A Day in the Life of Christine (Chris Docu Series): Life Class Day 31

What Jesus did on the cross was sufficient for all people throughout the ages.

*Hebrews 10:14

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

We do not need to add anything to the redemptive work of Jesus on the cross; it is complete, sufficient & perfect.

All those things now legally belong to us. However it would seem to appear that some Christians are still unable to enjoy some of them.

Victorious warriors win first & then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first & then seek to win.

-Sun Tzu

God had promised Abraham that He would give the land he was living in to his descendants forever.

Legally, the land belonged to the descendants of Abraham.

*Joshua: 1:3

I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses.

He said, "I have given you", meaning that the legitimate owners of that land were the Israelites, although the reality they saw seemed to say something very different.

The Canaanites had been living in the land for over 400 years, sowing & reaping & building houses & fortified cities.

The people of Israel had to move from simply having the legal right to experiencing the reality of the promise.

They crossed the River Jordan as owners of the land, but they had to fight to take hold of what was theirs.

They already had the victory (because God had given it to them), but they had to march into battle so that they could take possession of the land.

Jesus had made us creditors of everything He conquered on the cross.

All those things are now legally ours but we need to take hold of them so that we can see them reflected in our lives & we can enjoy the reality of them.

We are marching into a battle in which our victory is already secure.

When the people of Israel entered the Promised Land, they were setting us an example that we might understand how to move from simply having the legal right to something, to experiencing the reality of the promise.

40 years earlier, under the leadership of Moses, they had chosen 12 spies to go & explore the land & Joshua was among them. When the spies returned, they were clearly impressed at how fertile the land of Canaan was.

They had cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took 2 of them to carry it on a pole between them.

However, 10 of the spies focuses their attention on other issues - they focused on the size of the people living there, their fortified cities, & the fact that the Canaanites had more military experience than they.

*Numbers 13:28

But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.

As a result, they stopped believing in the promise God had given them.

God had told them that He Himself would give them the land & that they had no need to worry about the enemy armies or their fortified cities as He would deal with them personally.

It was not their job to figure out how they would defeat the Canaanites - that was God's responsibility.

Sadly, they did not believe God & they were unable to to enter because of their unbelief.

*Hebrews 3:19

So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Although the land was the same & their enemies had not changed, the Israelites were different from the previous generation that had failed.

This generation really did believe that God was going to fulfill His promise; full of faith, they went forth & conquered.

It was because of their faith that they were successful in conquest & saw many miracles: the River Jordan parted & they passed through on dry land, the walls of Jericho crumbled before their very eyes & the sun delayed going down about a full day so that they could fight without being interrupted by the darkness of the night.

& so, with inferior military strength & without the appropriate weapons, the Israelites took hold of a promise from God & entered the land that already belonged to them.

They moved from simply having a legal right to receiving an experiential victory.

If we are to obtain all the blessings that Jesus placed within our reach through His sacrifice, we should follow in the footsteps of the people of Israel.

We should have faith in the promise of God & act in accordance with that faith.

Having faith means being completely convinced of something.

*Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

Specifically, it means being 100% convinced that all that Jesus conquered on the cross for you is yours, even if what you are living through at the moment seems to be the complete opposite & you do not know how the miracle is going to happen.

When you are sure that God will do what He says, you will begin to see change taking place in your life.

Do not worry about the how - leave that in God's hands - that is His responsibility & He never fails!

Remember that if you do not have faith; there is a way to obtain it:

*Romans 10:17

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

As you fill your mind with the Word of God, you will receive the faith you need to live your life in abundance that is already yours, Jesus won it for you on the cross of Calvary.

*Joshua 1:8

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Forgiveness:

*Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Healing:

*Isaiah 58:8

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Righteousness:

*Deuteronomy 6:25

"And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness."

Life:

*Joshua 1:5

No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Blessing:

*Deuteronomy 11:27

The blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today.

Abundance:

*Matthew 13:12

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Glory:

*1 Chronicles 16:10

Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Acceptance:

*1 Timothy 1:15

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.