Based on 1 Thessalonians 4:16, this shirt speaks of the
soon coming return of Jesus. The shirt looks at the contrast between His
first and second comings here on earth. The first time He came meek and
mild, the second time He comes as the King of kings and Lord of lords. The
first time He came as a lamb; when He will returns it will be as a lion.
- For the Lord Himself will come
down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel
and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first.
~1 Thessalonians 4:16
l amb to the
slaughter
The first time Jesus came in
all meekness. He was the sacrifice made for the sins of all mankind. He came
like a lamb to the slaughter. Betrayed (crossed) by a friend, and murdered
by those He came to save.
- He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet He did not open his mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His
mouth.
~Isaiah
53:7
This is the Jesus who was
given for our sins; He rescued us from eternal death.
- Grace and peace to you from God
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to
rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God
and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
-
~Galatians 1:3-5
coming as a lion
Jesus is coming back soon. But this
time He will not come as a sacrifice, that was done once for all times, He
will come as King. When He returns, it won’t be as the lamb, but as the
Lion!
- This is what the LORD says to
me: "As a lion growls, a great lion over his prey-- and though a whole
band of shepherds is called together against him, he is not frightened
by their shouts or disturbed by their clamor-- so the LORD Almighty will
come down to do battle on Mount Zion and on its heights.
~Isaiah 31:4
n o
cross this time
As the lamb, Jesus was betrayed by a
close friend (crossed) and then crucified ('crossed' again). This was the
sacrifice made for the sin of the world. The leaders of that day stood
against Him with the full approval of the people. They did everything they
wanted to Him, and though He had a legion of angles at His disposal, He went
quietly as a lamb to the slaughter.
When He returns, He will not be coming
to die (as a sacrifice); He is returning to claim His rightful kingdom (the
earth) and He is not going to take it quietly. He is coming to rule the
earth with an iron scepter (Rev 19:15). This simply means that all who try
to prevent Him from taking His kingdom will fail. No one will cross Him
this time!
- They will make war against the
Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and
King of kings--and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful
followers."
-
~Revelation 17:14
h ow to use
this shirt as an evangelism tool:
This shirt has been designed to give
all who wear it, the opportunity to talk about Jesus. You may have noticed that
there are no scripture references on it! People will rarely ask you about your
shirt if they see scriptural references because they are used to seeing
Christian T-shirts. While shirts with references on them mark you as a
believer, they rarely give you the opportunity to share your faith. People
see the scripture references and assume they know the ‘religious’ ideals
of the wearer. What we want to do is cause people to ask you about the shirt.
“I don't get your shirt?” “What does it mean?” “That's Cool”
Anytime someone begins the conversation
with you, the door is open to share the Gospel and the love of Jesus with them….
and remember, they asked you!
w hat to say
when you are asked about the shirt
Most Christians, when confronted with an opportunity to share
their faith often talk “religious” (they say what they think they should say
with lots of Christian Buzz words) and turn people off. Just be yourself!
After reading the above information, you should easily be able to explain how
sin is a major threat to each of us and that there is only one antidote for the
problem. Talk to them about Jesus and what He has done for us, making a way for
us to confess our sin and come to God for forgiveness.
This is your opportunity to explain the Gospel of Jesus and
then to inquire into their relationship, if any, with Him.
i f they are
open to further conversation
At this point, the person will say “yea, whatever” and walk
off, OR want to hear more. (Remember that God’s word
does not return void. Even if the person walks off, the Word of God was sewn
into that person's life… you did not fail!) If they want to know more:
Steps to Salvation
awareness of
our sinful nature
When we talk about salvation
we must bring people to an awareness of their need for salvation. The Bible is
very clear on this point. Everyone has missed the mark or fallen short of the
standard set by God. As a race we all fall short. This is not a close call, even
the best person misses the mark by a mile.
- ...
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
-
~Romans 3:23
But the good news is that God has made provision for us. He
has a free gift, the gift of eternal life for us. (See Romans 6:23)
b elief
in Jesus Christ
God chose to fulfill His standards for us. He knew that no
person could meet them and so all would fail. We would all be in a hopeless
state, with no place to turn. So God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, to
live as a man here on earth. Jesus lived as a man, but He met all of God's
requirements. He met God's standard perfectly.
But this still did not deal with the problem, we still fall
short of meeting God's standard. We cannot live like Jesus, even after His
example.
The answer, God's answer,
let the one who lived perfectly die in the place of all the rest. He let Jesus
die for mankind, since no one else was good enough to do so. (If a man were to
die it would be for his short comings, it would be just what he deserved).
So God has prepared for us a gift of salvation. God accepted
the death of Jesus as meeting His standard. Then He raised Jesus from the dead.
His gift of salvation is available to every one who will believe in Jesus Christ
and the work He has done for us. (See Romans 10:8-10 and John 1:12-13)
repentance
of sins
This gift from God is a
wonderful salvation, complete with everything we need to live a full life, now
and for the future. This includes forgiveness of our sins (areas where we have
not lived up to God's standard). This forgiveness comes as we admit to our sins
and ask God to forgive us. (See Luke 24:46-47 and Acts 13:38-39)
- If we confess our sins, He is
faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.
-
~1 John 1:9
r eceiving
Jesus as savior
So now we can receive Jesus as our Lord
and Savior. He now becomes the one who died for us so we can have good
relationship with God. We can now become a part of God's family, not by any work
that we have done, but by believing that Jesus has done the work for us.
- But as many as received Him, to
them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who
believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
-
~John 1:12-13
All scripture quotations, unless
otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV.
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan
Publishing House. All rights reserved.
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