Hebraic Musing – What does it take to really be a Christian?
The
moment I became a Christian was on August 27, 1977, when I fell to my knees and
said “Jesus Christ, you are real. I need
to learn more about you.” That was a
memorable, life-changing moment for me! At
that moment I began to understand what Jesus was telling us. “…and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8b NKJV
Does “to the end of the earth”
include our family, neighbors and anyone we encounter? The Holy Spirit comes as a gift, or calling,
from the Father and thus we are both called and equipped by the Holy
Spirit in four distinct ways after we are “saved”?
First,
the Holy Spirit calls us from above.
Jesus told them “But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” Acts 1:8a NKJV That is a call from above to be the witnesses
we are called to be in the Great Commission.
And Jesus said something similar in Mattherw 4:19 – “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Note that this
is Jesus’ expectation for ALL His “followers”!
Second,
the Holy Spirit calls us from within. “Now
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that
they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they
realized that they had been with Jesus.” Acts 4:13 NKJV When
the council realized the truth was undeniable, they tried desperately to stop
them. “But so that it spreads no
further among the people, let us severely threaten them, that from now on they
speak to no man in this name.” v.17
And then in v.17, Peter and John being undeterred, answered! “Whether
it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge.
For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”
vs.19-20 They made their faith public,
at risk of death; a holy boldness from within!!!
Third,
the Holy Spirt calls us from without! In Acts 16:9-10 Paul was called by the Lord
to fulfill a Kingdom need. “And a
vision appeared to Paul in the night. A
man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, ‘Come over to Macedonia
and help us.’ Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to
go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the
gospel to them.”
Paul obediently followed the
Lord’s calling! Jesus realizes the
workers were few, so he called us to labor!
“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for
them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.
Then He said to His disciples, “The
harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ‘Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send
out laborers into His harvest.’” Matt.9:36-38 NKJV Do we fully realize that the vast majority
of people we meet do not know Jesus?!?! Are we the laborers that the Lord is counting
on for His harvest?
Fourth,
the Holy Spirit calls us from below!!! In Luke 16 Jesus tells of the Rich Man and
Lazarus. In vs.27-28 Lazarus cries out
in desperation “I beg you therefore, father,
that you would send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,
that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.“
NKJV It is interesting that Jesus spoke
of Hell more often than of Heaven. Hmmm! Maybe we need to witness to people by sharing
our testimony in order to counter the world calling them to Hell?
SUMMARY
– What was your moment? Going to church
for umpteen years does not get you into heaven; nor does claiming to be a
Christian or doing good deeds. Jesus
tells us in John 3:3 “Most assuredly, I say to
you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And Jesus
emphasizes it again in v.7 “You must be
born again.”
Points to Ponder
If you have
not had a memorable life-changing moment, are you “saved”? Are you “Born Again”?
Jesus expected
ALL “Born Again” believers to be witnesses!
What did He mean?
Have you ever
felt the Lord calling you to speak to someone?
Did you?
Are you and I
the laborers the Lord is counting on for His harvest?
Do you know
someone who needs to be saved, or witnessed to?
Whose job is it?
“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all
creation.” Mark 16:15 NIV
Yosef
a.k.a. Joe Brusherd January
9, 2024
Author: “Hebraic Insights – Messages exploring
the Hebrew roots of our faith”
“Biblical Marriage (by Yosef)”
Weekly “Hebraic Musings”
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