Great Words of God – Come – Part 4

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The world is a wonderful but broken place and it is easy to get lost in the tumult of changing times.  “If God is good,” Randy Alcorn asks in his new book of that title, “why all this suffering and evil?”  You may have wondered that same thing, and perhaps accepted that there are many things we cannot understand about the nature of God.  But, this we do know, He has called us to come to Him and we have been looking at this powerful word.

In this final reflection we will look at three applications of God’s call to come.  He calls us to come to new life, to new vision, and to new hope.  Let’s take them up in that order.

For most people, I imagine that God can seem remote and unapproachable as one considers the dilemmas of life – how could a person ever come to Him with personal problems?  How would you do that with someone who cannot be seen, touched, or heard?  Then you encounter the story of Jesus and find that you cannot be neutral about Him.  He either is the person He claimed to be, or He is not.  If He is not, then nothing matters and we are all just collections of protoplasm without purpose or hope in life.  If He is, then the doors of invitation swing wide to a world of wonder and promise that cannot be found in any other philosophy or religion.

“Come to me,” He called, “all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 ESV).  God is beckoning you, in Jesus, to come to Him not as His high and mighty Royal Majesty, who He has every right to be, but as a loving father who calls his children for an embrace.  Galatians 4:6 says, “God has sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts, crying ‘Abba!  Father!’ ”  Because Jesus came we can know God intimately.

I remember a hymn we used to sing: “There’s within my heart a melody, /Jesus whispers sweet and low: /Fear not I am with thee, peace be still, /in all of life’s ebb and flow.  /Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, /sweetest name I know, /fills my every longing, /keeps me singing as I go” (Luther Bridges 1910).  My friend, if you are honest about it, there is something about Jesus that speaks to the core of your being and cannot be ignored.  He does not call you to a practice of religion, but to a new life grounded in Him, personally – a relationship.  “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV).

Just as Jesus was raised to new life (Romans 6:4), so shall those be raised, who trust in Him (1 John 5:13).  What wonderful perspective it brings to your life when your future takes on the brilliant hues of a heavenly eternity.  Without that kind of new vision there truly is no hope (Proverbs 29:18).

Your worldview changes, your new vision, as you go from discouragement to hope, not dependent upon human reasoning, politics, or religion, but upon the person and promises of Jesus.  He calls you to Him, from no hope (Eph. 2:12; 1 Thess. 4:13) to new hope , hope which assures you of the outcomes – both temporal and eternal.  As the Apostle Paul wrote, “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs…” (Romans 8:12-17).  Another old hymn reflects this truth in it’s opening bars, “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness” (Edward Mote 1836).

Prepare yourselves, then, for a thrilling journey of great importance (1 Peter 1:13), as you trust in Jesus for new hope.  It is a living hope reserved for you (1 Peter 1:3-5), and an inheritance that is secure and imperishably certain (Eph. 1:11, 14, 18; Col. 1:12, 3:24; Heb. 9:14; 1 Pet. 1:4).   Does your spirit resonate with Jesus’s call for you to come to Him?  Is there something deep inside that is stirring?  You know it is there, churning, but you cannot explain what it is?  May I suggest that the Spirit of God is at work in you?  Perhaps the prospect of living a powerful and abundant life (John 10:10) appeals to you.  Maybe you desire a new life, a new vision, and a new hope?  You can have all of this and more, today.

You can live an overcomer’s life, whether you have been a follower of Jesus for many years, or whether you have never responded to His call to come, but want to.  Simply say to Him, “Jesus, I come.  Here I am.  Forgive me for my sin and doubt.  Save me.  Use me.”  He will come to you.

The “Use me” part of that prayer is where we are going next.  We have considered two great words of God, Yes and Come.  The third word is wait.  You may feel that is where you are right now and so I invite you to come back for a discussion of this powerful Great Word of God.

This we affirm – God is good – all the time.

Strength and Honor

Bill

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