You are not ordinary anymore in Christ

Its a new year and I celebrate with everyone who is celebrating. But why would anyone not choose to be thankful to be alive? There are a number of reasons, and I won't grant those things even more popularity by mentioning there names, rather I would say this: you are loved beyond measure by our Father in heaven. You must hold on to this truth as it is the light that brings us out of the enemy's darkness.

By the enemy's darkness, I refer to the victory Satan had, which is now lost, over man in the beginning of creation and how he got authority over the earthly realm.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. He created many other important elements for the comfort, control and use of his masterpiece, MAN. 

Man lost his hold on the earth to Satan as a result of that act of disobedience, you know the story, right?. See:

Genesis 3:22-24  And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:

Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Guess who didn't get thrown out of the garden? The serpent. Satan. He took the place of Adam and became the god of this world. See:

Job 1:6  Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Later on when Jesus walked the earth, Satan came to tempt Jesus...

Matthew 4:8-10  Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Satan showed off to the wrong person!

Later Jesus shared the vision He had concerning Satan.

Luke 10:18-20  And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

And so Jesus, who is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world, laid his life down to pay the price of God's wrath against humanity. And when he died this happened:

Matthew 27:50-51  Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Hallelujah.

The veil of the temple that was rent or torn in two from top to the bottom represents the Cherubim that prevented man from entering into the garden of Eden again as mentioned earlier and to have access to the tree of life. Now we have access again and it is Satan that can no longer come in.

With this also, Satan descended back into the realm of hell. Jesus, the second Adam, having won the victory by paying the price of the salvation of Man ascended into heaven to take the original mantle of the first Adam.

Not only this, to prevent Satan from ever coming up to heaven again by deceiving another son of man, all authority is placed in the hands of Jesus. See:

Ephesians 1:19-23  And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,

Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, 

Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Please note that Jesus is now fully in charge. Not only in this world, but also in the world that is to come. Now check yourself well, are you on the right side?

Also, please be aware that Jesus is not at the top alone, our born again Spirits can come into the presence of God and fellowship with God as God desires of us and as David foresaw:

Psalms 27:4  One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

Ephesians 2:4-7  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

This 2024 let us use this as a checklist for our salvation and Christian growth.

1) Have you given your life to Christ? Like, did you stand up in front of the congregation and swear your loyalty to Jesus as our Lord and Saviour? Many a times most of us that were born into Christian homes tend to assume that we are automatically saved, but in actual fact we all need to individually give our lives to Christ and in fact publicly and sincerely .This has been my testimony. 

Matthew 10:32
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.

2) Have you been baptized by water?

3) Have you received the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues? Side note: the Holy Spirit can only dwell in the body of a born again Christian, so He being in you is proof that you are saved.

4) Have you asked God to give you a new heart as he promised in the new covenant? As you discover wrong emotions and desires in you, keep praying for this.

Ezekiel 36:26  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

5) Are you renewing your mind daily by meditating on the Law of God, which is Love for God and our neighbors? As we read the bible, we should try to see the role of God's love in every story in the bible. Jesus is in every story of the bible. As we see Jesus we begin to see who we really are and our mind becomes like that of Jesus. God help us.

Luke 24:27  And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

We pray that in 2024, we see Him more clearly, Love Him more dearly and follow Him more nearly, day by day. Amen.