

But instead of panicking or getting afraid, I remembered God’s Word, God’s promises for me, and I declared in my mind, even if I could not say it out of my mouth:

“I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD.” (Psalm 118:17)

I have a picture on my door at home, and I declare another promise, that I will live to be 120 years old. That’s a promise we can bank on because of these verses:

“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” (Genesis 6:3)

The second time that 120 is mentioned, as in 120 years, takes place in Deuteronomy, when Moses dies:

“And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” (Deuteronomy 34:7)

We can rest and receive this promise, because of what God has done for us through His Son Jesus!

Consider the last verse in Psalm 91:

“With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.” (Psalm 91:16)

That last word says it all: Salvation!

We can trust and believe for long life, because of Jesus! He is our Life:

“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

So, when I had my stroke, I called 911, and paramedics arrived on scene to assist me. By the time they arrived, all the symptoms were gone. I could talk, I could drink, and I felt no numbness in the right side of my body. They told me to go to urgent care, which I did. The doctor told me “You’re going into emergency. This is very serious. It’s better to have long period of aggravation than to take a chance, suffer later.”

So, there I was in the emergency room. And then they told me that I was going to stay for the evening. They didn’t know why I had a stroke. My blood pressure was OK, and they did some initial scans, and they found evidence of a suspected stroke. But that was it.

While I was in the hospital room, I started praying the first prayer that Paul the Apostle shares with the Ephesians church. That has been a prayer that I have been praying a great deal for the last year and a half:

“15Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, 16Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers; 17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:15-18)

I want to see more of Jesus! I want to see Him!

I want to share with you the New Living Translation of Ephesians 1:18:

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance.” (Ephesians 1:18, NLT)

In these really tough times, when there are troubles on every side, it’s so important to see Him!

Jesus is alive! He is alive in our everyday lives, because He is our life. I feel that many believers in the Body of Christ know that Jesus died for them, but they don’t see Him as a living, moving, active Savior in every day of their walk on this earth.

Now, the question comes up: how do I see Jesus? What is the best way to see Him?

Jesus Himself provides the way!

Turn with me to Luke 24: [Spence, I will tell you how to bring up the verses, one at a time---Luke 24: 13-24]

“13And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them.” (Luke 24: 13-15]

Check that out! Jesus HIMSELF! Drew near!

 16But their eyes were holden that they should not know him.

Some people have suggested that Jesus withheld the two of them from seeing Him. I don’t receive that, because Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12). I will explain later why I think these two disciples did not recognize Jesus at first.

17And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad? (Luke 24:17)

I want to park here for a second. Notice how Jesus, who has risen from the dead, purged all our sins, fulfilled so many prophecies, steps into the life of these two downcast disciples. He cares for your, believers, and now matter how bad the situation may seem, Jesus is there with you!

18And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? 19And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. (Luke 24:18-20)

Notice how Cleopas refers to Jesus as a prophet. Yes, He served as a prophet during His earthly ministry. But Jesus did not come to earth to reveal God’s judgment against us, nor to remind everyone of their sins. He came to become sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

The fact that Jesus was crucified, the worst death imaginable, was a really crushing blow to the disciples. And why?

21But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.” (Luke 24:21-24)

Notice that the disciples major focus is Israel. They saw Jesus as a means to an end. They saw Jesus as a political Messiah who would restore the glory of Israel. Don’t get me wrong. Israel is being restored right now, and when Jesus comes back, He will be reigning from Jerusalem.

But the focus is on Jesus, on Himself!

And Jesus gently corrects them:

25Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

When Jesus opened the Scriptures to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, He taught of HIMSELF!

He didn’t talk about having a good marriage, or how to improve your bank account, or how to get healing. He didn’t even talk about how to have great faith. Jesus is not a means to an end. He is the means and the end. He declares the end from the beginning. It’s all about Him!

He taught of Himself!

We want to be caught up in Himself! We want to see more of Himself! It’s all about Him!

“15Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Colossians 1:15-17)

Peter’s last words in the New Testament are:

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18)

Paul was really clear about his focus when he ministered to the Corinthian church:

“For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” (1 Corinthians 2:2)

I used to struggle with this verse, because it seemed to impractical to me. When Paul says that he knew nothing among them but Christ and Him Crucified, I immediately start asking “But how does that help me with this problem or that problem? What I am supposed to do with myself, with my life?”

The mistake that I made was thinking that Paul was talking about Jesus as though He is some static figure. But Jesus is alive, active, working in our lives, working behind the scenes caring for us! When we see Him in the Gospels, we see a living Savior who provides for our needs, who over-answers our prayers! (Ephesians 3:20)

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8)

Now, I mentioned above how Jesus taught of Himself. He didn’t teach about faith, did He? It’s not that faith is not important.

But how do we get faith?

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17)

That’s the KJV, but let’s take a look at the NIV:

“Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” (Romans 10:17)

And here’s the American Standard Version:

“So belief cometh of hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

The original Greek reads “Rhema Christou.” It’s the Word of Christ, not the Word of God. We want to see everything in the Word through the Finished Work of JESUS! We need to see everything in the Word, from Genesis to Revelation, through the lens of the New Covenant, in which Jesus has paid for all our sins, and brings us into a New and everlasting covenant.

Let me take a little time to share with all of you what is in the New Covenant. We are all hearing about it, but what does it actually say?

“10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

This new covenant is all about what God does. It’s not about us keeping commandments, following the steps, but believing in Him, that Jesus has taken all our sins and has justified us, brought us into right relationship with God the Father, our Father!

Jesus himself—there’s that “Himself” again!—said to the Israelites during His earthly ministry:

“Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.” (John 6:29)

We have to rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)!

There are some passages in which God declares to the Israelites:

“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,” (Deuteronomy 5:9)

But that’s the Old Covenant! We are now longer under law, under the Old Covenant, but under grace, under the New Covenant! (Romans 6:14)

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

And

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Under the Old Covenant, God will curse those who don’t keep the law:

“Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen.” (Deuteronomy 27:26)

But under grace, under the New Covenant:

“10For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. 11But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:10-14)

Whenever we open up the Scriptures, we want a revelation of Jesus, our Messiah, who suffered, died, was buried, rose from the dead for our justification, and who ministers for us after the power of an endless life! (Hebrews 7:16)

Some may counter: How is it practical for us to look at Jesus in the Word? How does that help me?

Check out this wonderful verse:

“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Notice how Paul writes “we are changed,” or rather we are transformed. We do not transform ourselves. The Holy Spirit transforms us. When we see Jesus, when we receive greater revelations of Himself, He transforms us! God the Father shows us His Son Jesus! When we see Him, we are transformed from glory to glory!

Jesus is the answer to every problem, to every challenge, to every question we face:

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1:30)

He is our new identity! We are in Christ, and Christ is in us! Therefore, we want to spend as much time as we can knowing Him, seeing Him in the Word!

“Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

That verse is translated in accurately, because it is not our live that is perfected, but His love is perfected among us. That’s the proper translation of the verse there.

To wrap up, I want to get back to a point I brought up earlier. In Luke 24, Cleopas and the wife could not see Jesus, or rather they did not recognize Him. Why?

2 Corinthians 4 gives us the answer:

3But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.(2 Corinthians 4:3-4)

And we find the solution back in 2 Corinthians 3:

“12Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 14But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 3:12-14)

When you show people JESUS in the Word, and stop looking for yourself or at yourself, you see what the Word is really all about!

Cleopas and the wife did not believe that the Messiah would suffer for our sins, and by His stripes, we would be healed. They were focused only the political restoration. They missed the other part. But I would also add, if people are going to the Bible to look for themselves, to look for tips on how to live, how to make ourselves right, we are going to miss Jesus. We are not going to see Him, and we will nto be transformed.

If you look for yourself, you are going to be depressed and frustrated. But if you look for Jesus, you will be transformed from glory to glory, fortified with His Wisdom, filled with a greater revelation of our Loving Father’s love for us, gaining a greater awareness of all that He has done for us, is doing through, and will do with us! AMEN!

And one last thing to tie together the revelation I received last week. I talked about living to 120 years old right? We know that Moses lived to 120 years, and his eyes did not grow dim, not was his natural force abated.

How was this possible? Because He saw Jesus!

“By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” (Hebrews 11:27)

He renews our youth like the eagle’s!

It’s all about Jesus, and it’s all about seeing Him!

Dealing with Sexual Brokenness, and Where the Church is Still Missing It

I just saw this article on CBN News:

From Ravi Zacharias to Josh Duggar, Why Leaders Fall toSexual Brokenness

It was written by Josh McDowell and Ben Bennett. They are two powerhouses of the faith, especially in the realms of apologetics and doctrine, especially to a secular age overwhelmed with anti-Christian sentiment.

The headline poses a worthy question: why are leaders in Christendom falling into sexual sin? Why is there this explosion of sexual perversion in the church, or at least so it seems?

Ravi Zacharias, Carl Lentz, Josh Duggar ... the list goes on. Why do leaders continue to fall into extramarital affairs, sexual abuse, and porn?

Why is this happening? Some research suggests that 40% of Christians are still struggling with porn addiction. This is in the Body of Christ! What is going on?

The aftershocks have been devastating, causing feelings of betrayal, deep pain, and trauma that make life in this new normal even more unbearable, uncertain, and confusing. This pain has led many into skepticism resulting in abandoning their faith.

I do understand the feelings of pain, but betrayal? Honestly, fellow believers in the Body of Christ need to stop putting their hope and trust in their pastors, in other people. This is a magnified problem. We are called to One Person: Jesus Christ. We are not called to princes, pastors, or potentates. We are called to One Prince of Peace.

Are these crises simply a matter of broken human nature, and might we be just a moment away from similar acts? Or is the reality more complex?

We would like to propose that many people suffer from a significant growth gap—a tendency to focus more on spiritual activity than spiritual identity. Many churches have a typical growth model where people are thought to grow primarily by external activity–-serving in church, praying, and Bible reading. There is a better way: one of internal maturation spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. We must deal with our pain and the unhealthy relational and family dynamics we grew up in, move from isolation to connection, and grow into who God has made us to be so that we will be able to love Him and others.

This is a profoundly correct assessment. Too many of us will think that someone is spiritually mature because they are doing a lot of "stuff." The issue is indeed identity! Who are we?

Do we see ourselves as Beloved Children of the Living God?

"And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God." (Romans 9:26)

Do we know that we are accepted (highly favored) in the Beloved Son, Jesus Christ? (Ephesians 1:6)

I submit that many Christians do not know this, or they do not believe it:

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

How often do we hear about God's love for us preached? How often do we hear about Jesus in our churches and in our pulpits?

After being sexually abused as a child and experiencing pain from my dysfunctional family, I (Josh) harbored deep hurts. When I became a Christian many things did improve, but eventually my unresolved pain caught up to me. Even though my ministry thrived, I didn't. I found myself exhausted, angry, and struggling to cope with unhealed emotional wounds. For example, whenever my mom complained about the abuse she received from my father, I bore the responsibility for stopping him and carrying the burden of my mom's emotional distress. Rescuing loved ones became one of the few ways I could gain my family's acceptance and love. Unfortunately, this behavior continued into my adult life; the world's problems were mine to solve. I remember this growth gap well. Do you find this familiar?

Notice how Josh McDowell talks about trying to earn acceptance and love. That is so contrary to the Gospel. We ARE already accepted in Christ Jesus! That is amazing! It takes time for our minds to be renewed to othis revelation. (Romans 12:2)

Although rescuing gave me temporary value and a counterfeit version of the acceptance God longed for me to experience, I was emotionally a wounded little boy in many ways. I had not outgrown that survival mechanism even when I was well into my fifties. My emotional growth was stunted because I hadn't dealt with unresolved parts of my story; this inhibited my relationship with God, myself, and others. Angry, exhausted, and struggling to go on, I needed serious healing.

Abuse in childhood leads to so much wrong believing in adulthood. Yes, indeed.

Similarly, I (Ben) grew up struggling with deep wounds, confusion, and trauma. I felt that I couldn't meet my dad's expectations, and I often faced his disapproval and intense anger. In addition, I was constantly bullied for being overweight and a Christian. Despite the decision I made to follow Christ at a young age, somehow I became a hostage to spiraling fear, anxiety, and depression that, at times, caused me to dissociate from the present.

There is so much condemnation, even in churches. There is such a focus on getting people to change their behavior (i.e. spiritual activity) rather than metanoia, i.e. change one's beliefs, one's thinking (i.e. spiritual identity).

Then came my struggle with food, porn, and alcohol, which unfortunately lasted through my first couple of years in full-time ministry. Although I constantly prayed, studied Scripture, and faithfully served at church, my struggles only escalated. Suicidal thoughts joined the cacophony of chaos inside my head. Could God really heal me and set me free? Could things ever really improve?

Yes, but He changes us, not we ourselves.

Our stories aren't anomalies. After 75+ years of combined ministry, we've seen so much brokenness, hurt, and addiction. The world is in crisis, and we need a radical move of God to heal our brokenness and bring about abundant wholeness. However, we won't experience this better life until we confront the root cause of this widespread brokenness. This is one of the reasons we developed the Wholeness Apologetic Model. Through research and biblical truth, this model details how we heal, experience freedom from unhealthy behaviors, and mature spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. Together, we are on a mission to help others break Free to Thrive—to live the abundant Christian life.

Now here come my concerns. There is all this talk about our living the Christian life. Christ is our live. We are called to a Person, folks. Not to principles, precepts, or programs.

Though I (Josh) had a theological degree, best-selling books, and a global ministry that reached millions annually, my own spiritual growth was stunted. On the outside I may have looked like a spiritually mature Christian leader, but that was a superficial appearance. A key principle of the Wholeness Apologetic Model explains that our spiritual maturity isn't determined by our level of knowledge about God nor by the number of good things we do or how much we pray, read the Bible, serve, or go to church. Rather, spiritual maturity is a product of our love for God, ourselves, and others, unmistakably resulting in Christ-likeness. Stated another way, mature Christians are emotionally and relationally whole Christians.

This paragraph is completely wrong. Our maturity is not based on our love for God. 

Spiritual maturity is based on our revelation of God's love for us! We need to understand more of how much He loves us!

This theme could not be made any clearer in Scripture, throughout the New Testament!

"We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

and

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

and

"Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not." (1 John 3:1)

Notice that John wants us to behold the Father's love for us! It's not about our love for Him. It's all about His love for us.

And consider -- if someone is bogged down in addictions of some kind, John gives the reason why:

"15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (1 John 2:15-16)

Why do men and women in ministry still struggle with all kinds of issues, hardships, mental anguish, bondages, and addictions? The love of the Father is not in them.

It's not "The Love for the Father." It's about His love for us!

I am so frustrated that there are so many men and women of the Faith who are not focusing on Jesus and all that He is providing for us. There is such a strong insistence on putting more effort, more work, more struggle on the believer. "You need to love God more!" "You need to do more for God, and not just do more!"

And all this time, they are still missing the basic, wonderful wisdom of God's Word to resolve all these issues.

And let us never forget that Christ is our Wisdom, too, first and foremost! (1 Corinthians 1:30)

In the Bible, we see this model illustrated by Jesus in Luke 2:52: "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." In addition, Jesus shows the direct connection between our relationship with God (spiritual), ourselves (emotional), and others (relational) when he sums up the law: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind ... And ... 'Love others as much as you love yourself'" (Matthew 22:37, 39 CEV).

That is the law. That is not grace. That is not the New Covenant. Oh, foolish and slow of heart to believe! (Luke 24:25) It's so frustrating that so many preachers do not rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15). We are no longer under law, trying to relate to Daddy God based on rules and regulations. It's about relationship, and it is about reality.

So many Christians do not understand this wonderful movement, this wonderful transformation. They want to live under law, they want to still earn goody-goody points, when that is not of faith!

Bottom line, if we don't deal with our own stuff, other people will have to. What isn't healed will be revealed: Whether we knowingly hide our sins and unhealthy habits or are just unaware of the unresolved, unmet needs and pain from our past, everything will be brought to light—possibly with the devastating consequence of having God's name and our unhealthy brokenness publicly strewn across news headlines. Luke 8:17 conveys this principle best: "For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all" (NLT).

Who said anything about us dealing with our own stuff? If we could deal with our own stuff, Josh and Ben, then Jesus would not have needed to die on the Cross in the first place!

All this man-centered pop-psych is causing the church to go "Pop!"

After constantly feeling on the verge of emotional and physical exhaustion, I (Josh) finally hit my breaking point. I called Dr. Henry Cloud, a close friend and the best psychologist I know, and we began meeting weekly. Dr. Cloud helped me understand my heart's deep, unmet longings, which had been compounded since my childhood. Although I thought I had moved beyond my issues, I discovered problems I had buried alive and the wake of destruction that I had left behind.

Those unmet longings are met in Christ. Do they not see Him as real? Do they not recognize that Jesus is alive and is caring for them actively? We need to see more of Him, and know that He is for us. We need to stop doing more, and ask the LORD to help us see more!

"17That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: 18The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints," (Ephesians 1:17-18)

and

"16That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)

I thank God for providing a friend and therapist to kickstart my journey toward healing and freedom. Henry helped me quench these unwanted behaviors in healthy, satisfying ways. Over several years, God healed me and gave me eyes to see myself as He did. And I also learned how to set healthy boundaries—to give and receive love and acceptance from God and others.

Let me be clear: there is nothing wrong with seeking out a Christian counselor to help deal with serious emotional pain. But connection with other people should at its core and mission point people to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of Faith (Hebrews 12:1-2)

After hitting bottom, I (Ben) also decided to go all in to overcome my past struggles. After years of trauma therapy, recovery groups, and counseling, I saw God bring understanding, healing, and freedom. My hurts from previous relationships found healing in healthy, new relationships as God and others began to meet my hunger for acceptance, safety, and love. Over time, I was set free from lifelong struggles with food, porn, and alcohol.

I submit that more people need to hear about Jesus. They need to hear about His perfect, unconditional unending love for all of us. They need to understand that God's love for us is not based on fancy or feelings, but is a real, rugged, righteous hug from the eternal Loving Father. We are not in love with a vision statement or a principle. We are called into loving family relationship with Jesus!

Jesus's invitation to us is to seek health and healing today. In turn, our goal is to create healthy communities that value who we're becoming over what we're doing. Finally, remember that Jesus's words tell us to not simply make converts but rather create disciples—"teaching them to obey everything I have commanded" (Matthew 28:20). Therefore, let's endeavor to reproduce mature disciples who are growing spiritually, emotionally, and relationally into the full measure of Christ.

Jesus is our health. Jesus is our healing. It shocks me to what extent men and women in the church still talk about all these other ideas and programs for helping people, when the truth is that we need to see Jesus. We need more favor, we need to understand the full extent of our new righteous standing, identity, and future in Christ Jesus.

I agree with both of the authors that the issues facing us in all our hurts and failures has to do with a lack of understanding of our identity in Christ. However, churches and leaders in the United States are still determined to focus people on themselves when we need them to look at Jesus! How are we supposed to know who we are, if we do not know whose we are?

When I started learning about the Gospel of Grace ten years ago, I had no idea how alive and active Jesus is. I did not see Him who has been from the beginning (1 John 2:13). I was so stuck, so caught in wrong thinking, wrong believing. There was so much baggage, indeed so much abuse from what I had endured, especially spiritual intimidation. My parents did not rightly divide the Word of Truth, and they had no knowledge of Old and New Covenants.

Without the revelation that we are no longer under law, and that the grace of God is superabounding fully in our lives, we are doomed, inevitably, to trust in our own efforts, to think that we struck, left to our own devices. For the longest time, I was convinced that I had to do my part, watch my thinking, feeling, and actions. I had to make sure that I did not lose focus on the Lord. I also did not know how to reconcile my new standing as the righteousness of God in Christ, yet I would still see bad actions, behaviors, and thoughts in my life.

This goes back to spiritual identity. Remember, I give Josh McDowell and Ben Bennett where they deserve it. I did not realize that who I am in Christ does not change, regardless of my behavior. Too many Christians today still judge their standing by their actions, rather than judging their actions by their standing. Worse yet, they do not realize that God is active and alive in their actions and lives. They think that God is still some figment of their imaginations, off somewhere far, far away, not interested in the so-called trivial matters of our lives.

None of this true. God our loving Father is deeply in love with each of us. He wants to commune with us so deeply, so intimately. He is working hard in every aspect of our lives. A life of faith is not about feelings, but it is not fantasy, either. Let's never forget that.

Most importantly, though, our new life in Christ is a new identity. We are now sons and daughters of the Living God. This does not change based on how we feel or what we think. Amen!

If people in the Body of Christ are still suffering with sexual addictions, the answer is Jesus. He is the end of our struggles. We need a greater revelation of Himself and His Finished Work. We need to continue preaching and delivering the grace of God to a heavily-laden, law-weary world stuck in their own efforts and failures.

Final Summary

Yes, the Church has an identity. Christians don't know who they are. But the solution to this problem is not to focus on themselves. If we want to know who we are, we need to focus on Jesus. 

"Herein is love perfected among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

People really need to start meditating on this revelation. We need to focus on Jesus, not ourselves. Focus on His Finished Work, not our sins. Focus on what He has made us, not what we must do to remake ourselves.

Why Oprah (And All Of Us) Struggle--Condemnation

Oprah Winfey talks about her weight a great deal.

She is ashamed of weighing more than she is supposed to. Honestly, she doesn't look unhealthy. Isn't that what counts first and foremost. Exercise gurus usually tell clients and patients that they have to be OK with themselves, at peace on the inside to start dealing with the weight problems.

What is weighing on your soul?

Forget about what you are eating. What is eating you?

This dynamic is the most crucial for men and women to understand.

Notice the insane and unjust abuse that Winfrey "tolerated" from Joan Rivers on The Tonight Show in 1986:

Some context is appropriate here.

Winfrey just got her own talk show.

She actually did not look that bad at all.

Joan Rivers had her own short-lived yak fest, which went nowhere fast.

YAWN.

I have often found Rivers to be funny, but her frankness would border into unneeded cruelty sometimes.

Can you believe that Rivers went after Oprah's weight on live TV?!

No wonder some people struggle.

A sense of shame nags at people who find themselves unable to get and stay slender.

Later, Winfrey acknowledged what the food issue was all about:

She eventually realized that the reason she turned to food for comfort was because of lack of love as a child.

“So many of us just want to fill up on a large helping of unconditional love. When I was a girl, there wasn’t always enough of that to go around. As an adult, though, I came to realize that even when people have the time and strength to care for you, the deepest care must ultimately come from your own self-acceptance, self-respect, and hard-earned truth,” Winfrey says.

That need for unconditional love is so important for all of us.

It's about more than solving a problem.

It's about more than understanding something new.

It's about more than reading our Bibles.

It's about knowing how loved we are ... by God our Father!

Even if we have the most loving parents in the world, it's still not enough.

We have an eternal need!

And that need we realize is met ... in Christ Jesus!

First, we learn that all condemnation has been removed:

"For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee." (Isaiah 54:9)

and

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8:1)

and

"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world." (1 John 4:17)

When we rest in His love, we have nothing to be ashamed of, and no reason to fear.

We receive His grace and righteousness (Romans 5:17) and thus no weapon formed against us can prosper (Isaiah 54:17)