VICINITY HOUSE CHURCH 
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"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matthew 18:20 "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd." John 10:16
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Purpose
The purpose of evangelism is to take the message of salvation by grace to the world. God causes who God chooses to believe, all in due time, each when God chooses. Witnessing is not converting, or condemning the unconverted. Not every person who is exposed to Christianity, that never becomes involved; or becomes involved but then leaves is condemned--only those who God individually revealed the truth to! If we could interview everyone who is personally witnessed to; or walks away from an evangelistic crusade; the ones who's minds were not opened by God--cannot be convinced of the truth; are not to be judged and-- God only knows who they are! The invisible body of Christ throughout the ages is cumulatively being conformed by the Triune God. After history runs it's course into chaos, when Christ returns; the ones chosen by God for this purpose during their lifetimes, who yielded to be transformed by the Holy Spirit; will be used by God as an example. Being compared to the world as to how God can mold anyone into the Spiritual shape that God requires -- for an eternal life of Love; for all others to choose from at that time! Not for His riches; or because we fear death; but because we love God in return... Because -- God is Love! The Saints of God will reign with Christ, be given authority, judge the world and angels; not with natural finite; but--glorified Godly minds within their glorified bodies! God just uses a cross-section of mankind for this purpose. Through out history God just reaches in and takes a random sample of humanity to be used for this example. God's choice includes "the good, the bad and the ugly", His choice has nothing to do with the looks, personality; or character of the individuals at the time of selection and there were billions of others to choose from that would have worked perfectly well for God's purpose! Some people say that the world has been judged, and only Christians are saved. Some people say that Christians are saved, and the rest of the world is being judged by response to creation. Some people say that Christians are being judged now, and the rest of the world will be judged after the resurrection. Maybe only the "elect"; the "chosen" are being judged according to the Bible as Christians; and the rest of the world is being judged in other ways known only to God!!!
Predestined
In Revelation 20 after the judgment, and before Revelation 21 The New Jerusalem, John is looking back on events that have already occured(" 11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.")The "Chosen" who received spiritual understanding during their lifetimes, were judged according to what they had done with it. This is when those who were spirtually ignorant during their lifetimes receive spiritual understanding for the first time; and looking back on it were judged according to what they did with it at that time. The Bible does not state how long the period of time that was taken for the judgment to conclude was; or how much time they were given to choose after receiving spiritual understanding -- only what the final out come was in retrospect!
Hope and Humility*
"He is an evangelist still unequivocally committed to the Gospel, but increasingly thinks God's ways and means are veiled from human eyes and wrapped in mystery. "There are many things that I don't understand," he says. He does not believe that Christians need to take every verse of the Bible literally; "sincere Christians," he says, "can disagree about the details of Scripture and theology—absolutely." "Lord, I don't understand all that is in this book, I can't explain it all, but I accept it by faith as your divine word." The Bible is open to interpretation, and fair-minded Christians may disagree or come to different conclusions about specific points. Like Saint Paul, he believes human beings on this side of paradise can grasp only so much. "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror," Paul wrote, "then we shall see face to face." Then believers shall see: not now, but then. Graham's position, then, while hardly liberal, is more moderate than that of his strictest fellow Christians.says Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross. "However, salvation is the work of Almighty God, and only he knows what is in each human heart." "I think about heaven a great deal, I think about the failures in my life in the past, but know that they have been covered by the blood of Christ, and that gives me a great sense of confidence," says Graham. "I have a certainty about eternity that is a wonderful thing, and I thank God for giving me that certainty. I do not fear death. I may fear a little bit about the process, but not death itself, because I think the moment that my spirit leaves this body, I will be in the presence of the Lord." Though Graham returns to the 23rd Psalm when he wakes in the small hours, Ruth"(Graham's wife)"has spent time in these summer months memorizing and reciting Psalm 90: "Lord, thou hast been our refuge, from one generation to another. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever the earth and the world were made, thou art God from everlasting, and world without end." It is an appropriate text for the end of day, and a fitting benediction for Billy Graham—a man who has, at journey's end, found refuge in hope and humility." Billy Graham/Newsweek excerpts
*The views of this website are not necessarily those of any other party; quoted and/or linked to!
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