And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw [Jesus],he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. And Jesus went with him. - Mark 5:22-24
I wonder when God is going to do something about this problem! Have you ever asked that question? If so, you may be surprised to find out that the answer depends 100 percent on you.
There's an incident in Mark 5 that will show you what I mean. Jesus had just gotten out of a boat and people were pressing all around Him, "thronging Him," it says. They had Him shoved up against the shoreline when suddenly there came a man moving through that crowd to get to Jesus.
Throwing himself at Jesus' feet, Mark records, he prays and beseeches Him greatly, saying, "My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her... and she shall live."
Think about this situation for a moment. Here's a man that's politically on the level of the mayor of the city. But he's so doggedly determined to get to Jesus that he fights his way through the crowd and clears out enough room to fall at Jesus' feet. He's made a decision--and when he gets to Jesus, he says exactly what it is: Lay your hands on her and she shall live.
Let me ask you something: Who do you think is directing the ministry of Jesus here? This one man! A man who's made a decision. When he speaks that decision out, Jesus doesn't say anything. He just stops what He's doing, turns around and follows him.
In a crowd of literally thousands, the faith decision of one man is directing the actions of Jesus.
What does that mean to you? It means that if you're sitting around waiting for Jesus to decide to heal you... for Jesus to decide to help you...for Jesus to decide to prosper you and give you victory...you're in for a long wait. Because that's not Jesus' decision.
It's yours
RECEIVE YOUR VICTORY!
Beloved, if you're battling some form of fear, guilt or addiction today, or struggling with negative or defeatist thoughts, I have good news for you.
God wants to unveil a truth about the finished work of His Son Jesus that will revolutionize your life.
Don't live another day crippled by fear, guilt or addiction, allowing them to hold you back from the abundant life that God has for you.
As a child of God, you are destined to win!
The world may teach that you have to cope—cope with depression, cope with fears of not having enough, cope with addictions—but the Bible teaches that you have the victory.
And it's important to understand that you don't have to earn the victory. You don't have to struggle for victory. The victory is already yours in Christ Jesus! In 1 Corinthians 15:57, the Apostle Paul says...
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
And Paul is not just talking about an occasional, once-in-a-while kind of victory. Notice what he goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 2:14...
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ...
God always leads you in triumph in Christ Jesus!
You might be wondering, “Pastor, so how do I receive this victory? I have been struggling! No matter how hard I try, I can't overcome my depression, or my addiction to alcohol, or break free of my eating disorder. I can't help but feel guilty each time I fail!”
Beloved, you must first realize that very often, the battle is not without (in your external circumstances); it is within. The battle is in your mind and the battlefield, your beliefs and thoughts.
Here is how you can win this battle and reign over every fear, guilt and addiction in your life.
The Bible tells us in Ephesians 6:13, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
Self-righteousness struggles to win the battle on our own. But grace allows us to receive the victory that has been given through the finished work of Christ Jesus. He has already defeated the enemy and equipped you with His armor to stand against the enemy.
You might be wondering by now, “What is the armor of God?”
When I was a young believer, I used to mentally go through the motions of donning the “armor of God” every morning, imagining myself putting on my helmet, my breastplate and all the other pieces of armor before leaving the house.
But that's not what the armor of God is.
My friend, the armor of God is all about right believing! And it is this right believing about God and who you really are in Christ that keeps you protected and safe from the enemy's assault against your mind in the form of lies, negative thoughts and evil imaginations.
In Ephesians 6:10–12, the Bible gives us insights on how to put on the armor of God:
• Gird your waist with the belt of truth. When the devil comes against you with his lies about you, gird your waist with the belt of truth. The devil cannot deceive you if you are established in what God's Word says about you.
• Put on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness guards your heart, and the devil's attempt to attack you with all kinds of accusations and condemning thoughts that make you feel guilty and lousy about yourself will not prevail.
The other pieces of the armor of God—His faith, His gospel, His salvation, His Word and His Spirit—are all weapons of right believing to protect you against the devil's attacks.
Beloved, when it comes to any battle you are facing, your only assignment is to put on the armor of God and stand with confidence in the victory of Jesus.
You've already got the victory.
It's yours. Jesus has made it so!
No comments:
Post a Comment