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Where is He, as far as you are concerned ?

1. Is He in your pocket ? That is, has He the effect on you, that you control Him, He serves you at your instance, and is a part of your comfort, convenience and
total capital assets ?

It seems that some find the need of divine pardon, divine protection, some sort of insurance or addition to their lives, possibly at some crisis, possibly seeing many crises impending, or even the general nature of crisis in life in such a planet and universe as this! It has indeed elements of curse (see Biblical Blessings Ch. 7), and pageantry of beauty, while streams of mercy await the passer-by to stoop to receive them, as when one walks on the Milford Trail in New Zealand, and free and falling from the heights, come delicious streams, tossing about, tumbling with agility, now flowing smoothly, now rushing with importunity: fresh and pure (cf. John 4:14). Without these, one is in danger of many perils, but most of all from the follies of sin and the securities of judgment.

Thus many seek the Lord in the pocket, as an accomplishment, an addition to net worth and so on; they want Him there to assuage their troubles, dispel their perils and generally look after them WHILE they pursue their own way, and live their own lives to the best of their ability, to satisfy their own desires and wishes (contrary to Luke 6:46, Matthew 7:21, 6:21,24).

This quite simply  is not an available 'policy'. It cannot be done. It is not there. It is fiction and can promote faction and is likewise, factitious; and it is indeed true that so horrendous is the presumption involved, that one almost DOES wonder if these 'cases' are always people who deceive themselves, and imagine they are not doing it. However, having met a second hand car dealer in his retirement, and heard his laments about what things he had done, and heard his cry that he would bargain with God for some preferred covenant or condition, that they could create together: one no longer can believe that such things cannot be!

Whether it be conscious, however, or unconscious, this apears as the Christ in the pocket hypocrisy.

2.SOME have Christ in the heart (Colossians 1:27). These are the Christians. He is Lord in name and in fact, in function and in reality. He is Saviour in name and in performance, having performed this task on such people (Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:1-8). These, as the scripture says, are 'having-been-saved' people (Eph. 2:8).

The heart ? This is the paid for place, and His payment is from the heart, for the heart;  but it is NOT to the heart, for it is made to the Father in justice for sins forgiven, as in Romans 3:23ff..
It is done that the Father "might be just" (Romans 3:23 with v. 25) when forgiving. However, that being so, the item (person)  forgiven is likewise the one purchased, and the purchased possession is both assured of eternal life (Romans 5:1-11) and indwelt, inhabited if you like, by the Lord of glory (Romans 8:9), so that the Creator and the creature have an indispensable, non-disposable, intimate and glorious relationship. It is an epic past all ordinary friendship and a privilege which makes aristocracy seem tame. It is however not for mere aristocrats, but for the humble and contrite heart which trembles at His word (Isaiah 66:2), takes Him at His word, and believing in Him, is covered by faith from the judgment to come, through the judgment past, and passed on Christ in his/her stead.

This, Christ in the heart, is the life of it, the spirit of grace being sent, and in this is power aplenty for whatever is accorded. It is normally intended for work in the company of fellow believers in the church, but if there is none faithful, or if one is in prison, it is quite sufficient anyway; and the Lord looks after EACH SHEEP INDIVIDUALLY (John 10:9, 27-28; and see The Christian Church in Barbs, Arrows and Balms 25, and The Christian Life in that volume Ch. 21).

These glory in the cross of Christ by which they are crucified to the world, and the world to them (as in Galatians 6:14), and do so because it is true, the world is as nothing compared with this (as in Philippians 3:8ff.). It would be almost silly for such, even to compare it.

3.Or is Christ in your gun sights ? That is, does He evoke a feeling of revulsion, or of comedy, or of disquietude ? Do you feel ill at ease and only wish that person who is talking about Him would CEASE NOW, to do so; and do you make plans to ensure that such EMBARRASSMENT will be spared you as far as possible in every way, in the future ?

Or do you even feel obliged, or obligated to ATTACK Him, His deity as in John 8:58, His manhood as in Philippians 2, His work as in Galatians 3, 5, or faith in Him as in Hebrews 11 ? Is He a threat, or an inconvenience ? as some races of people become to others, who then in the most characteristic twentieth century manner, sometimes seek by all means to eliminate them ?
(The 21st century must have a little while, if enough time remains before the Lord returns as in Acts 1:7ff., to establish its own characteristics; but one may be sure these will be an advance, though with some variations of style, on the growing follies of the last one. They will of course also include massive heroism from the saints as in Revelation 12:10-11.)

4. Perhaps however that is not where you regard Him as being (HE is in FACT of course with His Father in heaven, where He was rapturously received as in Acts 3:19ff., and foreshadowed in John 17). It may be that you consider Him as being in REGIONS INACCESSIBLE. Thus you may feel that you CANNOT believe. Some say that they would like to, but cannot ... and so on. Or you may find that you draw back, shrink, as if from death, and it IS true that it involves death to your own management process of your life, and that you become a servant of Christ; but for me, to serve Christ is INFINITELY better than OWNING AND MANAGING THE UNIVERSE.
Who would I be to do that ? Neither the wisdom nor the power nor the place would be mine; and it is His, and HE ? He is wonderful (Isaiah 9:6-7), and it is HIS place.

But to serve Him faithfully is done in the precincts of friendship (as in John 15) and while falsity that seeks to be where it is not accepted, not having come in faith: while this is soon exposed, what is planted by the Father abides (Matthew 15:13).

Let us consider the thrust in dialogue, and see it inset for our ease of pursuit.
 

A: HOW can I get faith ? you may ask.

B: Did you come to the toll gate, then, are you sincere ?

A: Of course sincere; it is just that I cannot come, you perhaps reply.

B: Did you manage to pay ? one asks.

A: How could I ? I am spiritually broke, you knowingly reply.

B: Did you offer His name ? one asks. Did you suggest that HE is your credit illimitable ?

A: How could I, since I do not know if He is.

B: Did you repent of your sins ?

A: Of course: I am not insane.

B: Well then, did you accept His offer of ransom in your place ?

A: I don't know, I just don't know! you may reply.

B: Then do so! one suggests.

A: HOW! How would I know if He is even listening ?

B: By faith.

A: But that is PRECISELY what I am not at all sure that I have, you reply.

B: Then do you believe in your Creator ?

A: Yes, but that is something different. As one of the astronauts remarked, you HAVE to believe in God: the earth in its wonderland of aptitudes and order in contrast with the dark, blank face of the starry universe, is too much to think of any other way, when you really look at them both. In fact, he said:

• "Some power placed our little world, our sun and our moon where they are in the dark void. It is just too perfect and beautiful to have happened by accident." I believe it was Eugene Cernan. Just before this, he said: "Looking back at Earth I saw only a distant blue-and-white star. Out where I was dashing, stars and eternal distant blackness were everywhere." 
  
  

I know the feeling: there is as much of life and beauty as there is ground for it; and the earth, virtually filled with these marvels, was given that ground; and so is what it is. 
It is easier by FAR to have the Empire State Building first construct itself, and then secure maintenance for 10,000 years without intervention, by robotic devices which also invented themselves before they were there, with codes that distilled their order-execution programs without programs, than for man to arrive from nothing, or nothing sufficient in thought and intelligence, wisdom and contrivance. As to matter, it has what it is given, and gives nothing. As to mind, it needs will.  As to will, it needs enterprise. As to me, I like logic. God is.

B: Good. Then do you believe in the One whom He has sent, Jesus Christ, to make the personal more personal, the propositional in the Bible, more direct , to answer questions and to answer YOUR question by offering Himself a ransom for YOU ?

A: I do not know, you may reply, about that. How do I know whether it would apply 
to me ?

B: Because He said that anyone who comes to Him HE will NOT cast out (John 6:37). Come and the offer is validated by that simple fact.

A: But can I trust HIM!

B: Trust the One who of all men was faithful and called and predicted and fulfilled, and whose word is being fulfilled to this hour ...

A: Yes, please do not go on. I have read your SMR Chs. 8- 9, and some of SMR Ch. 6; and nearly know them by heart.

B: Did you read "Answers to Questions" Ch. 5 ?

A: Yes. By the way, I do not have trouble in believing the facts, only in believing they APPLY TO ME personally.

B: Do you ? By that is strange, since all you have to do is COME to Him and take what He offers. There is a Biblical GUARANTEE of your reception, and then as in John 10:9, with vrses 27-28 the rest is assured. Have you ever really analysed verses 27-29 ? EVERY contingency is covered amply and graciously. It is a total ransom.

A: I am not sure I want to ... be in it, to be His. (This is red because it is dangerous.)

B: Ah well, then, if you are not sure where He is with you, He is indeed in regions inaccessible.

A: Why do you say that ?

B: It is for this reason. If you do not WANT Him, then you are either not sure you are in need of a Saviour, and hence are under delusions; or you do not care about the grinding end of travail in fraud, if you knowingly reject Him (as in John 3:19ff.); or you treasure yourself or your pursuits above God, in which case you are an idolater. There is no hope for them (I Cor. 5:11).

A: So I am an idolater ?

B: I cannot say. You seem unsure what you want.

A: Look! if I could KNOW HE would receive me, I should come to Him right now, repent of sin, receive His salvation, and gladly offer myself without limit, as one of His children, in His service. But there is just this nagging doubt.

B: Of what then ? Of your capacity to save yourself ? Do not have doubt of that, but have NO DOUBT THAT YOU CANNOT DO IT IN PART OR ALTOGETHER. That is part of being ready for salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10). For instance, it says,

"For by grace you are saved {in the state of having been saved, more literally} through faith; and that {whole sequence, it is not the faith, grammatically, but the total}  not of yourselves: it is the gift of God." 


A gift puts you therefore in a totally saved condition. It is "not of works lest any man should boast" - Eph. 2:9. What you get, therefore, is so utterly His doing that 'success' excludes ANY boasting. 

As to the RESULT, Paul says in Ephesians 1:11, "In whom we also have have obtained an inheritance". It is unproblematic, secure, from, for and of the Lord. It SAYS, "Salvation is of the Lord" - and JONAH found that out the hard way! 
So you unhesitatingly put your trust in Him.

A: Easy, and done. This is great. What next ?

B: Have no doubt of His capacity to save you.

A: I COULD be a tough case.

B: Why ? Let's get this thing clear. IF HE does it, and YOU do nothing towards it, and HE is the direct expression of the Almighty on earth, what on earth COULD stop HIM from
doing it ?

A: You are right. Nothing.
I trust Him to do it then.

B: Good, and call on His name for your salvation (Acts 2:21), trusting that this formalises what He is already doing in you, and tell me now, do you believe He has saved you.

A: Are YOU crazy now ? Of course.

That is one little vignette to illustrate this territory inaccessible kind. Now we turn to the fifth one.
 

5. Christ is seen by many as part of the listing of AREAS UNDESIRED.
Here He is accepted as fine, a person of integrity, and one does not want to think further because He is not desired. It is just an elemental thing; it is nauseating to the sense of finesse, wounding to the pride, grievous to the sense of selfhood and ultimate independence, and in general, one prefers oneself to Him or any one else. It is a sort of love affair, steamy romance with oneself, the only fit and just receptacle for one's destiny!

Now that of course is nonsense. How would any one of us even slightly begin to compare with Him in a) His eternity b) His judgment prerogatives and knowledge c) His saving power d) His intimate knowledge of the human soul e) His co-Creator's power, as the word of God to fathom all depths and f) His purity of perfect love in offering even Himself in g) His infinitude of purity, to receive as One wholly innocent and adequate alike, the lakes of darkness of sin, and to empty them (as in Isaiah 53:4-6, where those who are healed by His stripes, or vicarious chastisement, have their sins laid on HIM).

Still, some people say, that being so, nevertheless, they would  prefer that home touch, those well-known hands: each one, his/her own. What, however, if they are chopped off, in death, or in insanity, or made foolish by their incredible presumption, till one wishes one had never had them!

The area undesired, objectively, and undesirable, is that of sin; and sin will not receive the salvation of God. Therefore, re-categorise any such areas, and they are justly MANY, so that CHRIST IS NOT FOUND THERE, but look for Him to come by grace, as you come to Him, into your own heart and life and future. It is not someone less than God with whom you deal there!

THEN you can move to the SECOND case above (2), with Christ in your heart. You might as well put the universe (by mistake ?) in the dust-bin, and yourself of course with it, if you will not come to its Creator in peace on His gracious and kindly terms. That is about where HE put HIMSELF in Christ (II Cor. 5:17-21) in a love so lovely that He even cried for forgiveness for His persecutors and murderers (Luke 23:34), if by any means His sacrificial death might reach even to them.

If you MUST hate, then hate sin. If you MUST put yourself somewhere, then put it on the cross with Christ, so that you die to its inordinate demands. If you MUST believe in something, for the sake of your own poignant and pitiful plight, do NOT make it yourself. Make it the ONE who has what it takes a) to create and so did it and b) to heal and so did it and c) to predict and fulfil, and so did it and d) to create a clean heart, and so does it in those who come to Him. (You may care to consult Repent or Perish Ch. 2, pp 41ff., Biblical Blessings Appendix IV and other sites as named under JESUS - as objectively magnificent, in the Index.)

Where is Christ with you ?

• He will simply not FIT in your pocket, must take possession of your heart (like Cook of Australia for the Queen - but even that was not all loss, for look at the freedom in this poor land, and heaven is far better, and God far greater  than all of this).
  
  
• Your gun sights are ludicrous, for that is worse than Hitler on the Jews.
  
  
• Regions inaccessible is unnecessary; and
  
  
• areas undesired makes a mockery of you.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us:
we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God;
For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin;
that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him" (II Cor. 5:20-21).

The idea of 'sin for us' is that He is presented as a sin offering. However, the sin offering (as in Deuteronomy 29:18-19 ) does not help where there is no faith (cf. Hebrews 11:6). Therefore let the Christian rejoice in this provision, and the unbeliever make haste to come where this offering is, and putting on Him the hands of one's heart, have Him bear off all guilt and iniquity (as in Leviticus 16:9-10), making peace with God, and restoring your soul to its rightful place by His side. His side ? It was wounded. Now it is glorious. Walking BESIDE GOD! who would ignore it, but the blind. And so it is. (Matthew 13:15).