Sit, Walk and Stand Based On Grace and His Finished Work (1)

Watchman Nee has written an excellent book, Sit, Walk, Stand. In the book, he expounds Ephesians which he says is essentially divided into two parts, part 1 (chapters 1-3) and part 2 (chapters 4-6). The first part of Ephesians reveals our life in Christ to be one of union with Him in the highest heavens. The second half shows us in very practical terms how such a heavenly life is to be lived by us here on the earth.

Nee points out that there is one key word in each section, “Sit” (Ephesians 2:6 NKJ : “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,), “Walk” (Ephesians 4:1 NKJ : “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,”) and “Stand” (Ephesians 6:11 NKJ : “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”)

I am writing this post and another two on this topic of “Sit, Walk and Stand” from the point of view of our Christian walk based on God’s grace and Jesus’ finished work on the cross. I shall share my reflections on “Sit” in this post.

Before we can have a good “walk", we must first be able to “sit” well. Ephesians 2:6 tells us that we have been raised up together with Christ and we have been made to sit in heavenly places in Him. When did this wonderful thing happen? It happened when Christ was resurrected. He died as us and we were in Him crucified and resurrected together and made to sit in heavenly places with the Father. It is possible because we are IN Christ.

As believers, we need to know that our identity is IN Christ and " as He is, so are we in this world" (1 John 4:17 NKJ). We are no longer wretched sinners but we have been raised up and are now seated with Christ in heavenly places. Nee says that “The believer, by virtue of his union with Christ, is enthroned in the invisible world of spiritual reality where Christ reigns supreme. Because we are made alive in Him, raised up us with Him, the result is that we are jointly seated with Him.” Colossians then exhorts us “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:1,2 NKJ)

"Sit” in the Bible is a picture of rest. Mary, the sister of Martha, SAT at Jesus’ feet, receiving and drawing from Him. She was at rest, as compared to Martha who was busy with serving and trying to meet Jesus’ physical needs. Jesus said to her, ““Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41 NKJ)

When Mary Magdalene went to Jesus’ tomb, she saw “two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.” (John 20:12 NKJ). The angels were finally SITTING down because Jesus has finished the work on the cross. There was nothing more to be done, that’s why they could rest. Hebrews 10:12 also talks about Jesus SITTING at the Father's right hand after He has paid the sacrifice for sins "But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,"

To have a good “walk”, we need to start with a position of rest, that is to rest in the finished work of our Lord who cried “It is Finished!” on the cross. All our sins, past, present and future have been taken care of on that cross and our healing has also been purchased by His broken body, for by His stripes we have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

Another aspect of rest is to rest in the knowledge that God no longer judges us based on our behaviour but He sees us righteous IN Christ. We are no longer under the law but under grace (God’s unearned, unmerited favour) “for you are not under law but under grace.” (Romans 6:14 NKJ) We can rest in the knowledge that we don’t have to work hard to earn brownie points with God , blessings are ours by His grace and grace is a gift to be received.

We also can “sit” securely and free from worries because we do not have to “take care” any more. Jesus beseeched us in Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 1 Peter 5:7 tells us, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”

We should begin our Christian walk from this wonderful position of rest and our identity in Christ, then our “walk” will be stable and well.

………to be continued………..

All Creation Declares His Majesty And Grace

"O Lord, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures." Psalm 104:24 (Amplified Bible)

"From the rising of the sun to the going down of it and from east to west, the name of the Lord is to be praised!" Psalm 113:3

"Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, extend to the skies, and Your faithfulness to the clouds."
Psalm 36:5

"Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth." Psalm 57:11

"Let the heavens be glad and let the earth rejoice; and let men say among the nations, The Lord reigns!"
1Chronicles 16:31

"But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." Habakkuk 2:14

"Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD." Ezekiel 1:28

"I will give thanks unto thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well." Psalm 139:14

When We Take Care, God’s Grace Cannot Flow

A dear brother- in- grace, Alan, has written a wonderful post on not taking care. I have been reflecting on this and the Lord has shown me that in the areas of my life when I “took care”, God’s grace could not flow. Why is that so? It goes back to what the Lord has been saying to us about not relying on our self effort but to depend on His grace in the challenging situations in our lives. When we do not rely on God's grace, we will not be at rest and tend to be full of cares and worries. We will then "take care".

In the sermon on the mount , Jesus made it very clear to his listeners in Matthew 6:25-34 :²⁵"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life^[a]?

²⁸"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (NIV)

The birds in the air do not know how to take care! They don’t have bank accounts for rainy days or plots of land to sow and harvest. The same goes for the wild flowers in the field which the Bible says are here today but gone tomorrow. Yet the Lord takes care of them. They don’t take care of themselves or for themselves, OUR heavenly Father feeds and clothes them. They don’t have to labour or toil with their effort, God’s grace freely flows to them and in abundance! When the Lord clothes the flowers, they look even more beautiful than Solomon in all his glory!

What a wonderful Daddy we have! He cares so much for the birds in the air and the lilies in the field, how much more will He not care for us who were created in His image? So why should we “take care”? Matthew 6:31 tells us clearly, “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?” (KJV) How do we take thought? We do that by saying or verbalizing our worries and fears. The Bible says we do not have to worry because “…your heavenly Father knows that you need them.”

The next verse goes on to tell us that when we “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. " So what is the kingdom of God? “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” (Romans14:17 NIV) When we seek after God’s things, the things that we need and want will be ADDED to us.

Like Brother Alan, I am NOT going to take care anymore, for when I do, God’s grace cannot flow. I am going to cast all my cares on Him for He cares for me (1 Peter 5:7)

Are you going to join us in NOT taking care?

Grace

In the still of the night
Grace came
Wrapped in swaddling cloths
God’s redemption plan to fulfill

In the little town of Nazareth
Grace stayed
A child increasing in wisdom and stature
God’s redemption plan to fulfill

In the midst of a storm
Grace stood
Calming the tempest with His words
God’s redemption plan to fulfill

In the midst of a crowd
Grace healed and restored
A woman with the issue of blood
God’s redemption plan to fulfill

In the midst of multitudes
Grace gave thanks
With five loaves and two fish fed more than 5000
God’s redemption plan to fulfill

In the middle of two criminals
Grace gave His life
Opened His arms and declared “It is Finished!"
God’s redemption plan HAS BEEN fulfilled.

-------- By Kat----------

Glory in weaknesses

When we encounter problems in life, do we rely on our own human effort and wisdom to solve them or do we depend on God’s grace? Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9 exhorts us : “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and ^[a]show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may ^[b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!" (The Amplified Bible)

This is such an amazing verse! We often only quote the first part of it which says that God’s grace is sufficient for us in our difficulties. We tend to overlook the following sentence which says, “for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness". Wow! God’s grace is sufficient for me because His strength and power are made perfect and fulfilled in my weakness! In another words, ONLY when I am weak, then can He be strong.

This is so contrary to the values of the world which exalt strength and independence. Being weak is frowned upon and seen as wimpy. God’s ways are in total contrast to the ways of the world. Isaiah 40:29 tells us, “He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.” (NKJ) Paul proudly declares in 2 Corinthians 12:10 : “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (NKJ)

So what does the Bible mean by “weak” here? I believe it means we must be willing to put down our human pride and admit that we need God’s grace in every situation of our lives. When we meet with a difficult situation, we need to know that we have to rely entirely on His grace to see us through, not our self effort or human wisdom. It is so tempting in life to glory in our own strength and independence and not admit that we need to depend on God’s grace which The Amplified Bible defines very clearly as God’s favor, loving kindness and mercy.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 sums it up so aptly, “I have observed something else under the sun. The fastest runner doesn’t always win the race, and the strongest warrior doesn’t always win the battle. The wise sometimes go hungry, and the skillful are not necessarily wealthy. And those who are educated don’t always lead successful lives. It is all decided by chance, by being in the right place at the right time. (NLT) The crux of the message here is that the strong and wise do not always get the best of everything. It is decided by chance and being at the right place at the right time. Who can ensure that he will always be at the right place at the right time? Only God can. Only His favor can let chance and time happen to us and for us.

No wonder the apostle Paul says “…I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may ^[b]pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9 The Amplified Bible)

Are you glad to glory in your weaknesses?

Fall From Grace

When the world talks about someone who has fallen from grace, they are referring to a person who was in a respectable position (usually in society) but he or she has done something disgraceful or scandalous even, which resulted in a loss of respect or prestige. Wikipedia defines “to fall from grace” as “an idiom referring to a loss of status, respect, or prestige” It is interesting that the Bible defines “falling from grace” or “having fallen from grace” very differently. Galatians 5:4 tells it plainly, “You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” (NKJ)

The Bible is very straight forward when it comes to the definition of fallen from grace. The Amplified Bible paints a clearer picture :"If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ. You have fallen away from grace (from God's gracious favor and unmerited blessing).” This is as clear as it can get, as long as we try to seek our right standing with God through obeying the Law ( Ten Commandments), we are separated from Christ and fallen from grace, which is God’s unearned, unmerited favour.

From this verse, we can conclude that if we try to earn righteousness by our own effort of obeying the Law, we cannot qualify for God’s unearned favour or grace because grace cannot be earned. Romans 9:30-33 tell us about the Israelites seeking righteousness by works. “30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone." 33As it is written: "See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Righteousness or right standing with God can only be obtained by grace through faith “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—” (Ephesians 2:8 NIV) When we believe in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we will be saved and right standing with God is given to us by grace. To fall from grace is when we rely on our own works to please God and to earn points with Him. Why do we have to do that when Romans 11:6 clearly tells us, “And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.” (NIV)

Have you fallen from grace?

Grace Has Made Us Heirs

If we want to know what God’s grace is, look at the cross. It is an addition sign (+). Through Jesus’ finished work on the cross, we have been miraculously added into the family of God. We are now His children who have the wonderful privilege of calling Him, Abba (Father), the name of God which Jesus came to reveal to man. “For [the Spirit which] you have now received [is] not a spirit of slavery to put you once more in bondage to fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption [the Spirit producing sonship] in [the bliss of] which we cry, Abba(Father)! Father!” (Romans 8:15 The Amplified Bible) Galatians reinforces this by saying, “And because you [really] are [His] sons, God has sent the [ Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba (Father)! Father!” (Galatians 4:6 The Amplified Bible)

This is just the tip of the iceberg. The best part of this good news is being God’s children means we are now heirs! "and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,..." (Romans 8:17 NKJ) Heirs of God and JOINT HEIRS with Christ! I think this is the best part : JOINT HEIRS with Christ. Wow! That means whatever inheritance Christ is entitled to, I am too! But hang on a second, what self sacrificing deed have I done to deserve such an awesome and fantastic thing? NOTHING. It is a gift that came through the cross, through grace. We cannot work for it. “But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless].” (Romans 11:6, The Amplified Bible)

How then do we receive this gift? By simply believing Jesus’ finished work on the cross for us. He cried “It Is Finished!” on the cross, to declare loudly that there is nothing more we need to do. The next pertinent question is what does it mean to be heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ? There are many phrases in the New Testament that describe our inheritance : heirs of the kingdom, heirs of the promise, heirs of the righteousness that comes by faith, inherit salvation and inherit eternal life. Eternal life is a wonderful inheritance if you ask me. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (John 17:3 NIV) Eternal life is to know God and Jesus Christ. How can we do that? In this case we must bear in mind that God is not like a human father who is very rich and his heirs only inherit his estate when he dies. God will never die so how do we inherit? This is not just an earthly inheritance, when we are heirs of God, we not only inherit everything that God owns, we also inherit eternal life and eternal life is to know God and Jesus. This is our inheritance : to know God and Jesus, to know He is our Abba, our Daddy God, not a stern and far away God but One who embraces and holds us in His bosom. And because God is eternal, this "knowing God" is also eternal. Eternal life is to continually be in His presence and know Him intimately.

John in Revelation 21:3-7 sums it up beautifully, “³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.⁵He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.⁶He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.⁷He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.” (NIV) We inherit the benefits of being His sons and of drinking from the fountain of life. God Himself is our inheritance.

Fellow blogger and dear sister in Christ, Geri, sent me am sms that is so powerful : “He who has God and everything has nothing more than he who has God alone.” (CS Lewis)

Are you an heir of God and joint heir with Christ?

Grace Is Unfair

In all the parables that Jesus told, I think the one that raised the most eyebrows during His time and probably even now is the Parable of the Vineyard Workers. (Matthew 20:1-16 NIV)

¹"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.²He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

³"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. ⁴He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' ⁵So they went.

"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. ⁶About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'

⁷" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'

⁸"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'

⁹"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. ¹⁰So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. ¹¹When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ¹²'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'

¹³"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'

¹⁶"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

It is no wonder that the first group of workers who toiled the longest was mad! They had worked the longest under the hot sun and these late comers who were doing nothing earlier but loafing around at the market square barely worked for a few hours after they were given the job and they received the same pay! Surely the landowner was out of his mind and extremely unfair to the first hour workers.

Let’s examine his answer “'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? ¹⁴Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. ¹⁵Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'” The landowner hit the nail on the head! He asked if they were jealous because he was generous!

The landowner in Jesus’ parable did not cheat the group of first hour workers, he paid them according to what he promised them. They were upset and discontented because they could not accept that their employer could do whatever he wanted with his money and he paid the late comers the same amount as them. They felt that he was being downright UNFAIR by their own standards.

When Jesus told this story, He was giving us a parable about grace, and yes God’s grace is unfair because it cannot be measured, not by a day’s wage or by our “good” works. Jesus put it very plainly, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last." Grace means it is not about counting! Grace is a GIFT, to be RECEIVED from God, we cannot do anything to earn it. Yes, God’s grace is unfair, it is unfairly GOOD!

Philip Yancey in his book, “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” sums it up so eloquently. “ We like to think of ourselves as responsible workers, and the employer’s strange behaviour baffles us as it did the original hearers. We risk missing the story’s point: that God dispenses gifts, not wages. None of us gets paid according to merit, for none of us comes close to satisfying God’s requirements for a perfect life. If paid on the basis of fairness, we would all end up in hell.”

Have you embraced this unfair grace?