Gospel
“Jesus said unto her, I am The Resurrection, and The Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” – John 11: 25, 26. BELIEVES YOU THIS?
That is the strongest statement that can be made. And it takes One Who can make it to do that. Only one Man can make that and make it good. And that is the strongest assurance in the entire world. And, again, it takes One Who can give it to do that. Only one Man can give it and make it good.
O that we can hear one by one the testimonies of the hundreds of millions or more who have genuinely believed over the millenniums (of course some day if we make it to Heaven – we pray we should – we shall hear the story of how they overcome, and they of how we overcome). And they will be the stories of how through Jesus Christ we all made it, and with every line of the stories telling of grace, grace, and grace; and gushing praise! But on this side of eternity, we must believe and live for the One Who is the reason for Heaven and everlasting life or eternity with God.
So eternally relevant John 11: 25, 26 must be said doubly while ears we still have to hear on this side of eternity: “Jesus said unto her, I am The Resurrection, and The Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?”
THE EVERLASTING ARM INVITES YOU!
‘Believes you this’, is still the question. Take it as an invitation today. For, John 11: 25, 26 is the Everlasting Arms (Deuteronomy 33: 27) of the Everlasting God (Genesis 17: 8; Psalm 41: 13) stretched forth.
Embraced, it leads us through the Everlasting Doors (Psalm 24: 7-9) to an Everlasting Foundation (Proverbs 10: 25) with Everlasting Hills (Genesis 49: 26) and Everlasting Mountains (Habakkuk 3: 6) and fills us inside-out with Everlasting Righteousness (Psalm 119: 142; Daniel 9: 24) and just as He bestows us with Everlasting Possession (Genesis 17: 8; 48: 4) and offers Everlasting Habitations (Luke 16: 9); and even as He keeps us by His Everlasting Strength (Isaiah 26: 4), equips us with tongues for Everlasting Testimonies (Psalm 119: 144).
Of course, He presides as the Everlasting King (Jeremiah 10: 10), leads in and through the Everlasting Way (Psalm 139: 24); having already enlisted all His Own into the Everlasting Priesthood (Exodus 40: 15; Numbers 25: 13) to seek His Face Forever (Psalms 105: 4), to accord Him Everlasting Honor and Power (1 Timothy 6: 16), to Worship Him Forever and Ever or to Worship Him at His Holy Hill, which Hill is Everlasting anyway (Revelation 7: 11-12; Psalm 99: 9; Genesis 49: 26), to Serve Him Day and Night (Revelation 7: 15), to Rejoice Evermore (1Thessalonians 5: 16); and of course with Him as the High Priest Forever (Hebrews 6: 20). That and more is what Everlasting Life and, or Everlasting Kingdom mean. All by the Grace of the Cross! Think about it!
It is an Arm that calls you and me into Everlasting Salvation (Isaiah 45: 17), Everlasting Light (Isaiah 60: 19-20), Everlasting Love (Jeremiah 31: 1), Everlasting Joy (Isaiah 35: 10; 51: 11) Everlasting Kindness (Isaiah 54: 8). Yes, that and more is what everlasting life means; that and more is what the everlasting kingdom is about. It is an Arm that calls you into Everlasting Life! This is an Everlasting Kingdom! All by the Grace of the Cross! Again, think about it. “But the saints of the Most High shall take the Kingdom, and possess the Kingdom FOREVER, EVEN FOREVER AND EVER” – Daniel 7: 18 (caps are mine). Think about it!
S. F. Bennett reminds us of the coming “Sweet By and By”:
1. There’s a land that is fairer than day
And by faith we can see it afar,
For the Father waits over the way
To prepare us a dwelling place there.
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore;
In the sweet by and by,
We shall meet on that beautiful shore.
2. We shall sing on that beautiful shore
The melodious songs of the blest;
And our spirits shall sorrow no more,
Not a sigh for the blessing of rest.
3. To our bountiful Father above
We will offer our tribute of praise,
For the glorious gift of His love
And the blessings that hallow our days.
I want to be there! And I want to be laying up my treasures there! I want my heart to be there! I want to join in that heavenly worship that mortal man cannot express or explain. I want to be there. And by the Grace of God I will be there! Let this be your earnest desire and prayer as well. But it starts from somewhere.
So, let us hear Him again and again: ‘‘I am The Resurrection, and The Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?” John 11: 25, 26 is eternity with God calling! This is the opener of the way that ushers all men into their everlasting home with God; and the wise enter in before the gate is shut against all scorners of Grace, disputers of the only Holy Writ in all the universe (the Holy Bible) and lovers of Satan (and sin, the world and hell).
Jesus also said “verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life” – John 6: 47. That is the Arm still stretched forth, stretched forth to all men and women who have not passed on yet. The refrain of a hymn of mine earlier visited in this book is just apropos here:
Emmanuel invites all today:
“Unto you, O men, I call.
And My Voice is to the sons of men”,
“Ho! Everyone that thirsts,
Come you to the waters”;
“Come unto Me all you that labor,
And are heavy laden,
And I will give you rest”.
And for its eternal instructiveness John 6: 47 must be said doubly too: “verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me hath everlasting life”. Verse 40 of John 6 (before it) reveals this as the Father’s Will.
THE FATHER’S WILL:
“And this is the Will of Him that sent Me, that every one which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day”. May you and I be ushered by this Truth through the Way into Life, even Eternal Life with the Great God, the Great Potentate and Father of the saints in light! This is the reason we write! Yes, this is “to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us acceptable in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” – Ephesians 1: 6-7.
It has been well said that GRACE is God’s Riches At Christ Expense. All it takes to save our souls, all that God intends for us now and to enter eternity with Him has been done and made available to us in Christ. ‘It is finished’, the Savior says.
The stretched forth Arm or invitation has also gone forth, given in Words divine. “Come unto Me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” – Matthew 11: 28. This speaks of rest for the Soul; rest from Satan, sin and damnation; rest now and eternally! The SAVIOUR CALLS FORTH: COME UNTO ME! Answering the invitation: This is the Soul’s Salvation; this is abundant life; this is life-divine; this is eternal life! The Master “calls you”! Blessed are those who hear; blessed are those who heed: For their souls are healed. And that by the washing of the Blood: The Blood of the Lamb of God, even the Man Jesus!
This is the Blood of cleansing that: Imparts Christ’s righteousness; qualifies as sons of God; secures eternity with the Father. This is the story of the Cross! This is the effect of the Blood! The Soul is its beneficiary. It is joy untold, joy unspeakable; Joy more than the soul and the saints can tell! Heaven is agog even much more, for as the Scripture puts it, ‘there is great joy in Heaven over one sinner that repents’. Remember, the Master calls you and me. It is a call to repentance. It is a call to prayer NOW! It is a call for forgiveness. It is a call for soul-cleansing. It is a call to be sons of God; a call to be heirs with Christ; a call to eternity with God! It is a glorious call! This is the Father’s will. But we must bring our will to Him, and submit it under His.
Indeed, God will not coerce free-moral beings that He has made us. God has given us a will. In fact, in Psalm 82: 6 it is written, “I have said, Ye are gods”. Jesus even referred to this when He said: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods” – John 10: 34.
We are gods. We have a will. We can decide to disobey God and to obey Satan or vice versa. Either way we are playing god, for the choice is ours. God can only counsel on how we use our will for He also said: “whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” – Revelation 22: 17. Whosoever will! May our wills agree with the Father’s Will Today!
To the Cross then we must go to settle our account with God now, that there is still time; now, that we have not taken our last breath; now, that the Trumpet of God has not sounded. Today, the Scriptures say, is the day of salvation; now is the accepted time. God guarantees no man the next second remember! At the Cross we settle with God in true repentance that leads to grace: the forgiveness of our sins, the cleansing and salvation of our souls, impartation of Christ righteousness within our hearts, adoption as sons of God, power to live an overcoming life and the Holy Spirit’s seal and cover to protect us till the coming of the Savior to take us to Himself into all eternity with God.
After achieving all that it will be highly advised you and I TREAT AND HANDLE THIS GIFT, THIS GREAT SALVATION, WITH THE CARE IT DESERVES AND, AS THE SCRIPTURES PUT IT, “WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING”; which means we must fear and trust God at each step of the way and be ready to need Him to help us to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” – Jude 3. This also is the Father’s will.
THE MYSTERY OF HIS WILL
As you expectedly settle with God today, it is certain that “God would make known” unto you “what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY” – (Colossians 1: 27, caps are mine). Christ in the soul is the mystery! It is all Divine and beyond man! The riches of the glory of this mystery are beyond what humanity can quantify and qualify. They are as eternal as eternity! Faith in the vicarious Sacrifice of the Savior of humanity is the key into both this mystery and the riches of this mystery. Faith is the key that unlocks and ushers you into this now, and keeps you there until you are finally ushered into their ever overflowing state in eternity.
And Ephesians 1: 9, 10 says: “having made known unto us the mystery of His Will according to His good pleasure which He has purposed in Himself: That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in Heaven and which are on Earth even in Him”. Then the fullness of the mystery shall begin to unfold without end forever. That is what Eternal Life and the Everlasting Kingdom is all about. This is the consummation of it all.
But the genesis of that mystery of His (i.e. the Father’s) Will was that His Only Begotten Son should DIE for you and me: for our iniquities so that we can become sons of God! This was both His Will and Good Pleasure. The death of the Seed (the Son) it is that can bring in seeds (sons) unto God. Now, when He comes to gather His seeds (Matthew 13: 30); when the sons of God shall be made manifest (Romans 8: 19); when He comes to make up His jewels (Malachi 3: 17) may you be there to be counted! May I be there to be numbered! This is the Father’s Will for us and it is His good pleasure! Let this be our portion in the dispensation of the fullness of times: When He gathers together in one all things in Christ, the Christ who loves us so much to go to the Cross to die for our sins.
But, if we elect to stay in our sins it must always be asked: “How shall we escape, if we neglect SO GREAT SALVATION” – Hebrews 2: 3, (caps are mine). To remain in sin when all that could be done for us to be free from it has been done is most unthinkable. To proceed to eternal doom with a priceless soul when we can now walk our way through the Cross of Jesus Christ to eternal bliss with our God is very frightening just as it beats all imagination.
If you have prayed to settle with God then LEARN TO TRUST HIM and in this regard Ephesians 13: 14 is very reassuring and instructive: “In whom ye also trusted after that ye heard the Word of Truth, the gospel of your salvation on whom also, after that ye believe, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise which is the earnest of our inheritance UNTIL THE REDEMPTION OF THE PURCHASED POSSESSION UNTO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY” (capital letters are mine).
The genesis of the mystery: “That God so love the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son” to die for our sins. The mystery itself: Christ in you the hope of glory. The present result of the mystery: partaking in the riches of His glory. The consummation of the mystery: “that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” with the attendant forever-blossoming of the riches of His glory world without end, being the redemption of the purchased possession, the sons of glory: TO THE PRAISE OF HIS GLORY! How wonderful is our God.
FAITH-PATH TO ETERNITY WITH GOD
Now, eternity with God is calling. Faith in Jesus Christ is the FIRST AND ONLY THING that OPENS eternity with God to us. By faith we become sons of God: for “as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name” – John 1: 12.
By it our names are written in Heaven: “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in Heaven” – Luke 10: 20. By it we have a place in Heaven: “In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you” – John 14: 2. By it we are now qualified to look for that City with eternal foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God – Hebrews 11: 10. By it we can see the open heavens and the Son of Man (at our death hour): “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God” – Acts 7: 55. And by it (by faith in Jesus Christ) we shall be received into that very eternal abode of His: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me … And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” – John 14: 1-3.
Indeed those who have faith in Christ (those who have been saved by His Grace based on His Work on Calvary’s Cross – WHERE THE SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD BLED AND DIED) can say with the WE group, “for we know that, if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens” – 2 Corinthians 5: 1. Faith in Jesus: How pleasant, great and rewarding! How indescribable!
Paul’s heart, thanks, prayers and vision of the saints – those with faith in Christ – that we see in Colossians 1: 3-5 is very revealing, instructive and soothing. “We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven…”
We take it in parts: “We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you”. ‘Why’: “Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you have to all the saints”. Ultimate ‘why’: “For the hope which is laid up for you in Heaven”.
Blessed are those who will go to the gate that opens to eternity with God, and bliss untold. And that gate is the Cross of Calvary where the Savior PAID IT ALL to redeem ALL who come for the soul’s salvation; for as it is written: “EXCEPT A MAN BE BORN AGAIN, HE CANNOT SEE THE KINGDOM OF GOD” – John 3: 3.
Igho writes from Warri
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