1166. Deliverance Obtained

Deliverance Obtained

"And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves onto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed" (Luk_17:14).

We are about to reach the upper springs. We are about to enter the tablelands where saints sing songs of deliverance. How is it accomplished?

1. There was submission to God. This follows hard upon the humbling of the self life.

Naaman had turned away in a rage from the simple demands of the Prophet. What were the waters of the Jordan, compared to the waters of Abana and Pharpar? Why should he, the generalissimo of Syria be snubbed by the simple Prophet of Samaria? Why should he the man, next to the king, bend his back in the muddy Jordan. It was preposterous? "But," said his servants, "My father, if the Prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith unto thee, Wash, and be clean?"

We need to get to the end of our self-will. We need to give up the thought of help apart from God. We need to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. When Naaman humbled himself, and gladly submitted to God, then he was healed.

2. There was obedience to God. This followed the negation of self.

As long as Naaman's self life stood in a rebellious attitude, he was hopelessly smitten with leprosy. As soon as he denied himself and took up his cross and followed the commands of God there was blessed deliverance.

Obedience cannot supersede obeisance. Self must die, before Christ is crowned as Lord and Master. When we say "no" to self, we are prepared to say "yes" to God. It is thus we enter the higher ground, the tableland of the victory over sin.

Obedience holds a first place in the Christian life. "Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."

God takes His abode in the hearts of those who obey Him; God gives the fulness of the Spirit to those who obey Him! God manifests Himself in glory and in power to those who obey Him. There can be no deliverance, there can be no victory, there can be no fellowship, until we die to self and live to God; until obedience is made perfect within our lives.

3. There was the flow of the Jordan–the Blood that cleanses us from all sin. Certainly there can be no deliverance apart from the Cross of Christ. The risen, living Christ gives us power and victory, but the Blood of the crucified Christ gives us cleansing. It is there the sins of saints are cleansed. It is the Blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sin.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR