Welcome back to part two of our series looking at the blessings and promises of God.
In the introductory segment last week, we began by looking at the foundation of why you can be sure of your blessings in Christ. We also ended that video with an encouragement to start building your own personalized list of blessings.
Today we will continue from where we paused last week, and examine some blessings from the perspective of what it means to “know” them on a personal level.
Making the Blessings Yours
At the close of last week’s study, I encouraged you to read through the chapter of Deuteronomy 28, and create your own personalized list. The request was not intended to be mindless busywork, there is real benefit to creating a unique and personalized list of blessings.
Furthermore, It is not my intention to tell anyone what to believe, or advocate for a specific blessing, which is another reason why it’s good to create a personalized list. I want you to stand on and claim the blessings that the Spirit of Christ reveals to you, personally, and not just something that you’ve heard me say.
Standing on the promises of God must be an entirely personal thing. Much like the seven sons of Sceva mentioned in Acts 19, you cannot truly believe by proxy, it must be a personal union.
As we explore belief from a biblical perspective, what we find is that it is much more internal an exclusive to you than what we sometimes think. As we examined some last week, personal belief begins with understanding your position in Christ, and that is a very personal thing. Consider Romans 10:6-10:
“ 6But the righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wise, Say not in your heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
7Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
8But what said it? The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
10For with the heart man believes to righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.”
Let’s take a few moments to understand what is being said here. The verses are speaking of the righteousness which is of faith, and that’s an intriguing phrase. The righteousness, the right standing, that is of faith; the information about Jesus, what He has accomplished and who you are today in Him.
There is a particular perspective associated with knowing your spiritual identity in Christ, and these verses begin to shine a light on this. Notice how this faith-inspired righteousness-conscious perspective speaks; this perspective is concerned with now. The faith perspective is not primarily focused on waiting for the return of Jesus. I know that might be surprising but look for yourself what the verses are saying. Verse 6 says Say not inyour heart, who shall ascend into heaven? (or when Christ comes down). Which is what many are waiting for. There are many people waiting for their blessings to come in the afterlife when we ascend into heaven… and yes, indeed, the ultimate blessing of being in Heaven face-to-face with Jesus will be then— I’m not denying that, but there are also many blessings and promises for the here and now. People need assistance right now, and God has made provision for that which in my view would be silly to ignore or refuse.
Verse 7 continues that the righteousness of faith also doesn’t say that we are waiting for Jesus to be brought up again from the dead. This idea seems somewhat strange, but there are those trying to accomplish this very thing. Yes, there are particular groups attempting to “Bring Christ back again from the dead” by cloning DNA from various artifacts.
People are looking to all kinds of different places for answers and deliverance; but look at what verse 8 says: the word is near you, the ῥη̑μα word from God is very close to you, even in your mouth! That is the word of faith; the information about Jesus, His finished work, and your new identity in Him— the word of faith which we preach.
Your Redemption Unlocks the Blessings
Psalms 107:2 says it this way: Let the redeemed of the Lord, say so. Yet many are not saying so, because they do not really see themselves as redeemed. They see themselves as somehow waiting to be redeemed, waiting for some future event, when Christ has already finished the work and redeemed us.
Your belief, when properly founded on Christ, will put you in the correct position and give you the right perspective. And your speech, and indeed your entire life will testify to that fact. That is why belief is a verb in the scripture.
Churches often sing worship songs about being redeemed, but do we truly understand what being redeemed means? What does it actually mean to say that “I am redeemed?”
The foundation of actually knowing and agreeing with what Jesus Christ actually did on that cross, personally for you, is all wrapped inside the word redeemed. To declare that you are redeemed, is to testify that Jesus has bought you back from sin, curse, and destruction, just as we read about last week in Deuteronomy 28.
To declare that you are redeemed is not saying that God is going to redeem you some day in the future, but that indeed, it is finished, all things have been accomplished, and you are redeemed right now; no more waiting!
Galatians 3:13-14 clearly states these points:
“ 13Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:
14That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
In verse 13, you can plainly see the point that we observed near the end of last week’s study, that Christ has redeemed you from the curse of the Law, and He did it by being made a curse for us in our place.
The result of being redeemed is further expanded in verse 14, that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Today is the Day
My friends, it is through Jesus Christ and His redemption of us, that these things happen. As we grab hold of and receive these marvelous truths.
Notice that the grammatical tense of these verses is in the past. Christ has redeemed you. You are not waiting to be redeemed, you have been redeemed, and the blessings are available to you today.
2nd Corinthians 6:1-2 tells us with complete certainty that there is no requirement to wait any longer:
“ 1We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also that you receive not the grace of God in vain.
2For he said, I have heard you in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I helped you: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”
Salvation is the Greek σωτηρία (sōtēria), a broadly-defined word that includes health, safety, deliverance and prosperity.
Verse 1 warns to not receive the Grace of God in vain— and sadly there are many who have.
The receive in vain means to receive in emptiness, without meaningful results.
There are a lot of people who believe that God is either unwilling or unable to help in the present time, and that they are doomed to suffer through this life until they finally reach the “sweet by-and-by” up in heaven.
However here in verse 2 of 2nd Corinthians 6, we see that now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation!
I encourage you today to not leave your blessings out in the cold any longer, start receiving what is yours today, because as the scriptures say, now is your day of salvation.
Join me again next week as we continue exploring the blessings and promises of God for you.
Be blessed.