Do You Love Surprises?
Some are pleasant - things like surprise parties, the unanticipated arrival of loved ones, or unexpected blessings in the midst of suffering. Other times, surprises catch us off guard and are not so pleasant - a sudden job loss or unexpected medical diagnosis.
Jesus prepared His people, through parables and instructions, to expect what most others would not anticipate - His return to earth as Judge.
Jesus came as a humble servant to die on the cross and bring deliverance from sin for all who believe in Him.
He promised that He will come a second time as The Judge of all the people of the earth and establish His Kingdom.
(the above taken from 'The Unexpected King' Matthew's account of Jesus, bsf lesson 25 Notes)
The first coming of Jesus was prophesied by the prophets of old. Yet people did not anticipate or understand Jesus' first mission to earth. Most still do not understand the truth although it is crystal clear in recorded history. Their eyes are blinded.
Jesus' second coming was announced by Him, by the prophets of old and also in the final book of the Bible. The specifics of what will happen in the final days before Jesus' second coming is spelt out clearly by Jesus Himself in Matthew Chapter 24 and in the book of Revelation, by the Risen Lord Jesus Himself, though the exact timing is not known. Yet the majority of humanity will still be blinded to the truth and be caught by surprise when He returns as the King and Judge of the entire human race. It is not going to be a pleasant surprise for the Christians who are not prepared and for those who do not believe till the end.
Jesus told Thomas in the Gospel of John 20:29,
'Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” '
This was after Jesus rose from the grave and appeared to His disciples in His resurrected body.
My dear fellow Christians
We who believe in Jesus are called to anticipate and prepare for His return.
Let us be prepared for His second coming and not be caught by an unpleasant surprise.
It is not enough to say that you have believed in Jesus, accepted Him as the Lord and Saviour of your life and just continue to live in sin and not repent and change. That means you are not sincere. No one who keeps sinning without any remorse and repentance has truly known or accepted Jesus.
Having said that, if you have truly repented of your sins and accepted Jesus, He will forgive you. Jesus forgives all who are repentant but He sends us forth with this command, "I forgive you. Go and don't sin anymore." Jesus does not say, "I forgive you because you have accepted Me. My blood has washed your sins away. So now, you are My righteousness and whatever sins you do from now on will not be counted because I have washed your sins away on the cross." No not at all! He said, "Go and Sin No More!" So my dear brother and sister, each one of us must walk in humble repentance and obedience to His Word every moment of our lives. The Holy Spirit Who dwells in you will convict you of your sins and help you to repent and walk humbly and in obedience to God's Word. He Who called you is faithful and He Himself will sanctify you.
Do read the Bible daily. It is our treasure map for righteous living. Let the Holy Spirit transform you into a humble and an obedient child of God. Be a good role model to all. Live a life pleasing to God. Then go and tell everyone the Good News.
If we truly love our family and friends:-
🔺 we will want no bad thing to happen to them.
🔺 we will not want them to live without knowing their Saviour.
🔺 we will want them to be in heaven with us and God for all Eternity.
🔺 we will tell them the Good News, that Jesus died and resurrected to save all who believe in Him, from Eternal Death and is waiting to give them Eternal Life, Life after physical death.
🔺 we will invite them to come and know Jesus.
We love our parents, our spouse, our siblings, our children and our friends. We do all we can to make them happy on earth. We are even willing to go through severe hardship to ensure that they are well protected and taken care of in this life which is short and fleeting.
We eat with them, we laugh with them and we enjoy pleasant times with them. Yet, when it comes to giving them a loving warning of what the enemy, Satan is planning for humanity, and telling them of their Eternal Security in Christ Jesus, fear grips us. What are we afraid of?
My dear brother in Christ, my dear sister in Christ,
📢 Will you be afraid to tell them about an oncoming truck which will hit them if they do not move in time?
📢 Will you be afraid to tell them of leaking gas in their kitchen, which if left unattended will blow up and burn their house down?
📢 Will you be afraid to tell them about the hidden deep sinkhole before them, that if they walk a little further the sinkhole will swallow them alive?
Then why are you afraid to tell them about Jesus Who died to save those who believe in Him from Eternal Hell Fire?
Are you afraid that they will :-
⁉🔸 ridicule you?
⁉🔸stop befriending you?
⁉🔸consider you mad?
⁉🔸 think that you are not respecting their beliefs?
Nevermind what they think. Believe me, on that day when they meet Jesus face to face, they will thank you for telling them the Good News. This is the command of Jesus to us, to tell everyone till the end of the world, the Good News of Jesus Christ. We are commanded to tell them and invite them to join in the celebration of Eternal Life with us.
I am not saying that you must force them to believe in Jesus. No, you must not do that. You must respect them and give them time to understand. Gently and lovingly tell them the Good News and about what Jesus has in store for them, when they believe in Him. Then it is up to them to choose. Tell them the Good News with a heart overflowing with love for them. Tell them that because Jesus loves them He has sent you to tell them the Good News.
If you have been offered unlimited access to a king's treasury where there is unlimited gold and have been asked to tell all your loved ones about it, that they can go and receive it free of charge, won't you go and tell this good news to everyone? If you keep silent and think only of yourself won't they consider you selfish when they come to know about it?
If you tell them that you have access to unlimited gold, then you must prove it to them by your rich lifestyle. If you are in torn and tattered clothes and have no food to eat and no house to live in, will they believe you?
Likewise you must live a humble life of obedience to God so that they will know that Jesus has transformed you and can transform them too. Your life must be a testimony of God's love, and a living reality of the promise of Jesus, to them.
When you are living a sinful life, gossiping, grumbling, taking things and credit which are not yours; a life of sexual promiscuity, alcoholism, slothfulness, ingratitude, hatred, bitterness, unforgiveness, arrogance, disrespect to authority, dishonouring parents, showing off to people your 'good deeds', doing good to receive praises from others, etc, how can you tell others that Jesus has transformed you? You are not allowing the Holy Spirit to sanctify you. You need to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to prune you and shape you. The process of sanctification is very painful.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV
Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. [24] He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
If you rebel at any point and refuse to let God sanctify you, then you would be disrespecting the Spirit of God Who dwells in you. If you keep pushing Him away and continue to sin and do not repent till your last breath, you will be grieving Him. Submit to him and allow Him to sanctify you.
Do take note of this, especially verse 29:-
God's Word says in Hebrews 10:26-29 ESV
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, [27] but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. [28] Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. [29] How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?
If you have been sanctified by the blood of Jesus, but have trampled underfoot the Son of God and profaned the blood of the covenant and outraged the Holy Spirit Who was gracious to you, by your deliberate sinning, then what do you think you deserve? Read the above verses again and ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand and help you repent and change. I am not judging you. I wish you heaven.
If you are like Simon the sorcerer who wanted the gift of the Holy Spirit which Peter and John had, but want to use it for your own gains and popularity, then do think hard about your salvation.
Acts 8:18-20 ESV
Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money, [19] saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." [20] But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
When you receive Jesus your heart will change. You will become a new person. You will repent because the Holy Spirit will convict you of your sins. You will submit to the Holy Spirit. You can be in church serving all your life, but if you do not deliberately repent, continue in your hidden sins and do not have the fruit of the Holy Spirit in your character, that is an evidence that you have not made Jesus your Lord and Saviour.
You can only be an effective witness of Jesus by living a sanctified life in Christ. How can an adulterer, a drunkard, a gambler and a self-centered, prideful person say, "Believe in Jesus, He will change you as He has transformed me and give you external life!" Is that not a mockery of Jesus? The evidence of your salvation is the ongoing maturity of the Fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness faithfulness and self control) in your character.
Please think carefully about this:- Jesus shed His blood as a living sacrifice for my sins and yours and rose victoriously to save us from Eternal Hell Fire. He has commanded us to, "Go And Tell Everyone!" about it, that those who believe in Him will receive Salvation at no cost.
This is The Great Commission of Jesus
Matthew 28:16-20 ESV
Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. [17] And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. [18] And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."
You may say, "Well I will just live a good reformed life and let people witness it and by my life they will come to know Jesus. "
I say, that is the easiest way to copout from telling people the Good News of Jesus Christ.
You don't just show kids how to solve mathematical questions by writing sums on the board. You need to explain to them the concepts. You need to open your mouth, use your vocal cords. The Holy Spirit will take over from there if you just obey. It is His work to convict them and bring them to accept Jesus, not yours. You are only commanded to "Go And Tell The World The Good News About Jesus!" ...And Jesus promised to be with you till the end of the age.
Please tell everyone about this. Pray! Ask the Holy Spirit for boldness to speak and to give you the right words. He will help you if you sincerely ask Him. After witnessing to them, pray for them day and night, until they believe or until your last breath, whichever is first. Do not force them. God will honour your humble and faithful obedience and open their minds and hearts to receive Jesus, in His time. Be patient but pray non stop for them.
Remember that by keeping silent and not telling others about Jesus, you and I are being selfish and that already is a sin of omission.
Jesus is coming back on the clouds with His angels and the whole world will see it and bow their knees before Him. Stay prepared always and get your loved ones to be prepared too.
If your are prepared always, and if you happen to breathe your last before the second coming of Jesus, at least you would be prepared like the 5 wise virgins and will not have an unpleasant surprise when you meet Him face to face.
My dear loved ones of other beliefs, this next portion is for you!
If you have not known Jesus personally I sincerely urge you to ask God Almighty to help you know and understand the truth. Ask for faith. Faith is a free gift from God. Do read the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke in the Bible. You can get it online. Ask a dear Christian friend or family member, who is walking faithfully with Jesus to tell you about Jesus. Be open to hear them explain.
You will not lose anything by hearing them out. Pray and ask God's Holy Spirit to reveal the Truth to you. The Truth will set you free.
You can speak to me and ask me about Jesus anytime. Do not be afraid. I will be only too pleased to explain to you. I will not force you. I will not love you any less if you do not believe or do not accept this free offer of Jesus my Lord and Saviour. In fact I will still continue to love you unconditionally and will pray for you till my final breath. I love you and want you to be with me and Jesus in heaven for all eternity.
You may ask, "Why can't I be just as I am and be good, do good and live a moral life. Won't I receive Eternal Life?"
My dear, only Jesus Who redeemed humanity from it's curse has the authority to give anyone Eternal Life. No one else has that authority.
In the Gospel of John 14:6 Jesus said "I Am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one can go to the Father except through Me!"
Jesus is the only begotten Son of God and is also called 'The Son of Man' in the Bible.
In the Gospel of Matthew 25:31-32 ESV Jesus said,
"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. [32] Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
This above is regarding His second coming as the Judge of the world. There are numerous verses in the Bible stating the fact that Jesus is definitely coming back to judge the nations, all people who are dead and alive, as the King of the earth, at the end. Only the time of His return is not known to us.
All prophesies that were predicted about a Saviour coming to save the world and the events that would lead to it have been fulfilled in Jesus. Now all the other prophesies foretelling His second coming and the events of this world happening just before it are being fulfilled one after the other, just as it has been predicted in the Bible. On that appointed day He will come suddenly, on the clouds with His angels as The King and The Judge to judge all humanity.
Jesus is not a conman, a madman or a liar. He has proven it by His death and victorious resurrection. You know what! Jesus is merciful and gives us grace. He has given the Spirit of God Himself, to those who believe in Him. God's Spirit Whom we call, the Holy Spirit, comes and resides in us when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Our sins are washed supernaturally by the blood of Jesus and The Holy Spirit Who lives in us helps us to live a holy and pleasing life to God. Without the Spirit of God helping us to live transformed lives, no one can live the way God wants us to live. We can't do it by our own strength because our human nature is to sin. Only by the Power and Strength of God's Holy Spirit we can be transformed fully.
I am a sinner who has been washed clean by the blood of Jesus. As I pursue my life's journey, at times in my human weakness I do things which hurt and displease God and my fellowmen. At those times the Holy Spirit Who lives in me convicts me of my sins and helps me to repent and change my behavior and character. Then He helps me not to do it again. He empowers me to walk in the righteousness of Christ Jesus. Without the Spirit of God Himself helping me, I will be an unrepentant sinner. I will be striving to be good on my own. Then, end up doing hidden sins repeatedly without repenting of them. Eventually I would end up in hell where there is 'weeping and gnashing of teeth' as stated in the Bible.
The Bible says, in Romans 3:23-24
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
My Life Journey
I was born in a 'Christian' family but I did not know Christ Jesus as I know Him now, until I was 21yrs of age. From the age of 21, God kept pursuing me a sinner and was slowly transforming me. It was a long and slow process because I was still too engaged in the things of the world. He was very patient with me and never let me go till I gave my life completely to Jesus. It was from the age of 45, I began to pursue Jesus seriously. Before that, I used to read the Bible, pray and teach my children the ways of God, but I was too pressurised by the daily work that pursuing Jesus totally was not my first priority. Only at the age of 45 I was truly born again. From the age of 21 through to 45, the Holy Spirit has been working in me, peeling off all that God dislikes in me, layer by layer. It is the sanctification process which the Spirit of God does in every believer. From the age of 45 the sanctificstion process became very intense. It is very painful most of the time, to let go of my own desires and obey God, but it is worth it. Am still being sanctified and I am loving it now. In Jesus, I receive abiding peace in tumultuous situations. For example, in times of failure, in times of great losses, in times of life threatening illnesses Jesus has always been with me, holding my hands and promising me that He will never leave me. Only Jesus can fill us with abiding peace in the midst of stormy situations. No one else can. I never look back or regret the day I made Jesus the Lord, Saviour and King of my life.
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Without the washing away of our sins by the blood of Jesus which was shed for all humanity, (not only the nation of Israel, not only Christians, but all people of all nations) , the Holy Spirit of God will not reside in the sinful human soul and make it His dwelling place because He is a Holy God. Without Him Who is the 'Promise of God' for all believers, we cannot enter heaven. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive Eternal Life with God here and now and for all eternity.
God is holy and hates sin. Every sin, big or small is looked upon as obnoxious filth by God. His wrath will be poured upon all who sin, small or big sins, alike and upon those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit. To attribute the work of God's Holy Spirit to Satan is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that, this sin of blasphemy against God's Spirit is unforgivable.
For someone who has received the knowledge of the truth, that is, the truth of Who Jesus is and what He can do, then rejects Jesus, this person does not receive the Holy Spirit. By not receiving the Holy Spirit he loses the 'security bond', to receive Eternal Life. He is rejecting the blood sacrifice of Jesus which is the very thing that washes our sins away. For he who tramples on the blood of Jesus, there is no salvation.
God is gracious. He will continue to send someone or some situation in your life to remove the veil from your eyes. Do not reject Jesus when you come to know the truth.
The blood sacrifice and victorious resurrection of Jesus saves us from God's wrath. But we must accept this free invitation of God through Jesus, receive God's Spirit within us and remain steadfastly obedient to Him. God will not interfere with our free will.
Without believing in Jesus and accepting Him we cannot receive the Holy Spirit. If we do not have Him in us we cannot enter heaven. That is why Jesus said that He is The Way. There is no other way to God except through Jesus.
(The explanation above and the picture below will help you understand what I am trying to tell you.)
I sincerely pray that God will lead you to read this entire article and do what needs to be done, in Jesus' precious name.
I pray that when your time comes to leave this earth and meet our Creator God, God of this Universe, Jesus Christ, be it at your physical death or at the second coming of Christ Jesus, you will have a pleasant surprise and not an unpleasant one.
With genuine love 💖
Praying ceaselessly for you,
Mary Augustine ✍
