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               The Incredible Blessings Of Being in Christ!

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By David Wilkerson
January 5, 1998
__________

          Christians today live in a time of great light. The
          Holy Ghost has revealed to us the powerful meaning of
          Jesus' work on the cross, and the incredible blessings
          this means for our lives.

          Yet there was a time when Christ's wonderful work was
          obscured from the world. That period was known as the
          Dark Ages - simply because the meaning of the cross was
          veiled from the eyes of humanity.

          Most sermons during that time focused on God's wrath
          and on damnation. The popes and priests preached a
          gospel of works - and the people performed a variety of
          acts to try to find peace with God. They traveled for
          miles to shrines, knelt in worship before stone icons,
          repeated long prayers, fondled prayer beads. Yet all
          these things only increased their bondage and brought
          deeper darkness to their souls.

          People then knew nothing of the benefits and blessings
          available through Christ's victory at Calvary. Yet even
          today, with all the teaching available on the subject,
          the majority of Christians still do not understand many
          important aspects of Christ's work for us. I would like
          to talk about one of those aspects in this message -
          and that is, what it means to be "in Christ."

          As a shepherd of the Lord's flock, I occasionally
          preach on the subjects of hell, damnation and God's
          wrath. But more and more I have become convinced the
          only way I can lead God's people to victorious living
          is to preach the blessings and benefits of "being in
          Christ."

          The fact is, being in Christ is the only foundation
          upon which true holiness and righteousness can be
          built. Without this foundation, we'll rely on our flesh
          to try to produce a form of holiness in ourselves. But
          true holiness is obtained only through knowing the
          riches of God in Christ Jesus:

          "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath
          appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying
          ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly,
          righteously, and godly, in this present world" (Titus
          2:11-12). Only God's grace can teach us the kind of
          theology that leads to holiness. And no works can ever
          produce that!

          Only as we understand the blessings that are ours by
          being in Christ will we stand on a firm foundation: "To
          whom God would make known what is the riches of the
          glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is
          Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).

          Yet, do you know what it means to be "in Christ"? I've
          heard many Christians speak of it - but I believe very
          few comprehend it!

                      -------------------------------

                      I Pray the Holy Spirit Will Open
                       Our Eyes to Discover in God's
                        Word the Incredible Benefits
                        Of "Being in Christ Jesus"!

                      -------------------------------

          God spoke to Isaiah about a certain servant who
          delights his heart: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold;
          mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth" (Isaiah 42:1).
          Who is this one whom God sustains and upholds, guarding
          his every step? Who is his chosen, his elect - the one
          in whom he so delights?

          We find the answer in Matthew's gospel: "And Jesus,
          when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the
          water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and
          he saw the Spirit of God, descending like a dove, and
          lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying,
          This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"
          (Matthew 3:16-17).

          The Hebrew word for "I am well pleased" here is
          "delight." God was saying, in other words, "My soul
          delights in my son, Jesus Christ!"

          Throughout the Old Testament, untold numbers of sheep
          and cattle were offered to the Lord as sacrifices.
          Rivers of animals' blood flowed for centuries. Yet the
          Bible says none of these sacrifices brought the Lord
          any pleasure: "For it is not possible that the blood of
          bulls and of goats should take away sins.... In burnt
          offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no
          pleasure" (Hebrews 10:4,6).

          Yet in the very next verse we read these wonderful
          words from Jesus: "Then said I, Lo, I come...to do thy
          will, O God" (verse 7). Christ came to earth to do what
          no animal sacrifice could do!

          "Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith,
          Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body
          hast thou prepared me" (verse 5). God had prepared a
          physical body for Jesus here on earth - a body that
          would provide the final, perfect sacrifice.

          In short, God abased himself for our sake. Encasing
          himself in a human womb, he took on our nature. And he
          gave up the riches of heaven to become poor for us -
          giving his life to ransom us!

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                     From the Foundation of the World,
                     God Had Only One Plan to Reconcile
                     Fallen, Sinful Humankind and Bring
                       Us Back Into His Good Graces.

                      -------------------------------

          God's plan for saving humankind was simple. He said,
          "I'm going to send forth my own son as a deliverer. And
          after he has died, risen and stands before me in glory,
          I will recognize only him!" You see, Jesus is of the
          very Spirit and essence of God - and only he could ever
          stand before the holy father. God would never accept
          any works by human flesh, no matter how good they might
          appear. He would recognize only Christ - the servant
          who perfectly pleased and delighted him!

          So the Lord said, "My son will be the one and only
          sacrificial lamb. And he will gather up in himself all
          who have been severed from me. He will reconcile man to
          me by his own blood!" "For Christ also hath once
          suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
          might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18).

          Now, when Jesus said, "...a body hast thou prepared me"
          (Hebrews 10:5), he meant not only a human body, but a
          spiritual body as well. And this body consists of all
          who believe in him:

          "The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
          glory...hath put all things under his feet, and gave
          him to be the head over all things to the church, which
          is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in
          all" (Ephesians 1:17,22-23).

          "There is one body..." (4:4). All who are "in Christ"
          by faith are born into this spiritual body. Indeed, the
          moment we give our hearts fully to Jesus, repenting of
          our sin and trusting in him, we are engrafted, adopted,
          infused into his body: "We are members of his body, of
          his flesh, and of his bones" (5:30).

          Yes, there is a physical man in heaven: Jesus, the son,
          is seated at the right hand of the father. But he is
          not seen physically in this world. The fact is, we -
          the members of Christ's body on earth - are the only
          Jesus this world will ever see!

          Yet the church is not a single denomination or any
          organized structure. It is not merely a collection of
          believers gathered around a doctrine or a code of
          ethics. Rather, the church referred to in scripture is
          a body of born-again believers who acknowledge Jesus as
          the firstborn of a new humanity:

          "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ
          and the church" (5:32). "The husband is the head of the
          wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he
          is the saviour of the body" (5:23). "He is the head of
          the body, the church: who is the beginning, the
          firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might
          have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18). All who are in
          Christ's body submit to his headship. And they know God
          accepts no one except those who are "in Christ"!

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                         In Micah 6, a Backslidden,
                        Perplexed Israel Asked, "How
                     Can We Stand Before A Holy God?"

                      -------------------------------

          "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself
          before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt
          offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be
          pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands
          of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my
          transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my
          soul?" (Micah 6:6-7).

          The Israelites in this passage were asking a good
          question: "How can any human approach a holy God? How
          can we ever please him and be accepted by him? What
          kind of sacrifice does he want from us - our blood, our
          bodies, our children?"

          God's answer appears throughout the scriptures: "I do
          not want your sacrifices - your good works, your
          promises, your moral deeds. None of these fleshly
          things is acceptable in my sight. Nothing can please or
          delight me, except my son - and all who are gathered in
          him!"

          Right now, I want you to try to think of the most
          moral, upright person you know. Even he or she is not
          accepted in God's presence, outside of Christ. And all
          of that person's good works, kind nature and generosity
          are filthy rags in God's sight!

          So, how are we accepted by God? Paul writes, "...he
          hath made us accepted in the beloved" (Ephesians 1:6).
          We're accepted only as we are "in the beloved" - that
          is, in Christ, a part of his body. Our good works come
          as a result of being in him!

          "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he
          might gather together in one all things in Christ, both
          which are in heaven, and which are on earth; *even in
          him*" (1:10, emphasis mine). "Through him we both have
          access by one Spirit unto the Father" (2:18). We don't
          have any access to God - other than by being in Christ!

          If you've given your heart fully to Jesus, you've
          probably voiced the same questions Israel asked: "Oh,
          God, how can I please you? How can I ever stand before
          you with all my failures and faults? How can I be
          accepted by you, beloved to you, a delight to you?

          "I've striven, made promises, tried my best. But every
          time I think I'm making progress, I take two steps
          back. Should I read more of the Bible? Should I spend
          more time in prayer? Should I do more witnessing? Lord,
          what do you want from me?"

          God answers us as he did Israel: "I don't want any of
          your sacrifices or good works. I recognize only the
          work of my son, who delights and pleases me!

          "Yet, I have selected you as my own son's beloved
          bride. I chose you from before the foundation of the
          world to be wed to him. I wooed you, convicted you -
          and through my Spirit I brought you into him. So, I ask
          you - how can I not love and delight in my son's bride
          - the bride of my own choosing? I cannot hate my own
          flesh!"

          Jesus prayed to the father: "All mine are thine, and
          thine are mine; I am glorified in them" (John 17:10).
          "...the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in
          them, and I in them" (verse 26).

          Jesus makes it very clear: When we are one with him, we
          enjoy the very same love of the father he enjoys. God
          delights in us as much as he does in his own son! He
          says, "I love all who are in my son - for all who are
          his are mine!"

          The Bible also tells us God is our father, just as he
          is Christ's father. Jesus testified: "...I ascend unto
          my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your
          God" (20:17).

          So, how hard are you striving to please God? Do you go
          through seasons in which you feel you're delighting
          him? And do you have other, "low" seasons when you feel
          you're displeasing him?

          Beloved, you have to put facts ahead of your feelings!
          And the fact is, God's pleasure in you has nothing to
          do with your strivings, intensity, good intentions or
          actions. No - it all has to do with your faith!

          I believe God wants us to have what I call a "focused
          faith." This is a faith that says, "All your faith my
          be focused on this one principle - that if you wish to
          stand holy before God, you must come to him 'in
          Christ'!"

          The writer of Hebrews warns against having "...an evil
          heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God"
          (Hebrews 3:12). This is an issue of faith! When we move
          away from the foundational doctrine of being accepted
          by God being in Christ, we depart from the Lord. And we
          turn back to the law, the flesh and spiritual bondage!

          "We which have believed do enter into rest...for he
          that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from
          his own works, as God did from his" (4:3,10). Scripture
          makes it clear: The evidence of faith is rest!

          The only way to bring your striving, sweating, troubled
          soul into peace is to convince yourself, "I am in
          Christ - and in him, I am accepted by God and pleasing
          to him. He delights in me, regardless of whether I'm up
          or down. No matter how I feel, I know my position in
          Christ - that I'm seated with him in heavenly places!"

                      -------------------------------

                     If Being "in Christ" Provides Such
                      Incredible Blessings, How Can We
                       Know We're Truly "in Christ"?

                      -------------------------------

          There are many evidences of being "in Christ." But I
          want to give you three clear evidences from scripture
          that prove whether you are in Christ:

          (Please note - these evidences are contingent upon your
          first repenting of sin, forsaking all wickedness,
          trusting in Christ for eternal salvation, and allowing
          him to translate you out of darkness and into his
          kingdom of light.)

          1. You are in Christ if you are continually in the
          process of being renewed. Those who are "in Christ" do
          not rest on a one-time conversion experience. Rather,
          they constantly cry out to be changed and renewed by
          the Holy Spirit. Their daily prayer is, "Lord, take out
          of me everything that's unlike you. Purge me, and
          remake me in the image of your son!"

          "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
          creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
          things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). "Not by
          works of righteousness which we have done, but
          according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
          regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he
          shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour"
          (Titus 3:5-6).

          "Regeneration" here means "making anew," or "reviving
          and producing something new." Paul is saying, "The Holy
          Ghost is at work in you - giving you a makeover!"

          You see, Christ has the Holy Ghost without measure. And
          because we are part of his body, his Spirit flows down
          to each of us, every joint and member. So, as we are in
          Christ, we are being nourished by his Spirit - made
          over into the image of Jesus himself!

          2. You are in Christ if you govern your life by the
          scriptures. Do you revere and fear God's word? Do you
          go daily to the mirror of scripture to be changed by
          it?

          "Whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of
          God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him" (1
          John 2:5). The Bible makes it clear: We know we're in
          Christ if we love and obey his word. And this is also
          how God's love is perfected in us!

          Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: "...Pray for us, that
          the word of the Lord may have free course, and be
          glorified, even as it is with you" (2 Thessalonians
          3:1). The phrase "free course" means "meeting no
          opposition in you." Paul was saying, "As you read or
          hear the word, honor it and make it the rule of your
          life. Let it govern you!"

          Christians often quote this verse: "Ye shall know the
          truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
          But this promise hinges on the preceding verse: "...If
          ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples
          indeed" (verse 31).

          The phrase "if you continue in my word" means "if you
          live in and keep my commandments." In other words: "As
          you are in me, I will reveal my truth to you. But I
          won't reveal it to you, if you don't intend to live by
          it. You'll know the truth only after you've committed
          to obey it!"

          3. You are in Christ if your faith is mixed with
          charity. Scripture says if you do not have charity, or
          unconditional love, you cannot be in Christ:

          "Though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all
          mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all
          faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not
          charity, I am nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:2). "Nothing"
          in Greek here means, "I am nothing now - nor will I
          ever be anything." In other words: "Without
          unconditional love for all, I'm a nobody - and I'll
          always be a nobody!"

          You can be a gifted preacher or a powerful
          evangelist...you can heal others by your faith...you
          can move mountains by speaking a single word...you can
          teach God's word with power and anointing...but if you
          don't have love for others, you're nothing!

          "...If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his
          love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell
          in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his
          spirit" (1 John 4:12-13).

                      -------------------------------

                         Paul Lists a Number of the
                      "Fruits of Charity" - But I Want
                       to Focus on Just One of Them.

                      -------------------------------

          If you possess this fruit, then you have the clearest
          evidence that Christ resides in you. It's simply this:
          "Charity...is not easily provoked..." (1 Corinthians
          13:4-5).

          The Greek word for "provoked" is "paraxuno." It comes
          from a root word meaning "acid" and "quick or sudden."
          yet it also has an additional root meaning of "one
          close by." Put together, these meanings become very
          significant: To be provoked is to fly off the handle
          with acid remarks, to have a temper tantrum - and to
          aim it all at someone who's close to you!

          In short, the Bible is saying, "If you're in Christ,
          loving unconditionally, you will no longer be easily
          provoked. And your greatest tests will come from those
          closest to you - your spouse, your children, your
          friends!"

          I ask you: Do you have a short fuse? How easily does
          your temper flare? If you are in Christ, a voice will
          rise up in you when you're angry, crying out, "Lord,
          help me! Holy Spirit, calm me down!"

          Just a few days before I wrote this message, I had to
          practice what I'm preaching. My wife, Gwen, said
          something to me that unwittingly pushed a button inside
          me. She didn't mean it as a putdown - but I took it
          that way, and it set me off. I quickly got hot under
          the collar - and suddenly, out of my mouth spewed a
          stream of acid remarks - heated, angry words, each one
          a putdown.

          Gwen tried to apologize (for something she hadn't even
          done) - but I turned my back on her and went to my
          study. I sat for an hour in the dark, complaining to
          the Lord: "God, she hit me where I'm sensitive - and it
          hurt. I had to respond!"

          Yet as I tried to pray, the heavens were as brass. The
          next morning, as I took out my Bible to begin my daily
          study, the pages fell open to First Corinthians. And my
          eyes fell on this verse: "Charity...is not easily
          provoked..." (same verse).

          Suddenly, I was looking into the mirror of God's word -
          and I saw the face of a preacher who was easily
          provoked! My heart was smitten, and I cried out, "Oh,
          Lord, that's me. God, forgive me!"

          Immediately I called out to Gwen, to come into my
          office. When she entered, somewhat bewildered, I could
          only point to the passage and say, "Honey, read this.
          It describes me, doesn't it? I'm too easily provoked.
          Gwen, please forgive me!"

          Beloved, I know I'm in Christ - because, first, I want
          to be changed, renewed, formed into Christ's image by
          the Holy Spirit. And second, I know I'm in Christ
          because I tremble at his word. Finally, I know I'm in
          Christ because I yearn to love unconditionally the
          person who's closest to me.

          Do you have these three evidences in your heart? Do you
          have a hunger to be renewed by the Holy Spirit - to be
          changed into the image of Jesus? Is God's word your
          daily bread, the very substance of your life? And do
          you have charity, unconditional love, for all people -
          yet especially for those closest to you?

          Dear saint, you may not be perfect. But if you're in
          Christ, then you're continually dealing with these
          issues in your life, through the power of the Holy
          Ghost. And by faith, you can come to the father and be
          totally accepted, no matter what your struggle -
          because of Christ in you!

          It's time for you to rejoice over your blessed position
          in Christ. You are the heavenly father's beloved child
          - his delightful servant, who's forever being changed
          into his son's image - because Christ is in you!

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

          This material is solely for personal use and is not to
          be posted publicly on other web pages. The Lorain
          County Free-Net Chapel holds exclusive rights from
          World Challenge, Inc. to publicly post these messages
          on its web page. You are free to download, copy, print
          and distribute this material, so long as you do not
          post it on a different Internet site. You may, however,
          link this site to reference these messages.

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