Messianic Perspectives

Liz Ayielo: Jesus said if we know the truth, the truth will make us free. On this edition of Messianic Perspectives, Dr. Gary Hedrick shows us one truth in particular that enables us to walk in real freedom. Stay with us as we discuss the Christian's greatest discovery.

Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinct first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Ayielo. Today, Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the Christian's greatest discovery. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.

Gary Hedrick: We welcome you, listening friend. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies from the life of Abraham, a series we've entitled "The Christian's Greatest Discovery." And of course, the discovery we've been talking about is the assurance of salvation. And we've been noticing how even Abraham, the great patriarch of the Jewish nation—even Abraham needed assurance. And God gave him assurance over and over again by confirming and reconfirming the covenant he had made with him.

When we ran out of time on the last program, we were talking about the fact that the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant, contrary to popular belief, was not just for the Jews, although that's certainly part of it, but the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant is for all people and all nations. In fact, when God gave the covenant back in the book of Genesis, he used three different symbols to describe the seed of Abraham. They were called sand, stars, and dust, indicating three different kinds of seed.

And it's very interesting that some of the older commentators make a distinction between the sand and the stars and the dust. Many of them say the sand represents Israel, the stars represent the church, and the dust represents the Gentile nations. Again, confirming the fact that all people and all nations fall under the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant. And after all, stars do seem appropriate as a symbol for the church. In Genesis chapter 4, God set the stars in the heavens to give light on the earth.

Jesus Christ said that his followers were to be the light of the world. And Ephesians chapter 1 says, speaking about our position in Christ, that we have been raised up together and made to sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. So positionally, we're in the heavenlies, like stars, and our job is to shine down on this world of darkness.

By the way, let me say this. Some of us lose sight of the fact that the main reason the Lord left us here in this world is so we can be lights and point people to Jesus Christ. In other words, our number one priority is evangelization. Now, whenever I say that, I usually get letters from people who say, "Gary, don't you know the catechisms? Didn't you ever learn the catechisms? The chief aim of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever." And I'm not going to argue with that, but listen, my friend, we could glorify God in heaven.

We will glorify God in heaven. So that still doesn't explain why he has left us here. The reason God has left his church here on earth is so we can be the light of the world. You see, some of us are so preoccupied with our heavenly position and with all of these deep doctrinal things that we like to talk about, we really forget what it's all about, my friend. I can take you to churches this coming Sunday morning right here in San Antonio where they know Greek and Hebrew and hermeneutics and the whole nine yards, but there's no program of evangelism.

There is no burden for the Great Commission, no missionary vision. And do you know what happens to a church like that? It turns into a Christian club where a handful of believers meet together on Sunday and the preacher discusses something profound like the eschatological implications of the pseudepigraphal elements of the Apocrypha or some other burning issue of the day. They have communion and say a couple of prayers and they've done their duty for the week. They've been to church, they think.

But let me tell you something, my friend: God placed the stars in the heavens to shine on the earth, and he has left the church on earth to be the light of the world, for the world has no other light other than the light which is reflected in the lives of believers. Have you heard that hymn that says, "The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin, the light of the world is Jesus"? It's found in most of our church hymnals; I think it's in our church hymnal. But you know, that's not really true—at least not in the strictest sense.

I know the lyrics of that hymn were based on John chapter 9, where Jesus healed the blind man and he said, "I am the light of the world." But let me turn over there quickly and I'll show you what Jesus really said there in John chapter 9. Let me read verse 5. He said, "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." In other words, he was the light of the world only as long as he was here. Once he left and returned to heaven, he was no longer the light of the world.

That's why he called his disciples together before he left, and he told them, "Listen, you are going to be the light of the world. Once I'm gone, my light will be reflected through you." So it's not strictly true that the light of the world is Jesus. It would be more correct if the song said the light of the world was Jesus, because now it's us. You see, the Lord has commissioned us to shed light in this world of darkness.

Listen, I know a lot of people who are so enamored and so enraptured by their position in grace and by their heavenly standing and their security and by making sure they dot every I and cross every T just right, they never seem to get around to letting their light shine for Christ. But enough of that; we've got to move on or we'll run out of time. And so God says he set the stars in heaven to shine upon the earth. This is Abraham's star seed, his spiritual seed, which is the church, the body of Christ.

That's why we're told to let our light shine before men, that they may see our good works—not just hear about them or read about them, but that they may see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven. You see, that's how we glorify God. People say, "Evangelism is not the main work of the church; the main work of the church is to glorify God." And while that may sound very pious, the truth is that there's no better way to glorify God than to do what God has commanded us, and that's to let our light shine.

And they'll see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Listen, we may talk about revival, we may have all kinds of meetings and Bible conferences, we can shout and yell and jump up and down and say amen, and we can have all sorts of music and orchestras and taped accompaniment, we can preach here on the radio and on television and over satellite networks until we're blue in the face, but until the world can see for themselves that we are genuine, that we're real, they're not going to believe us.

People ask us all the time about whether or not the scandals, the moral scandals of the last few years, have hurt us. And I suppose they have to a certain extent, but let me tell you something: I think God is doing something. I think he's purifying his church. He's helping us get mobilized and ready for action. We need to get rid of anything and everything that's phony, and he's helping us do that—anything that's not real, because we've got to let our light shine so the world can see the reality of Jesus Christ.

You know, I don't think there's ever been a generation of Christians more affluent and more educated than our generation. When I preach in our churches, I meet doctors and lawyers and engineers and college professors and bankers and businessmen and you name it. I mean, I received a letter the other day from one of our radio listeners in California, and he's a PhD from Stanford University and one of the leading geophysicists in the country. We have another supporter who's a professor at Princeton University, and I could go on and on.

What I'm saying is simply that this is probably the most affluent and most educated generation of Christians in the history of the church. And there's nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but with all of this education and with all of these advantages and with all of this wealth, you'd think we would be accomplishing more for the Lord in our generation than in any previous generation. But we're not. For one thing, our churches aren't producing nearly as many missionaries as they once did.

Think about it. When was the last time someone in your church walked the aisle and said the Lord was calling them to the mission field? Do you know what I think the problem is? And we're just talking here; I'm just sharing my heart with you right now. I think part of the problem is that in the midst of all of this affluence and sophistication, we've become preoccupied with materialism and with business, with making money and pleasure and going to school to keep up with all the newest technologies and all the other things that go along with it.

We've become preoccupied to the point where we've forgotten simply to let our lights shine before men. I'm almost out of time and I didn't even get to my main point today, but this is something the Lord laid on my heart. Listen, the world is sick and tired of being preached to. And do you know what? I don't blame them. What they really need is something they can see with their own eyes, and that's us—the church. We are the light of the world.

Well, we got a little bit off track today, but the three kinds of seed are portrayed as sand, stars, and dust. The sand represents Israel, the stars represent the church, and the dust represents the Gentile nations. And all three categories will enjoy the benefits of the wonderful promises God made to Abraham almost 4,000 years ago. We'll have more to say about that next time.

Liz Ayielo: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us as we look into God's word together. Now, let me tell you about our special offer. It's the compact disc which includes all of the programs in this current series of studies on "The Christian's Greatest Discovery." Of course, the discovery we're talking about is the truth of the believer's security.

When we understand that salvation depends on Christ and his merits rather than on ourselves and our merits, then we've taken the first step toward walking in true freedom. It's unfortunate that so many of us don't fully appreciate our security in Christ. We get bogged down in our spiritual lives because we never know from one minute to the next how we stand with God. That's why this teaching is so important. We need to know that our standing before God doesn't fluctuate depending on how well we perform.

All of our sins—past, present, and future—have been forgiven through the shed blood of the Messiah. His righteousness has been imputed to us, so we can know that we're saved. And that's what this series is all about. The title once again is "The Christian's Greatest Discovery," and it can be yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order.

If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line. The number is 1-800-926-5397. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Ayielo. Join us next time, won't you? As Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on "The Christian's Greatest Discovery" right here on Messianic Perspectives.