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Grace takes you from where you are to where God wants you to be in life. God will indeed lift you up in your walk with Him. He is the exalted Head over all.
In His Hand is power and might:
Yours O Lord is the greatness, the power and the glory, the victory and the majesty; For all that is in the heavens and the earth is yours. Yours is the Kingdom O Lord, and you are exalted as Head over all. Both riches and honor come from You and You reign over all. In Your Hand is power and might. In Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. [1 Chronicles 29:11,12]
It is king David’s prayer of thanksgiving; and it records three valuable and foundational aspects of God’s truth:
1. God is the source.
2. God is in sovereign control.
3. God has the power to lift you up and give you success, riches and honor in life.
Also it is the blessing of the Lord that makes you rich. And He adds no sorrow to it. [Proverbs 10:22] For, riches can come, but they need not always be from God; and what is not from God will not be a blessing in your life. It is therefore, not what you need. Instead, your focus needs to be on God; for godly blessings come only in godly ways.
How does God begin to bless you ?
When God raised His Christ, He sent Him first to you, to bless you, by turning each one of you from your wicked ways. [Acts 3:26]
How does it work out in your life ?
Salvation is the greatest blessing of God; and the psalmist prays unto God saying ‘Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation’. It teaches a valuable truth; that joy is a component of God’s blessing.
1) He blesses you – by giving you joy:
Christ blesses you, as He makes you joyful. It is why Paul reiterates very strongly – Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, rejoice. [Philippians 4:4] And the joy of the Lord, joy that is independent of your life’s happenings is constantly, continually your strength, for nothing or no one can take it away.
The disciples were filled with joy and power, when the Holy Spirit came upon them; for the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. And as a child of God, no matter what may be going on in your life right now, you have more reasons to be joyful than to be sad. The very fact that you are alive and well is a reason to be joyful. For, if God has added a day to your life, He has a purpose to it. When you are blessed by God, joy will be a part of it.
2) God blesses you by conveying the reality of Christ’s finished work:
There is no place for skepticism in applying biblical truth in your life, though many people tend to think so. For, the Bible never asks you to do something that is not possible. Through Christ, His finished work of the Cross, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, it is possible for you to do the will of God that He has set forth in His word.
Being in Christ is your positional blessing – you are seated with Him in the heavenly realm. And, through Christ, the blessedness of your riches in God, can be practiced and applied in your everyday life. Therefore, instead of undergoing problems that come in your path, God’s blessing will find you overcoming them.
Your Christian walk is not a moving toward Utopia kind of situation, but a present possibility. For, ‘Today is the day of salvation’, God’s word declares. ‘You will see the goodness of God in the land of the living’ is also the promised word of God.
3) God blesses you – to prosper you for His praise:
It is how He demonstrates in your life that He is a good God. It is always a pleasurable experience for God to bless you, to see you and your family happy, to bring joy in your life. He will bring honor to you. And as you are blessed, His Name is glorified.
His blessing begins by turning you and I away from wicked ways. Your character is more important as you seek God’s Kingdom, your material and physical needs are added unto you. This is the Kingdom priority, where your character comes first, and then your cash. You are the earthen vessel designed to hold God’s treasure. And one does not pour invaluable treasure into a vessel that is leaking. You may be in financial need even now, thinking that all will be well once that need is met.
But, God deals with your internal condition first, and then works towards the outside, the external. It is why, when you are in Christ, you are a new creation, from the inside out. It is not just an external, behavioral make-over that is bound to collapse at some point.
The value of a person in God’s eyes:
The world may value a person according to his material and earthly possessions. But, God’s value system concerning any person comes through as He describes Job in His written word. In it He very clearly enunciates what He considers to be of prime importance.
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright; one who shunned evil and feared God. [Job 1:1] God is more concerned with a person’s character; it is where He starts. And it is so very important to see things as God sees – for it is the absolute and unchanging truth. The book of proverbs declares that the faithful man abounds with many blessings. God is faithful. So He desires that you are too. And it is possible in and through Christ. After personal character, it is the family that is important in God’s sight. And, seven sons and three daughters were born to him. [Job 1:2]
Again, it is also a focus on character, for it is in the privacy of your home, that your true character is revealed. God is never taken in by external trappings that may fool the rest of the world. Your pleasing conduct therefore, in church, at work, in the market place where the world can see you, also needs to happen in your home, for it to be validated by God.
Your home in God’s eyes is a house of prayer. It is where the goodness of God to you is demonstrated. And his goodness to you includes blessings that are tangible material wealth and possessions. Job is described to be one of the wealthiest men of his times. Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. [Job 1:3] And God never changes. He remains the same, even today. He blesses you in all areas of your life; but, He addresses first, the essence of your character.
A turning away from wicked ways
‘If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land’. [2 Chronicles 7:14] It is the call of God to His people in the time of the old covenant, where man had to do something to receive the blessing of God. Also, death reigned in the carnal nature of all men, for sin had entered and corrupted all of mankind through the fall of Adam.
Hence man was unable to change himself and do what is righteous and good even if he wanted to. He was in bondage to sin and the wicked one. It was why therefore, Christ was born into this world, in human flesh, to establish a new covenant – one that was immeasurably superior, to the old one.
The Cross
Christ came to die for your sins and mine, and the sins of the whole world. And He rose again victorious, to ascend to the Father’s right hand. God did for you and I, what no man can do for himself. And when you receive Christ into your heart, He will turn you away from the sin principle in you that is much stronger than your will power. Thus you are dead to sin, that you may live for righteousness in the Spirit’s power.
No longer trying, but trusting:
Trying is a dependence on your own self effort, a leaning on your own understanding that inevitably leads to inability and frustration. Trusting on the other hand is a dependence on God, and what He has done for your sake. And it is the latter that will bring about a change in your life, to give you a new beginning. For, wickedness is a principle within; it is an internal problem that manifests in the form of wicked deeds. And the root of all wickedness is the wicked one. It is a dependence on God that will see you overcome it all in your life in His power; and you will experience deliverance and freedom.
Wickedness – the defilement from within:
Wickedness is the principle of lawlessness and hatred that is in the world.Evil is in their homes and their hearts, it is said in the psalms, describing such people. [Psalms 55:10] But Lord Jesus establishes the truth that it is an internal problem, as He says, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adultery, fornication, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man. [Mark 7:21-23]
Defilement is not merely external, is what Jesus teaches in the verses above. The external is an indication of an internal problem. And when you trust God, His ability becomes your blessing, removing wickedness from within you, for His empowering grace is more powerful than sin. It is why you need to be born again.
Starting afresh with a new heart:
‘I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh’. [Ezekiel 36:26] Being born again is not just a repair work. It is a new heart, a renewing of mind, which leads to restoration. The blessing of God is powerful to deal with wickedness within you, removing your sinful nature, giving you a new spirit, which becomes the very residence of God.
b) Wicked ways
‘And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil’. [John 3:19] Stark words of truth, from the very Light of the world Himself. It is man, who by rejecting Christ chooses to condemn himself. The God who is love does not send him to hell; it is a delusive argument that the one who is rebellious chooses to employ. He does it in order to justify choosing the path that leads to death – an eternal separation from God.
Jesus is the answer and the decision to accept Christ brings you into the blessing of God. Today, you and I have to be eternally thankful for the grace of God that has saved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions. And now, nothing can separate you and I from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the Truth. And where there is truth, there is always the counterfeit. It is what you need to prohibit in your life, as it subtly tries to creep in.
Flee from idolatry:
It is what God’s word warns against and it is the lesson to be learnt from the wilderness journey of the Israelites. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things even as they also lusted. [1 Corinthians 10:5,6]
They craved after evil things, and pursued what God had not given them, and so ended up sinning. It is why Paul gives this loving command, one not to be taken lightly –Therefore my beloved, flee from idolatry. [1 Corinthians 10:14]
What is idolatry ?
Idolatry is not restricted to bowing down before an object or a person in worship. An idol is anything that comes between you and God, or takes the place of God in your life. And therefore, being blessed through ungodly, wicked ways is idolatry, for what does not come from God, will take you away from God. It is God who gives the original, and what the devil, the world gives is the counterfeit. Having an enjoyable time in your life therefore, need not necessarily be in the so called ways of the world – ways that are forbidden by God.
You can enjoy God, for in His presence there is fullness of joy. He has richly provided all things for you to enjoy. Coming before Him in adoration and worship can be a truly enjoyable experience, flooding you with rivers of joy! But a lack of knowledge in order to discern what is true will lead to tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek. [Romans 2:9]
The Jews are as guilty as the Gentiles, Paul explains further on in the same chapter. And it is God who has made it possible for the person who puts his trust in Him to live in freedom from guilt and shame. He has done what was not possible for you and I to accomplish on our own, by our self effort.
His blessing brings the change in you:
God’s blessing brings a change in your innermost being and He works it out in the way you do things. The righteous man is like a tree planted by living waters. The Holy Spirit flows from within him. And as he meditates upon the word day and night, he bears his fruit in season, to prosper in all that he does. [Psalms Chapter 1]
This is what God wants to bless you with, it is why He sent His Beloved Son Jesus, the Messiah, that through His finished work on the Cross, His Spirit, and His word in you, you may be turned away from wicked ways to walk in righteous paths.
c) The wicked one:
Wickedness is an internal problem; but there is also an external enemy which fuels it. The apostle John says it thus We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. [1 John 5:19]
You have a God who is greater:
The devil will not want to sleep unless he brings you down. But, you have a God who is greater, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, who lifts you up. A demonic influence may try to operate in the realm of the mind, trying to plant thoughts that are disturbing and ungodly. It can happen to any person; for you need not be possessed by the devil, to come under his influence.
Jacob deceived his father, Isaac, to usurp his brother’s blessing. The bible faithfully records it, teaching a valuable lesson, through the many troubles he faced because of it, until he received the blessing of God. That was also the time when he had to declare his true name, and not his brother’s. And today, it may be the pattern of the world, but you do not need to take short cuts in life in order to get rich. For, what God has allotted for you, is for you and there is one way to it – He is Jesus.
The wicked one cannot touch you:
We know that whoever is born of God does not sin, but he who is born of God guards himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. [1 John 5:18]
For, He who is in you is greater. God is in you, and you are in God. The wicked one cannot touch you. God blesses you by removing wicked thoughts, and giving you power over the wicked one. All that needs to be done for you to be blessed has been done by Christ on the Cross of Calvary. And He will remove wickedness in you to make room for God’s blessing to flow and rest in you to bring riches in you with no sorrow added to it.
The faithful God will guard you:
Finally brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified just as it is with you. And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for not all have faith. But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. [2 Thessalonians 3:1-3]
They are the words of the apostle Paul, describing his struggle, and more importantly his confidence and faith. He establishes the truth of the incorruptible word of God. Yes, the world may be bad but you have a faithful God who will guard you. And, this is His promise – No harm overtakes the righteous; but the wicked have their fill of trouble. [Proverbs 12:21]
The wicked one cannot touch you, because you are the blessing of God. All that you cannot do for yourself, Christ has done for you. He has carried away all your sin, pain and sorrow on the Cross and defeated the devil, making him a public spectacle, that you may be victorious!
The wicked one cannot touch you, for greater is He who is in you, than he that is in the world. You are already an over comer for He has made it well with your soul. And now, may your life be a proof, a shining testimony of the blessing of God. In the Name of Christ Jesus, Amen.
