You buy a baseball card, but this is not your ordinary baseball card. No, this baseball card is made of a more expensive plastic lining with special details of the player. What makes this baseball card more special than the ordinary version of this card? The special features of this card make it a special edition – a follow up of the original edition. With humans, editions exist too as we model after Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus was the original edition for us to follow. When Jesus commanded us to live in a certain manner, He always lived in the same manner. For example, Jesus said to love your enemies and your neighbor as yourself. During Jesus’ ministry, He clearly displayed a love of everyone by hanging out with sinners and spreading His good news to them. Jesus also served by washing the disciples’ feet and commanded them to serve others by Jesus’s example.
Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. John 13:13-15
Since Jesus was the original edition, we are the next edition, which is not the same as the original edition. Because He was only on the earth for thirty-three years, Jesus declared that we would do greater works than He. When we serve God, we will be faced with diverse temptations, and God has called us, as the next generation, to prepare the generation after us by being fruitful when trials hit hard. Throughout this, we will continue to grow as God empowers us to live in faith modeling Jesus as the original edition. After we are fruitful, God will bring His deliverance in His timing – not the other way around. Your example will encourage the younger generation to also trust in God.
When Israel blessed Joseph’s children (see Genesis 48), he gave Ephraim the second-born son the greater blessing and Manasseh the firstborn son the lesser blessing. When Joseph protested, Israel declared it was God’s will for the second-born to be first. Manasseh means “deliverance,” and Ephraim means “fruit.” By giving Ephraim the blessing of the firstborn, the Lord was saying that fruit must come before deliverance. Be fruitful when life looks uncertain as Joseph did in slavery and in prison, and afterwards God will bring the spiritual (and often physical) deliverance.
Since May I’ve been struggling with a friendship and have been asking God to help me forgive her and prepare me to apologize to her. When I heard the above message at the first night of the Elevate Conference 2019, I was reminded that even though I have been going through a wilderness period in my faith, I need to continue to be fruitful by sharing my experience from Elevate 2019 and what God has been doing regarding my hurt friendship. Because Jesus, the original edition, relied on the Holy Spirit and came to the Father in prayer constantly, I can model after Him and pray for guidance in how to respond in this situation as He moves.
Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22 (NKJV)
The other part of being the next edition is that we can also be used by God to perform miraculous works. Since the Holy Spirit is the finger or worker of God, and our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit; we can pray in faith and authority for people to be healed or for God to move in some other way. As I’ve prayed for those who have been sick, I’ve seen them recover within a matter of hours or even minutes. By the power of the Holy Spirit and in the name of Jesus all works according to God’s will are possible. Even through the heat in cases like broken relationships, God has never left you nor forsaken you, and you can still pray with others for deliverance.
Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. Joshua 1:9
But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. Luke 11:20
This summer I was junior counselor for Sequoia Brigade Camp, and God use my testimony to impact the lives of the campers. While the state of my friendship was pending, I was able to provide an example of needing to commit to God throughout the whole summer as I prayed about how to address the situation. Even though the conflict was yet to be resolved, God made me fruitful and a part of His plan to witness to the young boys at camp.
Jesus modeled what it is like to be a Christian in how He acted according to what He spoke. As Christians, we must follow Him by praying for the sick and lowly in spirit. When we need comfort, we, like Jesus before His crucifixion, need to call upon the name of the Lord. Even if we feel little growth in our lives, we can be fruitful in Jesus by staying faithful to our commitment to Him. This school year, we are going to have conflicts with our peers and possibly teachers, which is why committing to God is so necessary. In such cases, pray as Jesus did, and never lose sight of the fact that the Spirit of God is with you and will guide you if you cry out to Jesus!
COMMITTING TO GOD’S GRACE AND LOVE,
Jeremiah Yonemura
