Clothed in the Presence of Jesus
By Greg Johnson
http://lovinggodfellowship.org/greg_johnson_blog
The last couple of weeks if you have watched the news at all, you have seen vivid and real life pictures of the missile attacks on Israel. For years now, Hamas and Hizbullah, who are militant Islam groups, have been trying to destroy Israel. There were days this past week when Hizbullah fired 100-150 missiles from Lebanon into Israel. They want to bring death and destruction to Israel.
As I have watched the missile attacks on news and the death and destruction that results, I have been reminded that we have a real enemy. We have an enemy of our soul that continually launches missiles at us intended to bring death and destruction. This very real enemy of our soul is like a thief who seeks to steal your happiness, joy and peace and leave you despondent, depressed and living in fear. He seeks to kill you by bringing sickness, disease, pandemics, natural disasters, violence and terrorism upon you. He seeks to destroy your family and your marriage by driving wedges in your relationships. The devil is constantly firing missiles our way that are intended to bring death and destruction.
Our only hope is Jesus. Jesus said (John 10:10-11 NIV) "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. {11} "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."
CLOTHED IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS.
God’s Word says (Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV) "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. {11} Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. {12} For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. {13} Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. {14} Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, {15} and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. {16} In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. {17} Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Every piece of this armor described in God’s Word points to Jesus. Jesus is our truth. Jesus is our righteousness. Jesus is our Gospel. Jesus is our peace. Jesus is our faith. Jesus is our Salvation. Jesus is our Word. We must put Jesus on. We must be found in Jesus. We must be clothed in the presence of Jesus.
How can we be clothed in the presence of Jesus?
ACCEPT JESUS AS SAVIOR.
By faith, we accept what Jesus did for us at the cross. At the cross, Jesus laid down His life so that we can have life. At the cross, Jesus took our punishment as He took our sin upon Himself. He shielded us from God’s judgment and God’s wrath so that we can live in God’s presence throughout eternity. As we accept what Jesus did for us at the cross and we believe that He is the son of God, we put Jesus on and we are found in Him.
MAKE JESUS LORD.
To be clothed in the presence of Jesus, we must do something daily. Jesus said (Luke 9:23 NIV) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." We must daily deny our self, take up our cross and follow Jesus. We do this by making Him Lord of our life. We commit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As we commit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, we will obey His Word, His will and His example.
IT’S ALL ABOUT FAITH AND OBEDIENCE.
Clothing our self with Jesus is all about faith and obedience. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. We obey because we believe.
We are to obey Jesus’ Word. The Bible is our authoritative guide for all of our beliefs and actions. It is our instruction book sent to us from heaven. We must commit our life to reading it, studying it, memorizing it and doing it. As we do the Word, we are submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ as He is the Word incarnate.
We are to obey Jesus’ will. Jesus has a purpose and mission for each one of us. As we seek Him and follow Him, He will reveal His will to us. As He reveals His will to us, we obey. As we obey Jesus’ will, we are submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
We are to obey Jesus’ example. The Word says (1 Peter 2:21 NIV) "To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps." Jesus is our example. There are four books of the Bible that every Christian should strive to master. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These four books give us the example that Jesus gave us. We are to continue His ministry in the power of the Holy Spirit until He comes. As we do, we are submitting to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
It’s all about faith and obedience. As we accept Jesus as our savior by faith and we are obedient to His Word, His will and His example, He clothes us with His presence. Clothed in His presence, we are protected from any and every missile that the devil sends our way meant for death and destruction.
Beloved, put on Jesus daily. Live in His presence. Believe and obey. Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!
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