Was Jeremiah wrong when he said (Jeremiah 17:9) the human heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked? Sadly – NO! It wasn’t long in the beautiful new-born world in Eden until (Genesis 3:6) sin entered that world. It wasn’t long in the glorious new-born Church at Pentecost until (Acts 5:1-8) sin entered that church.
We can trace the ever-downward path of fallen mankind through all the centuries and we see it increasingly at every level in our present world. This has given us a history of illness, wars, plagues, famines, economic depressions and far-reaching distress. There was no hope in any segment or individual in humanity. In the west we have lived so long in relatively free times that we were shocked by COVID-19 but we shouldn’t have been. History should have taught us that trouble will come to a world (our world) which has largely turned away from God.
The Son of God irrevocably had the Church in His Plan and therefore He knew that He would have to become a MAN in order to be the (Romans 3:25, 1JN.2:2) Propitiation for sin. Jesus declared (Matthew 16:18) that He would build His Church but that would necessitate the Cross. So Satan decided to use Peter in an attempt to come between Jesus and His Cross. No Cross – no Church, no Church – no world-wide Gospel, no Gospel – no salvation for you and me.
On the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-5) God declared His delight in His beloved Son.
After His baptism (Matthew 3:16-17) the Holy Spirit descended upon Him and God the Father spoke from heaven to state His love for and pleasure in His dearly loved Son – Who was to be (Matthew 4:1-11) sorely tested and tried. Satan plans to try to stop this before it grows to global immensity and power. His proposition was - - forget the Cross, forget about building a Church – and – You can have the whole world and all its riches. How did Jesus respond to that?
He counted (Luke 14:28-35) the tremendous cost. He knew and we know that He had enough to finish – to purchase the Church, the (Matthew 13:46) pearl of great price. God so loved that He gave everything. Jesus is ALL God has to give and everything is in Him. God has nothing to give apart from Jesus. We know that He counted the cost but how do we know for sure that He had enough to completely finish? Because we have heard His victory shout from the Cross – the shout which has echoed across all the centuries and generations (John 19:30) “IT IS FINISHED!!!”.
Jesus alone is Victor over sin and death and hell. Because of His atoning death and triumphant resurrection, He will share His victory and eternal life with all who call upon Him in truth.
Do we even begin to grasp the immense cost and our tremendous privilege in being part of His church?
When Jesus speaks to or about His Church, He is talking about or to you and me. When Jesus ascended to heaven He had fulfilled His part of God’s Plan. But we must still carry out our part – our responsibility. Exactly what did He say to us? “As the Father sent Me – (John 20:21) – so I send you.” Are we fulfilling our part in telling – sharing – spreading the Gospel for the building of His Church?
Consider seriously:
Eternal Life is to share the very Life of God with all its incredible riches now and throughout never-ending eternity.
Eternal Death is to share the very fate of Satan throughout never-ending eternity. People who choose Hell and the Lake of Fire as their destiny, may think that Death is the cessation of all sense and feeling. They will find out to their horror that Death is living hell – the ongoing life of pain, torment, anguish, memory and never dying hopelessness. This is Eternal Death.
How unspeakably dreadful if anyone would point at us and say – no one cared (Psalms 142:4) for my soul. The harvest is past, the summer is ended and (Jeremiah 8:20) we are not saved.
We need to be in prayer and alert to the times and to God-ordained opportunities to share the Gospel. He who (Proverbs 11:30) winneth souls is wise.
Dr. John Neufeld “Thessalonica had the best harbour on the Agean Sea and all shipping came there and then the goods were transported overland to their respective destinations. This city supported Augustus and when he became Augustus Caesar he gave them many benefits, reduced taxes and allowed them the complete rule by their own city government. The city had many idols including a statue of Caesar declaring him king. When Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica and preached the gospel declaring that Jesus was the only Saviour and the true King – many people believed and discontinued their worship of Caesar. This caused fear that if Rome heard of people accepting another King, they would lose their status. Rome would increase their taxes and impose harsh rules. So a riot broke out, the lives of Paul and Silas were in danger and they had to leave the new believers after being there for only about a month. Paul was anxious about how they were doing because they were being persecuted. He sent Timothy to check and rejoiced to learn that they were continuing in faith, hope and love. - - - Like the Church in Thessalonica, we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, grow in holiness and live victoriously in distressing times”.Dr. Charles Stanley “We in the Church need to face our part in the unfinished Divine Task.” What can I do? What should I do? What is God telling me to do? What am I willing to do?
Based on something Dr.John Neufeld said: -
The Christian virus is highly contagious and spreads far and wide – crossing all boundaries. It completely ignores social distancing and is totally immune to persecution.
