Last Updated on Thursday, 21 January 2010 21:08

Discover LIFE in Christ is the first step in living a fulfilled life.

Jesus is described in the bible as "the author of life" and at Harvest we are on a mission to help people discover the real Jesus as the author of their life! The journey into a fulfilled life in Christ begins with a God ordained encounter at the intersection of life. We call that intersection Eternity Junction.

HAVE YOU BEEN TO ETERNITY JUNCTION?

It has been said that the longest journey begins with a single step

At Harvest Christian Fellowship church we believe that the greatest journey that you can ever take, in fact it's also the longest journey that you will ever take because it will last for eternity, begins with a single step or perhaps more importantly, a single decision. Of course the journey that I'm talking about is the Christian journey. When each one of us was born we began life on a completely different journey, it was a natural journey of discovery that produced more questions than answers. Questions like; is there a God, does my life have a purpose, is there more to life than this, a white away feel guilt and shame when I do something wrong.

Questions are actually a good part of the life journey because they bring us to the point where we are looking for answers. In fact there is a strong desire inside of all of us that we find the answers that we are looking for. Sometimes those answers can come at the most difficult times in our life. Recently when I was officiating at a funeral of a good friend, who died after a long and courageous battle with cancer, one of life's most sobering realities hit me really hard, "someday everyone of us will face death which will bring us to the end of our natural journey". By that time it would be really important to make sure that at least the bigger questions about life, purpose, destiny and death have been answered correctly. And I do mean correctly because as the bible clearly states that it's God's hope that we decide to walk with him on the Journey that Jesus came to show us when He said in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me". Of course we probably have already figured it by now that God lives in heaven. So when we ponder these words of Jesus; if we want our life journey to lead us to heaven and to eternity with God then we need to discover the life that is Jesus as he reminds us that he is the way, the truth and the life. And as this scripture points out we have to go through Jesus to have a right relationship God. It's actually the reason why God sent Jesus in the first place, in John 3:16 we read this, "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". The apostle Paul reinforced that message later on when he said, Acts 2:21 "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved".

So it is true that death will come to all of us at some point either sooner or later. It’s the unavoidable conclusion to life that will bring all of us face to face with the big question; “WHAT HAPPENS AFTER DEATH?” and more importantly “AM I READY?”

All of this talk about death is not pleasant, especially when we started out talking about walking through life on the right path and on the right journey! But actually today is a day of opportunity. Why? Because we get to think about Life after Death before we actually get there. We are like the driver of car who finds himself sitting at a T INTERSECTION wondering which direction to take. Right or Left that’s the decisions?

SO THIS IS ETERNITY JUNCTION!

Over the years I have come to call that T INTERSECTION on life’s journey; Eternity Junction! It’s the place where we get to make a decision TODAY as to whether we will use the mustard seed size of faith that we have all been given to choose God’s plan and purpose for the rest of our life here on planet earth and of course as it leads us onward into eternity!

The sign say’s TURN RIGHT AND GET RIGHT with God by accepting the forgiveness of All our sin THROUGH THE FINISHED WORK OF JESUS CHRIST!

If we GO RIGHT we embrace the destiny and purpose that God has planned out for us.

Or we also decide TODAY to TURN LEFT and be LEFT OUT of God's plan and miss the greatest destiny that a person could ever imagine. Our path would be our own journey, where we are LEFT to our own devices! We would face the life challenges in our own strength, we would try to find our own hope for the future, we would follow our own desires and plans (which are not always healthy or that life giving).

Obviously if you are reading this then it's God's plan for your life journey that you would chose to TURN RIGHT and walk right with Him! The really good news is this. You actually can't walk RIGHT with God in your own strength! It's actually a FAITH DECISION that you would be making because the truth is your best efforts to be RIGHTEOUS are never going to be good enough for a HOLY, MAJESTIC, GLORIOUS, COMPLETELY RIGHTEOUS GOD! But guess who is able to make you look good before God? His Son Jesus! He too is Holy, Majestic, Glorious and Completely Righteous and when He died on the cross for your sin; he took your sin and He covered it with His own blood and as a result He has covered your UNRIGHTEOUSNESS with His RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Your decision to TURN RIGHT and to GET RIGHT with God is a decision to simply believe that Jesus, through His sinless life, cruel murder and earth shaking resurrection, died for your sin and that He made a way possible for you to have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God the Father!

I know it sounds too good to believe that something like this could be both true and free! Well, that's what Grace is all about. You get something that you don't deserve with absolutely no strings attached.

GOD IS GOOD!

Yes it is absolutely true, GOD IS GOOD! There is nothing, corrupt, deceptive, cynical or bad about God. His character is GOOD! His attitude is ALWAYS GOOD and He is always looking for ways to SHOW US HIS GOODNESS!

God has extended His Goodness to us here today by GIVING US A FREE GIFT. It’s a GOOD GIFT that contains THE GOOD NEWS MESSAGE of HIS AMAZING GRACE! And as the Apostle Paul states in (1 Corinthians 15:10) … by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.

It has an EFFECT because it WORKS from the INSIDE OUT! (It’s not about RULES or RELIGION it’s about RELATIONSHIP!)

WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED GRACE AND WHAT MAKES IT SUCH A GOOD THING?

Some people may think that Grace is the same as Mercy but they are quite different! Mercy means that WE DON’T GET THE PUNISHMENT THAT WE RIGHTFULLY DESERVE which is definitely better than getting what we deserve! (Like a bank robber who get’s let off even when the evidence proves he’s guilty).

GRACE goes FAR beyond Mercy; it means “UNMERITED FAVOR – OR RECEIVING MORE FAVOR THAN YOU COULD EVER IMAGINE” (Like the bank robber; not only does he get let off even though the evidence proves he’s guilty but he also gets given a job as the bank manager of the same bank that he robbed).

That may sound too good to be true; but actually it's a fair representation of what the Good News message of Grace is all about! (This actually happened in Northern Ireland - people who were once involved in active terrorism are now leading the country as high up goverment officials)

NONE OF US ACTUALLY DESERVE ANYTHING GOOD!

The bible tells us that ALL of us are sinners and that ALL of us deserve God’s Judgment and Wrath!

Yet, because of GRACE we GET MORE FAVOR THAN WE COULD EVER DESERVE!

WHERE DID THIS GRACE COME FROM?

It came through the PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST! Instead of getting THE PUNISHMENT and WRATH OF GOD that we RIGHTFULLY DESERVED because of our sin; JESUS took it ALL on our behalf!

GRACE IS NOT JUST OUR TICKET TO HEAVEN! Grace is a PRACTICAL NOW REALITY which we can ACCESS and USE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIFE TODAY!

WHAT EFFECT DOES GRACE HAVE EVERYDAY?

It EFFECT’S our RELATIONSHIP with God, our spouse, our family, our friends, our neighbor, our world.

If we have GRACE in our life then it will overflow into the lives of those around us! We will NOT GIVE THEM WHAT WE THINK THEY DESERVE; because that all depends on what they did for us or to us! When someone cuts me off in traffic, I know WHAT I THINK THEY DESERVE; but GRACE say’s BLESS THEM and DON’T CURSE THEM!

The GRACE TEST IS SIMPLE! When something IRKS YOU, ANNOYS YOU or PRESSES YOU what comes out?

SO HOW DO WE ACCESS GOD’S GRACE?

It’s actually simple! I have used an acronym for the word GRACE to make it easier to remember:

G = GOD LOVES YOU and wants to have a relationship with you. "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." (John 3:16)

He wants you to have a FULFILLED LIFE. Jesus said: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

R = RECOGNIZE THAT SIN SEPARATES you from a right relationship with God! "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

A = ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS CHRIST (his life, his death and his resurrection) as the ONLY WAY to a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God. For the wages of sin is death (THE BAD NEWS), but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (THE GOOD NEWS) (Romans 6:23)

C = CONFESS BY FAITH (from your heart not just from your head) that you choose to make JESUS CHRIST the LORD AND MASTER of EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:10)

Go ahead pray something like this now: Dear God, I am so sorry for ignoring you, rejecting you and not living my life for you. I understand that Jesus Christ died on the cross in my place. Please forgive me. Please come into my life. I choose today to live for you all the days of my life. Amen. (If you do this your old sinful ways will decrease and disappear and God’s Grace will flow freely!

E = ENJOY GOD’S GRACE EVERYDAY! Read the Bible (start with the NT) /Talk to Jesus as a friend; thank him for the good things; ask for help in the hard things / Invite him to fill your life to overflowing with His Spirit (the water of life) / As you SPEND TIME with him; His GRACE will have a positive, transformational EFFECT in your life!