Easter and Christmas have been commercialised. One may think this is a bad thing, but flip the coin upside down, and see the positive side of it all. Even in those countries that choose not to celebrate Christmas, the people get into the spirit of celebrating because of the music the shops will be playing. Every family that buys a Christmas tree, that bakes a Christmas cake, that switches on Christmas lights, does so as part of celebrating the birth of the one and only Saviour of this world. They may not acknowledge him but they are celebrating his birth. All the shops that think they are taking advantage of Christmas, are actually helping with publicising Jesus Christ to everybody. Now the whole world knows about this day, and soon they will embrace the one to whom 25 December is dedicated.
This is Jesus, the Son of God, who made Christmas and Easter holidays to be on your calendar. The next time you get off work because of these public holidays, please honour the one who made it possible for you to stay at home on those days. Take time to apologise for all the years you went on holiday without appreciating the owner of those public holidays. After asking for forgiveness, take time to thank him for what he did for you to be off work on those days. However, if you choose not to acknowledge him or to honour him, please give up his days, and tell your employer that you would rather work because those days mean nothing to you. I know you will not do so though, actually you do not have to, and Jesus also does not mind you enjoying your time off work. However, he is hoping that while you are still in the land of the living, you will, one day, have a conversation with him.
Now, how did Jesus Christ come into being? After a lifetime journey with the Israelites (Jews), God had a plan to save his people from the wrong that Adam, the first man had done. His disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit caused death to come upon all of us. Also, the rebellious ways of the first family kept on resurfacing even in the second family, that is to say, all the way from the surviving family of Noah down to our own generation. As a Father to all of us, our Maker tried all possible methods to make us respect him and give him his rightful place in all our undertakings, but we failed him. He used heavy and severe methods on some generations especially the BC group, but his creation never changed in behaviour. The pilot project with Abraham’s descendants did not work according to plan because other nations did not envy the chosen family as explained in chapter 5. But God’s promise to Abraham did not fail, and we are all blessed through him because he was a faithful man until his death.
God sent many prophets to come and help his people, specifically the BC group, to teach them face to face how to walk faithfully before him, but only a few people would listen to them. I believe God’s heart was bleeding for his people all the time because he loved them and us so much. He then decided to send his only Son, Jesus Christ to bring salvation. The name Jesus (Joshua in Hebrew) means the Lord saves, and the word Christ or Messiah means the anointed one. I think God wanted to make it easy for his children to be accepted by him because the BC group had failed to follow the commandments that he gave through Moses at Mount Sinai. By sending his Son Jesus, he truly made life easy for us to be found clean or holy or righteous in his sight by covering us with the blood of his Son. Instead of learning and following the whole law of Moses, all we need to do now is to acknowledge and believe in Jesus as the Saviour of this world. Surely this is not difficult for anyone, educated or not, rich or poor, civilized or primitive, we can all believe with our hearts that this is the truth, Jesus is the Messiah.
John 3:16 explains to us clearly the new and simple requirement.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
I mentioned earlier the words God spoke through Ezekiel 22:30 where God searched for a man among us, to stand in the gap so that he would not destroy the land, but he found none. Noah’s goodness saved him and his family alone. Moses tried twice to stand in the gap but most of the times his temper went ahead of him until it destroyed him as well. Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land because of his temper (Deuteronomy 3:26). No one else among the sons of man was found to do the work God desired, that of standing in the gap until he took from himself, his Son and made him stand for us. Jesus was the only answer to God’s search, “I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30). Because God loved us so much he gave his son to be our cover – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
By agreeing to stay at home and not go to work during Easter and Christmas, you are, by default, accepting that truly something to do with Jesus happened on those days. Since you have been celebrating him on those days, all your life (for those born in Christian countries), the only thing left for you now is to confess that he is the Son of God and he is your Saviour. You do not have to pay any money to say that. You do not have to go into a church to acknowledge him as your personal Saviour. You do not have to pray seven times a day in order to be accepted. There is no simpler membership under the sun than the “membership of heaven,” if I can call it that.
John 3:17 takes away any doubt and self-judgments that we may have. No matter what you did, Jesus will not visit your past mistakes. The moment you call on him, that becomes a clean new birthday with no record of your wrongdoing.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17)
Then verse 18 of that same chapter explains to us the person who stands condemned, “Whoever believes in him (Jesus) is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18). Surely, who would want to lose his second life for just refusing to do a very simple thing like this? Try by all means not to be counted among those described in verse 19 of the same chapter, which says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). You are already celebrating Christmas and Easter, so take one more step, and you will completely meet the requirement of this new covenant with our Creator.
Who is Jesus Christ?
It should be noted however, that Jesus Christ does not only feature in the New Testament, as many people may have been taught in Sunday school when they were young. I want you to see him as a divine figure with multiple functions. His role in the New Testament was just another task among the many things he did for all creation from the beginning. From the first chapter of Genesis all the way to Revelation, Jesus was active. There was a day when I prayed and asked God to show me Jesus in the Old Testament, and what is written here is what I picked up, personally. You can also ask in prayer for the same, and God may show you even more than he revealed to me. The Son of God is referred to in the Bible by different names, depending on the function chosen for him at that time. In the beginning, he is the spoken word that created all things, as explained in the previous chapter. Therefore, we can refer to him in that role as the Word of God. Scripture references can be found in John 1:1-14 and Revelation 19:13.
Paul refers to Jesus as the wisdom and the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24). Jesus in the role of Wisdom was present with God when he created everything that we see today (Proverbs 8).
Whenever God spoke in the Old Testament, especially on the subject of saving his people, he mentioned three things, 1: his saving arm (Isaiah 59:16 and 63:5), 2: his righteous right hand (Exodus 15:6, Isaiah 41:10, Psalm 21:8), and 3: his power (Job 26:12, Jeremiah 10:12), and we know in the end who his saving arm is, namely Jesus Christ (Isaiah 53:1). Furthermore, Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:24 tells us that Jesus is the wisdom and the power of God. There are so many verses in the Old Testament which show us clearly that Jesus Christ existed before the beginning of time. That is why he kept on telling his disciples that he would go back to the Father where he came from. Because Jesus Christ was there, in the beginning, and right through to the end, he is called the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. He is also the first in your life because he wrote the book about your life long before you were formed in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:16). He will be standing at the end of your life waiting to acknowledge your name before the Father and his angels. “The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels” (Revelation 3:5).
Jesus as the Messenger of the New Covenant
Malachi 3 verse 1b refers to Jesus as the Messenger of the new covenant in whom we all delight. He is likened to a refiner and a launderer’s soap, because of his role in cleansing people of their sins. Verse three tells us how he will do it, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness” (Malachi 3:3). At the end of his assignment, we are told that he made us all kings and priests just as the Levites were (Revelation 1:6).
Why was Jesus not accepted by the Jews?
Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to save the world by his life. The kind of salvation that he brought was never understood by the Jews, God’s chosen people. They knew from previous prophecies that the Messiah was coming. However, they thought he was coming to save them from all manner of problems they were faced with. They thought his coming would be an impressive and majestic entry upon this planet. To their disappointment and disapproval, Jesus was born in a manger. They also thought he would live forever and when he was crucified, just like any other ordinary criminal, they scorned him. When all their expectations were thwarted, they rejected him as their saviour and killed him. Little did they know that the role they played in crucifying him was part of the plan. He had to die on the cross where he would carry everybody’s sins, diseases and poverty. They only realized that the Christ had to die that way after they had killed him.
Jesus Christ and the current generation
It was not only the chosen family that did not understand the salvation brought by Jesus. The same goes for this generation too. Many people today have no clue who Jesus is, and why they should believe in him. They think that if they have shelter, clothing, food and health facilities, they don’t need Jesus. All this is happening because the desire of man for a saviour is based on what they see in films, in action movies, but this is not the case. Jesus Christ is a different type of hero. There is more to him than the food and drink on your table. There is more to him than clothing your naked body. There is more to him than healing your sickness. 1 John 5 explains beautifully about the relationship between God and us through his Son Jesus. May you please make an effort to read it. Know for sure though, that your life does not end by the absence of oxygen in your body. There is a new life that starts the moment your lungs cease to take in oxygen, that is, the moment you die the first death. On that day, you will cry out to Jesus and say to him, “Save me Lord, for I am being tormented!” This will be because the truth of the whole subject of salvation will have dawned on you.
I perceive Jesus saying this to you, “I asked my maid-servant to simplify my work for you, so that you could understand, but you still rejected my kingdom. On this side of heaven there is nothing I can do for you now, but if you were still on the earth, I could help you. Where you are going now is the place you chose for yourself when you were still on earth – hell is your chosen home. It hurts me to see you there, but I did all that a Saviour could do, and you rejected every option I presented to you. My maid-servant told you to talk to me and see if I would respond in a way that would reveal to you that, surely, there is power that cannot be explained working on your behalf, but you didn’t. Son/daughter, it’s too late, the second death is what you will go through”. This is the salvation our hero, Jesus Christ gives us. He gives us love, rest and peace here on earth and also in our second life. Know today, that there is a first life and a second life. There is also a first death and a second death. Nevertheless, in this new covenant with our Maker there are no prohibitions or burdens that come with accepting Jesus as your Saviour, apart from continued observation of the law of your government and a few additional one like living and walking by the Spirit (Galatians 5.22-26).
Let us recap the various methods that God used in order that his creation would obey him. Before the flood, angels and human beings could see each other. This was God’s power, visible to give the confidence of protection to his people, but people misbehaved, and all humans and animals were destroyed in the flood. The next strategy was to choose one family as a pilot project and this family was to hallow God among the pagans and honour him for all the miracles and signs that he performed on their behalf. As a result, the other nations were meant to envy them and convert to their God, but that did not work either. Throughout the world people are worshipping man-made gods to this day. Prophets were sent to teach and lead people, but still that did not solve the problem God faced, that of human disobedience. God demonstrated his power in signs, wonders and miracles through all generations, but that did not produce a love for God among the people. The one and only option that was left for God was to solve Ezekiel 22:30. The final strategy was to give every man the Spirit of God (Joel 2:28), to teach him directly without the need of a prophet, that is why Jesus Christ came (John 3:16). The Holy Spirit could only be sent to us after Jesus had departed from the earth (John 16:7). Now, no one has an excuse not to know God for he is in every person. The distance between God and you is just a few words – “God I believe you exist” and that is the starting point.
Jesus Christ taught everyone what God required of them in this life, and how they should live once he had departed from them. He gave commandments for them to adhere to and said that those who loved him would follow his commands (John 14:21). As I have mentioned before, these commandments are not burdensome at all, they are just the same as the state laws which you are currently respecting, that is, if you are currently living in a Christian country. For those in other countries it is my hope that with the grace of God, truth will dawn on the leadership and they will embrace the one and only Saviour of this world, Jesus Christ and turn their countries into Christian communities as well.
Jesus promised that his Father and himself would come and make a home inside the person who obeys his commandments (John 14:23). The gospel of John, one of Jesus’ apostles, repeats again and again that we should love Jesus and if we do, then we can have anything that we desire or anything that we want (John 14:13-14). I think we all know that with every organisation you join, there are benefits for members. In being a member of Jesus’ kingdom, we are promised to enjoy favours and divine interventions time and time again. “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). An example of a miracle which members of Jesus’ kingdom received is recorded in John 11.
There was a man called Lazarus who had died, and Jesus raised him up to life. Oh, what a sign, what a wonder, that the people of that time witnessed! The sickness and death of Lazarus occurred while Jesus and his disciples were far from Lazarus’ home, but Jesus announced each stage of Lazarus’ sickness and the death to his disciples before they reached his town of Bethany. In verse 4 Jesus told his disciples that the sickness would not end in death, but it would be for the glory of God. By that statement of Jesus, we can quickly learn that God the Father sometimes loves to demonstrate his power in glory to his creation. God allowed Lazarus to die so that Jesus could raise him up and show the people his power and his glory.
When they reached Bethany, and met Martha and Mary, Lazarus’ sisters, they were taken to the tomb and Jesus said to Martha, “Did I not tell you that if you believe you would see God’s glory?” (John 11:40). By this statement Jesus taught us as well as Martha to believe in God’s power to do the impossible for us. Jesus prayed to God and thereafter he called Lazarus to come out of the tomb, and he did. As we seek to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord we should focus on everything that Jesus did and everything that Jesus said, for he is the one who is referred to in the verse on the basis of which this book is written, Isaiah 11:9.
“They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord (Jesus) as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:9).
The knowledge we are seeking is knowing Jesus Christ fully. We need to know where he came from, why he came, what he taught, what he did, where he went, why he went there, and finally how he will come back to us. He is the one that has to be in the minds and hearts of everyone on earth. We should therefore pay attention to every word he said and draw up some lessons from them and apply the teaching to our own everyday lives. For example, in John 11:11 Jesus announced the death of Lazarus when they were still miles away from Lazarus’ home. There were no cell phones at that time, and even land lines were not there. How then did he know what had happened in Lazarus’ home? The Spirit of God had told him. Jesus could see and know things before they happened, and even us, his creation, can do the same if we walk in his shoes, doing what he used to do (John 14:12).
Our Lord and Saviour told us that in the new covenant, God the Father would look for those who worship him in spirit and in truth. For this reason, I believe that Jesus had to demonstrate to us what he meant by that. Jesus spent most of his time in solitary places praying to God. He deliberately chose to pray in solitary places and not in the church, chapel, or synagogue, in order to demonstrate what he meant by worshipping in spirit and in truth. The prayer that raised Lazarus from the dead was not made in church. He showed us that you can worship God anywhere, for he is not contained in certain types of buildings.
Therefore, you can pray in your own homes and develop a powerful relationship with God and his son Jesus and perform those miracles without going to church on a Sunday. I am aware that many people are too shy to walk into a church and worship with others, especially when they first believe in God. I am reaching out to you and telling you to worship Jesus in your own home, in your own way. I know that, Hebrews 10.25 reminds us not neglect the gathering together of the saints, however, as you may know, the current generation has its challenges, that is why I encourage home based gatherings first and then joining a local church when confidence has been built. You can dedicate one or two hours every Sunday and have a family service in your own house. Sing, praise, read the Bible and discuss what you think it means. Hold hands and pray as a family. You will see God move mightily on your behalf. Once you are comfortable, you can then join a local church, but this is surely not a requirement but a good thing to do.
Know this for sure that the biggest church is “you”. You as an individual are a church of Christ. Whatever Jesus declared to any of the people he interacted with on this planet, especially his disciples, he also included you and I in that declaration because we are his disciples too. We learn this from the verse below:
“And I tell you that you are Peter (say out your own name in place of Peter), and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18).
As you worship God in your homes, these miracles will follow you where you are, because our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ told us that we can do more than he did (John 14:12). I do not see anywhere in scripture where Jesus stated that NOT everyone can do what he did. All I know is that in John 14:14 he said that we can have anything we ask in his name and in John 15:7 he told us the same, that we can have anything we wish to have that will definitely include miracles of any kind. I know also that 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 tells us that we are all given different gifts by the Holy Spirit but I believe Jesus Christ has the power to honour his word in the book of John chapters 14 and 15.
In economics they talk about the poverty line, and here I would also stress the same point, that we should not live under “the miracle line”. When we refuse to believe, we leave this earth without a single testimony of a miracle. That demonstration of calling the dead was a teaching for us and them to pray for our dead relatives before burying them because God could raise them up for his own glory and for the glory of his Son. He taught them to raise the dead but they were so afraid to do it, just as we are also afraid to be labelled “insane” if we try it today, however, this fear comes from the devil. But his apostles did raise the dead when Jesus had gone back to heaven. The early church had so much faith unlike our generations. But those who will pray for their dead before they bury them, they will rejoice because God can give them back their dead (Matthew 10:8) We will discuss more on this topic in chapter 18. John 21:25 tells us that, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written”. However, when we seek him, he promises us that he will reveal himself to those that seek him with all their heart. Let us all seek him with all our heart, soul and strength. If we do not seek him, he will never show himself to us.
When Jesus rose from the dead after his crucifixion, he was not seen by everyone but by a few people that he chose. On one occasion, according to Paul, he was seen by 500 people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6) I think he was demonstrating his word in John 14:21 which says, “Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” After his death, he started showing himself to those who believed in him and to this day he is showing himself to those who call on his name in prayer. Do not be surprised to see Jesus walk into your house once you make him the Lord of your household. He might reveal himself through dreams or in visions. Jesus is faithful, and what he promised, he will surely do.
In Matthew 18:19-20 Jesus says, “Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven. For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.” To put this word into action, Jesus, again after his resurrection, he joined two people who were walking on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). The two people were talking about the death and resurrection of Jesus. The Lord joined in the conversation as if he was an ordinary member of that community and explained everything that they had difficulty in understanding. Now we know that what Jesus said would happen, he made sure that it did. The prophecy we have decided to pray for in Isaiah 11:9 will surely come to pass because the Word of God, Jesus Christ, does not lie, and there is no falsehood in him.
Concerning Jesus Christ’s second coming
Whenever there is calamity that affects the entire world, people are quick to say the world is about to end and Jesus is coming. Many events happened in centuries past which made people think that the world was ending, but normality returned, and they continued with their lives. Those events at least act as reminders that one day this world will end unexpectedly. Who, among us, would have thought that we could survive three months of lockdown? I went into our local town one of the Sundays, during lockdown and it was, unbelievably dead quiet. I said to myself, ‘this is how Sunday should be, it should never be business as usual because it is a day dedicated to God’. Think of it, during the period of lockdown, we survived without travelling, we survived without restaurants and yet no one starved because restaurants were closed. We actually discovered that we are better cooks and better bakers. The flour got finished from all the shops because everyone was baking at home. We survived without pubs and no one died of thirst or boredom. We survived without shopping, and yet no one walked around naked because clothing shops were closed for that long. We survived without sports, we survived without cinemas, we survived without parties, and the list goes on. This, in a way, was an end of the world drill, a rehearsal of what is to come. What we thought we could not do without, Covid-19 showed us clearly how insignificant these things are. The world is going to end, and Jesus Christ is coming back very soon (Revelation 22:12). Therefore, prepare yourself for his second return, for that day will surely come out of the blue.
As for me, I do believe in the end of the world as recorded in the Bible. I do believe in all the events that will lead to the big day called the ‘second coming of Jesus Christ’. I do believe every word spoken by Jesus Christ concerning that day. The words of Jesus about the day are found in Matthew 24:36-37, which says, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man”.
However, I do choose NOT to believe predictions made by human beings concerning the end of the world, be it from a Mathematician or from a prophet. Jesus said clearly, “Only God the Father knows the day”. All we know is that our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ wants us to treat this day with a sense of urgency for he is coming soon. It is a day that is closer just like a day called ‘today’. He can come today, or he can come tomorrow. We are called to be ready and be prepared for Jesus Christ as he can come any time.
I mentioned earlier why the Jews rejected Jesus. The expectations that they had about Christ’s coming differed from what actually happened, and they were, therefore, disappointed. History has a tendency of repeating itself as we have seen in the earlier chapters concerning the disobedience of God’s first, second and current family. What if we are also wrong in our understanding of scripture concerning Jesus Christ second coming just as the Jews were wrong in their interpretation of the earlier prophets’ visions concerning his first coming? What if there will not be any grand return that will be seen by all creation at once? What if the second coming has been happening as individuals die and meet Christ with his angels in the clouds where he takes them home to heaven (Matthew 16:27-28).
What if his second coming is the moment a sinner prays the salvation prayer and Jesus Christ appears and accepts the sinner’s declaration. That means all those who have received Christ as their personal Saviour, to them, Jesus has appeared the second time, not to bear sin like he did on the cross but to give salvation to those who are waiting for him, that is everybody in the land of the living who is looking forward to Jesus’ second coming. Just like prophetess Anna spoke to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:38), we in the land of the living today are also looking forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ to bring about salvation to all. My question here is this, will we be disappointed like the Jews if Jesus doesn’t come the way we believe him to come? Will it make a difference to what we are, in him? The truth of the matter is that it will not make any difference, as long as we are ready for him, that is what matters. How do we prepare ourselves for that day – someone may ask?
To help us prepare for that day, I propose the following strategy. We first look at where we are currently. Secondly, we look at where we want to be and then how to get there will be our strategy. At present you and I have no clue as to when Jesus will come (this is where we are currently). When he comes, you and I must be on the right standing with Jesus, because we want him to harvest us as his wheat (this is where we want to be). Next, we must treat his coming with urgency, according to his instructions (Revelation 22:7 and 12). Now our strategy is how to be on the right standing with Jesus and at the same time being ready for the day of his coming. There is a day that both of us have no argument about. It is a day that is given to all humans, whether we like it or not, the choice is not for anybody to make. This is the day that we will use to prepare ourselves for the second coming of Jesus in a manner that we show the urgency required and the preparedness on our part.
There is a day that is very similar to the description of Jesus in Matthew 24:36-37. Our Lord Jesus Christ said that not one person knows the day or the hour when the second coming will occur. Is this day not similar to the day you and I will depart from this earth in death? No one knows the day or the hour or the illness or calamity that will take him away. Nothing is known that pertains to that day. Even if the doctors tell you that you have three months to live, they will never pinpoint the day or the hour that you will be taken. All we know is that we have to be ready and be prepared at all times for we do not know the day or the hour when our eyes will close in death. If we choose not to prepare for that day we will die in our sin and be raised up for further destruction (second death). For this reason, I suggest that we use this day that we know definitely will come in our lifetime and prepare ourselves for the second coming of Jesus Christ. Therefore, whichever day comes first, the second coming of Jesus or the day of our death, in both days we will be found ready for him. Hence, every day that you are given, use it to draw water from the wells of salvation by reading God’s word, praying and doing good always. Using the day of our departure from the earth is a strong motivation for us to stay alert for the second coming of Jesus.
I want to draw your attention to the words in Hebrews 9:28 which says, “So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28). What if we say, Adam sinned and the entire human race was punished for his sin (Romans 5:12). Then Jesus was crucified, and the entire world was purged of Adam’s sin. This then becomes the work of Jesus Christ at his first coming, which we all know and are aware of. We had no part to play in the sin of Adam, but we were counted as offenders through Adam. In Jesus’ first coming there was no requirement on our part, our sins were lifted off without our being involved in any way. This includes even those who killed him that is why Jesus begged his Father to forgive them. Christ’s work on the cross is valid for us all, but effective only for those who choose to trust him as the second part of the verse explains.
Hebrews 9:28 then says, “…and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him”. That means you and I in the land of the living are the ones “who are waiting for him” therefore we have a choice to make. We can either accept his salvation whilst we are still here on earth or we can reject it. This is the salvation that ushers you and I into the second life, that is, after our first death. This is the call of this book, that every person under the sun may accept the salvation of Jesus, so that when each one of us is taken away from the land of the living, he or she will be received by the Lord Jesus himself or his angels. Remember, Jesus is the man that was sought by God our Father (John 3:16), to stand in the gap so that we are not destroyed for our disobedience and wicked conduct on earth (Ezekiel 22:30). He helps us to meet all the requirements of God which the first family failed to meet, and the BC group failed to meet as well. The only requirement for us the AD group is just to confess Jesus as the man standing in our gap. To think of it, to receive this salvation is a very small requirement, with just a “yes” to this salvation and yet someone chooses to be stubborn and simply refuse to say the words. It is my heart’s desire and prayer, that all creation will say “Yes, Lord Jesus Christ, you are my Saviour”.
Now that you know what you didn’t know before, be quick to accept your Saviour and do as the Ethiopian eunuch did in Acts 8:36. He did not allow anything to stand in his way to be baptized. Pray the prayer on the next page and receive your salvation today:
SALVATION PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ come into my heart and be the Lord of my life, and from today let everything pertaining to my life be ordered by you. I believe with all my heart, soul and strength that you are the Son of God who came to save the world. I believe that you died, and that God raised you from the dead. You are the Messiah, my bread that came from heaven, my spring of living water, welling up to eternal life. Today you sit at the right-hand side of God watching over me and praying for me that I may not go in the way of Cain, neither run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit nor perish in the rebellion of Korah (Jude1:11). Help me to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind. May your grace and favour abound more and more towards me as I honour the second most important commandment, that of loving my neighbour as myself. May my name never be deleted from the book of life, and may you confess my name before your Father and his angels (Revelation 3:5). I thank you, Lord, for all you have done for me and for everyone else on this planet. Amen
HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ, as I have received you as the master of my life, will you please baptise me with the Holy Spirit that you promised to send to everyone who believes in you. The Bible teaches me that, you will baptise me with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matthew 3:11). I position myself this day to receive that baptism. As you said to your disciples “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses”. I now receive power to witness to others. In your name I pray. Amen.
This is chapter 7 of the book “Would you like to be filled with the knowledge of the Lord” Click here to read the whole book.