Come Forth

John 11:43 “Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth!”

Have you ever heard God speak to you?

I’ve listened to many people speculate as to what it means to hear from God. Believers talk about it all the time but for those who have never known what a personal relationship with God looks like, the idea seems distant and difficult to attain.

How does one begin hearing from God?

When a person is transformed by the power of God with the evidence of the Spirit of God in their life, then they have heard and responded to His call. The same call that Jesus issued to Lazarus while he layed in the tomb is the same call He has proclaimed to His people…

“Come forth!”, Jesus proclaimed from a commanding position as God, the God who rules over life and death. In Lazarus’ case, Jesus was restoring a life but the call to us looks a little different.

1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”

For those called to new life and follow, a transformation begins.

The Restoration

The life God’s people have been called to is a restoration of all that was meant to be. God’s people were not created to be separate from the Creator, they were called to walk with Him and in walking with Him they are made complete in Him.

The continuation of His call is the call that goes forth to those who live apart from Christ. Believers are not only called from death to life, but also to walk as children of the light, bearing His image before them.

2 Corinthians 4:11 “For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.”

The message of God is carried by those who walk faithfully in Him to the world.

The great honor of representing Christ to the world is only amplified by the nature of the message. The believer not only bears the message of God’s transforming power , they also carry the only message of hope to the world.

As followers of Christ, the message of the gospel is not the only to reveal Christ, the manner in which a believer lives in Christ brings a revelation to those who walk in darkness.

2 Corinthians 4:12  "So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."

The Apostle Paul illustrated a point to the church in Corinth, Paul represented a model by which the church could imitate his walk. The gentiles for whom Paul was ministering couldn’t relate to the jewish model of salvation since they were tied in Israel as a whole. Although the principles of salvation were set in place for the saints of old, it was the promise of grace to be revealed by the Messiah the patriarchs ultimately set their hope upon.

Today, we not only have an understanding of this hope as illustrated in the Old Testament, we see the culmination of God’s prophetic revelation as it has unfolded throughout history.

Out of Christs death arose His church.

In the same way Jesus arose from the dead to bring life, He has called His people to come forth from the grave of sin and into the newness of life found by grace.

Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

The life that is in Christ is the only life that brings true peace.

What is it that holds a person back from coming to know the peace of God?

For many who live in western type countries, the prospect of following a different religion can be as simple as changing the church where you attend. Many think of religion as a mindset that one examines and sees where the process takes them. It is this type of thinking that causes someone to say, “I tried Jesus and it didn’t work for me”.

You know why Jesus doesn’t work for some people?

Jesus isn’t a religion.

Religion vs. Relationship

Contrary to the teaching of most false doctrines, there is a significant difference between fitting a religion into your lifestyle versus fitting your life into the will of God.

1. Those who see religion as a way to enhance their lives are looking for a way to make themselves feel better about who they are. Meditation practiced in certain faiths gives people a sense of a position and power they think they have inherent within them. By unlocking their “potential”, they can be all they want to be in life. Sounds glorious doesn’t it? There is a reason why so many seek these types of belief systems, it elevates them into a position of prominence and that is exactly what the flesh desires.
2. There are those who seek greater meaning apart from themselves but they fail to seek the One who holds True meaning in His hand. Many muslims think that Muhammad held all the answers and so he upholds the Quran as the means by which this message was expressed. Look a little closer into the methods of Islam and you quickly discover how the Quran is no more than another false religion.
3. Christianity is the belief that Jesus is Lord. All that God created, the Heavens and the earth were corruption by sin and so mankind was separated from the Creator and all that mankind ruled over. Jesus(the Creator) came and died to redeem mankind from the slavery of sin and restore the relationship that was originally broken. This is why Christianity is not a religion, it is a restoration of relationship with God.

Isaiah 58:12 “Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.”

To walk in newness of life in Christ requires forsaking all you previously placed your trust in. This process is not one that fits God into a lifestyle, it is one that changes life into one that restores fellowship with God—a design that was originally intended for people all along.

For those who think they were simply going to “try out Jesus”, it would be like someone saying they were going to try being an astronaut for a day. The years of study, training, development, and conditioning to be an astronaut is not something that is understood or perfected in a short period of time. It’s one thing to make something a goal but to claim understanding without knowledge is to sound like a fool.

The transforming power of following Christ begins in a day, but it continues for a lifetime. It was the blood, sacrifice, and tears of our Savior by which this opportunity was given. The cost of His sacrifice was great, so should be the consideration of following in the path He has called us to walk in.

John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Be encouraged that God calls out to the lost. I was one of them and so are you. He desires that none should die in their sin, so whether a person practices religion apart from Christ or believes in their own made up faith, His grace is sufficient for all who would turn and follow. The humble and contrite of spirit are those whom God will lift up.

If there is breath in your lungs then you have the opportunity to respond to His call.

Don’t delay.