Friday, March 15, 2019

Abide In Christ - Day 15 - At This Moment (Video Devotional plus text)



Abide In Christ by Andrew Murray
Day 15
At This Moment
Behold, Now is the accepted time; behold, Now is the day of salvation.”(2 Cor. 6:2)
The thought of living moment by moment is of such central importance—looking at the abiding in Christ from our side—that we want to speak of it once more. And to all who desire to learn the blessed art of living only a moment at a time, we want to say this...The way to learn it is to exercise yourself in living in the present moment. Each time your attention is free to occupy itself with the thought of Jesus,—whether it be with time to think and pray, or only for a few passing seconds—let your first thought be to say, “Now, at this moment, I do abide in Jesus.” Use this time, not in vain regrets that you have not been abiding fully, or still more hurtful fears that you will not be able to abide, but at once just to take the position that the Father has given you: "I am in Christ; this is the place God has given me. I accept it. Here I rest. I do now abide in Jesus." This is the way to learn to abide continually.
You may yet feel to be so feeble that you fear to say each day, "I am abiding in Jesus ;" but the feeblest can, each single moment, say, as he consents to occupy his place as a branch in the vine, "Yes, I do abide in Christ." It is not a matter of feeling — it is not a question of growth or strength in the Christian life — it is the simple question of whether your will at the present moment desires and consents to recognize the place you have in your Lord, and is willing to accept it. If you are a believer, you are in Christ. If you are in Christ, and wish to stay there, it is your duty to say, though it be only for a moment, "Blessed Savior, I abide in You now. You keep me now."
It has been well said that in that little word “now” lies one of the deepest secrets of the life of faith. At the close of a conference on the spiritual life, an experienced minister arose and spoke. He did not know that he had learned any truth that he did not know before, but he had learned how to use correctly what he had already known. He had learned that it was his privilege at each moment, whatever surrounding circumstances might be, to say, "Jesus saves me now." This is indeed the secret of rest and victory. I can say, "Jesus is to me at this moment all that God has given Him to be - life, and strength, and peace.” As I say it, I need to hold still, rest, and understand it. For in that moment I have what I need. As my faith sees how I am in Christ through God, and takes the place in Him my Father has provided, my soul can peacefully settle down. Now I abide in Christ.
Believer! When striving to find the way to abide in Christ from moment to moment, remember that the gateway is to abide in Him at this present moment. Instead of wasting effort by trying to get into a state that will last, just remember that it is Christ Himself, the living, loving Lord, who alone can keep you, and is waiting to do so. Begin at once and act by faith in Him for the present moment. This is the only way to be kept in the next moment. To attain the life of permanent and perfect abiding is not ordinarily given at once as a possession for the future. It comes mostly step by step. Avail yourself, therefore, of every opportunity of exercising the trust for the present moment.
Each time you bow in prayer, let there first be an act of simple devotion : "Father, I am in Christ. I now abide in Him." Each time that you have, in the midst of the bustle of duty, the opportunity to compose yourself, let your first involuntary act be: "I am still in Christ, abiding in Him now." Even when you are overtaken by sin, and your heart is all disturbed and excited, then let your first look upwards be with the words, "Father, I have sinned...and yet I come—though I blush to say it—as one who is in Christ. Father! here I am... I can take no other place. Through God I am in Christ. I now abide in Christ." Yes, Christian, in every possible circumstance, every moment of the day, the voice is calling, “Abide in me. Do it now.” And even now, as you are reading (or watching) this, O come at once, and enter upon the blessed life of always abiding, by doing it at once. Do it now.
In the life of David there is a beautiful passage which may help to make this thought clearer. David had been anointed king in Judah. The other tribes still followed Ish-bosheth, Saul's son. Abner, Saul's chief captain, resolved to lead the tribes of Israel to submit to David, the God-appointed king of the whole nation. He spoke to the elders of Israel:
Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you; now then do it, for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David will I save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.” (2 Sam. 3:17, 18 KJV)
And they did it, and anointed David a second time to be king, at this over all Israel, where at first he was king only over Judah (2 Sam. 5:3). This passage is a most instructive type of the way in which a soul is led to the life of entire surrender and undivided allegiance, to the full abiding.
First you have the divided kingdom: Judah, which is faithful to the king of God's choosing. Israel, which is still clinging to the king of its own choosing. As a consequence, the nation was divided against itself, and had no power to conquer its enemies. This is a picture of the divided heart. Jesus, accepted as King in Judah, the place of the holy mountain, which is like the inner chamber of the soul. However, the surrounding territory, which is like our every day life, is not yet brought into subjection. In this picture, more than half of the life is still ruled by self-will and its companions. And so there is no real peace within and no power over the enemies without.
Then there is the longing desire for a better state: "You sought for David in times past to be king over you." There was a time, when David had conquered the Philistines, that Israel believed in him, but they had been led astray. Abner appealed to their own knowledge of God's will, that David must rule overall. So the believer, when first brought to Jesus, did indeed want Him to be Lord over all, and had hoped that He alone would be king. But, alas! unbelief and self-will came in, and Jesus could not assert His power over the believer’s whole life. And yet the Christian is not content. How he longs—sometimes without daring to hope that it can be—for a better time!
Then follows God's promise. Abner says: ‘For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, "The Lord hath spoken, By the hand of David I will save my people from the hand of all their enemies." He appealed to God's promise. As David had conquered the Philistines, the nearest enemy in time past, so he alone could conquer those farther off. He would save Israel from the hand of all their enemies. This is a beautiful type of the promise by which the soul is now invited to trust Jesus for the victory over every enemy, and a life of undisturbed fellowship. "The Lord has spoken..."—this is our only hope. On that word rests the sure expectation :
"As He spoke...that we should be saved from the hand of...all who hate us, to perform...the oath which He swore...to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life” (Luke 1:70-75).
David reigning over every corner of the land, and leading a united and obedient people on from victory to victory: this is the promise of what Jesus can do for us, as soon as, by faith in God's promise, we surrender all to Him, and we give up our whole lives to be kept abiding in Him.
"Ye sought for David in times past to be king over you," spoke Abner, and added, "Then do it now." Do it now is the message that this story brings to each one of us who longs to give Jesus unreserved supremacy. Whatever the present moment is, however unprepared this message finds you, however sad the divided and hopeless state of your life may be, still I come and urge Christ's claim on you to make an immediate surrender...this very moment. I know well that it will take time for the blessed Lord to assert His power, and order all within you according to His will - to conquer the enemies and train all your powers for His service. This is not the work of a moment. But there are things which are the work of a moment - of this moment. This one is your surrender of all to Jesus...Your surrender of yourself to live entirely only in Him. As time goes on, and exercise has made your faith stronger and brighter, this surrender may become clearer and more intelligent. But no one may wait for THIS. The only way ever to attain to it is to begin at once. Do it now. Surrender yourself this very moment to abide wholly, only, always in Jesus. It is the work of a moment. And in the same way, Christ's renewed acceptance of you is the work of a moment also. Be assured that He has you and holds you as His own, and that each new "Jesus, I do abide in You," meets with an immediate and most hearty response from the Unseen One. No act of faith can be in vain. He does indeed take hold of us and draw us close to Himself. Therefore, as often as the message comes to you, or the thought of it comes to you, Jesus says, “Abide in me: do it at once.” Each moment, there is the whisper, “Do it now.”
Let any Christian begin, then, and he will speedily experience how the blessing of the present moment is passed on to the next. It is the unchanging Jesus to whom he links himself. It is the power of a Divine life, in its unbroken continuity, that takes possession of him. The “do it now” of the present moment—a little thing though it seems—is nothing less than the beginning of the “ever-present now,” which is the mystery and the glory of Eternity. Therefore, Christian, abide in Christ. Do it now.


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