We are gripped by the love of Christ – He hems us in and leaves us no escape. We enjoy newness of life through His death for us, we have no alternative but to live for Him who died for us and rose again. Our first loyalty is to Him, to seek to please Him, to live a life worthy of Him and to obey Him.
So may God fill us with His Spirit! Then, speaking the truth in love, we shall grow up into Christ who is the head of the Body, to the everlasting glory of God.
We see the gradual but irresistible power of God re-conquering and redeeming His fallen creation through the giving of His own Son at the very centre of the 4000-year period beginning in 2000 BC. This is tersely summed up —
The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8
There is a single ten-epoch 4,000 year unfolding story, the theme that links all ten epochs is the grace of God intervening ….
We know [for a fact] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] lies in the power of the evil one [opposing God and His precepts]. 1 John 5:19
… contesting an enemy who temporarily is …
among them the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4
… so that the nations will praise God’s name.
The Kingdom of God and the Mission of God
We cannot forget the possibility and the promise of revival, the refreshing of the latter days of the outpouring of the Spirit promised. That will happen right up to the advent of the Lord Jesus Christ. – Billy Graham, Lausanne Congress, 1974
The massive turning to Christ by people from the four corners of the earth will prepare the way for the coming of the King. Our Lord’s return may be waiting now on this spiritual revolution —
So wait patiently, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits [expectantly] for the precious harvest from the land, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. You too, be patient; strengthen your hearts [keep them energized and firmly committed to God], because the coming of the Lord is near. – James 5:7-8
The fact that our Lord has not already returned to establish His kingdom is evidence of His desire to see the Church perfected and the gospel presented to every person for whom He died. But we dare not presume upon His patience, though none of us can be so sure of our understanding of prophecy as to preclude His return at any moment.
As we anticipate the coming world revival, prayer is our greatest resource. Surely it is time. There is no other way to bring life to the Church and hope to the barren fields of the world.
As the first Great Awakening was sweeping America in 1748, Jonathan Edwards, responding to a proposal from church leaders in Scotland, published, A Humble Attempt to Promote Explicit Agreement and Visible Union of God’s People in Extraordinary Prayer, for the Revival of Religion and the Advancement of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth, Pursuant to Scripture Promises and Prophecies Concerning the Last Time. It was an appeal for the Church to unite in earnest intercession for world revival —
We may observe who they are that shall be united in thus seeking the Lord of hosts: the inhabitants of many cities, and of many countries, yea, many people, and strong nations, great multitudes in different parts of the world shall conspire in this business. From the representation made in the prophecy, it appears rational to suppose, that it will be fulfilled something after this manner: There shall be given much of a spirit of prayer to God’s people, in many places, disposing them to come into an express agreement, unitedly to pray to God in an extraordinary manner, that he would appear for the help of his church, and in mercy to mankind, and pour out his Spirit, revive his work, and advance his spiritual kingdom in the world, as he promised. This disposition to prayer, and union in it, will gradually spread more and more, and increase to greater degrees; with which at length will gradually be introduced a revival of religion, and a disposition to greater engagedness in the worship and service of God, amongst his professing people. This being observed, will be the means of awakening others, making them sensible of the wants of their souls, and exciting in them a great concern for their spiritual and everlasting good, and putting them upon earnestly crying to God for spiritual mercies, and disposing them to join in that extraordinary seeking and serving of God.
In this manner religion shall be propagated, till the awakening reaches those that are in the highest stations, and till whole nations be awakened, and there be at length an accession of many of the chief nations of the world to the church of God. Thus after the inhabitants of many cities of Israel, or of God’s professing people, have taken up and pursued a joint resolution, to go and pray before the Lord, and seek the Lord of hosts, others shall be drawn to worship and serve him with them; till at length many people and strong nations shall join themselves to them; and there shall, in process of time, be a vast accession to the church, so that it shall be ten times as large as it was before; yea, at length, all nations shall be converted unto God. Thus (Zechariah 8:23.) “ten men shall take hold, out of all languages of the nations, of the skirt of him that is a Jew,” (in the sense of the apostle,
Romans 2:28, 29.) “saying, We will go with you; for we have heard, that God is with you.” And thus shall be fulfilled, “O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.” (Psalm 65:2)
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The ones who are born of God have become partakers of the nature of God. The children of God are called to tackle the problems of this world with the same agape love, the nature of God. Christ united HImself with His brethren in a union that is comparable to His union with the Father. Christ lives in them and continues His work in the world through them.
When the ambassador of Christ speaks the truth in love, and meets death with joy, a strange miracle occurs — the eyes of the unbelievers are opened, they are enabled to see the truth of God, and this leads them to believe in the gospel. Ever since the centurion’s eyes were opened at Calvary, ever since he believed that Jesus was the Son of God because he had seen the manner of His death, thousands and thousands of Christian martyrdoms over the centuries have produced the same results. This is precisely what Tertullian had in mind when he wrote that the blood of the martyrs is the seed out of which new Christians are born.
Jesus saw His own coming into this world as an invasion of the strong man’s house to spoil his goods. He saw the Prince of this world being cast out at His own death. Jesus taught His disciples to not be afraid of the ones who can kill only the body, and He charged them to bravely lose their lives to gain the victory. John was simply confirming this when he depicted the casting out of Satan and his defeat through the deaths of the martyrs in Revelation.
The sins of people are Satan’s “certificate of ownership.” But this document was nailed to the cross of Calvary and was canceled by the death of Christ. Satan’s second instrument is the fear of dying.
This is the wisdom of God which the world considers utter foolishness — that He sent His Son to die on the cross.
Jesus describes the outcome of His crucifixion as both His own glorification and as the glorification of God. Yet death by crucifixion was one of the most shameful and barbaric modes of execution – how could that be considered an act of glorifying God?
The glory of God shines through the beauty and splendour of self-sacrifice as nowhere else, and most importantly, this glory of God, the glory of His self-sacrificing love, shines out in each martyrdom. Just take a look at John’s reference to Peter’s martyrdom. It was also the reason Paul was so determined to glorify Christ by his own dying.
Herein lies its power to convince and to persuade – people see the love of God in the death of the martyr and are compelled to believe in God’s love and sacrifice for them. Paul expressed the same idea in the concept of reflecting the image of Christ or the glory of God to other people through our suffering and our loving self-sacrificing for others.
As the knowledge of Christ and the grace of God is spread to more and more people through the sacrifice of the children of God, there is more and more thanksgiving, praise and glory given to God.
Becoming increasingly relevant... 