Sinners Wanted

 

 

Who are we seeking

In our evangelical search?

Certainly not the obvious sinners

No, not for our church.

 

No such dirty stain

Is to be allowed therein

For our church cannot allow

Such major sin.

 

No sinners allowed,

Come when you are clean

And yet, we advocate with gusto

Of a cleansing stream.

 

Full of sanctified saints

Sunday morning crew,

Such is the redeemed congregation

Except for one or two.

 

In the midweek service

Are the faithful few

And there’s not one single sinner-

Not even one or two.

What’s wrong, I ask,

With a sinner in church?

I am addressing this question to-

The sanctified expert.

 

The church is a hospital

But it is only for saints,

This practised, unspoken behaviour

I find rather quaint.

 

Of course, as you know,

Some sinners look clean

And these are the ones welcomed

At most church scenes.

 

Some fish we throw back

Into the beckoning sea,

Considering they are better off there

In that community.

 

I urge all of us today

Of a better approach:

It is the one that the Holy Spirit

Has invoked.

 

In the words of Jesus,

Come unto me

All that are weak and heavy laden-

Rest for the weary.

 

Change the billboard

That is positioned out front

Change it to: “Sinners apply within

For a new account.”

 

Or “Sinners are welcome,

Come as you are!

Christ Jesus will receive sinners

However marred.”

 

Jesus saves sinners

Of which I am chief,

He still offers to the sin-stained

Sweet relief.

 

Relief from sin’s burden,

Its penalty and guilt

And in the kingdom of heaven

He makes us to sit.

 

For sinners are all we

Saved by his wonderful grace

And one day by his faithfulness

We’ll see his face.

 

Who are we seeking

In our evangelical search?

I plea, let it be sinners, my friend,

Invite them to church.

For sinners are wanted

‘Tis the gospel quest,

It is to sinners the offer is made

To share in God’s rest.

 

Change that billboard

To sinners are welcome

For it is such that God is calling

Into His Kingdom.

 

Stewart Russell © August 18, 2025

 

The Kingdom

 

 

The kingdom is coming

Nay, already come,

Actually, my brothers and my sisters

We are in the millennium.

 

This is kingdom building

Being done through the Church;

Read the Word for yourself

Before consulting experts.

 

From in Matthew chapter 4

The kingdom of heaven was at hand,

So, said the King, Jesus,

As he unfolded God’s plan.

 

And throughout the book

From Matthew chapters 4 to 14

He tells about the kingdom

He being the King on the scene.

 

 

If my kingdom were of this world

My servants would fight,

The essence of Jesus’ words

As he showed them their plight.

 

Go to St John 18 verse 36

For Jesus’ exact words,

This should not leave any doubt

Why Pilate was so disturbed.

 

Remember, it was the Jews

That had delivered him up

But Jesus framed it differently

Regarding his bitter cup.

 

They saw a political kingdom

Being under Roman yoke

So, this imposter they called Jesus,

Could never get their vote.

 

He was delivered to the Jews

Thus, to be crucified

And though the Romans killed him

It was at Jewish hands he died.

 

The king had come

And so too did his kingdom

And almost immediately after

Began the millennium.

 

It is not a political kingdom

And it never will be,

Political kingdoms are temporal

His is for eternity.

 

From eternity to eternity

That’s the kingdom of God,

And throughout the millennium

This is to be spread abroad.

 

From Jerusalem through Judea

Obviously first to the Jews,

Jesus' servants had to be scattered

To tell the good news.

 

Don’t be misled by a thousand

It only means a lot,

And even so, compared to eternity,

It is not even a drop.

 

I tell you the kingdom is here,

Jesus said it has come

And there is no other king but he,

God’s incarnate Son.

 

It is not the political kingdom

For which the Jews had yearned

But at present, a spiritual kingdom,

From the Bible we learn.

 

We are heirs to the kingdom

Heirs and joint-heirs

And with Christ we sit in the heavenly

Even while we are here.

 

We wait in earnest anticipation

When the fullness will unfold

For at present, ours is a deposit

Of treasures untold.

 

Stewart Russell © May 6, 2021

No, You Don’t

 

 

You don’t know me

Though you think you do

And you can argue all day

How long I’ve been around you.

 

You don’t see me

Though you think you do

For my life is hid with Christ in God

And yours should be too.

 

You don’t understand me

Though you think you do

And I am aware in the same way

I don’t understand you.

 

Here is a phenomenon

We should not less count:

The fact we have been washed

In the blood of the fount.

 

 

The blood of Jesus

When he was on the cross

That flowed from his broken body

For all the lost.

 

As they knew him not

You don’t know me

For that by which you measure

Is no longer my lot.

 

I have been changed

Yes, I have been born again

And I have a new name in heaven

And a new refrain.

 

I am a kingdom child

Of the Most-High God

And no longer whom you know:

That nefarious fraud.

 

It may not be obvious

And I’m speaking of my change

But believe me, even my thinking

Has been rearranged.

 

Have a chat with those

Who are closest to me

And they will tell you I’ve changed,

Most sincerely.

 

I occasionally lapse

And like a toddler I fall

But I will not wallow in sin’s muck

No, not me at all.

 

So, you think you know me

But that is in the past,

That wandering sheep you know

Did come home at last.

 

 

Don’t be a prodigal at home

And in envy burn

Because the prodigal that roamed

Has finally returned.

 

Get to know me instead

And see what God has done,

And what the Spirit is daily doing

For me in the kingdom.

 

You don’t know me

Though you think you do

And what I am saying about you

Can be said about me too.

 

Stewart Russell © April 8, 2024

 

The End of All Prophecy

 

 

Nothing remains to be fulfilled

Until the coming of the Lord,

Jesus is the end of all prophecy

As it says in the Word.

 

The OT pointed forward to him

To him, the epistles point back,

Jesus is the Bible’s summation

And that is an historic fact.

 

Fulfilment means the end

And that end is the Lord Jesus,

Jesus fulfils all prophecy

And in him we must trust.

 

The Gospels are about him:

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John,

Israel is not the prophetic key

So, my friend be warned! 

 

 

Take your eyes off Israel

Meaning the Jewish nation,

Instead you must look upon Jesus;

He is our eternal salvation.

 

When you read the Holy Word

Read it with Jesus in mind,

It is his story, you must understand,

Each and every time.

 

Remember that God is spirit

And none has ever seen His face,

It is His eternal Son, Jesus

That for us takes His place.

 

Hence, he that has seen the Son

Has also seen the Father,

The Son being the expressed image

Of the unseen Father.

 

The Father chose to reveal himself

In none other than His Son

Hence, the fulfilment of prophecy

And His everlasting kingdom.

 

 

The sun and moon and stars

They all bowed down to him:

A foreshadowing of what was to come

When Jacob’s eyes would dim.

 

Not about Joseph, the dreamer,

But of the coming Messiah,

About the revelation of Jesus Christ:

The great and mighty deliverer.

 

And when David slew Goliath

And all the Philistines fled,

That also pointed to Jesus

That will judge the quick and dead.

 

The fact that all prophecy

Has already been fulfilled

Shows the power of Almighty God

And that gives me a thrill.

 

He who declares the end

Even before an event begins

Is none other than Jesus the Christ,

The King of all kings.

 

 

He is the chief cornerstone

Of the entire Bible

And the kinsman Redeemer

Of every nation and people.

 

Now see where this takes us

If with me you will go,

It’s to a world that is out of focus

As both you and I know.

 

The lamb is now the Lion

The Servant has become the King,

Now he rules in heaven

Let us shout and sing.

 

All will bow before him,

And they will do so in due time:

Some willingly, others otherwise,

From every land and clime.

 

 

For Christ must reign

Until all enemies are under his feet,

The last enemy being death

That has also suffered defeat.

 

Therefore, what should we do?

I will tell you what;

To carry out the great commission

Is the believer’s lot.

 

The consummation of all things

Is not our concern

But of the Gospel of salvation

We should preach and learn.

 

Whether he comes tomorrow,

Next month or next year,

We must occupy till Jesus returns

And of his business take care.

 

 

If you have been saved

Go and spread the word

Of Jesus, the wonderful Saviour

To whom you defer.

 

The one who raises the dead

And the one who gives life,

The one who once died

To become our living sacrifice.

 

Pray, tell me, my friend,

What prophecy is yet to be fulfilled?

None except the end of all things:

That is to be fulfilled still.

 

Stewart Russell © August 28, 2021

 

Consider This

 

 

 Consider this if you will

Not all Jews are Jews,

This sounds particularly contradictory

Now listen for the news.

 

For they are not all Israel

Which are of Israel

How should we take this:

Physical, natural or spiritual?

 

The truth of the matter is

All three are involved,

If we look carefully at the transition

This matter can be resolved.

 

Jesus once said to the Jews

You are of your father, the devil

And if he were not who he was

It would have been to his peril.

 

The Jews had challenged him

Regarding their father, Abraham

But Jesus seemed to be saying

You do not know the plan.

 

Being natural has no rights

To that which belongs to the spiritual,

From the old covenant to the new

The spiritual regulates the natural.

 

This will probably be hard

For any naturalized Israelite Jew,

He sees himself as the chosen

And he must have his due.

 

His due to a promised land

As a son of Abraham,

How dare Jesus come and change

What was the original plan!

 

We see a little bit at a time,

That is but a tiny dot

But all too often it swells in our eyes

And our dot becomes the lot.

 

 

A single piece of the puzzle

Becomes the whole puzzle

And such was the case with the Jews

As it related to Israel.

 

God has a glorious plan

It proceeds from the natural to the spiritual,

From Eden’s creation to a new creation

From the old Israel to the new Israel.

 

No longer the middle wall of partition

No longer the gentile and the Jew,

Where once these were separate

They are now one not two.

 

Only one way to the kingdom

That is through Jesus Christ the Lord,

Only one way to salvation

That is by believing on his word.

 

Consider this, I urge one and all

It is not a replacement theology,

It is the working out of God’s glorious plan

Upon which hangs our destiny.

 

Stewart Russell © November 2019

 

A Backward Step

 

 

Some believe in a rapture:

A secret catching away,

And a seven-year tribulation

That can happen any day.

 

The church will be snatched away

The Jews will be left behind,

Theirs will be to evangelize

During those perilous times.

 

Three and a half years of peace

Followed by very harsh times

That will drive many a person

Out of his distraught mind.

 

But Jesus will rescue the Jews

And all that become saved,

All Israel will be saved in a day

By the one they downplayed.

 

Next on these believers’ list

Will be a following millennium

And Jesus will rule from Jerusalem

After the seven-year tribulation.

 

The temple will be rebuilt

And sacrifices will be reinstituted

And during this thousand-year reign

The Law will be reconstituted.

  

To some this is a backward step

And an ignoring of the cross

On which Jesus shed his blood

For the guilty and the lost.

 

A return to the beggarly elements

Is how some see this view

Especially since the Church comprises

The Gentile and the Jew.

 

But God gave a promise

To the nation of Israel

And God must ensure the promise

He made to His chosen people.

 

Some appear to forget

Christ was the promised fulfilment

And to save us from our sin

Was the reason he was sent.

 

Christ once for all sacrifice

Would just go by the way

And to me it doesn’t seem likely

That we will see that day.

 

 

God was in Christ Jesus

Reconciling the world to Himself

And there is no other way

For one to obtain spiritual health.

 

Regarding that backward step!

No, not a chance!

Jesus is the only way

For both Jew and Gentile to advance.

 

I believe the millennium is now

And Christ is on the throne,

The kingdom of God has come

And His subjects are not alone.

 

2 Corinthians 5:17

 

Therefore, if any man be in Christ,

He is a new creature:

Old things have passed away;

Behold, all things are become new.

 

2 Corinthians 5:21

 

For he hath made him to be sin for us,

Who knew no sin;

That we might be made the righteousness of God

In him.

 

Hebrews 11:16

 

But now they desire a better country,

That is, an heavenly:

Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God:

For he hath prepared from them a city.

 

 

Hebrews 12:24

 

And to Jesus

The mediator of the new covenant,

And to the blood of sprinkling,

That speaketh better things than that of Abel.

 

It would be a backward step,

If you see what I mean,

To go back to the types and shadows

Of the Old Covenant scene.

 

Stewart Russell © August 13, 2021 

 

 

The Kingdom

 

 

The kingdom is coming

Nay, already come,

Actually, my brothers and my sisters

We are in the millennium.

 

This is kingdom building

Being done through the Church;

Read the Word for yourself

Before consulting experts.

 

From in Matthew chapter 4

The kingdom of heaven was at hand,

So, said the King, Jesus,

As he unfolded God’s plan.

 

And throughout the book

From Matthew chapters 4 to 14

He tells about the kingdom

He being the King on the scene.

 

If my kingdom were of this world

My servants would fight,

The essence of Jesus’ words

As he showed them their plight.

 

Go to St John 18 verse 36

For Jesus’ exact words,

This should leave no doubt

Why Pilate was so disturbed.

 

Remember, it was the Jews

That had delivered him up

But Jesus framed it differently

Regarding his bitter cup.

 

They saw a political kingdom

Being under Roman yoke

So, this imposter they called Jesus

Could never get their vote.

 

He was delivered to the Jews

Thus, to be crucified

And though the Romans killed him

It was at Jewish hands he died.

 

The king had come

And so too did his kingdom

And almost immediately after

Began the millennium.

 

It is not a political kingdom

And it never will be,

Political kingdoms are temporal

His is for eternity.

 

From eternity to eternity

That’s the kingdom of God,

And throughout the millennium

This is to be spread abroad.

 

 

From Jerusalem through Judea

Obviously first to the Jews,

Jesus' servants had to be scattered

To tell the good news.

 

Don’t be misled by a thousand

It only means a lot,

And even so, compared to eternity,

It is not even a drop.

 

I tell you the kingdom is here,

Jesus said it has come

And there is no other king but he,

God’s incarnate Son.

 

It is not the political kingdom

For which the Jews had yearned

But at present, a spiritual kingdom,

From the Bible we learn.

 

We are heirs to the kingdom

Heirs and joint-heirs

And with Christ we sit in the heavenlies

Even while we are here.

 

We wait in earnest anticipation

When the fullness will unfold

For at present, ours is a deposit

Of treasures untold.

 

Stewart Russell © May 6, 2021