Generally speaking, Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet, but not the Son of God. They do not believe He died and arose from the dead, or that His blood was shed for the forgiveness of sin as stated in Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Nor do they accept the authority of the New Testament.
The Bible certainly teaches there is an unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But fearful thoughts of whether you have committed this sin are designed by the devil to keep you out of fellowship with God. Think about it: if you’re concerned about having committed the unpardonable sin, you’re proving by your concern you have not!
But what about others? Time spent trying to judge whether another has committed the unpardonable sin removes you from the proper place of love and intercession for that person.
“Pleading” is actually a legal term, and in a court of law it is “a formal statement of the cause of an action or defense.” Think of it like a lawyer pleading his case before the judge. He presents evidence and facts to support his case.
The difference—and it is major—is that under the Old Covenant, those who trusted God in regard to the Law could not be born again like we are under the New Covenant. Their new birth could not take place until Jesus died for their sins, was raised from the dead and glorified. (See John 7:37-39.)
Scripture tells us not only when the disciples were born again, but also how. The answer may surprise you: They were born again the very same way you and I, or any other person is.
We know the disciples walked and talked with Jesus on a daily basis. But like every Christian, each individual disciple had to accept that Jesus was raised from the dead and make Jesus his Lord (Romans 10:9-10). The Bible describes how and when this took place after Jesus’ resurrection:
The enemy tries to discourage or confuse all believers on this issue. Think about it: Anytime he can get believers to spend time wondering if they are saved is time he is keeping them from discovering how much authority this new life gives them over the kingdom of darkness.
Here is some really good news—you can know without a doubt that you are born again!
Though he’d certainly like you to believe otherwise, you have total and complete authority over the devil through Jesus!
Jesus said in Luke 10:19, “Behold! I have given you authority and power to trample upon serpents and scorpions, and [physical and mental strength and ability] over all the power that the enemy [possesses]; and nothing shall in any way harm you” (AMPC).
When do you take authority?
The Bible is clear. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). This declaration by Jesus answers the question whether all faiths lead to God. Salvation can only be found in Jesus.
Nothing Jesus did in His earthly ministry was done by His own power. Everything was accomplished by the anointing of the Holy Spirit that was on Him. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me” (Luke 4:18).
This is a very important concept for Christians to understand. The fact that Jesus did all His earthly ministry by the anointing of the Holy Spirit means although Jesus is God, He lived in this earth as a man filled with the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit who was at work in Jesus to heal, save and deliver men is in every believer.
After the crucifixion, Jesus’ body was placed in a tomb, and His Spirit went to hell. There Jesus suffered all the torments of hell that we would have suffered. Jesus’ submission to death was complete. He experienced it to the ultimate degree so mankind would never have to be punished (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus said as long as you live in the world, you're going to have trouble. (I can vouch for that!) But you're not just in the world. You're in Jesus in the world, and that makes all the difference. You're in Him and He's overcome every kind of trouble there is.
As God's child, you're not the defeated trying to get victory. You're the overcomer, and Satan's trying to rob you of the victory that already belongs to you.
Christmas is a very important time of year. It's a time of year when the whole world is hearing the message of the birth of Jesus. It's a time when people are tenderhearted...the perfect time to plant seeds of love in the lives of those you meet.
Sometimes those seeds may just take the form of a kind word in the middle of rush-hour shopping. Other times, you may get the opportunity to pray and minister to someone. But whatever the situation, keep a sharp eye out for even the smallest chance to assist people.
Fear of failure. It's haunted all of us at some time in our lives. Popular psychology tells us to adjust to it. But the Word of God tells us that there is a failure-proof way to live without it. It is the way of love.
If you want to know real success, you must learn to be moved and motivated by love. That's how Jesus was when He was on the earth.
Established in the faith and abounding with thanksgiving. These days it seems that's a rare combination.
A lot of people have been taught faith over the last several years, and a lot of people have been taught to abound with thanksgiving. But it's been hard to set the two together. Faith folks want to confess the Word all the time, but they don't praise God very much. And those who like to praise God just want to jump and shout and dance and have a good time in the Lord. You can't get them to get very serious about the Word.
Success comes from combining the two.
Things in this old world aren't getting any better, and in recent times, the Holy Spirit has been speaking an urgent message to my heart. He's been saying, Press in. Draw in to a more intimate relationship with your heavenly Father. If you don't, you won't make it. If you do, you will see more glorious outpourings of God than you can imagine.
Jesus has redeemed us from the curse. Many of us have been well taught about that redemption where sin, sickness and poverty in our own lives are concerned. But we often fail to realize that redemption has power over the destruction the devil tries to bring on our children's lives as well.
It always amazes me when I preach about prosperity and someone comes up to me and says, "I don't need much prosperity. I'm a simple person with a simple life. So I just ask God for enough to meet my needs."
They think that's humility, but it's not. It's selfishness! They don't realize it, but they're actually saying, "All I care about is meeting my own needs. I have no ambition to help meet anyone else's."
That word abide is so important. When Jesus told us to obey His commandments and keep His Word, He wasn't just telling us to follow a bunch of religious rules and regulations.
He was telling us to allow His Word—which is a living thing!—to make its home within us. He was telling us to spend time with it, to meditate on it, to fill our minds and our mouths with it, and to let it guide our every action.
Apart from the Word of God itself and prayer, nothing can do more for you than watching and imitating a real man of faith. I found that out in a big way many years ago when I was a student at Oral Roberts University. As co-pilot on the airplane that transported him and his staff to his healing meetings, I had the opportunity to study Oral Roberts up close. I followed him around. I heard him preach. I watched him lay hands on the sick.
The Bible teaches that as believers, you and I are to occupy until Jesus comes. Occupy is a military term meaning to hold possession, or control, of conquered troops and territory. If we're to do that effectively, most of us are going to have to change our attitudes. We're going to have to recognize that Jesus has already won the victory.
That's right. Satan is already defeated. He was whipped at Calvary. We're not on the defensive—he is!