“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God…”
The Bible is plain and simple about one thing: “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The Bible also declares that there is no one who can say that he or she is good in every sense of the word. Jesus even told the rich young man not to call Him good. If anyone could have been called “good” on this earth, Jesus could have been. I think that Jesus reprimanded the young man because He did not want anyone to use that word “good” loosely. We should all strive to be good people, but when we think that we have reached a satisfying level of goodness, we are only fooling ourselves. We can really become complacent in our “goodness.” So we all need to realize that we “have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” There are different ways that we try to excuse our sinful behavior, and that is what this article is about. There are what I will call “excusers.” These people know that what they do is wrong, but they excuse it on the basis of the reasons for their situations. Their common excuse is that their parents are to blame. If their parents had been better role models, they would not have given in to certain sins. Another excuse is that other people prodded them to do wrong. This reminds me of Adam and Eve after they sinned. When confronted with his sin Adam said “It was the woman’s fault. She gave me the fruit and I ate it.” Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent. What both of them said was true, Eve did give Adam the fruit, but she didn’t make him chew it and swallow it. The serpent did beguile Eve, but he did not pluck the fruit and put it in her mouth. They stood without excuse. There are other things that provoke excuses, but these two illustrate the point for us that we should not make excuses for our sins. There are what I will call the “deniers.” These people deny that there is such a thing as sin. Anything that we do is alright, because there is no God to Whom we will have to answer. There are some things that they see as wrong, like mistreating other people, but that is not called sin. To the “deniers” we don’t have to answer to a higher power for anything that we do. I guess that these are the people who say that anything goes as long as we don’t feel bad about it. Whole industries are built around that supposition. “Deniers” do not believe that the Bible has any authority in the lives of people and that we can just ignore it. There are what I will call “self-righteous sinners.” In the sense of living moral lives, these people are straight as an arrow. Their problem is that they have a shallow view of sin. They think because they don’t swear, lie, drink alcoholic beverages, smoke, chew, dip, etc. they are not sinners. There is one sin that these people overlook, and that is the sin of pride. The Bible does not go easy on pride. There are a lot of references to the sinfulness of pride, but I will use one to illustrate the point. Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” The elder brother in what we call the “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” is a good example. He took great pride in the fact that he had not wandered off into the “far country” as his brother had, but in his pride he could not rejoice in the fact that the younger son had come home. He refused to go to the party because his pride had been hurt. We who are involved in church really need to heed this lesson. Finally, there is what we will call “the truly repentant.” These people are truly sorry for their sins, and they seek the forgiveness of God regardless of the causes of their sins. They don’t make excuses, deny, or look down on other people, but they go to God for forgiveness and get forgiven for their sins. It is just a simple matter of forgetting our pride, confessing that we have sinned, and getting God’s forgiveness. Let this last person be characteristic of us. Bro. Joe
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“But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto Greeks foolishness; 24. But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.”
If people want to demean others when they disagree with them on an issue, they accuse them of some sort of phobia. ("Homophobia" or "Islamaphobia are examples.) I think that I have discovered a new phobia, which I will call "Christophobia" or "Jesusophobia." Have you noticed that people can talk about a generic god, or in our case God, and get by with it? One might even be able to mention allah without raising the ire of the politically correct. But when the name of Jesus is mentioned, all of "the bad place" breaks loose. How dare we mention that Name in polite society? Don't we know that when we talk about Jesus we are revealing that we are a bunch of "hicks from the sticks" who need to be reeducated? I am told that chaplains in the service can no longer pray in the name of Jesus. If they can't do that, then who(m) do they pray through? It is, after all, Jesus who is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. It is almost as if the name of Jesus will bring some sort of harm to the world, and that if His name is mentioned, some child might be misled and go down the path to whatever it is the name of Jesus is supposed to lead to. Along with "Christophobia" there is also "Crossophobia." A cross standing in a public place is a "no no." I mean atheists are really after getting crosses removed from any public place. It just makes me wonder what harm a cross in a public cemetery will cause for atheists? (It reminds me that a cross is used to stave off vampires. I'm just saying.) In passing, let us not forget "Bibleophobia." A Bible in a public school classroom will cause all kinds of bad things to happen. Then there is "Ten Commandmentsophobia." God forbid that the bedrock of Judeo-Christian law be allowed to be viewed in a public place. What is interesting to me is that those who call all of this unconstitutional could care less about the constitution in many other situations. (I'm just saying.) Let's try one more "phobia." What about "churchophobia"? Now I will admit that sometimes church services seem boring. This is because sometimes church services are boring. This is especially true if we are just meeting to say we met, or like one church leader told me a few years ago, "O.K. preacher let's get this started so we can get it over with." I've heard it said that "church is the same thing over and over again." Let me ask you a question: "Have you ever been to a baseball game?" Now, there is variety isn't it! If you will observe, it is the same thing over and over again. What about a football game? Same thing. These sports, and others, are not boring because people have a vested interest in them. (Don't miss the point here.) The fact is that church is boring to many people because they have made up their minds that it is. If they will sing the hymns or the praise songs, or whatever type songs your church sings, remembering that they are praising Jesus, they will not be bored. I don't know about you, but I find it hard to be bored when I am praising Jesus. I could go on and on about this, but I think I have written enough about "churchophobia." If you have one of these "phobias" my advice is - Get Over It! Bro. Joe (This is the first of three articles on John 14:6.)
“Jesus said unto (Thomas) I am the way, the truth and the life: no one comes to the Father but by me. What did Jesus mean when He said “I am the way”? He meant that He is the way out. Jesus is the way out of what? For one thing, He is the way out of the wilderness of sin. We need to be aware that sin is the human problem. It began with Adam and Eve, continues until today and will continue until Jesus brings an end to all of it. No one could overcome sin until Jesus offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. By His blood we are forgiven and cleansed from sin. I have also discovered that Jesus is the way out of emptiness. Many people are living empty lives today, and they do not know how to live a full life. They try everything that the world offers that they know about and still come up empty. This reminds me of Solomon in Ecclesiastes. He tried everything under the sun to find fulfillment in life and still came up empty. Jesus said: “I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.” A full, abundant life is possible through faith in Jesus. He meant that He is the way through. Jesus is the way through the troubles of life. What do people who do not know Jesus as Savior do when they confront the many troubles that life can bring on them? This is why many people try drugs, alcohol, sex and a number of other destructive things to at least forget their troubles. Many try to make it by being religious. Falling back on religion is like putting paint on a decaying building. There is a vast difference between practicing religion and putting faith in Jesus Christ. Christians can get through the troubles of life by trusting Jesus to get them through. Jesus gives us “Peace that passes understanding.” I have also found that Jesus is the way through grief. The loss of a loved one is one of the worst things that can happen to us. When my daddy died in 1969, the first thing I thought of when I had to confront the reality of his death was what Jesus said to Martha when her brother Lazarus died: “I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” Jesus led me through it. What do people do at times like these if they do not have a relationship with Jesus? He meant that He is the way in. He is the way into salvation. Jesus said: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.” Jesus is the only door to salvation. Jesus said: “No one comes to the Father except through me…” This is a hard fact for people to grasp today. In fact, if you say this in some company, they will tell you that you are a narrow-minded bigot. But all we have to go by here is what Jesus said. Either what He said is true, or the whole thing is untrue. One cannot have it both ways. Jesus is also the way into eternal life. This is the ultimate meaning of salvation. John wrote in John 5:11-13: “And this is the record that God hath given us eternal life; and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of Go; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” Jesus’ message is clear: We receive eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ. A lot more could be written on this subject, but what has been written should suffice to show you that Jesus is, indeed, the way. I hope that you know Jesus as the way for your life. If you do, I hope that you tell others about what Jesus has done for you. Bro. Joe “36. As it is written, For thy name’s sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.”
What is a victorious Christian? He or she is not the stereotype that is usually shown in the media. “The Church Lady” who was seen on Saturday Night Live for several years, and portrayed by Dana Cawvey, is the stereotype. She was a snotty, snooty, sniffling lady who obviously looked down her nose at anyone who did not share her version of the faith. Fortunately, Cawvey's “church lady” did not represent those who are living victoriously in Christ. I think that a victorious Christian is every bit as sure of his or her faith as Cawvey’s “church lady,” but without the self-righteous attitude. Victorious Christians are sure of their salvation. They believe what the New Testament says about Christ, that “He came to seek and to save that which was lost.” Further, that He died on the cross, arose from the tomb and ascended to the Father in order to achieve salvation for the lost. This is the basic Christian gospel, centered in the person of Jesus Christ and on the fact that He did what was needed to save us. I don’t know how the world defines a victorious Christian, but the Biblical definition is that one has put his or faith in Jesus Christ – period. Jesus is the means of salvation for everyone who claims to be a Christian. One is not saved because he or she is a Baptist, Methodist, Episcopalian, Church of God, Presbyterian or any other structure that represents Jesus on this earth. Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are “saved by grace through faith, not of works lest anyone should boast.” We come to God by faith in Jesus Christ – period. Not because we read the right literature or say just the right things. There are other aspects to this, but this suffices to show Who gives us the victory and makes us more than conquerors. Further, I think that the victorious Christian is one who has accepted the forgiveness of Christ and has followed suit by forgiving those that he or she needs to forgive. We cannot live victoriously for Christ if we are not willing to forgive others. What I mean by that is that we really have forgiven them, and do not hold secret hostility in our hearts. We forgive others, “even as God, for Christ’s sake has forgiven us.” My idea is that if God can forgive me, I certainly have to forgive others. This is not easy, but it is Christian. Another aspect of this is the fellowship that we have with fellow Christians. I don’t understand how one can be a victorious Christian and ignore the important element of Christian fellowship. We help each other better live the Christian life. I can understand why one would fall out with a particular church, but certainly not with the whole concept. If you are shunning fellowship with fellow Christians, you are crippling your own witness to the world. Jesus told His first disciples: “By this shall all people know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” This love reaches beyond the church into the world. A victorious Christian loves all people whether or not they agree with Him or her. I will just point out that Bible study and prayer are part of a victorious Christian’s life. This has been a weak attempt to help you see that the victorious Christian is not a sneering hypocrite, but is a loving follower of Jesus Christ. Actually, all of those who are really Christians, by faith in Christ, are victorious Christians. Place your faith in Jesus Christ, live that faith before the world and go out into the world and live victoriously. Bro. Joe “If we confess our sins (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I refer to this text a lot in preaching and writing because it hits at the very heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life, died a sacrificial death, rose from the grave and ascended to the Father for the purpose of forgiving us for our sins. There are a lot of other things that are involved in the Christian life, but forgiveness of sins is what gets us started, and what helps us to live victorious Christian lives. We can be forgiven for our sins by repentance and confession. After we are forgiven for our sins, we are expected to forgive others who sin against us. There is one other thing that we need to consider, and it is one that I have to work on in my own life, that is, that we forgive ourselves. I point out to others with whom I talk and to myself that if it is important to forgive everyone else, we should certainly forgive ourselves. Why would it be difficult for people to forgive themselves? It might be that this lack of self-forgiveness is because we expect better of ourselves than we have done. I can certainly say that this has been true of me in my own Christian experience. There have been many times that I have looked in my car mirror after inwardly fuming at another driver and said to myself: “You can do better than that.” Lack of self-forgiveness might come from a poor self image. I realize that we have taken “self image” today to a higher level than demanded of the Christian life, but we should certainly feel good enough about ourselves that we have a healthy self image. It might just be a matter of behaving ourselves better and we would have a better self image. (Just saying!) There are, no doubt, many other reasons why people would have a difficult time forgiving themselves, but what I have mentioned above should help. When we fail to forgive ourselves, we have not done anything about our guilt. The chances are good that those who cannot forgive themselves have genuinely asked for forgiveness, after which Jesus took the load of guilt away, but they hung onto it. It’s like we are carrying a load of iron on our backs and Jesus comes along and says “I will carry that load for you.” We might thank Him for the offer, but just trudge on with the weight on our backs. That might seem to be a silly illustration, but it is no sillier than going to Jesus with our load of guilt, asking Him to take it, which He does, then we continue to walk on with the weight on our minds and hearts. It almost seems that some people think that carrying a load of guilt somehow makes them holy. That is just plain silly. It is our faith in Christ that makes us holy and guilt over forgiven sins has no part in making us holy. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He saves from sin and the guilt that sin brings into our lives. When we fail to forgive ourselves, we cannot live victorious Christian lives. This does not mean that we are not Christian, or any less Christian than other Christians. It just means that we can’t have the victory of forgiveness and maintain the defeat of unforgiveness and guilt in our lives. I know that Jesus just looks at the person still carrying the load of guilt and says, “But I have given you better than that.” I want you to think about what the apostle Paul had to overcome in his Christian experience. No one initially caused more harm to the cause of Christ than Paul, yet he accepted the forgiveness of Christ and went on to live victoriously for him. In Romans 7 Paul bemoaned the fact that he still had to deal with living the Christian life. But he concluded that by writing in Romans 7:24-25: “O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death? 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So when with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” He accepted his humanness, as we should, but knew that Jesus had forgiven Him and that Jesus was his hope. What is the point here? It is that if Christ has forgiven us, we can, and should, forgive ourselves. Bro. Joe “And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.”
You know the parable: A man enroute to Jericho from Jerusalem was beaten, robbed, and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest happened by, looked at the man, and “passed by on the other side.” Later, a Levite happened by, looked at the man, and “passed by on the other side.” Then what we call, “the Good Samaritan” happened by and stopped to help the man. The focus of this article will be on the priest and Levite, who both went to the other side of the road instead of helping the man. What does “the other side” represent to us? First, the other side is the easiest side. The priest and Levite saved a lot of time. Obviously, both of these men considered their time too valuable to spend it with a dying man. They also saved themselves a lot of bother. Not only would helping a dying man be time consuming, it would be bothersome as well – all of the blood, you know. They just did not want to be bothered. Sadly, the priest and Levite are still alive in spirit today. There are many church members who do not have time for people, nor do they want to be bothered with people. Other people’s problems can be so messy. Let us pray that we will not be the “priests or Levites.” Second, the other side is the most pleasant side. It is not pleasant to bind up wounds. Perhaps the Jewish religious leaders did not want to get their hands dirty or get blood on their clothes. After all, they would have been considered unclean. Most human problems are unpleasant. We have to minister to others in spite of it. It is also not pleasant to be a witness to suffering. It is easy to stay uninvolved in life’s suffering. We can tell ourselves that people are not really hurting or really hungry, etc. Priests and Levites are still among us, and it could be you or me if we are not careful. Third, the other side is the least expensive side. It cost the Samaritan to leave the other side: Luke 10:34-35: “And went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatever you spend more, when I come again, I will repay you.” But it also cost the priest and Levite to “pass by on the other side.” It did not cost them money, but it did cost them before God. Surely, God was not pleased that they chose to pass by the man. It also caused, or should have caused them to lose self-respect. I’m not asking you, or myself, to pick up every hitch-hiker that we see. I am asking us to be aware of human suffering and minister to those who are suffering. The cost of “the other side” will be higher than dealing with suffering humanity. Ask yourself: When you stand before God, would you prefer to be the Samaritan, or the priest and Levite? Do not live on the other side. Notice suffering and hurting people around you, have compassion on them and lend a helping hand. Take the time, bother, and money to be a “good Samaritan.” Jesus thinks that we should. Bro. Joe “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house (temple); his hands shall also finish it; and you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me unto you. 10. For who has despised the day of small things? For they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those seven; they are the eyes of the Lord, which run to and fro through the whole earth.”
Many of the Israelites were disappointed because the temple being rebuilt by Zerubbabel was not as large as Solomon’s temple. Zechariah wanted them to know that the size of the new temple was not important. The point is that small things are as important to God as large things. This includes people and churches. Let’s look at the importance of small things. It is true that small things are often of great importance. Evidently, scientists know this, because the microscope was invented to combat small germs that can cause great harm. Naturalists know this, because they know that great oak trees grow from small acorns. Do you remember what Jesus said about the tiny mustard seed? Firemen know this, because they know that large fires often are the result of a tiny spark. In the same way, small churches can do great things for the Lord. Individual Christians might seem inconsequential to the world, but we can accomplish great things for the Lord. After all, we serve a great God who can take small things and use them mightily. Do you remember David and Goliath? Do you remember that Jesus started His church with twelve men who were small in the eyes of the world? Do not consider yourself too small to serve our great God! Did you know that Jesus knew the value of small things? In Matthew 10:29-31, Jesus spoke of the tiny sparrow. If God looks out for small sparrows, surely He cares for us as well. At least Jesus thought so, for He said: “You are of more value than many sparrows.” In Mark 12:41-44, Jesus spoke of a widow who put only two mites into the treasury. This appeared to be a small gift, but Jesus didn’t think so. Here is what Jesus said about it: “Verily I say unto you that this poor widow has cast more in than all they which have cast into the treasury, for they all cast in out of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." In the fourth chapter of John, Jesus took a little meal of five small loaves of bread and two fish and fed 5,000 people. Small things become large things in the hand of Jesus, and that includes you and me. We need to know the value of small things. You might think that you are only one small, inconsequential person, but the Lord who valued the widow’s mite and five loaves and two fish, values your life, and your input, as well. You might think that your church is only a small church and not able to do great work for the Lord. Remember that the God of your church is as great as the God of the largest church in the world. The Jesus who fed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish is the Jesus of your church! You can do great things right where you are, if you will put yourself at His disposal. Do you get the point? As a small temple was not a detriment to God’s work among the Israelites, small people and small churches are not a detriment to His work. Small things are useless only when we are content to do small things!!!!! Bro. Joe “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” ESV
You have probably heard the saying: “If you don’t walk the walk, don’t talk the talk.” What that means is that our verbal witness will be no more powerful than the influence that we make on people by the way we live. I have come to the conclusion that the greatest way we witness to the world is by the way we live. That certainly does not preclude a verbal witness, as the text will tell us, but a verbal witness is void if it is not backed up with Christian living. In Colossians 4:5-6, Paul tells us how we can use our lives as witnesses. First, he admonished us to, “Walk in wisdom toward outsiders.” The “outsiders” that he mentioned are people who are not Christians and not part of the church. We should be careful how we live in front of the world. What does it mean to “walk in wisdom”? It means that we are to keep in mind at all times that we are Christians and the things that we say and do will make a difference in how people look at our faith. If our lives do not measure up, people will know it and they will turn away from us. A good example of this is how we behave toward people who wait on us in stores and restaurants. Do we act condescending toward them, or do we make ourselves unpleasant when they do not measure up to what we think they ought to be. If we are wise, we will remember how to act towards all people that we encounter. Of course, this will be much easier if we live it in private as well as in public. Second, he admonished us to, “Make the best use of the time.” Another translation of this is to make the best of our opportunities to witness to people. We need to learn to listen to the still small voice of God when He gives us opportunities to witness. We need to be aware of the Holy Spirit’s nudging when we are talking to people. The Holy Spirit will open the door of opportunity, but we have to listen to what He is saying to our hearts and minds. We are aware that everybody will not put their faith in Jesus, but we should also be aware that everybody needs Jesus. The world will certainly argue with us on that one, but we need to decide whether or not we are going to believe the world or the Bible. It is quite possible that the Holy Spirit led you to a particular person so that you could tell them about Jesus. You might ask, “What do I tell them?” Tell them what Jesus has done for you, how He changed your life and helped you to overcome your sins. It might be that He has delivered you from some disastrous addiction. That is part of your witness. Also, I have found that John 3:16 is the perfect verse to witness with when the opportunity arises. Third, he admonished us to be careful what we say to people, and how we say it: “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.” What is “gracious speech”? For one thing, it is speech that is not offensive. Offensive speech would be to talk to people like Job’s friends talked to him, seeming to judge them. This makes you look self-righteous. It can also mean to talk nicely to people and show an interest in their lives. Never leave the impression that you are “talking at” people in order to get them to make a decision that you want them to make. Trust the Holy Spirit and let Him do the convicting. Speech that is “seasoned with salt” is a little more difficult to interpret. I think that it means that we should speak to people as though we are glad that we have met them. Me being me, I think that it wouldn’t hurt to season our speech with a little humor. (But that’s the way I approach life.) You can interpret this for yourself, but I think that overall we need to remember that we need to be interesting when we speak to people. This will be true if we are interested in the people to whom we are speaking. Bro. Joe “Is not my word like a fire? Saith the Lord.”
This text was written in reference to false prophesies that were being uttered in Jeremiah’s day. The words of the false prophets were meaningless and bereft of power. The false prophets were merely saying what the people wanted them to say. Their words had no fire in them, whereas Jeremiah’s prophesies were like a fire. When the word of God is truly preached, it will be like a fire. John Wesley once told the preachers of his day that if they wanted to set the world on fire, they had to get on fire themselves and the people would come and watch them burn. This is still true today. Fire consumes everything in its path. I remember seeing a movie years ago that was warning against the danger of forest fires. A man threw a lighted cigarette out of his car window. The cigarette landed in dry leaves and began to burn. The fire did not go out until it had destroyed miles and miles of crops, houses, and anything else that was in its way. The fire of sin is like this. It needs to be replaced by the fire of God’s word. It is a beautiful thing to see the fire of God’s word cut loose in a church. It has a tendency to change people’s lives for the better. We need to set Bible fires loose in our homes, our churches, our schools, and our nation and watch it burn. This leads me to a second point on this matter. Fire also purifies. The fire of God’s word is not like the fire that burns up houses and crops. It is like a fire that purifies and cleans things up. When God’s fire sweeps through churches, homes, schools and communities, it does not destroy, but it builds up what needs to be built up and cleans up what needs to be cleaned. Let’s take for example a man whose whole life has been wasted on profligate living. Just use your imagination and you can picture what the sins of this man would be. One day a Christian witnesses to him, he sees the light, listens to the Holy Spirit and accepts Christ as Savior. He begins to take the word of God seriously, and the fire of that word begins to burn out all of the old dross and the person becomes a new man, or new woman. Without the fire of God’s word, this would not happen. The world is in dire need of the fire of God’s word today. To a lot of people, probably the majority of people, sin is no longer seen as sin. If over 50% of the people say that something is no longer sin, then it is no longer sin. I call this “morality by polls.” The Bible calls sin, sin and thus it will ever be. I want you to understand though that the Bible is not just hard on the more visible sins. It covers all sins. These would include false pride and self-righteousness. Jesus was the hardest on the Pharisees whose prevailing sin was self-righteousness. The fire of the word of God will help us to clean sin out of our lives. In order for a fire to take hold someone has to light it. This is why it is so important for God’s people to read, study, and digest the word of God. Are you starting a fire? Bro. Joe When King Uzziah died, Isaiah went into the temple and God gave Him a life-changing vision. He saw the seraphim, who declared the holiness of God. Then "the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke (God's glory)." Isaiah's moment of truth began at this point. It was a moment of realizaation and confession: "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." (Isaiah 6:5)
Because of this vision of the holiness of God, Isaiah realized that he was not what he should be, and that others were in the same boat. He then confessed his sin of "unclean lips." People will never come to that moment of realization of their imperfections, or to confession, until they have an encounter with God. That encounter will probably not be as profound as Isaiah's, but it needs to happen. This is what we hope for in our church services. We pray that people will have an encounter with God as we pray, sing, give and preach. It is wonderful when that happens. We also pray for this when we visit people in their homes and witness to them, or wherever we encounter them. The encounter next moved to forgiveness and cleansing. One of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal in his hand and laid it on his lips and said, "Lo, this has touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away and thy sin purged." This is what such an encounter is all about. It needs to take place in people who are not believers and it also needs to take place with people who are believers. We always stand in need of forgiveness and cleansing. The encounter next moved to Isaiah's positive response: "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me." The encounter turned into a challenge to serve God, as it always will. Maybe more people will go out and witness and minister when more people have a dynamic encounter with God. Let's pray for that to happen in our lives and in the lives of others. Bro. Joe |
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