RESTING AND REIGNING

Ephesians 2:4-6 But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.


There are many Believers today who think that they become qualified in the eyes of God through their ability to live a good life. But what they need to understand is that self-effort will rob them of reigning in life through Christ.

You cannot earn your salvation, your healing or your financial breakthrough from God through your own efforts or work.

I’m not advocating being lazy or we don't work hard at what we do, however, what I am saying is we do not become dependent upon our own efforts and work to qualify us for the Lord’s blessing. No, we are highly favored and greatly loved by the Lord, which qualifies us to be greatly blessed and rewarded. With this knowledge, we can go into every day with the grace of the Lord and expect the Lord’s goodness!

Look what else the Scripture says:

“…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

It means in the same way Jesus is sitting down and resting from His work on the cross, you also need to adopt this same position of rest in your heart so you can reign in this life through Him. It means your heart is free from worry, fear and the anxieties of life. Physically, on the outside, you can be very active but on the inside, you carry a peace that is worry-free.

Alternately, a person can be physically resting or on a holiday yet there is no rest in their heart because they are stressing about how they are going to pay for the holiday or the work that is piling up.

When you are restful, peaceful and worry-free in your heart, grace can go to work for you. But when you are stressed and anxious, grace is disabled from going to work.

The only way to maintain this heart of rest is not by constantly seeking to escape the problems or busyness of life – it's simply coming to the feet of Jesus every day and feeding upon Him. The way I do this every day is:

  • I Pray in the Holy Spirit which edifies and builds me up

  • I Feed upon the Word of God

  • I Receive the Holy Communion, closing my eyes and seeing Jesus serving it to me

  • I Anoint myself with Anointing Oil, once again closing my eyes seeing Jesus as the One who is anointing me

How long does this take? It's up to you. But whatever time you give, do it daily and watch the Lord go to work in everything, whilst bringing you rest and peace at the same time.

Pastor Wayne Simpson


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

When you are restful and worry-free in your heart, grace can go to work for you.