This rescue was entire, thorough and complete. All sin was placed on Christ when He died on the cross, all sorrows and all sickness, all unbelief and rebellion, all darkness and sadness, loneliness and emptiness, death itself. Everything wrong in this world and in our hearts was placed on Jesus when He died on the cross.
Notice how thorough the results of Jesus’ rescue are:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. (4) 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (5) He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
Revelation 21:3-5 NIV
Our rescue, our salvation is thorough and complete. Praise God! But, you might ask, doesn’t the above story merely illustrate salvation from Satan’s kingdom? Being rescued from the authority and power of the devil and being delivered into the kingdom of Christ? What if I’m already a Christian and simply struggling with depression? How does this story apply to me?
Salvation from sin, and sanctification (being set apart to God, becoming more like Christ) happen in identically the same manner - at the cross. And so we can read the rescue story in Genesis 14 and see our rescue from the authority of darkness when we were saved, but we can also read it and see Jesus’ work for us who have experienced the power of depression, and who need to be rescued from it.
Unbelievers need to see the gospel and believe it in order to be saved from the penalty of sin, and believers also need to see the gospel in order to be rescued from the power of darkness.
Depression can happen to believers or unbelievers, but the way out is always the same: viewing the cross of Jesus Christ and experiencing resurrection power by faith.
So for the purposes of this course, we are seeing the teaching of Scripture, all the stories of the Bible, as both applying to those who are in the kingdom of Satan and need salvation, and those who are saved but are needing the power of God to rescue them from darkness (in our case, depression).
And so we can notice that our sanctification is just as thorough as our rescue from sin:
“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it”
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 NIV
We will not experience the complete reality of our rescue until we live in heaven with Jesus, but we can know it in our hearts right now. We can truly experience the power of Jesus’ rescue, the enjoyment of our salvation, the removal of darkness and depression, the freedom from our dark prisons right here and right now. Yes, we can experience, in a very real and very personal way, Jesus wiping away all our tears, shining the light of the gospel in our hearts and chasing away all our darkness, opening our prison doors, releasing us from darkness and setting us free.
If the results of Jesus’ rescue will not be fully known until heaven, how do we experience them right now in our hearts?
There is a very specific way God has chosen for His people to experience this rescue-work of Jesus. This way God has chosen is so powerful that it vanishes our darkness, fills our soul with light, brings the love of Jesus right into our hearts and makes all things new.
What is this way? How do we experience this rescue? What brings the love of Jesus to our hearts and makes all things new in our lives? Well, this is the subject of our lesson tomorrow, and I think that, as you study through the lesson, you’ll see that it is a way suited exactly to your need.
Today I wanted to show you the illustration of your rescue. Abraham loved his nephew Lot, and when Lot was taken captive Abraham went into the darkness, risked his own life and set his nephew free.
Similarly, Jesus Christ loved you, came to the cross and entered the darkness, didn’t merely “risk” His own life but gave it up willingly for you, the purpose of which was to “free you from captivity and release you from darkness” (Isaiah 61:1).
In the next lesson, we’ll learn how this rescue becomes personal, how we experience it for ourselves, and how the light of the gospel removes our darkness of depression.
Question 5. How is this good news that Jesus came to give you affecting your heart? Please think about it and then share your thoughts here:
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Jessica writes, "It is very humbling. The agony and pain both mental and physical that he suffered for me is so hard to understand why he would go through all this for me. Someone so unworthy. I look at the cross much differently now. I owe it to Jesus to live the happiest and best life possible."
Harris writes, "This good news bring faith in my heart. I can be free because of Christ sufficient work. He took my darkness that I may be free."
Michelle writes, "I knew of the good news but never thought it could apply to my messy bits. This lesson shows me that Jesus died for the messy bits and He chose me with them. I am His beloved and that is humbling."
Tori writes, "I feel my heart already changing. It is becoming more soft even just on day six of this. I am realizing what real love is, I believing in Jesus more because I know he died for me, he loved me enough to do this so then he loves me, so yes he will wipe away my tears because he loves me. Yes he is faithful because he loves me. Yes he will carry my burdens because he loves me. Yes he hears my cries because he loves me. Yes he prays for me because he loves me. Yes he gives me every good gift because he loves me. Everything he says he does is truth and real because he loves me. Yes he wants my best because he loves me. Yes he does not want me to live in captivity because he loves me. More and more I am wanting to turn from the burden of this flesh, these dark thoughts because I know Jesus loves me and through this love he will help me completely, restore me and make me His bride. Who glorifies Him, who is made perfect in His love, who is safe secure and beaming with joy because of all His love has done for me. That’s what I look forward to and more and more I am feeling like everything I will be made to be to glorify God will be made as a product of Christ’s love. I see this vision clearly. Thank you Jesus."
Question 6. Have you received the gospel of Jesus Christ today in your study of God's Word?
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Question 7. Have you applied the gospel of Jesus Christ in your life today?
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