Many people get discouraged in their Christian experience and they feel like there is no hope for them, because they repeat the same mistakes until Satan comes and says, “You are not forgiven. Look at your life, it is a disaster. Don’t you see how far you are from the standard of God? God has forsaken you,” Satan whispers to those people who fall into sin. For whatever reason, have you ever felt that way in your life? Have you ever felt very much alone? Have you ever felt that you are fighting the battle of your life, alone? Fighting the struggle of life, alone? Have you ever felt that you had to navigate through life alone? If this is your case, I would like to suggest to you that you are not alone; you are not on your own. As I traveled through many parts of the world, I could see people in this situation—people in despair, who try to get rid of one bad habit or another and they cannot. They try to find meaning in their lives, but they do not find it. People who are oppressed by evil spirits and evil thoughts—crying out in their despair, and no one hears them.
I would like to share with you some powerful testimonies from the Bible, wherein you will see how God’s love changes people and gives them a chance to win the battle and be prepared for Jesus’ second coming. I would like to share with you some testimonies of people who believed that they were not on their own. You and I today, if we come to Jesus with a contrite heart and open mind to receive His forgiveness, accepting the covenant God wants to make with us, thus keeping, through the power of the Holy Spirit, His commandments and fulfil the plan He has for each one of us, then we are building on the Rock of salvation daily; and the experience we get from such a relationship with Jesus will make us able to stand firm for the truth no matter what will happen in our lives. As we do the will of our Father in heaven, our lives are transformed into His image; and the more we walk with Jesus the more we will be like Jesus—doing His will and showing other people the way to heaven. The Bible says in Psalm 77:13 “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” Jesus, in order to forgive us, needs only one second; but to sanctify us, He needs the rest of our lives. We can learn many lessons from the Hebrew’s sanctuary that can be applied in our spiritual lives.
I have seen people who got lost on the way to salvation, and I asked myself, why did it happen? How can we avoid such dramatic situations? Well, I have found the answer in the Bible. There was a man, his name was Asaph, and he faced a problem. Here was his problem—He could not understand why the wicked people always seem to prosper. Come with me to the book of Psalms. This Psalm was written by Asaph. I want you to notice how he expressed himself in the beginning and how he acted at the end. Let us read Psalm 73:3, “For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” And later in the chapter he says, “Behold, these are the ungodly, who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency.” Psalm 73:12–13. In other words, what use is it to cleanse your life—to be righteous because the wicked prosper and the righteous are chasten? But now I want you to notice the answer he found to the problem. “Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” Psalm 73:17.
There was something in the Hebrew sanctuary that explains that it is good to cleanse your heart from all unrighteousness and let the wicked be rewarded when Jesus comes. The Hebrew sanctuary has the explanations that many times we need to face in this life. The only way to understand the plan of salvation is to study the sanctuary and its details. Like Asaph, unless we go to the sanctuary and study every detail connected with its services and their application to our spiritual life, we won’t be able to understand how Jesus saves us from sin.
Sin is the most horrible thing in God’s sight; it took the life of His dear and beloved Son, Jesus Christ. Sin destroys us both inside and out, and Jesus wants to cleanse us. Will you allow Him to do so? There were people in the Old Testament who we find forgiven, although they have committed great mistakes in their lives.
For instance, let us talk about Moses—the man that was declared in the Bible a meek and humble man, and a great prophet and leader. He killed a man but he repented of his sins and his life was really what God wanted it to be. Notice what the Bible has to say about Moses. “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” .Numbers 12:3. What do you think of when you think of Moses? God is not impressed with all our credentials or accomplishments; He is interested in our character. He sees the root of our motives and He rightly discerns our hearts. So what did God see when He looked into the heart of Moses? According to the Scripture above, He saw a meek and humble man, the most humble man on the face of the earth. Can Moses’ life speak to any of us today?
I would like to talk a little bit about this characteristic, namely humility. It is so important in our Christian life because Jesus said in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” Moses said in Exodus 33:13, “Now, therefore, I pray Thee, if I have found grace in Thy sight, shew me now Thy way, tht I may know Thee, that I may find grace in Thy sight: and consider that this nation is Thy people.” You see, my friend, Moses understood the character of God, and he found mercy and favour in God’s sight—not because Moses deserved it, but because he was willing to humble himself before God. He said, if You are pleased with me, teach me Your ways.”
Let me ask you a question—Are you willing to receive teaching and instruction from God through His servants? Moses was indeed a good student. What about you, my dear brother or sister, my friend?
Asaph, when he didn’t understand why the wicked people prosper and the righteous in his sight are chastened, he went to the sanctuary lessons and then he saw everything different than before. Why? Because the terminology of the sanctuary is found in almost all of the Bible. The plan of salvation starts there, and a right understanding of the sanctuary makes us able to avoid unpleasant situations and defends us from error and false doctrine. It gives us power and strong roots in the truth. Moses understood God’s plan for him and his life was changed.
Deuteronomy 7:9 states: “Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy.” I like these words that Moses uses. “He is God, the faithful God.” You see, Moses knew God and he experienced His mercy and love; that is why he could speak so much about the faithful God. The God of heaven is steadfast and His promises are rock solid; they never let us down.
Think about Moses when he was looking back over his life. Moses was cursed at birth. Pharaoh passed a decree that every male child would be killed at birth, but God reached out and kept Moses in His arms and blessed his mother. She put him in a little basket, later as he looked back over his life, he remembered the hand of God that protected him when he was born; he remembered the hand of God that led Pharaoh’s daughter to that river where she found the little basket. He remembered the hand of God that guided him for the first twelve years of his life at his mother’s knees. He remembered the hand of God that guided him there at the Egyptian court; the hand of God that guided him in the wilderness; the hand of God that guided him throughout all of his life—when he led the children of Israel through the desert; the hand of God that caused manna to fall from heaven; the hand of God that guided him by a pillar of fire by night and sheltered him with a cloud by day. Moses remembered God. So Moses looks back over his life and he says, “God is faithful.” God is there in the sorrow and joy of life. He is there for you—just for you, my friend.
“He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.” Deuteronomy 32:4. What words, what encouragement, my friends, to have such a great God, as is the God of Moses? He may be your God too, if you accept His teaching and let Him transform your life. Face life with courage, face life with hope, face life with joy, face life with optimism because the God who took Moses’ hand will take your hand and bring you into His joy and salvation. In life, all the evil forces in the world cannot destroy God’s plan for your life. They cannot. When you put your life in the hand of God, God will accomplish His purpose in your life. Many times I have seen how Jesus lifted me up and gave me hope.
When we give our lives to Jesus Christ, it doesn’t mean that there will not be disappointments in our lives; it doesn’t mean that we would never get sick; it doesn’t mean that our children would never die in an accident. What it does mean is that in the joys and sorrows of life He is there.
Do you remember that amazing story about a man who dreamed he was walking along the beach with his Lord? Many scenes from his life flashed across the sky. In each scene, he saw two set of footprints as he was walking down the beach. And this man said, “Lord, You were so wonderful. You were walking beside me. One set of footprints is mine, Lord, the other were Yours.” And then this man looks at periods of his life that he went through real trials—very, very difficult times—times that ripped his life apart, times of loneliness and sorrow and defeat and sickness. At those times he saw only one set of footprints and he looks up at his Lord and he said, “Lord, where were You? Where were You when there was only one set of footprints?. And the Lord said, “Look, My child, look a little bit closer because those set of footprints are deep. I was not walking by your side then, I was carrying you. I was carrying you then.” That’s the way God feels about you; truly that’s the way He feels about you. Moms and Dads don’t have more love than God has for you. There is a place in God’s heart just for you; there is a place, just for you.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:37, “Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” Friend, do you need Jesus right now? Do you have a burden you would like to give to Him? Do you need forgiveness? Do you want a new beginning with Jesus? He cares for you and He wants to embrace you right there where you are. Would you allow Him to take your hand and guide you through this life? I tell you, there will be a great change if you let Him in your life. I experience it daily and just because of that I would like to encourage you, no matter what your past is, no matter what people say about you. What does matter is now, this present time and this appeal Jesus is making to you. There is still an open door in heaven where Jesus ministers as yours and my Advocate. Now there is taking place, right now, the judgement; it could be taking place and you and I need Jesus’ blood to cleanse us from our sins.
The word of God declares: “Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Hebrews 8:1–2. In addition, the last disciple of Jesus, the man who was transformed in the likeness of Jesus, wrote in his first epistle, 1 John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” You see, my friend, such beautiful words of encouragement come from Jesus. He loves you so much. He demonstrated His love towards humanity. Why not right now say to Him these words with me. “Father in heaven, I acknowledge my lack of faith, I just want to let You into my life. Help me, Lord. Take my hand and lead me through this life until my last breath. This I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Brother, Sister, Friend, I tell you, this name that is so sweet, for those who accept His great sacrifice on the cross, that cross where Jesus paid all my debt can be called upon at any time.
In closing, I turn to Isaiah 43:4 which states: “Since thou wast precious in My sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee.” “Our God shall come.” Psalm 50:3. As well, in Psalm 50:15 “Call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” As a matter of fact, not only in the day of trouble should we call upon God but also when everything is going well in our lives.
May God help us to understand His will and may His plans be fulfilled in our lives as we approach the end of time is my wish and prayer for all of us.
AMEN!
In Christ,
Nicholas Anca