Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study

Dr. Kevin Zadai 09-10-2023 -- 09-16-2023

Pleasing God By Being Who He Created You to Be

"If you're not being who God has made you to be, everybody's going to suffer for it; we're all relying on you to be who you are."

~Kevin Zadai

So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus,
the Anointed One.
—Romans 8:1 TPT

DISCUSSION:
This week we will discuss the topic of pleasing God by being our authentic selves. God has made you a certain way; He is thinking of you right now. I want you to be free to be who you are and allow God to use you in a mighty way. We need to have it settled in our hearts that God loves us, has established, and will take care of us; our lives are in His hands.

THE ENEMY PRESSURES US TO BE SOMETHING WE ARE NOT
I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well.
—Psalm 139:14 AMP

We are in a fight in this world, where satan and all the demons try to push people to be something they're not. I encountered this attack throughout most of my young life as I always felt like I was being pressured. I sense in the spirit that satan is trying to wear out the saints, as it says in the Bible (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:7), so I want to take the pressure off as we continue this study. I want to minister life to you. Before I got saved, God spoke audibly to me while standing in front of a mirror, getting ready for work, "When are you going to stop being something you're not?" In other words, I thought that I had to look and dress a certain way based on the image that the world forced on me. All of the demands to be a specific way were extremely difficult, especially being unsaved and without the help of the Holy Spirit.

There's no grace to be something you are not, so you'll always find yourself striving. I was being pressured to look a certain way, become educated, make money, and achieve many challenging goals I had set for myself. That's when I heard the audible voice of God; I don't know if anyone else heard it, but I heard Him ask me when I would stop being something I'm not. He created me a certain way and showed me that I was performing based on pressure from the world and other people—standards that He was not putting on me.

o Discuss the fight in this world to become something that we are not. 

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
—Romans 7:21–23 NLT

In Romans 7, Paul revealed the struggle to try to be righteous on your own by obeying the law. He battled within himself because he couldn't do the things he wanted to do; instead, he found himself doing that which he didn't want to do. This is based on the fact that he wanted to fulfill the law—all the do's and don'ts—yet there was no power; he did not have the grace within him to live the way he wanted.

So now the case is closed. There remains no accusing voice of condemnation against those who are joined in life-union with Jesus, the Anointed One. For the "law" of the Spirit of life flowing through the anointing of Jesus has liberated us from the "law" of sin and death.
—Romans 8:1–2 TPT

Romans 8 reveals the grace we have after receiving Christ; Paul explained that the records against us are expunged. In other words, they're erased—gone; there is now no condemnation. The case against us is closed, and the files have been destroyed. Then Paul continues by teaching believers how to walk in the Spirit and overcome the flesh; Romans 8 is amazing! In contrast, Romans 7 describes Paul's life as a Pharisee trying to obey the law before being born again. Although he was supposed to observe the law because he was a Pharisee, he could not. The world's system and demonic spirits in the unseen realm pressure people to sin and attempt to stop them from doing what's right. Humankind has been in this struggle since Adam and Eve were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. We are powerless on our own.

NOT BEING YOURSELF ROBS YOU AND OTHERS
If you're trying to be someone you're not, you are robbing yourself and everyone around you; we need you to be who you are. Now, I'm not talking about doing crazy things that are not of God, or being weird and calling it spiritual, which has gone on for many years. I'm over that, and I know you are, too. I just want authenticity— prophecy from the throne of God and genuine gifts of the Spirit to manifest—just like you do. I desire to see God move through His people by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, without flesh and the soul involved. For example, I want the power of God to touch me; however, I do not want people pushing me over when they pray for me. I don't want to be forced to give; I want to give because it's in my heart to do so. These fleshly works take place every week in some churches and ministries. Warrior Notes does not allow this. The body of Christ must stop all this manipulation that comes from people being something they're not; may ministers have gotten into a striving mode that has removed them from grace. They're operating in Romans 7, not Romans 8.

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall.
—Hebrews 4:9–11 NLT

As believers, we should not strive anymore; we should enter the rest of God and be led by the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives rest and peace. When you are hiding behind a mask and not being who you're supposed to be, people know it. There were times when I didn't want people to see certain aspects of my life because I knew they would give me an eye roll or mistreat me because of what I believed; I wanted to avoid persecution. I found that as a Christian, you will have to come clean and walk with the Lord in obedience, meaning you will be persecuted. People are going to discredit you, come against you, and reject you anyway; it's just a matter of time.

I used to try to hide my intensity with the Lord, and it didn't work out well. Eventually, when people would want to go further than I could go to the extreme with the devil, I had to tell them, "No, I don't believe that way. I'm not going to do that." It was terrible because I misled them, causing them to believe I was like them. So it was a shock when I told them I was a Christian and couldn't go with them. They probably would have wanted to know that upfront because they did not want anything to do with me afterward.

People walked out of my life, which made me realize that I should have been honest from the beginning and let them reject me. At first, I thought I had wasted time, but not anymore. I received revelation, plus I had opportunities to witness and talk about God.   

Warrior Church Home Fellowship Study

Dr. Kevin Zadai 09-10-2023 -- 09-16-2023

BE AUTHENTIC AND STAND UP FOR THE TRUTH

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.

—Ephesians 4:1

But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don't worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

—1 Peter 3:14–16 NLT

Today I see Christians behaving in ways they shouldn't according to the Bible; however, it's become culturally acceptable. In the past, there were times when I remained silent when I should have spoken up, which misled people. They were shocked when I would not participate in their activities. The rejection was only delayed by hiding who I was and where I stood. I'm telling you this because rejection and persecution will happen anyway. There will be an audit when people find out, so you must choose to live a godly life; you can't hide it. We all need to be authentic with the Lord in this time that we live in. We must walk worthy of the call of God and let people know the hope to which we've been called (Ephesians 4:1; 1 Peter 3:15). 

For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of the hearts.

—1 Thessalonians 2:4 NLT

2 Thessalonians 2:4 describes believers as messengers approved by God, who are entrusted with the gospel. Both 1 and 2 Thessalonians profoundly speak of the end times. In these books, Paul explained the characteristics of the time when Jesus would come back and the antichrist would be revealed; both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians are full of wisdom we need to know for today. Being approved by God as messengers means that we are ambassadors who are sent. We have a message that we must speak. If God approves us, we are potent; however, holding back, hiding certain truths, or refusing to address specific behaviors robs people. Holding back diminishes our effectiveness in the Lord to minister to others.

We've been entrusted with good news—the gospel. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 reveals that our purpose is to please God, not people. If you're going to be effective in this life, you must cross over, be convinced, and be completely transparent with people from the start. God alone examines the motives of our hearts. The Lord already knows our motives, so we should examine ourselves, too.

• Many have not judged the motives of their heart.

• God sees everyone's motives. At one point, the Lord exposed the wrong intentions of those I was previously connected with.

• I had to separate myself from many people who were friends and ministers, who wouldn't examine their own hearts.

• Once I made corrections in my own life, I didn't have commonalities with some of my old connections anymore. The difference was suddenly day and night, which was alarming to me. The Lord asked me to back out of these relationships.

• I share this because people will reject you when they find out that you are following the Lord in surrender.

• If people refuse to make their own corrections, you will become a thorn in their side and an obstruction to them.

• I encourage you to allow the Holy Spirit to teach, convince, and counsel you.

LIVE TO PLEASE GOD, NOT PEOPLE

For I am now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I was still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

—Galatians 1:10 ESV

Galatians 1:10 is right in your face, so most people don't discuss this scripture. I'm finding out that because the truth is not being preached and people are not adhering to it anymore; therefore, there must be a correction. We are responsible for what we see and know. If something isn't right, we must be willing to stand up for the truth. So how brave are you? I don't see many standing up for the truth as they should; this is unfaithful to God, and they're not being true to themselves.

If you're not being who God has made you to be, everybody will suffer; we're all relying on you to be who you are. We need you to preach, teach, and live by the fire of God where there's holiness. Many people lack instruction to navigate through this time we are in. Why is it that after 2000 years, we're still struggling with the same things that were dealt with in the early church? Jesus and Paul already addressed them. Don't try to be something you're not.

You can enter God's kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

—Matthew 7:13–14 NLT

Jesus is getting ready to come back. In Luke 18:8, He asked when He comes back if He would find faith on the earth. The way into eternal life—the right way—is narrow, and few find it. These are the reality checks that we need to be reminded of.

It's crucial that we become settled with being who God has created us to be.

PRAYER:

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that by the Spirit of revelation and knowledge, our family all over the world would feel Your power and presence. Lord, I ask that You confirm the calling and election that we have in You so that everyone will start to feel settled in who You've made them to be. I pray that each one would feel loved and valued by the Spirit. In the name of Jesus, thank You for overthrowing the power of the enemy that's working against my family through the resurrection of Jesus

Christ. May everyone feel the power of Your love right now, in Jesus's name, amen.

1. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 states that our purpose is to please God, not people. According to this verse, how do we become effective in this life? 

2. God examines the motives of everyone's heart. What is the benefit of examining and judging ourselves?

3. Discuss what happens when you make corrections, while those around you resist the Lord. How can we be prepared to endure the separation that takes place?

4. Many believers are stuck in a Romans 7 mentality when we should be living in Romans 8. Discuss the difference between Romans 7 and 8 according to this study.

5. Take a moment to ask yourself, "Am I living to please God or seeking people's approval?" Discuss what it means to live as a servant of Christ, according to Galatians 1:10.