A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day January 15, 2019
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10)
Let me ask you something. How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a victorious person, able to conquer the problems of the world? Do you see yourself as an overcomer?
There’s an old hymn that says, “I’m just a poor old sinner, saved by grace.” This song has a nice old melody and the words sound really religious. The only problem is the words are not completely true. A partial truth always sounds good and sometimes even very religious. But only the whole truth sets us free (John 8:32).
Yes, before you were a Christian you were a poor old sinner, and when you accepted Jesus you were saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8), but once you became a Christian you became redeemed. You became victorious and, according to the Bible, you became more than a conqueror “through Him who loved [you]” (Romans 8:37). Jesus became our redeemer. He made a way of escape from poverty, sickness, and spiritual death.
However, some Christians don’t understand that we have been redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). They accept sickness and poverty as part of life. This should not be. We have been set free from the curse of the law. We need to start acting like it. We need to quit speaking the lie and speak the truth. We’re not “just poor old sinners.” We are the righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Before we were Christians, we had a debt. Unless this debt was paid, we could never have everlasting life. But the problem was we could not pay the debt. It required a perfect sacrifice. We were not perfect. So, our debt was impossible to pay. But then Jesus came to earth as a man and died in our place. He took stripes on His body for our sicknesses. He redeemed us. He paid the debt we could not pay.
So, when we become a Christian, we receive all the benefits of a paid up account. We have health and prosperity available. Now, I’m not saying that there will never be problems, but what I am saying is this. We don’t have to be diseased and in poverty. The problems can be solved. Remember, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the law. We are victorious. Jesus has defeated Satan and we, as Christians, are the body of Christ. We are not only on the winning side, we are on the side that has already won.
Unfortunately, there are many good Christians who see themselves as beat down and defeated. Why? It’s because they believe the lies of the devil. Several years ago, my son was on the state championship football team. One thing you can always spot on a championship team is this — they believe that they are winners. A winning team is always filled with the belief that they can come in first. The coach must be an encourager. He must constantly build up the boys and keep them looking toward the goal.
A different coach could take this same team and instead of encouraging them, he could discourage them. How would he do that? He would do it with his words. The only thing required to take a winning team and make it a losing team is to start speaking losing words. The more the words are heard, the more the team will believe. And a team that believes they are losers will be losers.
That’s what Satan tries to do to the believer. He says, “You’re a loser.” He says, “You can’t be healed.” He says, “You can’t be prosperous.” He says, “You’re just a poor old sinner, saved by grace.”
Read the first two chapters of Ephesians and you’ll discover who you are in Christ. You are victorious!
