Dear Friends -
There is great and blessed hope for any and all who CAN repent. To
be able to repent is a very rare ability in this terminal generation
that is without reproof. Can we repent? Can I repent? Can you
repent? Could we have our conscience so dead and seared that we
could think we do not need to repent? Those who compare themselves
with themselves are not wise. We would be wise to compare ourselves
to the Lord Jesus Christ. Then we might find the way to be able to
repent.
We should know that it is not only rare in this generation without
reproof, but it is really impossible to repent, without the Grace of
God. It is not within man, born sinners that we all are, to be able
to repent. As born sinners, we like to think we are good enough. We
like to think we are better than some other sinner. Brethren, it is
not the degree of sin, but rather, the FACT of sin, that is the
problem for all of us.
Repentance is the ability to change when confronted with the truth.
It is about getting to know the Truth. Yeshua, Jesus is the Truth
personified. There is only One True God and a world full of false
gods.The True God created heaven and earth. He loved us so much that
He suffered death of crucifixion on a Roman cross to pay a price for
you and me that we could not pay ourselves. No other love story
compares with it. No other love compares to God's love for us.
The gospel is so simple any child can understand it. Jesus Christ,
Yeshua THE Messiah, died for SINNERS, AND, AND, AND, He rose again
from the dead. That is the whole gospel. PERIOD.
I don't know anyone other than Yeshua who would die that kind of a
death in my place. I dare say you don't know anyone else who would
do that for you either. He is the WORTHY KING.
We have a rare opportunity as the result of the Mel Gibson movie.
REPENTANCE must be central to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,
or it is another gospel. However, we do have what may be an
unprecedented opportunity to communicate the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ, as a result of the success of that movie. However, we
need to be walking in REPENTANCE ourselves. We must be able to
communicate the ESSENTIAL FACT of the universal need to REPENT. We
must recognize that it was my own personal sin which was the cause
of that greatest injustice of history which Mel Gibson's movie was
supposed to illustrate. It was NOT the Jews, which caused that
injustice. It was my sin, and your sin, which was the cause. That
does not give us a reason, or excuse, to go on sinning, but rather,
it gives us the BEST reason, AND THE POWER, to Stop Sinning.
That which we believe is summarized in 4 simple foundational
principles upon which our understanding of the doctrine of Christ
stands:
1) God IS God. This simple statement is really quite profound. Too
simple, and too deep, too great of a profound reality for most to
handle - unless they can become as a child.
2) God can NOT Lie. (Only thing God can NOT do is lie. Satan, aka
Lucifer, is the liar and father of lies.
3) God does NOT Change. Jesus Christ was, IS, and always will be God
the Son, the second person of the Godhead, who now sits in a
glorified, resurrected body, at the right hand of God the Father, in
the third heaven, in the position of power and authority over ALL
other principalities, powers, thrones or dominions.
4) If God said it will happen, it will happen exactly as He said,
because of Who it is that said it. Makes no difference if I agree.
Makes no difference if I like it or not. Makes no difference if my
theology agrees or not. God IS God.
With the opportunity afforded by the movie it might be a good idea
for all of us to hear the simple and glorious gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. When is the Last time you heard the simple beauty and
glory of the Gospel? Has God ever seemed distant or unreachable?
Have you ever grown cold toward Him, quit praying and reading the
Bible, wanted your own way? This happens to many who do not fully
understand how to bring our soul into rest! It is sad how most never
understand what it means to be accepted in Yeshua Messiah - to rely
on His righteousness and not our own.
Yeshua said, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-
30). Messiah is telling us very plainly: "Don't attempt to take on a
walk with Me until you are at rest in your soul!"
Odds are today, that 99 of 100 who see the Mel Gibson movie, do not
have this rest - this wonderful confidence in what the Word of God
says Yeshua did for them. Without such understanding they remain
bound for hell, unsaved, and even if they would want to respond to
the Love of God, would not find His yoke easy or His burden to be
light. On the contrary, they will spend great effort striving in the
flesh to please God. They will go from hot to cold - living with
unnecessary guilt and shame! The Key Lies in Yeshua's Words: "Learn
of Me!" Yeshua is speaking here of the discipline of learning who He
is and what He accomplished on the Cross. He is saying, "You have to
have a knowledge of Who I AM, and what I have done for you. Then,
once your soul is at rest, you can take on My yoke. So, learn of
Me!"
Shalom & Simcha,
Jim Searcy
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End times:
http://www.geocities.com/mart1963/
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