Foundations of the Faith: Day 3SALVATION

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Results of Salvation

What happens to you when you accept salvation? A definite spiritual change, a transformation, takes place. Sometimes this is called a change of heart. Second Corinthians 7:10 says, "For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation." Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us, "When anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come." This change can be seen in several ways. Sometimes a person's attitude toward life changes from sad to happy, or perhaps he now loves someone he couldn't love before.
There can also be physical transformations. Those who have been bound by habits such as alcoholism can be set free. The Lord is powerful to make any changes necessary in the person who now believes on Him.
To accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior also means to be born into the family of God. This is what Jesus meant when He said in John 3:3 that we should be "born again."
John 1:12-13 says, "Some, however, did receive him and believed in him; so he gave them the right to become God's children. They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father."
The Bible also speaks of adoption which brings out a similar relationship. By adoption we are received into God's family. God makes us His children, giving us all the rights of inheritance that belong to the sons of God.
"God's Spirit joins himself to our spirits to declare that we are God's children. Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share in Christ's suffering we will also share his glory" (Romans 8:16-17).
Being in the family of God is special. This is why you will hear Christians call each other "brother" or "sister." This is a way of saying, "We belong to the same family."

Can We Be Sure?

Can we be sure of our salvation? One day a young woman asked for prayer. She told me that when she accepted Christ as her Savior she had felt so wonderful, so full of joy. Now she didn't feel that way and wanted to know why she had "lost her salvation." We know that we are not saved by feeling, but by taking God at His Word.
If we have met the conditions that the Bible gives us for salvation, we must believe we are saved no matter what we feel. The Holy Spirit can speak this assurance to our hearts also. We can find reassurance from our brothers and sisters in Christ. too, like my friend did the day she came to me.
"We know that we have left death and come over into life: we know it because we love our brothers" (I John 3:14).
Perhaps you have heard Christians use the words justification and sanctification. What do these mean?
Justification is being free from sin, made righteous. It is a result of salvation. God forgives our sin, takes away all guilt, and says that we are now righteous--just as if we had never done anything wrong. Romans 5:1 tells us, "Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Being put right with God is justification.
Sanctification means being made holy, that is, clean from sin and dedicated to God.
"May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being--spirit, soul, and body--free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Thessalonians 5:23).
God wants all Christians to be sanctified, made holy. "God wants you to be holy and completely free from sexual immorality" (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
"Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it" (Hebrews 12:14).
There is another point that should be touched upon while talking of the results of Jesus' death on the cross. This is divine healing. Divine healing was included in the benefits Jesus bought for us on Calvary.
Many people brought to Jesus had demons in them. Jesus drove out the evil spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. He did this to make come true what the prophet Isaiah had said, "He himself took our sickness and carried away our diseases" (Matthew 8:16-17).
"We are healed by the punishment he suffered, made whole by the blows he received" (Isaiah 53:5). Divine healing is the supernatural power of God bringing health to the human body.
James 5:14-15 tells us how we can claim this healing: "Is there anyone who is sick? He should send for the church elders, who will pray for him and rub olive oil on him in the name of the Lord. This prayer made in faith will heal the sick person; the Lord will restore him to health, and the sins he has committed will be forgiven."

Memory Verses

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
- Ephesians 2:8-9
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
- Titus 2:11-14

Foundations of the Faith: Day 2

Foundations of the Faith: Day 2SALVATION

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Initiation into Salvation

A few years after the resurrection of Jesus, the writer of Acts tells the story of a jailer who was very frightened because there had been an earthquake and he thought some of his prisoners were escaping. Two of them, Paul and Silas, were followers of Christ.

Paul and Silas quickly assured the jailer that no prisoners were getting away. Then the jailer, seeing that God had worked a miracle, asked how he could be saved. The answer the believers gave him was very simple. It is found in Acts 16:31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." So the first step that must be taken to enter salvation is to believe in the Lord Jesus.

In what way must we believe? Again the Bible has the answer. It says that we must accept Him as our Lord and Savior, and depend on Him to take us to heaven.

"These have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in him you may have life" (John 20:31).

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we must also turn from sin. We must repent and ask God, for Jesus' sake, to forgive us and make us clean. If we ask Him to do this, we must also trust that He does forgive and cleanse us. Remember I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right: he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing."

This acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior is done simply by talking to Him as you would to a friend. If you have never taken this step, just tell God that you want to accept the forgiveness He offers.

Perhaps you could say in your own words something like:

"Dear Father, I recognize that I am a sinner.
I'm sorry for my sin and ask Your forgiveness. Cleanse me and keep me from all wrongdoing. I accept the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus who died for me.
I take Him now as my Lord and Savior. Thank You. Amen."

Once you have sincerely prayed this, you can trust that your sins are forgiven! You can praise and thank God that you belong to Him, that you are His child.

Memory Verses

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
- John 14:6
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
- John 1:12

PREACHING TO HARDENED MIND ABOUT JESUS

PREACHING TO HARDENED MIND ABOUT JESUS

Speaking to a broken heart is like giving nourishment to a starving child. Speaking to a hard heart is like correcting a rebellious teenager. So how do you do it?
If you're looking for an easy answer, it's not there. But here are some helpful ideas—ones that may crack open the most callous heart.

Start on your knees

Remember, not only can you not do it, God doesn't expect you to. You are the instrument; you're not the power.
An employer once told an employee to attempt the breaking of a rock with a pickaxe. After a half-hour of severe blows, the rock showed no signs of breaking. The employee threw the pickaxe aside. The employer asked him why he had stopped. The man answered, "Because I obviously have had no impact on the rock." The employer answered, "The job of using the pickaxe is in your hands. The results are not."
Only God can break the "rock" of a hard heart. If the heart is that of a callous non-Christian, only God can show him his need. John 16:8 refers to the Holy Spirit of God, not the human spirit of the preacher, when it says, "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." If the heart is that of a cold Christian, prayer remains the starting point. If Jesus prayed for them, we should too (John 17:20).

Watch your attitude

If a speaker doesn't admit that a hardened heart can invite frustration or even anger on his part, he is probably not being honest with himself. Preaching to a hardened heart can make us feel like we are wasting our time. "Why try?" we are tempted to explain. "If they want to ruin their lives, why not let them ruin them?"
But humility, not hostility, cracks a hardened heart. Paul says to Timothy, "...in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so they may know the truth" (II Timothy 2:25). Paul was writing a pastoral epistle, so the context would indicate that "those who were in opposition" may be unbelievers who have never come to the truth or believers who are walking from the truth. Either way, it's the attitude behind what you say that penetrates. If I am a hardened person, I may argue with what you say, but it is hard to refute the proper attitude in which you've said it.
Does not Ephesians 4:15 admonish us to speak the truth in love? One speaker I know attempts to break a hardened heart with what many have observed as harsh and blunt statements. He defends his position by pointing out that Christ said of the Pharisees, "You are of your father the devil" (John 8:44). He further points to John the Baptist, who refers to those listening to him as a "brood of vipers" (Matthew 3:7). My response is threefold. To use those particular accounts as a pattern for breaking hardened hearts is not in keeping with the intent of the paragraphs.
Why not go instead to what Paul tells his disciple Timothy as found in II Timothy 2:25? Second, to liken ourselves to Christ and John the Baptist is a bit arrogant. We are certainly not the Savior, or even the forerunner of the Savior, as we speak. Third, it must be noted that they are the exception, not the norm. Christ Himself was noted for being "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29). We ought to ask ourselves, "Does my attitude have the same reputation?"

Rely on truth, not emotions

Your thoughts could matter less and, frankly, may have no authority. Christ's thoughts could not matter more, and they have full authority. This is why preachers need to be expositors—ones who, each time they stand before the people, unfold the meaning of a particular text of Scripture, first to the people of that day and then to the people of our day. That way, a hardened heart has to struggle with God, not you. You may become the scapegoat, but the hearer's problem is really with the Author of the Scriptures, not the communicator of the Scriptures.
A seasoned pastor once told me, "The first book any pastor ought to preach through, a paragraph at a time, is I Corinthians. It speaks to every problem in the church." If you attempt to use emotion to convince, it distracts from the authority of the Word. If you use the calm (yet enthusiastic) preaching of the Word and allow a passage such as I Corinthians to convict, it respects the authority of the Scriptures.

Be Jovial

Tell me I'm in a wretched condition callous to spiritual truth, uncaring about anyone about me, unteachable in spirit and I'll likely get mad at you. Tell it to me in a way that makes the hardest heart grin, and I'm likely to reflect on what you say. Be careful, though, how you enter and exit the humor; it can make a big difference.
For example, suppose as you are preaching you say, "Sometimes we find it hard to admit where we are spiritually and how great our need is, how far we have walked from Him and how much we need His mercy. A woman who had her picture taken was totally disgusted with how it looked. Storming mad, she walked into the photographer's office, slammed the picture down on his desk and said, "That picture doesn't do me justice." He responded, "Madam, with a face like yours, you don't need justice, you need mercy."
Now, wait a minute, before you laugh, have you ever thought about how much we, too, need mercy? If He gave us what we deserve, we wouldn't stand a chance. We deserve His justice, but we receive His mercy. This kind of humor I'm not easily going to forget. You make me laugh, but the Holy Spirit may use it to make me listen.

Use "we" more than "you"

A hardened heart, whether it is a non-Christian who hasn't come to Christ or a Christian walking from Him, grieves the heart of God. But so does impatience, unkind thoughts and selfish thinking on the part of any growing believer. Sin of any kind is offensive to God. Furthermore, as D.L. Moody once said, "But for the grace of God, there be I." Had it not been for His grace, we too would be lost. Any believer stands the danger of walking from God if he ceases to grow as a Christian. Therefore, as we speak to hardened hearts, "we" has to be a big part of our vocabulary.
"We" in speaking has three advantages. For one, you don't come across as "holier-than-thou." Listeners understand that you not only see them as sinners, but you see yourself as one. Secondly, "we" helps you speak as a caring friend, not a scolding parent. When my heart is hardened, I need such a friend. The scolding is deserved, but the care is more needed.
Thirdly, it lets me know you are speaking with me, not at me. This is particularly effective in reaching hardened hearts because by speaking with me, you come up underneath me; while speaking at me, you come down on top of me. Is there a place for "you" language in preaching? Most definitely. But "you" should be used prominently in the end of your message and "we" used at the beginning.
As you come to the end of your message, "you need to come Christ" is in order. After all, you as the speaker have already come to Him; the listener is the one in need. If I'm a Christian with a hardened heart, "you" is also in order as you close your message. You as the speaker have already dealt with the truth of the passage you are speaking from. You are now asking the listener to do so.

Develop your communication skills

Hardened hearts need to hear from a communicator, not a speaker. What a speaker says may go in one ear and out the other. What a communicator says tends to have an impact. Why? Communicators look at several things: "How can I say this in different words than they have heard before?" "How can I use illustrations to drive home my point and cause them to identify with it?" "Where would humor be effective?" "What kind of analogy would help?" "How can I keep my message to thirty minutes?" "How can I speak in a way that causes them to want to come back?" "How can I say this in truth, but also in grace?"
Communicators are difficult for a hardened heart to turn away from, because they present the truth of the Scripture in a way that penetrates. If my heart is hardened, truth communicated well allows me to leave your presence, but it makes it more difficult to leave your message.

Conclusion

Are these ideas guaranteed to penetrate a hardened heart? No. But that, again, is not our business. Our assignment is to do our part and let God do His. I dare say, though, millions of hardened hearts have been broken through these six principles. They have caused more than one person to admit, "Oh, wretched man that I am ..." (Romans 7:24).

Salvation

Definition of Salvation

One day a young man from a university said to me, "There are many roads to salvation and heaven. Sincerity is the key to reaching heaven. You may believe whatever you wish as long as you are sincere."
Was he right? Is being sincere enough? Or can a person be sincerely mistaken?
The Bible is very clear in saying that freedom from sin comes only through Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:5 says, "He [Jesus Christ] loves us, and by his death he has freed us from our sins."
Acts 4:12 states: "Salvation is to be found through him [Christ] alone; in all the world there is no one else whom God has given who can save us."
So, in defining salvation we can say that it is pardon from sin, but we must add "through the death of Jesus Christ."
Who needs this salvation? Everyone has sinned and been sentenced to eternal death or separation from God.
Ezekiel 18:4 says, "The person who sins is the one who will die." And in Romans 3:23 we read, "Everyone has sinned and is far away from God's saving presence." All mankind is in need of forgiveness of sin and pardon through Jesus Christ.

Memory Verse

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. - John 1:12
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

SPIRITUAL BARRENNESS

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4

This morning, the Lord is leading me to expose a powerful secret to you and I believe that surely He will deliver you from every form of barrenness.

There are six forms of barrenness:
MENTAL BARRENNESS: This is when the mind  of a person is not productive and can no longer coordinate the affairs of life.

MARITAL BARRENNESS: This is when the womb of a woman can not produce a child or the semen of a man can not produce a child.

FOUNDATIONAL BARRENNESS: This is when blessing has dried up in a person foundation or a curse have limited the well being of a person.

ACADEMIC BARRENNESS: This is when there is stagnancy in the academic life a person.

SOCIAL BARRENNESS: this is when a man can relate with his environment and link of communication broken finally.

SPIRITUAL BARRENNESS: This is my area of concern in this message, a state when  a person is not productive spiritually. No longer bringing glory to God neither a disciple of Jesus.
Spiritual Barrenness is very deep, but lets consider the word of our master.
Spiritual barrenness is when there is a broken link between a Christian and his source(Jesus).
The word “abide’ is very powerful in the text of consideration.
*    It means to be totally absorb into the         master     dealing.

*    living and operating within the limit and     provision of the master.

*    To retain the knowledge of the master in     ones life. Romans 1:28

*    Discovering the potential of the master and     taping into it.

*    living by the codes and conducts of the     master at all time.

Spiritual barrenness does mean that one can not be physically productive or material prosperous but there is high ineptitude towards spiritual matter.

A spiritual barren fellow  lacks everything in the master. What are those things in the master in the first place:
- he is the light (John 8:12)
- he is obedient to the father
- He is humble(phil 2:5)
- He is the word of God
-righteous
- Kingdom conscious
- Peaceful
- Loving
- Joyful
- Gentle
- Affectionate
- Temperance.
A barren (spiritual) person might have a cameo of the above qualities but deep inside its missing.

Spiritual barrenness will erect a conflicting kingdom within the mind of a person.
When one is spiritually barren, the love of the world radiates deep inside of such person and the scripture is clear on this, that (such)person is not possessed of the father.
It is a shame today that most people are celebrating rubbish called Christianity.

A life that does not produce any spiritual fruit is barren (Gal 5:22).
Some of you reading this article have refused to be obedient to your calling as Christians and instead of changing you pick up issues whenever anyone points your attention to it.

The difference between the church of those days to the one we have today is that they are much more interested in satisfying the master while we are much more interested in aligning with the world.
The fire of revival burnt high during their days but in our time see the fire of the flesh(Gal 5:19-22) ruining what Jesus bought with His blood.

You can be delivered today if you allow the
-   father into your heart.
-   Repent and be converted
-   Hold on to the word
 -  stay connected always
-  keep your altar burning for the master.
Let me stop here this week, I hope to share more on this subject some other time. God bless you.

DAWN OF NEW EXPERIENCE (part 5) EXCERPT FROM THE PULPIT

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

For 5 Sundays we have been looking at the plans of God for each destiny and I believe the impact is beginning to manifest in our life. Today, the message is titled ‘PRINCIPLE OF WAITING ON GOD’, permit me to expose the mystery to you, Isaiah 40:31.


I.    FOR THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD-    THEY WILL HAVE INWARD STRENGTH:       vs 31A

He is not talking about physical strength here, but he is talking about moral strength.

The people in Isaiah’s day were in captivity, they needed inward strength to give them power over temptation.

According to Ephesians 6:10, God commands us to be strong Christians.

As Christians God wants us to rely on Him, in whatever we are doing. As we look to Him, He will give us the strength to continue even when we are tempted to give in. There are times when we want to Look back to throw in the towel,  yet when we look to our Lord, he will RENEW our strength.

The devil will come to you with his temptation, but remember the words of I John 4:4-”greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Daniel had that inner strength from God, that is the reason he was able to No to sin.

2-     FOR THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD-    THEY WILL HAVE UPWARD STRENGTH:

they shall mount up with wings as eagles; 31B

There are many ups and downs in this life that we live. But God will give us victory over the downs if we learn to wait on him.

And so it is with us in the Christian life. When we first become Christians we feel protected in the nest, but God soon takes us out of it, so that he can teach us to "soar on wings like eagles"

The eagle doesn’t like the mud and filth of this world, if you look for him, he will be on the highest mountain.

John 15:19-If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

We must recognize that our upward strength is a gift from God, and, unfortunately, sometimes we don’t seek it.

Colossians 3:2-Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3.    FOR THOSE WHO WAIT ON     THE LORD- THEY WILL HAVE     OUTWARD STRENGTH

they shall run, and not be weary; 31C

Gal. 6:9-And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

Notice he didn’t say sit but they that run.
Sometimes we as Christians want to sit, not get involved in the work of the Lord. And yet there are those who are involved and running for the Lord but they get weary.

Gal. 5:7-Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

Have you stopped running for Jesus? Well the Lord is the Cure.

many are jumping out of the the Lord’s work. They become weary or discouraged because of the circumstances and bail out on God.

4.    FOR THOSE WAIT ON THE  LORD- THEY WILL HAVE ONWARD STRENGTH

and they shall walk, not faint 31D

God will give us strength to serve Him all the days of our life. It is part of waiting and in doing this, we are promoted by God, this enables us to obedient, Deut 28:1. All promotion is with God, Deut 8:12, Psalm 75:4-7. 

GOD TELL US ALSO TO GO ON

God help us not be like Demas, Paul’s companion who left Paul and quit the Lord’s work in the middle of it. But help us to be life Paul and faithful until the finish line.

7 Years ago, I read about two runners in Cuba who were leading in the race. But just as they came close to the finish line, they both fell and passed out and lost the race.

WITH GOD HELP WE CAN MAKE THE FINISH LINE.