LOOK CLOSELY

By Rick Mathes

John 1:36 (NASB77) ³⁶ and he looked upon Jesus as He walked, and •said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!”

John 1:39 (NASB77) ³⁹ He •said to them, “Come, and you will see.” They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.

We have two ears and two eyes but only one mouth and they should be used proportionately. You can’t learn by talking. You need to hear, listen, learn, apply and then evaluate but nothing teaches well than what you see and experience.

Begin by looking backward to a dying Christ. Listen carefully as He whispers your name and devotes His last breath to you and gave his life that He might live through you. Then look upward to Jesus pleading your case before the Father. I can hear His day, “Daddy, look at the scars and know I loved Rick as you do and I gave my life that Rick might live.” Inward you will see the glory of our Lord living in you. Once converted you become a living sacrifice, a holy temple. The Holy Spirit dwells in you and points forward to your redemption when Christ returns to reign on earth as He does in heaven.

The gates of heaven are blown off their hinges with the regeneration of mankind which is soon to come and bring a present day reformation of godly doctrine written in the blood of Christ. The Holy Spirit revival tghat is sure to follow will produce a revolution in you innermost places wehre Satan once had his strongholds. Freedom has a price and it is worth it.

Why should you come to Christ now? You were far away in the gloom of futility and your only salvation is to draw near to him. The closer you get the more restful you will feel. The peace that surpasses all understanding is merely being next to him and protected from His adversary, Diablo. How sweet is the fruit of your vine when it is watered by His Word and nurtured by His presence?

What fruit can we expect to blossom form this vine that we have begun grafted too? At the top of my list is: a full pardon. When I learned I was forgiven I dropped to my knees in my pastor’s office and wept. It gave me a strange new peace I had never enjoyed but I know now I had an assurance of salvation. A joy unspeakable rose up in my heart until I thought I would explode. Now, I finally had a real hope of avoiding hell and stepping into glory and everlasting happiness.