Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Stand on the Promises

Someone asked why there are so many atrocities in the world. Are they the will of God, something He desires to happen, or is there some other reason?

The reason we are in this mess in the first place is because Adam and Eve disconnect from God, the source of all blessing, way back there in the Garden of Eden. We were created to walk in the glory of God, but as the apostle Paul said, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Jesus took our wages upon Himself and so that all who receive Him would have eternal life.

Not only that, but God has given all those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ the means to deal with sin and its results in the world. We have the authority of the blood of Jesus and the name of Jesus. We have the authority of prayer (especially the Lord’s Prayer), the authority of faith, the power of the Holy Spirit and the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God). The problem, however, is that a lot of God's people are just sitting on the premises instead of standing on the promises.

At one point in his ministry, the apostle Paul had a thorn in the flesh, which he called a “messenger of satan.” Three times he asked God, “Lord, get this thing off me.” And the Lord answered him, “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). But that did not mean, “Paul, just suck it up and learn to live with it.” It meant that God had already given Paul everything he needed to deal with that thing and overcome it. The problem was simply that Paul had been looking to God to do for him what God had already equipped him to do.

If you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been given the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of Jesus’ name. You have been given the authority of prayer and the Word of God to wield as a sword to come against the enemy of rightness (righteousness). Now it is time to learn how to walk in that power and authority and stand on the promises of God.

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