Whosoever
Hello, my friends!
Over the past week, the Lord has mentioned the word “whosoever” to me twice in my morning prayer time, and once He ministered the word to me in my sleep. It's interesting that parallel to this, I have hurt my back for the 10,000th time, so sitting here at the computer is possible only due to anti-inflammatories and Panadol; it sort of helps. I hurt my back in the Army, and it's been a problem my whole adult life.
So, getting back to “whosoever,” we know that this word is famous for being part of John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” This is, of course, one of my favourite scriptures; the Lord used it many, many times in various ways to speak to me.
One of the most significant ways is this: One night, many years ago, I was having a sort of nightmare. As I slept, I was having this dream about not being able to be close to God anymore. It was the most horrific feeling, to be separated from God. I was just in such deep anguish, weeping in this dream at this horrible reality that I was feeling—an infinitely devastating feeling of grief and loss. Then all of a sudden, I awoke, and I was lying on my back, my eye sockets were like two puddles, and the pillow on each side of my head was drenched as if I had been weeping for some time. I turned to the side to look at the clock as the two puddles of tears poured out across my face, and the clock said 3:16. My mood changed in an instant; I went from complete horror to laughing and said, “Good one, Satan,” and went back to sleep secure in the One who loves me, who would never leave me or forsake me, who died for me, whom I put my trust in many years prior to this moment.
Moving on from this encounter, up to 100 times over the next five or so years, I would often have a God dream—a good one, a prophetic one often—and the Lord would wake me up at 3:16. Often, He would wake me up at 3:16 and say something profound to me, give me a directional word, say something beautiful to me, or build me up in some way, just as Jesus can do. It was a real wonder to me for many years, and it doesn't happen these days; it was just a season. But the Lord ministers to me more when I'm awake these days, just in general—in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in my prayer room, driving the car. He will often just drop into my spirit, encouraging words, or words of knowledge for myself or for others. It's interesting how the Lord trains you in the giftings He has given you; it's really precious when you think about it.
So, getting back to the actual scripture in John, we understand that some will perish and not have everlasting life; they will cease to exist. And we know that whosoever believes that Jesus was sent to save us from ourselves, according to the Father's great love for us, which is the good news for sure. But where I want to go with this today, and I have discussed this with many people over the past few years, is that I know what it is to be a Christian, to be a saint, to be a son or a daughter of God. That's easy; I could chat with anyone for hours about all the intricacies of what that looks like, what that feels like, what the word of God tells us about that, and who we are in Christ Jesus. Once you understand the unforced rhythms of grace and how simple it actually is, and absolutely how freeing it is, you can explain it until the cows come home. It's just so deep, vibrant, and rich in goodness and beauty.
I suppose once I was what you would consider an Arminianist, which is a theology that emphasises free will and God’s prevenient grace, asserting that divine grace can be resisted and is not irresistible. I'm not in that camp. And on the other hand, I'm not a Calvinist, which emphasises the sovereignty of God, predestination, and the belief that God has preordained the salvation of certain individuals. So, where do I sit? Well, I sit in Christ, and I sit in the mystery of why I am actually a son of God, as He chose me; I didn't choose Him, so free will for me doesn't stack up, and I'll tell you why I don't believe in the Calvinistic approach either.
Even though if you read all the scriptures that lean toward a “him, but not him” type theology, like those that speak of the elect, the chosen, etc., I did lean this way once for a few months actually. But the Lord said to me one morning that it was a “pretence,” which means to make something out to be true that is not. So, on that basis, I rejected that perception of those scriptures, and now I happily sit in the middle bit, where I just know God is good, and many things are above my pay grade, and He is sovereign. So, I'll just let God be God, and I'll just preach the good news of what it is to believe in Christ Jesus and just how lovely and empowering that is.
I suppose my take on it all is that I don't know why a person doesn't become a son or a daughter of our beautiful Father in heaven, but what I do know is that He has put a work and a purpose in me that He leads me in according to His plans set out for me, and the centre of that is Christ crucified. And everywhere I go, at the Holy Spirit's leading, I talk about the good news—a news that some will resonate with, however that happens, and some will not.
In order to witness effectively, all we need to do is talk about what it is, how it feels, what our experiences are, what the word says of who we are in Christ, and what it says of who the Trinity are—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Every now and then, we come across someone who the Lord, for some reason, has regenerated so that they can accept the good news, being then baptised, being then drenched in the Holy Spirit, and being filled with all that they will ever need for life and godliness.
Be blessed today, my friends; today is a day the Lord has made. It doesn't matter how you became a Christian, or how you got here, but what does matter is that you are, and you are full of all the potentials of Christ alone, and He has equipped you with everything you will ever need to walk this life in love, in victory, and in humility. Be blessed upon blessed today, for the Lord is good, and He is leading you in His ways everlasting.
Phil