take your place

Take Your Place

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ...And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6

God has raised us up to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus! That's what the Word of God says. Very few of us have actually dared to believe this. We've uplifted Jesus. We've exalted Him--and rightly so! But at the same time, we've unwittingly belittled what He did by not allowing Him to bring us alongside Him. That was God's purpose at Calvary: to bring us alongside Jesus. To make us what He already was. You see, Jesus didn't need exalting. He was exalted before He ever came to this earth. He was already one with the Father. He didn't need to get authority over the devil--He'd never lost it! He put on a physical body so that He could come to earth as a man and gain authority over sin and sickness, demons, fear, poverty and all the other curses that came when the law of death moved into the earth--and He did it. He succeeded. He mastered everything in the world of the intellect, everything in the physical world. Before He ascended, He said, "All authority is given unto Me both in heaven and in the earth." Then He turned around and gave that authority to us by giving us His Name. You and I are the reason Jesus came to earth and died and lived again. He didn't do it for Himself. He did it so He could bring us alongside. So we could wear His Name and wield His authority on the earth. He did it so that we could stand before God and be everything to Him that Jesus is. When you were born again, you were made the righteousness of God in Christ! So as a born-again believer, dare to receive this message, to meditate on it and to act on it. Go ahead--dare to take your place!

be strong in the Lord

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Ephesians 6:10 (NKJV) We’ve been talking about the power of positive resistance over the past few days—how we as believers are empowered to resist whatever doesn’t come from God. But what happens when we’ve been resisting something for a long time—sickness, resentment, or anything else that flies in the face of what we’ve been promised in Christ? The answer is found in today’s verse. You are strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, so you can keep resisting for as long as it takes. When you begin to rely on just your own power, your own energy, and your own mind, that’s when you start wanting to give up. Get into God’s Word and begin to recognize that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you; the Spirit of God is in and upon you. The Bible teaches us that the presence and power of Jesus Christ are in us, as believers. When you resist something that is not from God, His power is flowing through you to help you resist it; when you submit to Him and His Word, you’re submitting to His power. You’re realizing who you are in Christ, which will cause you to resist the enemy and submit to God. When you submit to God—submit to His Word, His promises, His way of thinking—it empowers you. You submit to His Word first, and then gain His power to resist. It may start with willpower, but remember that God’s presence and power are in you. Once you begin to resist, you can count on the fact that Jesus Christ in you destroys the works of the devil. You have more power than you’ll ever need.

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do not give up

The lazy man says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be slain in the streets!”

Proverbs 22:13 (NKJV)

Over the past few days we’ve been talking about what we as believers have the power to resist and what we need to submit to in order to walk in the promises of God. Sometimes, without realizing it, we can submit to things we should never tolerate. Like the man in today’s verse, we get complacent. Instead of seeing a lion in the street and deciding to run or defend himself, he gave up without a fight, and many times we do the same thing. We say things like, “The economy is bad. I’m going to lose my job.” Or, “The doctors say I have cancer. I guess I’m on my way out.” We need to develop a positive resistance in us that is committed to running, fighting, or doing whatever is necessary to have what God says we can have! A friend was telling me about a story he read in a book where a Navy Seals Officer was addressing a crowd. “Everyone put your hands up over your head as high as you can go,” he said. When they did, he said, “Alright, now raise them a little further,” and surprisingly they were all able to raise their hands a bit more. You can always go further. You can do so much more than you think you can. God’s Word in your heart and Holy Spirit in you is empowering you to fight. These beliefs in you that are based on the truth of God’s Word will help you to resist those things that are not from God, so keep fighting! You’re not alone! You can exercise the authority you have in Christ! Some would have you believe that you are just a poor, lowly sinner, barely saved by grace. But that is not how God sees you. That is not the inheritance Jesus has left you! Jesus wants you to walk in the fullness of all He has made possible for you. He came that you could have LIFE, abundant life, and He wants you to walk in God’s promises, able to resist the attacks that come against you and your loved ones. He wants you to understand the power you have in Him so you can release that miraculous power into the lives of the people around you!