The Battle is Over

We have been conditioned to believe that the beginning of life began back in Genesis 1:1. In one sense it did but in another, much more real sense, Life, not existence began when Jesus commanded that all-powerful phrase, "It is Finished!"

In Genesis we read how God created man in His own image and after His own likeness. Adam and Eve had it all. They basically lived in a perfect world; they had dominion and authority over the entire earth. But they gave it away; actually, they allowed the thief who is named satan (he doesn’t deserve the respect of a capitol S in his name) to come in and steal the entire earth from them. Death, for example, was not in the original plan. Death is part of the legacy that Adam and Eve left you and me.

Through God's redemptive plan, He designed a way for mankind to be reconciled to Himself. Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection were the means by which this plan was to be implemented.

God, disappointed in man’s actions, began His redemptive plan almost immediately. For in Genesis 3:15 He said that the seed of a woman would bruise satan’s head. God began setting something in motion the moment He spoke those words.

Finally, after 4000 years of God speaking His Word, through the Old Testament Prophets into the earth Jesus came in to the earth realm. His purpose, as all know or have heard, was to destroy the works of the devil (satan) and establish a new rule and kingdom upon this earth.

The Bible says that we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (God’s way of doing things and His way of being right) then all things needed will be added to us. Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Jesus also said to His disciples that there are some standing here (right there in front of Him) that shall not taste of death until they see (with their own eyes) the kingdom of God. Mat 16:28 (KJV)

Luke 9:27 (KJV)

The same Greek word is used for kingdom in each of the three references, so we know that what Jesus was saying was prophetic to a point in time. When? We know that the disciples saw this time…all but one; Judas. They saw the Kingdom of God come.

All through the Old Testament we read of God foretelling a day that He was to provide redemption for He mentions, "In that day" 115 times. All but 8 of those references are in the OT, 6 are during Jesus’ ministry and 2 are listed in the NT. God uses the phrase "It shall come to pass" 120 times; 116 of which are listed in the OT and 4 in the NT.

It is obvious to all that will see, with their spiritual eyes; God was looking forward to something. Something that He felt the need to set in motion and to keep up its momentum. Actually He, with great anticipation, said some pretty astounding things. Let me give you a few examples:

 

• Joel 2:28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:

• Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

   

• Isa 65:24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

   

• Deu 28:1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

   

• Isa 4:2 In that day shall the branch of the LORD be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel.

   

 

• Zec 2:11 And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee.

   

These are but a few of the, literally, hundreds of times these phrases are mentioned. You have to admit that God was setting something up for Himself; His plan of redemption. (If you really want to be overwhelmed, look up the phrase, "I will", and you’ll find it mentioned 1921 times. Only 86 of all those times "I will" was mentioned can be found in the NT starting with the book of Acts; that’s 1835 times prior to Acts.

It is becoming more obvious that God has been saying something to mankind for a long time now that we, Christians, have really yet to understand. Every time the phrase, "I will' In that day or It shall come to pass" is mentioned, He is pointing us to what has proven to be the most important day in His entire story. Let's look at it another way.

Imagine this: you are planning a great celebration for a loved one; someone you care deeply for. Even though they may not share your enthusiasm, you still make all the arrangements. After all your plans are set, you go to that person and begin hinting to them that something special is on the horizon for them. You tell them to be sure to take that day off work or not to plan their normal activities. You take them to the store and buy them some new clothes and tell them that the reason for the purchase is so that they will be properly dressed for "that day".

After a while, the anticipation builds in them and in you. If you have a child you will be probably more excited to see the expression on the child's face when the surprise arrives. It was that way with the Lord God Jehovah. He hinted to mankind that there is a day coming that will give man full and complete access to His Throne. The hints get stronger and stronger. Finally, God found Mary and said to her that she would bear a son…. She caught the Rhema of the Word spoken for she said, "… Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word…." Luke 1:38 At that moment God breathed a big sigh of relief. Mary accepted His Word and Jesus, the fulfillment of all things, was on His way.

Jesus told a parable in Matt 22:2-14 about the same thing. The King was looking forward to a day (in this case it was a wedding day). God, throughout the entire OT was looking forward to "that day". My brother and my sister, THAT DAY has arrived. It has come to pass.

 

• John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

   

• Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,

   

• Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

 

• Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

   

   

• Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

   

When Jesus said that all – Powerful command, so much came to pass and was fulfilled that we must pursue this study, in the Spirit.

"Father, I set in motion, this moment, in Jesus Name that we have ears to hear what Your Spirit is saying to the Church."

For years we have been singing songs that state "the battle is not mine, it’s the Lord’s" and saying things like, "God fights my battles" and so on. I have some good news for you. Read on.

Suppose I live in the United States of America and say to you, for example, "My brother, my sister, I sure hope our troops fighting on the front line and behind the front line win World War II for us." You would look at me and say, "I think you have flipped out; everyone knows that the war is over and America and it’s allies won."

Everything that was attained and the freedom that was won belong to each American citizen NOW. I could choose not to accept that historical fact and refuse to buy and use sugar, anything made with metal or I could refuse to buy coffee believing that I must make sure our troops have plenty. That’s my choice. But what I am doing, because of a lack of knowledge or a stubborn personality, is refusing to accept what belongs to me as my birthright. I am; in essence, slapping all those whom risked their lives and those who died to give me freedom in the face. Are we doing that to God?

The Bible says that Jesus spoiled all principality and power and gave the rule to the church; that’s you and me, He is not referring to a building. (1 Cor 6:19 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" 2 Cor 6:16 "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.")

 

• Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

 

• Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

• Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

   

• Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

   

It is obvious, from the scriptures listed above, Jesus won the battle; so what are we doing fighting battles. Have you ever heard of shadow boxing? That is what many of us are doing. The Bible says that we are to fight the good fight of faith and that's it. The battlefield is our mind. When we enter in to the kingdom of God, it us a faith battle…the fight is to keep our mind stayed on Him and His Word. When we fight the good fight we fight the only good fight there is; one that we win.

Like with the WWII example, we can choose not to enjoy the benefit of the victory, but why?

If Jesus really meant what He said, "It is finished!", and then we must renew our minds to agree with Him. The Bible says that our natural mind is not capable of understanding the things of the Spirit of God for they are spiritually discerned. (1 Cor 2:14 "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.")

Rom 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

Again, if we are to understand the things of God and His Kingdom, we must renew our minds to the Word of God. The result is that we can discern the perfect will of God. I know that all sounds simple and we all, at one time or another have concluded that we have renewed our minds; but have we?

Having established the fact, in our minds, which Jesus works on the Cross-completed God's redemptive plan, let's move on. We will start with some examples that are familiar to us and then work in to some of the more flesh and mind challenging.

 

• 1 Pet 2:24 "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed."

   

Simply stated, the Bible says that by Jesus stripes, we (you and I) were healed (made whole). But how many times have we "prayed for healing" and then said, "That's right, Amen, God's going to heal me."? Is it any wonder that the same people seem to go down to the altar week after week for the same thing and never seem to get what they are after?

You may be one of those that have been seeking for something that He has already given you. I've got some good news for you.

 

• (Heb 11:6 KJV) "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."

   

• (James 1:6 KJV) "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed."

   

The first thing you must do is believe that He is (present tense), not that He is going to be (future tense). For faith, as we see in Abraham's (the father of faith) life is "calling those things that be not (things we don't see now) as though they were (already here).

Rom 4:16-b, 17 " Abraham; who is the father of us all, (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were."

The Bible says that as we have received Christ Jesus the Lord, we are to walk and live in Him. How did we receive Him, by faith? Col 2:6-7 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." And once we received Jesus as our Lord we think nothing of make the statement, "My home is in heaven!" What are you actually doing? Calling those things that be not (not revealed to your senses) as though they were (present tense). Very few believers can claim that they have seen heaven, but we all believe that our true home is there.

The world population is somewhere around 6 billion people. It is estimated that there are in the neighborhood of 1 billion people who claim to know Jesus as their Lord. All those who claim to be Christians have that one thing in common; they know that they know that when they leave their body, heaven is where they will be.

This is how we are to continue living our life; calling those things that be not as though they were. Why do I keep emphasizing this? Simple, it is a point that needs to be reviewed in our mind so that we can continue from this point.

If you are one of those people that keep seeking and asking for something you already have, then your first step is to start calling those things that are not yet revealed to your senses and though they have been (according to the Word of God).

In order to call those things that be not as though they were, we must find out what the Word says. We already gave the example of healing. Instead of coming to God and saying, " Oh God, in Your mercy, would you please heal brother or sister so and so…." We should say, "Father, your Word declares that by Jesus stripes brother or sister so and so was healed, we enter in to that healing NOW!" Then instead of saying, "I believe that God is going to heal so and so." We can now say, "By the grace and mercy of God so and so is healed." One way is the way of faith and the other is displaying the lack of faith. Which do you want?

Just as in the example above exercises faith, all things we do, in this life, should employ faith as well. Since this is not intended to be a study on faith, we must continue on. It was, however, necessary to point out and reemphasize the importance of faith for with out it you cannot please God and that you must believe that He is.

Let's go over some of the things that we need to know concerning the fact that it is finished.

The devil, for all too long has deceived us in to thinking and speaking calling those things that are as though they are. As the Word points out, the rule and authority that Jesus displayed has been given to us. But we will never experience the reality of that until we actually comprehend the importance of entering into all that was finished at the cross. Jesus gave this rule to us, the church and he doesn't want you to know about it. He would rather keep us shadow boxing that to have to give up the property and people he has stolen.

Jesus said, that satan is under our feet and that we are to occupy until He comes. If you pull an empty chair to your side, all you have to do to occupy it is to sit down in it. To occupy a house or apartment, all you have to do is move in.

God said that everywhere we place our feet is ours…we are to occupy…move in. Deu 11:24 "Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. (Oh, by the way, that is one of the things that is included when Jesus said, "It is Finished!")

The song, "It is Finished" say it so appropriately "…yet it my heart the battle stills rages…they were battlefields of my own making …this man didn't know that the war had been won…the victory is yours for the taking…. It is finished and Jesus is Lord!"

Let us now explore a few of the battlefields that we have created. We will also list some examples of the words we use and what we should say:

Now let's look at some New Testament examples utilizing the same idea.

Our purpose is "prime your pump" not do an entire study for you. But now you have the idea and it is up to you to dig in for yourself and uncover more of the significance of Jesus' words, "It is Finished!'

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Revised: September 01, 2004 .