So many people are at war within themselves. They are living with divided hearts because they believe that God’s heart is divided towards them.
But Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. [Hebrews 13:8]
Transcript
Today, we are going to take a “Posture of Peace” by trusting God’s undivided heart towards us.
Posture is a short, audible fist bump to remind you, God is with you in everything. Together, we’re going to be emboldened to take a daily Posture of perfect peace.
I have really good news for you today. Coming from Hebrews 13:8. It says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” So many people are at war within themselves right now, they are living with divided hearts because they believe deep down that God’s heart is divided towards them. They believe that His goodness, His kindness, His faithfulness all the things that He promises to be are conditional. They believe that His promises are conditional on their nature not His. They don’t trust that His character is unchanging. They don’t trust that His promises are unwavering. They don’t trust that His blessings, His callings, His gifts are irrevocable. They actually believe that He’s only good as long as they are good, that He’s only faithful if they remained faithful. And so they put their trust in other things, they put their trust in political leaders and in systems and finances. They put their trust in their own ability to somehow protect themselves.
But you have to know, you have to know that on your best days and on your worst days, God never changes His mind about you. He’s not bipolar. He’s not burning with love for you one day and then burning with anger towards you the next, no, He is the same yesterday, today and forever. God is permanently passionate about you. And He’s permanently passionate about the person to your right and to your left. The religious spirit so wants us to believe that it is up to us to change ourselves and to change each other. So that our collective good behavior can protect us from the anger of God and perhaps, you know, unlock His goodness towards us.
The religious spirit actually wants us to believe that God will only be loving if we first make ourselves lovable. But if we could do that, if we could truly change ourselves and please God by our own self efforts then Jesus would not have had to come. And He had to come, read Ephesians 2. The political spirit wants us to believe that it’s up to us to love ourselves and each other, so that our collective love can govern us into some kind of utopian society where we won’t even need God. But if we could do that, if we could truly love ourselves if we could authentically love others Jesus would not have had to come. And He had to come.
The Bible says we love because He first loved us. We can’t even love without Him. The Bible says, “God is love.” So any love preached or teach to you outside of Jesus is counterfeit it’s imperative for us Jesus followers, not just to believe that there is a God but to believe God, to trust that He is who He says He is. It’s critical for us to have an unchanging sense of God’s unchanging nature because we are being made into His image and likeness. God has offered us His unchanging self. So that we too can become unchanging in our own nature and character, no matter what is occurring. We don’t have to be tossed around and beat up by false doctrine or political systems or worldly thinking. When we see God accurately we finally see ourselves accurately. And then we live accordingly.
Our prayers become faith-filled and powerful. Our love is authentic. Our engagement in society and culture brings heaven to earth. We live not as beggars for His blessing, but as co-heirs with Christ. So no matter what you face today, no matter what your week may hold for you, for your community, for your nation. Remember Jesus Christ, your Messiah, your Savior, your Redeemer is the same yesterday and today and forever. He loves you and His heart towards you is always on divided.
The promise of perfect peace is found in Isaiah 26:3. In Hebrew, it is “shalom, shalom”, meaning complete wholeness. Nothing missing, nothing broken. This is who you are in Jesus. Because of Jesus, you are a living testimony of Jesus’s ultimate win. With every step you take today you’re putting Jesus’s victory on display and satan’s defeat on replay.