What is Jesus doing right now?

With every good reason under the Sun, preachers and Bible Teachers lead us back to Calvary to help us get better at discipleship.  I fully understand why.  In that act the Lord offered himself to become sin.  Born not after Adam by the virgin birth, Jesus could rightfully offer himself in our place. If you are familiar with Romans 5 you will find that all the human race was incorporated into Christ as he died on the cross.  He was Judged and God's wrath was poured out on Him... yet this also happened to us by this act.   Because He took this on our behalf we are Justified before God.  That means we are free from the penalty of sin.  However we only access this when we believe on Jesus finished work and then we are incorporated into the Resurrection.  Such Joy!  

That is not all the story.  When we find difficult times of struggle and fall down time and time again we can think of the cross and remember we are saved and sin cannot have us dragged before the great white throne... it is finished.  However not many are looking ahead to the focus of our lives as followers of Jesus.  If we only audit the Cross we can miss what is really going on.  

However you break bread, the intention is we remember Jesus' death at Calvary (and its Glorious consequences), but also the coming Kingdom.  The Crucifixion ends the Old Testament era which had its purpose.  The coming kingdom begins a New era of Jesus coming to reign for a thousand years on Earth.  So this places us in the age of the Gentiles or as many say, 'the age of the church.'  To be accurate about this age it is actually when the New Covenant God made with Israel has been handed over to the Gentiles because of Israels unbelief.  Whichever way up it lands, we relate to Jesus in a particular way in this age.  

To save us we have the cross.  But the ongoing saga in this story is not to just free us from the penalty of sin.  It is also to free us from the power of sin.  This is why we have access to the Risen, Glorified Lord!  More accurately, He also has access to us and wants to do something very specific as we walk this out. He wants to bring about scenarios in our life where we are confronted by our own willfulness, the areas where we simply love sin over God.  This is the Sanctification process and is all about freeing us to live up to the Holiness and Righteousness Jesus has credited us with and imputed to us when we bowed our hearts to him.  So this process springboards from the work at the cross but is dependent on the actual life of Jesus as he now is... Risen, Glorified and Lord of all.  This is whom we can access!

How we engage and access this process is our 'faithfulness.'  Many Christians are under the impression for various reasons that they are to look to the cross when they are in times of struggle. While that will center us on the reason for our new birth, it does not directly help us get to grips with overcoming.    When we understand that Jesus is Glorified and wanting to excavate our hearts, we can focus on Him, Risen, now, alive and predisposed towards our being set apart from this world. We can then experience the work of the Holy Spirit bringing turbulence to our lives to shake up the party! These times are supposed to be difficult as Peter reminds us in chapter 4 of his first letter, 

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 

One day this age will end and Jesus will return and snatch the true church away.  This will be the Glorification, completing the process of Redemption for the Church.  So the cross means Justification, Jesus' Transforming power is Sanctification and future Glorification completes the three elements of Salvation.  

Let's access the Lord  as He is... sat on His Fathers Throne with all power, Authority and Dominion given to Him so you and I can cast our hearts before Him and offer our lives to be dealt with as He desires.  If we can remain in this place we will receive a reward that is eternal.  

Come Lord Jesus (but first make me a vessel through which you can be glorified)

Amen