God's Good Pleasure

"For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13). God is pleased with you, when the Holy Spirit is in you according to God's good pleasure. The Holy Spirit is in you through the abiding gifts of faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13). 

God's good pleasure is in all who truly believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19). He works in you to do God's will. The Holy Spirit changes your heart (Romans 2:28-29). That's called regeneration or new birth. He gives you a renewed will with a desire to do God's will.

God's good pleasure is to work in your heart. The heart is your mind, will, and emotions. He is doing more in you than you can understand. He is always doing more than you ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). God is working in your heart to bring glory to His name. The Holy Spirit gives you the ability to do all that pleases God. That includes your ministry gift and power to witness for Christ (Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

As a believer, God's good pleasure is in you through the Holy Spirit. He will never leave you nor forsake you (John 14:16-17). Believers are sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption, at the coming of Christ (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30). The same Holy Spirit, who began a good work in you, will perform it until the day of Christ (Philippians 1:6; 2:13).

God's Kingdom Revealed

God's kingdom is revealed in sovereignty, dominion and power. The kingdom of God is the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). The King of the kingdom is Jesus our risen Lord (1 Corinthians 12:3). He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 19:16).

God's kingdom is revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth  (Matthew 28:18). He came into this present evil world to defeat sin, Satan, and death, through the cross and the resurrection. The power of evil was broken, yet the victory has not come in all of its fullness. The warfare rages, as the kingdom of light attacks the kingdom of darkness. However, the complete defeat of evil will only come at the return of Christ in kingdom power (Luke 21:27; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

God's kingdom is revealed in the power of the Holy Spirit. You enter the kingdom through new birth, by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:5-8; 1 John 5:1). Only through the power of our Lord Jesus can you break free from the control of the evil one (1 John 5:18-20). Those born of the Spirit enter the kingdom of God through believing the gospel of Christ (Romans 1:16).

God's kingdom shall be revealed at the second coming of Christ. Jesus taught us to pray: Our Father in heaven ... Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:9-10). That's the day King Jesus returns. His kingdom power and authority shall bring the final and total victory. The kingdom of God shall be revealed in sovereign power and great glory.

Rest In Christ Alone

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "My faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. Hallelujah!" 

Rest in Christ alone and not in yourself. We know that we are sinners and Christ died for our sins. Do not trust in self-righteousness. Faith can only rest in the righteousness of Christ. He is your righteousness. In Christ your faith finds rest.

Spurgeon taught faith is "in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing." That's our rest in Christ alone. Jesus says to you, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Faith will rest with confidence and assurance in Christ alone, and not in yourself? Faith is knowing Christ as your Surety (Hebrews 7:22). Rest in Christ alone as your guarantee of eternal salvation. 

Can you testify with Spurgeon, "My faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. Hallelujah!" 

Do you rest in Christ alone? Confess, "I am a sinner for whom Christ died." Focus your faith upon Christ crucified for your sins. No self-righteousness do you claim. You know by faith that Christ died for your sins. He is risen from the dead as our living Lord.

How to Be Blessed

Everyone is either blessed or cursed, according to the Bible. To be cursed is to be cut off from the blessing of God. He wants to bless all nations (Galatians 3:8). The Bible makes it clear how God blesses people. The blessing comes through covenant. God makes promises with an oath to bless all who are in a covenant relationship with him.

Be blessed in our Lord Jesus Christ. He took the curse of our sin at the cross, that we may receive the covenant blessing. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus proves that God the Father accepted his sacrifice for our sins. "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13). On the cross Jesus took the curse of our sins.

Be blessed by faith in Christ. We receive the covenant blessing the same way Abraham did, by faith alone (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:1-4). God blessed Abraham in all things (Genesis 24:1). "So then those of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham" (Galatians 3:9). God made covenant with Abraham to bless all nations through his Seed. The promised Seed is our Lord Jesus Christ (Genesis 12:1-3). 

Be blessed in Christ to "receive the promise of the Spirit through faith" (Galatians 3:14). The Holy Spirit seals all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:13). The Holy Spirit confirms our covenant relationship with God, through the abiding gifts of faith, hope and love (1 Corinthians 13:13).

God Will Forgive You

God will forgive you by faith in Christ. You are not forgiven of some sins. It's far better than that. You are forgiven of all sin. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). When you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God has forgiven you of all sin. 

God will forgive you at the cross of Jesus. Your sin debt was paid in full,"through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace"(Ephesians 1:7). God is rich in grace. That is God's unmerited favor for you in Christ. God's forgiveness is received by grace alone in Christ. Nothing good have we done to deserve God's Son. Grace abounds toward you in Christ. It is received by faith alone in Christ.

God will forgive you as a believer in Christ. We certainly know that Christians are not perfect, just forgiven. When believers sin, we should confess our sins to God. Fresh cleansing is available. The promise of God is sure."If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"(1 John 1:9).

God will forgive you "to the praise of the glory of His grace"(Ephesians 1:6). If you have any doubt about God's willingness to forgive you, look at the cross of Jesus. "Mercy there was great and grace was free." Because of God's amazing grace in Christ, your sins are forgiven. Praise God that your sins are forgiven by God's grace and for His glory!

Two Sides of God's Will

Millard Erickson wrote, "We must distinguish between two different senses of God’s will, which we will refer to as God’s "wish" (will-1) and God’s "will" (will-2). The former is God’s general intention, the values with which He is pleased. The latter is God’s specific intention in a given situation, what He decides will actually occur."

Erickson understood two sides of God's revealed will expressed in the Bible. First, he mentioned God's will in the sense of a wish. Also, he mentioned God's will as his intention. We could say that the Bible speaks of God's will of command and God's will of decree.

God's will of command is what he wants us to do. It's God's revealed will for our lives. We have all disobeyed God's revealed will in one way or the other. That is sin, and we have all sinned (Romans 3:23). Also, there is God's will of decree. It shall be done. 

God's will of command is seen in Acts 17:30. God commands all people to repent. That side of God's will is his desire for all to repent. However, God's will of decree is seen in Acts 17:31. He has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness. It shall be according to God's decree.