Living in the Reality of Jesus’ Finished Work
I have often wondered why we keep asking our Lord for so much, when we have been given everything we need to live for Him. In 2 Peter 1:3 we read, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” (NIV).
I then discovered a Prayer, taken from Mark Bubeck’s book The Adversary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975) and was written by Dr Victor Matthews and lightly edited by Dr Neil T Anderson. The closing portion of the Prayer reads as such: "Again, I now cover myself with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and pray that You, blessed Holy Spirit, would bring all the work of the Crucifixion, all the work of the Resurrection, all the work of the Glorification, and all the work of Pentecost into my life today. I yield my life to You. I refuse to be discouraged. You are the God of all hope. You have proven Your power by resurrecting Jesus Christ from the dead, and I claim in every way Your victory over all satanic forces active in my life, and I reject these forces; and I pray all this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving. Amen."
I reworded this prayer for my daily devotions, which I read aloud each morning: Again, I now cover myself with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and thanking You, blessed Holy Spirit, for bringing the full effects of the finished the work of the Jesus’ Crucifixion, the full effects of the finished work of Jesus’ Resurrection, the full effects of the finished work Jesus’ Ascension and Glorification, and all the finished work of Pentecost into my life today. I yield my life to You. I refuse to be discouraged. You are the God of all hope. You have proven Your power by resurrecting Jesus Christ from the dead, and I claim in every way Your victory over all satanic forces active in my life, and I reject these forces; and I pray all this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ with thanksgiving. Amen.
As I have prayed this prayer I have seen/experienced changes in my life. This brought me to the writings of A B Simpson (1844 – 1919), and a chapter on “What is it to Walk in the Spirit?” Here is what he wrote:
“Generally, it may be said, it is to maintain the habit of dependence upon the Holy Spirit for our entire life; spirit, soul and body. We know what it is at times to enjoy His conscious presence. We live in the Spirit, we have felt the touch of His quickening life, now let us walk in the Spirit. Let us abide in this fellowship. Let us lean continually upon His strength, and drink unceasingly from His life, a babe from its mother's breast. But more particularly:
1. To walk in the Spirit is to recognize the Spirit as present and abiding in us. How often, after we have asked His presence, we treat Him as if He had deceived us, and cry to Him as if He were afar off! Let us recognize Him as having come and address Him as a present and indwelling friend. He will always meet our recognition, and speak to us as the ancient presence, not from the mount, or the pillar of fire, but from the tabernacle, and from the holy of holies in our inmost heart.
2. It means to trust Him and count upon Him in the emergencies of life, to regard Him as one who has undertaken our cause and expects to be called upon in every time of need and will unfailingly be found faithful and all-sufficient in every crisis. The very name Paraclete means one that we can always call upon and find at our side. We must trust the Holy Spirit and expect Him to respond to our need as implicitly as we expect the air to answer the opening of our lungs, and the sunrise to meet us in the morning. And yet how many treat the Holy Spirit as if He were an unpredictable and most unreliable friend! How many of our prayers are despairing groans or scolding reflections on His love and faithfulness!
It was for this that Moses lost the Promised Land; instead of quietly speaking to the rock and expecting its waters to flow forth to meet his call, he struck it with hasty and unbelieving violence and spoke as one who did not fully trust the love and faithfulness of God. There is no need that we should strike the rock, or cry, like Baal's priests to the distant heavens for help. Let us gently and implicitly claim the love that is always in advance even of our prayer. Let us speak in the whisper of childlike trust to that bosom which is ever ready to pour its fullness into our empty hearts, and lo! the waters will gush forth, and the desert of our sorrows, doubts, and fears will blossom as the rose.”
Out of these words, I have discovered that we do not spend enough time just thanking the Holy Spirit, each moment, each day, for bringing the full effects of the finished work of our Lord Jesus and Pentecost into our daily living. Acknowledging, the reality His presence (the presence of the Holy Spirit) in our lives, here and now, thanking Him in faith that He is present in us, and live out this REALITY.
Blessings
Jono
Our thanks to Jono for this month’s Blog contribution
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