What If?

It is easy to think of the church as an exclusive club, that’s invitation-only. But the church is God’s greatest avenue for the lost to hear the Gospel message. We should be begging people to hear about Jesus. The cost of an eternity without Christ is final. They will face eternal judgment, separated from God. This will be an everlasting destruction. Our souls were created as eternal. We will spend eternity in either one of two places, heaven or hell. This is simply the truth. Everlasting destruction means an eternal judgment that is unavoidable. In Matthew 25:41 Jesus declares, “Then He will also say to them on the left hand, “Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Every person in this room knows someone who’s lost. What are you doing to declare the gospel to a lost and dying world?

In 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12, Paul wrote, “Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul could have prayed for many things for the Thessalonians. He could have prayed for their success, that their lives would be long and full, they would find happiness, or be financially prosperous. But none of these things were on his list. Instead, Paul had only 3 concerns for these beloved believers. He prayed they would be worthy of the calling of the Kingdom of God, their walk would reflect the character of Christ, and Jesus Christ would be glorified in their lives. The Thessalonian believers faced great persecution and suffering but Paul did not pray that their suffering would be removed. He prayed that God would use this suffering for His glory. How often do we pray for God to remove our suffering? No one likes to experience suffering but what if your temporary suffering pointed others to Christ? Would it be worth it? At my father’s funeral, several people were saved. The loss of my father will be felt my whole life until I see him in eternity. But those who found Jesus will have an eternity in Heaven.

The highest calling we have is to point others to Christ. There’s no greater calling!

Pastor Amber Clendenin