UNITED BY JESUS CHRIST, THE BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD THE FATHER
By Lay Pastor Jusuf Wibisono
Lemah Putro, Sunday, June 28, 2020
Shalom,
We must believe that Jesus is present even in online church. The Lord blesses us with the peace and grace of Jesus Christ. Let us open our hearts to welcome Him to dwell and be united in us. But how do we do it? We must not let anything but Jesus Himself fill our hearts.
Because of sin, there is no one who can fix himself “for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Romans 11: 36). Thus, it’s all by His grace that we can serve Him in church and to receive Jesus in our life. That is why one must not boast for his wealth, intelligence and strength; instead, he must learn to be humble and plead to Him that He will purify his heart and fill it with the living water.
How was our situation before we knew Christ? Ephesians 2: 12-16 wrote, “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.”
Take heed, men were cast out from Paradise of God and separated themselves from peace and the Lord because of sin. However, because of His love, He sent His only begotten Son so that we, who were far away, may be brought near by the blood of Christ.
How can we receive Him? By humbly pleading in supplication to ask Him to dwell in us. We must not put the blame on Him if He seems not to help us immediately! On the contrary, let us behave like one of the criminals who was crucified beside Jesus; he humbly admitted that he deserved to be punished because of his wrong doing then pleaded with Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom as the King (Luke 23: 41-42). Amazingly, Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (v. 43). It shows that he became close to Jesus and would surely enter Paradise with Him. Stay alert, we must not ignore the grace of the Lord who gives us chances to be close to Him through His sacrifice.
What is the consequence of one’s confession? Proverbs 28: 13-14 stated, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsake them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”
Didn’t we become the enemy of God because of sin? However, if we confess our sins and forsake them, we will obtain His mercy. We will also be blessed if we show great reverence for Him by distancing ourselves from sins. The world is nowadays facing a catastrophe of COVID-19 pandemic causing many people to fall sick and die within hours. Let us not harden our hearts and indulge in sins for the wage of sin is death (Romans 6:23)! Come to Jesus who became Man to sacrifice Himself on the cross; confess all our mistakes, then He will definitely cleanse and purify our hearts with His blood.
Jesus came to the world to be close to men to fill their hearts with His living water (John 4: 10) and also with His very person as He is the Bread of Life (John 6: 48). Having all these, we will be enabled to meditate on His commandments day and night and the result is prosperity in whatever we do (Psalms 1: 2-3). It is far different from the ungodly who “shall not stand in the judgment” (vv. 4-6).
Why shall prosperity follow the righteous? Because he stays close to the word of God that he keeps in his heart and in all he does, so he is always united with Him. On the contrary, an empty heart is like a chaff which the wind drives away, collected to be burnt.
Truly, it’s such a blessing if we are showered with the living water that flows from the thone of God and of the Lamb. Our lives will become a tree that yields its fruit every month and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations (Revelations 22: 1-4).
Application: Nations nowadays are screaming for help; may what we do (the leaves) be a blessing to all of them – family, neighbors, friends, community.
Honestly, our life is like a broken and fragile vessel; that is why we need Him, His Word, His love and also the Holy Spirit so that our lives will always be well protected when we face struggles (2 Corinthians 4: 7-11). By treasuring the Word of God, our life will be like a priceless treasure that can endure all oppressive trials. We shall let the strength that we receive from Him be a blessing to others starting from the closest to us.
Furthermore, the Lord stated that if we persevere in obeying His command, He promises to protect us from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world (Revelation 3: 10-11). These days, nations all over the world are facing a horrifying situation regarding health, wealth and so forth. But, the Lord promises to give us strength, joy and protection to His people who faithfully await His word.
Do we yearn for the kingdom of God? How can we step into His kingdom? By living in righteousness (His word), and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14: 17-18).
We should be joyful because we, who once lived without hope and condemned, are united and saved by Jesus, the begotten Son of the Father in Heaven. He even promises to protect and strengthen us even when the world is swept away by a catastrophe if we faithfully wait for His second coming. Let us stand strong in obeying His word and live according to His word so that one day we may be reunited with Him in His kingdom eternally. Amen.
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