In God's Presence - part 2

In our last blog we examined two results of Christ's loss of life on the cross: forgiveness of our sins and eternal life with Him; and, living empowered by the Holy Spirit. We continue today with the third "gain" from Christ's loss.

3. Even lesser publicity is given to this point: The cross provided God great joy because of the subsequent access to Himself it provided for the believer in Christ. Upon Christ’s death, the temple veil (that piece of cloth that separated man from God’s holy presence) was ripped apart from top to bottom. For two thousand years not only has man been able to enter into God’s presence, but God could reach out to man (prevenient grace.)

As David Wilkerson so aptly describes: “you cannot come into joy and peace – indeed, you cannot know how to serve the Lord – until you see His delight in your deliverance…until you see the joy of His heart over his communion with you…until you see that every wall has been removed at the cross…until you know that everything of your past has been judged and wiped away.

God says, ‘I want you to move on into the fullness that awaits you in my presence.’

“In His presence” has two exciting dynamics. Psalm 16:11 describes one: You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. In God’s presence is fullness of joy. Why? Because no matter the circumstances, we know that everything that comes our way has to have God’s permission – even the greatest adversity will be used for our good, the good of others and for His glory.

The second dynamic of being “in His presence,” is to realize how excited God is to have us in communion with Him. Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

God delights in me – so much so that He exuberantly sings over me. Can you beat that?

Dennis Jernigan’s personal translation of Zephaniah 3:17 reads:
The eternal self-existent God,
Your God who is three in one,
He who dwells in the center of your being,
Is a powerful valiant Warrior.
He has come to set you free,
To keep you safe and to bring you victory.
He is cheered, and He beams with exceeding joy
And takes pleasure in your presence.
He has engraved a place for Himself in you,
And there He quietly rests
In His love and affection for you.
He cannot contain Himself at the thought of you,
and with the greatest of joy
Spins around wildly in anticipation over you.
He has placed you above all other creations
And in the highest place in His priorities.
In fact, He shouts and sings in triumph,
Joyfully proclaiming the gladness
Of His heart in a song of rejoicing,
All because of you.

Christ’s loss of life brings great gain to the follower of Christ.
1. Forgiveness of sin and life spent eternally with Him.
2. Being in Christ empowers the Believer with His resources.
3. There is joy in His presence and He is excited about you, about me!
How can anyone turn down such gain?

In God's Presence - part one

This blog emphasizes the value of going through tough times, how to handle these challenges and focusing on the results – the benefits of the experience. This attitude toward life could be perceived as an exercise in masochism, the enjoyment of pain. Not!

Living includes adversity. How we handle suffering’s stress determines our outlook on life – either frustration, self pity, anger and cynicism; or, “whatever my lot in life, I’ll build on it.” I’ll be diligent to process any pain appropriately, then my focus is the gain through the loss – the benefits.

I’ve mentioned my stuttering in a previous blog series. I don’t like the inability to have fluent speech. But having worked through the frustrations of stuttering (an ongoing process), I endeavor to focus on the gain, reiterated in the previous series.

Today, let’s examine the ultimate loss, Christ’s life on the cross. The loss of His life brought those who walk in faith three “gains.” Let me elaborate.

1. The death of Christ provided for our forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him. John 3: 16-17 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Forgiveness and eternal life is the point most emphasized by Christianity. But there is more. Another gain.

2. Christ was not the only person who died on His cross. The follower of Christ died there also. Galatians 2: 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
The “old man”, the person I was before becoming a Christian died. There is now a “new man” who is permeated with the Holy Spirit, who can live empowered supernaturally. Ephesians 3: 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us… This concept is not mentioned as much from today’s pulpits as the first point listed above. But there is even more. More gain. That will be demonstrated in our next blog Monday.