The Squeeze

Romans 8 starting with verse 35 tells us that in the midst of trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, or the sword, we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus. Notice our 'more than conqueror' status isn't activated until we are vulnerable. You see you can't be a conqueror if there is no trouble. Without trouble your just some dude sitting on the couch, or a girl doin her nails. It's when things get tricky that we have the opportunity to show off what's in us. I call it the squeeze. When you get squeezed what comes out? That plastic bottle of ketchup in your fridge, you can tip it over, but nothing comes out until you squeeze it. According to this scripture God has placed "win" inside of us, and that win is supposed to come out when the squeeze comes. What many people do when the squeeze comes is they quit. But if you refuse to quit in the squeeze, then winning will come out. It may come out slower than you like, but it is in there. Persevere, don't give up, hold on, and let the squeeze bring out the conqueror of Christ that is in you.

Pastor Jason Anderson
Living Word Bible Church
Scottsdale * Mesa * Ahwatukee

Psalms 18:20 - The Lord Dealt with Me

Do you ever do something great, and then a reward is on its way… a trophy, a smile or a bonus? Did you know that God wants to reward you? It's true, and He loves to bless His children. Psalms 18:20 says, "The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me." We as Christians are often so quick to look to the bad stuff in our life and then wonder whether GOD is doing the bad stuff because WE did some bad stuff. So remember this… God is a rewarder! This scripture is about reward - a reward for doing something right. Get it through your head. God. Desires. To. Reward. You. Now, if God desires to reward me, how do I get in a position for reward? Well, I must be righteous. But WHO is righteous? How will any of us be good enough? Well, we’re allowed to operate in Christ's righteousness, if we choose. If you can believe it, you can operate in this world as a joint heir with Christ Jesus. You see, Jesus’ single act on the cross cleansed us from all unrighteousness. And if my reward from the Father is based on righteousness, then all I need is Jesus, because all of us struggle with sin. JESUS is my righteousness! If I believe it, then here comes my reward. I can rest in the works of HIS hands and receive the rewards of the Lord freely. So say it with me, “The Lord is rewarding me according to my righteousness, and I am righteous in Christ Jesus.”
Pastor Jason Anderson - The Living Word Bible Church

Jesus is Your Sword

Ephesians 6:17 tells us that we need to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. So you have a sword, but you need to get it in your hands and take it with you wherever you go. It's the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God, so your sword is Jesus. And one of the things Jesus does is clean up your temple—the inside of you. The sword of the Spirit is not only to help you overcome the enemy, but it's also to help you change your insides. Now changing, well, it’s not easy, so God gives you an awesome, sharp tool to help get rid of the junk. The Bible. The Word of God has information that you don't know, and as you learn it, it’s uprooting and cutting out the hurts, pains and wrong ideas that live in your heart, which makes you smarter. Now, if you’re going to let the Word of God change you, step one is to admit that Jesus knows more than you do. Step two, then, is to get into the Bible and find out what it knows that you don't. We spend time reading Google, or our school textbooks or Facebook, and this isn't creating a better you. But Jesus will; He knows exactly how He created you, and what you have to do to change. So take up that sword of the Spirit, turn it around and let it change you.
Pastor Jason Anderson - The Living Word Bible Church