The Place Called Christ

 There was a popular saying in Israel, "Strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter"  It was a very truthful saying, every shepherd that ever became someone in Israel lost their sheep as soon as they were struck. 
John the Baptist lost his sheep, and so did Thaddeus and other teachers who came before Jesus when Jesus was about to be arrested, he realized one truth Peter, the one who was supposed to be the rallying point for the disciples after the departure of Jesus was going to be the first to run after denying him.

John Mark was going to leave his cloak behind and run while Jesus was being arrested Thomas, Matthew, Andrew, Batholomew, John, James, Nathaniel, Philip, Judas Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot all got scattered into the wind.

  Nobody knew which direction the others went and as such the sheep of Jesus indeed were scattered but Jesus made plans for this long before the event, he knew the movable would fail, so he made provision for the immovable to act as a place of refuge when the strength of men fail.

 Jesus provided the disciples with a place,  The Upper Room!  After running and dodging after hiding and peeping they all remembered there was a place where they met and broke bread some days before and they were drawn to this place through a sense of strong occasion and a desire  When all hope was lost and the person of Christ could neither be found nor followed, they all went to the Place of HIS PRESENCE  Without a prior agreement and armed with the news that his shepherds were also In danger of being arrested and crucified like their master, the disciples began to converge one after the other at the upper room.

  It became their place of mourning and prayer, the place where they had their first election, and the place of fellowship and communion.  It was here in this place that they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The sheep scattered when the strength of men failed but they gathered at the place!  The place can neither be arrested nor crucified, the place does not have feelings of fear or trepidation, and the place is ever constant, immovable, and available.  The prodigal son did not remember his father, he remembered his father's house.  He said in my father's house even slaves are treated better than the situation in which I have found myself, then he said "I will now arise and go to my father"  

It was the place that he remembered before deciding to go to the owner of the place!   Christ is a place therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).  In John 14:2-3 Jesus said “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you, I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”  Many misinterpret this portion of Scripture to mean that when someone gives his life to Christ, God starts building a mansion for him (or her) in heaven. That’s not true. In the verse above, Jesus wasn’t talking about heaven. He was referring to our place in Christ.  No mansions are being built in heaven for anybody. 

The Bible says all the works in heaven and the earth were finished from the foundations of the world (Hebrews 4:3). The angels aren’t building structures in heaven. Heaven is a beautiful place, and it’s already been built.  The place Jesus went to prepare for us is our place in the right hand of the Father, where we now sit with Him in the heavenly realms, far above all principalities and powers. That place is also called Christ.  So, not only is Christ a Person, but He’s also a place. 

That’s what the Apostle Paul alludes to in our opening scripture.  We are in Christ.  We’ve been made to sit together with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6); that is the place Jesus went to prepare for us and we’re there now. 

You came into Christ when you were born again; it’s a heavenly realm called Zion, the city of the living God.  That’s the city of our habitation: “But ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels” (Hebrews 12:22).

  In Christ there’s no sin, sickness, disease, failure, poverty, defeat, weakness, or death; all you have is health, joy peace, success, strength, prosperity, beauty, and life forevermore! That’s your place of inheritance; it’s the place of divine authority and power, where you reign and rule over satan and the cohorts of darkness.  

So when you say “I’m in Christ,” you ought to understand the import of that statement, for it means that’s where you live; your address is Christ! Therefore, view the world from there.   Always remember that this place is your eternal dwelling place, your eternal home where you dwell now.  You are of God, Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world, you belong to the assembly of the saints in light, your place is in Him, you are seated with him in heavenly places.

Do not forget this, a pastor you love and trust might misbehave, a preacher you have followed all your life can stumble in character towards you or another, a minister you know and love can do something that you will not even expect from an unbeliever.  The strength of men may fail in the days of adversity, please don't despair, and remember that Christ is a place you can go at any time. The most beautiful thing of all is this, when you get there, you will always find the Father waiting for you there with open arms!  

-GSW-