"Only believe…", Mark 5:36
Let me ask you a question: What part did you play in raising Jesus from the dead? Separating him from our sins? What role did you play delivering him from the "pains of death" (Acts 2:24)? What did you do to declare Jesus justified (1 Timothy 3:16) after carrying all our sin away? Did you declare him holy or was it the Spirit (Romans 1:4)? What role did you play in opening the heavenly sanctuary in the clouds so the Son could be received? Or was it totally Gods work? His victory?
There is a reason Jesus said, "Only believe!" Only is a limitation. Only is a boundary. He doesn't need your help. The Father already totally saved his Son from it all, so he does not need your help.
In fact, he included you in Christ's death, burial and resurrection without your vote. He included you in Christ's work before the foundations of the world. 2 Corinthians 5:14 , "If Christ died for all then all died." And notice Romans 4:25, "who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous. (Young s Literal Translation)
See according to the scriptures by counting you in the Son of Man, the God-head procured our salvation without any help from us whatsoever. In fact, he "looked for a man to intercede and found none." That is why 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, "And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ..." (NLT)
All he is asking from you is to align with what he did for Christ by believing it and you will begin to experience the victory of the Son!!! On our side we experience BEING saved. God didn't make a covenant with you because he knew you would blow it and fall short again. He made a covenant with Jesus and you get his benefits, his victory.
Only believe. Jesus is the open heaven over your life. There is no praying that is ever going to open it for you. It is already open so you can pray. He already opened the door, Rev. 1, and left it open for you. Isaiah cried out, rend the heavens and come down, so he did. He opened the heavens over Jesus and said this is my beloved Son, he tore the veil forever.
What if I really believed there was an open heaven over my life all the time because I am seated with Christ? I would NEVER have to pray for an open heaven again! Jesus IS MY OPEN HEAVEN! Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
It would mean I would NEVER let the spiritual atmosphere or people’s "devils" determine my connectedness with God! I would go everywhere AS a conduit of blessing. I can be the one to change atmospheres by my awareness of the open heaven over my life. I start becoming God conscious instead of self conscious! I would not wonder if I have everything together when I pray for someone because I AM not the open heaven, Jesus is the open heaven over my life.
Why do we try so hard to come up with some new method when the message of the new covenant is that Jesus IS the method!? If we will devote as much attention to believing as we do to worry and fear we might be surprised.
It's So Easy.
But even then, we must not forget that we are not even the author of our faith! The God-head is:
Jesus- Hebrews 12:1, "Looking unto Jesus, the AUTHOR and FINISHER of our FAITH..."
The Father- A group of people asked Jesus how to do the works of God and in John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, "Jesus replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.” (GWT)
The Spirit- 2 Cor. 4:13, "And since we have the same SPIRIT of FAITH, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak."
Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the SPIRIT is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, FAITH..." (KJV)
What it all boils down to then is opening our hearts and allowing God to show us his goodness so that we can grow in believing even that much more. Only believe, and it will change every other area of your life.
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