“GOD has something to say to you,
GOD has something to say to me.
Listen, Listen, pay close attention for GOD has something to say.”
A young man from Nigeria shared this little chorus with a few students at a morning prayer gathering in the late 1970’s at the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. He had come to Saskatoon to do his doctorate in engineering. Unfortunately, he arrived in late December, during a fairly cold winter, around -30 to -40 Celsius or Fahrenheit (it doesn’t much matter at that temperature). He endured those temps for about a month before deciding on some place a little warmer to pursue his studies.
Contrary to the prevailing mindset today in the unbelieving world GOD is not silent. He is and always has been a GOD who speaks. He is speaking to everyone, but lamentably most try to filter His voice and word out of their minds and consciences or smother it with the smoke of the world’s foolishness camouflaged as wisdom. The address of His Word is to everyone regardless of religious or philosophical background, dark or light skinned, rich or poor, famous or infamous, powerful or marginalized, those in mansions and those in prisons. The LORD GOD has a lot to say to you, to me, to anyone who is open to listening.
In John 1:1-18 the HOLY SPIRIT testifies that JESUS Was and Is GOD’S Word or message of amazing grace, powerful truth, and eternal hope to our lost, confused, darkened and decaying world. For three or so years, until His crucifixion for our sin, JESUS went through the towns, villages and cities in Israel speaking to people from all paths of life. Although many people heard Him only a few gave Him their attention and took His words seriously.
GOD has a lot to say to us to teach us, and we all have a lot to learn from our eternal Creator. We were created to be His children. He is our FATHER, our SAVIOR, and our TEACHER and HELPER through life. The mission JESUS authorized His disciples, His students, to fulfill through the help of His HOLY SPIRIT, was the spreading of His Word, His message to help people in all nations to become His students and to live by His powerful word (Matthew 28:18-20). To our own detriment and negative impact on others, many who call themselves Christians are not attempting to be His students, but only observers who hear but don’t practice His teaching in their life. JESUS parable of the wise and the foolish in Matthew 7:24-27 is all about the crucial significance of hearing GOD’S Word and putting it into practice. JESUS issues a clear warning of the negative consequences when we don’t listen or live by His teaching. As it is written: “the sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods (idols)” Psalm 16:4.
In 2003 or 2004 I was at an internet café in India where I met a young man who had some questions about JESUS, about GOD, but told me up front that he was only a nominal Christian and wasn’t following or practicing JESUS teaching in his life. I encouraged him to quit being a nominal Christian and to be a real one and trust in CHRIST’S love and salvation and seek to live by His Word. This is the call of GOD through His HOLY SPIRIT and His SON to all of us. As JESUS said: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of GOD” Matthew 4:4.
Now it is somewhat understandable that those who do not believe and know who JESUS Was and Is wouldn’t have any inclination in learning what He taught or practicing it in their daily life. On the other hand, it is non-sensical for anyone who does believe that JESUS is indeed the eternal SON of GOD not to become a devoted student/disciple of His.
We know that JESUS was rejected by most of the people of His generation who heard Him, even to the point of crucifying Him for His identity and message (Isaiah 53; Matthew 4:16-30; John 1:10-11; John 15:18-25, etc.). On one occasion when He was preaching and teaching them about how to receive eternal life through trusting in Him, we are told that many of the people left Him and didn’t follow or listen to Him anymore. JESUS then turned to His students/disciples and asked them if they wanted to leave too. The apostle Peter responded by saying: “LORD to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” John 6:68. For everyone who really believes that JESUS can give us eternal life in a new eternal glorious holy world, where there is no more death, evil, or suffering, it only makes sense to listen to Him and follow His teachings. As the line in the chorus, You are My All in All says: “LORD, to give up I’d be a fool”.
GOD’S Message of Repentance to All People
So what message does GOD bring to us through His SON and His HOLY SPIRIT? In Matthew 4:17 it is written: “From that time on JESUS began to preach, “Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!” The HOLY SPIRIT tells us that from the beginning to the end of His ministry JESUS proclaimed this message to people in all the villages, towns, and cities in Israel (Matthew 9:35). JESUS, GOD’S SON, became a travelling preacher. Wherever He went He faithfully obeyed His FATHER’S will and mission He had been given, which included calling upon all people, the rich and the poor, religious and civil leaders, farmers or fisherman, slave or free to repent of their sin and believe in His Kingdom (John 14:10,24,31; 15:15; 17:8,14).
JESUS also gave a clear warning to all who heard but didn’t repent of their sin:
“Then JESUS began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the Day of Judgment than for you.’”
Matthew 11:20-24
Capernaum was JESUS home base for His over three years of travelling ministry. Korazin and Bethsaida were nearby. Many of the people there had seen many of JESUS miracles and would have heard Him preach and teach many times. They liked the miracles, but they didn’t take His words seriously and did not repent of their sin.
We all need to pay attention, to listen attentively to GOD’S – CHRIST’S – the HOLY SPIRIT’S call to all of us to repent of our sin. The call to repentance didn’t just appear in JESUS preaching 2000 years ago. The call to repentance was a core feature of all GOD’s words delivered by the prophets of the Old Testament. It was a crucial part of the message of John the Baptist to prepare the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob for the first coming of CHRIST (Matthew 3:1-12).
After His resurrection JESUS said to His disciples: “repentance and forgiveness will be preached in His Name to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem’ Luke 24:47. The call to repentance was fundamental to the preaching and teaching of all the LORD’S New Testament apostles. The Apostle Paul wrote: “I have declared to both Jews and Gentiles that they must turn to GOD in repentance and have faith in our LORD JESUS” Acts 20:21. In speaking of the return of CHRIST to judge the world the Apostle Peter wrote: “The LORD is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9. For the past 2000 years the LORD’S faithful disciples and messengers have proclaimed this same message of repentance and forgiveness in JESUS’ name to people in all nations, just as CHRIST and His prophets and apostles testified would happen before His return.
The word repentance means to change our thinking and our life. We all need to acknowledge the reality of our sin and our lack of love for GOD and one another. We need the HOLY SPIRIT’S inspiration to turn to the LORD and His plan or purpose for each of our lives and away from our sinful thoughts and desires of the flesh. Repentance is coming to GOD humbly recognizing that because of our sin we are not worthy of Him and His Holy Kingdom, but knowing that we have no other hope apart from His mercy. While we are living it is never too late to repent and believe.
Repentance isn’t just dealing with the so-called big sins in our lives, but for all of our sins or selfish words, attitudes and actions; our sins against GOD and against others; our sins of omission and commission; the sins we may be aware of in our lives and the sins we may be blind to. We really don’t realize how sinful we are until we begin to look at ourselves through the mirror of GOD’S teachings, commands and will for our lives revealed in His Word. Probably the main reason why most people choose not to look into the mirror of GOD’S Word is because it reveals their evil thoughts, attitudes and actions. JESUS said:
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” John 3:19-20
GOD’S/CHRIST’S/the HOLY SPIRIT’S message from the beginning to the end of His Word is very clear that all people are equally guilty of sins of omission and commission in our thoughts, words, attitudes and actions. GOD has clearly stated:
“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks GOD. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD.” Romans 3:10-12, 23
This isn’t a very positive description of each of us and our human race, but it is a true portrayal which cannot be disputed by the evidence. The record of world history and of each of our lives demonstrably reveals the reality of our sin. On the Day of Judgement, repeatedly testified to by CHRIST and His Old Testament prophets and New Testament apostles, all unrepentant sin/evil will be clearly exposed and condemned (Matthew 5:22, 27-30; 25:31-46; Romans 2:16; Revelation 20:11-14; etc.). It is written:
“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word has no place in our lives” 1 John 1:8-10.
Since GOD is eternal and has infinite knowledge of all things, He is perfectly aware of all my sin and yours. There is no excuse for any of us. An excuse is “the skin of a reason stuffed with a lie”, as a close friend told me years ago. We are all sinners and like an alcohol, drug, porn, money, fame or power addict, the sooner we acknowledge the truth and quit trying to rationalize our sin before GOD and others, the sooner we will repent and seek GOD’S help. We do not need to repent of the sins of other people, just our own sin.
Every day we all need to take a good look at ourselves through the testimony of the HOLY SPIRIT in His Word. Every day we need to repent of our sin and seek the LORD’S forgiveness and the help of His SPIRIT and Word to teach, rebuke, correct, train, and encourage us in faithfully loving and obeying Him and loving and serving others in His name. We are all called to serve the LORD and our neighbour. Today is the day of opportunity for people in all nations to come to repentance and faith in JESUS and to receive the gift of everlasting life (2 Corinthians 6:2).
The Holiness, Mercy and Forgiveness of the LORD
In clearly confronting each of us of our sin through His Word and our conscience, GOD is not only helping us to understand the truth about our ourselves, but He is also revealing two principal truths about Himself that He wants everyone to know.
The first truth that the call to repentance reveals about our Creator GOD is that He is Holy. This isn’t just some peripheral characteristic of GOD mentioned in passing, but one that is essential and repeated continually through His Word. The prophet Isaiah was given a vision of GOD in Heaven surrounded by the angels in which the angels were continually declaring: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD GOD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory” Isaiah 6:3. This refrain continues forever with the saints and angels: “Day and night they never stop saying: Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD GOD Almighty, Who Was and Is and Is to come” Revelation 4:8. To be holy describes someone who is perfect in every way, in truthfulness, righteousness, justice; one who has no sin or evil of any kind in their being. Holiness is something that we aren’t in our present condition, but GOD IS/ CHRIST IS/ the HOLY SPIRIT IS. Since GOD is holy and we aren’t He is right and just to call us to repentance.
Secondly, GOD’S/ CHRIST’S/ the HOLY SPIRIT’S call to us to repent not only teaches us about the holiness of the LORD our GOD, but it also gives a clear testimony to His amazing love, mercy, and forgiveness. If the LORD wasn’t forgiving and merciful, then the call to repentance would be a mere charade. GOD is loving and forgiving to all who sincerely repent of their sin and trust His Word and promises. It is written: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” 1John 1:9. Forgiveness is never something which is earned, but which is freely given by GOD out of His love and mercy to those who are sincerely sorry and repentant of their sin.
Like the call to repentance, the Old Testament prophet’s testimony to the love, mercy, and forgiveness of the LORD to all who sincerely repent was the heart of their message from GOD. King David, who was a serial sinner, continually praised the LORD for His amazing forgiveness to Him. King David’s story in the Old Testament is ripe with sin of all kinds, including lying, adultery and murder. However, he also repeatedly humbled himself and confessed his sins to the LORD calling out for His mercy. He wrote:
“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me, my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:1-5
The Psalms are filled with prayers loaded with testimonies to the LORD’S amazing love and forgiveness. The whole sacrificial system that the LORD had given to the people of Israel through Moses was centered on the truth of GOD’S love and His desire to forgive them for the sin in their life and their nation, provided of course that they were not being deceitful in their repentance and sorrow for their sin. The LORD had revealed His truth and commandments to them, called them to repentance from their sin, promised His mercy and forgiveness to those who would repent, and warned them of His coming judgements.
The sacrifices of animals that GOD asked for in the Old Testament were temporary signs pointing to the ultimate sacrifice of body and blood of CHRIST testified to in the New Testament. The central message or Word of GOD in the New Testament was GOD’S amazing love and grace in sending His eternal SON into our world, not only to call everyone to repentance and to teach us about the reality of GOD’S eternal Kingdom, but to give His own SON on a cross to pay for our sin, and thereby to forgive all who sincerely repent and believe. This is summed up in the most quoted verse in the Bible: “For GOD so loved the world that He gave His one and only SON, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16.
JESUS was and is GOD’S Word or message to all of us: a message of GOD’S love and forgiveness to everyone who will repent of their sin and believe in His forgiveness and His eternal Kingdom.
The Reality of GOD’S/CHRIST’S Eternal Kingdom
Now, there wouldn’t be any reason for any of us to repent of our sin if the death of our bodies was the ultimate end of our existence. If this world and universe was all that there is then we might as well follow the philosophy of satanism, which the majority are unconsciously doing in living their life apart from faith in GOD and JESUS. Satan’s big lie being consumed by multitudes of people is that this world is all there is, with no GOD or heaven or hell. People are much more receptive to the lies of the evil one than to the truth of CHRIST and His faithful servants.
Back in the late 1970’s the University of Saskatchewan’s students’ union invited and paid Karla LaVey, a professed witch and daughter of Anton LaVey, the high priest of the Church of Satan in San Francisco, to come and speak on the philosophy of Satanism. (Hypocritically, the student’s union would never have called a faithful Christian minister or believer to share on the teachings of CHRIST.) She spoke to a crowded auditorium of five hundred or so students telling them that satanism is just a philosophy that believes that there is no god or heaven or hell. She proclaimed that this life is all there is, and therefore everyone should be free to live life according to their own desires, dreams and hopes in the pursuit of their own path to happiness.
Her message sounded similar to the American Declaration of Independence with one monstrous pivotal difference. The Declaration of Independence begins with a clear acknowledgement that our rights and freedoms are a gift from our Creator GOD, and that governments and nations are accountable to GOD. Nowhere in the Declaration is it stated that people, nations or governments are independent from GOD. Nevertheless, ever since the Declaration the atheistic minority of people have sought to use their GOD given freedom, which is protected by the US constitution, to transform the nation into being independent from GOD’S will or purposes.
There is nothing new under the sun. This same deception overcame the people of Israel who were established by GOD’S mercy and commands. However instead of doing what is right in GOD’S eyes (Deuteronomy 13:18), they spiritually mutated into everyone doing what is right in their own eyes, rather than GOD’S eyes (Judges 2:11; 3:12; 6:1, 10:6; 13:1; 21:25). They chose to live independent from GOD’S will and mercy and refused to acknowledge their accountability to GOD. Moses and all the prophets warned the people and their leaders about this danger, but they didn’t heed the warnings and brought great disaster upon their nation over the course of the past 3000 years. The Old Testament record of the history of the nation of Israel is a tragic record of people who strayed from the LORD and turned a deaf ear to His unceasing call to them to return to Him. The LORD continues to love the people of Israel and seeks to save them through His SON. Praise the LORD that a remnant of the Jewish people, like people in all nations, will come to know JESUS as their SAVIOR and LORD in these last days before His return.
Satanism is a delusion of self-centeredness that leads people on the broad path of sin and death. How is that bucket list coming? Got your billion yet? Seen enough places yet? Is your bucket list based on GOD’S Word and will for your life, or a wish list of selfish desires and dreams for the pleasures and treasures of this world? As GOD says: “What good will it be for a man, if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Matthew 16:26.
The SPIRIT of GOD says through the apostle Paul, “If only for this life we have hope in CHRIST, we are to be pitied more than all men” 1 Corinthians 15:19. There would be no reason to repent of our sin if CHRIST’S Kingdom of Heaven wasn’t real. The devil is a liar who camouflages himself in light (2 Corinthians 11:14), professing to enlighten people and to make them happy, when in reality he is blindfolding them and chauffeuring them on the freeways to destruction (Matthew 7:13). He is driving them into his utter darkness of suffering in the eternal separation from the goodness and life of GOD/CHRIST and His amazing Kingdom.
Praise the LORD that His Kingdom of Heaven, of the new Heaven and Earth is eternal and coming quickly for all who repent and believe. Dear friends as JESUS preached and His HOLY SPIRIT is proclaiming all over our world today, GOD’S Kingdom is very near for three reasons.
Firstly, the message of salvation, of GOD’S mercy and forgiveness in JESUS name through His death and His resurrection is being proclaimed to people in all nations today and many are coming to repentance of their sin and faith in our LORD JESUS CHRIST. As I have shared in numerous places over the last few years, we are living in absolutely amazing days for the Kingdom of Heaven. Through the ministry of the HOLY SPIRIT and His faithful messengers every day there are thousands upon thousands of people, young and old, poor and rich, black and white and every shade in-between, from all the nations of our world who are coming to repentance and faith in the knowledge of JESUS love, mercy, forgiveness, and the resurrection to eternal life. JESUS testified that the angels in Heaven are rejoicing over every sinner who comes to repentance and faith into His eternal Kingdom (Luke 15:7,10). Today, every day is like the Day of Pentecost when thousands of people are coming by faith in CHRIST into His salvation. Today is a day of rejoicing in Heaven and on earth. This is just the beginning of the eternal celebrations in Heaven for all who sincerely trust in the LORD and His grace.
The second reason why the Kingdom of Heaven is near is that planet Earth is the valley of the shadow of death. Our lives in this world are short and pass quickly. As the LORD tells us in His Word: “As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more” Psalm 103:15-16. We are surrounded everyday by those whose lives in this world are ending. We have all had to say good-bye or see you later to loved ones and others whose bodies have perished. As someone who has spent over seventy years wandering as a stranger on this planet I can testify, that GOD’S Word is true, life passes quickly like a dream in the night. As a pastor for over 40 years, I have shared at numerous funerals or celebrations of life services for many older individuals and a few younger ones. No one knows the day or the hour when our life on this planet will end, or whether it will happen slowly through painful disease processes or quickly through accidents or the malicious actions of sinful people. Death will come; you can count on it.
The LORD tells us not be troubled by the sorrows or problems of this world for they will soon all pass away. Do not worry, do not be afraid, do not be stressed out or anxious over these fleeting problems. JESUS said to His followers the evening before His crucifixion on the cross: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in GOD and trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. I am going there to prepare a place for you” John 14:1-2. For those who believe in JESUS and His promises, death is nothing more than a shadow through which we pass into the glorious presence of our Creator, Savior and Helper. We will soon be with Him, and all who have trusted in and loved Him, in the new Heaven and Earth in our new resurrected bodies experiencing His eternal blessings.
The third reason why the Kingdom of Heaven is near is because of the soon return of CHRIST to destroy and judge the evil of this world and to take those who trust in Him into His eternal home, the new Heaven and Earth. Like death, we do not know the day or the hour when JESUS will return to fulfill all of the prophecies connected to His second coming. We are called to be waiting and ready and occupied with the work of His kingdom, of sharing His grace, truth and salvation until He comes. I have shared on many of these prophecies focussed on the very soon return of our LORD in other articles on this website. I encourage you to take the time to read and understand the many prophecies testifying to His second coming, many of which are literally being fulfilled right now in all nations. The remaining prophecies that will still take place can happen very quickly given the dynamic apocalyptic realities that are present in our world today. As JESUS said: “ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” Luke 21:28.
As the song says:
“What a day that will be when my JESUS I shall see,
And I look upon His face—the One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand and leads me thru the promised land—
What a day, glorious day that will be!”
Conclusion: The Urgent Message
The LORD’S message or word to us is clear and it is urgent. The LORD calls all of us to repent of the sin in our life. No one knows if they will still be living tomorrow. As we shared earlier, today is the day of salvation, today is a new opportunity for each of us to repent of our sin, to trust in CHRIST and with the help of His HOLY SPIRIT to seek to share His love, truth and salvation with others around us. This is urgent for us now to bear good eternal fruit through our life, and it is urgent because very soon our life here will be concluding and then we will see the LORD.
“AMEN, come LORD JESUS. The grace of the LORD JESUS be with GOD’S people. Amen.” Revelation 22:20-21