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Devotions > Redemption Remembered or Rebellion?


6 May 2013

 

Have you lately considered the sheer power of the gift of redemption?    Yesterday we celebrated the gift of communion, the broken body of the Lord Jesus Christ and His shed blood for our redemption.

Written words cannot begin to express the tremendous magnitude and supremacy of Jesus’ sacrifice which brought forth the opportunity of our redemption.   

1 Corinthians 11:23-24 (AMP)
23 For I received from the Lord Himself that which I passed on to you [it was given to me personally], that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was treacherously delivered up and while His betrayal was in progress took bread,
24 And when He had given thanks, He broke [it] and said, Take, eat. This is My body, which is broken for you. Do this to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.  
 (emphasis added)

The body of the Lord was broken for me, for you, personally, for our redemption from the path toward eternal destruction.   And we celebrate this communion to remember.

1 Corinthians 11:25-26 (AMP)
25 Similarly when supper was ended, He took the cup also, saying, This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink [it], to call Me [affectionately] to remembrance.
26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are representing and signifying and proclaiming the fact of the Lord’s death until He comes [again].
 (emphasis added)

A new covenant we can now possess!    God’s greatest gift an indestructible indescribable gift can become our own possession through faith in the power and pledge of Jesus’ new covenant.    As the reality of the eternal impact of the new covenant upon our lives commences to dawn in the depth of our hearts, our instinctive response is to fall on our faces in humble adoration and thanksgiving!

How is it then that we can look around the Western church and find it filled with arrogance and haughty division?   Have we forgotten to remember?   What else but pride can be the foundation of our rebellion and disobedience to Jesus’ command to be one?

God, speaking to Solomon gave very clear directionfor the healing of their land.     2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

This direction was prescribed for times when chastisements clearly brought upon by God were the direct result of His people’s sin.

2 Chronicles 7:13 (KJV) 13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;

God knew that His people would soon turn toward pride and rebellion which would result in His just punishments.    The first action required on the part of the people to return to God was to humble themselves.   Do we not in our day have much more culpability in light of the new covenant, the New Testament, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer?   Did not Jesus say to whom much is given to him much will be required?

Where should we start in pursuit of this prescribed humility?   First we must ask God to search our hearts. Removing hidden bits of our pride is like trying to remove a splinter while wearing sunglasses.   We will discover only a diminutive portion of our pride while looking through the sunglasses of our self-centered heart.    Next we must seek to develop a deeply intimate and consistent walk with our Savior.   The closer we walk with God the more allergic we will become to pride.   When looking down a train track an engine looks very small and insignificant when it’s a mile away.   It is virtually a dot where the tracks come together.   But as it comes nearer it becomes more apparently powerful.   When it is rumbling rapidly and unswervingly toward us at about twenty yards away it is downright terrifying.

It is similar with our God.    When we are successful in keeping our God at a comfortable distance His authority for the most part is minimal over our attitudes and actions.    On the other hand when we come to the intimacy of His throne …….       Isaiah 6:1-4 (KJV)1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.  2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.   3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.   4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

Quite another response is inevitable:     Isaiah 6:5 (KJV)5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.

Authentic intimacy in the presence of God transports us to the truth where we must fall on our faces in humble repentance.   

Is it fair to conclude that without moving into true intimacy with God we will find it difficult if not impossible to obey the command to humble ourselves that God gave to Solomon?  Even though we have been given His body and His blood, even though we have been granted the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, even though we have the instruction of the New Testament, will we repent and humble ourselves?

Or will we wait in our arrogant self-centeredness until this land is completely destroyed before we desperately humble ourselves in accordance with God’s understanding of His command?  God in His magnanimous grace and at an incredible price has not only offered each of us redemption; He continuously offers each of us choice.     He is waiting on us not only to pray for revival but to bring our lives into submission to His requirements for the healing of our Land.  May we each chose wisely by the power of His Spirit for His glory!

 

Jeff Williams