14.6 Striving for what you already have - actually robs you of it
Let us recap the illustration used earlier. If the father deposited $10m into the son’s bank account, but he does not know it, it is as good as not having the money. The lack of knowledge robs us of what we have. That is why Paul prayed that WE MAY KNOW.
There is another way that we can be robbed of what we have. How? It is when we strive to get it, because it reinforces our belief that we don’t have it yet. When the son strives to save up $10m, it reinforces the belief that he does not have the $10m. The more he channels his energy to get $10m, the further he drifts from the reality.
Have you tried to look for a pen, only to realize that you were holding it in your hand all along? You could have gone looking all over. The harder you try to find it, the more likely you will fail.
Or have you watched the cartoon Madagascar 2, where Gloria was looking for the love of her life, only to realize that Marty was all along by her side. The truth is that when we strive for something that we already have, we are robbed of it. So how does this apply to our Christian lives?
On the cross, Jesus has given us everything. But if we go back to the law – to the system where we have to earn everything, we will not be conscious of what Christ has already given us. If we strive to get righteous, we forget that Jesus is our righteousness. If we strive to get His love, we forget that we already have His love. If we fast and pray for His Spirit, we forget that His Spirit already lives in us. If we try to get healing, we forget that by His stripes we were healed. If we try to earn His blessings, we forget that we have been blessed with every blessing.
When a Christian reverts to live under the law, he actually falls from grace, because he tries to earn what God has given freely. He gets robbed of the blessings of Christ.
The devil uses the law as a weapon to rob believers of their blessings. He uses the law to tell the believer to fulfill requirements that Jesus has already fulfilled. But Jesus nailed the law to the cross and disarmed the devil.
(Col 2:14-15)
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having DISARMED principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Tomorrow, we will show you how the devil uses the law to rob believers.
There is another way that we can be robbed of what we have. How? It is when we strive to get it, because it reinforces our belief that we don’t have it yet. When the son strives to save up $10m, it reinforces the belief that he does not have the $10m. The more he channels his energy to get $10m, the further he drifts from the reality.
Have you tried to look for a pen, only to realize that you were holding it in your hand all along? You could have gone looking all over. The harder you try to find it, the more likely you will fail.
Or have you watched the cartoon Madagascar 2, where Gloria was looking for the love of her life, only to realize that Marty was all along by her side. The truth is that when we strive for something that we already have, we are robbed of it. So how does this apply to our Christian lives?
On the cross, Jesus has given us everything. But if we go back to the law – to the system where we have to earn everything, we will not be conscious of what Christ has already given us. If we strive to get righteous, we forget that Jesus is our righteousness. If we strive to get His love, we forget that we already have His love. If we fast and pray for His Spirit, we forget that His Spirit already lives in us. If we try to get healing, we forget that by His stripes we were healed. If we try to earn His blessings, we forget that we have been blessed with every blessing.
When a Christian reverts to live under the law, he actually falls from grace, because he tries to earn what God has given freely. He gets robbed of the blessings of Christ.
The devil uses the law as a weapon to rob believers of their blessings. He uses the law to tell the believer to fulfill requirements that Jesus has already fulfilled. But Jesus nailed the law to the cross and disarmed the devil.
(Col 2:14-15)
14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having DISARMED principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Tomorrow, we will show you how the devil uses the law to rob believers.
posted by Joshua Lye @ 11:12 PM
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