2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
As I have mentioned previously, the Holy Spirit takes us into places we didn’t expect to visit. Such is what I’m being led to write about our position in Christ. As committed believers, we have been told that God affords us special protection from Satan by limiting what Satan can do to us. As long as we endure in our faith, there is no way that Satan can exercise the power of spiritual death over us. The moment that Christ died on the cross, the way was open for us to be saved, and Satan’s power was defeated. Our part was to keep our covenant commitments with God, as He always does with us. Nothing in this statement excludes us from having to endure pain, sorrow, or loss at Satan’s hands. And, in fact, God allows us to do so, so that we are provided with an opportunity to work through these challenges to our faith. Thus, God forwards us in the process of sanctification (perfecting us in preparation for glorification-that Day when we follow “the first among many brothers” [Jesus Christ-RO 8: 29] to the Father’s side in heaven by resurrection.
In the last two messages, I shared four important pieces of information about our position in Christ: 1) We were selected by God [EPH 1: 4; RO 8: 14-16]; 2) He saved us, and because we were redeemed, Satan no longer has the power of death over us [EPH 1: 7; HE 2:14; JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]; 3) We were saved by the Holy Spirit [EPH 1: 13; EPH 4: 30; COL 1: 15; JN 16: 8, 13, & 15; PHIL 1: 6; 4) We have a special God-assigned place with Jesus Christ [EPH 2: 6, 8-10; RO 8: 29]. Now, let’s look at 5) We are secure; human barriers have been broken down. I don’t know whether it is a need to organize society, but I certainly think that there is built in the human led by his nature a fear of anything different than himself. The point here is that humans erect artificial barriers between themselves. That is why older cities have ghettos, why there is conflict between Jews and Gentiles, and even in the past between Lutherans and Catholics. It is also why some occupations are held in higher esteem than others. A doctor’s white coat or a businessman’s suit is seen by those who don’t wear them as a kind of barrier. We organize ourselves in “pecking orders,” deeming some people more important than others. This is done by how much income a person has too. God’s way has nothing to do with this. God is more interested in the content of each individual’s heart, whether he has faith in Him or not. People we think are completely unimportant are treasures in God’s eyes. Others, who we hold in high esteem, are not God’s friends at all.
Let’s see what God’s word has to say about this. EPH 2: 18-19, “It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father. So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now fellow citizens with God’s people and members of the family of God.” Remember, JN 14: 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” EPH 3: 6, “The secret is that by means of the Gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God’s blessings; they are members of the same Body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus.” There is a compelling discussion about being dead to the Law and alive in the Spirit in GA 2: 15-21 which I hope you will read. The gist of it is brought out in GA 2: 19-21, “So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead-killed by the Law itself-in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on His cross, so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ Who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave His life for me. I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!” How can we miss that these powerful, God-inspired words, came from a man [Paul] who was formerly an active enemy of Christ’s dedicated to persecuting Christ’s followers? God’s power to make believers secure is all over this!
What this means to each one of us is that we need to open our eyes to Christ’s power in our lives and accept the great blessing it is. None of us has to say that we are unworthy of receiving these blessings, as long as we endure in our faith. No human effort to lay guilt upon us, past self-hatred, or grudges mean anything once we repent and accept Christ as our personal Savior and the Leader of our lives. As 2 COR 5: 17 says, “When one is joined to Christ, He is a new creation; the old is gone and the new has come.” We know that we can still sin, and that we must get rid of the sin that is in our lives. We also know that when we obey God’s commands, we will produce the fruits of the Spirit as outlined in GA 5: 22-23. “But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self control. There is no law against such things as these.” As EPH 2: 10 expresses, “God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.” The bottom line is that people who live “in Christ,” trusting and obeying Him are people who will be happy no matter what. They are secure in their position with the Lord and have no need to erect artificial barriers between themselves and other believers.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come to You with so many flaws and prejudices. In the past when our natural selves led us to feed the insatiable hunger of our flesh, we held grudges, erected artificial barriers between ourselves and others, gave in to addictions, and engaged in all kinds of evil intrigue. Christ presented Himself to be scourged, spat upon, insulted, and finally crucified to break this pattern of evil. We stand before You today to utter the words You, as a loving Abba, most want to hear. “Yes, we repent of our sins and believe in Christ’s sacrifice and His teaching. We commit to having Him as the Leader of our lives. Furthermore, we not only desire to make Your agenda our own in our individual lives, but we also desire to do so in our congregational lives. Dearest Lord, we have heard the truth of the Gospel, and we promise to take it to others who have not heard it, using the talents You so graciously gave us. We will not waste one drop of the blood that Christ shed for us.” This is a serious promise, but it is made, acknowledging Your compassion, supremacy over all other gods, and sovereign right to claim ownership of us. Our hope is to break down barriers that exist between ourselves, acting with the sensitivity and love that Christ has shown us. We pledge to put away all grudges, addictions, and other destructive hungers of the flesh. Instead, we express our deepest gratitude that You have gifted us with the Holy Spirit to show us a better way to live. We thank You for making us secure in Your protection. We revel in the message of PS 37: 11, “But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing, and shall have wonderful peace.” We close this prayer with the supplication from PS 67: 1-3 which is in our hearts today. “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us, that Your way may be known upon earth, Your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God; let all the peoples praise You.” In Christ’s name, amen.
I am led tomorrow to discuss one more important fact for us to know about our position in Christ. The love of God is a real and palpable force in our lives. All we need to do is to open our eyes to it. We need to listen carefully, for sometimes God whispers to us in an effort to get us to focus on Him. Anything He says to us is righteous and always in our best interests. We are a blessed people to be under the umbrella of His protection and supervision. When we trust and obey Him, He lovingly leads us on the path to eternal life and joy. Now, that’s love! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn