The Past. The Present. The Future.

September 10, 2012

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Ephesians 2:4-5

Our salvation is past, present, and future. If you’ve accepted Jesus as your Savior, you can be settled about every season of your life. The God who saved you initially will continue in this process to show up in your daily life, and He has you covered for eternity.

THE PAST. Jesus took our sins and nailed them to the Cross so that we can be justified (“just as if I’d never sinned”). It’s not our own doing or something we earn, but a gift. When we call upon the name of the Lord, the historical action of what Jesus did in the past is brought into the vital present and we are forgiven, cleansed, and radically changed.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit. Psalm 51:12

THE PRESENT. There is a joy that comes from the realization of this wonderful gift. If your vision has gotten disrupted, or your momentum is crippled by hurts, challenges, and trials, continue to stand and resist the devil—God is at work (Ephesians 6:13-14). If your fire has almost gone out, God can stir the ashes and fan the flame of a smoldering fire back to life. You may need to remind yourself that Jesus died for you, that you are a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), and that your citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 5:9

THE FUTURE. God has your past, present, and future figured out. Because of the assurance you have through salvation, you can meaningfully look into the eyes of a lost and hurting generation and tell them with gladness there is hope for tomorrow. Bury regrets about the past and anxiety about the future, and trust God with your whole heart. When you get to heaven you will be so glad that you served Jesus.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.
2 Corinthians 5:17-18

It’s worth it to follow Jesus,
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2012 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.