Text: “For unto us a child is born unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His Name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6.
Good morning, peace-loving Christian! You were perhaps, like the author, once a ‘wild-child’ of the world. But now, in Christ Jesus, you are become a lover of true peace. What made the difference? Yes! Jesus made the difference. Praise His Name. For you and for me, Jesus is the Source of true and everlasting peace. Thanks be to the Living Lord God!
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1-2)
Fear is the one factor that is holding the Christian church back today!
Picture the scene described in today’s Bible reading, my friend. Most of the disciples of the now Crucified Christ Jesus are huddled together for comfort behind doors that were securely shut. Their Lord and Master had been taken captive, brought before the Roman Governor; interrogated brutally by Pilate and the Roman soldiers; found ’…faultless…’ but guilty of condemnation; tortured, beaten, humiliated, and then barbarically crucified to death. Those disciples, as close associates of the Crucified Jesus were, no doubt, at the top of the Jewish leaders hit-list for a similarly brutal death. They must have been terrified there in that upper room. Think about it!
Yet, at the height of their most dreaded fears - ‘…came Jesus and stood in the midst…’ Hallelujah! The Lord Jesus always comes in a perfect time!
There is no mention of a door
being unbarred to let the risen Christ Jesus enter the upper room. There is no mention of Him knocking the
locked door. There is no mention at all
of chains having to be taken from the door; or a barricaded door having to be
opened to give Him entrance. No!
The risen Christ had a glorified Body that had overcome death and been resurrected from the tomb. His glorified Body had the power to wall right through those barred doors; right through those stout walls. Nothing could keep the risen Christ Jesus from fellowshipping with His people. Glory! You and I shall one day have bodies just like Him! Wow!
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when He shall appear (in the air), we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
“Then we (born again at Christ’s Appearing) which are alive and remain shall be caught up (translated, raptured) together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17)
“And as we have borne the image of the earthly, we shall also bare the image of the Heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption (fleshy bodies) inherit incorruption. Behold I show you a mystery (new revealed truth); We shall not all sleep (die), but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruption (fleshy body) must put on incorruption (glorified body), and this mortal (temporal life) must put on immortality (Eternal life).” (1 Corinthians 15:49-53)
These eye-witness disciples (the mark of a true apostle) of the risen Lord Jesus actually saw His glorified Body come right through that wall! All fear was suddenly banished.
The once terrified disciples became fearless witnesses for Christ Jesus. What they had seen with their own eyes could never ever be down-played, or taken away from them. Most of the disciples of Christ went to a martyr’s death without fear - because they KNEW the truth of the Gospel; they KNEW by personal experience the resurrection power of the Son of God - and being totally convinced of these facts, they lost all other fear. Praise God!
Christ’s Bodily Presence in that upper room banished all fear in the hearts of His chosen disciples forever. The absence of all fear is the state of true peace. For the genuine Spiritually regenerate Christian, death, pain, illness, sword, famine, disease - are as nothing, if Christ’s Presence is assured.
Take heart then, peace-loving Christian! Knowing in Whom you and I have believed - Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living Lord God - we can also be fearless and at peace in the very centre of His Sovereign will.
Thought: ’…Perfect love (of Christ) casteth out fear…’ (1 John 4:18)
No comments:
Post a Comment
I invite comments that are Christian in nature. All comments are moderated, and any negative submissions are deleted and never published.