Do You Have a "Plot" Testimony?
Dear Saints:
Everyone has a religion. It may not be organized religion. Your religion could be self-religion – a belief in self and what you can do without God. All religious people must come to faith, believe and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior; otherwise, their religion is worthless. The devil loves religious people so if you help turn religious people to believe in Jesus, Satan will plot against you.
Do you have a testimony of God’s working in you and through you that the enemy is plotting to kill you? Well, come and meet brother Lazarus. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been stinking in the grave for four days. Let’s read (John 12) and see what happened next at a party for Jesus:
“9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He [Jesus] was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.” John 12:9-11.
It was common in the early church to die for the faith in Jesus and for proclaiming the good news of the Gospel. The authorities could not resist the power of the Gospel unto salvation (Romans 1:16) so they went after the followers of Jesus who proclaimed the good news. What we have today is easy beliefs and no cost and no consequence for following Christ. We thrive in self-comfort and self-focus instead of self-denial and pick up the cross (see Luke 9:23; 14:27; Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34).
The miracle of Lazarus is the same miracle Jesus has also done in us. Jesus has raised us from the dead, because we were all stinking with our self-righteousness and sins before He made us alive. Listen to apostle Paul:
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3.
Can much evidence be found in our life styles and our speeches to be enough to cause the enemy to plot against us? Are you a threat to the kingdom of Satan? Are you being used in depopulating hell to populate heaven like Lazarus, Peter, Paul and many others did? Many of them were martyred for their un-stoppable faith in Christ, the only Savior. These fathers of our faith were convinced that all religious people without faith in Christ will end in hell as Jesus said (see John 3:18).
Do you really believe people will go to hell without believe, faith and trust in Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins? The Cross is all sufficient for a reconciled relationship with God and for heaven; not our good works, though we should do good works. Religious people only have good works. Are you religious without true faith in Christ?
Many of us want miracles for ourselves and that is why they are not happening. Jesus said this about Lazarus, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4
What is your present and greatest impossible-problem that Jesus can use to glorify himself? In fact, we have already experienced the greatest miracle if we have repented of our sins and have put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. This is enough miracle and a gift worth telling others and this is why Jesus said we are His witnesses and to go and make other disciples.
How can this statement be true in our lives these days? “On account of him [Lazarus] many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”
This Christmas season is a great opportunity to share the gospel with anyone. Many cultural-religious-Christians and people are celebrating Christmas without faith in Christ. We can ask people simple questions such as “Do you know that by celebrating Christmas, participating in the sales of the season, you are agreeing to the fact that God came down from heaven, became a man, died for us and rose again and reconciled us to God? Ask people about their faith journeys. Let them tell you and then point them to Jesus depending on where they are.
May God help us to be obedient in proclaiming and living out the Gospel. Amen. Think about Daniel’s prophesies about the end, “Those who turn many to righteousness [shall shine] like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3. Jesus is the righteous One. Oh my friend, there will be different rewards in heaven for disciple makers who proclaim and live for the Gospel.
Everyone has a religion. It may not be organized religion. Your religion could be self-religion – a belief in self and what you can do without God. All religious people must come to faith, believe and trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior; otherwise, their religion is worthless. The devil loves religious people so if you help turn religious people to believe in Jesus, Satan will plot against you.
Do you have a testimony of God’s working in you and through you that the enemy is plotting to kill you? Well, come and meet brother Lazarus. Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been stinking in the grave for four days. Let’s read (John 12) and see what happened next at a party for Jesus:
“9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He [Jesus] was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.” John 12:9-11.
It was common in the early church to die for the faith in Jesus and for proclaiming the good news of the Gospel. The authorities could not resist the power of the Gospel unto salvation (Romans 1:16) so they went after the followers of Jesus who proclaimed the good news. What we have today is easy beliefs and no cost and no consequence for following Christ. We thrive in self-comfort and self-focus instead of self-denial and pick up the cross (see Luke 9:23; 14:27; Matthew 10:38; 16:24; Mark 8:34).
The miracle of Lazarus is the same miracle Jesus has also done in us. Jesus has raised us from the dead, because we were all stinking with our self-righteousness and sins before He made us alive. Listen to apostle Paul:
“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Ephesians 2:1-3.
Can much evidence be found in our life styles and our speeches to be enough to cause the enemy to plot against us? Are you a threat to the kingdom of Satan? Are you being used in depopulating hell to populate heaven like Lazarus, Peter, Paul and many others did? Many of them were martyred for their un-stoppable faith in Christ, the only Savior. These fathers of our faith were convinced that all religious people without faith in Christ will end in hell as Jesus said (see John 3:18).
Do you really believe people will go to hell without believe, faith and trust in Jesus and His sacrifice for our sins? The Cross is all sufficient for a reconciled relationship with God and for heaven; not our good works, though we should do good works. Religious people only have good works. Are you religious without true faith in Christ?
Many of us want miracles for ourselves and that is why they are not happening. Jesus said this about Lazarus, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” John 11:4
What is your present and greatest impossible-problem that Jesus can use to glorify himself? In fact, we have already experienced the greatest miracle if we have repented of our sins and have put our faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross. This is enough miracle and a gift worth telling others and this is why Jesus said we are His witnesses and to go and make other disciples.
How can this statement be true in our lives these days? “On account of him [Lazarus] many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.”
This Christmas season is a great opportunity to share the gospel with anyone. Many cultural-religious-Christians and people are celebrating Christmas without faith in Christ. We can ask people simple questions such as “Do you know that by celebrating Christmas, participating in the sales of the season, you are agreeing to the fact that God came down from heaven, became a man, died for us and rose again and reconciled us to God? Ask people about their faith journeys. Let them tell you and then point them to Jesus depending on where they are.
May God help us to be obedient in proclaiming and living out the Gospel. Amen. Think about Daniel’s prophesies about the end, “Those who turn many to righteousness [shall shine] like the stars forever and ever.” Daniel 12:3. Jesus is the righteous One. Oh my friend, there will be different rewards in heaven for disciple makers who proclaim and live for the Gospel.
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