Friday, November 02, 2012

Far Above

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  Ephesians 1:17

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are raised, you are seated and you are endowed. Very few followers live like it, however.

You are Raised
In Ephesians 1:19-22, Paul is praying for the Ephesian Church, and for us, that we would come to understand, not through the intellect, but through Godly wisdom and Godly revelation, (Ephesians 1:17) where Christ is positioned.  He states: That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.  And God placed all things under his feet

Did you catch that?  Jesus is seated meaning a work has been finished!  Jesus is at God’s right hand, the place of authority.  Jesus is FAR ABOVE all spiritual forces and every enemy we face as followers of God. (See Ephesians 6:12 in regards to our true struggles.)

Bottom Line- There isn’t anyone more powerful or with more authority than Jesus.

You are Seated
In the next chapter, God reveals positional truth for every follower of Jesus.  While we physically occupy space on earth and have a postal address, spiritually and positionally we occupy a whole different space in the spiritual realm. The degree to which you understand this will be proportionate to the degree of impact you make for the Kingdom of God. Paul says in Eph 2:6, And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus…

We have, through Christ, been raised from ones under the control and at the whim of our spiritual arch enemies (Ephesians 2:1-3, 2 Corinthians 4:4) to, being seated with Christ far above their rule.  Now, here is where it gets good.

You are Endowed
Jesus is generous!  He loves to share and has done just that with the authority given to Him from God the Father. Luke 10:19 says: I have given you authority … to overcome all the power of the enemy… That is just the beginning!  He has also given us armor to wear, (Ephesians 6:10-18). He has also given us his presence! (Matthew 28:20)  I could go on and on.

“So what?” you ask.  This morning I awoke to circumstances that mirrored my overcast, rainy and dark morning.  As I sat under a light, Bible open, it seemed through my human perspective that the darkness was winning.  When I left my time with Jesus this morning, having received what I just shared with you, I was looking not through my eyes but through my soul and have been renewing my mind with these truths and bolstering my faith all day long.

We occupy space physically and circumstances would tend to lead us to assess reality certain ways.  But today I invite you to join me in looking at life and circumstances through your spiritual position, not just your circumstantial position.

This weekend we welcome Dr. Jim Burns to PCC.  He will be speaking on Sunday about the need for the generations to band together in raising kids.  You don’t want to miss him.  I also have an extremely important and exciting personal announcement to share with the whole body. Don’t forget to turn your clocks back an hour, enjoy your extra hour of sleep and come rested and hungry to worship and be together.

I love being your pastor!