GOD'S INCREDIBLE PROMISE !
Probably the most amazing story ever told is the promise made
by God, the Creator of all, that He intends to make all things
new.
HE IS GOING TO MAKE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH.
BEYOND THE CLOUDS OF OUR PROBLEMS
Have you had enough of the mess that the world is in? - the
wars, the conflicts,
the famines, the natural disasters, the crime that is out of control in many places,
with even chaos that is developing in some areas? Had enough of broken homes, broken marriages,
with homeless, hungry and despairing kids, and often physical and domestic violence? Had
enough of the sickness and disease that kills millions?
Enough of whole nations going broke, - whole nations at the point of starvation? Had enough of
the crying, the despair, the hopelessness? Listen:
GOD INTENDS TO MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH
WHERE THERE WILL BE
NO MORE PROBLEMS OF ANY KIND.
NO CRYING, NO ANGER, NO VIOLENCE, NO SICKNESS, NO DEATH,
NO POVERTY, NO DESPAIR, NO PAIN. IT WILL BE A PLACE WHERE THERE WILL BE NO
HOMELESSNESS, AND NO HUNGER.
ALL WILL BE HAPPINESS.
ENJOY A NEW DAY
God has said this: that He will "... wipe away all tears from their
eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor
crying, neither shall there be anymore pain".
Everyone is invited to this new earth, but not everyone will be
there. Let me assure you that you can have a part in this new
earth if you wish to, and a little later I will show you how.
For now, I would like to take you back in time to make a brief
word sketch of the background to the promise that God has
made.
Back in time, sometime before the foundation of the earth, a
conflict developed - of all places in heaven. Lucifer stirred up
quite a storm of discontent among many of the angels until finally
there was war in heaven, and Lucifer and his supporters - a third
of the angels - were thrown out of heaven.
Since God didn't want the rebellion to engage humanity, He gave
to our first parents Adam and Eve, a simple test of loyalty. For
food, they were to have access to the fruit of every fruit tree in
the Garden of Eden, except one - known as the tree of
knowledge of good and evil. If they ate from this tree they
would be caught up in Lucifer's rebellion and they would be
subject to death. It was to be a simple test of belief and
obedience.
Then comes what is an interesting story in itself. Lucifer, now
called Satan, spoke to Eve through a serpent, endeavouring to
ensnare her. "Has God said," Satan ridiculed, "that you will die
if you eat this fruit? You will not die." Then something
happened in Eve's thinking. As she looked at the fruit, and saw
how attractive it was, she believed Satan, and the next thing that
followed was that she disobeyed God and ate the fruit.
When Satan engulfed humanity in his rebellion, through Eve's
disobedience - and later Adam's - he caused too that every
person down through the centuries was also engulfed in the
rebellion against God. And it was not just in the rebellion,
serious as that would be, but in the terrible effects of that
rebellion which we see on every hand today - the crime, the
sickness, the calamities, the despair - which we have noted
above.
God would have been justified had He taken the lives of our first
parents when they sinned. Instead, He told them that He would
provide a way whereby they could be redeemed from the
penalty of death in which Satan had engulfed them. He told them
that He would take our place.He Himself would die, in our stead,
not only for the sins of our first parents, but for the sins of
every member of the human family. And one day, He would
restore all things. He would make all things new.
Now we may want to blame Adam and Eve for their
disobedience and perhaps rightly so.But if we are honest with ourselves we will admit
that we too have made mistakes - many
of them. These mistakes are called sin in the Bible, which also
says that "all have sinned". That is, all of us, not just Adam and
Eve, need what God promised - that He Himself would pay the
penalty of death for the sins of all humanity.
And so, amazing as it may seem, God took on our humanity. He
came to this earth as Jesus Christ - as one of us. Throughout His
life on earth He showed us how to live correctly, and then He
gave His life in crucifixion to pay for our sins.On the third day He rose from the dead, proving forever that He has the victory
over death. Proving too, that Satan's attempts to eternally
destroy mankind are doomed to failure. Later Jesus returned to
heaven, where He lives to help us all to find out about His plans
to make all things new.He is not willing that any should perish,
but that all of us will recognize our mistakes, express sorrow for
them and ask Him for forgiveness. Some people want to shut off
when the Bible is mentioned, but I want to show you a few things
that are vital to our understanding of God's promise.
Look at this:
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (You can check
this out in the first Epistle of John chapter 1 and verse 9 (nearly
at the end of the Bible.)But how can we be sure that we are included in God's promise?
It's just so simple. So simple that a small child can understand,
yet many adults have completely missed it. We noted above that
Eve believed Satan, and the very next step was that she
disobeyed God. In believing Satan, Eve disbelieved God.
Now, how can we be included in God's promise?
You may have guessed already. We have to believe in God.
Specifically we must believe in the name of Jesus (God). Why
His name? Because the very meaning of His name is that He will
save His people from their sins. Is that all? That's all. Look at
this:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life." You can check this in the Book of John chapter
3 and verse 16. (John is near the front - the fourth book in the
New Testament.)
Then two verses further down we are given a warning, as well as
some more information.
"He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed
in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (verse 18)
So now we have it. If we don't believe in the name of Jesus, that
is, if we don't believe in the fact that the whole mission of Jesus
has been and is to save us from sin, to restore us in His image
and give us eternal life, then we will not share in that new earth
which God has promised.
But if we believe in the name of Jesus - if we believe that He has
promised to make all things new, including us, and that He will
allow us to live eternally and share in His new earth, then He will
give us, because of our faith and belief in Him, and because of
His love for us, - He will give us eternal life.
Before sharing in the earth made new, He wants to change us so
that we will choose to serve Him and believe in Him. In the
book of John chapter 3 and verses 3 to 7 we are told of these
changes as being like a new birth - a new life. New interests,
new hopes, new peace in our hearts. A complete turn around -
when we will know what is right and want to do what is right.
Now there is something more. It gets better and better. In this
change of direction, God has promised (and this is for the here
and now) to give us, as a gift, His goodness. In the Bible it is
called righteousness. Note this amazing statement, (quoted in
part) "but now the righteousness of God without the law is
manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even
the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all
and upon all them that believe." Check that out in the book of
Romans chapter 3 and verses 21 and 22.
Has the impact of that hit you yet? That means that if we believe
in Jesus (and we have noted that we are called to believe in His
name) He will give us His righteousness, by faith. (Faith means
belief, but it also means that we believe not only in what God has
said, but that He will do what He said He would do).
Notice this;
"The wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord". Romans 7:23
Note too -
"By grace (i.e. unearned favour) you are saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves it is the gift of God". Ephesians 2:8
So when Jesus saves us and turns our lives around, He will not
only forgive our sins and give us as a gift His righteousness,
(goodness) but included in that He will put in our hearts a real
desire to do His will. Check out more of this in Exodus 20: 1 to
17, and Matthew, chapters 1, 5, 6 and 7. When you have
checked these chapters may I suggest that you read in the book
of John - (the fourth book in the New Testament), chapters, 3
and 15 and the epistles of John (near the end of the New
Testament). By that time you will likely have realised what a
treasure chest you have and you will want to read and enjoy
more and more of what the Bible has to offer.
We have said that God intends to make all things new and you
may want to ask, "When will this be? May I suggest that you
will find your answer in Matthew chapter 24, John 14: 1-3, 1
Thessalonians 4: 14-18, and 2 Timothy 3: 1-5. Use the index to
find the location of these books if you need to. These verses
may surprise you, but they should answer your question, and
convince you that Jesus will soon return.
If you now believe in Jesus and you have received His promise
of eternal life, renew that belief every day. Commit your life to
God every morning - ask Him to help you to do what is right - to
give you His righteousness.
Then last thing at night, thank Him for His goodness and in case
you have failed to trust Him, ask for His forgiveness.
You will be amazed at how things change for you. God will give
you peace and serenity, and confidence in Him. Learn more
about your new found faith in Jesus by reading the Bible every
day.
Now here is one final suggestion. This good news that I have
given you is for all people. If you want to add real happiness to
the peace you have found, find someone every day to share with
them what God has done for you.
May God bless you.
G.S.Board
Copyright © G.S.BOARD 28 July 2003. All Rights Reserved.
ENJOY A NEW DAY
FOR SPECIFIC HELP FOR A VARIETY OF PROBLEMS, CHECK OUT THE
INDEX IN THE ENGLISH CONTENTS.
BEEN HELPED BY THIS WEBSITE? PLEASE TELL OTHERS ABOUT IT TOO -
ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO MAY BE GOING THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME.