GOD LIVES IN US V

Christ is Your Right
You have no right to heaven in yourself: your right lies in Christ. If you are pardoned, it is through His blood; if you are justified, it is through His righteousness; if you are sanctified, it is because He is made of God unto you sanctification; if you shall be kept from falling, it will be because you are preserved in Christ Jesus; and if you are perfected at the last, it will be because you are complete in Him. Thus Jesus is magnified – for all is in Him and by Him; thus the inheritance is made certain to us – for it is obtained in Him; thus each blessing is the sweeter, and even heaven itself the brighter, because it is Jesus our Beloved in whom we have obtained all. Where is the man who shall estimate our divine portion? Weigh the riches of Christ in scales, and His treasure in balances, and then think to count the treasures which belong to the saints.

Reach the bottom of Christ's sea of joy, and then hope to understand the bliss which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Overleap the boundaries of Christ's possessions, and then dream of a limit to the fair inheritance of the elect. “…all things are yours; And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God’s” (1 Corinthians 3:21, 23). When the believer is adopted into the Lord's family, his relationship to old Adam and the law ceases at once; but then he is under a new rule, and a new covenant. If we can only grasp these words by faith, we have an all-conquering weapon in our hand. What doubt will not be slain by this two-edged sword? What fear is there which shall not fall smitten with a deadly wound before the arrow from this revelation? I love this: “…he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus is in us always!

Will not the distresses of life and the pangs of death; will not the corruptions within, and the snares without; will not the trials from above, and the temptations from beneath, all seem but light afflictions, when we can hide ourselves beneath the bulwark of “He hath said”? Yes; whether for delight in our quietude, or for strength in our conflict, “He hath said” must be our daily resort. And this may teach us the extreme value of searching the Scriptures. There may be a promise in the Word which would exactly fit your case, but you may not know of it, and therefore you miss its comfort. You are like prisoners in a dungeon, and there may be one key in the bunch which would unlock the door, and you might be free; but if you will not look for it, you may remain a prisoner still, though liberty is so near at hand.

There may be a potent medicine in the great pharmacopoeia of Scripture, and you may yet continue sick unless you will examine and search the Scriptures to discover what “He hath said.” Should you not, besides reading the Bible, store your memories richly with the promises of God? By so doing, your spirit will catch the revelation. You can recollect the sayings of great men; you treasure up the verses of renowned poets; ought you not to be profound in your knowledge of the words of God, so that you may be able to quote them readily when you would solve a difficulty, or overthrow a doubt? Since “He hath said” is the source of all wisdom, and the fountain of all comfort, let it dwell in you richly, as “…a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life” (John 4:14). So shall you grow healthy, strong, and happy in the divine life. That’s the secret to your success and prosperity in your walk with God.

All that Jesus has as perfect man is yours. As a perfect man the Father's delight was upon Him. He stood accepted by the Most High. God's acceptance of Christ is your acceptance. The love which the Father set on a perfect Christ, He sets on you now, for all that Christ did is yours. That perfect righteousness which Jesus wrought out, when through His stainless life He kept the law and made it honourable, is ours, and is imputed to us. Jesus is your worth; how inspiring! We see some names of God in the Old Testament. In Bible times a man just wasn’t given a name to keep from confusing him with someone else. Your name expressed the kind of person you were or were hoped to become. This is why God sometimes changed a man’s name. His intent was for the person’s character to be reflected in his name.

For instance, He changed Abram (which means exalted father) to Abraham (which means father of many) (Genesis 17:5); Jacob – the supplanter became Isreal – one who struggled with God and overcame (Genesis 32:28). Jesus also changed the names of some men. Simon was changed to Peter. What he was saying is you will no longer be like the waves of the sea, but you will be Petra or Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church (John 1:42; Matthew 16:18). Saul – the asked for one was changed to Paul – little one. Small in stature but strong in the Lord. As I said, God also has names, but in this case, He gives Himself names that are extensions of Himself. Every name of God reveals His nature and His character. God has both some general and compound names. In the beginning God (Elohim) created the heavens, and the earth (Genesis 1:1).

Elohim appears over 2700 times in the Bible. The prefix “El” means one who is great, mighty, and dreadful. It is also plural which signifies the trinity. Some say the word means to swear, which implies the covenant nature of God. “I swear by myself” (Jeremiah 22:5). To the Hebrew children this would have meant the great mighty three in one God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who establishes and keeps His covenant forever. Another Name of God we see in the Bible is “El Shaddai”. It is used only 48 times in the Bible and always translated “The Almighty One.” We first see this name in Genesis 17:1 when Abram was 99 years old and the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the Lord Almighty God (El Shaddai), walk before me and be blameless.” This was also when God changed his name to Abraham, and promised him that he would be the father of many nations. 

“Adonai” is the third name God uses for Himself. This name appears about 300 times in the Old Testament, and suggests Lordship and ownership. When God calls Himself Adonai, He is saying “I am the One who owns and rules everything.” It the name that is used in Isaiah 6:1: “In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.” “Lord”, as translated here is the Hebrew word “Adonai.” This focus was on the truth that God owns and rules over everything. The most frequently used name for God is “Yahweh”, and it appears over 6,800 times in the Bible. Yahweh also means Jehovah. The great Jewish commentator on the Old Testament of the middle ages, Moses Maimonides, said this about the name Jehovah: “All the names of God that occur in the scriptures are derived from His works except one, Jehovah. And this is called the plain name because it teaches plainly and unequivocally of the substance of God.”

The word Jehovah means “I AM.” It comes from the verb which means “to be” or “to exist.” In Exodus 3:14 Moses asked God what His name was so he could tell the Israelites who had sent him. God said to Moses, “…I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you’” Jehovah is the Eternal One, the Ever-Living One, and The Self-Existent One. He lives from Eternity past to Eternity future, and everything else that lives gets its life from HIM. Now that we’ve had a look at the general names of God, let’s also learn about His compound names. They are used in conjunction with the name “Jehovah.” Remember that God gives Himself a name when He wants to reveal a characteristic of Himself. The first compound name we are going to look at is “Jehovah-Jireh,” and the first time we find this is in the story of Abraham taking Isaac to sacrifice him because God asked him to (Genesis 22:9-14).

God provided a ram for sacrifice, instead of Isaac. For this reason, Abraham named the place Jehovah-Jireh – God is my provider. Do you think it is mere coincidence that the first time God supplies a sacrifice that it’s a Ram – a member of the sheep family? Later on Jesus is called the Lamb of God who gave His own life willingly for our sins (Isaiah 53:7; John 1:29, 36). In verse 15 we read that the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham and said “I swear by myself.” We learnt that Elohim sometimes means to swear. And in verse 17 and 18 God promises to bless him and make sure that his children flourish like stars in the sky! Like sand on the beaches! And they will defeat their enemies. All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through his descendants because he obeyed God. Today, not only is Jehovah-Jireh our provider; He lives in us.

Our provider indwells us! If He does, then there’s nothing we’d ever need that we do not have. Our families and nations will find themselves blessed because of us. We’re providers ourselves because the provider lives in us (2 Corinthians 9:8). We’re the answer to the cry of many. That’s how you should see yourself. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given us every blessing of the Spirit in the heavens in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). No longer are we going to say we lack something, because the provider of all things indwells us. We lack nothing! That should be your daily confession. Another name of God is “Jehovah Rophe” (Exodus 15:26). The word Rophe means to heal, restore or cure. God doesn’t just heal, He is healing. God says “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings…” (Malachi 4:2).

Jesus is referred to as the Sun of righteousness. In Luke 1:78-79 (NIV) when Zechariah was prophesying over his son John the Baptist, John would go before the Lord to prepare a way for him “…by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness…” So, if the Lord, who is healing Himself lives in you, how do you get sick? It’s impossible! Someone might say, “But why is the Lord of healing living in me and I’m so weak and sick?” Well the fact is that you’re healed. Man is a Spirit, he has a soul and he lives in a body. Your spirit is whole and strong. Isaiah prophesied that Jesus bore our sins, infirmities, sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses; and by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 54:4-5). He took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses (Matthew 8:17). After Jesus died and resurrected, the Holy Spirit speaks through Apostle Peter that by His stripes “…ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

Isaiah says by Jesus’ stripes we are healed, but Peter says by His stripes we were healed. The reason is because Isaiah lived before Jesus so He spoke in the present tense. Peter spoke in the past tense because he lived during and after the resurrection of Jesus. Our healing is complete. That’s why I said you’re strong and whole. Your body might experience problems but your spirit is healthy and strong. What you need do is to learn to confess your healing, until your spirit becomes so conscious of this fact. Soon, your body will begin to respond to it. By so doing, you bring your body to the subjection of your spirit. You can control your body right from the inside out. So you confess: “I am healed. The healer lives in me. The life of God is in me; it’s in every fibre of my being. Therefore, it’s impossible for sickness and infirmity to dwell in me. By the stripes of Jesus, I was healed!” 

God cannot live where there is darkness. This means that there’s no darkness (disease, sickness, infirmity, poverty etc.) in you because God lives in you. That’s the truth! You’ve got to become so conscious of this. God’s Word says that “…through knowledge shall the just be delivered” (Proverbs 11:9). Even though God lives in you, you can be sick, poor and infirmed until you depart to be with the Lord. Even though God lives in you, it’s your responsibility to become aware of your possession and claim it. We’re not going to need healing or wealth in heaven, we need them here. So what you get in life depends on you. You can choose to live in prosperity and be a blessing to others, and you can also choose to be poor and always beg from people. Jesus tells us to heal the sick (Matthew 10:8; Luke 9:2; 10:9; Mark 16:18), because we are healing.

Is this too big for you? If God (who is healing) lives in us, then we are healing. We dispense healing everywhere we go, for He lives in us. “Jehovah-Nissi” is the next name of God. Jehovah-Nissi means God is our banner (Exodus 17:15). Background of this story is that while Joshua was fighting the Amalekites in the valley of Rephidim, Moses stood on the mountain with his hands lifted to the Lord. As long as Moses’s hands were lifted the Israelites were winning, but when his arms grew tired and he lowered them they began to lose. So Aaron and Hur sat Moses on a stone and they held his arms high until Joshua won the battle. So Moses made the altar and called it Jehovah-Nissi. Oh, we win every battle with the Lord. David said, “The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?” (Psalm 118:6).

Whoever goes to the Lord for safety, whoever remains under the protection of the Almighty, can say to him, “You are my defender and protector. You are my God; in you I trust.” He will keep you safe from all hidden dangers and from all deadly diseases. He will cover you with His wings; you will be safe in His care; His faithfulness will protect and defend you. You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight. A thousand may fall dead beside you, ten thousand all around you, but you will not be harmed. You will look and see how the wicked are punished. You have made the Lord your defender, the Most High your protector, and so no disaster will strike you, no violence will come near your home. God will put his angels in charge of you to protect you wherever you go.

They will hold you up with their hands to keep you from hurting your feet on the stones. You will trample down lions and snakes, fierce lions and poisonous snakes. God says, “I will save those who love me and will protect those who acknowledge me as Lord. When they call to me, I will answer them; when they are in trouble, I will be with them. I will rescue them and honour them. I will reward them with long life; I will save them” (Psalm 91). The Lord is our banner, our support and strength all time! The Lord our banner now indwells us; He’s in us! There’s nothing to fear! The next name of God we’re going to look at is “Jehovah-M’Kaddesh” – I am the Lord which sanctified you (Leviticus 20:8). The name M’Kaddesh was used to refer to the various parts of the temple which were sanctified, or set apart for the worship of God. In the New Testament we become the temple of God when we ask Jesus into our hearts.

He comes and takes up residence as God Himself as Jehovah-M’Kaddesh, or the Holy Spirit, and makes us holy for His use. He sanctifies us! We are called saints. We are a holy nation, a people called out by God. Jesus said, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you…” (John 15:16). It’s not by works but by grace (Titus 3:5; Galatians 2:16). If the holy God lives in us, then we’re holy. He saved us, and called us with an holy calling (2 Timothy 1:9). The apostle uses the perfect tense and says, “Who hath saved us.” Believers in Christ Jesus are saved. They are not looked upon as persons who are in a hopeful state, and may ultimately be saved, but they are already saved. Salvation is not a blessing to be enjoyed upon the dying bed, and to be sung of in a future state above, but a matter to be obtained, received, and enjoyed now.

Click HERE to continue to part 6 of this message.

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