His Power to Save, His Right to Rule

Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come. (Rev. 12:10)

Read: Rev. 12:10-11; Phil. 2:8-11; Matt. 28:1; Isa. 45:17-22

What Is God Saying?

Jesus Christ is our Savior. He truly tasted death but His love is deathless. He died in humiliation and shame, but rose in power and will return in glory. His enemies thought they had stilled His voice and ended His rule. They soon found it was just beginning.

"O behold the Man of sorrows, 0 behold him in plain view;

Lo1 He is the mighty Conqueror Since He rent the veil in two."

He is Savior and Lord. The cross is no minor incident or tragic accident. Max Lucado has moved me greatly in an excellent book. It treats Jesus as One who died for us and has the right to rule over us. I quote, "And according to Paul, the cross is what counts. My, what a piece of wood! History has idolized it and despised it, gold-plated it and burned it, worn it and trashed it. History has done everything but ignore it. That's the one option that the cross does not offer" (from No Wonder They Called Him Savior, Max Lucado, Multnomah Press, p. 13).

If we receive Him as Savior, we must yield to Him as Lord. "Now the salvation of our God and the authority of Hts Chnst have come."

How Does This Apply To Us?

We must remember that the one who rescues us from the kingdom of falsehood and evil is the One who has authority to rule over us in the kingdom of truth and righteousness. To know the saving power of Christ is to yield to the ruling power of Christ. He not only saves. He rules. Think of Jesus as Friend. Thank Him as Savior. Obey Him as Lord. The One who saves is the One who rules. Or does he?

Pray With Me

O loving and mighty Savior, You have redeemed my soul at infinite cost. You have saved me from the destiny that my sin deserves. Now I want to live each day in the awareness that the power that rescued is also the power to rule. I have not been saved to live in antisceptic apartness. I am not a glass-encased display. I am not a lifeless mannequin. Neither was I saved to wander in a wasteland of undisciplined license. I was saved because I am counted worthy of being ruled. To know Your saving power is to yield to Your ruling power. Owning You as Savior means having You as Lord. Let me never try to separate what has been united, "The salvation of God and the authority of His Christ."

Not only are You the Lord of my life, You are the Lord of all life. It is no small thing to cast down the Accuser from my heart, but You have. I will work and wait, I will run and rest, I will toil and tarry m this assurance-however great the claims of my soul's enemy, I am, through the Lord of all, more than conqueror. He now rules my heart by willing consent. One day He will rule all things in universal love and authority. All evil shall be gone for all time. Until then I gladly serve Him who by His grace has saved and m His power shall always rule.

To the praise and honor of immortal Love, which in saving rules and m ruhng saves. Amen.

Moving On In The Life Of Prayer

The One who has authority over us commands us to share His love with others. The greatness of the privilege is equalled only by the greatness of the responsibility. There is a story I read somewhere that tells how Jesus said to Peter, "Go and preach." "Preach, Lord, to the men who drove the nails?" "Yes, Peter, and to those who cursed say that I have a song for them; and to the soldier who pierced my side, say that there is a nearer way to my heart than that" (author unknown). Keep the faith, yes, but also give it away. His love is to be cherished but not hoarded. We are saved to tell others. Too much? Too hard? Too busy?

"Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all."