Free to Live: The Utter Relief of Holiness (13 page)

And so I find myself praying—far more than I ever have before—this simple prayer:
Jesus, give me your holiness
. I pray it in the car, at my desk, in a meeting, at the movies, waking in the morning, before sleeping at night, wherever I am.
Jesus, give me your holiness. I ask you for your holiness.

Let us close by receiving the benediction Paul pronounces at the end of his first letter to the Thessalonians. I offer it as a benediction to you:

Amen.

There is so much more to be said. I hope that you have found this book helpful. I hope that it has brought healing, wholeness, and new fields of goodness to your heart and mind and life. If you enjoyed this, there’s more. Lots more. We have all kinds of additional recordings, teachings, books, live events, and resources on our website: www.ransomedheart.com. Come and be refreshed!

But let me also recommend some authors I return to again and again when it comes to questions of holiness and wholeness. I love A. W. Tozer; my favorite book of his is
The Pursuit of God
. If you want to read more on healing, I recommend Leanne Payne’s
The Healing Presence
, on inviting the healing work of Christ in your life. And one of my all-time favorites is by nineteenth-century Scot George MacDonald, pastor, theologian, author, and poet. His book
Unspoken Sermons,
while difficult to find, is an incredible work on holiness and living a life of goodness. I think you’ll find his understanding of the Gospel refreshing.

There is a way to be good again.

My dear Lord Jesus, I come to you now to be restored in you, to be renewed in you, to receive from you all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor you as my sovereign Lord, and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to you. I give you my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will. Cover me with your blood—my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will. I ask your Holy Spirit to restore me in you, renew me in you, and lead this time of prayer.

[For husbands and/or parents] In all that I now pray, I include [my wife, and/or my children, by name]. Acting as their head, I bring them under your authority and covering. May the blood of Christ cover their spirit, soul and body, their heart, mind and will. Holy Spirit restore them in you, renew them in you and include them in this time of prayer.

Dearest God, holy and victorious Trinity, you alone are worthy of all my worship, my heart’s devotion, all my praise and all my trust and all the glory of my life. I love you, I worship you, and I give myself over to you in my heart’s search for life. You alone are Life, and you have become my life. I renounce all other gods, every idol, and I give you God the place in my heart and in my life that you truly deserve. I confess here and now that it is all about you, God, and not about me. You are the Hero of this story, and I belong to you. I ask your forgiveness for my every sin. Search me and know me and reveal to me where you are working in my life and grant me your healing, deliverance and the grace of a deep and true repentance.

Heavenly Father, thank you for loving me and choosing me before you made the world. You are my true Father
—
my creator, redeemer, sustainer, and the true end of all things, including my life. I love you, I worship you, I trust you. I give myself over to you to be one with you as Jesus is one with you. Father, thank you for sending Jesus. I receive him, and all his life and all his work that you provided for me. Thank you for including me in Christ, for forgiving me my sins, granting me his righteousness, for making me complete in him. Thank you for making me alive with Christ, raising me with him, seating me with him at your right hand, establishing me in his authority and anointing me with your Spirit and your love. I receive it with thanks, and I give it total claim to my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will.

Jesus, thank you for coming to ransom me with your own life. I love you, I worship you, I trust you. I give myself over to you now to be one with you in all things. I sincerely receive all the work and triumph of your cross, death, blood and sacrifice for me, through which my every sin is atoned for, I am ransomed and delivered from the kingdom of darkness, my sin nature is removed, my heart is circumcised unto God, and every claim being made against me is disarmed. I now take my place in your cross and death this morning, dying with you to sin, to my flesh, to this world, and to the evil one and his kingdom. I take up the cross and crucify my flesh with all its pride, arrogance, unbelief, and idolatry; I crucify the self-life, all self-saving and self-
securing
. I put off the old man. I ask you God to apply to me the fullness of the cross, death, blood and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my life, my holiness, and I receive all the work and triumph of your resurrection, through which you have conquered sin, death and judgment. Death has no mastery over you and I have been raised with you to a new life, to live your life
—
dead to sin and alive to God. I now take my place in your resurrection and in your life, through which I am saved by your life, I reign in life through your life. I give my life to you today to live your life. I receive your joy, love, hope and faith; your union with our Father; your wisdom, understanding and discernment; your courage and power; your holiness, integrity and trueness in all things. I put on the new man. I ask you God to apply to me the fullness of the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I receive it with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will.

Jesus, I also sincerely receive you as my authority, rule, and dominion, my everlasting victory against Satan and his kingdom, and my authority to bring your Kingdom at all times and in every way. I receive all the work and triumph of your Ascension, whereby Satan is judged and cast down, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you, and I have been given fullness in you, in your authority and in your throne. I take my place now in your authority and in your throne, whereby I have been raised with you to the right hand of the Father and established in your authority. I give my life to you to reign with you. I now bring the authority, rule and dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ over my life today
—
over my spirit, soul and body, over my heart, mind and will. I bring the authority of Christ over my home and family and all my kingdom and domain.

Holy Spirit, thank you for coming. I love you, I worship you, I trust you. I sincerely receive you and I receive all the work and victory in Pentecost, whereby you have come, you have clothed me with power from on high, sealed me in Christ, you have become my union with the Father and the Son, become the Spirit of truth in me, the life of God in me, my Counselor, Comforter, Strength, and Guide. I honor you as my sovereign, and I fully give to you now every aspect and dimension of my life
—
my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will
—
to be filled with you, to walk in step with you in all things. Fill me afresh. Restore my union with the Father and the Son. Lead me into all truth, anoint me for all of my life and walk and calling, and lead me deeper into Jesus today. I receive you with thanks, and I give you total claim to my life.

Heavenly Father, thank you for granting to me every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. I claim the riches in Christ Jesus over my life today, over my [wife and children by name], my home and all my domain. I bring the blood of Christ once more over my spirit, soul, and body, my heart, mind and will [over wife and/or children by name, their spirit, soul, and body, heart, mind and will]. Armor me with your armor. I put on the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, helmet of salvation. I take up the shield of faith and sword of the Spirit, and I choose to wield these weapons at all times in the power of God. I choose to pray at all times in the Spirit.

Thank you for your angels. I summon them now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and instruct them to establish your Kingdom over me and throughout my kingdom and domain, to minister to me your ministry, and to be my companions in the way this day. I now call forth the kingdom of the Lord
Jesus
Christ throughout my home, my family, my household, my kingdom in the authority of the Lord
Jesus
Christ, and in his Name, with all glory and honor and thanks to him.

This episode takes place a week or so
after
Jesus saunters out of the tomb he borrowed. The apostle John, one of Jesus’ closest friends, recounts it:

So many things are delicious about this story it’s hard to know where to dive in.

First, the boys have gone fishing. Can you blame them? The events of the past two weeks have been, to say the least, overwhelming. The emotional high of the triumphal entry—palm branches waving, crowds shouting “Hosanna!”—it all crashed lower than anyone thought possible. Their beloved Jesus was tortured, executed, entombed. But then—fantastic beyond imagining—he appeared to them alive again. Twice. Though at this moment, they’re not sure where he has gone off to. Not really sure what to do next, unable to endure one
more agonizing moment waiting around the house, they do what any self-respecting angler who needs to get out and clear his head does:They go fishing. Apparently, fishing naked or darn close to it—notice that Peter needed to put his clothes back
on
.

Notice how
casually
Jesus enters the scene. His best friends don’t even know its him. This is the resurrected Lord, mind you. Ruler of the heavens and the earth. Think Mount of Transfiguration. Jesus could have announced his risen presence on the beach with radiant glory. He knows there is nothing in the world that would help his mates more than to see him again. He certainly could have shouted in his commanding way, “It is I, the Lord! Come thou unto me!” He doesn’t. He does the opposite—he “hides” himself a bit longer to let this play out. He simply stands on the shore, hands in his pockets like a tourist, and asks the question curious passersby always do of fishermen: “Catch anything?”

The nonchalance of the risen Christ here is absolutely intriguing. Whatever Jesus is up to, the moment is loaded for his next move.

Now, two more things are needed to set the stage properly.

First, what would you guess Jesus’ mood is this particular morning? Surely he must be
happy
. The man has conquered death, ransomed mankind, been restored to his Father, his friends, and the world he made. Forever. He is in the afterglow of the greatest triumph of the greatest battle in the history of the cosmos. I’m going to venture that he is one mighty happy man. But not the fellas—up all night, nothing to show for it, bleary, half dead at the oars while the boat rocks back and forth, back and forth. They could use some cheering up.

Last, how did these—his closest brothers—first encounter Jesus? It was here, along the shore of this lake. Possibly this very spot, knowing how fishermen tend to keep their boat near a favorite hole.
That first compelling encounter also involved the fellas skunked after a night of fishing. It, too, began with a seemingly random instruction:

So, this has happened before.

That first miraculous catch—nets bursting, boats swamping—it must have felt like ages ago, after all that has unfolded. Or unraveled, depending on your point of view. But it was
their
story, the way they got pulled into this whole revolution. Most Christians can tell you in detail how they met Jesus, especially if it was a dramatic encounter. That payload was a story this inner circle no doubt talked about many times after, as guys will do, as
fishermen
will especially do. Sitting around their nightly fire, somebody brings it up with a smirk: “Peter, the look on your face was priceless,” then, imitating Peter’s reaction, “ ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man,’ ” and they all fall to cracking up about it again. (Luke 5:8)

My buddies and I used to make an annual fishing trip to the eastern Sierra Nevada. Though our catches might not have been miraculous, we did haul in a scandalous load of fish, and in classic man fashion—campfires, canned beans, no showers. Except one year, we brought a guy named Bill who would take an hour every morning in camp to primp and preen and even put on cologne. We’d be in the car, laying on the horn, while Bill combed gel into his hair. Years after
we’d rib him for it. All anyone needed to do was start the story with “Remember how Bill…,” and sombody’d laugh, snort coffee through their nose, and the whole gang would be gasping for air again.

So here the famous disciples are, three years later. They’ve pulled another all-nighter. Off that same beach. The boys are skunked again. And Jesus does it again.

“Try the other side.” Again the nets are bursting. It’s how he lets them know it’s him. This has all the wink of an inside joke, that rich treasure of friendship, the running gag between mates where over time all you need to do is start the first line and everyone cracks up all over again. “Try the other side.” Another jackpot. Just like the good old days. Nothing more needs to be said—Peter is already in the water thrashing for shore.

Do you see the
playfulness
of Jesus?

His timing, the tension, his hiddenness, a touristlike question, the same lame suggestion from somebody they think knows nothing about fishing, then
bang!
—the catch. And the boys are hooked again. This is a beautiful story, made so much richer
because of
the playfulness of Jesus.

And by the way, that little detail John tosses in—that the catch was 153 fish, precisely—that, too, is a beautiful touch.

Or, it might have gone like this: These retired fishermen, overcome with the joy of seeing Jesus, leave the writhing pile where it is, fully intending to get to it right after breakfast. Having had the cookout—which the risen Jesus grilled, by the way—one of them says, “Well, we oughta get that catch counted up,” and a second says, “Yep,” and Jesus, reaching for a last bite of roasted tilapia, says, “There’s a hundred and fifty-three.”

The boys smile at one another, realizing,
Oh yeah, right—we’ve got Jesus back
.

Any way you look at it, it is a beautiful story. Playful, funny, so human, so hopeful, so unreligious. And it is that particular quality that gives the passage its true character and gives us an essential for knowing Jesus as he really is. The man is not religious. If he were, the story would have taken place in a religious setting—the temple, perhaps, or at least a synagogue—and Jesus would have gathered them for a Bible study or prayer meeting. Jesus doesn’t even show up at the temple after his resurrection. He’s at the beach, catching his boys fishing, filling their empty nets and then having them to breakfast.

Now—why does this interpretation of the passage both relieve and trouble?

The relief comes in like a sea breeze on a muggy summer day suffocating with the smell of mud and dead fish. Because it is an answer to a question we didn’t dare ask—that God himself knows how and when to be playful. With us. It’s like a breath of fresh air.

But many readers are at the same time troubled because it also sounds a little irreverent. Which brings me to my second point.

Jesus healed a man on a Sabbath. That pushed his enemies over the top. They decided to kill him. The account takes place early in the Gospel of Mark:

Really. Because he healed a man on the Sabbath? What do we have here?

After all the nonsense that is repeated about Jesus being a gentle
peacemaker, reading the Gospels is really quite a shock. We discover a Jesus who is in fact
frequently
embroiled in conflict—most of which he provokes himself (like healing on the Sabbath). And every single one of these clashes is with very religious people. Not one hostile encounter involves a “pagan.” Not until the end, at least, when the Roman troopers get hold of him—but he was handed over by the religious establishment.

If you were reading the Gospels without bias or assumption, you would have no trouble whatsoever coming to believe that religion is the enemy—or in the hands of the enemy. Jesus’ opponents are all people we would consider to be highly invested in doing religion right. They certainly considered themselves to be so.

You will want to keep this in mind if you would know Jesus, really.

For to come to know Jesus intimately, as he is,
as he wants to be known
, is to release a redemptive landslide in your life. There will be no stopping the goodness. The first purpose of your existence will be resolved, and from there you are set to fulfill all of God’s other purposes for you. Now—do you really think that the enemy of our souls, the archenemy of Jesus Christ, is simply going to let that happen? Satan is far too subtle to rely on persecution alone. His most masterful works are works of
deception
(ask Adam and Eve about this when you see them). So the Deceiver deceives by means of
distortion
, and his favorite tool is to present a distorted Christ. Not so blatant as a bad fish, but through the respectable channels of religion.

Consider this one piece of evidence: millions of people who have spent years attending church, and yet they don’t know God. Their heads are filled with stuffing
about
Jesus, but they do not experience him, not as the boys did on the beach. There are millions more who love Jesus Christ but experience him only occasionally, more often stumbling along short of the life he promised, like Lazarus still wrapped in his graveclothes.

Can anything be more diabolical?

If you sent someone you loved to school for a decade, yet they remained illiterate, how would you feel about the education? If you referred someone you loved to a doctor, yet despite years of treatment they not only failed to recover from their cancer but contracted HIV, hepatitis, and gangrene, what would you have to conclude about the treatment?

I am not making accusations; I am stating facts. There are noble churches and movements bringing Jesus to us. But alas, alas—they are the exception, not the rule.

Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. His enemies decided to kill him. Do you really think that’s over?! Why would that have ended with the time of Christ? Really now—it would be just a little arrogant for us to assume we could not fall under the same religious haze.

Thus George MacDonald, that old Scottish prophet, asks, “How have we learned Christ? It ought to be a startling thought, that we may have learned him wrong.” It
is
a startling thought. “That must be far worse than not to have learned him at all: his place is occupied by a false Christ, hard to exorcise!”
²
Hard to exorcise, indeed, because religion gives the
impression
of having Christ, while it inoculates you from experiencing the real thing. Most wicked. If you want to destroy an economy, flood the market with counterfeit bills.