Evangelism

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THE LOVE OF GOD OR THE JUDGEMENT OF GOD? PART 2

(Genesis 18:20&21) Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me.  If not, I will know.”  

In the time of Abraham, the Lord and two angels stopped by his dwelling to deliver the news that his wife Sarah would bear a son within the year.  The Lord and the two angels were on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah to see if the time of judgement had come for the two cities.  Abraham pleaded with the Lord that if ten righteous were found there he would not destroy the cities.

When the Lord and his angels got to the cities, they entered the home of Lot who was Abraham’s nephew.  The men from every part of the city found out that strangers were visiting Lot.  they gathered, surrounded Lot’s home, and said, “Where are the men who came to you tonight?  Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.” (Genesis 19:5)

You can read the rest of this event in Genesis chapter 19, but needless to say, judgement came upon the two cities.  They were completely destroyed along with the surrounding area. There were apparently not ten righteous found in the two cities, but the Lord spared Lot and his family.

The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is another example of God’s sovereign right to judge his creation. It is important to note that God takes no pleasure in destroying his creation, but he is a holy and a righteous judge.

(John 3:16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 All through the Old Testament God was working out his plan to redeem the world.  In the New Testament, he sent his Son that we might avoid his judgement and instead have eternal life.  The Bible makes it clear that judgement will come, but God has given us the opportunity to repent and receive forgiveness.

The choice is clear, eternal life in loving relationship with our creator, or suffer his final judgement. The advent of Jesus’ coming to save us makes it clear that God would rather have a loving relationship with us then to pass judgement on us.

(John 3:17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

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RECOVERY OR TRANSISTION

(Psalms 116:15) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.

I have spent this week fighting a cold.  I‘ve not recovered, but I’m showing signs of recovery.  God has blessed me with a body that can recovery from Illness, and I’m looking forward to a full recovery. There will come a time when I don’t recover.  I like to think of that time as a transition.

When the body can no longer recover, we move from the temporal to the eternal.  Think of God’s perspective.  For God death is a simple transition.  He is with us here in the temporal world, and he is with us in the eternal world.  God never loses us.  For us the death of a loved one is a great loss, yet even for us it is only temporary.  We will all transition.

“There is no recovery from aging,” said my wife in our morning discussion of recovery or transition.  As we are getting older, we can look ahead and see an ending, or we can look forward to a transition into the beginning of eternity.  Jesus showed us the way. All we need to do is follow him.

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HARMONY

(Genesis 1:31) God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.  And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day.

Everything in God’s creation was very good.  All of creation was in harmony.  Harmony denotes a flowing togetherness that is continually in sync like a well-practiced choir.  Though the various members sing different notes, they mesh together to produce a beautiful melody.  If one person hits a wrong note, a trained hear will catch it. But what happens if everybody in the choir refuses to follow the sheet music and sings whatever note they want.  Harmony is gone and only noise and chaos persist.  It kind of sounds like our current world.

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, all of creation was in harmony.  Man and woman were in harmony with each other and themselves.  They were in harmony with the multitude of animals and creatures God had created as well as with the earth itself.

I believe you would agree that the harmony that once existed has been greatly distorted. 

Jesus taught us to consider others more highly than ourselves, along with many other teachings that would help us promote harmony. Even we who have received the seal of his Holy Spirit find it impossible to maintain harmony.  Jesus came because we are incapable of restoring harmony on our own.    Restoring harmony to all of creation can only be done by our creator.  He’s working on it.  Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished the most important step. He opened the door for us to be in harmony with our God.

Jesus is coming again, and he will restore harmony to all creation.  The Bible tells us that this will include the ushering in of a new heaven and earth.  God has made it so we can choose to be a part of this new harmonious world by confessing Jesus as Lord and receiving the forgiveness for which he gave his life.

I can’t even comprehend what this new harmonious world will be like, but I really want to be a part of it.

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WE REFLECT THE LIGHT THAT JESUS BROUGHT TO ALL MANKIND

(John 1:4&5) In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.  The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

(John 15:5) I am the vine you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

It dawned on me as I was contemplating these words from the book of John that God has placed for us, from the very beginning, an example of how the power of Jesus flows through us.  The sun, which provides us with light, is a ball of nuclear energy of amazing power and endurance.  The moon has no power of its own, but it reflects the light of the sun.  We only see the moon’s light when it is in position to reflect sun light.

Jesus is the all-powerful source of life, and he shines the light of life for all mankind.  We his disciples reflect his light, so that many will be able to know his light. Just like the moon, we don’t have the power of the light, but we can reflect that light.  Without him we are powerless; with him we can reflect the power of life.

The enemy would love for us to get caught up in imagining we have our own power.  It’s a trap of pridefulness, and we know that pride comes before a fall.  Trying to shine the light of life without maintaining our connection to Jesus, the source of power, will indeed results in a powerless display of pride and be useless in God’s kingdom.  That’s why Jesus said, “apart from me you can do nothing.”

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EASTER, CELEBRATING WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US

(Philippians 2:6-11)  Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used for his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

From the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, till the time when Jesus died and rose again, God’s plan of redemption was unfolding.  The plan, as far as I can understand it, was to bring about a population of living beings, created in his image, which would be recipients of his love and live forever in his presence.  These living beings are identified as the ones who have chosen to receive the redeeming actions of Jesus on the cross, and they have entered into the resurrected life he gained for them when he rose from the dead.  We are celebrating the climax of God’s plan this Easter weekend.

  On Good Friday, we bend our knees and mournfully weep as we acknowledge the suffering and death that Jesus experienced for us.  Who can comprehend what Jesus, God the Son, suffered when he took on the sins of the whole world?  What we can comprehend is our own sins for which he died.  In humble gratitude, we take time to remember what he went through for us.  He has given us freedom from our sins.  He died that we might live.

Then comes Easter Sunday, joy springs forth, and we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.  Death has been defeated, and eternal life is given to those who will put their trust in God and receive his offer of eternal life.  No other event on earth bears the weight of this day of celebration. 

As we celebrate God’s plan, we invite those around us to join in; for God’s plan is offered to all who will receive what he has prepared. 

There is a final act in his plan, but he’s waiting for you who have yet to come to him.  Don’t put it off.  The time is now.  Open your heart and seek him.  He promises that if you seek him with all your heart, you will find him.

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GOD IS FOR US

(Ephesians 1: 3-5) Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will.

Yesterday morning, I got up, got dressed, and drove to the Costco gas station which opens at 6:00am.  I’m trying to retire form the busy mindset of employment. So as soon as I got on the road, I reminded myself that I had no need to hurry. Even in retirement, I still have built into me the American need to rush, take the quickest route, and drive there as fast as I can.  I’ve found that listening to the Christian radio station distracts me from the “I’m in a hurry syndrome”.  On my short trip to get gas, I heard encouraging songs that reminded me of God’s love for me.  This caused me to remember the above Scripture from Ephesians that I had read the day before. 

It is interesting to note from this Scripture that God created the universe with us in mind.  Of all that seems important through the history of man, nothing compares to the purpose for which God created us.  He chose those of us who now love him before he began his creation. So that we, his adopted children, might live eternally as recipients of his fatherly love.

You may ask yourself, “What have I done to deserve such love?”  The answer is: you have accepted his redemptive gift through Jesus Christ his only begotten Son.  In humble repentance, you have received his offer of forgiveness and put yourself, along with billions of others, right in the center of his purpose for his creation.  Nothing else in all the universe compares to this truth.

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GOD’S CHILDREN

(Romans 8:17) The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

When we met, Bonnie and I realized that we both had in our hearts the calling to raise children who needed someone to step into their lives and stand in for their absent parents.  We trusted God to send those children to us when the time was right.  As they came to us, we welcomed them into our home and loved them as our own.  We taught them about God, cared for them as best we knew how, and tried to be a good example for each one that they might live a new life in Christ.

 When they left our home they went into the world and began to discover life on their own.  Through the ups and downs of life, most of them have chosen to walk with Jesus. The few who haven’t remain in our hopes and prayers.  Our hope is that all of them will choose to receive the God who loves them.

We are God’s children sealed by his Spirit.  Many of God’s created ones, now walk the earth and are in need of a family.  God’s desire is that they would all come to him and become his children.  Those who have yet to receive his offer need us to tell them of God’s desire to be their Father.  Our part then, is to love them, teach them about God’s love, care for their needs as best we can, and set an example of what it is like to be a child of God.

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THE NARROW WAY

(Matthew 7:14) But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I was standing on the trail watching the approaching hikers coming from the direction I planned to travel.  As they approached, I asked them how the trail looked back in the direction from which they’d come.  Each one looked weary and haggard, and most of them didn’t give me any useful information.  Finally, an older gentleman stopped and smiled at me.

“Are you looking for information?” He asked.

“Yes, I replied.  I’d like to know what’s ahead.”

 He invited me to sit down on a nearby rock.  Compared to the other travelers he looked surprisingly fresh.  We sat down, and he began to share his knowledge of the trail.

“I’ve traveled this way many times.  In the beginning, I just relied on my own abilities.  It was always grueling.  I made it through, but I always had some type of injury.  The difference came when I met a man who changed my way of thinking.  He actually changed my whole life.  He showed me a better way.  I was amazed when he showed me an alternate trail.  It seemed so obvious.  I was embarrassed that I’d missed it. The alternate trail was narrow, but it was much easier to traverse.  Every time I came to a fork in the trail, he was right there to direct me.”

He paused to see my reaction.  I must admit I was excited by the thought of an alternate trail.  The one I was traveling on seem to lead to nowhere.

“Would you like to meet this man?” He asked me.

“Yes! I would.  I’d like to discover this narrow way.  Where can I find him?”

The older gentleman smiled, “He’s right here; let me introduce him to you.”

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REVIVAL

Throughout the history of Christianity there have been times when the Holy Spirit has come in power among us, and multitudes of people have come to Jesus to be saves from their sins.  We call this move of the Spirit “revival”.  The first time the Holy Spirit came in this way was on the Day of Pentecost.  Thus, when we pray for revival, we seek to revive the events that happened on that day. 

(Acts 2:1-4) When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.  Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.  They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

This occurred in an upper room where the disciples and other believers were gathered together in prayer.  Acts 1:15 tells us there were about a hundred and twenty present.  As this miraculous event progressed, it flowed from the building to the street.  Many gathered to discover what was happening.  Peter stepped up and explained to the crowd that this is the Holy Spirit.  When he was finished explaining, about three thousand people gave their lives to Jesus.  The account in Acts goes on to explain that every day others were added to their number. 

Since this first manifestation of the Holy Spirit, God has caused these events to happen throughout the world.  The Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection has been spreading from that time in Jerusalem till now.  From time to time, God, in his perfect timing, has used these miraculous events to draw people to himself.

Each time there is a revival there is a powerful presence of the Holy Spirit, miracles happen, people speak in other tongues, and supernatural healings take place.  The presence of the Holy Spirit is so strong that people sometimes become overwhelmed.  Yet the most significant outcome is that multitudes receive salvation. 

The movie “Jesus Revolution” does a great job of showing what happens during a revival.  I recommend that you see this movie.  I was personally revived and encouraged as I watched how God comes in power for the redemption of his people.

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FORGIVENESS OF SIN (3)

(Colossians 1:19-22) For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (His Son), and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

Isn’t it interesting that God’s plan of redemption is for all things both in heaven and on earth?  The Old Testament (Isaiah chapter 11) talks about what it will be like when God’s plan is completed.  He says things like “the lion will lay down with the lamb” indicating that there will be peace for all of God’s creation. We get to experience some of what is to come when we receive the peace that Christ brings to us through salvation.

Through faith in God’s Son we have become holy in God’s sight.  We are without blemish and free from accusation before God.   Jesus made this possible.  God our Father never intended to be without us, and he has gone to great lengths to bring us back to himself.  The guilt that we lived with when we were lost in our sins has been paid for.  We are free!  Our sins have been forgiven.  Praise to Jesus our Lord and Savior.

The conclusion of God’s plan is still to come.  This will include a new heaven and a new earth without evil.  We will live in the full presence of God.  However, there is still time for those who don’t know God to take advantage of the redemption that Jesus provided for all mankind.  We, his children, are given the opportunity to share the good news of our redemption with those who are still lost in their sins.  Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (See Matthew 9:37&38)