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Session 5: Clothe Yourself What is the first thing you do after taking a bath? Get dressed! I am so glad that provision has been made for my nakedness! God commands us to "Put on," as elect of God. We are commanded to "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 13:14), "Put on the new man" (Ephesians 4:24) and to "Put on the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:11). So put it on! That means dress in it. Reckon it to be so before the throne. Stand in him complete. In the opening scene of Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ, we find Jesus pouring his heart out to his Father in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the hours just before his arrest and execution. A pallid Satan, wearing a dark cloak, stands nearby whispering words of doubt (e.g., "No one man can bear this burden of sin") and asking questions like "Who is your father?" and "Who are you?" The Passion is a fictionalized account of Christ’s suffering; and we do not read of Satan's presence in the garden in Scripture (Matthew 26, Mark 14). However, The Passion's garden scene has been played out in my own life time and again. A favorite tactic of the enemy when we begin to intercede for others is to come at us with these same three questions:
This step will establish answers to these questions for you in advance. If you try to stand on your own righteousness at this point, you will fail! Abraham believed God and it was "imputed" to him as righteousness (James 2:23, KJV). That word imputed means it was credited to his account. Though he was bankrupt himself, God applied it to his account because of his faith. We too who have accepted Christ have had his righteousness imputed to us. Believe God and apply his provision for your nakedness. The Old Testament book of Zechariah, chapter three, contains a wonderful example of the need to put on righteousness, or to reckon ourselves clothed in the righteousness of God, and in the armor of the Lord. Joshua, the high priest, was standing before the Lord, and Satan was at his right hand accusing him before the throne of God. Everything Satan brought against him was true. However, one fact was even truer. God said, "I forgave him. I clothed him. Leave him alone!" Therefore God commanded the angel of the Lord to take off Joshua’s dirty tattered garments and give him a robe of pure white, a turban on his head, and a scepter in his hand. Then God looked at Satan and said, "Is not this the brand plucked out of the fire?" To “Believe” is to see the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. To “Reckon” is to appropriate God’s invisible truth as our visible reality. There Are Two Parts to Reckoning 1. Principle of Position: Seeing yourself in
heavenly
places as God sees you 1. Principle
of Position There is a "Principle of Position" we must take, and it makes the difference between: 1) having the confidence to stand before the Lord’s throne and prayerfully war on behalf of another, and 2) being too frightened to utter a word. You see, our position must be secured in Him who has declared us righteous. It is the principle that – although we all fall far short of the glory of God – God himself has made provision for us. His provision is that we can put on Christ. We wear his righteousness, his white robe, his crown, his authority. As God sees us in heaven, he sees us through his perfect sacrifice, Jesus Christ his Son. We are brands plucked out of the fire. Reckon it to be so! See yourself as God sees you… "And you are complete in him" (Colossians 2:10). Faith applies to our hearts the heavenly realities that God already sees.
2. Principle
of Practice
Using Your Authority Weapons Words Prayers
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