Scripture Galatians 2 v 20: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
Ephesians 2 v 4 - 6: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"
Our eternal spirits are very important to our Father and we need to know our place in His great plan to save us to the uttermost. Before we lived on this Earth we had sinned and rebelled against God, which caused our spirits to die. Spiritual death is eternal separation from God.
Jesus had to be crucified and by a miracle of God every dead spirit was drawn into Him as He hung there. Our sins and our deaths were transferred to Him and then, after three days He was resurrected to life and we became alive in Him.
In order to make our lives a reality we must be born again and baptised. We are then immediately seated in Christ in heavenly places and His living spirit dwells in our bodies here on Earth. So our spirits are already in Heaven, part of the Body of Christ.
His sinless, pure, holy, righteous spirit is alive in us to change our souls from dark to light. This is living by faith and growing in the knowledge of Jesus. He is building us up as a brand new creation to be changed into His likeness.
If you are happy with who you are and resist being changed you will find yourself in a limbo of broken parts. The Master will not invade you against your will. He will patiently wait until you submit unreservedly to His love and mercy. If you are in this state of brokenness you will not be able to flow in the power of the Spirit, for God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble.
If you are confronted by challenges mentally, emotionally, or bodily, and need to fight battles to overcome them, then you must realise that this is an imperfection in your life that the Lord is correcting. We succeed when we humbly agree with Jesus that there is still a lot of changes to be made.
We sing a Biblical chorus:
It's no longer I that liveth
But Christ who liveth in me!
He lives! He lives!
Jesus is alive in me!
The more conscious we are of this reality, the closer we are to Jesus, and the change in us is smoother, faster and more visible to others. Our thoughts in our mind are far more Christlike; we are much more able to resist sin and overcome bad habits. The Cross is working in us, killing off our bad attitudes, short fuses, and wayward tongues, and bringing to life the fruit of love, peace, joy and self-control.
Of course our enemy has an agenda to try to ruin this beautiful relationship and entice us back into the world of seduction, mayhem, sin and fun. He is extremely good at this and we must be alert as soon as the pressure begins.
He is also a spirit being and is in a state of competition and rivalry with Jesus for the rulership of the Universe. We are simply pawns on his chessboard, that he manipulates, controls and destroys through whatever dirty tricks he can conjure up. He uses us to bring sorrow to God. If we are not alert to his wiles we can be captured and compromised which would need some serious repairs.
Whenever we choose our will over His will we can lose our way. The Israelites took forty years to find the Promised Land because of disobedience to God. It should have taken forty days. So to avoid disappointment we should find His will and do it.
Our God did not make this elaborate plan to save us with any loopholes for compromise at all. He decided that those who followed Jesus would have eternal life in Heaven. Those who waver and play games with God will not. Following Jesus makes Him Lord over our lives. He has full control, its not a democracy, nor debatable, nor even 'surely a loving God will save everyone regardless of their spiritual state'.
It is obedience, submission, following instructions, prayer, fellowship and a relationship like no other. It is based on truth, righteousness and love. It means if we do not forgive then we will not be forgiven by God. If we hate then we are called murderers.....
1 John 3 v 13 - 15: "Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him."
How will God judge murderers, abortionists, militants, and executioners? Eternal separation from Him. Do as you would be done by. No man made laws shall save them. How will God judge those who persecute His people? He will persecute them. People who escape punishment on this Earth, through wealth or status, will have eternity to regret it.
God loves His people and is angry at sin every day. Let us be wise in our relationship to Him. Let us conform to His statutes for our own safety. Let us not blame Him for the consequences of our errors of judgment.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are alive because we were crucified with Jesus Christ and chose to follow Him without wavering. We want to be alive with You forevermore. Lord, we now know what is expected of us and we are willing to make sacrifices of personal pleasure to achieve it. Forgive us any failures we have made and restore us to full fellowship with You. In Jesus' name. Amen.