| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net As advertised, Let's examine today what Jesus has been up to in His absence. Most professing Christians have adopted a "circle the wagons" mentality with regard to their Christian lives. We pray for some supernatural level of endurance so we can squeak through this sorry dysfunctional life, and get into the ultimate goal, the end game, the reward which is Heaven. If this is you, can I say in love, that you have missed it. If you are in fact a Christian. If you are Saved, then Christ is living His life through you. He is the head, we are the body. Why did he design it this way? I don't know. But here are some evidences. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. 2:20 Or: "that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith" - Eph. 3:17 Or "To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Col. 1:27 "So what you are saying is that The Son is glorified and at the right hand of God in heaven as we speak, but is living in us?" Clear as mud? Listen to Jesus as recorded in John 14:16-18. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." The Greek word rendered ANOTHER, has two meanings. One is -- "very similar", while the one used here is "Exactly the same". For them it was future, but for us it He is present. So what's the purpose? Is it so I can put up with diverse wrongs and bad inconsiderate cheating people till I go to heaven and they don't? No. Then Why? "To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." In other words, God chooses to do His work now, through His people. Heaven then isn't the goal, it's a byproduct. Fasten your pewbelts: God didn't save you to go to heaven. He saved you to do His work; To Bear Fruit --- "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing." "Herein is my Father glorified that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples." "Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away:" John 15:5, 8 and 1. Does this describe you? Do you have any desire whatsoever to bear fruit? To share Jesus with a lost and dying world? "For this cause came I into the world -- to seek and to save that which was lost" Jesus says, and "As the Father hath sent me, so send I you." We just can't get around it. Is this not the desire of your heart? It is His desire, and Phil. 2:13 says it is God - "working in us both to will and to do, according to His good purpose." He gives us His desires, then a Supernatural enabling to accomplish the task. Don't miss out on what God has for you. God Bless. |
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