Title: The Greatest Invitation/John 3:16
Before the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, a number of earnest warnings of various shapes were scattered on Hiroshima.
The warning was written
The announcement that a dreadful atomic bomb would be dropped was written and distributed in large letters and newspapers the size of a newspaper.
However, Japanese people almost ignored the warning, saying “It’s a lie” “It’s a threat of blackmail” and “Let’s go until then,” and very few followed the warning and fled.
Finally, on August 6th, two planes flew in and hovered over Hiroshima a couple of times before finally dropping a black object. And at the moment of 'flashing' with a 'bang' sound, 300,000 people became ashes.
Today we are hearing a message of invitation that is more important and powerful than the warnings that were sown in Hiroshima. An invitation to come to the place of life is in front of us. But, like many people in the past, this invitation is being ignored.
But does this invitation really deserve our refusal? Who makes this invitation, and what does it mean?
First, who invited us?
He is the God of power.
The writer of James said this about the power of God who has invited us.
“Is any of you afflicted? Let him pray, and let him sing praises. Is there any among you that is sick? He shall call upon the elders of the church, and they shall pray for them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. The prayer of faith will save the sick. The Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:13-15).
The God who invited us is a powerful God who saves us from our sins and saves us from death and poverty, failure and discouragement.
He is the God who created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1), and He is the God of power to heal all kinds of diseases of our hearts and bodies (Exodus 15:26).
Then why are you inviting us?
Because God is love.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:8: “Love will never fail; but prophecy will pass away, and tongues will cease, and knowledge will pass away.”
Because God loves us humans with that love that will never cease to exist, He has invited us to come before Him.
After Adam and Eve's transgression, human beings became entangled in sin and went toward death without hope. It just became a being who went on the path of death with a soul that was getting more and more depleted from hopeless sin and despair every day.
Because God loves us with perfect love that drives away fear (1 John 4:18) and with a love stronger than death (Song 8:6), He has invited us to the place of life.
What are you going to do with the invitation?
The God who invited us freely gives us everything he has.
Above all, he gave us his only begotten Son.
For us as sinners who cannot come before Him, God gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as a propitiation. And he saved us from our sins, made us clean, and made us children of God.
The Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:32, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him also gift us all things?”
As the Apostle Paul said, God, who did not spare even his only begotten Son, has given us the Holy Spirit as the Comforter (Acts 2:17) and even a gift (Acts 17:25; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11).
God has invited us to deliver us from death, to give us the power of children, and to give us the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we can boldly overcome the world and live a victorious life.
Therefore, if we respond to the invitation
He guarantees the greatest guarantee, the guarantee of immortality.
God preserves our lives as long as we respond to His invitation.
Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).
God has promised us eternal life through Jesus. He has given us the power to overcome the power of death.
And the psalmist said, “The LORD loves justice, and will not forsake his saints; they will be protected for ever, but the offspring of the wicked shall be cut off” (Psalm 37:28).
The God who created the heavens and the earth, the righteous God, the mighty God will not forsake us, but will protect us forever, as long as we respond to His invitation.
A death row inmate who was imprisoned in an American prison held a newspaper in his hand and wept incessantly. In the headline of the newspaper, “Cleveland was inaugurated as the 22nd President of the United States”.
When the jailer found this strange and asked the death row inmate why he was weeping, he lowered his head and said:
“Cleveland and I are college classmates. One day, while leaving class, the two heard the church bell. Cleveland whispered to me. ‘Friend, let’s go to church.’ I refused. Eventually Cleveland headed to the church, and I headed to the bar. It has clearly divided our destiny.”
Cleveland committed to a new life that day, and another friend fell in love with the Zoological Forest. As the years passed, their lives changed completely. Those who accepted the sound of the church bell as an ‘invitation from godly heaven’ were sentenced to death by the president, and those who regarded it as ‘the sound of joy’ were sentenced to death.
The future of our lives depends on the decisions we make. The decision you make right now is the key to your destiny.
So, what will you decide on today's invitation?
We don't have a special relationship with the president, but let's imagine the joy of receiving an invitation with the address of the Blue House.
What would you do if the president wanted to meet you?
Perhaps you will respectfully accept the invitation, look forward to the day you will meet the President, and prepare your fancy dress and manners to avoid disrespect.
But now we are being invited by the King of Kings, the God of power who rules the entire universe. His invitations, written by his crucified hands, are filled with messages of love and invitations to the place of life.
And if you respond to this invitation, you will be set free from sin and become a child of God. He promises to protect and guide you by His power forever, with everlasting life. He is saying that He will give you the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, and that He will give you the wonderful gift of heaven.
Today, I hope that we will respectfully respond to the greatest invitation of mankind from God to us.
Expect to meet God with excitement and participate in the blessing.
Please sit in the seat of life, the seat of promised blessings, and the seat of grace.
That is why I earnestly pray that you will become the protagonists of the ability to live a strong life as if your soul prospers.