HE HAS COME

                                                             HE HAS COME

"He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.       John 1:10

  What puzzles many people is the question, if there is a God Who is all-powerful and intelligent, and made us in His image and likeness, why doesn't He show Himself openly? Why all the mystery? 

- GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US:

   THROUGH OBSERVATION

   THROUGH REASON

   PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS - GOD SPEAKS

   ANSWERS TO PRAYERS AND MIRACLES

   MESSENGERS SENT FROM GOD AND PROPHETS

   GOD HAS SENT MANKIND A LETTER - IT IS CALLED THE BIBLE

BUT WHY IS THERE SEPARATION IN THE FIRST PLACE

ADDRESSING THE ASSUMED AUTHORITY OF SCIENCE.

THE ROAD BACK:

  ABRAHAM

  GOD SPEAKS, AND THE MINISTRY OF THE PROPHET

  THE MINISTRY OF THE PRIEST

  THE PROPHETICALLY PROMISED MESSIAH! 

HE HAS COME!

  GOD HAS REVEALED HIMSELF TO US.  Let us look at how, why, and what His final intention is.

- THROUGH OBSERVATION - "For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse." Romans 1:20  God has made Himself known through the world we live in. Initially, being made in the image and likeness of our Creator, as we observe the wonders He has made and our place in it, its amazingly diverse and complex order, and especially the mystery of life, the logical conclusion that this is not an accident, but a deliberate design by a Brilliant and Awesome Creator.

- THROUGH REASON -  "When I consider the heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of Him, and the son of man that You visit Him?" Psalm 8:3-4 Through observation and reason we can conclude that God is unfathomably powerful, wise, orderly, and big (please forgive the pathetic terms I used). Furthermore, when we consider the difference between living things and inanimate objects, we obviously conclude that God is a living being. Moreover, because we observe that when a living creature, especially a human dies and its life force leaves the body, it too becomes a lifeless object. In human terms, we call the life force a spirit. Because we cannot see the spirits but we can see what the spirits are doing - giving life, energy, and character to the body, then we conclude that God must be a Spirit. Because man is the greatest form of life, being intelligent, creative, and communicating on complex levels, then we can conclude that God is like that in the least. I shared this once before. While reading a book called BY CANOE AND DOG TRAIN, the missionary who wrote the book stated that when he reproved the Saulteau First Nation leaders that he was serving because they were worshiping the human shape idols they made, the answer they gave him was (paraphrased); "Missionary, we have never seen the Great Spirit, but we know that man(kind) is His greatest creation, so we know that He must be something like us." How beautiful and accurate is that. The Bible teaches us that God is Spirit John 4:24, and that we were created in His image and likeness Genesis 1:27 From these observations we also conclude that though God is deliberately not visible to us (1 John 1:18), we can get a clearer understanding of what He is like. Furthermore, since we also know that something does not come from nothing, God must have always existed to have created everything, therefore God is ETERNAL. "Even from everlasting to everlasting You are GOD." Psalm 90:2

PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS - GOD SPEAKS

  There are an untold number of recorded and unrecorded testimonies throughout history and around the world when God has revealed Himself and spoken to individuals. A huge amount is recorded in the Bible. You yourself may have experienced having Him speak to you, or you know others who have told you of such an experience. Years ago, the captain of the Salvation Army recounted a situation where the soup line was out of food. They prayed and shortly afterward a fellow knocked at the door and told the captain, "That Guy you called Lord just told me that you are out of food." and gave the captain all the money he had. The captain thanked him and returned some of his money to him. Obviously, God speaks to people, and not always to the ones we think He should.

ANSWERS TO PRAYERS AND MIRACLES

  Again there are endless recorded and unrecorded testimonies around the world and throughout history of answers to prayers and miracles, and doubtless you yourself have had some, or at least heard of some. In fact, there is probably not a person we know who has not experienced or heard of such things, so I will not bother going into further detail. I will recount, though, what a young friend of mine recounted when he was telling a friend about all the answers to prayer he had. His friend responded by saying that they were just coincidences. He answered by saying, "Well then, I will just keep praying so the coincidences will keep happening."

MESSENGERS SENT FROM GOD AND PROPHETS

 Throughout the world and history, these people have existed and many of our religions are based on the teachings of such people. Now, not everyone who claims to be sent by God have, nor had been sent by God, but that is another issue. Still, such people have had great impact on the people of their times, and some on the entire human race itself. It seems that God has orchestrated some of these to direct us, to remind us, to warn us, and to help us, because "...the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walks to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10: 23. Apparently we humans need constant correction, direction, and reminders. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your mercy.

 Since I am coming from the Christian perspective I will focus on the Bible's teachings. The prophets had been like open channels between our Creator and us, but why? Why the separation in the first place?

  GOD HAS SENT MANKIND A LETTER - IT IS CALLED THE BIBLE

  The Bible is a compilation of 66 books of historical, instructional, testimonial, and prophetic documents written over a span of 2000 years by forty authors and took place on three continents. Contained in it, God through the prophetic writings of Moses and a multitude of other prophets, priests, and ministers, recounts the creation of the universe, the creation of mankind, the revelation of Himself, His will, the fall of mankind, His plan for the of redemption of mankind, Jesus Christ the Messiah and Savior of the Human race, His coming Kingdom, Eternal judgment, the hope of our resurrection, and eternal life.

THE PURSUIT OF THE MYSTICAL AND THE SUPERNATURAL

  Since the fall, mankind has been fascinated by the mystical and supernatural, ourselves being not only natural beings, but spiritual, ourselves having a spirit. Obviously, extraordinary phenomena have been attributed to the acts of deities, and typically along with that comes an influx of assumptions and superstitions, although at times there may be aspects of truth, not knowing God and what He is really like.  An example of what I am referring to is described in the Book of Ezekiel where the Lord is pointing out to the prophet Ezekiel how Nebuchadnezzar was using divination to determine which city he should attack first, Rabbath, or Jerusalem. The divination pointed to Jerusalem, which seemed to be a false divination to him, but the Lord used that to direct his attention to deal with Jerusalem as the Lord intended. Ezekiel 21:18-23. Don't get me wrong. Now in Christ, and because we have the Bible and God's Holy Spirit we dare not go down that route. The demonic forces of darkness take huge advantage of deception while the human race strives by ignorance and assumption to serve our Maker "And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man Whom He has ordained. He has given assurance unto all men in that He has raised Him from the dead." Acts 17:30-31

BUT WHY IS THERE SEPARATION IN THE FIRST PLACE?

GOD IS HOLY (PURE, SET APART, UNSTAINED BY SIN AND EVIL, and that keeps us separate from Him.)

  In the beginning, when God created man, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were pure and sinless and walked with God uninhibited, and He gave us dominion over the earth. There was no barrier between us and our Creator. But when they sinned (Genesis 3) they became defiled and were cut off from the presence of God. Consequently, sin was passed on to the entire human race, the world was cursed, we were cut off from the presence of God because of our sin (and we have all sinned), and we fell under the influence of the devil who seduced us. 

  So now we can see why there is a separation, and why there is an endless quest of people everywhere and throughout history to return to our roots and to our Maker, hence religions. Has God abandoned us? Absolutely not! Our loving and Almighty Creator had a plan to reconcile people back to Himself, and that is where the journey begins. But He had to deal with many issues first. Through man's sin we were separated from our Creator, and we lost immortality. God therefore, had to find a man with whom He could establish a covenant, a people to whom He could introduce His Kingdom and reveal His will,  a sacrifice to eradicate the great barrier of sin that separates us, a plan to defeat the enemy who seduced us, and finally make everything new. This is the history of God's Eternal plan for mankind, and we are a part of it today, and the best is always ahead. Let's look at it.

ADDRESSING THE ASSUMED AUTHORITY OF SCIENCE. 

 Before I start I would like to address the issue of atheism and its attack against faith, which is the medium by which we reach out to God. The most common opposition that some use is some of the speculations and conclusions they derive from science.

 Through science, God has revealed many amazing things about the magnificent universe we live in, and that is as He intended it. "Get wisdom, get understanding, forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth...Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all your getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:5,7 "A wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength." Proverbs 24:5"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings to search out a matter."  Proverbs 25:2 Contrary to the assumptions of some, all through the Scriptures of the Bible God admonishes us to get wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. After all, He created us in His image and likeness - "The Lord by wisdom has founded the earth; by understanding has He established the heavens, by His knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew." Proverbs 3:19-20; however, imperfect knowledge can obviously lead to erroneous conclusions. Some believe that science has explained everything without needing the intervention of any deity, as implied by the current predominant secular point of view, and yet I have watched a number of testimonies by scientists and professors stating that they were dissuaded from their own atheistic worldview by examining the discoveries of science, and in their fields. So if there are opposite conclusions within the scientific community there is a possibility that the scientific conclusions are not based on flawless knowledge, information, and or interpretation, thus implying the interference of personal bias and imperfect knowledge among the scientists, regardless of the side they lean toward. Another, and concerning assumption, is that the only people who are rightly qualified to know if GOD IS are scientists. That also means that the Almighty would have to qualify Himself through their stipulations, which would elevate them equal to or above God. I don't think so. God has given the same door for everyone, it is called faith and the cross of Christ.

THE ROAD BACK

  ABRAHAM - Since the fall of our Grandparents Adam and Eve, mankind has been aware of something missing in our world, and as time went on our conscious knowledge of our Creator faded with each generation because of the lack of revelation. There has always been worship and superstition because of the guessing speculations, but now it was time for God to move again. In the Land of the Ur of the Chaldeans, there was a man named Abram. God told him to leave his home and family and go to a place that He would show him. In obedience, he left. Then God promised that he would give him a son, and through his Seed, all the families of the earth would be blessed because he obeyed God's voice Genesis 22:18. Obeying God's voice is where Adam failed. Notice that God's intention to bless was not just for a person or a nation, but for all people everywhere, for all time!!! Now Abram and Sarai were old, especially Sarai who was decades beyond childbearing years, and yet according to His promise, their offspring would be as the sand of the sea and the stars of the heavens. In spite of the reasonable impossibility as far as man is concerned, Abram believed God and it was imputed to him as righteousness (right standing with God) Genesis 15:6 and God changed their names to Abraham (father of a multitude) and Sarah (a lady, princess, queen). Abraham then was called to the ultimate test of obedience where the Lord told him to sacrifice their promised son Isaac. Abraham in full faith obeyed to the point where the Lord had to stop him. From that point, God had a person of wholehearted faith and obedience through whom He was now able to establish His covenant and execute His plan of redemption, reconciliation, salvation, and restoration for all mankind! Isaac gave birth to Jacob who became Israel and the father of the nation of Israel. Due to a famine, Jacob and his sons moved to Egypt and lived there for four hundred years. Meanwhile, the Egyptians enslaved the children of Israel until God raised up Moses who led them out of Egypt. God revealed Himself to Moses, and for the first time in human history, God gave Moses His Ten Commandments, His Laws, His statutes, His Judgments, and all the sacred rites and sacrifices for the Children of Israel to follow. The Lord had him build a Tabernacle for His dwelling place among Israel "They are to build a Sanctuary for Me and I will live in their midst." Exodus 25:8 "I will meet with you there. I will speak with you from the seat of atonement that is is between the two cherubim upon the Ark of Testimony...'" Exodus 25:22  That is the first time in the Human race that God through His Spirit dwelt among people since the fall of Adam and Eve. Now, through Moses, the Almighty has communicated to mankind what He calls right and wrong, good and evil, the just punishments, and some very basic but still insufficient atoning sacrifices. These laws were written down to spell out to mankind what keeps us from Him, and further indicate the necessity of atoning sacrifice. Mind you, for breaking the first seven commandments, there were no atoning sacrifices. The penalty was still death. To this point, we were still hopeless.

  Next, on to David and the nation of Israel which became the Kingdom of Israel, and throughout the reign of the kings of Israel God sent prophets constantly to communicate with His people His directions, admonitions, and revelations, especially His coming Messiah Who is to rule as King forever. The Kingdom of Israel is a foreshadow revealing to us more of God's Plan, the pinnacle being that God Himself will rule on Earth as King, and that His Kingdom, like Heaven, will be unending. Daniel 7:13-14

GOD SPEAKS, AND THE MINISTRY OF THE PROPHET

 Prophets are holy men (and women) of God whom God used to transfer messages from Himself to a people, or to all people, for specific purposes, sometimes for a specific time, or for all time.

 During this period of the nation and kingdom of Israel, God extensively used the ministry of the prophet. They were often advisors and seers for the judges and kings, but not always, and not exclusively. Actually, the judges were often prophets, and even King David was a prophet. A prophet is someone through whom God would communicate. The Spirit of the Lord would speak through the prophet, or communicate to them through visions, dreams, and revelations, but also in direct communication. This verse is God speaking to Aaron and Miriam when He was rebuking them for being jealous of Moses. "When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal Myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. With him, I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles..." Numbers 12:6-8. In this instance, God was speaking to both Aaron and Miriam simultaneously. Typically when He speaks to an individual, only the individual is hearing. Now in certain instances, God has spoken audibly and others were able to hear it, as in, John 12:28-30, Acts 9:7. My senior pastor and his wife were both woken up together by God's audible voice as they were seeking direction from Him. He said, "Come."

  A basic form of prophecy is given in the first person, where God is speaking through the mouth of the prophet, "For thus says the Lord God that created the Heavens; God Himself that formed the Earth and made it; He has established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited: I Am the Lord, and there is none else." Isaiah 45:18 In this short passage He states not only what He has done - His creation of the heavens and the Earth, His purpose in that (for us to inhabit the Earth), but He also describes Himself as the only god. These are priceless words where God reveals not only His works, His purpose, but Himself more clearly and intimately. We find such revelations of and from Him all through the prophets.

  Getting back to the main point is that God Almighty has always been actively at work in the affairs of men, and He has communicated to/with mankind, and specifically more directly through the Biblical prophets of the Old Testament. "To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." Isaiah 8:20.  "Shall the trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil (calamity) in a city and the Lord has not done it? Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He reveals His secret unto His servants the prophets. The lion roars, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who can but prophesy?" Amos 3:6-8 This means that before disaster hits, he warns people. Are we listening or prepared to listen?

  Beyond all this, the most critical message of the prophets was to announce and to prepare us for the coming of the Messiah, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Savior of all mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Complete focal point and Center of God's plan for the redemption and reconciliation of mankind, and God's intent on direct interaction with us, first as individuals, and then as His people collectively. 

THE MINISTRY OF THE PRIEST

 It would be wrong not to mention the ministry of the priest. The priestly ministry is a critical aspect of man's connection with God. According to Biblical order, the priest is God's messenger and servant who represents both Him and man. Their duty is to stand between God and man, to intercede on our behalf to God, and to offer the appropriate gifts and sacrifices. "My covenant was with him (Levi, from whom the line of priests came) of life and peace;and I GAVE THEN TO HIM FOR THE FEAR WHEREWITH HE FEARED ME, and was afraid before My name. The Law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priests' lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth, for he is the messenger  of the Lord of hosts." Malachi 2:5-7, "And they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the profane, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean." Ezekiel 44:23m "For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices..." Hebrews 8:3 The ministry of the priest is/was of huge importance, where the Almighty had His hand upon men whom He selected who had a particular awareness of God and who would serve as a reminder to the populace of their duty to fear and obey God (please note that not all priests and not all things taught by priests around the world are or were of God, and so it the same with prophets. Often they are merely an indication of men trying to reach out to God. The teachings of the Bible verify what is of God and what is not). This is not a rare phenomenon, but around the world and throughout history, in almost every culture there have been men set apart for service to the unknown deity, and holiness is an assumed characteristic of a priest. Moses' father-in-law was a priest of Midian. Through His covenant with the people of Israel, the Lord revealed the true meaning and duty of what and who He selected as priests. This aspect of men's priestly service to God is first revealed in Melchizedek, God's high priest during the days of Abraham. The Bible teaches us that this Melchizedek was not an ordinary man, indicating that the High Priest Whom God was calling would have a different and Heavenly origin and calling apart from the standard priests. Genesis 14:18-20, Hebrews 7:1-17.

  The Scriptures declare that the ministry of the priest is not only man striving to reach out to God, but it is actually God Who put it into man's understanding that we need to reach out and be reconciled to Him as best as we can Acts 17:27. The priest not only stands before men for God and before God for men by prayer and intercession, teaching and reminding people of our accountability to our Creator. Furthermore, there is the issue of gifts and sacrifices to God that He expects, which was also a duty of the priests. Only in the covenant with Israel does He reveal what gifts and sacrifices He would accept on a natural basis, although through the Law and the prophets, He reveals that even these gifts and sacrifices were not what He really wanted (Psalm 40:6, 50:8-15) nor are they sufficient to truly reconcile us to God. He was about to reveal the only Sacrifice that is needed, and the Only Priest Who is truly able to perform it - the Messiah, who was also after the order of Melchizedek priest of God Most High, "Psalm 110:4, "But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. Therefore when He comes into the world, He said, 'Sacrifices and offerings You would not, but a body have you prepared Me. In burnt offerings and Sacrifices for sin You have had no pleasure therein, which are offered by the law.' Then He said, 'Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Your will, O God.'" Hebrews 10:3-7 Who do you think is coming?

 THE PROPHETICALLY PROMISED MESSIAH! 

"In the past, God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days He has spoken to us by His Son..." Hebrews 1:1

  But really, what does all this mean in light of our situation with God? Does it mean more rules and regulations, rituals and sacrifices? Is there to be more guessing regarding the unknown, there will always be the unknown in this life with regards to connecting with our Creator until He returns? Why do we need another mediator? What has changed? 

 This is the AMAZING, WONDERFUL, EXCITING PART! "For God so loved the world, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16  Well Who is this Son of God? Jesus Christ the man walked this earth as any other man. He did indeed speak to us as a prophet, claimed to be the Messiah (the coming King) "...You are the Christ, the Son of the living God...Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father which is in Heaven." Matthew 16:16-17. He performed the priestly duty of interceding for us (as an example, John 17 ), and became our Sacrifice, "Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world."  John 1:29. According to the words of the prophets, He was the coming Messiah, a Prophet  (Deuteronomy 18:15), a Priest (Psalm 110:4), a King (Daniel 7:14). But what is the most amazing issue regarding the Lord Jesus Christ? Was He some kind of superhuman? Who is Jesus Christ??? "But unto the Son He says,'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your Kingdom...'"Psalm 45:6, Hebrews 1:8, "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, THE MIGHTY GOD, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end..." Isaiah   9:6-7, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world, knew Him not." John 1:1, 10 

                             HE HAS COME!  JESUS CHRIST IS GOD!!!                                   

  Hello people! We have all been looking for God and He actually stepped out of Heaven, became a Man (The Son of Man, as Jesus called Himself), lived and walked among us, paid for our sins on a cross, and then He rose from the dead, thus defeating sin, the devil, death, and the grave for us. How wonderful and awesome is that!!! But it didn't stop there. After He rose from the dead, and for a space of forty days He revealed Himself to His disciples, commissioned them with the Gospel, then ascended into Heaven with the promise of returning. But that is not all. All those who believe in Jesus, they are cleansed by His blood and He sends His Spirit into their hearts. He now lives and dwells in and among those who believe in Him. Not only so, but Jesus Christ is returning to set up His Kingdom here on earth. There will be a final Judgment Day when all that ever lived will stand before GOD ALMIGHTY before Whom the heavens and the Earth will flee but there will be no place for them to go. "And the books will be opened, and the Book of Life. And everyone will be judged according to their works. And whoever is not found in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second Death." Revelation 20:11-15

  NO, God has not left us, nor abandoned us, He actually came and lived among us, suffered with and for us, worked healings and miracles among us (and He still does), and when the Gospel mission is complete He will return in the clouds of heaven with power and glory to avenge Himself of all His enemies and establish His Kingdom on Earth. O, there is more, so much more, but can you see, that God has never abandoned us to ourselves, but He has been working among us all along to reconcile us to Himself and restore to us all that was lost so that we could be with Him FOREVER!!! God loves us so much! Receive Jesus Christ today. Let Him be Lord of your life, take up your cross, and follow Him until He takes you hom or returns to gather us unto Himself. Indeed, He has come!