John 3:14

The World's greatest intervention...

It’s getting harder and harder to ignore that the world we find ourselves living in today is getting worse and worse.  We are seeing a rapid increase in society’s disregard for rules, laws and basic common decency.  Too many of us are out for ourselves with little to no regard for others.  The Bible talks about these last days in accurate detail, just listen to some of the descriptions it gives and decide for yourself: 

1 Timothy Chapter 3 says “Don't be naive. There are difficult times ahead. As the end approaches, people are going to be self–absorbed, money–hungry, self–promoting, stuck–up, profane, contemptuous of parents, crude, coarse, dog–eat–dog, unbending, slanderers, impulsively wild, savage, cynical, treacherous, ruthless, bloated windbags, addicted to lust, and allergic to God.”  

Believe it or not this is describing the so called religious people in society!  And though many of these characteristics have been around for years, now through the internet and social media we get a more detailed expression of them on a daily bases.   People are like ships without a compass, everyone does and says whatever they feel is right in their own eyes as man tries his best to govern himself, yet this normally results in an abundance of new laws and rules which he then breaks and re-writes and so the cycle continues.  When we take time to look beyond ourselves as mankind, we have to admit that there is certainly someone greater than us who created the heavens and the earth, the stars and the universe, as well as set an order of times and seasons. 

If this is true, and I strongly believe it is just as the Bible declares it, then that same someone created you and I, and has a specific plan and purpose for all that is happening and is allowed to happen and that will happen.  In fact, man has not actually created anything new we have only taken what was already here and formed something that we call “new”.  God is the only One who has the ability to create something from nothing, the scripture says in Genesis that He spoke the very ground we stand on into existence (Genesis Chapter 1).  I say that to say that God is still very much in control of all that is going on, yet He in His wisdom allows man free choice and free will and as a result, there are many negative consequences that result from our own choices.  The moment God created beings with the ability to choose for themselves was the same moment that sin was allowed to exist because we chose other than God and continue to do so.  The problem is that we as a society then turn and blame God for our own choices, we give the only One who truly loves us and can help us the “stiff arm”!  The Bible says that there are none that are righteous none who truly seek after God on their own (Romans 3:23, Galatians 3:22), that we are all natural born sinners, yes we have a sinful nature which we inherited from our father Adam (Genesis Chapter 3). In fact we are all guilty of crucifying Jesus since he came to take away the sins of the world and we are all guilty of sinning (see Who killed Jesus).

The fact is, once we commit the first willful act of sin, we become guilty of breaking all the commandments, that's not to say anything of the sinful nature we are born with.  In other words, as much as we like to believe that man is basically good, the Bible clearly states that we are in fact born into sin, spiritually dead and are unable to fellowship with God (see Mark 10:18).  But God knew these things would happen and in His great foreknowledge, He put this great intervention plan into place before the foundation of the world and implemented it by sending His Son Jesus Christ to take our place, who being the very expressed image of God and who was God in the flesh was the only one qualified to be the acceptable sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. The scriptures say while we were still sinners and ignoring God, Jesus died on the cross for us (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19,20; Titus 3:4-6). 

The Bible talks about God’s great mercy in that He desires that none should perish, no one should have to go to hell, yet He never forces us to choose Him.  Many people think that where we spend eternity is predicated on how good or bad we are in this life.  The Bible speaks toward the key factor not being what we do since we can never be good enough or do enough good things to make ourselves right with God but rather the key is our association and union.  Our behavior does play a part, but our behavior is not the deciding factor but it is rather an indicator of our spiritual condition. And by our union, the question then becomes do you and I have a personal and growing intimate relationship with Jesus Christ?  Is He, in fact, the Lord of our lives, meaning that we no longer live for ourselves but live for Christ by keeping His commandments chief of which is to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves?  The fact remains that once we got ourselves into this sin problem by birth and by our choosing sin rather than God, we then need God to make us right with Himself. 

In the Old Testament, the Israelite's were required to offer up sacrifices to atone for their sins (this is also called penal substitution). It could be a sheep or a goat but it had to be without blemish or defect. When they followed what God required and offered it by faith, the innocent sacrifice would temporarily cleanse their guilty conscience before God.  This was routinely done whenever God’s commandments were broken by His people.  Today, the same principle is still in effect, now it is on a world-wide scale in that Jesus Christ became the once and for all ultimate sacrifice without blemish or defect (Hebrews 4:15; 9:28).  The Bible says in another place that there is no remission (or putting away of sin’s guilt) without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22).  So Jesus being God’s Son being born of a virgin by the Holy Spirit of God was perfect, meaning He was tempted like we are yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15), as He was fully God and man which made Him the perfect sacrifice, mediator, priest, example and Lord for us to follow.  

Jesus Christ is the revelation of God to man and in that revelation, we see how great God’s love is toward us and to what extent God would go to express His love for His creation.  God’s heart is on full display in the man Jesus Christ who is the very image of God.  So this is the good news that you may have heard about before but that I am speaking of now, that God has made a way for each of us by grace through faith to be saved from the coming judgment and even more, to know Him intimately which is what we were created for in the first place.  The amazing thing is that God knew that many would reject this offer of peace and salvation that He has made available through Jesus Christ and yet He did it anyway!

Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused has become the headstone of the corner.

This is the Lord 's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes (Luke 20:17)

So you see, this is the very weight of the case that God the Father has against those of His creation that reject such a great and costly salvation.  A salvation that cost the life of God’s very own Son who was and is the expressed image of the Father, remember Jesus said, the Father and I are One.  The fact remains if we reject the forgiveness in Jesus then we are without excuse.  Jesus said in John 14, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father but by Me.  No man can have a relationship with God unless he is forgiven and pardoned for his sins and trespasses first, and no man can be forgiven unless he has repented and placed is faith, hope, and trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ and has believed in His name (John 6:29). And no man can enter into heaven unless he is born again (John chapter 3).

We may not realize it but when we reject this message of love from God, this good news, we are in fact in agreement with crucifying Jesus anew.  If we allow His death for us to be in vain so we can remain in control of our lives then we are thumbing our noses at God.  And though He is long-suffering He will not ignore our sins forever.  The scripture says that He is holding off the final judgment of all souls in order that some would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  Yet the fact remains that every one of us will have to deal with God face to face at some point, whether through the way of the grave or being alive when Jesus Christ returns as the Bible says if the days of the earth were not shortened even the very elect would not make it.  

Jesus says many times throughout the scriptures that He is coming again, yet this time it will be to judge the inhabitants of the earth.  Again that judgment is going to based upon whether or not you and I knew Jesus Christ personally (see Matt 25:1-25).  Did we truly give up lordship of our lives and trust that our Heavenly Father knows what’s best for us?  You see a true relationship with God is based upon faith, trust, and love.  Faith in that we believe what He has told us through His Son Jesus Christ, Trust in that we choose to no longer lean to our own understanding but in all of our ways acknowledge Him.  Love in that we keep His command as Jesus said if you love Me you will keep my commandments (John 14:15, 15:10).

I didn’t plan for this to be this long but I wanted to make sure this message is clear, I believe we are in the last days as the Bible speaks of, there are too many signs to simply ignore or to chalk it up as coincidental. 

As for me personally, I am grateful that someone obeyed God and spoke to me about these things which are coming. This message was presented to me over 20 years ago, it cut me to the heart and by God’s grace I humbled myself (by God’s grace) and asked the Lord to forgive me and to come into my life and to be my Lord.  What happened next changed my life forever, He did forgive me and oh what a weight of sin it was that He took away!  I guess I had conditioned myself to carry it and to ignore it for so long that I didn’t realize how heavy and hindering it was.  Jesus replaced that weight and bondage to sin with His peace and joy and gave me a new heart that is willing to serve Him (Ezekiel 36:25-27).  This changed my entire outlook on life, I am not as short-sighted about this life as I have learned to see that there is more to life than "the here and the now" and there is more to my soul then just this life.  We are all spiritual beings and we have been created by God for a purpose, the purpose of bringing Him glory and honor, a purpose that I want to fulfill.  I still fall short many times for which I repent and ask the Lord to forgive me and He is faithful to do just that.  I will say that I am not content to continue to commit sin and ask for forgiveness because my relationship with the Lord is real and He is working in my life on a daily basis to make me more and more of what He created me to be, Christ-like.  My prayer is that you would look into these things deeper and see that they are true. You don’t have to just take my word for it, this is not just my opinion or simply something I grew up on, these things are all written in the Word of God.

Each person has their own choice to make whether to believe and accept this great gift of eternal life or to be indifferent and reject it.

If you don't know Christ personally I will continue to pray for you that the Lord will make Himself real to you.  

Romans 10:13 & 14 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they are sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!