Forgiveness:

 

            Forgave our transgressions:

 

Colossians 2:13-14

13     When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,

     14     having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

     

            Again, we don’t have to get good enough for God to forgive us. Jesus’ death, long before we came to Him, was all that was needed. And, we don’t have to earn salvation. It is a gift. God not only forgave us, He made us alive together with Jesus when He was raised from the grave. There was a certificate of debt against us. It told of all the laws of God that we had broken. There was no way that we would have ever been able to repay the debt that we owed. When the nails went into Jesus’ hands and feet, that certificate of debt was nailed to the cross with Him. It no longer applies to us. It applies to the “old man” that we were.

 

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

            "I have forgiven you My child. There is nothing that you have done that is so terrible that I would not forgive you. When My Son died on the cross, it was enough to take care of all your sins, not just the ones others would say are little. There is nothing that will be held against you. No one can lay a charge against you, for My salvation is bigger than all things. Trust in Me that I am able to do this and have already accomplished it.”

 

            7. God has forgiven me all my transgressions that I committed before I came to Him. There is nothing that I have done that He has not forgiven me. My debt which I could not pay has been erased for ever.

For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day

Believe in the Son:

 

John 6:40

40     “For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.”

 

            This means that since we have believed in the Son, we can be certain that we have eternal life. Also, we know that we will not spend eternity in the grave. If we should die, Jesus will raise us from the grave when He returns. This is the great hope that we have. Remember that Paul said we hope for that which we do not yet see. If I have a dollar in my hand, I don’t have to hope that soon I’ll have one. I already have it. Hope in the Bible is not a wishful thinking. It is a confident expectation. One day we will see that hope realized.

 

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

            "You have beheld My Son. It pleases Me that you looked on Him with a favorable eye. That is the way I look upon Him continually and the way I look upon you. Trust in Me and My words. I will raise you up on the last day. There is no doubt that should arise in your heart. I have promised it, and I will do it.”

 

            6. I have believed in the Son, Jesus. Therefore I have eternal life and will be raised from the dead, if I die before He returns.

The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come

 Book of Life:

 

Revelation 17:8

8     “The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come. 

            This verse says that our names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world. We’re not going to debate predestination … that is, God decided who would get saved and who wouldn’t with us not having a free will to choose or refuse. We will just say that God knew who it was that would accept His Son as Savior. So He wrote down the names from the beginning. He wasn’t waiting for us to get good enough. You can’t. That’s why it took the blood of the spotless Lamb of God to save us.

           

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

            "I knew that I wanted you from the beginning. I wanted you so much that I wrote your name in My book of life. It was because I knew you would love Me and want to be with Me forever.”           

 

            5. My name was written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world. Therefore, I am confident that one day I will be with Him.

So that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Eternal Life:

 

            He promised:

 

John 3:15-16

15     so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

     16     “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

     

1 John 2:25

25     This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.

     

            God made a promise to us … eternal life. When we believe in His Son Jesus, we will not perish. Isn’t that great? He didn’t say that we had to get good enough. We don’t have to do a bunch of good works. What we have to do is believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, if we believe in Him, we should be doing good works … but not to obtain eternal life. We should have a holy lifestyle … but not to obtain eternal life. How do we know He will give us eternal life? Since God is not a man that He should lie (in fact He cannot lie), we can trust Him to keep His word.

 

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

            “I have promised this to you, My child. There is nothing that I would desire more than to have you with Me forever. In My love for you, I sent My Son that He might die for you so that you might live forever.”

 

            4. I have eternal life, which God promised me long ago.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Gifts and calling:

 

Romans 11:29

29     for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.     

            God is not going to change His mind and say, “Oops, look what they did. I shouldn’t have called him/her. I guess I better take it back.”  It’s not based on our merits … on what we’ve done for Him. It’s all based on His choice by His grace through the blood of Jesus on the cross. The same goes for the gifts He gives us. We don’t have to hold our breath hoping He won’t reconsider His calling of us or His giving us gifts.

 

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

            “When I called you, it wasn’t for just a lifetime. It was forever. I will never change My mind about you. I want you to be with Me and to know Me from now on throughout eternity.”

 

            3. God has called me, and He will never change His mind. He has given me gifts, and He will never take them back.

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

 

Chapter 1

 

Salvation

 

            The first area we want to look at in conjunction with our destiny is that of salvation. Were we destined to be saved or was it some “luck of the draw”? What was necessary for us to become saved? Can we be certain it won’t be taken away from us? Is it just while we’re here on earth, or is it forever? What was our part, and what part was destined to happen no matter what?

 

We are Called/Chosen:

            Brought near: 

Ephesians 2:13

13     But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

     

            Before we accept Christ as our savior, we are all far off from God. Whether we are “good” as far as others were concerned or “bad”, it doesn’t matter. We all need Jesus. After I asked Jesus to come in and take control of my life, I called a friend in another state to tell her that I had become a Christian. She said, “I thought you already were.” Even though to her I was near to God, in reality, I was as far away as someone that you would consider to be the worst sinner in the world.

            We all need God in our lives regardless of our past. Even though Paul was a Pharisee of Pharisees, he still considered himself the chief of all sinners. All his life, he did his best to obey the Law. It wasn’t good enough. He still needed the personal relationship with Christ.

 

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

            “My children, I have chosen you from before the beginning of time. I knew you before the world began. I saw what would be in your heart; how that you would have a desire to know Me. I drew you unto Me and brought you into My family.”

 

            2. I am no longer far off from God, because I have been brought near to Him through the blood of Jesus.

What Is Your Destiny?

 

What Is Your Destiny?

 

            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 – “All the promises of God in Him they are yea and amen”; II Cor 1:20 KJV. What does that mean? If God promised it as the Christian’s destiny … then it’s YOURS. 

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

            “My children, I want you to know what is yours. I want you to walk in My promises so that My desire for My children will become known in the earth. Then the people of the world will want what you have. They will come to you to find out how they can know Me. Trust in Me that I will bring about My promises. I will not long delay in making them real in your life.”

             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 is:

             1. All of God’s promises about my destiny in Christ, they are yea and amen. Therefore I can trust that God will bring them to pass in my life.

            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.

            Well, I’ve got good news for you, and it’s not how to save money on your car insurance. 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.

And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

 Ours is the Kingdom of God:

 Luke 6:20-21

20 And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

 

            Many Christians throughout the world are economically poor. The percentage in America is much less than elsewhere. However, this is talking about being humble in your own eyes. Your destiny is the Kingdom of God, which has no lack. If you are hungering for His righteousness, you shall be satisfied. If you weep now (not just over things that have gone wrong in your life, but also those things that have gone wrong spiritually in the world), you shall laugh. It is our destiny.

 

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

            "You are not poor in Me. In this world, you may be poor; but in My Kingdom you are wealthy. You will have good success as long as you walk in My Word. You shall be known as an overcoming generation as long as you obey My commandments. I have chosen this time for the end of all battles. There shall no longer be crying, dying, or pain. You are the chosen generation to bring in My Kingdom into this world. Show forth My power and My holiness. No one can overcome you as long as you obey My Word. There is power in no one else that can compare to Mine. You are powerful, as long as you walk in Me and My Word abides in You. It is your destiny.”

             101. My destiny is the Kingdom of God; satisfaction from hunger after His righteousness; and laughter in the Spirit.

            This concludes the third volume about our destiny in Christ. These are things of which we are assured are ours. Even if this is the only volume you’ve read, you can see that we have a tremendous destiny. You can also agree that most Christians are not walking in their destiny. Perhaps you are not, either. There is no shame in it; but there is no reason to remain walking in less than the full measure to which you are destined.

            Don’t keep your destiny to yourself. You are to show forth all that is yours in order to bring others into the Kingdom of God. Then they too can discover and experience their destiny in Christ.

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

            "There is no destiny for you, but what you make of what I have determined for you. There is no hope outside of all that I have done for you. You are the determining factor in your destiny. You can have all that I have given you or you can have nothing. It is up to you. Your destiny is before you.”

Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 Greater than John the Baptist:

 Matthew 11:11

11 “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

 

Luke 7:28

28 “I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.”

 

            Are you in the Kingdom? Then you are greater than John the Baptist! That’s a pretty amazing statement. It is your destiny. Jesus wasn’t putting down John. However, John wasn’t in the Kingdom. He was still operating under the Old Covenant. We are operating under the New, which has even better promises. We are born again and have the Holy Spirit permanently within. John wasn’t and didn’t. He was filled with the Spirit while still in His mother’s womb, but it’s not the same has having the Spirit indwelling us. Even Jesus said we’d do even greater works than He, so why wouldn’t we be greater than John the Baptist? Besides, who says you’re the least?

 

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

            "Do not think of yourselves as little, My children. In My Kingdom, you are great; for I have chosen you for greatness. There is none greater than those in My Kingdom. I have chosen gladly for you to receive My Kingdom. It is a Kingdom of joy. It is a Kingdom of peace. And it is a Kingdom of love. There is no greater joy than to walk in My Kingdom in My Spirit. There is no greater freedom than to do so. You are a chosen generation; one that is chosen to bring in My Kingdom into this realm. The devil has chosen this generation to be his greatest ally in the fight against Me; but it cannot succeed. He will fail; for I am infallible. You are My chosen instruments to bring about the end of His Kingdom in this realm. You can overcome all in his Kingdom when you rely on My Spirit empowered by My Word.”

             100. I am in the Kingdom of God. Therefore, I am greater than even John the Baptist!

This is the last entry for Final Destiny. Next week we start from the beginning - Your Destiny

In the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

 Crown of righteousness:

2 Timothy 4:8

8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

 

            Have you loved His appearing? Then you are destined to receive a crown of righteousness. So, don’t say that you just want to slip in the back door of Heaven and that you’re not going to receive anything. This says you are. We all are going to receive it one day. Of course we’ll cast them at His feet; but we are destined to receive it.

 

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

            "You are My reward, and I am yours. You are overcomers and as such deserve the best reward. My reward to you is to be with Me for all eternity. Outside are those who rejected Me. They did not reject you. They rejected Me; for I am the only Way to Heaven. I am the only Way to eternal Life. Without Me, there is no future. Your future is sealed in Me; for I am the future. There is no other future outside of Me. You have loved Me, and I have loved you. There is no greater reward than to be with those you love.”

 

            99. There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness because I have loved His appearing.

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; 30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified

 Glorified:

 Romans 8:29-30

29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

 

            We all know that He will be glorified, but what about us? This says that we will be glorified. Actually, it says in the past tense … we were glorified. Through Jesus we were glorified when He was.

            Now these verses are used to support the doctrine of predestination; that is, what happens was predetermined by God in the ancient past so that we have no choice but to believe. That goes against the doctrine of free choice. Those of the free choice persuasion say that because God knew we would believe, He predestined what would happen … calling, justification, conforming to His image, and glorification.

            We’re not here to promote either doctrine. Both seem to be true in different Scriptures. What matters is that these things are our destiny. They are all in the past. In God’s eyes they have already happened in Christ. Whether we feel like it or act like it, it’s our destiny. Since that’s true, we should be living like it and not like some slime worms that are going to crawl into the back doors of Heaven. When people look at us, they should see Jesus in action. He by Himself could never have physically traveled throughout the world throughout all time to bring people into the Kingdom. Through us, though, He can.

 

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

            "You are light in Me, My children. You are My special people. You are My chosen ones. I chose you before the world was. You were ever on My mind before the first atom existed. You are My creation perfect. You are My special creation. There has never been any greater creation than you. You were special to Me before time existed. There has never been a moment when you were not important to Me. You were created for Me, and you are to show forth My glory. There will never be a time when you are not special to Me; when you are not on My mind. There is no second choice. You are it. There is only you, and no other for Me.”

 

            98. I am glorified through Christ Jesus. Therefore, I will walk throughout my life showing forth His glory.

Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

 Others:

             Under grace, not law:

 Romans 6:11-14

11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,

13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

 

            Consider yourselves to be dead to sin. What does that mean? It means to act like it; to act like sin has no power or persuasion over you. It can’t tempt you to misbehave. But this verse says even more. Not only are we to act like we’re dead to sin and don’t want to succumb to it; but also we are to act like we’re alive to God in Christ Jesus. We are to walk ever aware of His guidance in our lives. We’re to be ready to do His bidding at a moment’s notice.

            We are not supposed to let sin reign in our lives. It isn’t lord over us … God is. We shouldn’t let its desires control our lives. As the verse says … we should not present the members of our body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. Sin is playing a song. It wants our selves as its instruments. It hopes that the world will be drawn to its melody. We should however be instruments of God’s righteousness; playing a symphony to the world to draw it after Him and His righteousness. We are no longer dead in our sins. We are alive from the dead, and our members are His instruments to be played to the world. Sin is not our master. We are willing servants of the Most High God serving in His grace.

 

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

            "You are alive, My children, in Me. I am your Way. I am your Truth. I am your Life. There is salvation in no one else; for I have been designated by God to be the only way to reach Him. It is not through what you do or accomplish for Me. It is through My blood and My sacrifice. There is no other way to Him but through Me. You are My gift to Him. I have given Him the perfect gift. It came through My blood and My sacrifice. He is My all, and He is your all. There is no other way to come into the Kingdom, but through Me. That is the way of grace. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. It is a free gift from the Father through Me. There is Life in no one else but Me. Advance in My grace and you will advance in My Father’s Kingdom.”

 

            97. I am not under law but under grace. I am dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. I will no longer serve sin, but rather serve God in His righteousness.