(# 017) Colossians 1 - Some Christians Didn't Get the Unconditional Love MemoWe surrender our freedom by living satan's two lifestyles.
Welcome To BARAH MINISTRIES a Christian Church
Rory Clark Pastor-Teacher
Good Morning!
Welcome to Barah Ministries…an intimate, local Christian Church with worldwide impact. My name is Pastor Rory Clark. Welcome to this Bible lesson!
Who is Jesus Christ?
At Barah Ministries we know this truth…that Jesus Christ is God. In Revelation, Chapter 1, Verse 8, we learn…
REVELATION 1:8 “I am the Alpha (the beginning) and the Omega (the end),” says the Lord God, “I am the One who is (I exist)…and the One who was (I have always existed)…and the One who is to come again ( I will keep on existing forever and I will come again)…I am the One with all the power (divine omnipotence).”
How many times and how many ways must the Lord Jesus Christ tell you He is the One and ONLY God before you believe it? What does He need to do to encourage you to share this indisputable fact with your friends and family?
Why does Barah Ministries exist?
At Barah Ministries, we introduce people to the Lord. We make a difference by teaching the Word of God verse-by-verse from the Lord’s perspective and not from man’s perspective. It’s a good thing we learn about the Lord from His perspective according to Isaiah, Chapter 55, Verse 9 where the Lord says…
ISAIAH 55:9 “…just as the heavens are higher than the earth…so are My ways higher than your ways…and My thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
Barah Ministries is provided by God for the benefit of unbelievers, to give them the gospel message, which introduces them to good news…Jesus Christ’s salvation offer. The Lord’s arms are wide open to unbelieving ones! John, Chapter 20, Verse 31 says…
JOHN 20:31 …these things written in the Bible have been written so that you (unbelievers) may believe that Jesus is the Christ (The Jewish Messiah) … the Son of God (in human form) … and that by believing in Him you may have the resurrection life (eternal life) in His name.
To unbelievers, the Lord says, “I WANT YOU!”
Barah Ministries is provided by God for the benefit of Christians as well, for those who want a deep, intimate, and personal relationship with the Lord through the study of His Word. In His prayer on the night before He was crucified, the Lord Jesus Christ prayed to His Father…in John, Chapter 17, Verse 17…
JOHN 17:17 Sanctify (set apart) believers in Christ in the truth…Your Word is the truth.
The Word of God is a personal love letter to the human race. In His Word, the Lord says to believers in Christ, in very many ways, “I’VE GOT YOU!”
Why study the Word of God?
We study the Word of God to allow God’s truth to shape our reality instead of letting the world’s lies shape our reality. The apostle Paul says to his Pastoral protégé Timothy in Second Timothy, Chapter 3, Verse 15…
SECOND TIMOTHY 3:15 …from childhood (Timothy) you have known the sacred writings…which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith…the faith which is placed in Christ Jesus.
We study the Word of God to help us realize that the real reason we are on the earth involves spiritual things.
Who is God’s enemy?
God’s enemy is Satan, whom God made ‘the ruler of this world.’ In John, Chapter 12, Verse 31, the Lord says…
JOHN 12:31 “Now judgment is upon this world…now the ruler of this world (Satan) will be cast out (he will be dethroned at a future time).”
Satan only wants a part of us…our will. He deceives us…he causes us to suffer…yet neither of these things is nearly as bad as how he convinces us to let him influence our will. That’s when his insidious method of destruction, designed to corrode our spiritual lives and ruin everything precious to us, is most powerful against us. WE PERMIT HIM TO DESTROY US. In Mark, Chapter 12, Verse 30, the Lord Jesus gives us the remedy against Satan…
MARK 12:30 “….and you shall love the Lord your God unconditionally…with ALL your heart…and with ALL your soul…and with ALL your mind, and with ALL your strength.”
ALL is not some. Do not give the devil a single opportunity. Fix your eyes on Jesus!
TODAY’S BIBLE LESSON Some Christians Didn’t Get the Unconditional Love Memo
LESSON INTRODUCTION
You have no right to judge anyone else’s life…and for one reason…you’re not good enough to do it. You’re not even good enough to judge your own life. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Supreme Judge of the universe, and He proposes not to evaluate our lives until the end of our days. Hebrews, Chapter 9, Verse 27…
HEBREWS 9:27 …it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes the evaluation…
In Matthew, Chapter 7, Verses 3 to 5, the Lord gives us a suggestion in the matter of judging others…He asks…
MATTHEW 7:3 “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
MATTHEW 7:4 “Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ with a log in your own eye?”
MATTHEW 7:5 “You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!”
This is why people hate church? People. People turn a church into a cesspool with their judging. Today's lesson sheds light on the three lifestyles that are available to live…The SIN Life…The LAW Life…and The FREEDOM Life so that we gain perspective on the life God is offering to His believers.
SONG INTRODUCTION
In First John, Chapter 1, Verses 5 to 7 the apostle John addresses false teachers and false teaching in his church…
FIRST JOHN 1:5 This is the message we have heard directly from the Lord and we announce to you…that God is Light…and in Him, there is no darkness at all.
FIRST JOHN 1:6 If (3) we say that we have fellowship with God the Father…yet walk in the darkness (living the lifestyle of the unbeliever)…we are liars and do not practice the truth…
FIRST JOHN 1:7 …but if we walk in the Light (as believers in Christ)…as God the Father Himself is in the Light…we have fellowship with (God the Father and with) one another (as well)…and the blood of Jesus…God the Father’s Son… keeps on cleansing us from all sin (both right now and in the future).
Many Christians lose touch with spiritual realities as their lives and their minds are diverted to the insidious world system's thoughts. Here's June Murphy to sing a song from her first-ever collection of songs…WALK IN THE LIGHT.
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
WALK IN THE LIGHT June Murphy
MUSIC AND REFLECTION Be Occupied with the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ Enjoy the Singing of His Praises
WALK IN THE LIGHT June Murphy
OPENING PRAYER Let us pray...
We’re grateful, Heavenly Father, for the privilege of studying Your absolute truth...the Word of God…
Father, I am grateful for the opportunity to be rejected in service of You…I am happy to bear my soul to the believing ones You have given me to serve and teach…to show them my humanity…and to provide them with the chance to know that You do not see us as we see ourselves…nor do you see us as they choose to see us…
…I thank you for the life of freedom You have provided so that each of us can build a relationship with You in our own unique way and at our own pace…so that each of us, after getting to know You, can become comfortable in our own skin because we know that You fully accept who we are and who we are not…
…today we pray for those who do not know You…both your believers and unbelievers…we intercede for those who don’t believe a word You say…for those who derive their righteousness from sin and the law rather than accepting the righteousness that comes through faith in You…open their spiritual eyes to Your truth…let them see their own flaws first before they look at and critique the flaws of others…let them be as comfortable with their own flaws as you are…
…we ask this through the power of God the Holy Spirit…in Christ's name...Amen.
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON Some Christians Didn’t Get the Unconditional Love Memo
Creating a prayer life is a wonderful thing. Much of this year has been spent implementing this fundamental part of being a Christian. I credit Stevie Wonder for planting the bug in me forty-five years ago with his song “Talk with God…”
STEVIE WONDER-Talk With God
When you feel your life's too hard… Just go have a talk with God When your load’s too much to bear… Just go talk to God, He cares!
I credit the Barah Ministries Prayer Circle with igniting the desire to finally do something about my desire to have a prayer life. It would have been easier to just listen to God. In Matthew, Chapter 7, Verse 7, the Lord says…
MATTHEW 7:7 “ASK…and it will be given to you…SEEK…and you will find… KNOCK…and it will be opened to you.”
The events of the last month within Barah Ministries have me asking, and seeking and knocking, for sure. In fact, I’m certain that in the last month, the human drama that we’re experiencing within the ministry has people listening to the lessons with an intensity that ought to be reserved for drama-free times.
Anyway, my prayer sessions are an appointment with God. They have a start time…they have an end time…they are scheduled. I have a Bible…my phone for fast lookup of Bible verses…a notepad and a pen to capture my thoughts…a chair for God to sit in that remains empty…and a chair for me to sin in which remains quite full.
God doesn’t need the chair…He is omnipresent…He is indwelling me…in fact, the entire Triune Godhead is indwelling me…they are with me wherever I go…so the chair is mostly symbolic…to remind me of His presence.
Last Monday, in our prayer appointment…God didn’t have much to say, nor did I. It was just pain that racked my brain. The session was spent dumping the pain onto paper. Tuesday, God was quite chatty. The first thought he gave me when I woke up was this one…
WALK IN A MANNER WORTHY OF THE LORD
Sooner or later, God exposes to us and to the world the game we are playing…the lifestyle we are running…and there are three games.
I certainly didn’t know what God meant by this thought…but it was an intriguing start to an insightful hour of reflection. It was an amazing tour of the Bible…I am happy to share parts of it with you, especially because it ties perfectly to the lesson we are learning from our study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians. We continue our study of the apostle Paul’s letter with the next two verses…Colossians, Chapter 1, Verses 13 and 14…
COLOSSIANS 1:13 For God the Father RESCUED us believers in Christ from the domain of darkness…and He TRANSFERRED us to the kingdom of the Son whom the Father loves (the Lord…Jesus)…
COLOSSIANS 1:14 …the Christ…in whom we have REDEMPTION…the forgiveness of sins.
When we are new believers in Christ, the apostle Paul describes us this way in Galatians, Chapter 4, Verse 3…
GALATIANS 4:3 …while we were children (as spiritually immature believers) we were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
It's not unusual for a new believer to not understand the Christian lifestyle…unconditional love, forgiveness, and grace. It’s a new, and mind-blowing idea because many new believers come from religious backgrounds where they learned that God is a punishing God who is out to get them. Galatians, Chapter 4, Verse 7 speaks to us as new Christians…
GALATIANS 4:7 …(as a believer in Christ) you are no longer a slave…but a son…and if you are a son, and of course you are, then you are an heir as well through God the Father.
As God the Holy Spirit advances us toward spiritual maturity through the study of the Word of God, our viewpoint concerning the Christian Way of Living, especially unconditional love, changes considerably. Yet there are some Christians who didn’t read God’s memo.
The Christian Way of Living is a lifestyle of faith in God, hope for self, and unconditional love toward others. God’s love for us is UNconditional, which means NO conditions. We don’t have to work to please Him. He loves us just the way we are. God does not expect any of us to be perfect, mainly because we are imperfect. God does expect us to reflect His unconditional love to others. Some Christians didn’t read the memo.
It’s perplexing when people who have studied the Word of God in this ministry for nearly a decade don’t understand this basic which has been taught consistently…over and over again from this pulpit for at least the last five years. Most of you in the resident congregation moved here or tuned in here a decade ago to study with a man YOU KNEW is imperfect…a divorced man who was estranged from his kids who was teaching the lies of Systematic Theology from this pulpit. You flocked to that man.
Over the last ten years, you've watched this man you chose to learn from evolving…a man with the courage to admit he is wrong…who would stand in front of you and tell you he was lying about God…and the one constant has been this man’s imperfection. What changed over the last decade…and thank God it changed…was the truth that is coming from this pulpit. Bible passage after bible passage after bible passage is flooding your mind with the truth of the Word of God.
You changed as well. I could hear it in the way you handle your life’s problems with the truth. I can hear your thought process both in the prayer circle and in private conversations. The truth is affecting you. Yet the one constant about all of you with whom I interact in Barah Ministries has been your imperfection. It has not changed a bit…but if it has changed, it has gotten worse. Your clearly visible imperfections don't bother me a bit.
Imagine my confusion, then, when my human imperfections become the basis for the disruption of our studies. I would think you would have enough experience with the daily conversations of your flesh as it castigates you, to know, that mine is castigating me, too. Evidently, you don't have the same battle going on inside of you that I do.
I took my confusion about this to God in prayer, and this lesson is a glimpse into what He taught. Colossians, Chapter 1, Verses 13 and 14…
COLOSSIANS 1:13 For God the Father RESCUED us believers in Christ from the domain of darkness…and He TRANSFERRED us to the kingdom of the Son whom the Father loves (the Lord…Jesus)…
COLOSSIANS 1:14 …the Christ…in whom we have REDEMPTION…the forgiveness of sins.
God informs us, in His written Word, that there are three lifestyles available to live in this life…The SIN Life…the LAW Life…and The FREEDOM Life. He rescued us from two of these lifestyles and transferred us to a third by purchasing our sin contract with His blood.
As I stand in the pulpit and look at you…as I imagine you who are in the internet congregation all around the world in my mind, I can’t even begin to imagine which of these lifestyles you are running.
Two of these lifestyles are offered by the ruler of this world…God’s enemy…Satan….and why wouldn’t it be that the master of confusion would give you choices because too many choices paralyze us. Satan offers you The SIN Life…the LAW Life.
Our Almighty God gives us one choice…The FREEDOM Life. I erroneously assume that all of you who are believers in Christ are running The FREEDOM Life, especially those of you who have been studying here for over a decade. Just when I get comfortable with that assumption, God brings it to light that there are some Christians who are not living that life at all.
What is The SIN Life? My time in Roman Catholicism introduced this life. It portrays God as someone who is always disappointed with us. It contends that if we will just stop sinning, God will like us better. In the meantime, every time we sin, we are to confess our sins to a Roman Catholic Priest. The priest gives us absolution from sin, ALLEGEDLY freeing us from blame or guilt, and afterward, we are to say meaningless, repetitious prayers to God like the "Hail Mary" or the "Our Father" or the "Act of Contrition,” a prayer to express our sorrow for sin that causes more guilt by making us promise to sin no more, which we don't.
My conclusion after living this lifestyle for more than two decades is that I could not stop sinning…and I have yet to succeed at it…nor have you. Evidently, it was quite a challenge for the best believer of all time as well. In Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 21, the apostle Paul says…
ROMANS 7:21 I (Paul) find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
Romans, Chapter 7, Verse 19…
ROMANS 7:19 For the good that I want to do, I do not do…instead, I PRACTICE the very evil that I do not want to do.
This truth doesn’t stop some Christians from thinking that one day they will be more acceptable to God if they stop sinning.
What is The LAW Life? It’s a life of following the rules. My life in Systematic Theology introduced this life. When I left Roman Catholicism, I jumped out of its frying pan and into the fire of Systematic Theology. It contended that I could not stop sinning…but if I followed a simple set of rules, my sins would be more acceptable to God.
Systematic Theology contends that when you sin you are out of fellowship with God. In fact, it contends that when you sin, God doesn’t just dislike you…He abandons you. But when you identify the sin, admit the sin directly to God (removing the priest as the middle man), and forget the sin, moving on in the plan of God for your life…that God will rejoin you in fellowship. For three decades of my life, I not only believed this crap…I lived it. The result? I couldn’t stop breaking the rules. Go figure.
If only I had bothered to look at Romans, Chapter 5, Verse 20…
ROMANS 5:20 The Law came in alongside sin so that lawbreaking would increase…but where sin (lawbreaking) increased…God’s grace abounded (overflowing) all the more…
Because of the law, we break the law more. Not one Jew succeeded in keeping the Mosaic Law except Jesus Christ…but I dedicated nearly three decades of my life to being the exception. I failed. I can't stop breaking the rules.
So for five decades, I tried to live The SIN Life and The LAW life and I failed miserably. Therefore, I can speak to these lifestyles as failures. I have failed to live these lifestyles. You will fail to live these lifestyles. I have never seen them succeed. For these are the lifestyles of unbelievers… these are NOT the lifestyles proposed by God for believers in Christ.
What is The FREEDOM Life? When we return from the break, we’ll take the offering, and then we’ll see what God has to say about the lifestyle He offers.
FIVE MINUTE BREAK NOBODY Casting Crowns
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON Some Christians Didn’t Get the Unconditional Love Memo
We’re living in a time where many people have lots of money, yet they are poor in heart and poor in spirit. They are spiritually bankrupt! In Deuteronomy, Chapter 15, Verse 10 the Lord gives us a command…
DEUTERONOMY 15:10 You shall generously give to the poor…and your heart shall not be grieved when you give…because for this thing…giving…the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.
Your generosity is making it possible for people all over the world to hear the only message that is soothing to the soul…the Word of God. Keep on being generous! God appreciates it! Let’s welcome up Deacon Denny Goodall with an insightful, powerful, and inspiring offering message.
THE OFFERING Deacon Denny Goodall
OFFERING VERSE
SECOND TIMOTHY 4:3 For the time will come when believers in Christ will not put up with sound teaching…instead, wanting to have their ears tickled, they will seek out teachers in accordance with their own desires…
OFFERING VERSE
SECOND TIMOTHY 4:4 …and believers in Christ will turn away their ears from the truth…and they will turn their ears toward myths.
OFFERING SONG UNCONDITIONAL LOVE Donna Summer and the Musical Youth
TODAY'S BIBLE LESSON Some Christians Didn’t Get the Unconditional Love Memo
The Lord describes The FREEDOM Life in Colossians, Chapter 1, Verses 13 and 14…
COLOSSIANS 1:13 For God the Father RESCUED us believers in Christ from the domain of darkness…and He TRANSFERRED us to the kingdom of the Son whom the Father loves (the Lord…Jesus)…
COLOSSIANS 1:14 …the Christ…in whom we have REDEMPTION…the forgiveness of sins.
He describes The FREEDOM Life in Galatians, Chapter 5, Verse 1…
GALATIANS 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us believers in Christ free…therefore, keep standing firm in the freedom and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery (The SIN Life and The LAW Life).
He describes The FREEDOM Life Romans, Chapter 6, Verse 14… ROMANS 6:14 For sin shall not any longer be a master (a lord) over you…for you believers in Christ are not under the law…but you are under grace.
I tear my clothes and I beat my breast…oh if I had only studied the Bible earlier…I could have saved myself years of misery! Yet likely…I would have just found another way to ruin my life and to rob myself of joy.
As believers in Christ, our inheritance is The FREEDOM Life. In Galatians, Chapter 1, Verses 6 and 7, Paul expresses a disappointment…
GALATIANS 1:6 I (Paul) am amazed that you Galatian believers are so quickly deserting God the Father who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel (the gospel of legalism…The LAW Life…adding works to faith)…
GALATIANS 1:7 …which is really not another (legitimate gospel)…only there are false teachers who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
False teachers want us to pay attention to the silliness of men…namely themselves. Galatians, Chapter 1, Verse 10…
GALATIANS 1:10 For am I now seeking the favor of men…or am I seeking the favor of God? Am I striving to please men? If, for the sake of argument, I were still trying to please men…I would not (bother to) be a bond-servant of Christ!
If I wanted to please men, I would not teach a lesson like this…because this is not a people pleaser lesson. It’s a rebuke. A rebuke is a reprimand, and it comes through me from God. Are we abandoning The FREEDOM Life to hold each other to an impossible to accomplish sin-free life?
I'm one of those strange Pastors who think it is appropriate…in fact, CRITICALLY IMPERATIVE…to connect what we’re learning in the Bible to our real-life experiences…from the pulpit.
Of course, such an approach is personal. I ask you this…have you ever been to your Pastor’s house? Do you have your Pastor’s phone number? Do you have your Pastor's Email address? Have you ever been to an event with your Pastor? Has your Pastor ever let his guard down around you to show you that he is a human being with just as many or more flaws than you have? Have you ever confided in your Pastor and told him deep, intimate, and personal things about your life? Is your Pastor astute enough to see the flaws in your life without you telling him? Is your Pastor kind enough to love you unconditionally even though there may be several reasons to judge your life?
I had a conversation with a new believer recently, and this person told me that marijuana smoking was a regular habit. I was reflecting on this…why would a person admit this to a Pastor? I'm guessing that I create an atmosphere in a conversation where people can feel free to be themselves. I forget, quite often, that I don't get the same privilege around some.
That’s the way it should be. Remember what we studied in First Corinthians? A mature believer eating idol meat could cause an immature believer to stumble. I am guilty of this. A Pastor must never let his guard down. There have been many lessons I’ve learned the hard way in the twenty-two years of this ministry. This is one of the hardest to swallow. So God gave me my rebuke. N Letting your hard down will cost you with some.
I pass this advice along to you…personally…Galatians, Chapter 3, Verse 3…
GALATIANS 3:3 Are you believers in Christ so foolish? Having begun (The Christians Way of Living) by (faith…through God) the (Holy) Spirit…are you now being perfected (sanctified) by the flesh (through the works of the Law)?
I invite you to remember that God is calling you to The FREEDOM Life. I encourage you to exit the bondage of the lives Satan has to offer…The SIN Life and The LAW life. The darkness. Romans, Chapter 6, Verses 1 and 2 warn…
ROMANS 6:1 What shall we believers in Christ say then (face-to-face with these things)? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?
ROMANS 6:2 May it never be! How shall we believers in Christ (the children of a King)… who died to sin as an established fact at the moment of our salvation…still live as if sin is still our master?
We don’t. Simultaneously, we live our own lives and not the lives of others. Each person has an individual journey, and I’m pretty sure we’ll take a tour of Satan’s offerings in the process of the journey. We take Michael Jackson’s advice, as well, in his song, The Man in the Mirror…
MICHAEL JACKSON- The Man in the Mirror
I'm starting with the man in the mirror I'm asking him to change his ways And no message could have been any clearer If you want to make the world a better place Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
If you start with the man in the mirror, you won’t have time to look at anyone else. I recommend this…take one piece of paper, and write down everything you are doing in your life…everything you have done in your life…that would conceivably be disappointing to God if He didn’t love us unconditionally.
Only one piece of paper though…because if you’re old enough, your writing would fill volumes as you consider the things you think, the things you say, the things you do that are sin. Then remember this…First Peter, Chapter 2, Verse 24…
FIRST PETER 2:24 …and the Lord Himself bore our sins in own His body on the Cross, so that we might die to sovereignty to sin and so that we might live to (the standard of imputed) righteousness…for by His wounds you were healed.
Perhaps then you’ll be unconditional in your love for self and others.
GOD WANTS YOU! Make the Most Important Decision of Your Life
Did you know the Sovereign God of the Universe, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, wants to have an eternal relationship with you?
What the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ wants you to know is that thirteen words tell the story of how to be saved! The first word is GOD. There is ONE AND ONLY ONE God as it says in Isaiah, Chapter 45, Verse 5…
GOD
ISAIAH 45:5 “I am the Lord and there is no other…besides Me there is no other God.”
The one and only God, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, reveals Himself in ways that make sense to human beings. He’s the One who wants to save you.
The next word is MANKIND, a name for all of the Lord’s human creatures. John, Chapter 1, Verse 3…
MANKIND
JOHN 1:3 All things came into being through the Lord (God the Son) … and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
The Lord is the Creator and the Lord created you! The next word is SIN. All of us were born in a state of sin. Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 23 says…
SIN
ROMANS 3:23 …all creatures have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…
Romans, Chapter 3, Verse 10…
SIN
ROMANS 3:10 …as it is written, “There is no creature who is righteous…not even one…”
First Corinthians, Chapter 15, Verse 22…
SIN
FIRST CORINTHIANS 15:22a For all in union with Adam at physical birth (and that is every human who comes to earth) are set to die the second death in the Lake of Fire…
That’s bad news for you. It’s not your fault that you were born in a state of sin but it is your circumstance. Sin is a barrier that keeps you from having a relationship with the Lord.
As a result of being born in a state of sin, you need a Savior. The next word is JESUS…the Name above all names…that magnificent Name…The God-Man…the Christ…The Jewish Messiah…the Savior of the whole world. John, Chapter 3, Verse 17…
JESUS
JOHN 3:17 For God the Father did not send God the Son into the world (as the Lord to become Jesus…the Christ) to judge the world…but the Father sent the Son into the world that the world might be saved through Him.
Jesus Christ is God and He wants to save you.
The next word is CROSS. The Lord Jesus Christ chose to become a sin substitute for you by shedding His blood on a Cross so you wouldn’t have to die for your sins. Philippians, Chapter 2, Verse 8…
CROSS
PHILIPPIANS 2:8 Being found in appearance as a man…the Lord Jesus Christ humiliated Himself (for you) by becoming obedient to the point of death…even death on a Cross.
The Lord’s Father…God the Father…participates in your salvation as well! John, Chapter 3, Verse 16…
CROSS
JOHN 3:16 “For God the Father loved the world unconditionally…and He loved the world so much…that He gave His uniquely born Son (the God-man…the Lord Jesus Christ…to be crucified on a Cross)…so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but has eternal life.”
Jesus Christ had you in mind…personally…by name…as He hung from a Cross to pay for the sins of the whole world.
The next word is RESURRECTION. Three days after Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, He proved Himself to be Deity…just as He had told everyone… by being resurrected from the dead…in Luke, Chapter 24, Verses 5 and 6, an angel asks a question of two women who have come to anoint Jesus’ body with spices on the third day after His crucifixion…
RESURRECTION
LUKE 24:5-6 “…why do you seek The Living One among the dead ones? Jesus is not here…but He has risen (from the dead…just as He predicted) ...
Being resurrected from the dead separates Jesus Christ from all who pretend to be gods.
The next word is SALVATION. Acts, Chapter 4, Verse 12 credits Jesus Christ with the salvation of the whole human race…
SALVATION
ACTS 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else…for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ).”
Salvation is ONLY available through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Accepting His work on your behalf at the Cross saves you from an eternity in the Lake of Fire.
The next word is GRACE. Ephesians, Chapter 2, Verses 8 and 9…
GRACE
EPHESIANS 2:8 For by God’s grace you have been saved through faith (in Christ for salvation) … and that grace and that faith and that salvation are not from the source of yourselves…it is the gift of God….
GRACE
EPHESIANS 2:9 …therefore, being saved is not a result of works (deeds you have done in self-righteousness)…so that no one may boast (about saving himself).
A God who is “full of GRACE” provides your salvation free of charge.
The next word is FAITH. Mathew, Chapter 17, Verse 20…
FAITH
MATTHEW 17:20 “…if you have faith the size of a mustard seed (the smallest of all seeds…and you do)…you will say to this mountain (any obstacle), ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move…and nothing will be impossible to you.”
God gives you the gift of faith to spend on your own salvation.
The next word is REPENTANCE. Second Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 9…
REPENTANCE
SECOND PETER 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise of salvation, as some accuse Him of…instead, He is patient toward unbelievers…not wishing for any of them to perish in the Lake of Fire but for all of them to come to repentance…
When you repent, you have a change of mind about having a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. This gospel message invites you to change your mind.
The next word is RIGHTEOUSNESS. Second Corinthians, Chapter 5, Verse 21 says…
RIGHTEOUSNESS
SECOND CORINTHIANS 5:21 God the Father made Jesus Christ who knew no sin to be a sin sacrifice on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God the Father in union with Christ Jesus.
Righteousness is your admission ticket to heaven. When you believe in Jesus Christ, absolute righteousness is credited to your account by a merciful God.
The next word is TRUTH. John, Chapter 8, Verses 31 and 32…
TRUTH
JOHN 8:31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who were paying attention to Him, “If (3) you continue in My word (maybe you will and maybe you won’t you have a choice), then you are truly disciples of Mine…”
TRUTH
JOHN 8:32 “…and you will know the truth…and the truth will make you free.”
Thirteen words tell the story of how you can be saved.
There is a GOD…He is the creator of all MANKIND…and SIN separated mankind from having a relationship with Him.
JESUS CHRIST saved the world by dying on a CROSS to pay for the sins of all mankind.
His RESURRECTION from the dead three days later proved that He is God.
As a result, you are offered a “so great” SALVATION, provided free of charge by means of God’s GRACE...a salvation you cannot work for.
By spending your gift of FAITH, you can be saved.
When you REPENT, you change your mind about having a relationship with Christ, and God the Father credits His absolute RIGHTEOUSNESS to your account…a righteousness that is your admission ticket to heaven.
When you know this TRUTH, it will set you free from slavery to sin and from bondage to the law.
The power of the thirteen words can be summed up in just one word…BELIEVE. Acts, Chapter 16, Verse 31…
BELIEVE
ACTS 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and everyone in your household who also believes.”
When you BELIEVE, you take God’s word for it concerning what it takes to be saved. So, heed the warning in John, Chapter 3, Verse 36…
BELIEVE
JOHN 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has the resurrection life right at that moment… but he who does not obey the command to believe in the Son will not see the resurrection life…instead the wrath of God (the Lake of Fire) abides on him.”
So, use these thirteen words that all boil down to one word…BELIEVE…to get on the Lord’s team. Just take God’s word for it concerning what it takes to be saved, and you will be saved! Do it right now!
SONG INTRODUCTION
In John, Chapter 8, Verses 34 and 36 we get instruction from the Lord…
JOHN 8:34 Jesus answered…“Truly, truly, I say to you, EVERYONE who commits sin is the slave of sin.
JOHN 8:36 So if (3) the Son makes you free…you will be free indeed.
The Lord invites you to come to Him, and so does June Murphy in her song CALLING YOU TO FREEDOM.
CLOSING SONG CALLING YOU TO FREEDOM June Murphy
CLOSING SONG CALLING YOU TO FREEDOM June Murphy
CLOSING DOXOLOGY
Words of Praise to Our God
Let’s acknowledge the magnificence of our Almighty God.
ROMANS 8:37 …in every situation imaginable, believers in Christ keep on overwhelmingly conquering through the Lord who loves us unconditionally.
ROMANS 8:38 For I (Paul) am convinced that neither death nor life...nor (elect) angels nor principalities (demons...fallen angels), nor things present nor things to come...nor powers...
ROMANS 8:39 ...nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to sever us from the unconditional love of God the Father, who is for us through our union with Christ Jesus our Lord.
CLOSING PRAYER Let us pray...
Thanks for coming! Thanks for watching! Thanks for listening! |