Diamond In The Rough

Part 2 - Clear Vision

"Why are we here.. what is the purpose for our existence if it is not to glorify the one who made us in His image, we have no right or claim over any aspect of life outside of Christ Jesus the Lord of all creation; because there is no life apart from Christ, He is our lives, the Life giver, nothing was created if it wasn't made by Him, by Jesus all things were made, created, seen and unseen things; after His triumphant resurrection defeating death and overcoming sin, Jesus ascended on high, He is seated in a position of authority; at the right hand of the Father God in heaven.  He is the God of the living, having been given of the Father God, power and dominion over all things.  In Jesus Christ, all the fullness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell bodily!
The Father draws us with His loving kindness and places us in His Son's hands, He loses none who God the Father draws and places in the hands of Christ Jesus, they are granted repentance and faith, and are saved by grace through faith."

Okay, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves here; let me just clarify, all of this preaching above is true, but the reason it might feel as though you're missing the full picture is because, we are new arrivals, and we arrived late to this meeting.

I hope we can catch up after the service, and grasp the full magnitude of what is being delivered here, however if you must leave now, let me take the time to help you to get the full picture.

You have just arrived 25 minutes late to to a 30 minute sermon; it's the evening service.

The main Pastor has already been breathing fire and burning up the dross of unbelief; replacing worldly despair with Godly sorrow in the lives of the congregation, rejuvenating the souls of the damned to eternal life in Christ, he has already preached on total depravity.

The fallen state of mankind by nature of original sin, from the fall in Genesis; contrasting this in light of an infinitely Holy, perfect and righteous Father God who sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ the righteous, to set the captives free.

These lost captives, if there were any in the congregation, now know that the law of God is their school master, this reveals to them what sin is, and their need of salvation, the sufficiency and power of Jesus Christ in salvation from sin, according to the Scriptures; sin is a stench in the nostrils of the Holy God, who sent His Only Begotten Son Jesus to die for sinners, whilst they were still sinners, that they would be reconciled back to Him, and to each other.

There's nothing else for them to do apart from repent and believe on Jesus Christ.
It has all be completed, because salvation is not of works of self-righteousness, it is of faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ, and this is evidenced by good works.

The Pastor closes the sermon with a brief but hearty prayer, as the Holy Ghost convicts souls and continues to breathe life and light on the entire congregation, sinner to saint, once dead now alive, all praise be to the LORD.

We all rise to our feet and sing,
"SALVATION! O the joyful sound!
What music to our ears!
A sovereign balm for every wound,
A cordial for our fears.
Glory honour, praise and power,
Be unto the Lamb for ever!
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer ;
Hallelujah ! Hallelujah!
Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

Salvation ! O Thou bleeding Lamb,
To Thee the praise belongs;
Salvation shall inspire our hearts,
And dwell upon our tongues.
Salvation! Let the echo fly
The spacious earth around;
While all the armies of the sky
Conspire to raise the sound."
Isaac Watts and W. W. Shirley

There's a moment of brief silence as we all sit in contemplation of the message, some are praying with their heads bowed, everyone is looking to each other's spiritual need.

Slowly you can hear mumbles and whispers being produced about the church, then a gathering in the foyer before fellowship.

_______

Question, "What did you get out of the sermon?" a brief pause, a pale face looking to the ground, deep in contemplation, and then as though the brain was ready to reply but the mouth couldn't keep up, "I am just marvelling, struck with awe of how awesome God is.
To send His only Son to die for our sins and to deliver us from darkness, paying our sin debt and adopting us as His sons and daughters!
What a gloriously, awesome God!  I am next to tears with how truly beautiful God is!"

"Wow that's pretty deep, I agree, God is awesome, would you like a slice of cake, or some biscuits?" this responce and gesture of hospitality was unnatural to me, as I had always served others and it felt alien to me, to be served by someone else, "No thank you." I replied, hoping I didn't offend. Was this people pleasing or a sincere refusal to eat cake and biscuits, I had a lot on my mind and even more heavier weights about my heart, "Would you like a cup of tea, or some coffee?" a vibrant charasmatic brother, John asked with a smile.

"Thank you for being so kind, may I have a black tea, with one sugar please." I replied, aware my face didn't have an expression as joyful as his was, I somewhat envied it; in another crevice of my mind, I thought there was perhaps some deceit in it but, I discarded that on the basis that he had shown me hospitality.

We sat down, and breathed in the air together, "So tell me, what do you do for a living?" at this point my mind was flicking through all the requirements of my week, the schedules, the meetings, the different people and how I have done so much for them and at certain points, my transparency has left me open to being betrayed.

Startled by my lack of responce to his question, and feeling the need to be polite, I replied "At the moment I am a self employed computer engineer, and I am studying Python."

"Wow that sounds impressive." He replied with an inquisitive look at my frame and lack of facial expression. "No, it's nothing, not when compared to the eternal investment a preacher makes to the lives of living souls." quickly responding, so as not to give in to pride or become conceited.

Glancing at the Pastor who was seated on the oposite side of the room accompanying husbands and their wives, his own children, and his wife.

"What made you decide to come to this church?" John's question were getting to feel intense and I think he could tell I wasn't comfortable, so he added, "It's alright, you don't need to tell me right now."
Grateful for his display patience with me, I smiled and said, "I happened by the building and noticed the sign outside says, we preach Christ and Him Crucified. For me that setled it, I knew in my heart that this could be a place that I can call home"

Reciprocating my smile, "Well you're welcome here, we welcome everyone, you'll get to know us better in time, so don't worry about that."
How he was able to slowly bring me out of my shell made me feel comfortable but vulnerable, at the same time. Why I was so paranoid of this man being a threat to me, at this moment in time, I have no idea. "Thank you, that's a relief, I am grateful to God for your display of hospitality towards me John, it's a very rare thing these days." I smiled at him, stood to leave, shook his hand and departed from the church for home.

< Concluding here, sermon, fellowship, and observances >