Published by admin on 03 Sep 2021 at 12:22 pm
WHAT IS YOUR FOCUS?
There seems to be a lot of people who either don’t believe the LORD is returning soon, or just don’t care, by the way they live and speak. I for one believe He IS coming soon, perhaps during my lifetime, and it moves me with fear, not of being lost, but of not accomplishing what He has called me to do. And that is what? Preaching the Kingdom of God and asking people to repent and become disciples of Christ Jesus.
It is written in 2nd Peter 3:1-14,
1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.
Emphasizing and reminding of verse 9 which says, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
So, what is the LORD’S focus here? That NONE should perish. But is that OUR focus? As born-again children of God, that should be our NUMBER ONE FOCUS! Sadly, when I look around, I see most are focused on the here and now, living their “best life” as some preach, so sadly unaware, or uncaring of the huge number of lost and unsaved among us. And I have to admit, I fall short of the mark as well. I need the LORD’S mercy just as much as everyone else does, maybe even more.
Knowing how great the mercy of the LORD is, we (and I) should be focusing our full attention to the problem at hand, and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to every creature, as He instructed His disciples in Mark 16:15, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
What part of “GO YE” do we not seem to understand? Or is it we understand, and just don’t care? Whatever the reason, there needs to be a much greater attendance to the work of the LORD going on, as time is short, and the LORD WILL return, just as He said. And what will He find us doing when He DOES return? It saddens me personally at the small number of souls I’ve won for the Kingdom of God, especially in light of some of the greatest soul-winners in our time such as Billy Graham or Reinhardt Bonnke, who have won literally millions to the LORD. Now I realize, some have a greater anointing for soul-winning than others, but we all have the same calling to give it all we have, to occupy ourselves with the LORD’S work to the best of our ability.
Do you realize the one who won Billy Graham to the LORD had no idea that Billy would win millions to the LORD? Maybe you aren’t winning millions of souls, but what if the one you win becomes the next Billy Graham? What I’m saying is this; the Bible says obedience is better than sacrifice. If YOU and I are obedient to what we are supposed to be doing, God sees that as success, whether it be one soul won, or a million. After all, some sow, some water, but it is GOD who gives the increase.
What is it that keeps us from being more fruitful for God’s Kingdom? Is it fear? Is it peer presssure? Is it unbelief? Is it disobedience? Is it lack of care? Is it the feeling that no matter what we do, it will never be enough? There are many reasons, but we must realize this: there are lost souls out there who COULD be saved if each of us put more effort into it. I for one have never been a “socially outgoing” person, so it’s difficult for me to just walk up to someone and ask them if they know Jesus. But knowing how important their soul is to the LORD helps me overcome that. Think about this: what if the person who led YOU to the LORD was too shy to minister to you? Perhaps you’d be among the lost today as well.
I’ve NEVER had someone walk up and share Jesus with me. Yes, I went to church every week doing God a favor by putting in my two hours a week, but I was as lost as a billy goat, and if that wasn’t bad enough, I KNEW I WAS LOST and wasn’t doing anything about it. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with cancer that I was moved to get right with God. And that was only because I was scared of dying and going to hell. The LORD himself told me to read Psalm 103:2-3 the day at church I got saved. That day started off like any other, with me being interested only in what pleased me. Little did I realize that God not only “had my number”, but actually CARED for me as a person. Maybe YOU’RE a nice person, but I wasn’t. I deserved to die and go straight to hell, “do not pass go, do not collect $200” as the Monopoly game card says.
I learned something that day; God is NOT an angry being sitting on a cloud with a flyswatter, waiting for us to light so He could smack us a good one. That’s who I THOUGHT He was, but I had been taught wrong at church, having heard one too many fire and brimstone sermons, topped of with legalistic stuff I had to do to ever please God, I had no intention of ever trying to get to know Him on a personal basis. If someone else wanted to, that’s fine with me, but I already knew I could never measure up. So why bother?
There was a gospel I had never heard, and it was contained right there in 2 Peter 3:9, which I will repeat again, The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
WHY would God even care that I was lost in the first place? That’s the part nobody ever taught me. The LORD waited until I was finally ready to listen, and put aside all the trash about Him I had previously been taught. How could God love a sinner such as I? I don’t know, I didn’t then, and I still don’t, but I know it’s TRUE! He wasn’t, and isn’t willing for any to be lost, and that’s why Jesus came to pay the horrible price on the cross, so YOUR and MY sins could be forgiven. Gone. Never to be thrown back in our face again. And that means the separation that had always existed between God and us, due to our sins, could be eliminated. Forever.
It hurts God’s heart that we aren’t all His children, but He gives us a choice whether to receive salvation, or refuse it. And it hurts MY heart that I’m not doing a better job of getting His message out to the lost and unsaved. What is the difference between the “lost” and the “unsaved”? The lost usually don’t know they’re lost. They think everything is ok, and go on about their merry way until they’ve drawn their last breath, and then it’s too late for them to be saved. The “unsaved” are those who have said “NO” to the LORD, for whatever reason, and have chosen to stand apart from the LORD. For some of them, it’s actually wrong teaching from the religious people that has driven them to keep God out of their life. Both end up being fatal to “everlasting life” that God has made available to “whosoever will”.
What can I do to help you if you don’t know the Lord Jesus as YOUR LORD and Savior? I care for your soul, and don’t want you to miss out on everlasting life with the Lord Jesus. We’re running out of time here, folks. If I’ve neglected to share Jesus with you, I pray someone else will step up and do it, so you won’t miss the greatest opportunity ever given to mankind; to be BORN AGAIN of the Spirit of God so you may receive the Holy Spirit to abide with you forever.
When the LORD returns, my greatest hope is that He finds me doing His Kingdom work, and that He will find YOU doing likewise! So again, I ask, WHAT IS YOUR FOCUS?