Why Believers Are Not Afraid of Unbelievers

 

HEBREWS 12:2 

Looking unto JESUS, The Author and Finisher of our Faith,

Who for the Joy set before Him endured the cross,

despising the shame,

And is set down at the right hand of the throne of GOD.

    When our focus is on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, spending time alone with Him in prayer and meditation of The Word of God, we will be able to endure the mocking cries of those who do not believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of All. 

    Our goal from the day we become born again believers through faith in The Name Above All Names -- JESUS CHRIST -- is to persuade others to believe in Him also. We call this soul-winning. Proverbs 11:30 "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise." 

    But our job doesn't stop with just telling someone about JESUS and what He's done for us, we must also encourage them to live a holy and righteous life in Christ through the power of God's Holy Spirit. It is The Spirit of God that is breathed into us which gives us the power and strength to preach and teach and disciple and evangelize wherever we are. Without the power of God's Holy Spirit anyone who declares themself to be God's anointed leader is a liar, for The Spirit of God is not in him or her. 

    When Paul preached the gospel of salvation through JESUS CHRIST in Caesarea to King Agrippa, the king stated that 'he was almost persuaded'. Paul made a very compelling defense, yet the king, at that time, was not quite convinced that this gospel was true. 

    Many believe the Holy Bible to be outdated. And that it is no longer applicable to today's generation of self-centered fulfillment. An unwillingness to change and an inability to see the need for change will continue to bring about the downfall of any nation who chooses to attack Christians who refuse to disobey God. Though the enemies of the cross may appear to be winning, that appearance is an illusion, for God is still on the throne and He is still in control. 

    As believers, we, too, must endure our crosses; for each of us who believe must put aside that which is in this world and take up our crosses, too. Luke 9:23 "Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to follow Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." 

    And each of us who make up the body of Christ must be prepared to suffer for the sake of the gospel of salvation through JESUS CHRIST. We must be found worthy to suffer. To get there we need to spend much time with our Lord and Savior. I used to regard my gardens as my sanctuary. There I would pray and write and sing and listen to God speak to my heart. I am older now and cannot play in the garden like I used to. But I can sit there and listen to Him even now. 

    The sufferings we go through are not as important as how we go through them: with HOPE, with GReAT exPEctAtions, with JOY, with a strong desire to see our Lord and Savior at the end of our sufferings. 

    We have a Peace That Passes Understanding when we have JESUS in our hearts and The Holy Spirit in our lives. A Peace that only comes from knowing that JESUS CHRIST is our LORD (ruler of our lives, for we have surrendered ourselves to His Authority) and SAVIOR (saving our souls from eternal damnation and punishment in hell). 

    Expect to be jailed for being a Christ-follower. Expect to be tortured for being a Christ-follower. Expect to be killed for being a Christ-follower. Expect to be taken into glory for being a Christ-follower. 

    We are not volatile, nor are we violent. As Christ stood silent before His accusers, so should we who follow Him. We do not debate with fools. The Word of God is their Judge, not us. I am a Christian, a faithful follower of my Lord and Savior, JESUS CHRIST. 

    Are you? Are you focusing on what God wants you to do or are you focusing on what you want to do in this life He has given you? The choices we make now will impact our destination after we die. And then it will be too late. Do you want to know real Peace? Then you need Jesus. Do you want to know Unspeakable Joy. Then you need Jesus. For whatever it is you are looking for to make you happy, you won't find it without knowing JESUS CHRIST as your personal Savior. It is a commitment each of us has to make on our own. Each one of us is responsible for the soul-saving decision of whether or not we believe in The Name Above All Names. And that includes you who are reading this. 

    I am not afraid. I have all of my armor on (Ephesians 6:10-20) and I am ready to be of service to my King. I am not ashamed of my Jesus. I am loved by Him and I love Him in return.

WE ARE NOT ASHAMED -music video-Carman

A Crucified Life - - Our Eternal View

 

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but is on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 4648

Fix Our Eyes: to look at, contemplate

From the Greek word 'skopeó' (skop-eh'-o)): regard attentively, take heed, beware, consider, mark, have regard to.

FIX OUR EYES

Hebrews 11:13 (regarding the people who believed the promises of God before the Promise came in the person of Jesus Christ) "All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth." Their faith was counted unto them for righteousness (Romans 4:3-22 [Abraham]; Hebrews 11:39-40 [untold numbers of faithful believers]). 

     2 Corinthians 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight. 

    Romans 8:24  For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?

    Hebrews 11:1  Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see.

    We should never lose sight of the Promise, for having placed our hope in Christ, we are now bound to Him and look forward to meeting Him face to face. When this fleshly veil is removed from us, and our glorious bodies are revealed, then we shall meet Him as He is. 

WHAT IS UNSEEN

    As the song by MercyMe states, "I can only imagine" what God has in store for us. But we are given glimpses of heaven, peerings into the glories of our eternal destination. 

>Revelation 22:1-5

>Psalm 46:4

>Revelation 4,7,21

>Ezekiel 48:35

    So much wonderfulness to look forward to. Don't you think so, too? But who will we see there? 

>Hebrews 12:1-2 "a great cloud of witnesses" (those martyred for their faith) and "Jesus the Author and Finisher of our Faith". 

>Revelation 19:1-16 "a great multitude", "the Lamb and His bride", the Rider on the white horse.

>1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 "the dead in Christ" (they who died before His second return) and "they who are alive at His second return".

>1 Corinthians 15:51-54 "we will be raised changed".

ETERNAL

    But all of this wonderfulness is only for the believers of God's Promise. We urge you who do not believe, therefore, to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior, to claim Him as your own Lord and Savior. To acknowledge that there is no other God and Savior. To begin to follow Christ and live the Word in the power of God's Holy Spirit. We plead, we beg, we ask that you reconsider your ways and walk faithfully in the path of life which God is setting before you. Eternity is forever. 

    *Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 166

Eternal: age-long, and therefore: practically eternal, unending; partaking of the character of that which lasts for an age, as contrasted with that which is brief and fleeting.

    From the Greek word ' aiónios' (pronounced ahee-o'-nee-os):  "Eternal  life operates simultaneously outside of time, inside of time, and beyond time – i.e. what gives time its everlasting meaning for the believer through faith, yet is also time-independent." 

    (Figuratively) the unique quality (reality) of God's life at work in the believer, i.e. as the Lord manifests His self-existent life (as it is in His sinless abode of heaven). [from Word Studies]

    Eternity is forever. Heaven is forever. The lake of fire into which hell and death and their residents are thrown is forever. 

    In heaven is the glory of God, the King of Kings, the Spirit of God, God's faithful angels and all of God's people.

    In the lake of fire is everyone who turned their hearts against God. This includes Satan/Lucifer/the devil, the angels who followed him out of heaven, and all the people who turned their hearts against the Word of God. 

    We have for our example of this the parable of The Rich Man and Lazarus the Beggar, as related in Luke 16:19-31. We know from our reading here that the rich man in hell had all his senses intact. He was hot. He knew thirst. He knew pain. He could see. He could taste. He could hear. He could speak.

    Lazarus in paradise with Abraham was near water. The water the rich man in hell asked for. Even in his agony and torment, the rich man demanded to be served; to be served by a man he ignored in life. 

    But the gap between heaven and hell could not be breached by either. 

    Even now the believers around the world are standing in the gap, praying for the lost and the dying unbelievers to receive Christ and live with Him forever and ever. When we kneel in prayer, we are not only humbling ourselves before our God, we are committing to pray for each other's souls; we are battling the forces of darkness every time we open our mouths and our faith in the Promise of God springs forth. 

FIX OUR EYES 

I Can Only Imagine - MercyMe

Fix My eyes - 4 King & Country

Home - Chris Tomlin

You Say - Lauren Daigle

Hope In Front of Me - Danny Gokey

No Matter What - Ryan Stevenson

Glorious Day - Casting Crowns

There Will Be A Day - Jeremy Camp

His Banner Over Me - Winds of Worship 4 Live From Brighton England