How many times have you wondered who you were in Christ; well here it is: For we are more than just conquerors.

We are declared not guilty of sin:
Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:24).
Justified freely means to be declared not guilty. When a judge in a court of Law declares the defendant not guilty, all the charges are removed from his record. Legally, it is as if the person had never been accused. When God forgives our sins, our record is wiped clean. It is as though we never sinned. Redemption refers to Christ setting sinners free from slavery to sin. In Old Testament times, a person's debt could result in his being sold as a slave. The next of kin could redeem him - buy his freedom. Christ purchased our freedom with His life.
No condemnation awaits us:
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit (Romans 8:1).
The flesh as used throughout this chapter refers  not to our human bodies, but to the principle and power of sin. Sin is present and often operating in our body, but not to be equated with the body (see Romans6:6). Not guilty let him go free what would those words mean to you if you were on death row? The fact that the whole human race is on death row, justly condemned for repeatedly breaking God's holy Law. Without Jesus we would have no hope at all. But thank God! He has declared us not guilty and has offered us freedom from sin and power to do His  will.
We are free from the vicious circle of sin and death:
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
This Spirit of Life is the Holy Spirit. He was present at the creation of the world (Genesis 1:2), and He is the power behind the rebirth of every Christian. He gives us the power we need to live the Christian life.
We are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ:
Unto the Church of God at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place  call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and our ( 1Corinthians 1:2).
A personal invitation makes a person feet wanted and welcome. We are called to be saints; God personally invites us to be citizens of His eternal Kingdom. But Jesus Christ, God's Son, is the only one who can bring us into this glorious Kingdom, because He is the only one who removes our sins. Sanctified means we are chosen or set apart by Christ for His service.Accepting God's invitation means accepting His Son, Jesus Christ, and trusting in the work He did on the Cross to forgive our sin.
We are pure and Holy:
But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption (1Corinthians 1:30).
God is the source of our relationship with Christ (of Him are ye in Christ Jesus). That relationship is personal and living. Our union and identification with Him results in our having God 's wisdom (Colosossians 2:3), possessing right standing with God (2 Corinthians 5:21), being holy (sanctified, 1Thessalonians 4:37), and having the penalty of our sins paid by Jesus (Mark 10:45).
We will rise again:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept (1 Corinthians 15:20).
First fruits were the first part of the harvest that faithful Jews brought to the Temple as an offering (Leviticus 23:10). although Christ was not the first to rise from the dead (He raised Lazarus and others), He was the first to never die again. He is the forerunner for us, the proof of our eventual resurrection to eternal life.
We are free from trying to be saved by being good enough:
Now the Lord is that Spirit:  and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (2 Corinthians 3:17).
When a person turns to God (the Lord), he or she receives and experiences Him as the Spirit. Those trying to be saved by keeping the Old Testament Law were soon tied up in rules and ceremonies. Under the Holy Spirit, God provides freedom from sin and condemnation (Romans 8:1). When we come to Christ to save us, our heavy burden of trying to please Him and our guilt for failing to do so drop away. By trusting Him we are loved, accepted, forgiven, and freed to live for Him.
We are brand new people inside:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Christians are brand new people on the inside. The Holy Spirit gives them new life, and they are not the same anymore. We are not reformed, rehabilitated or reeducated-we are new creatures, living in a vital union with Christ (Colossians 2:6,7).We are not merely turning over a new leaf, we are beginning a new life under a new Master.
We are full of God's goodness:
For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2Corinthians 5:21).
When we trust in Christ, we make a trade-our sins for His goodness. Our sin was poured into Christ at His crucifixtion.His righteousness was poured into us at our conversion. This is what Christians mean by Christ's atonement for sin. In the world bartering only when two people exchange goods for relatively equal value. But God offers to trade His righteousness sin-some thing of immeasurable worth for something worthless. How grateful we should be for His goodness to us.
 We are one in Christ with all other Believers:
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, their is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ (Galatians 3:28).
It's our natural inclination to feel uncomfortable around those who are different from us and to gravatate toward those who resemble us. But when we allow our differences our differences to separate us from our fellow believers, we are disregarding clear biblical teaching. Make a point of seeking out and appreciating people who are not just like you and your friends. You may find that you both have a lot in common.
We are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3):
What is heaven? Heaven is where God is. All spiritual blessings  in heavenly places means all the good things God gives us-salvation, the gifts of the Spirit, power to do God's will, the hope of living forever with Christ. Because we have a intimate relationship with Christ, we can enjoy these blessings now. Other references to heaven in the book of Ephesians includes 1:20; 2:6; 3:10. They show Christ in His victorious, exalted role as ruler of all.
We are Holy, faultless, and covered with God's love:
According as He hath  chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be Holy and without  blame before Him in Love (Ephesians 1:4):
Paul said God hath chosen us, to emphasize that salvation depends totally on God. We are not saved because we deserve it, but because God is gracious and freely gives it. We did not influence God's decision to save us; He did it according to His plan. Thus there is no way to take credit for our salvation, or to find room for pride. The mystery of salvation originated in the timeless mind of God long before we existed. It is hard to understand how God could accept us, but because of Christ we are Holy and blameless in His eyes. God chose us, and when we belong to Him through Jesus Christ, He looks at us as if we had never sinned.
We Belong To Christ:
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasures of His will. To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:5,6).
Predestinated means marked out beforehand. This is another way of saying salvation is God's work and not our own doing. God has adopted us as His own children. Through Jesus' sacrifice, He has brought us into His own family and made us heirs along with Jesus (Romans 8:17). In Roman law, adopted children had the same rights and privileges as natural children. Paul uses this term to show how strong our relationship to God is. For more on the meaning of adoption, see Galatians 4:5-7. Accepted in the beloved means now we belong to His dearly beloved Son.
Our sins are taken away and we are forgiven:
In whom we have redemption through His  blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).
To speak of Jesus' blood was an important first-century way of speaking of Christ's death. His death points to two wonderful truths -redemption and forgiveness. Redemption was the price paid to gain freedom for a slave (Leviticus 25:47-54). Through His death, Jesus paid the price to release us from slavery to sin. Forgiveness was granted in Old Testament times on the basis of shedding of animal blood (Leviticus 17:11). Now we are forgiven on basis of the shedding of Jesus' blood, because He died and was the perfect sacrifice.(See also Romans 5;9; Ephesians2:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:19). Grace is God's voluntary and loving favor given to those He saves. We can't earn it, nor do we deserve it. No religious or moral effort can gain it, for it comes only from God's mercy and love. Without His grace, no person can be saved.
We live with Christ forever:
Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which in Heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: In whom also we obtain an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will (Ephesians 1:9-11).
God was not intentionally keeping a secret (the mystery of His will), but His plan for the world could not be fully understood until Christ rose from the dead. His purpose for sending Christ to  unite Jews and Gentiles in one body with Christ as the head. Many people still do not understand God's plan, but when the time is right (the fullness of times) He will gather us to be with   forever and then everyone will understand. On that day, all people  will bow to Jesus as Lord, either because they love Him or because they fear His power (Philippians 2:10,11). God purpose is to offer salvation to the world just as He planned to do long ago. God is sovereign; He is in charge. When your life seems chaotic, rest in this truth: Jesus is Lord, and God is in control. His purpose to save you can not be thwarted, no matter what e4vil Satan might bring.
We are marked as belonging to God by the Holy Spirit:
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the Word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (Ephesians 1:13).
The Holy Spirit is God's seal that we belong to Him and His guarantee to us that He will do what He has promised. He is like a down payment, a deposit, a validating signature on the contract.The presence of the Holy Spirit in us demonstrates the genuineness of our faith, proves that we are His children, and secures eternal life for us. His power works in us transforming us now, and is a taste of the total change we will experience in eternity.
We have been lifted from the grave to sit with Christ in glory:
And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6).
Because of Christ's resurrection, we know that our bodies will also be raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:2-23)and that we have been given power to live as Christians now (Ephesians 1:19). These ideas are combined in Paul's image of sitting with Christ in Heavenly places. Our eternal life with Christ is certain, because we are united in His powerful victory.
We have been given new lives:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
We become Christians through God's unmerited grace, not as the result of any effort, ability, intelligent choice or act of service on our part. However, out of gratitude for this free gift, we will seek to help and serve others with kindness, charity, and goodness, and not merely please ourselves. While no action or work we do can help us obtain salvation. God's intention is that our salvation will result in works of service. We are not saved merely for our own benefit but to serve Him and build up the Church (Ephesians4:12).
 We have been brought near to God:
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made  nigh by the blood of Christ (Ephesians 2:13).
Before Christ's coming, Jews and Gentiles  Kept apart from each other. Jews considered the Gentiles beyond God's saving power and therefore without hope. Gentiles resented Jewish claims. Christ revealed the total sinfulness of both Jews and Gentiles, and then He offered His salvation equally to both. Only Christ breaks down the walls of prejudice, reconciles all believers to God, and unifies us in the body.
We will receive great blessings:
That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the Gospel (Ephesians3:6).
God planned to have Jews and Gentiles comprise one body, the Church. It was known in the Old Testament that the Gentiles would receive salvation (Isaiah 49:6); but it was never revealed in the Old Testament that all Gentiles and Jewish believers would become equal in the body of Christ.Yet this equality was accomplished  when Jesus  broke down the wall of partition and created the one new man (2:14,15).
We can come fearlessly into God's presence:
In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of Him ( 3:12).
It is an awesome privilege to be admitted into God's presence. Most of us would be apprehensive in the presence of a powerful ruler, but thanks to Christ, we can enter directly into God's presence through prayer. We know we'll be welcomed with open arms because we are God's children through our unity with Christ. Don't be afraid of God. Talk with Him about everything. He is waiting to hear from you.
We are part of Christ's body, the Church:
But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased Him.But now are they many members, yet but one body(1Corinthians12:18,20).
Using the analogy of the body, Paul emphasized the importance of each Church member. If a seemingly insignificant part is taken away, the whole body becomes less effective. Thinking that your gift is more important than someone else's is spiritual pride. We should not be jealous of others who have impressive gifts. Instead, we must use the gifts we have been given and encourage others to use theirs. If we don't, the body of believers will be less effective.
We have everything because we have Christ, we are filled with God:
And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power (Colossians 2:11).
When we know Jesus Christ, we don't need to seek God by means of other religions, cults, or unbiblical philosophies as the Colossians were doing. Christ alone holds the answers to the true meaning of life, because Christ is life. He is the unique source of knowledge and power for the Christian life. No Christian needs anything else than what He has provided to be saved. We are complete in Him.
We are set free from our evil desires:
In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ (Colossians 2:11).
Jewish males were circumcised as a sign of the Jews' covenant with God (Genesis 17:9-14). With the death of Christ, circumcision was no longer necessary. Now our commitment to God is written on our souls, not our bodies. Christ sets us free from our evil desires by a spiritual operation, not a bodily one. In baptism we let God operate on our souls to remove the old nature and give us a new nature.
We will have eternal glory:
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (2 Timothy 2:10).
We are free to choose between life or death, and yet God has chosen us (we are His elect). This is a mystery our finite minds cannot easily grasp. But if we do not completely understand it, we can still choose Jesus and be grateful that He has chosen us.

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but He that is begotten of God keepeth Himself, and that wicked one toucheth Him not ( I John 5:18 ).
Christians commit sins, of course, but they ask God to forgive them and then they continue to serve Him. God has freed them from their slavery to Satan, and He keeps them safe from Satan's continued attacks. The rest of the world does not have the Christian's freedom to obey God. Unless they come to Christ in faith, they have no choice but to obey Satan. There is no middle ground, people either belong to God and obey Him, or they live under Satan's control.
Mount Horeb was not what it appeared to be. Though forbidding and barren, it actually came to symbolize that season in a person's life where a desolate soul could find the presence of God. Both Elijah and Moses before him found fresh encounters with God on Horeb. Surrounded by the bleak and barren environment, the Lord reduced His servants to one focus: God alone.
The Horeb experience tells us that God accommodates out times of desolation and uses them to prepare us for greater glory. Out of our barrenness comes a renewed dependency upon God, from which new assignments and increased power emerge. It was here, in the cleft of a rock near Horeb, that Moses prayed; Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people ( Exodus 33:13 ). And it was here that the Lord, in turn, promised; And He said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest  ( Exodus 33:14 ). We cannot say we truly know God if we remain ignorant of His ways. To know the way of a person is to know his heart's motivations, as well as how he would respond to the blessings and challenges of life. Moses knew the Lord in the deepest intimacy possible; he knew God's ways.
He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel ( Psalms 103:7 ).
God's Law was given first to Moses and the people of Israel. God's Law presents a clear picture of God's nature and will. It was God's training manual to prepare His people to serve Him and to follow His ways. To know the way of God is to become knowledgeable of the motives of His heart and intimate with the secrets of His passions. It is to be amazed at the resolve of His love and compelled to humility by by His attraction to the lowly. The Lord had promised Moses, My presence shall go with you. When God's presence accompanies our actions, all the energy we once spent worrying and planning is reclaimed and offered back to God in praise and effective service.
The outcome  of being companion through life with Christ is in His promise, I will give you rest ( Exodus 33:14 ). To enter God's rest does not imply that we have become inactive but that God has become active. Thus Jesus calls; Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28 ). The rest Jesus promises is love, healing, and peace with God, not the end of all effort. A relationship with God changes meaningless toil into spiritual productivity and purpose. How the Church today, weary and desperate, needs to return to Jesus and re-enter God's rest! Yoked to Christ our burdens are transferred to the vastness of His strength and abilities. He becomes to us a untiring resource for our weakness; He is unfailing wisdom for our ignorance. At the place of rest, Christ becomes a continual life-spring of grace and virtue. We can cease from our anxious labors and, unfettered from our ideas and traditions, serve Him in unlimited strength of His might.
God has always been concerned with the condition of our hearts than the activity of our hands. What we become to Him is far more consequential than all we shall ever do for Him. He wants our love and companionship. Indeed, the Scriptures tells us that He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us ( James 4:5 ). Thus, if our devotion to our task exceeds our devotion to Him, He will personally hinder our success. It is out of love that God delivers us from the unanointed momentum of our zeal. He intentionally dries up our vigor. The Lord insists that our success not originate from our strength but from our union with Him. Our time of desolation, brokeness, and disappointment becomes a tool in His hand where He works within us a deeper dependency upon His strength.
Alone with God on Horeb, Moses prayed, Show me thy glory ( Exodus 33;18).
The Lord responded, I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you (v.19 ). At the center of Christ's resplendent glory is His incomparable goodness. Indeed, our Horeb experience becomes the very site where, inspite of our sense of failure, God reveals to us His goodness. To be personally restored to the knowledge of God's goodness is what Elijah desperately needed. So it is for us.

The Cave Of Withdrawal

It can be a crushing experience to give your very best and still fall short. Elijah had been discouraged with his inability to effect revival in God's people. He fled Jezebel and traveled south nearly two hundred miles to Horeb where he lodged in a cave on the mountain side.
Scripture tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick ( Proverbs 13:12 ). Elijah had lost hope that revival would come to Israel. When we lose hope we simultaneously lose faith, Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ( Hebrews 11:1 ). Without faith or hope, all we have is a empty religion.
Do you remember how you felt when you were younger and your birthday approached?  You were excited and anxious. You knew you would receive gifts and other special treats. But some things would be a surprise. Birthdays combined surprise and anticipation, and so does faith! Faith is the conviction on past experience that God's new and fresh surprise will surely be ours. Two words describe our faith: confidence and certainty. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God's character - He is who He says He is. The ending point is believing in God's promises - He will do what He says. When we believe that God will fulfill His promises even though we don't see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith: [But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. And after eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, peace be unto you. Then said He to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side, and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto Him, my LORD and  my GOD. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believed ( John 20:24 - 29 ).] Some people think they would believe in Jesus if they could see a definite sign or miracle. But Jesus says we are blessed if we believe without seeing. We have all the proof we need in the words of the Bible and the testimony of believers. A physical appearance would not make Jesus any more real to us than He is now.
When we become heartsick with disappointment and discouragement, we also lose perspective. We feel that we are responsible for the results. We must remember, apart from the cooperating work of the Holy Spirit, no man can change another person's heart, much less the heart of a city or nation.
Most of Elijah's discouragement came from the false expectations he had placed upon himself. Upon receiving an assignment from the Lord, it is not hard to begin imediately to imagine the results. We project ourselves prematurely into a place of success and fulfillment. Yet, we do not know what the results will be, only that we should obey the Lord. We must leave the fulfillment into the hands of Him who does exceedingly abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us( Ephesians 3:20 ). Elijah withdrew into a cave on Horeb. For us, self-pity can also become a spiritual cave. It can trap us in a dark hole of loneliness and pain. In this place of isolation we fail to hear the encouragement of God: all we really hear is the echo of our own voice magnifying and distorting our problems. Elijah was alone and despairing, yet the Lord knew his heart. What are you doing hear the Lord asked. And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thine prophets with the sword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away ( I Kings 19:10 ).
Elijah thought he was the only person left who was still true to God. He had seen both the king's court and the priesthood become corrupt. After experiencing a great victory at Mount Carmel, he had to run for his life. Lonely and discouraged, he forgot that others had remained faithful in the midst of the nation's wickedness. When you are tempted to feel you are the only one remaining faithful to a task, don't stop to feel sorry for yourself. Self pity will dilute the good you are doing. Be assured that even if you don't know who they are, others are faithfully obeying God and fulfilling their duties.
Elijah wanted desparately to see the nation awakened, but he did not understand the role God would have him play. Perhaps Elijah's main mistake was that he was personally shouldering the burden of Israel's revival. Not knowing his own place, he assumed the place of God. Calling Elijah out of the cave, the Lord told him, Go forth, and stand on the mountain before the Lord (v.11 ). As Elijah stepped out of the cave's darkness, an awesome event occurred; A
And He said, Go forth, and stand on the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice ( I Kings 19:11,12 ). The Lord did not reveal Himself to Elijah in the spectacular ways by which He had shown Himself to Moses. To this discouraged, dispondent old prophet, God responds in gentleness. Elijah thought he was the only person left who was still true to God. He had seen both the King's court and the priesthood become corrupt. After experiencing great victory at Mount Carmel, he had to run for his life. Lonely and discouraged,he had forgot that others had remained faithful in the midst of the nations wickedness. When you feel you are the only one remaining faithful to a task, don't feel dorry for yourself. Self-pity will dilute the good you are doing. Be assured that even if you don't know who they are, others are faithfully obeying God and fulfilling their duties. Elijah knew that the still small voice was God's. He realized God doesn't reveal Himself only in powerful, miraculous ways. To look for God only in something big (rallies, churches, conferences, highly visible leaders)maybe to miss Him, because He is often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humble heart. Are you listening for God? Step back from the noise and activity of your busy life and listen humbly and quietly for His guidance. It may come when you least expected.

A New Revelation Of God

 There are times when, to lead us on into new authority and blessings, God must liberate us from the container of our previous experiences. The Lord was passing by, but He was not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, all of which were familiar symbols to Elijah. The Lord who caused these mighty manifestations was not in them. Elijah knew that the still small voice was God's. He realized that God doesn't reveal Himself only in powerful, miraculous ways. To look for God in only something big (valleys, churches, and conferences, highly visible leaders) maybe to miss Him, because He is often found gently whispering in the quietness of a humble heart. Are you listening for God? Step back from the noise and activity of your busy life and listen humbly and quietly for His guidance. It may come when you least expect it. For Elijah, mighty manifestations had been signs of God's approval. But something new was at hand that required a fresh submission to the living God. A double portion of power was coming! The distinguishing characteristic of this new anointing would not only be seen in supernatural manifestations but in greater wisdom and compassion.
Earthquakes, fires, and storms - the signs that accompanied Elijah - are the signs of our times as well. But to enter the double portion, we must learn to recognize God's nearness when there are no earthquakes or  storms to capture our attention. He demands we enter a more refined relationship with Him, one that is based on His love and the whisper of His word, not merely upon spiritual phenomena or the issues of our times.  After the last sign, there came a gentle blowing (v.12 ). Elijah recognized this Holy silence: The presence of God was returning. Elijah wrapped his face in his mantle lest he look upon God ( v.13 ). Perhaps it was near this very site that Moses, five hundred years earlier, hid when the Lord passed by. Now it was Elijah's turn. Entering this eternal stillness was the person of God.
We too must learn to hear the voice of Him who rarely speaks audibly and observe the actions of Him who is otherwise invisible. Elijah would gain the courage to endure Jezebel's wrath the same way Moses faced the rage of Pharaoh: He endured, as seeing Him who is unseen ( Hebrews 11:27 ). We must learn to detect, without great signs, the still, small voice of God. He will not fight for our attention; He must be sought. He will not startle us; He must be perceived. It took no special skill to discern the earthquake, the fire, or the great storm. But to sense the holy quiet of God, our other activities must cease. In our world of great pressures and continual distractions, the attention of our hearts must rise to the invisible world of God's Spirit. we must learn to see Him who is unseen.

A New Beginning

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captive,and to recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (LUKE 18:4).
As thou has sent Me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world(ST.JOHN 17:18).

The story of Jesus' return to His home town to preach strikes a response note in the heart of every preacher and every layman, for most of us have been in the pulpit or pew on similar occasions. While our experiences have not been as violent as that morning service in Nazareth many years ago, we have felt the tensions and recognize the problems. It does not take too much imagination to enter into this experience of our Lord.At the beginning, everything went well, no doubt, He was a fine young man with an excellent voice and most pleasing personality. He had a great text-one of the  most familiar, from one of the greatest of the prophets. One can almost see the congregation settling down for a good sermon and a pleasant period of quiet. This they said unto themselves this is going to be all right. Then everything went wrong. For the young preacher did not come to the usual conclusion, but shook them awake with His quiet comment: This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears(LUKE 4:11). And as He went on to explain what He meant, they became even more angry until they would have thrown Him over a cliff if He had not escaped from them.
They could not believe the Spirit of the LORD would be on someone they knew. This young man who had grown up among them and was the son of their neighbors must be suffering from delusions of grandeur if He thought Isaiah was talking meant Him. We can hardly ever believe the boy next door is a genius or that the man on the next block may be a leader in his field. But the main cause of their anger was Jesus' announcement that He intended something definite. His teaching was not to remain vague and general, which meant that He had come to waken people to their specific obligations to God. If this kept up, then people would be uncomfortable and perhaps they might even be driven to sacrifice. There was a good chance that such a religion would upset established orders. They took what seemed the easy way to a solution-they became angry and drove Him from their midst
We have not changed very much in 2000 years. For the vast majority of Christians, religion remains a hopelessly vague affair. Ask the average church member what it means to be a Christian and you will soon see that it does not mean anything precise. They will probably murmur something about the golden rule, or list a few negative virtues, but they will show no sense of mission. We argue definitions and we ask academic questions about conscience, but we seldom proclaim that as Christians we have been sent to do specific things. Science needs more Spiritual guidance and Christians needs more scientific exactness.
It is time we asked what it means to be a Christian and why we are Christians. We must turn back to Jesus and find out what He conceived His task to be. There is no clearer statement than the program that He announced in Nazareth when He read from Isaiah. It must follow then that we are to imitate Him or, as the Fourth Gospel says it, He expects us to send us forth to do what God had sent Him to do. After all when we say we are Christians it means to be Christ like. Let us then think about these things.
 
                         GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR   

First of all the Christian program is to preach the good news to the poor. This is to say that the Christian is always concerned about the welfare of his brethren, even as Jesus made the service of men the center of His ministry. The Church can easily forget this eternal thing, but it is being constantly brought back by the Saints who appear often enough before us. The true Christian sees people differently than the man of the world describes them. Jesus does not look at the poor man as one who lacked riches, but He pitied the rich man who lacked humility. There is a strange reversal of values when we see our brothers and sisters through the eyes of Christ, and the farther we go from Him, the greater the contrast between the New Testament viewpoints and ours.
One can observe how far removed from this preaching Good News to the poor we are when modern sects talk about reaching key people. There was not a key person to be found among those whom Jesus called first to follow Him. We must confess that the Church has become to a large degree, a middle class institution, valuing respectability more than virtue. Let us keep going back to Nazareth and hear our Lord say, I have come to preach GOOD NEWS to the poor.
This is not to assume that a Christian has a prejudice against the rich as such.The Christian view recognize the dangers of wealth and it warns against those dangers. But it is committed to looking on men as an ends in themselves and it must regard each man, regardless of social or economic status, as of eternal worth. Its Good News is to men as men and its social question is, what do men need and how can we fill their need? Jesus is not inevitably on the side of the poor, but He is usually on their side so far as the New Testament record is concerned, because they are usually the main victims of injustice, and are most in need. The man who can see his fellows only between the blinders of his own class and condition is not yet a true Christian. He will have to learn how to enter into his brother's suffering with his imagination and see his brother as God sees him.
I am a Christian because I have been called to bear witness to the truth that all men are equal in the eyes of God, in the eyes of Jesus Christ and in my eyes. I have been commissioned to preach this Good News to all men, but especially to the poor.

                             
                           RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES

Jesus was not speaking in a prison and trying to comfort men behind stone walls and iron bars. He was speaking to men who had the usual constraints of society on them, as well as the humiliation of being a province of the Roman Empire. They were probably not so free as we are, but in a day when international tensions force our government to interfere with both our public and private affairs, there was no tremendous difference between that day and this. At any rate, Jesus was not speaking primarily of political freedom nor was He describing an anarchical society. He was talking about freedom from the prisons we build for ourselves and the chains we forge for our on wearing. There is no captivity so serious and hopeless as the ones we create out of our own ignorance and fear. To these captives, and that means to all men, the Gospel comes to proclaim release and, as a Christian, I ought to be a freeing agent in my community.
Christianity sets men free from their ignorance and prejudices. The whole history of the Church has been a story of the founding of educational institutions to enlarge men minds. It ought not to be forgotten that Christianity is the Mother of education and that the great universities of the Middle Ages were founded under the guidance of the Medieval Church. There have appeared from time to time men who thought they served God by pronouncing a curse on new knowledge, but such men only betray how easy it is to mistake one's own ignorance for God's will. Christians are to cut straight across the lines and help men to meet as men and not as members of particular vested interests. Men need to be saved from the prisons their societies encourage them to build, and they need to be freed from their narrow thoughts. If Christians are not proclaiming release to such captives as these, let them ask if this is not what their Lord did and commanded His followers to continue doing.
I am a Christian because God in Christ promises me and all men power enough to live freely. There is hardly any experience more wonderful than learning that the wild and fearful evil which runs loose in a man's heart can be controlled and a man be set free from its rule. The need is to get out of ourselves and be released from the narrow boundaries of our own egos. THIS IS WHY WE ARE CHRISTIANS !!!!!

                              TO  SET  AT  LIBERTY

Jesus announces that he had come to save the oppressed from their oppressions. At the heart of the Christian experience there is not an example but a Savior. You cannot divorce the faith of the Christian from works, but you must never begin with the works, for they are results and not causes. Until our hearts are cleansed, we cannot produce clean actions. A man once asked Sir James Simpson, the great Scottish surgeon, what he considered his greatest discovery. The questioner expected it would be something in the scientific realm-probably one of the doctors contributions to medicine. But the answer was: My greatest discovery is that I am a great sinner and that Jesus is a great Savior. That is the chief revelation which comes to any man and it is the most precious possession of the Christian.
He set us at liberty from our fears. Most men are afraid, sometimes of things they recognize, but usually of unseen, hazily analyzed terrors which creep in on them the moment they are off guard. No one ever comes to know Jesus Christ without being convinced that God is concerned about his life, and no man's life can ever be the same if he believes that underneath him there are everlasting arms. No man can ever be afraid of the future, as he once was, if he knows it is in the hands of God. Doubt and fear are closely allied and the conquest of faith creates confidence.
He sets at liberty from the oppression of loneliness. No generation has been more a victim of isolation and the fear that comes from it than ours.The cities of America and of the world are full of people who are nearly desperate because of their a loneliness. They are unrelated with any living fellowship and true friendship is not a part of their experience. They meet people who are acquaintances, but they do not know one single person to whom they confess their loneliness and their fright. They have the haunting certainty that no one really cares for them, and if any disaster overtook them, no would share their sorrow. It is a sad travesty on our civilization that, at the moment it provides the most amusement and glitter, it creates the most emptiness of spirit. It is for the Christian to set these people at liberty. It is for the Church to remember that is not primarily an institution, but a fellowship-indeed, the only real fellowship left. Let the Church learn that this is the way to earn affection of the masses too, and set about lifting the oppression of fear.
The Gospel is to set men free from social injustice and corporate slavery. In a day when the comfortable are afraid of change, there is terrific pressure to silence the prophetic voice of the Church and silence the social concerns of Jesus. When Christians begin to prefer the status quo over justice, they have lost sight of one significant part of their purpose. When we begin to hint that the Kingdom of God is synonymous with any economic or political system, we only portray our complete misunderstanding of the Gospel. As long as their is discrimination and an unfair distribution of the burdens of society, our Lord will expect us to be there fighting for the right of those wrongs. The Christian has the advantage over other men in that he can ignore labels and go through smoke screens to the heart of the human situation. For under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he allows the path of injustice and righteousness, not only in his own life, but in his society.
Why am I a Christian? Because Jesus Christ has preached good news to the poor and commissioned me, who am very poor, to preach to my brethren that good news. Because He has released me from my captivity and sent me forth to release all men. Because He hath opened my blind eyes and given me the power to bring recovering sight to the unseeing. Because He has set me at liberty from my oppression and called me to be freeing influence for everyone. He has brought me life. What Jesus does for people is He changes the prosaic rules of ethics into a new song which has marching power and fills the heart with joy. It is this golden extra, this unspeakable glory, which makes Christians certain that, in Christ, God has given them His best.