Evangelism

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PREDESTINED

(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.

Isn’t it amazing to think that, before the creation of the heavens and earth, God chose us to be his children.  It is impossible to comprehend how God knew us individually even before he began his creation.  Our God is incredible!  So here we are, walking in the wonder of salvation, filled with his Spirit, and basking in the hope of eternal life in his kingdom, because God predestined us to be his children.

Since God alone knows who is chosen, and we have no ability to know, we function in our daily lives knowing that God’s desire is that all would come to repentance.  The gospel is opened to all, only God knows the final outcome of who will enter his kingdom.

We can feel secure in our salvation and experience the great comfort of knowing our creator, without the burden of knowing who is chosen. Our part is to share the good news of salvation through Jesus and to pray for the unsaved.  The rest is in God’s hands, and in faith, we put our trust in God who knows all things.

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JESUS’ PRAYER FOR US

(John 17:20-26) “My prayer is not for them alone (the Disciples).  I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.  May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me.  I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one-I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity.  Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.  Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me before the creation of the world.  Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me.  I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

This is the prayer Jesus prayed for us just before He went to the cross.  I am thinking of the multitude of people over the centuries that have been included in Jesus’ prayer, and that we today are covered by His words spoken to the Father on our behalf.  Jesus asked that we might be incorporated into His relationship with His Father, and that our joining would be a catalyst for the world to know that the Father sent him. 

Jesus asks that we, those of us who believe in Him, would be brought to complete unity. Through this unity the people of the world would know that God sent Him, and that the world would recognize the love expressed in Jesus’ coming to the earth.

Jesus concludes his prayer by stating that He has made the Father known to us, and He will continue to do so.  Why? so that we would be included in the love that is shared between the Father and the Son.  And finally, Jesus asks that he would be in us.

As I contemplate Jesus’ words, I am humbled and overwhelmed.  The magnitude of the love expressed for us in Jesus’ words, leads me to recognize that I really have a very limited understanding of how inclusive into the God Head we are destined to become.  God’s love for us is beyond what I can comprehend.  Perhaps it is as simple as we are His children and in His family. However, it is a perfect family where there is complete unity and love, forever!  This is hard for me to comprehend, but it sounds amazing.

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OUR FUTURE

(Revelation 21:3&4) And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell among them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 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.”

(Revelation 22:1-5) Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great city.  On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month.  And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.  No longer will there be any curse.  The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.  And they will reign for ever and ever.

These passages from the last two chapters of Revelation describe some of the features of the New world and the new Jerusalem when God makes all things new.  The New Jerusalem is the city where those of us who have received God’s forgiveness of our sins through the Lamb of God, Jesus our Savior, will dwell. God will no longer be hidden from us; He will dwell among us.

We are so used to the old order of things; I find it hard to imagine what it will be like when there is no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  Sin will be gone, and there will be nothing to fear.  We will dwell in the peace of God eternally.

This is what God has promised us who remain faithful till the end.  No matter what we are currently facing, These promises are our future if we don’t lose heart.

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THE HEAVENS AND EARTH BELONG TO GOD

(Psalm 121 1&2) I lift up my eyes to the mountains – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, The maker of heaven and earth.

The Bible begins with the Words, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Now, if I don’t believe this, what good is the Bible to me?  The very premise of the Bible is that God created all that exists in the physical world, and therefore, creation is His.  I believe that the initial statement of the Bible is true, so I can trust that the rest of the Bible is true and trustworthy.

From the very beginning, we his created ones, have worked to deny God his right to his creation. We have created false gods and worked to eliminate God by saying that he doesn’t exist.  At the beginning, God walked with Adam and Eve in the garden He made for them.  Direct fellowship with mankind ended when they rebelled against Him.  God separated Himself, because He cannot tolerate the presence of sin.  The human rejection of God left us on our own.  We did not repent of our disobedience. Instead, we began to embrace evil by murdering, stealing, and lying to each other.

 However, God did not abandon us; Because of his great loves for us, He planned for our redemption:

 (1John 4:9&10) This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.

I believe that God created the heavens and the earth; it belongs to Him, and the Bible tells the true story of how He has dealt with His creation.  The sad part of the story is how utterly hard we have worked to destroy each other and His creation.  Considering how patient God has been with us, I believe he deserves our devotion to His plan for our redemption. We His children have the opportunity through our gratitude, praise, and worship to recognize God’s rightful place as our creator.

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THE CALL OF GOD

(Luke 13:34) Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.

Here in this lament over Jerusalem, Jesus expresses God’s desire to care for and protect His chosen people, but like so many of us, they refused the call of God.  You can almost hear the sadness in His voice as He recalls the many times, He desired to gather His children to Himself. 

Jesus was just days away from His death on the cross when he spoke these words of lament.  The Son of God was about to take on the sins of those who rejected Him.  We were about to be given the greatest gift that mankind would ever be offered, yet to this day many reject God’s call to repent and receive eternal life.

I have been teaching through the book of Revelations.  As I am coming to the end of the book, I read that those experiencing God’s final wrath against the sins of the world still refuse to repent.  Rather, they curse God clinging to their ungodly ways to the very end.

For those of us who have accepted God’s call to return to Him, we have the promise of eternal life with Him in a sinless and new heaven and earth.  Our sins are forgiven and covered by the blood that Jesus shed.  So, no matter what this world may throw at us, let’s stay close to our God.  In the end, it will all be rewarded if we keep the faith.  How foolish it is to reject the call of God!

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THE KEY TO ETERNAL GLORY RESTS IN FORGIVENESS

(Ephesians 4:31&32) Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Our fallen nature has the ability to produce bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, slander and malice.  These are all counter to what God desires for us his children.  He wants us to be kind, compassionate and forgiving.  This is perhaps the greatest challenge for a Christian.  We live in a world where there is little of what God wants and much of what our fallen nature generates.  The key to living a Godly life lies in our ability to forgive one another.

Jesus set the stage for us to forgive, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (see Romans 5:8) God made provision to forgive us through the sacrifice of his Son.  If God was willing to sacrifice his Son for our forgiveness, we should be able to forgive those who sin against us. 

Sometimes the sin against us seems impossible to forgive.  That’s when we need help from the one who knows the cost of forgiveness.  Jesus humbled himself, even to the humility of death on the cross.  If we are willing to set aside our pride, Jesus can patiently guide us through the process of forgiving.  As we work through the difficult challenge to forgive, we can rest assured that God will be pleased, and there is a blessing coming for those of us who are willing to surrender to God’s way.

(1Peter 3:8&9) Finally, All of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.  On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

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GOD HEARS OUR EVERY WORD

(Ezekiel 35:13) You boasted against me and spoke against me without restraint, and I heard it.

This was the word of the Lord given to Ezekiel to prophesy against the nation of Edom.  The Edomites were descendants of Esau, and they were the enemies of Israel for many centuries.  When Judah, the southern kingdom of divided Israel, fell to the Babylonians, the Edomites plotted to take over their land.  They boasted against the God of Israel and spoke against God himself.  God heard them!  And that led to their demise.

Isn’t it interesting to know that God hears what we say?  Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:36, “But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken.”  It is beyond our ability to comprehend how God can know every word that has been spoken – for all of time since the beginning and on to the end.  I am very glad that I have been given grace through Jesus Christ.  I hope you have received this great gift of God.

There are those who say that God doesn’t exist, and they use many other words that dismiss the existence of God.  They use his name in vain without restraint. I hope they repent before they come to the day of Judgement to avoid having Jesus speak to them the words he gave to Ezekiel for the Edomites.

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WE ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF ALL BELIEVERS 

(John 1:12) Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

John is telling us that as believers we have gained the right to be God’s children. Paul tells us in Romans 8:17 that we are heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. Collectively, all believers will inherit the Kingdom of God.  The inheritance is already ours to share with brothers and sisters through all eternity.  Okay, so we must die before we reap the full benefits but just think of all the amazing people that will be there to share the joy, peace and wonder of the Kingdom.

When we arrive in heaven, imagine who we might visit with.  Perhaps a visit with our brothers Noah, Abraham or Moses.  Maybe we could talk with our sisters Esther, Ruth or Mary.  These visits will go on for as long as we’d like, because time is not a factor in eternity.

 I’ve been reading in the book of Acts.  The people of the early church experienced some amazing moments with the Holy Spirit.  Won’t it be fascinating to meet these remarkable people. While reading in Acts and thinking of the ones who lived the stories, I had this revelation; though they lived two thousand years ago, they will be there in heaven when I arrive.

These thoughts helped me to recognize that we are full brothers and sisters.  Chosen by God from the beginning of creation to be his children.  The joy to be experienced in heaven is for all his children.  What an amazing future our Father has set before us.  Let there be in our hearts gratitude and great rejoicing at the fellowship we are destined to enjoy.

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A DEEP SENSE OF REVERENCE FOR GOD

(Acts 9:31 MSG) All over the country- Judea, Samaria, Galilee- the church grew.  They were permeated with a deep sense of reverence for God.

The title I’ve chosen for this post comes from the wording of this scripture verse from Acts chapter 9 as worded in The Message.  Eugene Peterson, the translator of The Message, coined some beautiful ways of expressing the scriptures.  I believe these words, “A deep sense of reverence for God,” give a more complete understanding of what it means to fear God.  They seem to incorporate love into fearing God.

It has been my experience that reverencing God happens over time.  As I have walked with God, I have increased in my love and respect for him.  He has blessed me in many ways, and he has been beside me through some pretty tough times.  To my amazement, the tough times have seemed minor.  The devastation that might have been was overcome by his faithful presence in my time of need.

Over the years, I have learned to trust God and rely on him.  I am growing into a deeper sense of reverence for him.

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COME AND GO

(Matthew 11:28-30) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Jesus gives us the greatest invitation we will ever receive when he says, “Come to me.”  When we come to him, we find rest, and as we commit ourselves to him, he gently teaches us a better way to live the life that he has given us.  He doesn’t lay heavy burdens on us, but be careful, there is a tendency for us to make it hard.

I remember those early days- shaking my fist at Jesus and saying that your burden is not light; it’s hard!  In my pride, I was trying to become a Christian on my own. It turns out that Jesus was patiently teaching me to trust him and learn from him.  As time went on, I found that his burden was light because he was always there beside me.

Like his disciples, Jesus teaches us his ways to live.  As we grow in our knowledge of him and his ways, we are then ready to share the Good News about him.  We are ready to go.

(Matthew 28:19&20) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

When we respond to Jesus’ invitation to come, he calls us to share with others the new life we have received.  We are called to go.  Where are we going?  I believe that we are going into the life The Father set before us.  Some are called to go to other countries, but most of us go to those who are a part of our daily encounters.  Whether we are called to other places or to share right where we are the call to go is for us.

We come and then we go.  We do not go alone, because Jesus has promised that till the very end he will go with us.  As we share and teach about Jesus, he will guide us.  Our receiving of Jesus’ invitation sets in motion an eternal partnership with him, and together we will share the good news with all nations.