GOSPEL CORNER : WE NEED TO TRUST IN JUST HOW COMPLETE AND PERFECT HIS FINISHED WORK IS.

20/10/23

JOEL OSTEEN MINISTRIES
TODAY’S WORD

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10, NLT

A MASTERPIECE
Psychologists say our self-worth is often based upon what we believe the most important people in our lives think of us—a parent, a spouse, a friend, or a mentor. The problem is that sooner or later people say something that cuts like a knife and brings heartache and pain, or they show by their actions that we’re not really that important. If we’re receiving our value and worth only from those who hurt us, we’ll likely feel inferior, insecure, and less and less valuable over time.

The key to gaining a true sense of value is to let your Heavenly Father be the most important person in your life. If you listen to what He says about you, you’ll feel accepted, approved, redeemed, forgiven, confident, and secure. You will feel extremely valuable, and that’s exactly the way God wants you to be, His masterpiece. You’ve been custom-made, one of a kind. You’re not average or ordinary. God created you in His very own image. And that is exactly how you should see yourself.

A PRAYER FOR TODAY
“Father, thank You that because You have made me, there can be nothing ordinary about me. Thank You that I am Your child and created in Your image. I believe and declare that I am Your masterpiece, designed by You on purpose just the way I am. In Jesus’ Name, Amen

SECTION TWO

There are some Christians who believe that you can lose fellowship with God when you sin, and you need to confess your sin to God and obtain forgiveness to become righteous again. They claim that your relationship with God is not broken when you sin, but fellowship with Him is, so you need to confess your sin to restore fellowship with Him.

It sounds very good. But believing that your fellowship with God is broken when you sin will affect your ability to come boldly to His throne of grace to receive from Him. In reality, both the words “relationship” and “fellowship” share the same Greek root word koinonia.

This means that even if you fail, relationship and fellowship with God are not broken. Why? Because your sins and failures have all been paid for at the cross. How can you ever lose your righteousness in Christ when it is based entirely on His perfect work and not your imperfection?

To see how we have everlasting righteousness in Christ, look at the prophecy in the Book of Daniel about Jesus’ work at Calvary. Daniel 9:24 describes His mission in no uncertain terms: “To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness.”

Beloved, we can rejoice today because Jesus has fulfilled every iota of this prophecy! The blood of bulls and goats in the old covenant only provided limited and temporal righteousness for the children of Israel, and that is why with every new failing, the sacrifices had to be repeated.

But in the new covenant, the blood of Jesus put an end to sin and gave us everlasting righteousness! Listen carefully to this: Jesus does not have to be crucified repeatedly whenever you fail because every sin has already been paid for on the cross.

We need to trust in just how complete and perfect His finished work is. Today, as a new covenant believer, you are righteous not only until your next sin. You have everlasting righteousness!