“Heaven on earth…”

Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.org)

To “get saved” is to bring heaven to us. It’s not necessarily a gift given by God that gets us to heaven.

Recently I read an article published in a book entitled, What does it mean to be saved? (John G. Stackhouse, Jr., editor, Baker Academic, 2002). The author is Rikk E. Watts, and the article is entitled, “The New Exodus/New Creational Restoration of the Image of God.” The article is a Biblical-theological perspective on salvation, and is–in my opinion–a landmark study as to how the modern evangelical should view salvation in Jesus Christ.

In the words of Watts, salvation is the “new creational restoration” of man who is created in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, His image bearer. Because man fell into sin by disobeying God in the Garden of Eden, man lost his “light bearing status” before God and His creation. Jesus came to redeem man from his sin and lift him to the light bearing status for which he was created. In Christ we are reflecting the light of God as we walk in obedience to God–loving Him with all our being and loving our neighbors as ourselves. So salvation is a restoration of the “image-bearer” by becoming a new creation (II Cor. 5:17) in Christ Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit that brings the new life to bear (Titus 3:5-7).

May I share some more words of Mr. Watt’s that further supports his thesis of “image-bearer” salvation?

Watts states, “Martin Heidegger once argued, our experience of the present and expectations of the future can be constructed only from the materials of the past. This is certainly the case in regard to the Bible, whose Old and New Testaments from Genesis to Revelation are profoundly shaped by Israel’s memory of the exodus. But this is not all. Long ago Herman Gunkel, noting how 2 Peter 3:6-7 describes the final judgment in terms of the Genesis flood and how Matthew 24:37 likens the days of the coming of the Son of man to those of Noah, argued that from the biblical perspective, Endzeit (the last days) recapitulates Urzeit (prehistory).”

Watts continues, “Several scholars have recently developed this view, arguing that if there is a center to biblical theology, it is the concept of new creation; as the Epistle of Barnabas 6.13 states, ‘Behold I make the last like the first things.’ Put in more aphoristic terms, eschatology recapitulates protology.”

If God is enthroned in the heavens and the earth is His footstool, then we are certainly at home as we posture ourselves at His feet in devoted worship. Again Watts writes, “We do not make a temple-palace for Yahweh; he has made one for us, and it is not only the earth in its entirety but Eden and the tabernacle. We do not form Yahweh in our image; he makes us in his. We do not ‘open’ his eyes, ears, and so on; instead, he gives us sight, hearing, and ultimately fills us with his ‘breath.’ Nor do we provide for him; rather, he has done lavishly so for us.”

It’s not always obvious to us, but nevertheless it is true. We become like the idols that we idolize. If I worship material substance as my god, I become like the idolized thing–dead to the things of God because my hearing and seeing have become like the idol–deaf and blind. Israel worshipped idols and abused God’s creation. She became as deaf and blind as the moot statues of stone she prayed to. That’s why Isaiah 6:9-10 records Israel as having eyes, she will not see, ears she will not hear. She had become as deaf and blind as her idols, and judgment was imminent.

There is coming with the return of Jesus Christ a unification of heaven and earth. Remember the prayer He told us to pray? We are to affirm the truth that as it is in heaven so shall it be on earth. Again, we are not going to heaven, heaven is coming to us. The Revelation of John speaks of a refurbished atmosphere and earth by fire. It speaks about the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth. It says that Christ is coming again to the earth on which we live. Jesus is quoted by John as saying, “Behold, I make all things new.” So one might conclude that as it was on earth when Adam and Eve walked the Garden of Eden in innocence, so shall it be again. And this time, without the tempter.

In light of this, what should we do with this “so great a salvation”? We must realize that we are saved by believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth that Jesus Christ is our Savior. And we must recognize that we are being saved daily as we surrender our will to the Spirit of God, asking Him to rule over our hearts. Finally, we will be saved to the uttermost when Christ glorifies our bodies at the resurrection. How should we then live? Live everyday as the light-bearer we were created to be. Let the light of Jesus shine through us until we are seen by others as the true image of Jesus to this world.

Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is coming soon. Keep living as His Light to the world.

Pastor T

Do you find yourself in a difficult situation today? Do you have to trust God because that’s the only option you have left?

You’re right where your Father does his best work.

If you are a believer, the word says your steps are ordered of the Lord (Prov. 16:9). Every life experience, every situation you find yourself in, and every valley you walk through has a divine purpose. You are stepping closer and closer to your destiny in Christ.

Your good God doesn’t bring hurtful situations into your life…that’s what the enemy does. However, God loves you too much to allow you to suffer through a tough time without it benefiting you in the long run.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28). Don’t the difficult times seem easier to face when you know God is using that period to stretch you, purify you, and develop your faith?

Doesn’t each victory seem sweeter knowing that he is teaching you to win with greater grace, so he can bring you to the next level of victory and the deeper walk with him that awaits you there?

I heard a great man of God once discussing difficult situations. He said the place of victory God prepares for each us is in direct proportion to the valley we have to walk through getting there. He described it aptly by saying, “The bigger the devil, the higher your level.”

In other words, the more painful, disappointing, adverse or challenging you find your circumstances today, the greater your victory when you emerge on the other side.

The greater the battle, the greater the anointing.

The bigger the opposition, the more wonderful the promise.

Consider Joseph. This is a man God had chosen and given great dreams of his incredible future. However, those dreams of a victorious future preceded a whirlwind of disappointments and challenges that would have caused most of us to seriously doubt God’s hand in our life.

His brothers sold him into slavery because of their jealousy. He was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

In actuality, God was using those situations to prepare Joseph’s character and faith for the immense blessing of leadership that awaited him.

David is another man of God who saw his fair share of difficulties, many of which were caused by his poor choices. However, he never let the praises of God leave his mouth. He knew each challenge just brought him closer to his Father. He knew the Lord would bring him out with the victory, every single time.

David wrote: “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress…” (Psalm 4:1).

God used those difficult times to enlarge David’s faith, build his character, and force him to rely in a greater way on his God. Let’s face it, if we only found ourselves in situations we could handle or explain, we’d never have to trust him. Our faith would never develop.

I’m sure when these great men of God were in their personal pit, suffering and desperately calling out to God for help, they wondered what was happening to them. We have the benefit of knowing the end of each of these stories.

While God didn’t cause the negative situations in their lives, he used those circumstances to carefully construct the powerful men of faith the Lord needed for their divine destinies to come to pass.

No matter what challenge you face today, God has already written the final page of your story. Your story doesn’t end with the dark pit your may find yourself in now. Your story ends in victory, with God doing exceedingly and abundantly more than you can ask or imagine in your life (Eph. 3:20).

Your God only raises up winners, and you are one of his kids. His favor surrounds you like a shield (Psalm 5:12), and he rewards those who diligently seek after him (Heb. 11:6).

Rejoice, no matter where you find yourself today. Your victory was purchased 2000 years ago on a hill called Calvary. Praise him in advance for the victory he has already promised you in his word.

Today, he is calling you to run to the only safe place that truly exists…right into the arms of your Heavenly Daddy. Remember, the name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe (Prov. 18:10).

Being safe in his arms, use this period to feed on his word, build up your prayer life and trust him even when you feel your life is in disarray.

He is bringing you out with a greater love, a greater confidence, and a greater resolve to see his destiny fulfilled in you than ever before.

Maintain your praise. Thank him continually for his goodness in your life. Don’t focus on the battle and its challenges, focus of your loving God and his supernatural ability.

He will do what he must to get you where he needs you. But once you are there, look out! His goodness is right around the corner and his blessings are chasing you down.

This is part three of a radio sermon I preached in 1994.

Luke 6 verse 37 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”

If somebody wrongs you, our Bible tells us we have to forgive them. If you wrong someone, you need to ask for forgiveness. Something happened to me over two years ago at a church. This particular church was having a series of meetings…”revival” it is called. The singing was great and the evangelist started preaching; he went on and on and on. Finally, the invitation song was being sung, and there, on the back bench nearby me was an old man. At the invitation song, the old man got up and went out the door. The Lord spoke to me, and said, “Go see about him.” So, I too, got up and went out. I found him, he had lost control of his bladder, and his pants was wet. He was so upset, he couldn’t even find his car. I helped him, reassured him, and prayed for him. He had lost his wife and was missing her. About three months later, this man went on to be with Jesus. As I prayed for him that night, the love and compassion of Jesus was so real and so strong.

The next night at the “revival”, the evangelist stated, “Y’all should have been here last night. I had them under conviction so bad, they were running out the back door!” The “y’all” he referred to was the old man and me. Recently, I called this evangelist, and told him what had happened. He was very contrite and humbled by what I told him. I had already forgiven him because I knew what the Lord did that night.

1 Corinthians Chapter 12 speaks of spiritual gifts given by the Spirit: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healing, working of miracles,prophecy, discerning of spirits, divers kinds of tongues, interpretation of tongues. You must be a willing vessel for the Lord to give you those spiritual gifts for use in the building up of his kingdom.

Irvin L. Rozier