“The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the Kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” (Luke 16: 16)
God has given us everything that pertains to His Kingdom. This includes freedom from stress, worry, unhappiness and our enemies. He has promised us that He will never leave us or forsake us and that we can cast all of our cares upon Him for He cares for us.
With our human nature being changed in order to have eternal life in heaven we have a benefit package that is incredibly outstanding. From a heavenly host singing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” to seeing the prophets, apostles, our loved ones and most of all seeing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and of course our Father God will be the most spectacular event of all time. It will be pain free, no tears, crying and no death. “And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.” (Revelation 21: 27) “Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” (Revelation 22: 14-15)
In order to inherit this eternal life comes by an effort and a pressing into it. Let us understand that nothing is handed to us on a silver platter. God has provided only one answer for sinful humanity. That answer is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. God has no other way, no other path and no other solution. It’s only through the cross and His Son that we would even stand a chance of receiving the blessed hope of eternal life. The cross is the only means by which the sinner can be saved and the only means by which the Christian can walk in victory.
Jesus’ earthly ministry was to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to bring salvation to humanity through His teachings, His miracles and His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. He went from city to city preaching the truth about the Kingdom of God and how one may receive it by trusting in Him. The working of miracles, healing the sick, casting out demons, giving sight to the blind and bringing the dead back to life drew large crowds. His deep compassion and care for the poor and oppressed was spread from region to region. His anointing as Priest, Prophet, King, Teacher, Healer and Son of the Living God was manifested in the short time that He spent on earth. His core teaching was of love, forgiveness and compassion as He organized His church. His plan for our happiness, redemption and salvation included our faith in Him.
As the fame of Jesus was published, many pressed out to be in His presence and in His path. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19: 10) As He set out to seek and save the lost He knew exactly what paths to take. His mission to help was to bring us a hope and encouragement that would last a lifetime. “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many. And they came to Jericho: and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; He calleth thee. And he, casting away his garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto Him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” (Mark 10: 45-52) Blind Bartimaeus pressed out even though they tried to silence him. His sheer determination paid off and he got his miracle that we still read about.
Another great example of a force of determination is the woman with the issue of blood. With her condition, she was labeled as unclean and an outcast in society. But somehow, some way she heard about Jesus. “And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched His garment. For she said, If I may touch but His clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of the plague. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? And His disciples said unto Him, Thou seest the multitude thronging Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me? And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. And He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” (Mark 5: 25-34) Jesus looked right at her and called her out. Her faith is what moved Him. He never condemned her but acknowledged her as Daughter.
The path of the Lord is already paved for His children so all we have to do is to follow it. He is always waiting for us just as He was with the 10 lepers. “And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when He saw them, He said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” (Luke 17: 12-19) Faith is the key component in our walk with the Lord. Faith is developed by hearing the Word of God. It grows through an experiential relationship with Him. We learn by doing through action, experience, discovery and exploration. Faith involves abandoning our reliance on our efforts and placing total dependence upon God’s character, authority, sovereignty, promises and His Word. Faith is following and trusting God completely no matter what the hardship, disaster, setback, failure or suffering is. We stay connected to Him by prayer and meditation as we walk by faith and not by sight.
The miracles were done to increase our faith and another important factor of Jesus’ ministry was to preach the gospel. “And there was delivered unto Him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on Him. And He began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?” (Luke 4: 17-22) “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon Him to hear the word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret.” (Luke 5: 1) The people listened, they were amazed, they were faithful followers and they shared the glory of such a One who could do such awesome things.
“And again He entered into Capernaum, after some days; and it was noised that He was in the house. And straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door: and He preached the Word unto them. And they come unto Him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto Him for the press, they uncovered the roof where He was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their faith, He said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” (Mark 2: 1-5) These 4 friends demonstrated many qualities such as faith in Jesus to heal their friend, determination even though obstacles were in the way, compassion for their friend, teamwork as they worked together and sacrifice. This story of support with the expectation of healing from Jesus would provide an important revelation. When we come to the saving knowledge of God, we progressively learn that in Him it’s all about the saving of the soul.
They came looking for their friend's healing but Jesus forgave his sins first. “But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, He said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (He saith to the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion. And He went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto Him, and He taught them.” (Mark 2: 6-13)
Out of everything God could have done to deal with humanity, He chose to forgive us by the power of His Son. Following Jesus involves more than belief and acceptance of the truth of the gospel. It involves surrendering our lives to the will and purpose of God. We sacrifice ourselves and live for Christ. Our Master Teacher shows us how to escape the world and how to do it right through His disciples. “And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear. But straightway Jesus spake unto them, saying, Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid. And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it be Thou, bid me come unto Thee on the water. And He said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth His hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt? And when they were come into the ship, the wind ceased. Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped Him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” (Matthew 14: 25-33) Our spiritual maturity is developed in us as we walk by faith enduring all trials. We will not be people of endurance absent of pain, suffering and challenges. Peter took his eyes off of Jesus therefore doubts crept in and he began to sink. If it weren’t for our failures and mistakes we would never know the depths of God’s grace and mercy.
Jesus is a way-making, promise-keeping, battle-winning, water-walking, storm-stilling, faithful friend and Savior Who still had to spend time with the Father in prayer. “And He withdrew Himself into the wilderness, and prayed.” (Luke 5: 16) “And it came to pass in those days, that He went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” (Luke 6: 12) Likewise, we must spend time in prayer. No obedience, no adoration and no worship can flow from a heart that has no regard for God.
From predestination to glorification, Jesus our Redeemer chose His people for the praise of His glory. Your life is your ministry. Choose to glorify God with it. In moments of silence feel His presence and thank Him for being your peace.
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” (Philippians 3: 13-16)
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