034 The Great Exchange: Peace for Confusion and Turmoil, Part 2

I want you to remember from our last message three things:

1. Grace is what God has already provided through Jesus and the Cross. All of the exchanges we have been talking about were meant for us to enjoy. God wants to take away all the negativity and fear and replace them with blessings and joy as we follow Him.
2. It is by faith that we receive God’s grace. We must contend or struggle for what is rightfully ours in Christ Jesus. The reason for the struggle is that you have an enemy, and his name is Satan. Satan will use every deception, and any demonic means to keep you in bondage. The way to counteract what the Devil wants us to believe is to focus on what God has said, and then we must trust that we receive what He has said!  The evidence that we believe what He has said is to actually do and act like we already have the promise.
3. All of the people, places, and circumstances in life have shaped who we are today. Some of those experiences in life have left emotional scars that make us feel that we are unworthy of God’s grace. It is this sense of unworthiness that is an obstacle to believe, or have faith, that we have God’s grace or goodness available to us.

Our Confidence in Jesus

Philippians 2:12-13 says the following, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Verse 12 can easily be misunderstood in that if we apply it to salvation as something that can be lost, we will always live in fear and doubt as to whether we are truly saved. That kind of uncertainty can never lead to peace. We must look at the verse “Working out our salvation with fear and trembling” from a different perspective. It has to do with the fruit of what salvation produces. Salvation is both an “event” and a “process.” The event is when one accepts by repenting and then believing in Christ as Lord and Savior. The process is the life-long progression as one learns what it means to become Christ-like.

The apostle Paul wrote Philippians, but he also wrote the book of Romans. In Romans, Paul clearly makes the case that we are saved by grace and not by works. For instance, look at   That “no condemnation” is used to make the point that we are not condemned to Hell! Our home is Heaven! Then Paul explains that it is not by the flesh or works but by the Spirit which we received when we made Jesus our Lord and Savior. In other words, as we learn to be led by the Holy Spirit to be transformed from the inside out to be more like Jesus.

Look at some these other verses in Romans:

• Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
• Romans 8:31, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”
• Romans 8:38, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

The only conclusion is that nothing or no one can snatch us out of the hand of God! (John 10:28-29) So why does Paul say, “Working out our salvation with fear and trembling”? It is because we must learn to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. Walking by the Spirit of God is the ultimate faith walk. Learning to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through the Bible and discerning His voice in everyday life is the greatest challenge we face as Christians.

Jesus intends that we be “Free Indeed!” John 8:32, 36.

Here is the primary point I want to make, if we feel unworthy of God’s grace, we will never release the faith to walk with the Holy Spirit in victory. The Devil wants to keep you in bondage. He wants to keep you in bondage to your past. Have you forgotten what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17? “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” The “old you” is dead! You are now loved, forgiven, and accepted and deserving of all that Jesus purchased for you through the Great Exchange!

The Holy Spirit is at work in you.

Earlier, we looked at Philippians 2:12-13, but our focus was on verse 12. Let’s take the time to look at verse 13, “… for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” What does it mean that God is at work in you to both will and do for His good pleasure? I believe that this statement is evidence that God’s Holy Spirit is at work to give you the desire for righteousness and the supernatural ability to live righteously. If this is the case, why is it that so many live their lives in bondage and not Hope, Healing, and Wholeness? It may be that there are past issues known or even hidden that are obstacles to walking by faith.

Blinded by the past.

It’s usually easy to recognize people who are “hurting on the inside” because they wind-up hurting others. I’m sure you have heard the expression, “Hurting people, hurt people” People with issues and problems that have not been healed will hurt other people.   

There are many causes of emotional injury or a broken spirit. We will be looking at them in our next post, but before I close, let me say that Jesus is in the business of healing. He wants to heal emotionally, mentally, and physically. Look at Jesus’ mission statement found in Luke 4:18,

• “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
• Because He has anointed Me
• To preach the gospel to the poor;
• He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
• To proclaim liberty to the captives
• And recovery of sight to the blind,
• To set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

As I close, remember these four promises; Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you, if God is for you who can be against you, nothing is impossible with God, and God always keeps His promises!