Romans 13: 12-14
The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
If you have received Christ, then you are a new creation. You are made right with God because of what Jesus accomplished for you. You have full access to the armor of light. You are given authority and power to rule in Him and, though things may come against you, nothing can harm you or remove you from His grasp.
Do you believe it? Have you received it? It isn’t based on your performance. His power and authority aren’t given based on your behavior, it is given to you because of what Jesus did for you. He has already won for you the victory over anything that you perceive coming against you. Submit it to Him. Surrender yourself to Him completely, do what He says to do and say what He says to say and trust that He has spoken the truth to you about all of this.
I was not raised in any kind of faith. I had no paradigm for God and no preconceived notion of who He was or what He was about. I did have a great foundation for drinking from which I kept up a family tradition that led me to attending AA meetings. In one of those meetings, I was introduced to the notion of a heavenly Father who wanted to be my Higher Power. Knowing nothing about a Higher Power, I was open to seeking this guy out and finding out more.
I met with a pastor and learned that this heavenly Father loved me and wanted relationship with me. In fact, He loved me so much that He made a way for me to be with Him, He made a way for me to be forgiven of all my sin, He made it possible for me to enter relationship with Him. He sent His son, Jesus, to be the sacrifice for my sin and, therefore, cleansed me of everything for all time.
Jesus did the work. Jesus made it possible. Jesus accomplished what I could not and blessed me with all that He acquired. Jesus paid the penalty and set me free. He has done the same for you. Have you received it?
I am now many years removed from the first experience with the Father and the first embrace of Jesus, my Lord. I was radically transformed in the instant I received all that He accomplished for me, but I must admit that I still had things through which I needed to grow and sins that I was still stuck in.
I was completely delivered from everything, but I wasn’t completely willing to let everything go. I have been prideful, arrogant, critical, selfish, stuck in porn, stuck in self-doubt and self-condemnation, performance mentality, and shame…just to name a few things.
You may find yourself stuck in something, just as I have from time to time. I am reminded by my loving wife that it is the Father’s good pleasure to unveil to us the truth of who we are in Him and see us walk in the freedom that He made possible for us. He has made it all available to us and we can have as much as we are willing to receive.
You want to be free? You have a besetting sin that comes back again and again? You need deliverance over some issue? You need healing from trauma? You have it. It is already done for you. There isn’t a penance period required to receive what He has already done for you. There isn’t an additional price you need to pay on top of what Jesus did for you. It isn’t based on your behavior or your performance. You can have what you need and desire because of what He has already accomplished
This is not the same thing as, “I want a million dollars.” You may want a million dollars and He may be inclined to give it to you when you possess the character required to handle it. This isn’t an issue of performance, but of maturity. Consider a good mother or father who wants to see their kids blessed but withhold some things from them until they can handle it responsibly. God has made you with His divine purpose in mind. He has a role for you in His plan that only you can fulfill, not because He needs you to do it for Him, but because He chooses to work in this world through you and see His plan come to fruition. Because of His purpose for you, God has put desires in your heart that He will bring to fruition in His time. You may be, in time, blessed with a million dollars to accomplish the tasks He has given you according to His purpose for you and see the desires of your heart fulfilled.
You are free. I’ll write that again so you can read it again: You are free. You no longer are required to sit in the prison in which you find yourself. You are free. The prison door is open. You are welcome to sit in the prison, if you like. God will be with you in the prison because He will never leave you or forsake you, but you don’t have to be in the prison any longer. Like Peter locked up in prison, you may think it a dream, but it is real. He has already unlocked the doors and made the way for you exit the cell.
How do you do it? Well, you don’t do it. It as already been done. You simply receive it. You put on Christ. You deny the flesh and make no more allowance for the flesh. The only hard work in any of this is where you see your flesh crucified. You can put on the armor of light and be clothed in Christ any moment you wish. It is His desire that you remain clothed in Him and trust that His plan is better than any concoction of your own. You can put the flesh down, see it on the altar, and take up Christ, walking free from the prison.