Friday 6 January 2017

The wonderfulness of Jesus.~ Rabqa



Under the divine inspiration, Isaiah foretold the birth & life of Jesus Christ Isa 9:6

For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

If the Gospels tell us anything they clearly reveal that the atmosphere Christ created was electric with all manner of possibilities.

There were no two days alike when the disciples walked with Jesus. He created excitement everywhere He went. He astounded His generation by His teachings & by His healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons & feeding the multitudes. They discovered the wonderfulness of Jesus.

The atmosphere that you & I live in, is because of the wonderfulness of Jesus, also has all manner of possibilities. The Word of God declares that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Phil 4:13). For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty.

The devil wants us to concentrate on how far we have fallen, rather than how far we have risen. Satan wants us to focus on the past instead of the future & on how far we still have to go rather than how far we have come. He wants us to think on how many times we fail instead of how many times we succeed.

 On the other hand God wants us to focus on our strengths & not our weaknesses, our victories & not our losses our Joys not our problems. God wants us to press forward & respond to His upward call & forget what lies behind us. Pay attention to what you focus on & magnify the works of the Lord. Do not believe the lies of the devil.

 When we realise the wonderfulness of Jesus we can stand on His Word & walk in His in Spirit, believe His joy, flow in His gifts, & grow in His fruits.

 God is amazing at night & astonishing in the morning. When you get up in the morning to pray, you can have a fresh astonishment of Jesus. Be thankful for another day to live for Jesus & show His wonderfulness to others. When you go to bed at night, you can lay your head down & have a new amazement that the life of God flowed through you & gave you power to kick the devils brains out.

This is the mark of the true disciple of Christ, is not just that one claims to be a Christian. You know the type they very seldom go to church, they just belong to one. they know about God, BUT they don't know Him.

 The true disciple of Christ has discovered how wonderful he really is. They can't wait to get up in the morning because all manner of possibilities await to share the wonderfulness of Jesus with someone else.

 It can be so easy to testify for Christ. First of all when we testify to others don't tell them about your affiliations, for instance don't tell them that you are a Catholic, a Baptist, a Methodist or an Assembly of God. Just tell them how wonderful Jesus really is.

You will discover when you show someone how wonderful Jesus really is, they will want to experience Him for themselves. You will never get anyone saved by asking them how they were baptised. By sharing the wonderfulness of Jesus will get results.

Are you allowing the wonderfulness of Jesus to work through you? Are your neighbours glad they live near you? Or do they wish you would move out because you are pushing religion down their throats, instead of simply showing them how wonderful Jesus really is.

If you are born again, people should see the wonderfulness of Jesus in you. It does not matter what state of the economy is or what the oil companies are doing. Man shall not live by oil alone or as the Bible says Man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matt 4:4).

The Greek word for "word" is rhema which is said or spoken, an utterance, in contrast to logos which is the expression of a thought, a message, a discourse. Logos is the message; rhema is the communication of the message. In reference to the Bible, logos is the Bible in it's entirety; rhema is a verse from the Bible. the meaning of rhema in distinction to logos is illustrated in Eph 6:17 where the reference is not to the Scriptures as a whole, but to that portion which the believer wields as a sword in a time of need. We learn from Matthew 4:1-11 that we should not be surprised when temptation comes. Satan
deliberately tried to tempt Jesus, & he tries to tempts us.

 How do you respond to temptation? Every time Jesus was tempted He responded with the Word of God. I cannot emphasise this enough: Be diligent to study God's Word, so that when temptation comes, you too will know what action to take in order to resist & overcome it.

Jesse Duplantis tells a story while he was out of town preaching he locked his key in the hotel room. He walked up to receptionist at the desk & told her which room he was staying in, & that he had locked his keys in the room. She asked him if he had his white slip, but no both the key & slip were in the room. Just at the right moment He heard the Holy Spirit saying that it was about time to share the wonderfulness of Jesus. He looked at the receptionist asking her if she went to church, she answered that she used to, Jesse replied that he could tell by the bored look on her face, that when people are not living for Jesus & out of church, their spirit is dried up like a prune. He went on to add that she left the church a few months ago because she listened to strife & it got into her heart & that she had attended a few other churches & found they had trouble.

He went on to tell her that she had lost her husband & that she was separated right now. She looked at him asking how he knew that. He said "The wonderfulness of Jesus. He loves you & died for you." She started to cry & a man walked in & said, "Are the prices that high at this hotel that you have to cry?" Jesse answered that question saying "No, but you need to meet Jesus Christ too."

 He could have ignored to hotel's receptionist need & asked for another key so he could get into his room. Instead he chose to seize the opportunity to share the wonderfulness of Jesus.

 Sin is a great disturber, the constant troubler of of the human heart. It casts down that which should be uppermost. Sin casts down your conscience, your reason, & your holy aspiration. But Christ secures the human soul to its right condition. He redresses, re-establishes, revolutionises, & makes all things new.

When you first get saved, Jesus redresses you & makes all things new. As you study the Word of God, you are re-established. When you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, with evidence of speaking in tongues, you become revolutionised. You refuse to allow the devil to destroy you because you realise that Jesus is in you.

You may know someone that has listened to the devil & walked away from God. You may be wondering how this can happen? SIN is a disturber. It messes up the conscience, reasoning & holy aspiration. God wants to redress them, to re-establish them, & revolutionise their life. I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Not only will He forgive sins, because of confession, but He will cleanse them. Why? Because He is wonderful. We can rule with Jesus with omnipotent power, yet with lamb like gentleness, He sent us to go forth to proclaim the Gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, & cast out demons Matthew 10:18.

His omnipotent power to do the works of Christ is available to every believer. However we are not to rule with a bulldozer but with the gentleness of a lamb. Psalm 8:4-6 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honour. You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority— I never heard God tell an angel, "Go into the world & preach the Gospel to every creature, heal the sick & cast out demons." He gave that honour & calling to His body, the apple of His eye, the redeemed of the Lord.

The cross to the disciples minds, meant total defeat. But the wonder of God shows us the biggest jewels are found in the darkest places. The disciples said, "It is over, it's finished. Let's go back to fishing. Jesus used to be Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace. But now He's dead."

But the brightest jewel of redemption was about to be discovered in the darkest place—the cross. The cross typified total defeat to the followers of Christ. He was hung between heaven & earth to die in a place called "Skull," the hill of Golgotha. He was totally rejected by society, by the 5,000 he fed, & the multitude that were healed & delivered.
Jesus' darkest moment began as the sins of the world were laid upon His back & His Father turned away from Him. In total desperation He cried "My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me? "(Matt 27:46) The Bible says But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
(Isa 53:10

How can God say that it was His plan to crush Him? Because the brightest jewel was about be reflected in the darkest place. Psalm 16 &22 say (paraphrased) The bulls of Bashan have encircled me...; You will not leave my body in hell? Nor will you let my body see corruption? Hell, paradise & the underworld began to crack & move as God the Father, declared that Jesus had paid the price for man's sin & raised His Son from the dead.

 Jesus put off principalities & powers by making an open show of them. The Father did not allow Jesus' body to see corruption. He walked out of that place & set the captives free. Jesus walked into Heaven with all the saints & boldly proclaimed that man had become the righteousness of God.

During Jesus' earthly walk they said of Him, The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!” (Mark 4:41) For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isa 9:6)

 Discover the wonderfulness of Jesus for yourself. Ask Him in to come into your heart & redress, re-establish & revolutionise your life. Only Jesus can smooth away the rough edges of your life until you sparkle like a jewel in the sun.

In 1971 Ray Tomlinson was experimenting ways with people & computers so they could interact. When He sent a message from his computer through a network to different unit in his office he had sent the first e-mail. Now decades later, more than a billion e-mails are sent every day. Many contain important news from loved ones & friends, but others may carry unwanted advertising or a destructive virus. A basic rule governing e-mail use is: "Don't open it unless you trust the sender."

God has sent us a message in the Person of His Son, & yes, we can trust the Sender. In the Old Testament, God spoke to His people through the prophets & sadly many rejected God's Word. But it was all leading to this: God who at various times spoke in times gone by to the fathers by the prophets, & has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also made the worlds. (Heb 1:1&2)

We may be awed by inexplicable mystery of Almighty God entering our world as a baby, yet remain hesitant to embrace Christ fully & place our lives in His hands. Christmas is the time the Church chose to celebrate Jesus' birth. I don't know why because there are many clues in the Bible that suggest this was not the time. The biggest clue of all is that sheep are never out on the hills or in paddocks during the winter months; they are looked after in barns.

So it is at this time when the unforgettable message of love, redemption & hope sent by God. Will you trust the Sender & open His message today?

Wesley wrote: Mild He lays His glory by, Born that man no more may die. Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.

God's timeless message of hope is waiting to be received. In the Czech Republic & other places, the Christmas celebrations include "Christingles." A Christingle is an orange, representing the world, with a candle placed in the top of it to symbolise Christ the light of the world. A red ribbon encircles the orange, symbolising the blood of Jesus. Four toothpicks with dried fruits placed through the ribbon into the side of the orange representing the fruits of the earth. This simple visual aid vividly represents the purpose behind Christ's coming to bring light into the darkness & to redeem a broken world by shedding His blood.

In John's account of Christ's life, the disciple describes Jesus as the light of the world. He wrote of Christ: That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. John 1:9 & in verse 29 he writes ...Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! Just think of it! The baby in Bethlehem became the living risen Lord who has rescued us from our sins. & John instructs us to walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. John1:7

 Our walk in the light is a test of fellowship with God, since the life of fellowship is a life continuously cleansed from sin by the blood of Jesus. It also involves our relationship with one another, which indicates that a walk in the light is lived accountably before both God & man.

Just before I close, let us remember, There were no two days alike when the disciples walked with Jesus. He created excitement everywhere He went. He astounded His generation by His teachings & by His healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons & feeding the multitudes. They discovered the wonderfulness of Jesus.


Acknowledgements Jesse Duplantis

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