The last two days, the Holy Spirit has been ministering to me on why Jesus came to earth, and I shared that with you. When you can truly lay hold of why Jesus came, it becomes easier to grasp why it means so much. His whole experience is relevant to your existence. He came to show us how to walk on earth, not as men, but as God’s son’s and daughters. He came to show us what we could do on earth as King’s kids, He came to give us eternal life. Because of Christ, we are strong, we don’t have to live in fear. We don’t have to live in depression. We don’t have to be without peace and joy. We don’t have to live in defeat.
Can you imagine a child, whose father was a King, and he lived like a pauper? Oh wait. That story has already been told:
Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. (Luke 15:11-16)
This Prodigal son, had gone astray from his father and somehow found himself becoming a slave to the system. But his father was King! And here he was, miserable and unhappy in life. Living as a victim and not a victor. What an insult to his father! And how ironic for Him. This story doesn’t necessarily have to be about money. it could be about anything that is making you live a life of defeat. But I love how the story continues:
When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father… (Luke 15:16-18)
It’s time for us to come to our senses. Do you know who your Father is? Do you know what He did for you? I had to come to terms with the fact that as a Christian, I have sometimes made the work of Calvary of no effect. How? For a long time, I allowed myself to live in the land of ‘Woe is me’. I camped out in ‘Defeat Valley’ quite often when situations came. As a result, I got no answers for my prayers, and the less God answered, the more I felt fatherless. But it wasn’t because God wasn’t being a good father to me. I just didn’t fully understand the power of the cross. If we truly understood Calvary, we would get that God wants what is best for us. He doesn’t give us stones, when we ask for bread. God allowed Christ to die so that we might receive salvation.
Now, pause right there! Because salvation is a word that we often undermine. Salvation comes from the greek “soteria”. Soteria means to be delivered, preserved, kept safe and saved from all things; deliverance from the molestation of enemies; in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the soul’s safety or salvation. It is also the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.(Strong’s interpretation)
Many times as believers we say “I am saved!”. It’s true. But do we really get that? Or is it just lip service? Salvation is a full package- a VICTORY package. It would be like winning the lottery! All of your impossible needs, wants, desires become possible when you receive Christ’s salvation. This is why He kept stressing that we could ask the Father anything in His name and it would be done (John 15).
I’ve come to understand that my salvation because of Christ has to be as sure as my name. My salvation defines my new status in God, as an heir, as a King’s child and as one who receives all good things from Him when I ask Him. If I am not certain about what Christ did for me though, the Cross and Jesus Christ’s purpose for coming to this earth is worth absolutely nothing. Simply put, God plan to crucify His own Son, would have been a complete waste of time.
So, again. Do you believe in the Cross and what it has done for you?
The success of what you’re asking God for hinges on that.
