From: sliew@mullian.ee.mu.oz.au (Selbyn Liew)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: A testimony of the Cross and Re: There are two years left!
Date: 14 Sep 92 01:57:43 GMT
Organization: Electrical and Electronic - University of Melbourne

In article <Sep.5.17.38.36.1992.17903@athos.rutgers.edu> davem@bnr.ca (Dave Mielke) writes:

[Trimmed]

>There appears to be abundant Biblical evidence which indicates that the
>Lord Jesus Christ will return as the judge of all the earth sometime
>during September in 1994. The proofs are far too lengthy for a short
>article such as this, but can be found in the book titled "1994" by Mr.
>Harold Camping which has just been published by Vantage Press and is

>you to please check out this evidence before it is too late as the
>divinely decreed punishment for sin, of which we are all guilty, is
>eternal damnation. With perhaps only two years at the most left, I
>would like to conclude my private remarks within this article with the
>question with which I began. Are you truly ready to meet your judge,
>His Majesty, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, God Almighty, face to
>face?

Dear People of God,
As many of us have probably realised, the safest way to live is to live
each day for the LORD.  As a preacher said, we are to live in the NOW.
Not yesterday, because then we will be sitting on our past failures or
brooding on our past glories (Phi 3:13 "...forgetting those things which
are behind...").  Not tomorrow, because tomorrow may never come (James
4:13-15).  But if we live in the NOW, that is when God is doing something
in our lives, that is when we can experience His power which works in us
to will and to do of His good pleasure.  Today is when the moment of
salvation is.  Today is when yesterday can be buried and put behind.
Today is when also, tomorrow depends on.  Why do we worry whether we will
be ready or make it tomorrow, when our blessed Saviour says to be ready
today, each day (Matt 6:34, 24:42-51); and to make it through each day
with Him?  Indeed, we should surely look forward to the coming to the
day of God, for the inheritance of the eternal promise (2 Pe 3:11-14).
Indeed, John writes, "Beloved, *now* we are children of God; and it has
not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is
revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  (NOTE)
And *everyone who has this hope* in Him *purifies himself*, just as He
is pure."  (1 Jn 3:2-3)

I know of no sure way to be ready to meet God Almighty, than to rest my
trust on the merits of His Son Jesus Christ and His righteousness, by
whom the world is crucified to me and I to the world, by whom I no longer
live, but to be crucified with Him, that I may live to Him in new life.
The secret of the victorious life over the flesh and the world, as I
discovered recently, is to really believe and realise that I am crucified
with Him, and risen with Him.  I came to a stage in my life when I
realised that *I* really did not have the human ability to surrender to
Him enough, nor the natural ability to so-called "die to self"...until
I discovered that He was crucified, so that I may be crucified WITH Him
by just believing that I am crucified with Him when I believe.  I came
to a point where I hated this sense of defeat so much, but I couldn't
"die to it".  But thanks be to God, I took the counsel of Romans 6:11
"Reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ
Jesus our Lord."  The hardest bit was to deny self in terms of trying to
beat this defeat with my own struggles and striving and feeling sorry
(I thought I was repentant) for myself.  I didn't realise that deny self
included giving up trying to improve myself to try to prove myself before
God and man, or giving up trying to beat "this thing" with my self-
imposed regulations and efforts, etc.  You see, I can "die to self"
only by being "crucified with Him" - He was the One who did it for me
first, because I couldn't do it on my own.  What a wonderful Saviour
and God is our Lord God.

Maybe this is why God's word never state something to the effect of
"*I* have crucified self" or "*I* have died to my self", but rather,
"I am crucified *with* Christ", and, "you died *with* Christ", and
"*by whom* the world has been crucified to me", and "our old man was
crucified *with* Him."  (Gal 2:20, Col 2:20, Gal 6:14, Rom 6:6).
The difference can be subtle, but it can be discerned by who gets
the glory in these various statements.  Yes indeed, no flesh can
boast in His sight, but only in Him.

It is truly by faith, a sincere and pure faith.  It was almost too
good to be true when I laid hold of it by just believing it with my
heart.  I experienced a tremendous deliverance in my mind and soul
which I could hardly believe - it was just too good to be true, that
I kept wondering how in the world this could be!  But the evidence
is unmistakable.  What a release after about 4 1/2 years of religious
bondage, of lack of joy, of a wrong view of God (i.e. more angry than
loving and grieved).  It almost felt like a second born-again
experience (of course, it is actually the taste of the power of the
Spirit, who causes us to be born-again).

Well, I might have shifted from my original topic, but I thank Him
that in that time of darkness, I stumbled at the foot of the cross,
looked up, and finally began to see more of what the cross meant -
it was more than just forgiveness of sins...it was also POWER TO
DELIVER from sin, the devil, and finally death.  No wonder Paul
wrote:

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power
of God to salvation for everyone who believes, ... For in it the
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is
written, "The just shall live by faith."  (Rom 1:16-17)

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(1 Co 1:18)

"For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus
Christ and Him crucified."  (1 Co 2:2ff)

"God forbid that I should glory except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to
the world."  (Gal 6:14)

Finally,
"Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present
you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Saviour, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty,
dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."  (Jude 24-25)

Oh, may the Lord continue to show us the glories of His person and
the infinite wonders of His wisdom and plan of redemption.  May we
be so taken by His majesty and grace, and His power that is surely
able to save to the utmost those who are perishing.  And may we lay
hold of Him, just as He laid hold of us, and as His people, His
instruments, begin to work with Him, as He works in us - that His
mighty hand may stretch out in salvation power, that His Spirit may
be poured out, to revive His people, and to give life to the
perishing.  Amen.

sliew
==========================================================================
Dept. of EE Engineering, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3052, Australia
EMAIL: sliew@mullian.ee.mu.oz.au    PH: +61-3-3447976   FAX: +61-3-3446678
==========================================================================

[I'm allowing this posting because things are fairly slow today, and
it is well put.  However I think this thread has come to an end, and
on a busier day I would have rejected this as duplicative.  Monday is
normally busy enough that I suspect I will reject all further
contributions on the subject of date-setting.  --clh]