"And now these three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13).
"But since we belong to the day [that is, to this
world], let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the
hope of salvation as a helmet" (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
Experience confirms this in our testimonies; that when we truly believe that Jesus, our Saviour God, is still for us and always praying and working on our behalf, then we see miracles (often not the miracle we were asking for but a change in our heart, or a change in circumstances which meets our needs and brings peace).
From there I started to ponder Bible promises I've been hearing for most of my life. It was like a light shining when I realised that the promises I remembered best were from the Old Testament and were practical, to do with the physical world; they assured me that my enemies would be totally defeated and I would gain their wealth, and that all would go well for me and my family, and for my tribe. Suddenly I saw that these are old promises; they are but a shadow of what God intends for His people. The New Covenant is here ..
For many, many years I expected to see my life improve in physical terms in line with these old promises; it was ages before I saw the reality that I am in full-time relationship with Jesus and that now my life is centred on the spiritual. Now I live largely in peace, satisfaction and joy! My relationships have all blossomed and I want for nothing (though I am still far from rich in worldly terms).
Our country is at peace, and we don't have enemies as did ancient Israel, but the life I see around me is not full of overwhelming victory even though almost everyone I know is Christian .. there is sickness and debt, and many have very difficult relationship issues. The news from TV, radio and the press about politics and corporations and drugs and wars is almost all bad. Or worse, the news sounds good but is full of the upside-down ideas and the un-truths of political correctness.
Thankfully I remember Who I belong to, and how He alone brings peace and the ability to carry on. Jesus is the source of all my faith, hope and love.
Here are some of the promises I remembered, and some thoughts on how much better off we all are with Jesus as our constant companion in His New Covenant:
Victory
There are many
promises that we'll have victory in all our contests here on Earth, and our
troubles will flee from us:
"Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred
of you shall chase ten thousand; and your enemies shall fall before you by the
sword" (Leviticus
26:8).
"And every armed man of you will pass over the
Jordan before the Lord, until He has driven out His enemies from before
him" (Numbers 32:21).
The truth is that we don't have to defeat people or nations to reach our "Promised Land". We are the "New Jerusalem". We are children of God, the betrothed of Jesus!
"And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" (Revelation 21:2). That's us!
Remember too: "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12).
We have been given
full authority in the spiritual world in the Great Commission of Matthew
28:18-20 and throughout the Gospels and Letters:
"I have given you authority to trample on snakes
and scorpions and to overcome all [all!] the power of the enemy; nothing
will harm you" (Luke
10:19).
"And in Christ you have been brought to fullness.
He is the head over every power and authority" (Colossians 2:10), we have the authority and power of
Jesus in the world.
"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:12-13).
We have been given "the ministry of reconciliation" to work as "ambassadors" and help "reconcile the world" to God (2 Corinthians 5:17-19). This is the opposite of seeking the defeat and destruction of our enemies ..
Wealth From Others As Spoils Of War
"But the women, and the little ones, and the
livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its spoil, you shall take for
a prey to yourself; and you shall eat the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord
your God has given you"
(Deuteronomy 20:14).
"That you may crush them, dipping your foot in blood, that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies" (Psalm 68:23).
In Jesus we have
no need to covet the assets or the humility of our enemies, or to grab from
others. We are given all that we need (Luke 12:22-34). Instead we are required
to love our enemies, and bless them. The great commission includes these very
people, they are part of "all nations".
"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
The greatest blessing we can ever give another person is to introduce Jesus to them .. we have the Spirit (and the task) of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) and our Lord Jesus is the "Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6).
Again and again Jesus tells us: "follow me" (Matthew 4:19, 8:22, 9:9, 10:38, 16:24, 19:21, Mark 1:17, 2:14, 8:34, 10:21, Luke 5:27, 9:23, 9:59, 9:61, 18:22, John 1:43, 10:27, 12:26, 13:36, 21:19, 21:22).
This "follow me" command from Jesus is very important and precious to me! It calls for obedience which is given a high place in the New Testament (Matthew 28:20, Luke 11:28, Acts 5:32, Romans 16:26). We are to do the works Jesus specifically asks us, each one.
Special Giftings
"Many nations will go and say, 'Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths'. For out of Zion will go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he will judge between many peoples, and will decide concerning strong nations afar off. They will beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more" (Micah 4:2-3).
What great promises .. physical safety (though somewhere in the future). But the benefits spoken of here all come through the good works of people and nations; sadly this has never much happened in all of history.
Never mind, we
have so much more with Jesus, we Christians have become the "house
of the God of Jacob". "Do you not know that your bodies are temples
of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?" (1
Corinthians 6:19), we have become what the Arc of the Covenant used to be, and
are never separate from God. The "Word of the Lord" is Jesus,
we do not just hear "the Word", He lives inside us; His Holy
Spirit will "teach us all things" (John 14:26). "The
anointing you received from Him [Jesus, by His Spirit] remains in you, and you
do not need anyone to teach you" (1 John 2:27).
In our world today many warn us, as Jeremiah did in Bible times: "Don't go forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy, and terror, are on every side” (Jeremiah 6:25).
But this is worldly talk and takes no account of our Lord's protection, nor of his spiritual authority and power which we carry all the time (Luke 10:19).
Testimonies by the thousands support these truths. When Jesus calls each one of us "a new creation" He is speaking a profound truth. The world has never seen anything like the renewed humanity of us Christians who have the God of all the Creation indwelling in us.
So please, cleave to the truth. You are continuously being given all that you need to lead the full and satisfying life your Father in Heaven has always planned for you. Ask Jesus, "how shall I follow you? What is it you want me to do as my unique share in your work on the Earth?" Ask often. Don't worry when you fail. Persevere. And cling tightly to the faith, hope and love our Lord Jesus gives you.
Bless you.
Amen.
Favourite Scriptures
"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).
"And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6).
"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace" (John 1:16).
"For out of His fullness (abundance) we have all received [all had a share and we were all supplied with] one grace after another and spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing and even favour upon favour and gift [heaped] upon gift" (John 1:16) Amplified.
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