When our ThunderHeart Ministries prison team went to Parchman Prison July 11^th to conduct the chapel service, one of our evangelist team, David “Preacher Man” Herbert delivered an inspiring sermon based on Isaiah 27.  Throughout the chapter the prophet Isaiah uses the phrase “in that day.”  Isaiah closes out the chapter by saying “In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered up one by one.  And in that day a great trumpet will sound. Those who were perishing in Assyria and those who were exiled in Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.”[1]  The prophet is talking about things to come because the Israelites’ present situation was undesirable.  While the children of Israel were living in rebellion and refusing to repent, Isaiah lived a life of integrity and consistent obedience to God’s instruction.  Despite the Israelites’ disobedience, Isaiah is presenting the children of Israel hope for the future and the prophet describes that even though they are in exile and captivity there is still a future, there is still life for the children of Israel.  It refers to future events where God will fulfill His promises.  While God gave Isaiah a very clear vision of what was to come, Isaiah had to express these events in the future which is why he uses the phrase “in that day.” 

     So many of God’s men are focused on things that will happen in their future and they lose sight of what God is doing in their life in the present.  We may as well be saying, as the prophet Isaiah said, “in that day” because we are not focused on “this day!”  How many of us have heard a man say “when I finish school and get that great job everything will be better”; “when I get married things will be good”; “when we have children we will be happy”; “when I can retire everything will be great”; and the list goes on in a variety of categories and themes.  We get so focused on “that day” that we fail to remember that we have “this day” to celebrate our salvation and the mercy that was shown to us by our Heavenly Father.  Jesus said “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.  Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”[2]  There is nothing futuristic about this statement.  It clearly says “you are” not that “you will be” at some future date.  God’s expectation is that we are to bear fruit and the only way that can be successfully done is to stay connected with Him on a daily basis.  Jesus said “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last.”[3]  The only “fruit that will last” is helping people enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and then help them grow in that relationship so that they can begin to bear fruit.  The prophet Jeremiah gives us a great word picture describing God’s man when he said "But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.  He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.  It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green.  It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."[4]  Jesus described himself as the “Living Water” and when God’s man is firmly planted by the “Living Water” then he will be well prepared to endure all challenges and still produce the fruit that will last.

     When Jesus said “it is finished”[5] it meant everything was completed and there was nothing more to be done.  Prophesy had been fulfilled!  Jesus death and resurrection made salvation complete.  God’s promises are for this day.  Romans 5:1-3 says “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” Paul uses the present tense in this passage meaning that it is applies right now.  Review these verses paying particular attention to the words in bold print.  

     Romans 5:11 tells us “but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”  We are now reconciled because Jesus completed the process for reconnecting our hearts with Gods.  This day is our opportunity to let our lives demonstrate to others the wonderful gift of grace that is freely given to those who want a personal relationship with Jesus Christ who came as a Lamb to shed His blood to pay our sin debt.  This day is our opportunity to “testify” as Jesus has directed us to do on His behalf so that we might bear fruit that will last.  “We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”[6]  Are you living daily to serve as Christ’s ambassador?  Remember “this day” is your opportunity to live your life for Christ openly and visibly.  It is not about just saying the right things but allowing actions to speak louder than words.  We don’t have to wait for “that day” to benefit from the promises of God but we can enjoy them today.  While God’s men look forward to spending eternity with our Heavenly Father, we are to utilize “this day” as an opportunity to share God’s love and grace to a hurting and lost world.   Avoid the “that day” syndrome and utilize “this day” to glorify the King of Kings and Lord of Lords so that the Holy Spirit can work through us to bear fruit that will last!