listener24

Maranatha

https://www.christiantoday.com/article/world-evangelical-alliance-general-assembly-opens-with-call-to-christians-to-finish-the-great-commission/133578.htm QUOTES: Dr Njotorahardjo reminded those gathered for the General Assembly that the coming of God's kingdom was part of the Lord's own prayer and were words that they needed to speak out every day. "Pray for Jesus' second coming, long for His appearing," he said. "How many of you are longing for His appearance?" We have to be serious about finishing the Great Commission of Jesus," he said. "We are not here just to gather but to pray, Oh Lord, come quickly and Your kingdom come." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PERSONAL CONSIDERATIONS: I love this level of clarity about prayer and vision that the Lord is bringing back to the Church in these last days. For too many centuries the Christian message have been watered down/confused/substituted. But the Lord is bringing the Gospel of the Kingdom back to the core tenants, and finally our prayer and actions will be completely oriented to the Return of Jesus. The King is coming back, the kingdoms of this world are about to become the Kingdom of our Lord (Revelation 11:15) and with our prayers, preaching and holy life we are called to be intercessors to hasten the return of the King and the fulfillment of the Kingdom. (2Peter 3:12). Any thoughts/comments?

That's awesome brother @JTC! I'm glad that you've found a good church! Praise the Lord!

@worriedwife69 dear sister, thank you for sharing your struggles with us so that we can be with you in prayer. I'm very sorry for this, and I look forward to the day all our tears will be wiped out. Our Lord is even more eager for the coming of that Day. The Lord is the High Priest who can sympathize with us. He is with you and your husband in this struggle, He knows what it means to suffer, to be tempted, to carry on the weight and consequences of sin. Even if it can be so hard when the circumstances are so terrible, let us remember together that God's infinite love is always with us. He will not abandon us. He is carrying us by hand through these tribulations, ready to celebrate with us in His Kingdom and ready to send us His Spirit while we are still here. Sometimes, even when we are not doing anything wrong, it's not always easy to feel God's love because we are so used to attribute it to the circumstances, or to the love of those around us. But even when the circumstances gets dark and those around us are going through hard time, let us remember Jesus's Words: "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me." I pray that you may know deep in your heart that God is with you in this dark hour. Also know that the Lord is looking with the same compassion to your husband, He is suffering with him and He is not looking at the behavior he may be having because of the hardships, but at his redeemed soul, with as much love as He Has always had for him. Love in Christ, listener

Hi Kristin, thanks for sharing this tough thought and asking for help. I'm just typing here something generic, it may or may not apply to your situation. Sure, people can do us very bad things. On those we don't have control. But many times, we want to defend our own self image, we create an image of ourselves and the other person in which we are always right, and we fail to see our own shortcomings toward that person. The more the bad feelings toward that person increase, the more our own self-righteousness towards them increases. Again, surely other people make mistakes, sometimes a lot, sometimes they are even intentionally hurtful. But while we can't do anything about it, we can look inwardly and ask ourselves if we are looking the other person and ourselves as objectively as possible, and then as mercifully as possible. In all this, ask the Lord's grace to forgive, 70 times seven. He will be Faithful. ***************************************************************** As for me, I'm grateful that the Lord is Faithful. That if we entrust Him with our lives, we can be sure that He will finish what He started in us, and there is nothing we should be preoccupied about.

Amen @Tigger56! Indeed, when we pray "come Lord Jesus", we are also praying for a great harvest and revival. The Lord will do everything needed to prepare His Return, including the revival. Indeed, to send workers into His fields is one of the very few prayers taught by Jesus. I was thinking at an idea to have more people joining the prayer that the Bible teaches for His Return. Maybe if we start greeting our siblings with "Maranatha" (as the first Christians were doing), or if we just ask them "do you know what maranatha means?", and then proceed to explain it to those who are curious, we will have more people obeying the command of speeding His return, and less people praying for just worldly things. Also if we start praying it more often, Christians around us will get more curious. Maybe it is as simple as to lead by example! What do you think? Other suggestions?

I'm a bit ignorant about this controversy and what are the main discussion points. But I have a testimony... Incredibly, this forum played a big role in my salvation. (and I'm so thankful for all of you guys for that) There are countries out there where the Gospel is completely distorted (or absent), and especially for people from those places, a forum like this can be very very inspiring. (obviously I'm not meaning that a forum should be a substitute to the local community, unless someone has grave obstacles like illness)

Amen! God has always valued the alignment of His people to His plans, when bringing out blessings, and often waited their alignement. He made the Israelites waiting 40 years in the desert, because they decided to not align with His plans. He prolonged the exile 7 times longer than established because of people's unfaithfulness and unwillingness to align with His plans. He honored Anna's pledge and the pledge of all those who were praying for the coming of the Messiah. He taught us that we should ask, insist, even bother Him (Luke 18:1-8) so that He will bring Justice. Then He taught us to pray "your Kingdom come". STILL. We pray for everything else, and we think that He will listen to every other request, except hastening His coming, the very thing He taught us to pray for. Satan rejoices in all of this. This way these words come true: "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come." And "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king." But as you said, there is hope. The Lord is raising this prayer in the whole world, especially in the persecuted lands where the Spirit and the Bride are already crying "Come". "So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find." Maybe at last, even the rich West will join this cry with one voice Will we be passive observer or active servants in spreading this prayer?

And not only invisibility, but masking himself as an angel of light. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." This is correct, and he is so clever to present his kingdom as based on justice and peace. He makes men believe that they can reach peace and righteousness without God. Then when they forsake God, he drives them to all sorts of selfish delusions. Here's another weapon to shorten his domain, pray to God with a word from the Bible: Maranatha. Maranatha means come Lord Jesus. Put an end to satan's domain Lord, forever. We pledge You, knowing that You will listen to us. "And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”" "as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat."

Amen! That's why building the local Church is crucial part of the Great Commission . (or other forms of edifying the Church such as this forum). Because then people can see the love of Christ in His Church, not in special buildings or hierarchies, but in the living stones, the Royal Priesthood of all believers

I didn't believe that this was possible until I found some amazing communities, obedient to the Lord and His Word and as a result incredibly loving as well. Godly local Churches can indeed be a mighty way in which the Lord touches people's heart, and I've heard and seen people being powerfully saved this way.

Wow how many wonderful responses, really edifying and heartwarming. Praise Jesus! I'll share my thoughts as well. It is definitely different in every situation. Sometimes you get to see a person only one time. In that case I try to understand where their heart is, what they care about and their idea of life. I try to listen what the Holy Spirit has already convicted them of, if anything, and build from there. Some are hurt by negative experiences with Churches, denominations or cults, and I try to remind that Jesus Himself was the first enemy of men-made religion and traditions. Sometimes they get more curious about Jesus because of this reason. If there are opportunities for long term relationship, as you mentioned, I try to value the person and build a relationship, and then the room to share what Jesus has done in my life comes naturally. If I'm in a city with a great local community, really obedient to Jesus, sometimes I invite them to Church as it may be an occasion for them to encounter Jesus through the love that we have for each other. I also suggest to read the Scriptures by themselves, asking God to reveal Himself if He is real. I suggest to start from the Gospel. All of this by praying and do my best to listening the Holy Spirit. It is Him who prepare people's heart in the end, and sometimes we just need to be obedient and show up and He does everything else even through our imperfection. Regarding mistakes I made, sometimes I didn't share the Gospel out of a pure place of love. In those situations I probably did more harm than good.

I know, they are incredible! So deeply inspired by the Scriptures. This whole song is beautiful, the last part in particular melts my heart and spirit. @turtletwo great hearing from you brother

Amen! Beautiful article! So many of the good fruits that we see in the world are because of the obedience of people who laid down their life in very dark times. With the carnal mind, there was nothing to rejoice for them, nor the world seemed to be holding any hope. But they have trusted that the Holy Spirit was doing His work through obedient people. Let us be among them. Send workers in the field Lord! Maranatha. "He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

What is your style and what are the more important lessons you have learnt while sharing the Gospel with people? "And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”" Matthew (4:19) Fishermen learn their craft with time and patience. They make mistakes and learn from them. Through obedience, I believe the Lord wants to make us better fishermen. So I'm curious to hear your experiences.