See You There

Many churches in America today want to be powerful, relevant, and influential in personal and social transformation. A plethora of programs for outreach, discipleship, and spiritual disciplines are available at any bookstore and on countless websites. Yet what we need most is a renewed understanding of and commitment to the Great Commission. We assume that we already know the nature of this commission and the appropriate methods of carrying it out.

But Michael Horton contends that it too often becomes our mission instead of God's. At a time when churches are zealously engaged in creating mission statements and strategic plans, he argues that we must ask ourselves anew whether we are ambassadors, following the script we've been given, or building our own kingdoms with our own blueprint.

Mission at Calvary

The angel replied to her: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the holy One to be born will be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35 HCSB)

The tremendous revelation of Christianity is not the fatherhood of God, but the babyhood of God - God became the weakest thing in His own creation, and in flesh and blood He levered it back to where it was intended to be. No one helped Him; it was done absolutely by God manifest in human flesh. God has undertaken not only to repair the damage, but in Jesus Christ the human race is put in a better condition than when it was originally designed. It is necessary to understand these things if you are to be able to battle for your faith.

Adam is called the son of God. There is only one other "Son of God" in the Bible, and He is Jesus Christ. Yet we are called "sons of God," but how? In being reinstated through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

by Oswald Chambers

I have put My Spirit on Him.
(Isaiah 42:1)

For God sent Him, and He speaks God's words, since He gives the Spirit without measure.
(John 3:34)

Grace Helps

revealing the heart of Jesus with us today.

See You There!

"An astronomer discovered a new sun and planets recently in a far away galaxy. Hope to see you there!" This statement was sent to several people on my e-mail list and to my surprise, almost everyone hadn't envisioned the future "see you there" beyond this worldly existence. And yet, this is the "hope of glory" or more precisely: a message of faith, hope and charity on the eve of God's glory. This spectacular and delightful invitation, the Song of Songs, is the most beautiful love story. The good news is: Jesus has already paid the price of admission for you and me.

It is a privilege to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and encourage one-another with the good news of God's salvation. But as predicted in the Bible, this message is probably drowned out by the many voices or whispers of doubt, criticism or social activities. And therefore, any excuse to condemn or find fault with the elect of God's salvation is the rage. I would not assume this book "Heaven is Empty—Hell is Full" a top seller.

It was in the 1970s when I experienced a true outpouring and baptism of the Spirit, also known as the born-again experience. This was not some emotional hype, fetish or counterfeit spirit of empty promises. The wisdom, gifts and fruit of the Spirit were all Biblically sound and have stood the test of time. Jesus became more than a friend and begins a step-by-step process of washing away or changing the past with a new freedom and liberty in the Spirit of grace. This new experience begins a process of removing the graffiti from past hurts, doubts and questionable heresies, which were written on the walls of the soul. This cleansing process is a deep "wonder working power" and is a necessary step in the Christian experience.

The first steps of faith are similar to a natural or normal home environment whereby the child is always welcome on daddy's lap. "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere" (James 3:17 ESV). We are called into this loving relationship and are sure that He is pleased to see our happy face. And when we try to show daddy that we can walk or ride our bicycle with the training wheels, and stumble along the way - guess who's there to wipe those tears away.

During the early stage of our development or discipleship in the faith, we begin to learn that we are the King's kids and are invited into His royal presence. I mention this in admiration of His majesty when approaching the throne of grace through prayer. Just because we're the son or daughter of His holiness don't give us the right to run (metaphorically) onto daddy's lap during His sovereign administration of the kingdom. We are given the freedom to ask daddy for his advice and should be aware of the protocol and reverence when obtaining a royal decree. Sharing an appreciation and Bible knowledge of the Word in accordance with His good purpose goes along way in receiving an answer to prayer. I personally like the saying: "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!" on the invitation to enter into His holy presence.

On this note, it is for each and every one of us to work out our salvation through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the Bible and belonging to a community of faith. I believe that there is a time for absolute reverence in God's presence. An opportunity to say, sing or show our devotion and love through our personal and/or at the worship service. Also, the sharing of the gospel and our testimony of faith is the great commission for the world today. The great invitation is our acceptance and fellowship to behold and enjoy the presence of God and not to remain in the comfort zone of the outer court(ship). Therefore, let's keep our eyes on Jesus: the author and finisher of the faith.

by Glenn Morrison (11)