There are some wrong ideas about God and about how and when He shows up in our time of need. Today we are talking about Jesus is ready when you are.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Watch the video of this teaching at https://www.celllifechurch.tv/jesus-is-ready-when-you-are/
Not too long ago I was listening to some music on YouTube. A major country music artist has recently released an album of classic Christian hymns and I was enjoying the music at my desk. One of the songs really moved me and I started reading through some of the comments people had posted. One comment stuck out and is the inspiration for this message today.
The commenter spoke about life not going well for him from a young age. He got involved with people he should not have and got into drugs. His life was spiraling out of control and finally had given up and found himself standing on the edge of a bridge to jump off and take his own life. He said it was at this point that he was reminded of all the ambitions he had when he was young. How he wanted a beautiful wife and a family. He imagined the great life he always wanted and could have had.
So far, I was with him. I was thinking about the great testimony, and then he said something that needs to be addressed. He said, “At that moment God decided to save me.” I truly hope this teaching finds this fellow. He needs to know that Jesus was ready to save him the moment he was born. It is entirely up to us to turn to Jesus, who is waiting for us, not beg him to notice us and rescue us when he feels like it. We also need to understand that we are not saved because we earn God’s favor. We are saved by grace. Finally, we need to understand that God wants to save us all.
Jesus is ready and waiting for each one of us to accept his sacrifice and ask for his forgiveness and ask him to be our Lord. Jesus is recorded in Revelation 3:20 saying:
(20) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
This is recorded in the portion of Revelation where Jesus is sending a message to each of the seven churches. This particular church is the lukewarm church. They are neither hot nor cold. They are indifferent and self-reliant.
Jesus is standing at the door of each of our hearts. He is knocking. He is not waiting for us to hit rock bottom. He is always there knocking. We just do not hear him because we allow the noise of our lives to be louder than his knock. We allow the stuff of life to take precedence over him. Jesus is ready when we are, not the other way around.
Jesus wants to come into our lives and live in our hearts. He wants to guide us and use us. He wants us to allow the Holy Spirit to empower and equip us to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and the world. But it is up to us. We must listen for Jesus’ knock and open the door to our heart for him to enter. He will not force his way into our lives.
God surrounds us with people who point to him through Jesus Christ. He does not wait until we are at rock bottom. He is trying to keep us from getting there. We are just too stubborn to see him or hear him.
Another misconception is that we must earn our way to be with God. We are correct when we say we do not deserve eternity with God, but that is the whole reason Jesus gave up his life on that Roman cross some 2000 years ago. That made the way for our sins to be atoned for. That is God’s plan for forgiveness for every single one of us.
The Apostle Paul wrote this in his letter to the church in Ephesus. Let us read Ephesians 2:8-9.
(8) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— (9) not by works, so that no one can boast.
This is especially important to understand and is one of the main things that separates Christianity from every other religious belief in the world. We are saved by grace. It is not anything we can do or have earned. We do not deserve it. If we could earn it or deserved it, we could boast and that would diminish the price paid on the cross.
The fact of the matter is our sin separates us from God and only a perfect sacrifice can redeem us. None of us can make that sacrifice to atone for all our own sins. Only Jesus can atone for our sins once and for all.
It is Jesus’ love and forgiveness we must accept in faith. We must accept in faith that he did die on that Roman cross and was raised from the dead three days later and now sits at the right hand of God interceding for each one of us.
None of us deserve it, not one. Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 this.
(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Stop trying to work your way to Heaven. Stop trying to find favor with God and hoping He might accept you. Stop trying to make deals with God if He will just rescue this one time. We have all fallen short. We have all sinned and all need a savior. Jesus is that savior and we cannot do anything to deserve it.
God does not condemn us. We condemn ourselves with our sin. God does not need to condemn us. Our own behaviors, our own lusts, our own disobedience, and rebellion condemns us. Jesus still stands at the door of our hearts and knocks.
We read in the gospel of John, chapter 3 verses 16 and 17:
(16) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Many know John 3:16 and it is often the first verse many people memorize. Not as many know or memorize verse 17, which we think is just as important and the two should always go together. God did not send Jesus to condemn us. He sent Jesus to save us from ourselves. He sent Jesus to make a way for us to return to our Creator and be in a right relationship with him.
When Jesus returns after the rapture of the Church, he will come ready for war. He will bring condemnation at that time. Until then we have every opportunity to answer the knocking on the door to our heart and open it for Jesus to come in and make us whole.
Jesus is not going to condemn you for anything you have done. He is going to forgive you for everything. Yes, we said everything. Jesus already knows your deepest darkest sins hidden in the dark corner of your heart. He still is ready when you are. He is standing at the door knocking and ready to come in when you are.
We encourage you to find someone who can help you hear Jesus knocking at the door of your heart. We encourage you to listen for Him. Ask Jesus to forgive you and ask him to be the Lord of your life. Some call this the sinner’s prayer. Do not be afraid to talk to Jesus. That is all prayer is. He is listening. He is waiting for you to talk to him. There are no special words or special ways to say anything to him. Talk to him like a friend. Ask him to open your eyes to his truths and help you to see and understand his love and forgiveness. If you do say yes to Jesus and open the door to your heart for him, please let us know. You can message us or email us, or you can click the link at the top of our web page that says, “I said yes to Jesus!” We would love to help you get to know Jesus more deeply.
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