1st Peter 1:8, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”
I was listening to Alexander Scourby read the King James Bible today. I
highly recommend that you do the same. If you don't, you're really missing
out on a blessing! 1st Peter 1:8 impressed upon my heart, “Whom
[Jesus Christ] having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not,
yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.” I
love that! We cannot see Jesus, just as our text Verse says in 1st Peter
1:8. Yet, as born-again believers, we love Him!!!
We rejoice with “unspeakable joy” because we love the Lord. “Unspeakable” means that we cannot find the words to adequately express the joy we feel inside, knowing that our name is written in Heaven, and that we are already on the winning side in Christ Jesus. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” Because Jesus has risen, ascended into Heaven, and lives to intercede on our behalf, we have exuberant joy as Christians.
Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Jesus is our intercessory High Priest in Heaven. Romans 8:34, “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Christ intercedes between man and God, because of the precious blood which He has already sprinkled upon the heavenly Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:12, 24; 12:24). Christ's blood didn't “atone” (an Old Testament term meaning “to cover”) man's sins; but rather, Jesus' blood once and for all washed men's sins away forever. This is why forgiveness of sins and eternal life are offered as free gifts (Romans 5:15; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9).
Thus, you don't have to “ask” Jesus to save you, for He has already promised
“TO SAVE THEM THAT BELIEVE” (1st Corinthians 1:21). Jesus doesn't
forgive sins, He has already paid for them with His own blood. This is why
Jesus is called “the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe”
(1st Timothy 4:10). Jesus is the Savior of everyone, even unsaved
people. I can prove this with more Biblical evidence from 2nd Peter 2:1,
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be
false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies,
even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring
upon themselves swift destruction.” Notice that the false prophets are
“DENYING THE LORD THAT BOUGHT THEM”! Wow! This agrees with 1st
Timothy 4:10, which says Jesus is “the Saviour of all men, specially of
those that believe.” Amen and amen! If you go to Hell when you die, it
will only be because you refused to receive Jesus Christ as your own
personal Savior!!! The gift of eternal life is already paid for, waiting to
be received, but you must receive it by faith alone in the
Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
None of Today's Burdens Will Matter 100 Years from Now!
When people hurt my feelings, and they
sometimes do, I get over it quick by setting my affection on things above.
Colossians 3:1, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which
are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” When I stop
to think about what it will be like 100 years from now in eternity, the
little things of this earthly life that bother today fade in comparison. I
find hope and comfort from the Scriptures (Romans 15:4). The hundreds of
people who have hurt my feelings, disrespected me, laughed at my calamity,
and have deliberately been unkind to me throughout my life, will all have to
give account to God for it (Romans 12:19). We all must be held accountable
(Romans 14:10-12). Every individual must give account to God for every word
spoken (Matthew 12:36). God cares about little things (Matthew 10:29-30),
and so should we (Philippians 2:5). To think like Jesus means to think like
God, for Jesus walked this earth as God incarnate (i.e., in the flesh, 1st
Timothy 3:16 - Note: All Scripture references are only to the precious King
James Bible). It is a sin to be unkind, cold and insensitive toward others
(Ephesians 4:32). The hallmark character trait, or “quality” if you prefer,
of being a Christian is CARING!!! DO you care? I DO CARE!!!
The holy Bible teaches that if you have a chance to do right and don't, God sees it, and you cannot escape accountability, because God knows all. Proverbs 24:12, “If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?” No one ever gets away with doing wrong. Some of the worst sins that people commit are considered trifle matters by the average person. For example: Many people are liars! They flippantly make little promises, commit themselves verbally to do something, vow to help someone, but then never keep their word. God sees the lying and will hold them fully accountable. Proverbs 6:2, “Thou art snared with the words of thy mouth, thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.”
One hundred years from now in eternity, we will
be long have been with the blessed Lord, enjoying His sweet presence, and
none of this life's heartaches, losses, burdens, mistreatments and pains
will matter then. What a wonderful thought!
Ye Are Bought With a Price!
Something that has helped me to rebound quickly and “let it go” (so to speak) is knowing the Scriptural truth that when I got saved, everything I own became God's property. 1st Corinthians 6:20, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” That “price” is the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, which He sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, in the heavenly Holy Place, in the presence of the Father on our behalf (Hebrews 9:12, 22-24; 12:24). Without the literal blood of the Lamb of God sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat in Heaven, in the heavenly Tabernacle, we'd all burn in Hell for all eternity. Thank God for the blood!!!
When people hurt me, I focus my mind on the fact that I am a redeemed child of God! I focus my mind on the Biblical truth that I am God's property, my spirit, soul and body. I rejoice in knowing that God owns me! I want and love being owned by God, because that means He has an investment in me (1st Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it”), and won't ever give up on me (Hebrews 13:5). If you are a born again Christian, you are royalty, a child of the King. 1st Peter 2:5, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” We have so much to look forward to in eternity as believers, and so much to be thankful for as children of God. That is something to rejoice about! Luke 10:20, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”
Many people are mad at life. Things haven't gone well for them. They have no hope of eternal life. They don't know the Lord. I thank God for all the problems, afflictions and inexplicable emotional pain that I've endured in my life, because if I were somebody else, I might never have been saved, and would spend eternity burning in the Lake of Fire. You cannot truly learn to be sweet, until you've suffered the sour painfulness of life. I thank God for my life, good and bad alike, because I have Jesus Christ as my personal Savior. I know I am saved and on my way to Heaven, because I am resting completely in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11).
I have suffered much in my life. I've been hurt my many people. I know the pain of an unwanted divorce, being abandoned and wronged. I've been cheated out of over $100,000 in my life (it's been one thief after another). I know the sadness of losing my home permanently. I could be very bitter if I wanted. I could hate life. But do you know what, I rejoice that I have been laying up treasures in Heaven since I was a youth, by serving the Lord (Matthew 6:19-20). Countless thousands of souls have been turned to the imputed righteousness of God (Daniel 12:3) through my humble online ministry since 2002. The power of God unto salvation is THE GOSPEL (Romans 1:16). I have buried all my losses, pain, suffering, health afflictions, heartache and whatever, in the blessed Lord Jesus Christ! When God saved me, all my problems and afflictions became His! God bought me with His blood, and all my sufferings became His too! My broken body (stenosis, radiculopathy and displaced cervical disk) are now His! My body belongs to Christ!!!
Everything that I own, do, or am belongs to God. When I sin, the Lord says, “That's on me, I paid for that!” (1st John 2:1-2). This is why we read in Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Jesus considers any good or bad, done for or against a child of God, as if it were done unto Him personally. What a loyal Savior! What a precious friend that sticketh closer than a brother! Ah, listen my friend, I highly recommend that you treat Christians nicely.
And whatever you do, don't ever hurt a child of God. Contrary to popular belief, the following Scripture applies primarily to Christians, not children. Matthew 18:6, “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Not all children believe in Christ, and all young children have not yet reached the age of enlightenment (i.e., old enough to understand receiving or rejecting Christ as Savior). To BELIEVE on Christ, a child must be old enough to understand the concept of sin against God, and that Christ died on the cross for their sins, and raised up bodily three days later. Obviously, this Scripture is referring to Christians. It would be silly to claim that God cares about saved children more than unsaved children, which is exactly what you would be claiming if you said that this passage refers to children. Granted, there is no doubt that children are precious to God, and anyone who harms an innocent child will be fully held accountable by God on judgment day!!!
God bought us; therefore, we ought to live for
Him. 1st Corinthians 7:23, “Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the
servants of men.” There is nothing as sad to me, as a believer who lives
to make money. The love of money has ruined many believers. 1st Timothy
6:10, “For the love of money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows.” I knew a Christian man
decades ago who was greedy, selling insurance to everyone he knew, and is
now a casualty for God. The pursuit of money has destroyed many marriages
and families. No one regrets at the end of this earthly life, that they
didn't work more hours and make more money.
One Soul Saved is Worth More Than All the World's Gold
One of the best things I ever did was stop
working overtime, get off midnight shift, get out of the stock market, stop
signing up to work any holidays, and forsake the desire to make more money.
The most miserable man is the man who slaves away at a job, and has no life.
I decide that I was going to go to church, even if it meant living in
poverty. Years ago, I dedicated the rest of my life to preaching the Gospel,
contending for the faith, and laying up treasures in Heaven. I rejoice daily
for the privilege and opportunity to serve God. Millions of people are
rotting behind bars in prison, many for dumb mistakes they made when still a
teenager. The only two problems in America are the PAPA and the PREACHER! It
is hard to grasp a 15 year old being sentenced to life in prison, but it
happens all the time in America. See:
When Kids
Get Life! (PBS documentary).
I thank God for my imperfect, but strict, father. I am thankful that despite my constant chronic neck pain, I am not paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. I thank God that I didn't commit suicide when the bottom of my life fell out years ago, after my wife divorced me, and everything went from bad to worse, and all hope seemed lost. I actually bought two small barbeques and two bags of charcoal, ready to commit suicide like rock singer Brad Delp sadly did in 2007. I thank God that I just decided to wait one more day, and see what happened. My faith in God, and 8 years of Dr. Jack Hyles' stored preaching (1985-1993) in my soul, sustained me during the storm. I lost my home and now rent. I lost most of my possessions. I lost my pets. I wept uncontrollably like a baby. I didn't have a friend to hug or encourage me. I lost my wife and now live alone. I lost my retirement and will never invest another penny. My mindset is set on things above!!! I'm soul-winning and packing out the pews in Heaven! You can read about my story here, “Some On Broken Pieces.”
When I was flying for my neck surgery, I sat
next to two sisters from Houston, Texas, who sold Amway products. The
one older sister tried to recruit me. I kindly told her that I wasn't
interested in making money. She sarcastically said, “Some people are closed
mind toward success!” I replied that “I am a Christian laying up treasures
in Heaven,” and that “earthly riches don't matter to me.” Her sister
befriended me, saying, “I like you!” The other sister was offended. These
two ladies were both around 70 years old. I was in my early forties. I spoke
to them about my faith in Jesus Christ. I rejoiced as I left the plane,
joyful that I wasn't in their shoes. I rejoiced that my name is written in
Heaven, and that I am laying up treasures in Heaven, and that I have a
wonderful hope that is real. I feel sorry for anyone who relishes in their
earthly wealth. Apple founder,
Steve Jobs, left behind $10,200,000,000 in riches ($19 billion with his
estate), yet he was a Christ-rejecting Buddhist. Steve Jobs died a poor man,
who is not burning in the fires of Hell forever without hope. Oh, how riches
blind unsaved people from their need for the new birth in Christ Jesus.
I Encourage All My Web Visitors, Please Listen to Lots of Bible-Preaching!
I encourage all my web visitors to listen to lots of Bible preaching. Most people listen to music while traveling to and from work. Let's say you spend 2 hours per day driving. Let's be conservative and say that you work 5 days a week. That's 10 hours per week spent driving to and from work. Most people spend much more time driving, but let's just focus on time spent commuting back and forth to work. Then let's multiply 10 hours times 50 weeks (allowing two weeks off for vacation). That totals 500 hours per years just traveling to and from work. The average sermon is less than 1 hour, but we'll make it easy and just go with an hour per sermon. That's 500 sermons a year that you could hear, just driving to and from your job. Instead, most people listen to the same songs (worldly or religious) thousands of times. They listen to wasteful radio preachers, who only care about appeasing the listener to sell you something. They beg for donations like greedy dogs. Isaiah 56:11a, “Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough.”
The great need of the hour is preaching preachers, who walk with God, and have the power of the Holy Spirit upon their ministry. ...
Increasingly as I grow older, despite my misery from being in constant
bodily neck pain, I find myself rejoicing in my heart with UNSPEAKABLE JOY
that my name is written in Heaven (i.e., I have eternal life). John 11:26,
“And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.
Believest thou this?” Luke 20:36, “Neither can they die
any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the
children of God, being the children of the resurrection.” If you're born
ONCE, you die TWICE; but if you're born TWICE, you only die ONCE! I am so
glad that I am a born-again Christian.