Awaking today, I find myself confidently assured that the finality of my standing before God is forever anchored. Because of the comprehensive perfection of Christ’s work – His incarnation, His sinless life on earth, His sacrificial death as my substitute, His death-destroying resurrection, His documented ascension back to Heaven and His present ministry of intercession – there is not a shred of doubt within me about the finality of my destiny. You see . . . I am to be with God Himself forever.
As the joy of that lofty assurance covers me I find also a slight sliver of cold which seeks to chill me. It startles me in order to remind me that what is certainly final in the end has a hazard which accompanies it. Jesus spoke of His work for me as having an eternal and heavenly scope but also an immediate and earthly facet (John 10:10). What is this concern that finds me? From where does the cold shiver arise? It is from here:
That I would receive the reality of the final victory but fail to experience the glory of the full victory. My fear is finality that missed its fullness.
Satan can do nothing about our finish. He lost that battle in miserable fashion on the day of Christ’s resurrection and the moment we bowed before Christ. Having now been dismissed from the potential of the ultimate gain, the accuser of our souls nonetheless continues to contest the church. He rabidly refuses to walk away from what is clearly his defeat. He can move therefore he can wage war against what he hates. If he cannot steal the final prize, he will seek to rob its fullness. I alluded above to the fact that Jesus proclaimed that He gave to give us both eternal and abundant life (John 10:10). It was never His intention that all aspects of His great work for you be put on hold until your final arrival in heaven. He requires you to walk by faith but that does not mean you walk without an actual, present appropriation of what He offers you and all other saints. Joy is certainly in heaven, but is it not available here? All sin has been barred completely from the eternal state but do we mistakenly believe that we cannot escape its tyranny upon earth while we are on our upward pilgrimage? Satan bears his teeth, looses his roar and manifests his claws in a show of intimidation, daring us to believe that, in addition to the final victory, the fullness of victory belongs to us. The lesser lion roars but the Lion of the Tribe of Judah reigns.
I want both – finality of triumph and fullness of it. Quite frankly, I want every shred of what God offers to His children in whom He delights. If there is a potential for me to experience something good and glorious from the hand of God I cannot bear the thought of missing it. Heaven is not our prize. God Himself is the object of our panting and to consider missing out on any aspect of His grace and generosity to us leaves me with that sliver of ice running up my spiritual spine. Is it possible that He would ever be pleased with us merely waiting on arrival in glory before we dance before Him in the fullness of victory? Satan so dreads the convincingly celebrational saint that he makes great efforts at muzzling our praise and crippling our leaps of faith. The hosts of hell are appalled at the prospect of us bringing Christ glory by daring to rise above the status quo, lukewarm soup of milquetoast faith. This world seeks to fill our guts with hollow substitutes so that we would never taste and see just how gloriously good God actually is! Sex and money and vanity and power and fame – these are the menu items of our generation. Feast on these and you will never cultivate the treasured tastebuds for holiness and valor and love and mercy and grace and joy. You will experience a different kind of fullness from this world and what it offers; not a contentment of the soul but, rather a bloating of the flesh. Satan is fighting you daily to keep you mired in that bog. Don’t presume that you are the exception because…their are no exceptions among the people of God. Your enemy knows that, once you allow for the idea that the fullness of salvation is yours, his work to keep you blind and bloated is in severe jeopardy.
As God has graciously made you confident in your final destiny, seek to become as eager to walk in the fullness of your destiny. Reject the idea that it is the height of spirituality to quietly wait until your turn in heaven finally appears. Meekness should never be equated with the absence of appropriating confidence. It is not presumption nor arrogance to reach out and receive what God places before you. Let others be uncomfortable with your willingness to pursue the fullness of Christ’s provision for you. They are only so because they are intimidated at seeking it for themselves. In that state of mind and soul, they are no threat to the enemy’s plan. You, on the other hand, if you can dare to imagine the life of fullness will be among the few who experience the preciousness of both future and immediate fullness of being.
Dear Pastor Jeff & Amy,
I do like what you wrote today.We see it as a powerful message not less that what you preach from the pulpit.We are encouraged by your steadfast faith.Pray for us that God may give us strength to endure the attacks of Satan on God’s children.We are greatly encouraged by Amy’s faith and not feeling selfpitty.I am sure our Lord Jesus will heal her fully much sooner than estimated by doctors.
As to beloved Deborah, we trust in the Lord.Suffice it that she is sure of her eternal destination.What joy and glory to be with our Lord and Savior Jesus for ever.We refer to the book of Song of Solomon 8:13 where it symbolises Jesus telling His bride that her ministry has been completed and now she is called to come home with Him.
Glory be to Lord Jesus,
Sam & Zack.