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As you find your rest in the ability of the God who can move mountains, may we continue to meditate upon His promise- The Lord bless you from Zion; And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem All the days of your life. [Psalms 128:5,6] And godly blessing is all about godly maturity, moving towards perfection, a pressing towards the goal of your upward call in Christ Jesus, as Paul writes, All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. [Philippians 3:15] Maturity is a growth that is a measure of the full stature of Christ in you. [Ephesians 4:13] And also it is a process, as speaking the truth in love, you grow up in every way, into Him who is the Head, into Christ. [Verse 15] It comes by listening to God as He speaks to you, and involves obedience as the priest Eli taught the boy Samuel, who dwelt under his care.
Gospel & Christian maturity:
And when it comes to the gospel, Christian maturity is going deeper into it, and yet, not beyond it. The gospel is simple, but it is by the grace of God that you gain an understanding of it to receive it. And you move into Christian maturity when you are personally able to articulate it, the experience of it in your own life. Gospel means ‘good news’. And it is so because it is all about –
* What Christ has done for you.
* What Christ is doing for you, and
* What Christ is going to do for you in the future.
a] What Christ has done:
‘It is finished’, was the Lord’s cry of victory on the Cross, declaring that all that needs to be done, has been done by Him, two thousand years ago. Whatever is causing you worry, anxiety, or need in your life, has already been accomplished on the Cross. And there is no need therefore to reinvent the wheel. Appropriation of what has been already accomplished is what needs to be done in you. And it is done as you gain a right understanding of the truth of the work of the Cross in you, by the grace of God working in you. For, what you felt on realizing and receiving the truth that your sins have been forgiven, was an incredible feeling of release from all that has been holding you down. It is what sin can do in a person’s life.
But the gospel is – the remission of sins:
And forgiveness that leads to remission of sins involves repentance, for otherwise, it would be an abuse of the grace of God that abounds more than sin. But the truth is that the Cross, the centrality of the Christian faith, is all about the atonement of sins. And by His death on the Cross, the Son of God has set you free from the power of sin. And all that you need for life and godliness has been accomplished by the Savior and Redeemer on Calvary. He died on the Cross for you, for me, for the sins of the whole world, as He prayed to the Father, that we may be forgiven. And redemption is what He has accomplished by His death on the Cross becoming your experience in life.
b] What Christ is doing:
He is the Risen Redeemer, seated even now at the right hand of God the Father in authority and power, interceding on your behalf unto the Father. And what needs to happen in you, is a renewing of your mind by an exchanging of your thoughts, for His, which are higher and greater. You have a Savior who can move the mountains. And, ‘it is by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts to you, that you may say to the mountain like a problem that you once thought was insurmountable, ‘What are you great mountain? You will become level ground. [Zechariah 4:6,7] In your challenge, you are victorious as you put into practice what He has already accomplished. Communion is when you remember that His body has been broken for you; healing has already been accomplished, so that now, it may become your practical experience.
The Redeemer rescues & restores:
Job, amid his trouble and pain, knew and proclaimed his faith in a Living Redeemer, who even today in your life not only rescues you from sin but restores you so that you may not be entangled in its vile clutches once more. He died on the Cross for you. But His grave is empty, for He now lives with you and His Spirit is in you. And you can find your rest in knowing that He causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. [Romans 8:28] Job’s confession can also be yours, ’I know that You can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.’ [Job 42:2]
c] What Christ is going to do:
And the day is coming when He is going to come back for you, or you will go to meet Him. These are the last days, and it is how the history of this present age is going to culminate. And when He comes, He will bring His reward with Him that you may be rewarded according to your deeds. He is preparing a mansion for you now and will come back to take you. As a child of God you know where you are going when you leave this world, for to be absent in the body, is to be present with the Lord. And how wonderful it truly is, to know with absolute certainty that every blessing that you and I have received and are experiencing here on earth, is only the foretaste of what is going to be our inheritance in heaven, forever and ever. The gospel, the good news of God’s grace and mercy, only requires from you, that you may respond rightly in obedience. And the wonderful truth is that the power to obey is contained in the gospel, and you only need to open your heart to receive it. For –
CHRIST is the Wisdom and power of GOD:
But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, CHRIST, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. [1 Corinthians 1:24] By all that He has accomplished, and is continuing to do so, Christ Himself becomes your power, and your wisdom, that you may experience it, just as it happened in the life of Lydia as she listened to the gospel when the Lord Himself opened her heart to receive it. [Acts 16:14] The gospel is self-sufficient. Responding positively to it is the difference between life and death, for rejecting it will end in destruction. A response of obedience though helps you to experience the gospel, that you may also express it, and grow into maturity, that is the fullness of Christ, who has done a complete work on the Cross of Calvary. It is why you can look ahead with a heart of rejoicing to mountain-like problems becoming level ground, for the opening of doors of opportunity that you may share the gospel leading to a transformation of lives. And therefore, with hearts willingly surrendered unto Him, and dedicated to live for Him alone, may our prayer be – Father, We thank Thee, for giving us Your Son, for His precious death on Calvary as the one perfect and complete sacrifice to redeem us. We were dead in our transgressions, going our own way, none righteous, no, not one. But, You have brought us back to the way that You have paved for us, to the continued ministering of Your grace in our lives, by having Your wisdom and power, in us, in Christ, that You may be glorified. In the Name of Christ Jesus Amen.
