WE WERE, WE ARE, WE SHALL BE

Eltham Baptist 2nd October 2011

No. 347

Titus 3:3 For in the past WE WERE foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another. Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, WE ARE the Lord's. 1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, WE SHALL BE like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Jesus death on the cross has solved a lot of the big problems that have faced mankind. One thing we now have given to us is hope for the future. In 1 Corinthians 15 it says that if Jesus hasnt risen from the dead then all is in vain. His death now helps us to understand who we are, who we were and what we shall be. After Jesus death on the cross we see that everything now fits into place and life now makes sense. Jesus said to His Disciples in John 13:7 that they didnt know what is going on now but they will know hereafter. Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later
you will understand." John 13:7

Praise God we are now in the HEREAFTER. Lets look at these 3 stages in our Christian walk. The we were, the we are and the we shall be.

WE WERE:
Titus 3:3 For in the past WE WERE foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another. Isaiah 51:1"Listen to me, all who hope for deliverance -- all who seek the LORD. Consider the quarry from which you were mined, the rock from which you were cut!

Its good to think of what we were once for it helps us to understand where the people of the world are coming from. Paul deliberately reminds his friends of the pit that they once came out of. When we do this it humbles our hearts to think of what we were once like, but by the grace of God. Its amazing to consider the miracle that took place when Christ redeemed us, and to keep it all fresh in our minds. Paul says in:
1 Corinthians 6: 9-10 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders, nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Ephesians 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Paul presented many pictures of what an unsaved person is like. When we honestly examine ourselves we too can see dark things that are lurking inside. If we think that its not the case then we deceive ourselves. Even the great Apostle Paul says that such was he and also says that he was once the Chief of Sinners. We can say this to others as well; Such were we too. We can often see a Pharisee in us, or even a Judas, the murderer like Barabbas or the thieves that crucified with Him. Havent you seen the Peter who denied the Lord within you or one of those who mocked Jesus as He died on the cross? I think at times the Lord takes away the veil and allows us to think thoughts that remind us of who we once were or what we would be without Him. This can happen even in the holiest of meetings and humble us in the sight of God. There go I but by the grace of God. It was the WE WERE in our nature that was responsible for the death of Christ on the cross. I often find myself being cynical of those around me especially amongst the lost, but soon pull myself up when I think of the grace of God and how I could have become like them if it wasnt for His love and mercy. In fact I would be dead now if it wasnt for His saving grace or if not dead then in a Mental Home. When I consider how bad I was as a teenager and all the things I did. Im glad tagging wasnt around then as my tags would have been quite artistic, and easy to recognise.

WE ARE:
Romans 14:8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, WE ARE the Lord's.

Paul doesnt stop at what we were, but goes on to tell us of what we are now, in fact he runs riot with this thought. His picture of what we are is far greater than what we were. Many Christians talk about what they were all the time when they should be talking more about what they are now. We need to be careful when we give our testimony that we dont major on the bad things we did once and end up glorifying Satan. We like to talk about negative things all the time, when we should be more positive in our speech. Paul says; WE ARE DELIVERED WE ARE LABOURERS WE ARE FOOLS FOR CHRIST WE ARE UNTO GOD A SWEET SAVOR WE ARE AMBASSADORS WE ARE ARE CHILDREN OF THE PROMISE WE ARE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY WE ARE THE LORDS WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS On this thought of being more than conquerors, its like a boxer who trains for months for the big fight and finally gets in the ring on the big night. Its a tough match but after being knocked down many times and taking lots of punches he finally wins and collects the big prize of $100,000. He goes home to his wife and comes through the door waving his prize money saying honey I won, Im the conqueror. She grabs the money and says, Thanks. She is more than a conqueror. So it is with us and the Lord. He did all the work on the cross and received the great prize and we as His bride now share the spoil without even lifting a finger. He comes home with the prize and gives it to us. The World and the Devil may say that really knew what we were like and knew who we were once but we can say; Yes we were, thats true, but now we are.

WE SHALL BE:
1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, WE SHALL BE like him, for we shall see him as he is.

Praise God the best is still to come. The Bible is not just a book of the past; its a book of tomorrow as well. When we were redeemed we became the Children of tomorrow and the best is still to come. Our lives arent futile anymore but have purpose and God is saving the best wine until last.
1 Corinthians 2: 9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

One of the amazing things about our future is that we shall be like Him, what a marvellous future that will be. After all Ive done and said, Jesus says that He will change me to be as He is. Man is struggling to make this world into a perfect place. He knocks down this wall and builds another and puts a new King into power, changes the system here and throws more money there then kicks this one out and puts in another one but nothing gets better. As we get older life soon loses its lustre with lots of heart ache and pain, but we have been given a far greater hope than just the here and now and that is that we shall be like Him. There will be no mistaking us then, for being like Him will solve all our problems. With this hope burning in our hearts let us go forward with a spring in our steps. I was watching someone being interviewed the other night and their dream was to meet up with Sonny Bill Williams. They were so excited that it was about to happen tonight. If thats all your dream is then your future is dull. Our dream is to meet up with Jesus. Not only will that change us but He will still remember who we were 10 years later.
Psalm 17:15 And I in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.

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