You are loved by God the Father

You are loved by God, not because of what you've done, but because of who you are. The Bible tells us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He longed to have a relationship with you even before you became His child!
Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
This one may be hard to get your mind around, but it is true. God loves us with the same love that He had towards Jesus Himself! Look at this passage in scripture:
John 17:23, "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."
Jesus said that the greatest love a man can show for his friends, is when he lays down his life for them. Jesus laid down His life for us - that is how valuable and dear we are to Him!
John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
As a matter of fact, if we don't realize the love of God, we cannot be filled with the fullness of God. We will lack His fullness in our lives until we come to know of His deep love for us:
Ephesians 3:17-19, "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God."
You were purchased at a steep price
The wages of your sin is death (see Romans 6:23), but Jesus paid that price for you. God's Word tells us that we were purchased by the precious Blood of the Lamb:
1 Corinthians 6:20, "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
Revelations 5:9, "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed (meaning purchased) us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;"
Why did Jesus purchase us with His own Blood? Because of His deep love for us, and He deeply desires to have a loving relationship with you and I.
Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

We are justified and declared innocent
If you have repented of your sins and accepted the gift of God, referring to the forgiveness of sins through the precious shed Blood of Christ, then God's Word tells us that we are justified:
Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
The word justified in the above passage is derived from the Greek word dikaioo, which means, "to render (that is, show or regard as) just or innocent: - free, justify (-ier), be righteous." If a person is justified, it means they are made innocent or made just as if they have never sinned!
We are entitled to a clean conscience
Since our sins have been put away and removed from us, and we are justified, that is, made right with God, you and I are entitled to a clean and un-defiled conscience!
Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
My friend, if you are still beating yourself up over your past failures which have been nailed to the cross, you are denying the work that Christ has done for you! A clean conscience before the Lord agrees with what Christ has done in removing their sin and declaring them as justified or innocent before the Lord.
Your sins are no longer a part of you
The truth is that your sins have not simply been covered, but actually removed from your account. This was not possible in the Old Testament, but through the precious Blood of Christ, the removal of sins is a reality.
John 1:29, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."
Matthew 26:28, "For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Strongholds

The power of your thoughts - Where many strongholds begin
The enemy loves to put thoughts into the believer's mind. Those thoughts (if meditated on), produce strongholds, which produces feelings, which lands you into bondage... all because you listened to the devil more then your heavenly Father! I am going to use a common stronghold here in this teaching as an example... an incorrect perception of who you are in Christ. There are many other strongholds out there, but this teaching will give you a general idea of how many strongholds are formed.
How it works
Two voices are speaking: Satan likes to come along and tell you, "Look at that sin you did 5 years ago! That was so bad! You are such a failure!" But Jesus, through God's Word, tries to tell you that if you turn to Him, you will be forgiven (1 John 1:9), and your past will be forgotten: Isaiah 43:25, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."
You are faced with a choice: You can either listen to Satan's lie that you are a failure, or you can listen to God's Word that tells you that your past has been washed away and you are a new creature in Christ! 2 Cor 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Whichever voice you listen to will crowd the other one out: If you have two dogs that fight all the time, and you can only afford to feed one of them, how do you know which one will win? The one you feed! The same is true in the spiritual realm. The more you listen to Satan's lies and deception, the more he will build strongholds in your mind, and the more strongholds that go up, the harder it will be to hear God's voice. The other side of the coin is true too... the more you feast yourself on the truth in God's Word, the more it tears down strongholds and makes it harder for the enemy's voice to penetrate your system.
If you listen to Satan's lies that you are a failure, he will continue to feed you that lie, and it will grow into a stronghold (a lie that is believed, or an incorrect thinking pattern). Your feelings are quite often a direct result of your thoughts. If you think you are a failure, you will feel like one.
If you listen to your heaven Father, who is speaking truth to you through His Word, you will begin to tear down the strongholds in your life. When you meditate on the truth in God's Word, it will become part of you, and before long, you will be feeling different, simply because you are exchanging lies of the devil for the truth in God's Word. When you believe that your sins are forgiven, you can then allow your conscience to be cleansed from dead works by the blood of Jesus: Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
A practical example
Let me show you how many believers end up feeling like losers... guilt-ridden by their pasts. It all starts with a simple voice of condemnation from the enemy. Satan, through his network of evil spirits (that's how the devil speaks to people, since Satan can't be everywhere at once), injects thoughts into their mind that remind them of their past and their failures. They begin to listen to his voice and agree with it. They did sin, and they failed. But instead of looking at the solution, which is repentance and the blood of Jesus (which washes away sin), they continue to listen to the enemy who keeps reminding them of their past. As they continue to do this, stronghold(s) are formed. A stronghold is an incorrect thinking pattern based on lies and formed in deception. Once a stronghold is in place, the person naturally thinks of their past instead of focusing on the fact that their past has been forgiven and wiped away. They believe they are a failure instead of believing the truth in God's Word, which tells them that they have been forgiven, washed clean, and even God Himself has chosen to forget their dirty past! So instead of feeling like a child of God who was washed clean in the blood of Jesus, they feel unworthy, guilty and consider them self a loser. What a shame for a child of God to feel that way!
Your thoughts can affect how you feel
When you believe something, it will affect your feelings. When you believe you are a failure, you will feel like one. When you believe you are a forgiven saint, you will feel like one.
The difference between a guilt-ridden Christian and a light-hearted and joyful Christian is often one simple thing... what they are thinking about. Guess who's thinking about the sin, the guilt and the past? Now guess who's thinking about how they have been washed clean and they are a new person in Christ Jesus?
Whatever you keep your mind on (think about often) will affect your whole being. Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
An exception to the rule: Evil spirits are known to directly affect our emotions, feelings, etc. King Saul was tormented with fear and depression directly. However, evil spirits often use our thoughts to access our feelings, and this is done through the creation of strongholds. This is what we are addressing in this teaching... how the enemy uses our thoughts to build strongholds, and how strongholds affect our feelings.
In a nutshell
Thoughts from the enemy (if listened to) turn into strongholds (lies believed or incorrect thinking patterns) which affect how you feel (you feelings often stem from your beliefs) and can cause you to remain in bondage to plain simple ignorance. Jesus made it clear that it's possible for a believer to remain in bondage to sin even after they've been set free, all due to ignorance of the truth in God's Word (John 8:31-36).
If you think you're a failure, you'll feel like a failure. If you think you're a new creation (washed clean from your past), you'll feel clean and new... alive in Christ!
This is one elementary subject that most Christians still don't fully understand, and it is a powerful key to spiritual breakthrough for countless believers around the globe today! Don't believe you're just an old forgiven sinner just because some pastor tells you so. Look these things up in the Word of God for yourself and know the truth. For Jesus said clearly that if we continue in His Word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free!
John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The opposite of truth is deception or false beliefs... and will cause you to live in bondage unnecessarily. This subject is no exception. If you see yourself as a failure, you will not be able to boldly exercise your authority in Christ because you will feel unworthy (even after the Blood of Christ has made you worthy). If you claim to be unworthy after the Blood of Christ has made you worthy, then you are denying the work of Christ in your life!
I want you to say to yourself, "I am worthy, because JESUS' blood has made me worthy!"

The Power of Your Thoughts

The power of your thoughts - Where many strongholds begin
The enemy loves to put thoughts into the believer's mind. Those thoughts (if meditated on), produce strongholds, which produces feelings, which lands you into bondage... all because you listened to the devil more then your heavenly Father! I am going to use a common stronghold here in this teaching as an example... an incorrect perception of who you are in Christ. There are many other strongholds out there, but this teaching will give you a general idea of how many strongholds are formed.
How it works
Two voices are speaking: Satan likes to come along and tell you, "Look at that sin you did 5 years ago! That was so bad! You are such a failure!" But Jesus, through God's Word, tries to tell you that if you turn to Him, you will be forgiven (1 John 1:9), and your past will be forgotten: Isaiah 43:25, "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins."
You are faced with a choice: You can either listen to Satan's lie that you are a failure, or you can listen to God's Word that tells you that your past has been washed away and you are a new creature in Christ! 2 Cor 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Whichever voice you listen to will crowd the other one out: If you have two dogs that fight all the time, and you can only afford to feed one of them, how do you know which one will win? The one you feed! The same is true in the spiritual realm. The more you listen to Satan's lies and deception, the more he will build strongholds in your mind, and the more strongholds that go up, the harder it will be to hear God's voice. The other side of the coin is true too... the more you feast yourself on the truth in God's Word, the more it tears down strongholds and makes it harder for the enemy's voice to penetrate your system.
If you listen to Satan's lies that you are a failure, he will continue to feed you that lie, and it will grow into a stronghold (a lie that is believed, or an incorrect thinking pattern). Your feelings are quite often a direct result of your thoughts. If you think you are a failure, you will feel like one.
If you listen to your heaven Father, who is speaking truth to you through His Word, you will begin to tear down the strongholds in your life. When you meditate on the truth in God's Word, it will become part of you, and before long, you will be feeling different, simply because you are exchanging lies of the devil for the truth in God's Word. When you believe that your sins are forgiven, you can then allow your conscience to be cleansed from dead works by the blood of Jesus: Hebrews 9:14, "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"
A practical example
Let me show you how many believers end up feeling like losers... guilt-ridden by their pasts. It all starts with a simple voice of condemnation from the enemy. Satan, through his network of evil spirits (that's how the devil speaks to people, since Satan can't be everywhere at once), injects thoughts into their mind that remind them of their past and their failures. They begin to listen to his voice and agree with it. They did sin, and they failed. But instead of looking at the solution, which is repentance and the blood of Jesus (which washes away sin), they continue to listen to the enemy who keeps reminding them of their past. As they continue to do this, stronghold(s) are formed. A stronghold is an incorrect thinking pattern based on lies and formed in deception. Once a stronghold is in place, the person naturally thinks of their past instead of focusing on the fact that their past has been forgiven and wiped away. They believe they are a failure instead of believing the truth in God's Word, which tells them that they have been forgiven, washed clean, and even God Himself has chosen to forget their dirty past! So instead of feeling like a child of God who was washed clean in the blood of Jesus, they feel unworthy, guilty and consider them self a loser. What a shame for a child of God to feel that way!
Your thoughts can affect how you feel
When you believe something, it will affect your feelings. When you believe you are a failure, you will feel like one. When you believe you are a forgiven saint, you will feel like one.
The difference between a guilt-ridden Christian and a light-hearted and joyful Christian is often one simple thing... what they are thinking about. Guess who's thinking about the sin, the guilt and the past? Now guess who's thinking about how they have been washed clean and they are a new person in Christ Jesus?
Whatever you keep your mind on (think about often) will affect your whole being. Isaiah 26:3, "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."
An exception to the rule: Evil spirits are known to directly affect our emotions, feelings, etc. King Saul was tormented with fear and depression directly. However, evil spirits often use our thoughts to access our feelings, and this is done through the creation of strongholds. This is what we are addressing in this teaching... how the enemy uses our thoughts to build strongholds, and how strongholds affect our feelings.
In a nutshell
Thoughts from the enemy (if listened to) turn into strongholds (lies believed or incorrect thinking patterns) which affect how you feel (you feelings often stem from your beliefs) and can cause you to remain in bondage to plain simple ignorance. Jesus made it clear that it's possible for a believer to remain in bondage to sin even after they've been set free, all due to ignorance of the truth in God's Word (John 8:31-36).
If you think you're a failure, you'll feel like a failure. If you think you're a new creation (washed clean from your past), you'll feel clean and new... alive in Christ!
This is one elementary subject that most Christians still don't fully understand, and it is a powerful key to spiritual breakthrough for countless believers around the globe today! Don't believe you're just an old forgiven sinner just because some pastor tells you so. Look these things up in the Word of God for yourself and know the truth. For Jesus said clearly that if we continue in His Word, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free!
John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
The opposite of truth is deception or false beliefs... and will cause you to live in bondage unnecessarily. This subject is no exception. If you see yourself as a failure, you will not be able to boldly exercise your authority in Christ because you will feel unworthy (even after the Blood of Christ has made you worthy). If you claim to be unworthy after the Blood of Christ has made you worthy, then you are denying the work of Christ in your life!
I want you to say to yourself, "I am worthy, because JESUS' blood has made me worthy!"
You are loved by God the Father
You are loved by God, not because of what you've done, but because of who you are. The Bible tells us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. He longed to have a relationship with you even before you became His child!
Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
This one may be hard to get your mind around, but it is true. God loves us with the same love that He had towards Jesus Himself! Look at this passage in scripture:
John 17:23, "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me."
Jesus said that the greatest love a man can show for his friends, is when he lays down his life for them. Jesus laid down His life for us - that is how valuable and dear we are to Him!
John 15:13, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
As a matter of fact, if we don't realize the love of God, we cannot be filled with the fullness of God. We will lack His fullness in our lives until we come to know of His deep love for us: