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Your vision should not die! |
Mt 28,18-19
And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given
unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing
them IN THE NAME of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world.
At
the time when Jesus said that, the cross and the empty grave were already
behind Him. HE had made it through it all. Righteousness had been established,
according to His unchangeable law, and the claim to all power in heaven and
on this earth had been accomplished. His power and authority would not only
last for a short time but would be eternal.
During the time that Jesus walked upon this earth, HE never lost sight of the
vision which HE had. He came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3,8).
He would not let go of his great vision. The reason being that He would then
be able to fulfil His promise which He gives to all those who believe in Him.
The cross and the punishment of the sin which He would be bearing for those
who belong to Him, was the most terrible part in this vision, of which He as
a man feared; Luke 12,50
“But I have a baptism to be baptized with;
and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” Often when a person
has a great goal and desires many wonderful things, a high price must be paid
for it — about which others have no idea. His goal was to lay His life
down for His people, of whom He would take out from all nations.
Almost 2000 years have gone by since Jesus spoke these words. In the year
90A.D., John had a vision, which Jesus the Son of God gave him to see. John
took a look into heaven. There he saw what would be in the future; for God
is the One who calls and determines the things which will take place! What
he saw he wrote down in Revelation 7,9 “After this I beheld, and, lo,
a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed
with white robes, and palms in their hands…”
In the midst of Christian persecutions, John saw that the words of Jesus had
not been spoken in vain. He would have a people who would follow Him, meaning
that they would obey His Word. He would have a people and John saw these people;
an inumerable crowd from all nations standing before HIM, Jesus Christ, just
like it will be in the end. Dear reader, do you see yourself among the great
multitude which John saw? This must be the main goal of your life, otherwise
your life upon this earth would have been in vain.
I believe that John never forgot this vision so long as he lived. He saw how
the enemy of mankind raged against the believers. He experienced how they banned
him on the island of Patmos. He experienced how churches began to compromise
Gods message with the world, he experienced how false apostles, priests and
teachers, whom God had never called, arose with the purpose of drawing the people
to them. He heard how people twist the simple message of the gospel and preach
a different gospel which was similar to it, so that many people (just like today)
follow a counterfeit gospel and be lost forever (Gal.1,8).
However, Jesus was there, He encouraged John through this vision. “John,
I will have a people. The gates of hell are angry as a result, but they cannot
defeat me. For I possess the keys of death and hell. Satan does not have any
power over me. Hold tightly unto that which I have testified to you about. Do
not be discouraged. It all has to happen this way, so that I can find the people
who really love me. These are the ones who will not believe any other gospel.
They will be obedient and will repent, they are the ones who will be baptized
in the name of Jesus, and I will baptize them with my Holy Spirit just as I
promised, and that applies even in this day and age. I know all hearts and those
who look up to me will see me and I will send them to the right place, where
they will hear the whole truth and be set free from their sins. I will teach
them. They will not love this world.”
As long as the the church of the living God is still on this earth, so long
will she take this message - the whole gospel - to those that are lost. She
will continue to work on the harvest field of this world, she will build barns,
and as she does so, she will not let herself be confused by anyone, nor loose
her vision. For the time of Jesus Second Coming is close at hand! However,
the question is: “Are you ready?”
It is really true – whosoever believes will be saved, for he will be
obedient to the Word of God! John saw something else in addition, he saw what
happened at the end to those who ignored the Word of God - he saw how they
were thrown into the fiery lake of fire (Rev. 21,7-8).
Man will only be able to spend eternity in one of these two places. Choose
the better place – the one which is above – and make it your goal,
and never let this vision die; for God’s Word will also be fulfilled
with those who are mockers – for them it will then be too late! Don’t
let your vision die! rw
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