April 2006
 The
purpose of the Monthly View is to affect
the way we see ourselves in light of God's
promises. Our faith is built on the reality
of the finished work of Jesus Christ on
Calvary's cross, His precious blood and
righteousness. Moreover, because of His
resurrection, we "...know in
ourselves that we have in heaven a better
and an enduring substance [reality].
1
The Reality of God's
Promises
The third Sunday of this
month is Easter, when the Body of Christ
celebrates the resurrection of our Savior
and Lord, which is spoken about in the
March
2005 View. But daily, we are to remind
ourselves that we died and were buried
with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ
was raised from the dead by the glorious
power of the Father, now we also may live
new lives. 2 We
are to consider ourselves dead to sin
and able to live for the glory of God
through Christ Jesus. 3
The reality of God's
promises is more than we can imagine.
You may not have read the January
2006 View on this subject [since a
mix-up occurred on getting it to the website].
The difference between imagination and
reality is very important. Christian Pastor
and writer A.W. Tozer wrote, "Imagination
is not faith, but projects unreal images
of the mind and seeks to attach reality
to them. Faith creates nothing; it simply
reckons upon that which is already there."
The solution to the rehabilitation
of prisoners is found in the reality of
God's promises. Jesus said you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you
free. 4 The Spirit
of the Lord was upon Him to set the captives
free. 5 Now the
Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is liberty. 6
The prison system needs liberation from
tactics that just don't work. In my recent
article on Prison
Reform, you will find suggestions
to restore this broken system.
The Reality of Heaven
Do you really "...know
in yourself that you have in heaven a
better and an enduring substance
[reality] " as the Scripture says?
The most important substance for every
man, woman and child is the reality of
heaven. No matter if you are a prisoner,
prison guard, warden, legislator or governor,
the question is: Have you come to the
place in your spiritual life, where you
can say for certain, that if you were
to die tonight, you would go to heaven?
The Holy Bible is God's
revelation of the reality of heaven on
Earth through our Lord Jesus Christ. Our
identity must be in line with the reality
of the Apostle John's vision of the holy
city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from
God out of heaven like a beautiful bride
prepared for her husband. He heard a loud
shout from the throne saying:
"Look, the
home of God is now among His people!
He will live with them, and they will
be His people. God Himself will be with
them. He will remove all of their sorrows,
and their will be no more death or sorrow
or crying or pain. for the old world
and its evils are gone forever."
7
Let me ask you one more
question: Say you were to die tonight
and stand before God, and He were to say
to you, "Why should I let you into
heaven?", what would you say? The
one sitting on the throne says to all
who are thirsty, I will give the springs
of the water of life without charge! All
who are victorious will inherit all the
promised blessings, and I will be their
God, and they will be my children. Have
you received the promised blessing?
The Reality of Salvation
Just recently, a man
named Dwayne came to Christ by responding
to those two questions. At first, he had
no idea how to respond, because he did
not know the reality of salvation available
to him. He was ignorant of the fact that
entry into heaven is a free gift and neither
earned nor deserved. God saved us by His
special favor when we believed, and we
can't take any credit for this; it is
a gift from God. 9
In the next ten minutes,
Dwayne realized that he was a sinner since
birth and could not save himself. God
saved us, not because of the good things
we did, but because of His mercy. He washed
away our sins and gave us a new life through
the Holy Spirit. He generously poured
out His Spirit upon us because of what
Jesus Christ, our Savior, did. He declared
us "not guilty" because of His
great kindness. Now we know that we will
inherit eternal life. 10
By this time, Dwayne
realized that God is merciful and does
not want to punish him. At the same time,
he was assured that God is just and will
surely punish the unrepentant sinner.
A big smile came upon Dwayne's face as
he realized that God loved him so much
that he put all of his punishment for
sin upon Jesus. For God made Christ, who
never sinned, to be the offering for our
sin, so that we could be made right with
God. 11 It was like
a light went on in Dwayne's heart. All
of a sudden, he realized the answer to
that most important question. It was by
trusting in Jesus Christ alone for his
salvation that God would let him into
heaven.
The Lord was drawing
Dwayne to Himself that day. He just used
me to be the messenger of the Good News.
It was such a privilege to watch the goodness
of God work in his heart as he turned
to God. He prayed with me, realizing that
God had forgiven him of all his sins past,
present and future 2000 years ago at the
cross. He confessed with his mouth that
Jesus is Lord and believed in his heart
that God raised Jesus from the dead to
give him salvation. 12
This man came alive with the Holy Spirit
right before my eyes. It was evident that
he was born again that very moment. He
became a new creation in Christ. 13
It was a time of rejoicing and celebration
for us both.
The Reality of Christ
It is commonly known
that Hebrews, Chapter 11, in the New Testament
Bible is the "faith chapter."
This chapter begins with the statement:
"Faith is the substance of things
hoped for and the evidence of things not
seen." 14 The
Nelson's Bible Commentary says
this verse is not a definition of faith,
but a description of what faith does.
Substance means "essence"
or "reality." Faith treats "things
hoped for" as reality. Evidence
means "proof" or "conviction."
Faith itself proves that what is unseen
is real, such as the believer's reward
at the return of Christ. 15
The faith chapter is
about men who walked with the reality
of the hope of heaven. They had a strong
conviction and the confident expectation
of what they could only see by faith:
heaven, the city of God. Abraham lived
in the land waiting for the future yet
unseen New Jerusalem. 16
All his children died without receiving
what God had promised them, but they saw
it all from a distance and welcomed the
promises of God. They were looking for
a better place, a heavenly homeland. That
is why God is not ashamed to be called
their God, for He had prepared a heavenly
city for them. 17
The book of Hebrews is
about Jesus Christ connecting us to the
Kingdom of heaven that He created in the
beginning. 18 As
believers, we belong to God and are bound
for heaven. 19 We
have a great High Priest who has gone
to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. So let
us cling to Him and never stop trusting
Him. 20 We are enlightened
and presently experiencing the good things
of heaven. 21 Our
souls are anchored in heaven to God's
inner sanctuary through Jesus Christ.
22 Our High Priest
sat down in the place of highest honor
in heaven, at God's right hand. 23
The Reality of the Blood
Shortly after receiving
Christ in 1975, the Lord taught me the
importance of the blood of Jesus. How
Christ entered that great and perfect
sanctuary in heaven, not made by human
hands like the sanctuary of old. Once,
for all time, He took blood into the Most
Holy Place in heaven, not the blood of
goats and calves. He took his own blood,
and with it He secured our salvation forever.
For Christ has entered into heaven itself
to appear now before God as our Advocate.
24
Now, we can boldly enter
heaven's Most Holy Place because of the
blood of Jesus. This is the new life-giving
way that Christ has opened up for us through
the sacred curtain, by means of His sacrificial
death. Since we have a great High Priest
who rules over God's people, let us go
right into the presence of God, with true
hearts fully trusting Him. For our evil
consciences have been sprinkle with Christ's
blood to make us clean. Let us hold tightly
to the hope we say we have without wavering,
for God can be trusted to keep His promises.
25
We have come to Mount
Zion, to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to thousands of
angels in joyful assembly. You have come
to the assembly of God's firstborn children,
whose names are written in heaven. You
have come to God Himself, who is the judge
of all people. And you have come to the
spirits of the redeemed in heaven who
have now been made perfect. You have come
to Jesus, the one who mediates the new
covenant between God and people, and to
the sprinkled blood, which graciously
forgives instead of crying out for vengeance
as the blood of Abel did. See to it that
you obey God, the one who is speaking
to you. For if the people of Israel did
not escape when they refused to listen
to Moses, the earthly messenger, how terrible
our danger if we reject the One who speaks
to us from heaven! 26
For a list of The Blood
of Jesus Christ Scriptures, click
here. (Gallery B - Study Chart 6)
A Prayer For You...
May the God of peace,
who brought again from the dead our Lord
Jesus, equip you with all you need for
doing His will. May He produce in you,
through the power of Jesus Christ, all
that is pleasing to Him. Jesus is the
great Shepherd of the sheep by an everlasting
covenant, signed with His blood. To Him
be glory forever and ever. Amen. 27
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