Greetings! Hope the fast is going well for you. For me personally, Day 2s of fasting are generally when the benefits really begin to kick in. As my body begins to weaken, my existential experience seems to shift from feeling like a fleshly being with a spirit within to a spiritual being dwelling in temporary fleshly tent. A thank-you to all those who came to our house yesterday to pray and worship. We had a great time, and I trust that God will continue to tend to us as we fast and gather.
In yesterday’s post, we focused on what it means to drink from Christ and looked at John 7:37-39: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” He said this about the Spirit.
What is it like to have streams of living water flowing from deep within us?
One of the primary and most significant things we experience through the Spirit is sonship.
But you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God - Romans 8:15-16
Adoption is a theological truth that we can accept to believe and understand in our minds, but only through the Spirit can we really know how it feels to be absolutely loved, delighted in, and adored by God and to be able to look up to heaven and respond, “Daddy! I love you so much too!”
And, the only Way for us to experience this is in Christ. By being hidden in Christ, being united to Him, we of the sinful race can experience communion and fellowship with He of the holy race.
Remember this scene Christ’s baptism:
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” - Matthew 3:16-17
The benefits of sonship, God the Father’s love and acceptance are now available to us:
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. - Romans 6:8
Moses loved God and wanted to see the fullness of His glory—he wanted to look God in the face and see how splendid He looked in the fullness of His holiness and love—but couldn’t. God was too perfect, and Moses too imperfect to encounter God in His fullness and live to talk about it.
18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by. 23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.” - Exodus 33
But, a remarkable thing happened for us at the Cross. The Rock of ages was cleft for us, that we might be able to enter in, be hidden in Him, enjoy the garments of His obedience, righteousness, and perfection, and look God directly in the face. The veil separating us from God was torn from top to bottom.
16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3
This is what it means to hide in Christ. We boldly approach our perfect heavenly Father and look Him right in the face, as we responds back: “I love you, and I am well-pleased with you!”
As I pray, I feel the Lord wants me to address fear. Fear is a power tool that Satan uses to enslave the world (Hebrews 2:15), but God’s perfect love is supposed to cast fear out of our lives (1 John 4:18).
Those hidden in Christ cannot live in fear!
I think that for the people of our community, fear manifested its ugly self in these ways: fear regarding health & safety, anxiety over work & money, fear of rejection, shame/guilt/condemnation, and performance-orientation.
Fear says: “You better be careful about COVID, riding your motorbike, letting your kids play outside… or I will kill you/them!”
Our loving heavenly Father says: “Even the hairs of your head are all numbered… which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
Fear says: “You better work hard and make sure you have plenty of money, or I will starve you and your children!”
God says: “Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
Fear says: “You are unlovable! People will only reject you or hurt you!”
God says: “My grace is sufficient for you. Love because I first loved you!”
Fear says: “You are unacceptable to God! He’s mad at you! You better be perfect if you want Him to be happy! You better stop sinning and be a great missionary if you want God’s approval!”
God says: “My love for you in unconditional! I died for you while you were still a sinner.”
Remember that our Father’s love and acceptance over Jesus didn’t result from His obedience on the Cross. Rather, Jesus’s obedience on the Cross was fueled by our Father’s love and acceptance.
What reigns in your heart today? Satan’s fear-empowered lies or the truth of God’s love?
Let’s pray that for the Spirit’s help in allowing us to really know and experience the full benefits of being hidden in Jesus.