Liberated to Succeed

Luke 1 : 68 - 75, "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been since the world began, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us, to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham: to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life. NKJV

God sent Jesus into the world to set us free from the bondage of sin and fear. In Christ, we have been liberated to serve God. However, even though I understand what it means to be in Christ by faith in the realm of the spirit, I also understand that I live in a fallen world with many traps, snares, and ploys. What God has spoken over us in Christ is genuine; therefore, it will be equally true in the natural realm when we choose to act in faith on God's Word or instructions. When we obey the Lord and keep His Word, we are walking by faith. Consequently, we have the power to overcome this world...and all its entanglements. Even so, how will we truly know we have been made free if we never have to face spiritual opposition? If we have been liberated from our enemies and from fear as today's scripture declares, then we will continue to walk by faith, thereby overcoming every obstacle and temptation.

John tells us in his epistle that our victory over the world is found only in our faith in Christ. If you and I have placed our faith in Jesus as our personal Savior, then we will overcome this world. To overcome this world means that we won't allow anyone or anything to prevent us from obeying God and from continually walking by faith. Jesus is always our best example. Many times He was tempted and tried, yet He NEVER got off focus. He didn't allow anything or anyone to distract or derail Him from fulfilling God's plan. As a result of His continued obedience and dedication to His heavenly Father, He overcame EVERY weapon and enemy that opposed Him while He was on earth. Many times Jesus was challenged by religious leaders and was often called a blasphemer because He declared to them that He was the Son of God. However, all they really needed to do to prove whether or not Jesus was indeed the Son of God was to stand back and see if He overcame every temptation, snare, weapon, and human weakness that were required to fulfill all the prophecies that were spoken of the Messiah.  If they had watched with an open heart, they would have seen that He was the only- begotten Son of God. 

Shortly before Jesus was crucified He made a statement in John 14: 30 - 31, I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, so I do. NKJV

Jesus gives us the key to having faith and to knowing how to use our faith to overcome Satan and the trappings of this world so that we can live victoriously in Him. He said that Satan was coming to try Him, but he had nothing in Him. In other words, Jesus was ALL love. He loved the Father more than His own life on this earth. Therefore, since Jesus loved the Father with all that was within Him, Satan could find no fleshy ways in Jesus that would attract or lure Him away from living solely for the Father's pleasures. 

You may be thinking, "I could never be so sold out or committed that I could overcome like Jesus did." However, it's a choice of our will. We've already established that God has made us completely free in Christ. We've also concluded that since we have been liberated in the spirit realm, our freedom will be manifest in the natural through our victories over this world. The more we lay our lives down (self-will) in order to serve God's will through us, the greater we will walk in power over our enemies and over our flesh.

Nevertheless, before we can live, we must first die. Self must perish before we can fully experience the life and the liberty Christ has given us. The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 12 to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us and let us run the race before us with endurance.

Therefore, If you want to have the strength that is required to endure in the race of faith, you must first be willing to lay aside your fleshly ways and any distractions that threaten your course. The more you willingly lay yourself on the altar of sacrifice, the easier it will be for you to keep running in the race. You can do this... in Christ!

Running With Endurance,

Pastor Asa Dockery