Jesus said that "He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Our challenge however is to receive "His life" so that we walk in it and thrive because of it. Often we are constrained by old patterns of thinking and by old habits that influence us in a debilitating way if not in a negative way. For example, a prisoner may be released from prison but he may still be imprisoned on the inside and therefore unable to appreciate his new freedom.
Israel was unable to appreciate their new freedom after Jerusalem had been secured from the outside world. their problem was that their inside world was still in captivity. They could not celebrate their new found freedom. They were instructed three times to "not mourn" because it was now the time to celebrate with joy. "The joy of the Lord is your strength" (Neh. 8:10) Their emotions were a give away as to their mindsets. Another illustration of this was when Jesus asked the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, "why are you sad?". Their sadness betrayed their belief that all hope had died when Jesus died. But they had not yet seen met the resurrected Christ.
If you know the resurrected Christ you have cause to rejoice. Rejoicing is not about circumstances that can be good or bad. Rather rejoicing is about the covenant promise that the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead now lives in you!! This truth is the basis of the believer's joy. This rejoicing isn't about what you or I need to do. It's actually about what He has done by way of His finished work. For example, I know that I am totally forgiven of all my sins - past, present and future. This is life giving because I am now free to not judge others and to actually comfort others through life. Like Joseph, who received his brothers in Gen 50 without any sense of retaliation or grievance, we can in similar manner receive those around us who don't yet know Jesus. The church is called to display real freedom through and by dispensation of the gospel of grace.
The new day is book ended by grace. Total forgiveness, the gift of God to sinners, empowers us to see our world (our place of work, our neighbourhood, our city, our nation) through the eyes of His grace. Only the dispensation of grace will overcome the stuff of our world. How else could a young Christian girl in Syria ask God to show her tormentors how He totally forgives us of our sins. This new day demands a new language. Try it! See how God sees our world and dare to exercise His grace where there is no grace.
This blog is based on a message given by Ross Smith at The Vine Church, Springwood, Logan City, Queensland, Australia on 22/11/15. The full message can be accessed by podcast from www.thevine.org.au/teaching.
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