We are not the center of the story.

We are not the center of the story!

 

“for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

Romans  10:13-14  

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.”

Ephesians  1:4-10

 

Have you ever looked at the Bible, thinking I can’t read this it is massive? Or maybe you have read it and studied it deeply or even been in church your whole life and are a follower of Christ, but still a little confused.   What is the point of all this scripture?

 

The entire Bible, The Old and The New Testament both go together… a continuation not a contrast. 

 

“Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.””

Galatians  3:8 

 

Read that ^^^.   God announced the GOSPEL in advance to Abraham… “All nations will be blessed through him”. 

 

In Genesis 12:1-3, God promises Abram Land, a great nation, and blessed to be a blessing.  

The ultimate promise here is: “… all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” verse 3.  

 Gods sole driving purpose in all creation and history is His unapologetic passion for the worship of His Glory from all peoples. 

 Throughout the Bible we see one main mission, and one main purpose.

 

Gods mission has always been Reconciliation of all peoples.

 

Gods purpose has always been for Worship of all peoples.  

 

   In Genesis 10, after the flood, we get The Table of Nations… 70 nations come from Noah. Which they stay together and try to make a name for themselves (Tower of Babel) and in Genesis 11 they are scattered by God. The 70 nations have a huge implication on us, because our great ancestors come from these nations, these are our family lines.   

    In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to the lost sheep of Israel, to the 12 Tribes of Israel… “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” Matthew  10:7-8

     THEN Jesus in Luke 10 sends out the 70 (in relation with the 70 nations).

 

First to the Jews, then to the Gentiles.

 

The United States has been the top missionary sending country in the World for the last century or two… but those days may soon come to an end.  America is headed towards the post-modern world, where people believe they are too advanced for God or become convinced He never even existed.  

 I just want to shed some light here; what is the United States?, who are the peoples in the United States?, I and You are American!  

 Look!!  This is Huge!!   We are not Jewish , somewhere, somehow, by the Grace of God the Gospel was brought to us.  We are one of those 70 nations. Think of all that Jesus has done in your life, your eternity, and the freedom you’ve been given!   

It was given and spread to us!   It’s easy to think, ” oh America we are the Christians”.  Hahah.  Nooo!!  Jesus died for us 1700 years before the United States even  existed.  

 

We are not the center of the story, you are not the center of the story, and I am not the center of the story.  

 

Will we hold on to this and keep it to ourselves and water it down?  Noooo!!   We gotta get this Good News out to the Nations!

 IT IS GOOD NEWS!!

 

Since, we, Gentiles were graphed in. ( Romans 11).  I want to explain the importance of The Jerusalem Council.  

 “After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.””

Acts   15:7-11

 In Acts 15 we learn early believers have questions pertaining to; how can a Gentile ( a none Jew). follow Jesus?, does he need to become a Jew first and follow Jewish laws? The council ends with Gentiles not having to become Jewish and not having to follow their laws. 

 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.”     Acts 15:19-20

 

Praise God we don’t have to conform and become Jews to follow Jesus!!!   Right???  

 

Yeah!!

 

Well, why do we do the same thing to Muslims, Hindus, Buddhist, etc???  

We take an American Christianity and we tell them they have to do it the way we do it, follow our way, follow set rules.

 

I’ve been studying an interesting theory called the Kingdom Circle.  I’ve been looking at the fastest growing Christian countries in the world, China, Iran, and Afghanistan.    All are heavily persecuted for their faith and have no/few church buildings to show for it.  These Radical believers truly have counted the cost and are willing to die or lose their families for just the chance to follow Jesus.  

 I don’t wanna go overseas and reached the lost and throw an American program, an American lifestyle at them instead of Christ.   I want To give them Jesus!!   They can go straight to Jesus, no need to enter American Culture. 

They can stay in a Hindu Culture or a Muslim Culture and follow Jesus.  Why do they need to be a so called “Christian”? As if pertaining to a culture.   If the whole point is this….  Repent and believe and you will be saved.  ( Romans 10:9).  

Now I fully believe in all scripture and to live according to that and denounce your old Gods, etc..    I’m just mainly getting at this point.    Jesus Christ!!!!    It’s all for him.  It’s all about him.     

Scrap off the complicated chit chat and get to the one who died for us!     Jesus Christ!  

I say this, and if you have a question, please email me… I don’t want you to misunderstand me here.

Some stuff we try to give as “Christian” are not actually about God… some our highly covered in American culture, so I want to remove/scrap off the American part and give the original to these people.  Let me give an example:

 

So in America, and most the western world we worship with a band playing and maybe strobe lights, or a fog machine. It works in the west and that’s one way WE can worship God.  BUT another culture may not, they may not have money for lights, smoke, or let alone a venue. They may have different instruments. When I was in India, people would get up and sing while dancing in circles, they had a big drum thing. I’ve heard in other parts of the world people throw rocks into the air as a way of worshipping God. 

 Do you understand what I am trying to say? The central point is the same… worshipping God.  And in Scripture we have so many Psalms about praising God, and we can learn about the 7 Hebrew words for praise. 

 In Genesis we read about a servant of Abraham who is sent on a task and then it says “Then the man bowed down and worshiped the Lord,” Genesis  24:26

 Did the man pull out a fog machine, take out the strobe lights and sing in English, “I raise a Hallelujah”….?    NO, but he still worshipped the Lord.

 

I was asked a question recently and I want to share it with you!  I myself am asking myself these questions and trying to give what will last throughout the ages… I want to live by Scripture.

 

Are your beliefs more Republican or Christian?  

… Democrat or Christian?  

Are you actually following Jesus’ teachings, or an American standard?  

 

Because Greed, Selfishness, and Lust are not the Gospel.  

 

Convicting, it is…. But good…..  we need to get closer to the Truth.     Because the Truth is what will truly set us Free and give us life in an Abundance.

 

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John  14:6

 

So, I challenge you and me to read these verses and ask God to reveal ways in which you can submit to Him! To open our eyes in areas where we may have been blinded.

 

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”

1 John   2:15-17

 

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” 

Ephesians 2:8

 

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”

Revelation  7:9

 

“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.””

Mark  16:17-18

 

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Matthew  6:14-15

  

““Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Matthew   6:19-24

 

““Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?”

Matthew  6:25

 

“But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”

1 Corinthians   6:17-20

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Update From Sam

Hello everyone,

    So, I wanted to give you an update on my life, so here we go…really briefly. 

   I spent a month in Georgia, with the group of people I am on this trip with. We had teachers come in from across the United States, many who were long term missionaries themselves. We took a 15 week Biblical Perspectives class in 15 days, where I learned so much information. I learned of ways to share the Good News and how to do it in ways that help and not hurt. To come alongside locals, and empower them to do the work and multiplication of churches. 

    Every tribe, people, and language needs to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, I get to take part of this incredible mission to take the news to everyone, so that all can hear. We were blessed to hear, and our lives have been transformed, but what about the people who haven’t heard? We must go. 

    The Lord has called me on this mission, thank you for supporting me! I am currently in Albania and I’ve been trying to write, but I’ve been so busy.

In Georgia, I would volunteer with an organization and do an outdoor youth group for refugees in the most diverse square mile in America, I believe over 100 language were spoken there. It was an incredible, every people group most know the Good News, and the people groups are coming to us! It was incredible getting to love them and listen to some of their fresh stories of coming to America. I remember one night a group of boys turned to my friend and just started asking about Jesus…. “So, Jesus died for us?””     …. “YES!!” My friend quickly proclaimed and began sharing more. The kids dug deep wanting to know more and about heaven.

I am planning on writing a lot more blogs and keeping them shorter. So stay tuned to your email, I may also turn my blog on private, so when you try to get in, it will be password protected. I will share password on email…     

Any questions or requests please email me…. [email protected] 

Please subscribe to stay connected, for alot of powerful testimonies are coming.

Thanks, Sam Osuna.