My RC

  Good Morning Church Family! God is able and faithful! We are continuing on with our verse (If you missed it you can go back and read the past two weeks before reading this one.) from 1 John 4:4, "You are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world". So far we have learned that we are part of God's family and something WAY bigger!! And that we are His children or those He deeply loves! Those two truths are life altering but there is more!! This week we are looking at the next part of the verse... "and have overcome them"! The first part, "have overcome," means to conquer; to prevail; subdue; am victorious; to carry off the victory; to win the case; get the victory. Hallelujah! Read through those words again... that is something worth praising about! You get to know the outcome even before the end... you overcome!!! The next word is "them". The word "them" (according to Barnes' Notes on the Bible commentary) "in this place seems to refer to the false prophets or teachers who collectively constituted antichrist. The meaning is that they had frustrated or thwarted all the attempts to turn them away from the truth." Let's put these both together! The false prophets and those who try to turn people from Christ by any attempts possible are overcome, conquered, subdued by us, the little children of God who are victorious, winners of the case and those who get the victory! Thank you Jesus!!! This verse just keeps getting better! How often has the devil tried to make you feel less than, little, alone or weak against his attacks? He tries to make us feel what he is feeling so that we don't realize who we are in Christ! This verse exposes the truth! It's really him who should be afraid of us!
There is a kids Disney movie that came out years ago called A Bug's Life. In the story, there is a colony of ants that have always provided food for the grasshoppers (the bad guys). Through a mistake the food for the grasshoppers is lost. The grasshoppers intimidate, bully and threaten the colony giving them an ultimatum of providing additional food or they will die. In the final scene, one lone ant stands up to the grasshoppers and as he does, he realizes that the grasshoppers aren't superior but rather the ants! The grasshoppers get more and more nervous as the ant continues to say more and more truths about the colony. As the colony hears the truth they get more and more brave. In the end the colony takes a stand against the grasshoppers and wins because they come to a realization of who they really are. It is a "good versus evil" and good triumphs story! The thing that stood out to me the most was what happened to the ants when they realized who they really were. As Christians, there are a lot of grasshoppers out there telling us lie after lie trying to make us believe that we are inferior, have no power and our God is less than. For too long, we have let those lies define who we are and what we can and can't do. 1 John 4:4 reveals the truth!! What is that truth? We are the overcomers! We are the victors! We get the VICTORY and we win!!!! When the ant colony discovered the truth it changed how they saw not only themselves but the grasshoppers. You could literally see them stand taller and closer together. You could see the change in their faces as the light of truth comes on and they see things for how they really are! This is what needs to happen to us, Church Family! We have just read the truth of who we are as children of God. No matter what grasshopper you are facing today or what lie the devil has tried to sell you as truth, you now know the truth and that truth will set you free!
When the Israelites were getting ready to go into the Promised Land the first time, there were 12 spies sent to spy out the land. The land was better than anything they could have imagined! A land flowing with milk and honey and abundance! They had been told by God that they would be able to go in and possess this land. That was the truth of their situation but what did 10 of the spies say about themselves?? They said, "There are giants in the land we cannot defeat and we look like 'grasshoppers' in our own eyes." They believed a lie about who they were. God had told them the truth about who they were and what they would do and they chose to believe a lie instead. The belief in that lie cost those 10 spies from being able to live in the Promised Land... not only those 10 spies but every person 20 years of age and older who believed the lie with them. Can you see how dangerous believing a lie can be? An entire generation missed out on the Promise Land because they believed more in a lie than they did the Word of the Lord. We shake our heads in disbelief when we read this story but how often do we believe in the lies of the enemy more than the Word of God in our lives? In these last days, we need to be in the Word daily so that we can continue to build ourselves up in the truth. The more truth we know, the taller we will stand. The more truth we know, the less likely it will be for us to believe a lie! The more truth we know, the more we will see ourselves as God sees us and the more victory we will have! I don't know about you but I'm ready for more victory!! It's time recognize who we truly are in Christ and silence the grasshoppers! Have a blessed rest of your week, Church Family and don't miss the last part of this incredible verse next week!! It's already been a powerful revelation but God isn't done yet!! Let's keep putting the truth before your eyes everyday and be the overcomers God has called us to be!! Blessings, Pastors Sheli and Steve