These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life

 Have eternal life in His name:

 

1 John 5:13

13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

            This is our confidence … if we believe in His name, we know (not hope) that we have this eternal life. Jesus means Jehovah-saved. It is through God that our salvation comes … not through our effort, but His. He has done all that is necessary for our salvation. We just have to believe and receive. Then we can be like those in the verse before this one in Acts 13:48 … we can rejoice and glorify the Word of the Lord.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Many of My children have been taught that they cannot know whether they are going to Heaven. When I chose you, I did not choose you for a little while. I chose you for eternity. Do not fear that I will someday reject you. I have chosen you and will not change My mind. You are Mine forever.”

 

            4. It is through His name that I have an overflowing, all-encompassing eternal life.

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

 Eternal Life:

 

            Appointed to eternal life – believe:

 

Acts 13:48

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

 

            We’re not going to discuss whether or not this appointment was something God did subjectively, or knowing who would believe ahead of time, He appointed them to eternal life. What we’re concerned about is the fact that this appointment was to a life that is eternal. Also, it begins the moment one believes. It’s not something in the future when we get to Heaven, but right here and right now … forever. It’s also not just an everlasting life, but one of immense quality. This is your destiny, if you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. You don’t have to hope that maybe somehow, someway, someday …

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You haven’t come upon this life by accident. I have chosen you. And when I chose you, I made sure you would come to know Me. Do not fear. I will never leave you. I will not turn My back on you like others have. I have chosen you because I know you will be what I have desired. You were not an accident. I have always loved you and always will.”

 

            3. God so loved me that I was appointed to eternal life, believing the Word spoken to me.

Only, as the Lord hath distributed to each man, as God hath called each, so let him walk

 Chapter 1

 

Salvation

             There are many things that we, as Christians, have as ingredients of our destiny. The following thoughts are with reference to our destiny in association with salvation. What does it mean to be saved?  Saved from what? Are we in trouble and need to be rescued? Or perhaps it would be better to ask, saved to what? God told Israel that He brought them out to bring them in. God didn’t just save us from something awful that was to be our future. He brought us out of the evil destiny of eternal slavery for those going the way of the world (our Egypt) and into the Promised Land of walking in His Spirit. Just like there were giants in Israel’s Promised Land, there are giants in ours. Ours, however, are not always visible to the naked eye. Are we condemned to failure, or predestined to success? Just like Israel, the choice is up to us.           

 

 We are Called/Chosen:

             As the Lord called, so walk:

 

1 Corinthians 7:17

17 Only, as the Lord hath distributed to each man, as God hath called each, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all the churches.

 

Romans 8:29-30

29 For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren: 30 and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.

 

            Notice that in Romans, God foreordained us to be conformed to the image of Jesus. We’re not going to get into what the Bible means by predestination. There are diverse opinions on that. We can’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. God has a goal in mind for us … to become exactly like Jesus in the spirit realm. What God wants, we should allow Him to have. Don’t struggle against it. He wants people to see Jesus when they look at us and see our behavior. All of these areas in the verse end in “ed”. In God’s mind, they are already history … not going to happen someday. We can see that’s true for called and justified but not conformed and glorified. That’s kind of hard to swallow. Me, glorified? I certainly don’t look it or act it. Conformed to the image of Jesus? I don’t think so. Well, get with the program. As we abide persistently in Him and in His Word, we will become more and more like Jesus.

 

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I have not called you to be like the world. I have called you to be like Me. I want My children to be like I am. When people see you, I want them to see how you look like Me. I would not have you be disobedient children. I would have you to follow in the footsteps of My Son. So walk in My obedience, and you will see many miracles happen in your life.”

 

            2. The Lord has called me into a glorious salvation. Therefore, I will walk worthy of this calling.

All of God’s words about my destiny in Christ will never fail. They have been fulfilled for me. Therefore I cannot fail.

 What Is Your Destiny?

 

            Most of this section is repeated from the first volume of Your Destiny. This is to give those that have not read Your Destiny an understanding of what we are talking about and the assumptions we made. However, the verse at the end of the section and corresponding confession are different. So, if you’ve read the first one, you may want to skip to the end of this section and start confessing more of your destiny right away.

 

            When a life-changing event happens to a person, what does someone mean by the statement, “It was destiny (or fate).”? It means that the person involved had no control whatsoever over the situation. If it was something good, there was nothing that the person consciously did that caused the good to happen. If it was bad, there was nothing that the person could have done to prevent it.

            Around Christmas one year, I watched a movie named “Three Days”. It was one of those “second chance opportunity” movies. It wasn’t scriptural, but it does illustrate what is meant by one’s destiny. I’m intentionally leaving out a lot of the details.

            In the movie, on Christmas Eve the man’s wife went searching for a neighbor’s dog which had run off. She found the dog, but when she stepped into the street, she was struck by a car and died. In the hospital, the man was remorseful that he hadn’t had a chance to show her that he loved her. That night he met an angel that told him he would be granted the opportunity to relive the last three days with his wife. He would be aware of what had happened, but she wouldn’t, and he couldn’t tell her. In any event, three days later on Christmas Eve at the same time and place she would be there with the car bearing down on her … because that was her destiny. There was nothing he could do to prevent it.

            What would you do in this situation? Probably the same thing he did. He took her out of town so she would be in a different place on Christmas Eve. Just when it seemed like he would succeed, she insisted on going home for Christmas. In the end, there she was – same time; same dog; same car. It was her destiny.

            Nothing he tried to do could change what was destined. This was an example of what is meant by something being one’s destiny.

            Oh, by the way – when the car came this time, he pushed her out of the way, and was killed. Not to worry, the angel brought him back to life and they lived happily ever after. So, the situation was her destiny, but it wasn’t her destiny to die.

            How does this relate to Christians? There are certain things that the Bible tells us is the Christian’s destiny. There is nothing that you have to do to make it happen, nor is there anything bad that you might do that would prevent it from happening. It is your destiny.

            Of course we do need to set some guidelines as to the type of person we’re talking about.

            For example: Is it a Christian’s destiny to go to heaven when they die? If you say yes, then you must believe in “Once saved, always saved.” Otherwise, it is not a Christian’s destiny; because there would be something the person might do that would prevent this from happening. There are other beliefs that can also get in the way.

            Some believe you must be water baptized to go to Heaven. Some believe you must receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit in order to have His indwelling.

            Rather than argue pro or con, let’s assume that whatever is the “minimum” necessary to go to Heaven has been accomplished in the person’s life; that they have been water baptized; that the Holy Spirit is indwelling them; and that whatever else may be necessary to happen in a Christian’s life for the destiny discussed in this book to be realized has or will occur.

            Also, there may be some verses that it is questionable as to whether or not it is a Christian’s destiny. For example – “I can do all things through Christ Jesus”. It doesn’t say that you will … just that you can. Should that be considered our destiny? It is in the sense that you have the ability through Christ to do all things. So, we will be flexible in that regard.

            Why do we want to know what is our destiny? Because –

 

“… not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.”; Joshua 23:14.

 

What does that mean? If God promised it as the Christian’s destiny … then it will be fulfilled because God cannot fail. Since God cannot fail, then neither can you.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            “My children, do you think that I promise you things and then do not fulfill them? How can that be? Would you do that to your children? Then why would you think that I would do that to mine? What I have promised, I will fulfill at the proper time. I will not be slow to keep my promises, and I am never late.”

 

            Throughout this book, I will be giving you some phrases about your destiny to say out loud. You should say them every day. The more you repeat them, the more the reality of your destiny will sink in and become a part of your daily thoughts about yourself. The one for the previous verse in Joshua is:

 

            1. All of God’s words about my destiny in Christ will never fail. They have been fulfilled for me. Therefore I cannot fail.

 

            Now repeat phrase number 1. Again. One more time.

 

            Too many Christian’s are ignorant of all the blessings of God that are available to them. Either they have never realized a promise was in the Bible, or felt certain it couldn’t be for them. It was only for the really spiritual ones. Or maybe they felt like they had done something so wrong that God didn’t want them to have it.

            God does want you to have these promises. His desire is for all His children to live the Christian life to the utmost. Then the world will want to become Christians too, when they see how much God loves His children. All that unbelievers have heard is how bad they are, and what a terrible punishment awaits them when they die. They’ve seen Christians fail and fall. They don’t want any part of it.

            The Scriptures that follow are quoted from the New American Standard Bible, unless otherwise noted; so the thought may sound familiar, yet a little different from what you may have memorized. Sometimes two or more Scriptures are combined to form a thought. If more than one is used, it too will be quoted or at least referenced.

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

 We’re not of the world:

 

John 17:16

16     “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

     

 

            Amen! We are unquestionably not of this world. And so we shouldn’t behave the way people of this world do. We are of the Heavenly Realm and should operate that way. We are a royal priesthood. We should make it our lives’ goal to minister to the Lord and to the ones around us like priests … holy and blameless walking in His Word and Spirit.

 

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My children, you are not of this world, so do not act as if you were. Don’t look to your own resources to take care of yourself, but look to Mine. I will provide all that is needed to take care of your every need. You are to not walk like the people of this world trusting in their own power and resources. You are to trust in Me to take care of you and to bring you into completion at the proper time. I will do all that is necessary to bring you into the same glory that My Son experience while He was on the earth. Trust in Me to do it … to take care of everything. You cannot do it in your own power, but you must trust in Me to take care of you. You are to be a shining light to those of this world, so that they will want to become part of My Kingdom. You are to woo them into My Kingdom. You are My special delight, so act like it. Do not act like those of this world but like those of My world.”

 

            121. I am not of this world, just as Jesus was not of this world. Therefore, I will no longer behave as if I were of this world.

 

 

 

            That’s just some of the things we’re destined to have or to become. Maybe another time we’ll look into more. These are just a little over a third of the Scriptures I found concerning our destiny.