© 2009 Jasper Life Publications 1st Edition in English – March 2009 1st Edition in Portuguese – July 2004 Our Hope Is Not Limited To This Life Translated from Portuguese with permission of Editora Árvore da Vida All rights reserved by Jasper Life Publications Jasper Life Publications 725 Viscount Road London, Ontario, Canada N6J 4G9 Phone: (519) 472-6620 www.jasperlife.com info@jasperlife.com ISBN 978-0-9739285-1-8 Printed in Canada Unless otherwise indicated, scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version® is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.
Contents
Preface................................................................................5 1 Called into the Fellowship...............................................7
2 Things Which God has Prepared for Those Who Love Him...................................................................23 3 For We Are God’s Fellow Workers................................41 4 Glorify God in Your Body..............................................55 5 Flee from Idolatry..........................................................73 6 Pursue Love and Prophesy.............................................89 7 Be Steadfast, Immovable andAlways Abounding........103
Preface
This book is composed of Bible messages ministered by a group of coworkers in a conference to young people at elementary, high school and university levels and which took place in Estancia Árvore da Vida in Sumaré, Brazil in July 2003. The theme of the meetings was drawn from messages released by brother Dong Yu Lan in an international conference regarding Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians. The theme was: “Our Hope is Not Limited to This Life,” based on 1 Corinthians 15:19. Each message touches on an important aspect of this epistle. The style and manner of speech used were preserved as much as possible to preserve the spirit, character and atmosphere of these meetings. Dear reader, we expect that the Lord will bless you with these words and that you may be fed, enriched and built up by the precious content of these chapters. We pray to the Lord with all our heart that at the end of your reading your hope will certainly not be limited to this life. Enjoy! The Editors
Chapter 1
Called into the Fellowship Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 1:1-9 We praise the Lord for another book addressed to young Christians. The content of this book is a compendium of messages spoken to elementary, high school and college age young people in a conference on the Bible at Estancia Arvore da Vida in Sumare, Sao Paulo. The Holy Spirit was dispensed into them in such a powerful way that a new spiritual landmark was reached in the lives of the young people who participated in this conference. Because of this, we felt the need of printing and making these words available to as many people as possible. No doubt, this is another opportunity God has given you, dear reader, to enjoy the Word, the Spirit, life and the Lord Himself, even more. In this book, which is entitled, Our Hope is not Limited to this Life, we will talk about some aspects of the first epistle of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians. What is your hope? Is your hope limited to this life or do you hope for something else beyond this life? We hope that by the end of this book you will be convinced by the Spirit that there is a hope that is not limited to this life. In this first chapter
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we will look at 1 Corinthians 1:1-9, covering the matter of being called into the fellowship.
The Author of the Letter is a Called One Every time Paul wrote a letter he would begin it by introducing himself, saying who he was, that is, who was writing the letter. In 1:1 he starts by saying, “Paul, called…” The second word of the epistle is called. The first thing we should see is that Paul is a called one. Then he continues, “called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, to the church of God” (vv. 1b-2a). To whom did the called one write the letter? He wrote to the church. In Greek, the word church is ekklesia, which means an assembly, a meeting, a gathering of called people. Therefore, who was the author? He was a called one. To whom did he write? He wrote to a called people. The called one wrote to the called ones. Young people, what is your position, your “status?” You who have believed in the Lord Jesus are called ones. If Paul would write a letter today he would still write it to us as the called ones.
The Recipients are Called Ones To emphasize the idea of being called ones Paul continues, “to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord…” (v. 2b). What does it mean to call on? It means to call. You have received a letter from someone who was called and you yourself are a called one. What have you been called for? You were called to call. You have been called to call on the name of the Lord, “Oh Lord Jesus!” By calling on the Lord we are calling the One who has called us. We may say that we call on Him because He first called us.
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Not only this, in verse 9 Paul says, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” We were called into the fellowship. In these nine verses, the word call is mentioned five times. We may say that the burden in Paul’s heart, which was, in fact, God’s very burden as well, was to show the Christians of the church in Corinth that they were a called people. Paul presents himself as someone who has been called and reminds the Corinthians that they also were called. The first thing that happens when one is called and responds to the calling is a separation. When someone is called from among so many other people, he is separated from those who do not come. To be separated is to be sanctified. That is why Paul says, “to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints…” You may use the words “called” saints, “separated, set aside,” or “removed from.” Separated from what? Separated from people, thoughts, ideas, habits and behavior that you used to have and with which you were entangled in the past; separated from everything that your life was involved with before you were called. When we go to a young people’s conference, for example, we all leave our houses, the cities we live in and the situations we were in. Some may be on vacation, so they leave behind the common things of their vacation…. This is our life. What happens to us when we come to the conference? We aren’t in the conference merely because we want to be, but because we were called to be there. Your parents, the saints, the serving ones, or those serving in the conference did not call you. You were called by God Himself. God is the One who is calling you. When God calls you to go to a conference, He separates you from your vacation, the television, the computer, your friends, your daily living and the ordinary things of
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your vacation, and takes you to a special place to do something special with special people and with the most special God. He is the unique One; besides Him there is no other. God will never be common. He is holy and separated. Do you know why? It is because He is the only One. If there is anyone who is separated, this one must be God. There is no one like Him. He does not have any equals. He is holy. When this unique God calls people, He separates them, and by doing this, they become unique, special and separated also, and therefore they are holy.
Called Saints What are you, young one? You are a called saint, which means that you have been called and separated by God, the holy One. When Paul presents himself as a called one, it is because he has passed through this experience. Do you know his story? He was one who persecuted the church and imprisoned those who called on the Lord and consented when they were being stoned. But one day something happened. When he was on his way to Damascus to bind those who called on the Lord, someone called him like this, “Saul, Saul” (Acts 9:4). This was a calling. Paul was called right there. Therefore he presents himself as a called one. It is as if he were saying, “The one who is writing to you, oh Corinthians, is someone who was called one day, just like you. I am a called one writing to others who have also been called.” God is a God who calls. The entire Bible is a long account of one calling after another. God calls and calls and calls. And He is still calling today! Who was the first person He called? The first one He called was the first person who existed. The first person who existed was called because God is a God who calls. When Adam was in Eden
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and disobeyed God by eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was afraid and hid himself (Gen. 3:8, 10). What did God do? God called him. He called, “Adam! Adam! Where are you?” (v. 9). Ever since He called the first man, Adam, God has been calling, and He calls by name. God knows the name of each person. When He calls, He doesn’t say, “Hey, you there!” It’s not like that. He calls by name, “Adam!” Young one, open your ears in these first few moments as you read this, because God is going to call your name! You should have a burning desire to hear the Lord calling your name. God is a God who calls and He will surely call your name. The problem is that sometimes our ears are not attentive, not opened. We are distracted by so many other things that we can’t hear. Let us separate this time for the Lord to be attentive, to open our ears, so that when the Lord calls, we won’t let His calling pass us by. He is going to call you by your name. You know your name and so does the Lord. The Lord is calling you by your name. When we read all the stories in the Bible we see that God has always called people. He called Adam, who at first hid himself, but eventually answered and came. He hid himself because he was afraid of the Lord, but once he answered and came, God provided salvation for him. God’s calling is always positive and produces something positive. Adam’s son, Cain, brought an offering to God, but God had no regard for Cain and for his offering. Cain was then unhappy and angry at his brother, whose offering pleased God (Gen 4:5-6). Even though God had called Cain, his reaction was different. Adam hid himself at first, but then he came to God. Cain didn’t respond to God’s calling and as a result, he killed his brother Abel and ended up being expelled from God’s presence. The result of Cain not re-
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sponding positively to God’s calling was that he ended up far away from God’s presence.
Called To Call Every calling produces a reaction in which we react positively or negatively. When God calls us, we can obey and come to the Lord or we can ignore the calling and go in the opposite direction. May the Lord find in you, young one, someone who responds to Him positively. When you hear your name, say, “Amen, Lord, here I am!” Don’t be like Cain who became a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth, far away from the Lord. Respond by coming to the Lord and turning your heart to Him. Say, “Lord, You have called me and I want to hear what You have to say. Lord, what do you have for me?” God also called Noah. He called him to build the ark and be saved from that perverse generation. God also called Abraham. Abraham was in a land of idols and he himself was an idol worshiper. Then one day the Lord called him, saying, “Abram, get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you” (Gen 12:1). Hebrews 11:8 says, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.” No matter where you are or what your condition is, what should you do when the Lord calls your name? You should respond positively and obey. Once Abraham obeyed he became a friend of God (James 2:23). God’s calling doesn’t come about just because you are doing something wrong. God calls you because He wants to have fellowship with you. There are two kinds of calling. Let’s take the example of a mother calling her child. How does your mother call you? Depending on the situation and
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by the tone of her voice, you already know what she wants and whether or not she is pleased with what you are doing. One kind of calling is to rebuke you. The second kind of calling is something you shouldn’t be afraid of. For instance, when she says, “Son, supper is ready!”, you are not afraid because you know that a meal is waiting for you. When God calls us, He calls us to eat, and, of course, He calls us from our negative situations as well. Abraham was called and became a friend of God. Do you remember the passage that shows Abraham had a friendly relationship with God? One day God appeared to Abraham and he prepared a meal for God (Gen 18:3-8). From that time on Abraham walked with God. The more they walked together the more they became friends, to the point that God said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing?” (v. 17). And the two had fellowship together. This is God’s calling: “Come and eat! It’s on the table.” In John 21 we see that after the Lord’s death the disciples returned to fishing. Peter was the first one and the rest followed him (v. 3). They tried to fish but caught nothing. The Lord appeared to them and said, “Cast the net on the right side on the boat” (v. 6) and they caught an abundance of fish. When they got to the shore Jesus had prepared fish for them to eat. What did the Lord say to them? He said, “Come and have breakfast” (v. 12). The disciples, who in the past were expert fishermen, this time caught nothing. What they caught was with the Lord’s help. However, when they got to the shore they didn’t need to use what they had caught; the meal was already prepared. The Lord had prepared it. Oh, how wonderful!!! Many times we do not recognize the Lord’s calling. Surely you know Samuel’s story in the Old Testament. God called him, “Samuel, Samuel!” (1 Sam. 3:4). Samuel thought
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it was Eli who had called him, but it wasn’t. God called Samuel again and he ran to Eli a second time. Eli again told him he hadn’t called him. Samuel did not yet know that God was the One who was calling him. The third time Eli said to him, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ‘Speak, LORD, for Your servant hears.’ So Samuel went and lay down in his place” (v. 9). Eli helped Samuel understand God’s calling and respond to it properly. Young people, many saints can be an Eli to you; not just the older ones. You can even be an Eli to others. You are the Eli to the ones who are next to you. We should help one another to hear God’s calling. God is speaking, but the one beside you may not hear very well. Sometimes you are the one who can’t hear very well. We can help one another to hear God’s calling. Samuel became someone used by God his entire life because he received Eli’s help to hear God’s calling. The Lord may call you, but you may be distracted, so accept help from the other saints. Accept help from the serving ones, from those who know and love the Lord and are close to you. If you have already heard the calling, you should help others to hear it as well. We don’t want to miss the opportunity of hearing the Lord calling our name without responding to it positively. The Lord wants to call each one of us, but let’s not leave it for the last day. The Lord is calling us now and we should answer now, “Lord, here I am. What do You have for me? What do You want to give me to eat? I want to eat with You, eat the Word, eat in prayer, eat in fellowship, and eat in the hymns.” All of this is food that the Lord has for us. Let’s not let the opportunity of eating with the Lord and with the saints pass us by.
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Called into the Fellowship None of you like to be called into the principal’s office to be reprimanded, do you? The Lord doesn’t call us to go to His “office.” He calls us to go to the kitchen to be at His table with Him to sit and enjoy. Of course, one day He won’t just be the “cook” anymore, but also the “principal,” and we will all be called into His office, that is, to the judgment seat of Christ. Every human being will be at His “office.” This will be a different calling. That day won’t be a feast but a judgment. You won’t be sitting, but standing before it. Today the Lord is calling you to sit and eat with Him. Which do you prefer: to sit with Him today and eat, or to stand and not eat anything in that day? Today the Lord is calling us to eat, “Come and eat!” We need to respond and say, “Yes Lord, I am dying of hunger. Yes!” Let us respond by coming to the table to eat! The Lord also called people in the New Testament. While He was walking beside the Sea of Galilee some fishermen were there. The Lord turned to Simon Peter and Andrew, to James and John and said, “Come.” What happened to them? Peter and Andrew left their nets, James and John left their boat, and they followed the Lord (Matt. 4:18-22). Passing on from there the Lord also saw a tax office and among the tax collectors He saw Levi, who is also called Matthew, and He called him, “Follow Me!” What did Mathew do? He left the tax office and followed the Lord (9:9). Passing by another place there was a man who was small in stature and, because he couldn’t see the Lord, he climbed up a tree. The Lord saw him and said, “Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). He didn’t say, “Zaccheus, I must speak seriously with you.” Jesus wanted to go to his house to eat with him.
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One day, Saul was there, persecuting the Christians. The Lord appeared to him on his way to Damascus and said, “Saul, Saul!” Maybe at first Saul was afraid, thinking, “I’m going to the office,” but he became a friend of the Lord and had fellowship with Him. He left everything he had to become an intimate follower of the Lord.
God’s Calling Separates Us, Sanctifies Us Young people, you must realize that God’s calling causes a change in the lives of those who are called. All those who have heard God’s calling and answered it have experienced a change! Their life, their way, their course, and their direction have changed. They were walking in one direction when they were called by the Lord, but they changed. There was a change, a sanctification. Sanctification has two aspects. One is the aspect of position. An example of this is a clean glass. What will its position be if it is thrown into the mud with some other glasses? It will be with other dirty glasses and it will be dirty. We can separate this glass from the others and call to it, “Glass!”, taking it out of its common place and separating it from the dirty glasses. This is sanctification, a separation in position. Let’s suppose that we take it from the mud and put it under the faucet. So far, this sanctification has only changed its position, but its condition has not changed yet. Although it is still dirty inside and out, it is in the right position under the faucet. When the faucet is open and forceful, clean water starts to flow into the glass. What happens to it? It starts to be cleansed inside and out. Now, not only has its position changed, but also its condition. When the Lord calls us and removes us from among the others, we come to Him. However, we are still in the same condition as before. You may go to a church meet-
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ing or a Christian conference and, like this dirty glass, your position has changed. You are in a church meeting and not with your friends or in the world, but your condition may not have changed yet, or changed very little. At least you are in the right position, under an “open faucet.” If the glass is in the right position, that is, under the open faucet, it only needs to be uncovered. If it is covered or upside down it won’t receive the flow of water. Besides leaving the dirty, ordinary position, the glass needs to be open. You may go to a young people’s meeting or a conference far from home, far from your friends, far from many things, people and situations, but the question is, what about your mouth? Is it covered? The mouth of the glass needs to be open. The Lord said, “He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). There is a river flowing here. There is an open faucet flowing, but how about your mouth? This is not referring only to your physical mouth, but to the mouth of your heart. How is your heart? If it is not open, if it isn’t turned to God, even though there may be a lot of water, you are still in the same condition because you are closed to the Lord. However, when you open your mouth and call, “Oh Lord Jesus!” and take away the cover, then the clean water starts to flow in. How is your mouth? How is your heart? Are you open to the Lord? Are you open to the Word? Are you open as you read this book now? Or is your heart still covered? Is the mouth of your glass still blocked? All of us need to open our heart to the Lord, open our being wide to Him without reservation and say, “Lord, flow into me, fill me with Your pure water and take all of my impurities away from me. I praise You that You brought me here. I was in my city at home, but You brought me here! Hallelujah! But more than this, I want to open my heart so
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You can flood all my being and take away all the things that I have accumulated that have made me dirty and have contaminated me all this time. Cleanse me, Lord. Take away all my uncleanness. I want to be a glass in the right position and in the proper condition. I want to be clean, Lord.” Young person, how about doing this right now? Stop reading for a few minutes and pray like this to the Lord, asking the Lord to cleanse you inwardly. Open the “mouth” of your heart and ask the Lord for this. You have been called to eat. Furthermore, you have been called to belong to the Lord. Romans 1:6 says, “among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ.” You were called to belong to the Lord. Romans 8:30 says, “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified…” God’s calling is not by chance. Rather, the Lord predestinates people. God’s predestination is to give people a predetermined destiny. It is to give them an aim, a goal. He has predestinated you to be His son and not to be common. He has known you from before the foundation of the world. You may think that things happen in your life by chance, but it is not by chance. The Lord knows you and is always calling you by your name. He already knew you before you were even born. He predestinated you, gave you a destiny, a goal. He said, “This one will be My child! I will put My life into him; he will be begotten of Me.” Then one day in time you were born. Perhaps you lived your life in many ways until the day the Lord came to you and called you by name. Depending on how you responded, He brought you to His table and served you a great banquet. Sometimes your mother calls you to come and eat and you answer, “I’m coming!” and continue doing what you were doing before. But she keeps calling, “Hurry! It’s going
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to get cold!” You say, “I’m coming!” but you don’t go. Instead, you keep doing what you were doing before - playing games, watching television in your bedroom - until you finally go and enjoy what she has prepared. In the same way, young people, the Lord has called you and is still calling you. Everyday the Lord is saying, “It’s on the table! Supper is ready! It’s going to get cold!” Every day the Lord is calling us, just like our parents. One day you will get a job, you will have a profession, and the Lord will still call you, “It’s on the table!” Day by day, every day, He will always call until the day of the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:7). Every day, every month, every year, throughout every phase of your life, the Lord is going to say, “It’s on the table!” The Lord keeps calling in such a way that you do not lack in any gift, that is, you do not lack any “food” on the table. There will always be the Word, there will always be supply, there will always be life for you to enjoy. This will happen until “the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, until the Lord’s coming. Until He comes He will say, “It’s on the table!” First Corinthians 1:8 says, “who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Until the day He comes, He will call us day after day. It depends on us to respond to Him. We need to come and eat and enjoy, then His life in us will grow and mature until the day of Christ Jesus. In that day, at the wedding feast of the Lamb, the Lord will prepare a great banquet for us that will last for a thousand years and He will say again, “It’s on the table!” Then the Lord will prepare a great banquet for all of us who have heard the Lord’s calling day by day, who were at the table enjoying Him with all the saints in the meetings and individually, praying, calling on Him, reading the Word, singing and practicing all the things
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that help us to eat of the Lord in order to grow and mature in life. Then the Lord will prepare a great feast for us. We will all be there enjoying the Lord for eternity. This is the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Fellowship of the Son of God In 1 Corinthians 1:9 Paul says, “God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” Fellowship means to have something in common with someone. Previously we had nothing to do with God. We lived our own life and God was far away from us. But one day He called us and now we have something in common with Him, which is the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ. He is our food, our drink, our water, our bread, our life, the life-giving Spirit, the Passover Lamb that we can enjoy, the good Shepherd and many other items. Today we can enjoy everything that Christ is. We can apply Him in every situation. If the sun is very strong, He is the cloud that covers us; if the night is very dark, He is a flame of fire to shine on us; if it is cold, He warms us up; if it is hot, He cools us down. Christ is everything to us. He is our common portion. He is our portion when we are meeting with the saints and He is still our portion when we return to our home. In addition to this, we will enjoy Christ until the Lord’s coming. Don’t think that after He comes back the enjoyment will come to an end. No! The enjoyment will last for all eternity! At the end of the Bible in Revelation 22:17 we read, “And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” God keeps calling until the end. Even now the Lord is calling you by your name, but it is up to you. Whoever wills may
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take freely! Do you want this or not? The call has gone out. He is calling. He will not force you. If you want this, He has a great feast prepared for you. If you don’t want it, He will wait. Just like many mothers trying to feed their babies, the Lord will make an “airplane” until you open your mouth. But don’t wait too long. The little airplane will stop. One day He won’t be there anymore. In that day, before the judgment seat of Christ, it won’t be the time of “him who wills” anymore. Today is still the day of “whoever desires.” We all need to be those who desire. Let us not force the Lord to always be running after us saying, “Open your little mouth! Look at the airplane!” Let’s open our mouth today. We were called by the Lord to open our mouth and say, “Oh, Lord Jesus!” When we open our mouth and say this, He fills us with food! Are you willing? Do you want to eat? Let’s call on the Lord, “Oh, Lord Jesus! Oh, Lord Jesus!” Let’s eat!