115-Refusing to Be Condemned, Holding on to Rest#
115-Refusing to Be Condemned, Holding on to Rest
(JP Text Group - Grace Grass Compilation)
The topic of sharing is: Refusing to Be Condemned, Holding on to Rest
Romans 8:1-2,
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise you for your grace. Thank you for giving us this time to worship you together. We lay down all our burdens, refuse all condemnation, and place all our worries and burdens into the hands of Jesus. You grant me rest, and as I receive your word, I enter into that rest. We especially ask you to guard this time, bless every brother and sister who comes to seek you. We pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
The topic of sharing is: Refusing to Be Condemned, Holding on to Rest
To enter into rest, a very important condition is to refuse to be condemned. Because if one is condemned, there is no way to enter into rest. When condemned, many problems arise because condemnation produces fear, fear produces pressure; and pressure can lead to illness, anxiety, and so on.
People have been pursuing change, speed of change, improvement in quality of life, wanting to become better and more perfect, but this is exactly the opposite of God's standard. Our God is an unchanging God. Why does our God not change? Because we are not perfect enough and need to strive to become perfect. We are not living well enough and need to strive to live better. But God does not change because He is already the best.
We hope to live forever, but God says He has eternal life. We hope for a healthy body, and our God says He is health. Everything we hope for has already reached its peak in God, so our God does not need to change because everything with Him is already the best. Because we are not perfect, we need to constantly rely on our own efforts to change and become perfect. In this process of change, fear arises because we cannot grasp the future, we cannot control the unknown, and we do not understand how to solve it, thus fear arises, and fear produces pressure.
We may fear tomorrow, fear what we are doing now, our business, our children, etc., and start thinking of all kinds of ways to solve problems, and pressure continues to build. Under such immense pressure, the pace of life becomes faster and faster, and various problems keep arising, problems between people, problems between people and the environment. This includes the emergence of depression and insomnia, which have a huge impact on our bodies, and all of this stems from condemnation.
Brothers and sisters, you may say this is just your personal understanding and speculation; we need to find answers from the Bible. We are a church that exalts the Bible, so we must look into the Bible to see if these things have already happened there. We need to look at Adam. After God created the world, He took six days to create everything and then created Adam, leading Adam into His rest. So Adam was not involved in the creation work with God; God completed everything and then let Adam enjoy all that He had created.
God placed Adam in that garden and said, "You may freely eat from any tree in the garden." God is very generous; He did not tell Adam, "Oh, there are many trees in the eastern hemisphere that you should plant." Because everything had already been created, all things were prepared for him, all were prepared for God's children. God did not create this world for the devil but for His children.
After God created Adam, Adam possessed all of God's characteristics. God's wisdom was within Adam, God's power was within Adam, God's wisdom, power, and glory, and many of God's attributes were within Adam. Adam was abundant because the whole world was his. Adam was very wise because he could name all these animals. Human wisdom has actually developed less than ten percent; ninety percent of the human brain is in a dormant state. If all of this were developed, humans would be very intelligent. We believe Adam was not limited by these.
At that time, Adam was very smart; he could name many animals, but the devil did not want him to enjoy God's blessings. He incited him to do something, and the best way was to confuse his identity, making him think that God had not made the best for him, leading him to participate and strive to do something. The devil said to Eve, "If you eat from the tree, you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
In fact, she was deceived; she already possessed the image of God. In the beginning, God created Adam in His image and likeness; he did not become God by striving to eat some fruit but already possessed the image of God. So the devil was deliberately deceiving him, making him forget his identity and doubt God.
After the devil succeeded, she was condemned. The serpent said to Eve, "Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?" She thought, "Yes, there is one tree whose fruit we are not allowed to eat, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." After Eve was condemned, she felt as if God was biased, not giving them everything. This was part of what the devil wanted them to doubt; the devil wanted them to rely on self-performance to become a certain identity. Today, the devil is still deceiving God's children in this way. For example, it will tell you that you need to work hard to do something, and then you can become a person.
For instance, work hard, do more ministry, do good deeds, and then you can become a person. This is a huge lie. Because even if we do not work hard or do good deeds, we are still people. But in the devil's mouth, if you do not do these things, you are not a person. This is a huge lie.
It deceived Adam and Eve, making them believe they did not have the image and likeness of God, mistakenly thinking they needed to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to strive to become like God. When they, as a couple, believed the devil's words, pressure appeared. When God judged, He said to Adam, "You will eat by the sweat of your brow." Previously, he did not need to sweat to eat; this is pressure. God had completed everything; they only needed to receive and enjoy it. At that time, there was no pressure, but now pressure appeared. This was the first Adam's failure, and the devil still uses this trick against the last Adam. When Jesus was in the wilderness, the devil said to Jesus, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
If Jesus did this, would there be a curse of the law? Of course not, because there is no law that says turning stones into bread violates the law; these are not prohibited by the law. When hungry, what is wrong with turning stones into bread? This is exactly the devil's lie, and Jesus saw through this huge lie. There is nothing wrong with turning stones into bread, but before this, the devil clearly said, "If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread."
The devil wanted to make Jesus prove He is the Son of God by turning these stones into bread. Of course, our Lord Jesus refused. In fact, in all the events of the devil tempting Jesus, our Lord Jesus' response was to maintain rest and refuse to be condemned because Jesus knew very well that even if He did not turn stones into bread, He was still the beloved Son of His Heavenly Father.
Knowing your identity allows you to enjoy the rest that God brings you, regardless of what you have done or not done, which would deny your identity. Just as I would tell you, God is already particularly pleased with you, the Heavenly Father loves you very much, you are a child of God, you are a king and a priest, you are seated with Christ in the heavenly places, no longer a dirty sinner, because Jesus on the cross has washed away all your sins with His precious blood.
God has fully accepted you. Knowing that Jesus' righteousness is upon you, you can enjoy His rest and refuse to be condemned. Even if you have not done a good deed, you are still pleasing to God. You will not be denied by others because of what you did or did not do, or because of the gossip about what you did. You have been wronged and thus condemned. Know that no matter what, the Heavenly Father has already accepted you. You are no longer a dirty sinner; you are exalted, the beloved child of the Most High God, Amen!
After Adam sinned, he hid behind the trees. When God came to find him, God said, "Adam, where are you?" He said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid." Brothers and sisters, do you see? This is fear, the fear that arises from pressure. Why did Adam fear? Because he was already condemned.
After the serpent tempted him to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he found that he did not become like God; instead, he discovered his shame, he realized he was naked. Why did he not realize it before? Because God's glory was upon him. When he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he placed himself under the law. He had to strive through his own efforts to do things, and the first thing he discovered was his inadequacy, his shame.
Brothers and sisters, when condemning others, one must first discover their own inadequacies. Perhaps the condemnation of others is precisely the part we lack the most. Adam wanted to become like God, and the first thing he saw was his own inadequacy, his own lack. But before that, he was not poor; he was abundant. After he was deceived by the devil, he condemned himself and lost his rest. When God came to find him, he did not want to see God anymore because he was afraid. He knew he was inadequate, he was lacking, he knew he no longer possessed glory, and God is so holy, so just, that he could no longer reach the environment of harmonious interaction with God. This is fear.
Brothers and sisters, self-condemnation leads to loss of rest, and fear arises. The devil does not want you to hear this message because when you remove condemnation and refuse to be condemned, your life begins to be healthy and starts to turn around. From this message, we know that condemnation is a very terrible thing, and we must refuse to be condemned and refuse the condemnation of others. For example, when we are wronged, perhaps others have slandered us, unjustly defamed us, and we feel particularly uncomfortable, condemning ourselves, feeling very wronged, "Lord, why don't you help me?" You have already lost your rest.
Look at how God sees you because God has never condemned you; He has always loved you. Why? The scripture we just read says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." When you are in Jesus Christ, believing that Jesus is your Savior, you are in Jesus Christ. Therefore, God no longer condemns you, Hallelujah, this is very good news.
This is Romans 8:1. In chapter 7, Paul mentioned that he had a very painful struggle under the law. He said, "I want to do good, but when I do it, I become evil." He was condemned, struggling desperately, and the more he tried to obey the law, the more he failed.
In life, aren't we like this? Our bad temper, our incompleteness and inadequacies; when we try hard to change these, trying to restore relationships with our children; trying to restore relationships with family; trying to maintain a precarious marriage, we find that the harder we try, the more serious the problems seem to become.
Initially, Paul was like this; the more he wanted to keep the law, the more he found himself failing. After he failed, he said, "The very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death." Because the law is holy and just, there is nothing wrong with the law itself. He said that when we obey our bodily desires, we place ourselves under the law, and you feel condemned. Just like Adam, he truly believed the devil's words, ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he chose the law, condemned himself, and discovered he was naked, fear arose, pressure arose...
I used to hear teachings that if you love something more than you love God, God will take it away without hesitation. If you love money more than you love God, God will make you poor. This is to make you clearly recognize yourself. If you love your child more than you love God, just wait; God will surely take your child away first... When many things happen, people start to condemn themselves, thinking that bad things happening to me are because I loved these things more than I loved God... Accepting such messages leads to self-condemnation.
In the story of Abraham offering Isaac, the pastor also used it as an example, saying, "Do you see? At first, Abraham was such a loving person towards God, but since he had a son, Abraham loved this son too much. Therefore, his relationship with God became more distant. One day, God said to Abraham, 'Abraham, take your only son Isaac, whom you love, and offer him to me!' Why did God want Abraham to offer Isaac? Because Abraham loved Isaac more than he loved God, so God wanted to take him away."
Brothers and sisters, if you hear such messages, don't you think this God is terrifying? You will fear God and feel pressure because you will worry that if you love something more than you love God, it is very dangerous. What we care about the most often exceeds our love for God, and if so, it becomes dangerous. What we value the most may be taken away by God. So some say, "God took away my health because I was too healthy and drifted away from God." "God took away my wealth because in the past, I was too wealthy, so I drifted away from God, and now God wants me to draw close to Him again." Although you say this, you are actually already condemning yourself and losing your rest. You may often complain to God, "Why is God so cruel?"
This is a wrong interpretation. If you do not understand God's true meaning, you will develop bitterness towards God, constantly condemning yourself and also condemning others because we will use this way to condemn those around us, saying: "You are like this too; be careful. You love this thing more than you love God; God will discipline you." This kind of message is spread, causing others to be hurt as well.
What does Abraham's offering of Isaac really mean? In fact, God, through Abraham's offering of Isaac, shows us how much He loves us. Think about how much Abraham loved his son, very much. Even if he lost all his wealth, he would not want to lose this son. But here, it speaks of how much the Heavenly Father loves us. How is this manifested?
God did not let Abraham offer Isaac because Abraham loved his son more than God. Letting Abraham offer Isaac was a foreshadowing. Many things in the Old Testament are foreshadowings, symbolizing the relationship between our Heavenly Father and Jesus. Reflecting on how much Abraham loved his son, we can imagine how much our Heavenly Father loves Jesus, His only beloved Son.
When God said to Abraham, "Go and offer him to me as a burnt offering," the journey to Mount Moriah was actually a short one, but Abraham walked for three days. His heart was truly reluctant, but Abraham chose to obey. But we all know the ending; God did not want Abraham's son but provided a ram instead.
Looking back, God, in order to save us and resolve our sins, truly gave us His only beloved Son, Jesus. No one came forward to stop it. When Jesus was offered on the cross, no one said anything; instead, they thought Jesus deserved to die. The Heavenly Father truly offered His only beloved Son for us, so that all our sins would be transferred to His Son, Jesus. By doing this, we are legally justified before God, and God's righteousness is fully satisfied.
Brothers and sisters, why did Jesus have to die on the cross? Because the wages of sin is death, so Jesus died for our sins; Jesus died in our place. The Bible mentions that after man sins, he must be punished. Jesus has already been punished for our sins on the cross; therefore, we have been transferred to the platform of no condemnation.
Whether it is taking communion, declaring God's words, meditating on God's words, or asking in Jesus' name, no matter what you ask for, if you are not standing on the correct identity, not knowing what Jesus has done for you on the cross, the declaration will have no effect unless you truly know what price Jesus paid for you.
When you are sick, meditate on why Jesus was whipped. Because He was whipped, I received healing. This is the reason Jesus did this, for you to benefit. Why did Jesus suffer punishment? So that you can have peace. When you declare, "Lord, your peace is upon me," you think of all that Jesus has accomplished for you on the cross; declare that in Christ you are righteous, knowing that Jesus' precious blood has already forgiven all your sins. He rose from the dead, and you have been justified; all of this is standing on the platform of no condemnation.
When serving in the church, do not carry a mindset of condemnation. If you serve with a mindset of condemnation, you will feel, "I am doing this, why aren't you doing it?" You will look down on those who do not do it, even thinking, "You guys do not know how to serve God?" Or if someone criticizes you, you will feel very wronged. This is all because you are condemned. Do not condemn others, and do not condemn yourself.
No matter what you do, do not get trapped in condemnation because condemnation brings very serious consequences. For example, some people do not have much time to spend with their children, leading to feelings of guilt. Now, with the rapid development of the economy, people's pace of life is getting faster and faster. Many families do not have time to take care of their children, so they send their children to daycare, some part-time, some full-time. Part-time may be slightly better, as there is one opportunity a day to be with the child, but full-time is very pitiful because the child may only see their parents once a week, and the rest of the time they are not with their parents. Parents know that this is not good for the children, so they try everything to compensate for their guilty conscience.
Every time they see their children, they buy many gifts or give them more money as they grow up, trying to fill the void in the child's heart and to compensate for their inner sense of condemnation and guilt. Their communication pattern with their children is to constantly give them things, using gifts to replace the time spent with the child. So they keep giving gifts, but those gifts mean nothing to the child. What do children really need? What they need is not these gifts or money, but the love of their parents. Many families have entered into a vicious cycle.
A couple of years ago, I watched a movie, the name of which I forgot, but I remember the content very clearly. Several characters were rich second-generation or officials' children; these kids were very wealthy, but their parents had no time to accompany them. To attract their parents' attention, they constantly created incidents, and even later committed murder.
When their parents found out, they educated their children. In the end, one of the children stood on the highest rooftop, crying, "Today I want you to know that the most important thing in your life is not money, not position, not your reputation, but me. I want you to feel guilty for a lifetime." Then he jumped off the rooftop. He wanted to tell his parents that trying to satisfy my needs with money is impossible. When more money is given to the child, this child spends it wildly because he does not think this money is good. When more gifts are given to the child, he spends them extravagantly. People say these children are too rebellious, but they are actually in desperate need of love.
Parents condemn themselves, feel guilty, and constantly give their children things. The child condemns himself, feeling that his parents do not love him, and this cycle of condemnation repeats, leading to bigger problems. It is not that we believe in Jesus and will not encounter such things; we still will, because in the careless process, we may do such things. The problems of non-believers are even more serious, completely unaware that it is the consequences of condemnation.
Brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be like this with your children. If you do not have time to be with them, desperately give them gifts, buy them good food, give them more money, the child may really go down a rebellious path in the future because what they need is not these, but your love. I suggest you take some time each week to watch a movie with your children, chat a bit, and your relationship with your children will undergo a huge change.
To improve family relationships, do not be working all day long. Give the couple some time together, go out for a walk, even if you do not say anything, just walk together, and family problems will greatly improve. People today are really too busy, so busy that they forget what is most important, and when many things are not done, they start to condemn themselves, losing their rest.
If you can spend a little time with your family, with friends, your relationships will greatly improve. You will not constantly condemn yourself, and your children, your partner, your mother-in-law, and other relationships will all improve significantly. Those gifts are given out of guilt; you are sacrificing too much time to do what God has already completed.
When God created everything and let Adam enjoy His rest, Jesus has already completed all the redemptive work for you on the cross. You need to work with Jesus' rest, to bring Jesus' rest into your marriage. Without rest, you will constantly condemn yourself. Conversely, constantly condemning yourself will lead to losing rest; it is very important to hold on to rest. We need to strive to enter it; the book of Hebrews tells us, "Let us therefore make every effort to enter that rest." This is the part that everyone lacks the most because the devil is particularly unwilling for us to enter into rest.
If you enter into rest, your work will be more effective, your interpersonal relationships will be better, your relationship with your children and other relationships will improve. But the devil does not want you to enter rest; he will do everything possible to confuse your identity, making you strive to do what Jesus has already done for you. He will tell you that because you have sinned, God is not pleased with you, and you need to work hard to please God. You have lost your rest because no matter how you do it, you cannot please God, placing yourself under the law, which is very scary.
The devil is a very good psychologist; he is smarter than a psychiatrist. We are not praising the devil but telling brothers and sisters why they fall for his tricks; this is a very important point. He goes straight to the point while we waste time on trivial matters. What is the devil's name? Satan; in fact, he is not called a thief, even though he also steals. He steals your health, steals your rest, steals the peace in your family; this is his work of stealing. He is also not called a murderer, even though he constantly kills. He destroys relationships between people, causing families to turn against each other and kill each other. This is also the devil's work.
The devil, Satan, in the original text refers to the adversary, the accuser, the lawyer. This "lawyer" will never speak well for you because he is the lawyer for the opposing side. The purpose is to sue you, to expose all your crimes, to tell you how much you have failed, how many sins you have. If you mistakenly believe the devil's words, you are believing the opposing lawyer's accusations against you. Accepting this will lead to chaos in your life.
When the devil deceives you, know what Jesus is doing for you. Jesus is your advocate; He is the best lawyer. Thank the Lord,
When the devil tells you, "You are still sinning; do you deserve to be called righteous?"
You should tell him, "Yes, I am sinning, but Jesus Christ has already shed His precious blood on the cross for my sins. I am justified, not because of my actions, but because of the grace of Jesus Christ."
Knowing what Jesus has done for you, you will easily overcome the opposing lawyer, the accuser.
When he tells you, "Look, you have wasted all your time here; do you deserve to be called a Christian?" He is always pointing out how terrible your actions are.
But you should tell him, "I am not pleasing to God because of my actions; I am pleasing to God because of everything Jesus Christ has done for me on the cross."
I am not striving to become like God; I already have the image of God. If someone says, "What you are doing is also good," their purpose may be to accuse you. We need to see what the other person's intention is; do not let the devil's accusations enter you because when you are accused, you are condemned. The devil's mission is to constantly condemn you; his name means adversary.
The devil will not waste time on trivial matters; he tries to make you fear and feel afraid. So brothers and sisters, being aware of the devil's tricks, refuse to condemn yourself, and enter into God's rest, you will receive all the blessings that God has prepared for you. Just like Adam, God had already prepared everything for him; all he needed to do was to receive and enjoy according to God's words. Jesus on the cross has already accomplished all the supplies for you; you need to rest in Jesus, relying on the power of Jesus Christ to enjoy His blessings.
Isaiah 54:17 tells us, "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me," declares the Lord.
From the context, we know that the "weapons" here refer to the law. What just happened in Isaiah 53? It tells us about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and He was silent before the shearers, foreshadowing Jesus, who silently offered Himself for us, paying the price for all our sins on the cross.
So in chapter 54, it tells us that no weapon forged against you will prevail. If someone insults you, those insults will be transferred to Jesus Christ. If you feel wronged, tell Jesus, "I should not bear all this injustice; I will hand it over to you." All of this should be transferred to Jesus, and then enjoy the rest that Jesus gives you.
"Every tongue that accuses you in judgment will be condemned." Many times we lose rest and are condemned because of the tongues of others. So tongues often bring attacks, causing us to lose rest. When others attack you, making you feel wronged, you must refuse to be condemned, knowing your identity before God, and knowing that Jesus Christ has fully paid the price for your sins; the Heavenly Father remembers you completely. He no longer remembers your sins and transgressions.
Knowing all this, refuse the attacks and condemnations from others; do not let them enter your heart. These are all ineffective. The attacks from others are ineffective; our God will also condemn those who attack you. This is what the Bible tells us because we are justified by the righteousness we receive from Jesus Christ, Hallelujah!
Revelation 12:10-11:
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb."
These words are spoken to every brother. Who is accusing us? It is the devil. His name is also the accuser. Please do not do what the devil does; do not accuse others and do not accuse yourself. Do not say, "Look how hard I am working, and you are so lazy." If you say, "I have read ten chapters of the Bible; why have you only read one?" You are accusing others, condemning others.
Do not become a tool of the devil. The devil has already been hurled down; our God's salvation, power, and kingdom are manifested in Jesus Christ, and the salvation of Jesus is upon you, His power is upon you, His kingdom is upon you, and all the authority of Jesus Christ is upon you. Do not let these accusers accuse you; refuse them, and let the power of Christ enter your life, and it will manifest the authority and power in your life, Amen!
How to overcome this accuser? Tell him about the blood of Jesus Christ. If others are still condemning you, tell them about the blood of Jesus Christ. "They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb." We must often remember that Jesus Christ shed His precious blood and paid the price for our sins. Thank and praise the Lord!
The devil always wants you to look at this matter, look at that matter, or look at what is lacking in life. You should look at what God is doing in your life and know that you are already blessed. The devil wants to accuse you and accuse others, but you should often meditate on Romans 8:1, firmly remember this verse, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," because the law of the Spirit of life is in you. We do not possess the law of the law but the law of love. The law of the Spirit is the law of love, the law of freedom, the law of truth. Where the Spirit is, there is freedom.
The Holy Spirit dwells in your heart; your heart should be free. If this message brings you release and freedom, you should be sure this is the work of the Holy Spirit. Understand that God forgives you; God has blotted out your sins; this is your true identity. If others reject you again, you should say, "The price for all my sins has been paid by the blood of Jesus Christ; in Jesus Christ, I have been justified."
If some people are used by the devil to attack you, you should tell yourself, "These attacks are ineffective against me because God no longer condemns me." These attacks have no effect on me at all because God no longer remembers my sins and transgressions. We are especially grateful to God for this.
Let us pray together:
Heavenly Father, we especially thank and praise your grace. In life, we often face condemnation, from the condemnation of unbelievers, from family and friends, and even from our enemies. When we are condemned, we lose our rest. We must refuse to be condemned and focus our eyes on Jesus Christ and His cross, for it is Jesus who has accomplished all this salvation for me on the cross.
I will no longer condemn myself, nor will I fear life because Jesus has completed all this for me. I will live with the power, authority, and salvation of Jesus. In Jesus Christ, I am already righteous; I am pleasing to God. I know my identity, and this week will surely be blessed. Wherever I go, I will see God's glory; everything I touch will be blessed. Thank you for giving us this message, and may I always remember my identity, refuse to be condemned, and hold on to rest. Thank you and praise the Lord; may all glory be given to you. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray, Amen!