We Shall Behold Him
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in
the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Wherefore comfort one another with these words. - 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18
The truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the
heart of our Christian faith. It gives life to all
that we hold dear as God's people. In 1 Corinthians
15, the Apostle Paul states that if Jesus were still
buried in a tomb, preaching and our faith would be
empty (v. 14). Our witness would be false (v.15) and
we would yet be in our sins (v.17). We would indeed be
miserable creatures!
In our introductory verses Paul writes to a group of
young Christians who were worrying about their
deceased loved ones. They were worried about the
eternal destiny of those who died without the benefit
of the preached gospel. Paul's good news to them was
that the Lord is coming down from Heaven to gather all
of His people. This includes an innumerable host that
died without the benefit of the preached word. Jesus
is coming back to call ALL of His elect home. Those
who are dead in Christ will rise from the graves and
meet Him in the air! None of His sheep shall be lost.
Jesus' return is going to be powerful. The Bible
states that He is coming back with a shout! In the
midst of battle, generals will shout orders to their
obedient soldiers, who in turn dutifully heed the
instructions of their commander. In like manner, when
our King of Kings and Lord of Lords returns on the
last day, we will heed the shout to get up! The dead
in Christ will obediently rise first and then those
who are alive will follow. When Jesus shouts,
everything obeys!
The voice of the archangel marks the final victory
over the devil and his angels. In Jude 9 we read about
Michael the archangel contending with the devil. On
the resurrection day, there will be no contending.
The archangel will simply cry, "Surrender!" to Satan
and his emissaries. The Bible states that at the end
of time, the enemies of the Lord will be made His
footstool (Hebrews 10:13). They will be cast into the
everlasting lake of fire (Matthew 25:41). The return
of the Lord will mark the end of the warfare that we
fight with the devil and his angels.
Finally, the trumpet of God will be sounded. The
trumpet was another important communication device on
the ancient battlefields. Certain sounds directed
armies into certain formations on the battlefield. It
directed them to press forward in the midst of
conflict. Sometimes it was sounded to command a
retreat. When Jesus returns, the trump of God will
play the tune of victory and will direct His people to
go up unto Him. Dear child of God, on the resurrection
day you will be called up to meet Jesus in the air. He
will personally lead you into Heaven's eternal glory.
Paul wrote that we will be with Him in Heaven forever
(1 Thessalonians 4:17). It is comforting to know that
when we enter the gates of glory there will be no more
battles to fight. There will be no more sickness,
sorrow, or pain. Our days will be filled with the
majesty of God and we will be in the presence of our
Savior forever and ever. All for whom Jesus died will
be with Him in Heaven forevermore. Comfort one another
with these words!
Michael Green, Jr. is pastor of Palm Chapel Primitive
Baptist Church (www.palmchapel.org) in Crestview, FL.
Palm Chapel meets every Sunday at 10:30am and
Wednesday at 6:00pm. Pastor Green can be contacted at
(850) 689-3383 or by email at
pastormichael@palmchapel.org. Pastor Green warmly
invites you to come and worship at Palm Chapel
Primitive Baptist Church.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Article - God Does Not Need Our Help!
God Does Not Need Our Help!
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. –Psalms 115:1-3
Many of us are under the mistaken notion that God needs our assistance to accomplish his will. The truth is that he is not dependent upon us for anything. Simply stated, he is God. The Psalmist understood this concept and exclaims that God does whatever he wants. In other words, he is sovereign. Why is it important? It is essential to have a proper perspective of God if we are going to give him the appropriate glory he deserves. In this article we will explore a couple of areas where God exercises supreme authority.
First, we need to recognize that God is sovereign over his creation. This has been the case since the beginning of time. Genesis 1:1 states that, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Did God require any assistance or input from man when he flung the stars out into space? Did he solicit ideas about where to place the mountains and how much water needed to be added to the seas? No indeed! It was all done according to his will. He did what he pleased in creation. Psalms 19:1 substantiates this fact. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” This wondrous universe that we inhabit was spoken into existence by God alone.
God also created us. The Bible teaches that God created man on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26). He made male and female for his glory. Many today will claim that humans exist because of chance. Some will even say that we are no better than the animals and we are what we are because of billions of years of evolution. The Bible claims otherwise. We were created by God to glorify him and show his handiwork. In Psalms 139:14, David writes, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Dear child of God, you are no accident. God’s elect are known as his workmanship. We were created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). The idea that we are here by mere chance leads to the ‘every man for himself’ attitude. You are here because of God almighty.
We also need to recognize that God does what he pleases in the realm of salvation. Many Christians mistakenly believe that they have some part in their eternal salvation. Some say that we must make a decision to serve God or let him into our hearts. Others say that you have to be baptized or one’s good works must outweigh their bad. Many of God’s children dedicate their lives to saving souls from eternal damnation. While these ideas may be backed with the greatest of intentions, they do not harmonize with scripture. We must first understand that we are spiritually dead because of our sins. We are not merely sick and in need of some medicine we are dead. Romans 3:9-12 records this truth. “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Who is the Apostle Paul writing about? All of mankind throughout history. We are all spiritually dead because of sin. What can a dead person accomplish? Nothing! Therefore, we are wholly dependent upon God for our eternal salvation. In Ephesians 2:3-5 Paul later writes of how we are made alive by the mercy of God. “But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved;)”
God does not need our help with saving his children. Heaven is home for his elect because of his power. You are not saved because of a decision you made to serve the Lord. You are not going to enjoy eternal glory because of your works. Heaven is the blessed home of the child of God because of his sovereign love. For more insight into the power of God in salvation, read Ephesians chapters 1-2 and Romans 8-9. God did not need our help in creation and he certainly does not need our assistance in determining the eternal salvation of his people. He has commanded us to obey biblical teaching and glorify his name in all that we do while we are in this world. May God bless us to honor him in all things.
Michael Green, Jr. is pastor of Palm Chapel Primitive Baptist Church (www.palmchapel.org) in Crestview, FL. Palm Chapel meets every Sunday at 10:30am and Wednesday at 6:00pm. Pastor Green can be contacted at (850) 689-3383 or by email at pastormichael@palmchapel.org. Pastor Green warmly invites you to come and worship at Palm Chapel Primitive Baptist Church.
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore should the heathen say, where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. –Psalms 115:1-3
Many of us are under the mistaken notion that God needs our assistance to accomplish his will. The truth is that he is not dependent upon us for anything. Simply stated, he is God. The Psalmist understood this concept and exclaims that God does whatever he wants. In other words, he is sovereign. Why is it important? It is essential to have a proper perspective of God if we are going to give him the appropriate glory he deserves. In this article we will explore a couple of areas where God exercises supreme authority.
First, we need to recognize that God is sovereign over his creation. This has been the case since the beginning of time. Genesis 1:1 states that, “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Did God require any assistance or input from man when he flung the stars out into space? Did he solicit ideas about where to place the mountains and how much water needed to be added to the seas? No indeed! It was all done according to his will. He did what he pleased in creation. Psalms 19:1 substantiates this fact. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” This wondrous universe that we inhabit was spoken into existence by God alone.
God also created us. The Bible teaches that God created man on the sixth day (Genesis 1:26). He made male and female for his glory. Many today will claim that humans exist because of chance. Some will even say that we are no better than the animals and we are what we are because of billions of years of evolution. The Bible claims otherwise. We were created by God to glorify him and show his handiwork. In Psalms 139:14, David writes, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Dear child of God, you are no accident. God’s elect are known as his workmanship. We were created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). The idea that we are here by mere chance leads to the ‘every man for himself’ attitude. You are here because of God almighty.
We also need to recognize that God does what he pleases in the realm of salvation. Many Christians mistakenly believe that they have some part in their eternal salvation. Some say that we must make a decision to serve God or let him into our hearts. Others say that you have to be baptized or one’s good works must outweigh their bad. Many of God’s children dedicate their lives to saving souls from eternal damnation. While these ideas may be backed with the greatest of intentions, they do not harmonize with scripture. We must first understand that we are spiritually dead because of our sins. We are not merely sick and in need of some medicine we are dead. Romans 3:9-12 records this truth. “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Who is the Apostle Paul writing about? All of mankind throughout history. We are all spiritually dead because of sin. What can a dead person accomplish? Nothing! Therefore, we are wholly dependent upon God for our eternal salvation. In Ephesians 2:3-5 Paul later writes of how we are made alive by the mercy of God. “But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ (by grace are ye saved;)”
God does not need our help with saving his children. Heaven is home for his elect because of his power. You are not saved because of a decision you made to serve the Lord. You are not going to enjoy eternal glory because of your works. Heaven is the blessed home of the child of God because of his sovereign love. For more insight into the power of God in salvation, read Ephesians chapters 1-2 and Romans 8-9. God did not need our help in creation and he certainly does not need our assistance in determining the eternal salvation of his people. He has commanded us to obey biblical teaching and glorify his name in all that we do while we are in this world. May God bless us to honor him in all things.
Michael Green, Jr. is pastor of Palm Chapel Primitive Baptist Church (www.palmchapel.org) in Crestview, FL. Palm Chapel meets every Sunday at 10:30am and Wednesday at 6:00pm. Pastor Green can be contacted at (850) 689-3383 or by email at pastormichael@palmchapel.org. Pastor Green warmly invites you to come and worship at Palm Chapel Primitive Baptist Church.
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