King Hezekiah and Jerusalem were in dire straights in Isaiah 37. The enemy was at the gates and taunting the inhabitants of the city, the King, and God. It was a relentless rage against God's people. Verse 3 speaks of something I feel we can all identify with, "...a day of trouble, of rebuke and blasphemy-for the children are come to the birth and there is not strength to bring forth."
Every true Believer has reached a place at times where there is absolutely no strength left to "birth" our victory. The enemy uses every tactic at his disposal to wear us down, discourage us, and taunt our beliefs and our faith.
When we find ourselves in these situation we must do what King Hezekiah did; he went immediately before the Lord. He prayed to the One who dwells between the Cherubim (referring to the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies), He prayed to the God of gods, He alone rules over heaven and earth. He cried that God give ear and hear, open His eyes and see and hear all of the lies of the enemy (vs. 15-17)
Hezekiah cried, "Save us that all of the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD, and You alone."
God answered Hezekiah's prayers, every one of them. He heard every word. And when we have gotten to our point where there is no strength God will also take over on our behalf. He has never changed and what He did for Hezekiah He will do for us. When the enemy rages, rants and raves he is not only attacking us but he is after the God in us! He is blaspheming God also. God will intervene on our behalf.
Deuteronomy 33:26,27 gives a beautiful picture of this fact. It says that there is none likened unto our God; He rides upon the heaven in our help and in His excellency on the sky. The eternal God is our Refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms: He shall thrust out the enemy from before us and say, "Destroy them".
We are winners before the battle even starts! Only Believe!
And you shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all of your heart! (Jeremiah 29:13) The LORD is good to those that wait for Him; to the soul that seeks Him. (Lamentations 3:25)
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
We Are Justified Already!
Our sure standing in God is explained in detail in Romans 4 and 5. The last verse of chapter 4 says that Christ was delivered up for our offenses. Not His offenses but ours; every one of our sins. And the pouring out of His soul on our behalf was accepted by the Father. He was the perfect Lamb of God.
In the same way that His sacrifice on our behalf was accepted, He was also raised for our justification. OUR JUSTIFICATION! We are accepted in God. Chapter 5 says that we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ. We have full access to the Father by faith in this position of grace on which we stand. It is a strong platform on which we stand and we need to be more than confident of our position not only in the future but right now!
We are seated in a spiritual kingdom in heavenly places. Christ told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever we bound on earth would be bound in heaven; and whatever was loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. This is a powerful set of keys! Do we use them?
We have been given the authority by Christ through the Holy Spirit of God to rebuke the devil and he has to flee. It is not our power but the power of the Spirit of God working in and through us. We have the keys, we have the power, we have the position of authority and the justification to use these tools because we are now justified in the Father through Jesus Christ.
The most beautiful prayer I have ever read is in John 17 where Christ prays to the Father that we would be one with Him and the Father. He did not ask that we be removed from the earth yet but that we be one with God now. This must be possible or He would not have made the request on our behalf. I remind myself quite a bit that the problem is not on His end; it is on my end. The problem is my difficulty to actually realize my position in Christ.
He was raised for our justification! He did not have to be justified, He was sinless. We are justified in Him. We need to realize the power, the keys and the great authority we have in Him. The world will see, experience His favor upon us and ask us what makes us so different. This is our opportunity to lead others to the realization of who Christ Jesus really is! We are justified in the Father through, and by, and because of Christ sacrifice on our behalf.
Our Justification ~* HE AROSE!
" Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Saviour!
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o're His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ Arose!
Vainly they watch His bed,
Jesus my saviour!
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Death cannot keep his prey
Jesus my Savior!
He tore the bars away
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
* Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
In the same way that His sacrifice on our behalf was accepted, He was also raised for our justification. OUR JUSTIFICATION! We are accepted in God. Chapter 5 says that we have peace with God through our LORD Jesus Christ. We have full access to the Father by faith in this position of grace on which we stand. It is a strong platform on which we stand and we need to be more than confident of our position not only in the future but right now!
We are seated in a spiritual kingdom in heavenly places. Christ told Peter that He would give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven and whatever we bound on earth would be bound in heaven; and whatever was loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven. This is a powerful set of keys! Do we use them?
We have been given the authority by Christ through the Holy Spirit of God to rebuke the devil and he has to flee. It is not our power but the power of the Spirit of God working in and through us. We have the keys, we have the power, we have the position of authority and the justification to use these tools because we are now justified in the Father through Jesus Christ.
The most beautiful prayer I have ever read is in John 17 where Christ prays to the Father that we would be one with Him and the Father. He did not ask that we be removed from the earth yet but that we be one with God now. This must be possible or He would not have made the request on our behalf. I remind myself quite a bit that the problem is not on His end; it is on my end. The problem is my difficulty to actually realize my position in Christ.
He was raised for our justification! He did not have to be justified, He was sinless. We are justified in Him. We need to realize the power, the keys and the great authority we have in Him. The world will see, experience His favor upon us and ask us what makes us so different. This is our opportunity to lead others to the realization of who Christ Jesus really is! We are justified in the Father through, and by, and because of Christ sacrifice on our behalf.
Our Justification ~* HE AROSE!
" Low in the grave He lay,
Jesus my Saviour!
Waiting the coming day,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o're His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ Arose!
Vainly they watch His bed,
Jesus my saviour!
Vainly they seal the dead,
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
Death cannot keep his prey
Jesus my Savior!
He tore the bars away
Jesus my LORD!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er His foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign,
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
* Robert Lowry, 1826-1899
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