The Conquering Saviour Series - Part 1

Jesus: Lover of sinners, Victor over sin

Revelation 19:11-16

“Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed in robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies of Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a shard sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

We now live in an age where anything and everything goes. Human rights hold power over morality and even over Biblical Truth. Many local and national governments have a say in how the Church should be lead or run. The Pastor can’t preach certain Truths out of fear that his congregation or the public might report him, beat him or leave the Church. It has also become more acceptable, in many parts, for a Church leader (elder or deacon) to be living in sin and continue on in ministry. This, to me, is the greatest heresy of our time.

Sin (before the Cross): An offense against God, punishable by means of flogging, stoning or other various means. Forgivable and atoned for by the blood of an unblemished lamb, through the various prescriptions of Hebraic law.

Sin (at the Cross): defeated and abolished from the life of any man or woman accepting Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

Sin (in many lives and Churches today): a temporal or ongoing pleasure with no repercussion because God’s Grace covers me OR an act recorded in the Bible as sin but can no longer be seen as such due to the fact that it is not politically correct or in line with today’s human rights policies.

By no means, am I saying that the Grace of God does not cover the sin of man. If it was not for the Grace of God I would not be writing this post. What I am saying is that Grace has been used as an excuse to sin and get away with it, even serious and unrepented sin, such as adultery, alcoholism, drug use, etc. By doing so we are portraying Jesus as an easy over egg, or the Saviour who bled pink candy floss at the Cross. This is not the Jesus I love, worship and serve. The Jesus depicted in Revelations 19 (above) is the Jesus I was saved by. The Jesus who bled for the salvation and redemption of all. The Jesus who was buried and raised to life again 3 days later. The Jesus who plundered the gates of hell. The Jesus who sits at the right hand of God, reigning as the conqueror of sin and death. The Jesus who will return in a robe dipped in the blood of the atonement (His blood) with the redeemed following behind Him as He judges the nations.

Let me just say that Jesus loves sinners. He really does. For us it’s a difficult concept to grasp. People ask “How can Jesus love the man who raped and murdered girls all over the city? How can Jesus love the man who broke into my house and stole my 55 inch LED TV? How can Jesus love the human trafficker?” But I ask this question more, “How can Jesus love me?”

Let me also just say that Jesus HATES sin. He hates the effect it has on people and what it is doing in the Church: Prominent Church leaders falling into adultery and alcoholism. Homosexual pastors still in ministry. Christians stabbing each other in the back. Christian businessmen being a part of dirty deals. Teen believers being sucked into the party lifestyle filled with sex, drugs and alcohol. Jesus HATES the wall of sin that hinders the relationship He died to have with His people, even the people who have already recognised Him and verbally declared Him as Lord.

A mighty, conquering Jesus is coming back to judge the nations and fetch His bride. The nations are people in sin. His bride is the Church.

A loving Jesus gave His life up so that, in recognising Him as the Son of God, Grace might cover the sin of the nations and welcome them into the Church, and that the Church might be strengthened in their weakness to resist sin and walk in righteousness. God’s Grace was never meant to be an excuse to sin but a reason not to sin.

God’s love for you, reader, and His desire to enjoy an eternally long Father-Child relationship with you, led to His grace, which was poured out with the Blood of Jesus, when He gave up His life as an atoning sacrifice for you and for me.

This is the Conquering Saviour, Jesus Christ.

If you’re reading this today and recognise the need for a Saviour, the need for forgiveness, I ask that you pray this prayer and be welcomed into redemption. Into the arms of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I thank You that you died for me, so that I could be raised to Life again with You. Today, I put my faith in You as Saviour, Redeemer, Father and Friend. Thank You that Your blood was enough to wash me clean of sin forever so that I may have relationship with you as my Father and trust You as Daddy. I put my life in Your loving and gracious hands today Father, and ask that You would lead me into everything You have for me, as Your son/daughter. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer and would like to tell someone, please I encourage you to email me on dwaine.hohne@telkomsa.net so that I can give you something more to read, or you can tell a friend who you know to be a Christian. It is an absolute joy to me and to the host of Heaven today, if you did pray that prayer. But more so, Jesus is glad you’re back where you belong...with Him.

The Conquering Saviour - Intro

Revelation 19:11-16

“Now I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed in robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God. And the armies of Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a shard sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Over the next couple of posts, I am wanting to paint a picture for you, of the Jesus I read of in Scripture. A Jesus who is strong, mighty, faithful, true, just and loving. A Jesus who conquered sin whilst declaring God’s view on sin. A Jesus who wasn’t afraid of the public’s view of Him, who spoke the clear Word of God without faultering and boldly proclaimed His return, as the warring Bridegroom coming to fetch His Bride: the Church. There are many bold misconceptions about the identity of Christ and His sovereignty. I’m hoping that in this series you will be able to come to the same (or greater) revelation of our Warrior King, Jesus Christ.

Daring To Call Him Daddy

You know those times when you’re going through such a crazy season of your life and you don’t really know what to do? And in those times you find yourself curled up in a ball crying out to God because it’s the only thing we know to do in those situations? I had one of those days the other day. I was about to pop I was so desperate for a God-breakthrough, for some this would be described as being totally beside myself. So I got home from work and I just wanted to enter the presence of God. I travailed in prayer, even when my mind was telling me don’t bother. About 45 minutes later, the Holy Spirit shouted, “DWAINE!!!!!! Remember a while ago you said that I could take everything away and you would be totally content with JUST ME? Well, I’ve taken one thing away and you’re falling apart. Find Me. Be satisfied with JUST ME.” At that point, I found myself totally lost in the Presence of God. The veil I had put over my own eyes was removed and I saw the God I could be totally and utterly satisfied in and with.

A little later, I drove to home group and we were discussing our Church’s vision for 2012. The key word for us, as a Church, this year is “RELATIONSHIP” and the priority relationship being with God. We spoke around that topic for a while, and while I was telling the group about my encounter with God earlier that evening, I was suddenly reminded of something a preacher had said in my early years as a Christian, which fired me up. He had said something along the lines of, “Work at your relationship with God, so that you can comfortably call Him “Daddy”.” Now you must understand, in those days I didn’t have a very good relationship with my earthly father, so the concept of calling this amazing God, “Daddy” wasn’t a very easy concept for me in reality,but I wanted to try. I prayed. I read the Word. I worshipped. Slowly but surely, I started to hear Him. It eventually got to the point where I would go into my room with a cup of coffee and have a coffee date with God and I would converse with Him like He was a person standing right in front of me. Eventually, I was able to call Him, “Daddy”. It was the most liberating feeling in the world. My God became my example of what a man should be. He became the Guy I could brag about to all the other kids - if I ever entered into a debate with small kids about who’s father was greater. I trusted Him more than anything or anyone, because I knew He wouldn’t hurt me and when ever I needed Him, He wouldn’t give excuses why He couldn’t be there. He would always be there.

Over the years, I slowly lost that relationship with God as adult life got busier. It took this last season I was in, to show me who God is to me. He’s the one I can always have a “Daddy-date” with, even if there’s no coffee or if I only have 5 minutes to spare.

1 John 3:1 (The Message)

“What a marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it - we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who He is or what He’s up to.”

As we see, the Word describes us with absolute certainty that we ARE the children of God. So this relationship where you get to call Him “Daddy” is available to everyone. I don’t think it was my constant travailing in prayer that got me to that point. Sure, it certainly helped but it was the revelation of both His love for me and the fact that I am a son that lead me to being able to comfortably call God “Daddy”. These revelations are so key in our relationship with God. The revelation of His love covers what He did leading up to and including Jesus having to die on a cross for us - sinners unworthy of His love. The revelation of our position as sons and daughters of God follows that. We have just got to continually open ourselves up to that revelation. His love will never be understood but it can be clung to and relied upon. His love for us will never make sense to us, but it can still be received. Our adoption as children is immediate, the moment we we receive that love and acknowledge Jesus as Saviour. There is nothing more you can do to earn your adoption. The only thing you need to do is believe that YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD.

Brother/Sister, I urge you to take hold of this assurance that you ARE adopted into the family of God. No matter what your relationship is with your earthly father, work hard at this relationship. There is no formula to it, you don’t have to enjoy your relationship with God in the same way I did. That’s my relationship with Him. Be you with God. Talk to Him, confide in Him, trust Him. Ask Him to show you more of His love daily, as you walk with Him. Dare to call Him Daddy!

If you’re reading this, and you want to share in this adoption, it is freely available for you. In fact, Jesus died, was buried and was raised again in power for YOU. Specifically so that you could be adopted as a son/daughter. His love for you, reader, is unending, unconditional. So much so, that He was willing to die in your place so that you could forever live in His righteousness and enjoy a relationship with Him. If you would like to be a part of this amazing family, pray this prayer:

Lord Jesus, I thank You that you died for me, so that I could be raised to Life again with You. Today, I put my faith in You as Saviour, Redeemer, Father and Friend. Thank You that Your blood was enough to wash me clean of sin forever, so that I may have relationship with you as my Father and trust You as Daddy. I put my life in Your loving and gracious hands today Father, and ask that You would lead me into everything You have for me, as Your son/daughter. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer and would like to tell someone, please I encourage you to email me on dwaine.hohne@telkomsa.net so that I can encourage you and give you something more to read, or tell a friend who you know to be a Christian. It is an absolute joy to me and to the host of Heaven today, if you did pray that prayer. But more so, Daddy is glad you came home.

Blurry Vision Is No Vision At All

A few days ago, I was reading up on the new demerit system our Department of Transport is planning to implement, later this year, for all licensed drivers around South Africa. Whilst reading this long, 10 page document I happened across a little fact. It said that the “pass rate” in the eye test for the issue and re-issue of drivers’ licenses is 50%. So, essentially, that means that you can be half blind and still drive a car. Doesn’t make sense, does it? Having 50% vision in your eyes is dangerous for yourself outside of a car. The same vision whilst driving would be fatal for so many.

While I was driving home, it suddenly dawned on me how many Christians in this world have the same problem. We go through life half focussed on what God has called us to. Most of us, don’t even know what God has called us to. We go to Church, shout an amen when the pastor shares Matthew 28:18-20, but have no vision ourselves to get out there and make disciples of all nations. I’ve since wondered how many local Churches actually start a new year or month with a vision for that period. I can’t make that judgement but the evidence of it is in the small amount of testimonies we hear of local Churches making massive impacts in their communities.

So where am I going with this? I made reference to blurry vision in the title but I’ve only spoken about lack of vision.

Proverbs 29:18 (The Amplified)

Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish.

Too often we look at our year from the start and think, “I’m gonna lose a few kilos” or “I’m gonna run the Comrades Marathon or swim the Midmar Mile” or “I’m going to get a new job”. Not many of us, as Christians, start the year praying into what God is wanting to lead us into or use us for. Too often we look at temporal matters. The matters of the physical and the material. Our vision stops at us and we become shortsighted. We make decisions based on what we feel now, or what happened to us last week. The moment we look up and ahead for that brief moment, we see nothing but a blur, because we don’t know where we’re going or what we’re walking into or, even, where we’d like to go. For me, I may as well not have any sight of where I am because it’s just as bad as not being able to see where I’m going.

God has a specific anointing over each one of us. He has a plan for all of us. If He didn’t, why did He redeem us? Why did Jesus give us the mandate to go and make disciples of all nations? Why did He give every person a specific gifting? It’s for us to ask God for His vision for us personally. Walking in that vision and in that anointing, makes us a people who make decisions now based on what we’re called to do. We can not afford to wander around aimlessly and visionless, because we are bound to trip and fall, and we may take other people with us. As the above Scripture says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” and a visionless Christian will pass through a perishing village, city or nation, without action because he has not set his sights on the purpose of God for his life, to be a witness to all people of God’s redemptive work.

So how do we sharpen our vision?

1) Pray

Our relationship with God is the secret to hearing God. Hearing God will give you insight into where He wants you, what He wants you to do and what He wants you to say. Whenever Jesus found solitude from the crowd that followed Him, He prayed. He spoke to His Father. Even a man, who was in perfect fellowship with God, saw the need to talk to His Father and hear His voice, because He knew there was a job to be done. He knew God had Great Purpose for His life (and death). So, in praying we clean our lenses, we ask God to clear our vision for the sake of the Kingdom. Even the apostles had vision and that was to be “witnesses in all Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the Earth.” They ran with that vision and they ran well. If they hadn’t have, I probably wouldn’t be writing this blog right now.

2) Greater Revelation of His Love and Grace

Proverbs 29:18 suggests that without the redemptive revelation of God the people perish. We need to be asking God for a much deeper vision and insight into His love and grace. We need to be able to see a crucified, buried and risen Jesus and know with great depth what that means for humanity. The apostles had that revelation because they saw it. God will give you the revelation you need, if you ask for it and search it out. Having that depth of revelation will stir your heart and sharpen your vision, focussing on God’s great Purpose for you and aligning it to the Gospel. God’s purpose for you will never be outside of the plan to redeem His people to Himself. Make sure your vision is centred around the Gospel and story of God’s Grace - Jesus.

Christian, my encouragement to you is this: The time of having blurry vision is over. The time to find direction and clarity is now. Don’t be the Christian who wanders aimlessly and visionless through a perishing world, but be the Christian who wanders through the streets of your city/nation and foreign nations with purpose and clarity of vision. Be the Christian who knows what, and where, God is calling you to. Be the Christian, who through that vision, declares the redemptive work of Jesus and disciples nations in whatever way God has gifted you. And pray, for you and for the Church, that Jesus’ vision for us might be made clear, that we might see a perishing world radically redeemed and set on fire for our Glorious King.