Free and easy!

(John Vann)

You may have seen an advertisement campaign before that said that someone was giving away something for free. Of course we know that nothing is free. There is always a catch, but let me tell you there is one thing that is free, and there is no catch. That thing is salvation through faith in Jesus Christ our savior. On top of that there are no restrictions. No age limits, no credit checks, No sign-up fees. It’s not like the first month is free then after that you have to start paying. No contracts that you have to sign. There is no small writing at the bottom of the page. No sir, it’s all right there in large letters written in red.
Jesus Christ the son of God left the glories of Heaven, came into this world with the intentions of being born a baby. Growing into a man and dying on the cross to provide forgiveness for your sins. Then Jesus Christ rose from the grave to give proof of eternal life. Then he ascended back into heaven. But, before he left, he assured us that he was preparing for us, a place with him in Heaven. There was no other way that we could be forgiven of our sins, and there is no other way that we could be reconciled to God. There was no other way that we could escape spending eternity in Hell.

It’s pretty simple really. The Holy Spirit calls you. You answer the call. Then you say, “I need Jesus.” It’s just that simple.

I said earlier that it didn’t cost you anything but, you do give something for your salvation. You give Jesus your heart, your soul, your love and your life. In exchange, Jesus gives you Peace, joy, and eternal life.

If you reject the offer, then you must live your life without God’s blessings. You will never be reconciled to God. That means you will always be God’s enemy. No matter how good of a person you are, There will never be rewards for you in Heaven. You will spend your eternity in hell. God does not sentence you to spend your eternity in hell. You have made that decision for yourself.

Some people claim that it is a one time offer. But, I believe that Jesus never quits wanting to save us. I do not believe that Jesus would ever turn anyone away. I believe that Jesus loved us enough to die for us, and I believe that Jesus loves us enough to not want any of us to perish. So, if you do not feel like Jesus has called you to be one of his followers, Pray that God opens your eyes. Pray that God does, whatever it takes to change your heart. Jesus said it would be better to live your life, maimed or blind, than to spend your eternity in hell. Jesus is the only hope you have, and he has not left you alone. Jesus said search and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened.

Yes, salvation is free. That’s an offer that no one should pass up on.

Understanding Grace as God’s Foundation

(John Sanders)

What is Grace?

You’ve probably heard an old statement “There but by the grace of God, go I”

My research tells me that it was probably a 16th century Protestant martyr named John Bradford that first said this as he watched some criminals being led to execution.  He recognized that only God’s grace separated him from their fate.

Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us:  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Grace is the bedrock of everything that follows.  It is the opposite of what we deserve.

Grace Transforms Us Inwardly

In Roman 6:14, Paul tells us “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

When we truly understand what God has done for us, it reshapes how we think and how we live.  Grace is demonstrated within us by our love, care and concern for others.

Grace Compels The Way  We Treat Others

Just as our LORD paid the price for our debt, we must be like that and forgive others.  Put another way:  Because God extends grace to us, we should extend grace to others.  It isn’t optional – it flows naturally from receiving grace.  

[ Wait, what? ]

Let me clarify that statement.  It’s not natural from us.  Extending grace flows naturally from the Spirit’s work within us.  Human nature does not have that ability, it  can only be a supernatural operation of God’s power. When we receive God’s grace, it reshapes our inner character and allows us to forgive others.

Practical Application:  Forgiveness and Generosity

It took me a long time to forgive others, well some of them anyway.  I don’t know about you, but if you are holding on to some of that old baggage, I want you to know from my personal experience that it is like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.  Weight that I didn’t even realize I was carrying.  

If you aren’t convinced, then let me suggest you pray for discernment and  read and study Matthew 18:21-35.  You may remember that it starts out with Peter asking “Lord, how often should I forgive my brother who sins against me?  Now, when he refers to brother, I think Peter is talking about fellow believers, but the principle extends further.  Jesus’s teaching on forgiveness extends beyond believers.  He explicitly commands us to love our enemies, bless those who curse us and do good to those who hate us.  

It’s truly important for us to shine our light, show our grace and forgive others.

This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine

Today I’m going to talk about why we need to come to church. I have heard it said before that we come to church to get our battery recharged. Being filled with the Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as letting your light shine. The Holy Spirit makes us glow, but without the church, our batteries can run low and our light get dim. Furthermore, if we don’t come to church, we are just a single little light flickering out there in the darkness because, friends, this world is a cold dark place. The prince of darkness has an ever growing army. They are out there all around us. He is surrounding you with his army of darkness. He cannot put your light out, but he wants to keep your light dim. He most certainly doesn’t want it spreading to others. We need to go to church and we need to actively seek others to bring them in out of the darkness. We don’t want to just leave them out there in the darkness all alone.

When someone is led to the Lord, they are just like a little child. They need to grow and to become a mature Christian in a process which is called sanctification and it is done through Bible study and prayer. The church is the perfect environment for a young Christian to grow in. you would not send a young child out alone into the darkness. A young Christian needs to be in church. What happens when they go out alone, to face the world? They find trouble.

We’re all gonna have some trouble sometime and sometimes it just weighs us down. If you are carrying your burden alone, it may be more than you can bear. But at the church, there is help.

You can pray alone. But at the church, you’ll find that you have brothers and sisters in Christ who will pray with you. Maybe they’ll have some words of advice or comfort that will come from their own hearts or perhaps they’ll give you advice or comfort that comes from God’s own word.

Perhaps there is somebody who is in need of you to giving them advice or comfort. Perhaps somebody needs you to pray with them. As a church, we are all bound together by love’s strong cord. We are a family. We love one another and we help one another. We are the body of Christ, and the body needs all of its parts to function properly.

Don’t be a single light, dimly glowing in the darkness. Come to church and grow and glow! Seek out the ones who are out there alone and bring them to church.

What if they were to announce over the radio, the television and the Internet that today God is declaring war against Satan and his army. That God is looking for volunteers. All those interested in joining God‘s army be present Sunday morning at your local church house for training. Well, friends that’s exactly how it is. We are at war with Satan and we need more soldiers in God‘s army. To battle against the sin and the evil that is escalating more every day. That is why we need to come to church.

So come to church and let your light shine.

Leaving a Legacy

Our legacy is what we leave behind for people to remember us by. They can be good memories, or they can be bad memories, it all depends upon how we live our lives.

In the book of first kings and the book of second Chronicles, you can read about a king of Judah named King Asa. King Asa started out his reign by trusting God and by being faithful to God.
He was a good king and he did things that were right in the sight of the Lord. but, he died trying to do things on his own. He was succeeded by his son, King Jehoshaphat. King Jehoshaphat had the opportunity to watch his father make good decisions and bad decisions as a king. King Jehoshaphat knew from his father‘s past history that his father started out with God‘s blessings. King Jehoshaphat in his heart knew who God was and he knew what God could do.
King Jehoshaphat knew his kingdom was greatly in need of God’s help. He knew the first thing he had to do was to eliminate the pagan influences in the land and to return the people to following God. The first thing he did was to remove all the idols, just like his father did. Idols don’t have to be made of brass, gold, or wood. They can be anything that takes God’s place.

Our God is a jealous God, so if you have an idol in your life, it will break your relationship with God. Having an idol in your life, leads to a lack of trust and a lack of faith in God and that will ruin your relationship with God.

After King Jehoshaphat removed the pagan influences from the land he sent out princes to represent him and priest from the tribe of Levi to spread the gospel. In that day and time, God only appointed certain people to speak for him and to spread the gospel. But Jesus commissions all of us to spread the gospel.

There is a song called ”You Can Pray”, and in that song, it says you may not be a Preacher, you may not be a Sunday school teacher, you may not be able to sing, but friends there is something that we all can do. We can pray. Pray for yourselves and pray for others. But when you pray, and you ask something from God, you must ask with sincerity and faith and ask in accordance to God‘s will. God knows if you’re being honest with him because he knows what’s in your heart. If you’re not sincere and honest, then you’re just wasting your time.

If you’re asking God to forgive you of your sins and help you to overcome temptations and you ask him sincerely and honestly, then he will hear you. If you ask God to help you to be a witness to others, then he will send someone your way that needs to hear about Jesus. The way you act as a Christian will greatly influence others.

There is a hymn in the Baptist hymnal entitled “Let others see Jesus in you”. The words in that song say that your life‘s a book before their eyes and they’re reading it through and through. Say does it point them to the skies? Do other see Jesus in you?

People are watching you and it does make a difference because good or bad you are making an impression upon them. If you were washing a glass, would you wash the outside and leave the inside dirty? No of course not. You would wash the inside too. Now consider yourself to be a vessel. Are you clean on the inside as well as on the outside? If not, then you need to pray sincerely and honestly for God to make you clean. If you honestly want to serve God, then put all your faith in God. Because like King Asa, we can’t do it alone. We need God. You wouldn’t serve food from a dirty vessel, and God won’t serve the gospel from a dirty vessel. To be a representative of God, you must be pure of heart.

Wealth

What is true wealth?

It Is living your life with godliness and contentment. There’s probably no greater example in our Bible then the apostle Paul. He was someone who was content with whatever he had and he was thankful to God for everything he had. Paul would praise God, no matter what the situation was that he was in, and he always found joy in the Lord. Even when he was in the worst places and being faced with the worst circumstances. Physically, he may have been beaten, but spiritually he was always triumphant.

In Matthew chapter 6 verses 19 through 20 Jesus said, “lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth, and rust does corrupt, and where thieves, breakthrough and steal. But layup for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”

The term poor is often used to the define the amount of money you have. Riches on earth aren’t the same as rich as in heaven. Jesus is our king, but Jesus himself said that Satan is the king of this world, and Satan often uses money or the lack of money to entice people to be sinful.

In Mark, 8:36 Jesus said “what prophet of man if he gain the whole world and he loses his soul?” Several songs immediately come to mind. Songs like” I’d rather have Jesus” and “Thank you Lord for your blessings on me.” Simply stating “I’d rather have Jesus than be rich, famous and wealthy” and “I’m content and happy just to have my home and my family and whatever God provides for me”. Not saying that there’s anything wrong with being rich or wealthy but it makes a difference what you do with your wealth and when it’s you managing your money and not it managing you.

We just looked at Matthew chapter 19 verses 16 through 26 last week Sunday School. Here a young man asked Jesus what good thing that he could do to gain eternal life? Jesus told him to keep the Commandments. The young man said I’ve done these things since I was young. Then Jesus told him to sell everything he had and give it to the poor and come and follow Him. The young man went away sad because he had great possessions.

Then Jesus said to his disciples that a rich man can hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. He didn’t say that a rich man couldn’t enter into the kingdom of Heaven, he just said that it was hard for him to. Then in verse 24 he said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle, then for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven.

As I stated earlier, it’s not bad to be wealthy, depending on how you use your money. In 1953 Howard Hughes founded the Howard Hughes medical Institute. It is a nonprofit medical research organization located in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It is used for biological and medical research and it has an endowment of 24 Billion dollars.

Howard Hughes chose to go into seclusion and people said that he lived like a homeless person out on the streets. He lived as though he had no money at all, even though he was one of the wealthiest men in the world. Some people said that he went crazy. Maybe because they thought that living like a poor person when you’re rich was just crazy. But, maybe he just didn’t want to live a rich man’s lifestyle. Maybe he realized that the money was overpowering him and he just didn’t want to live his life like that. But, you can’t say he was stingy. Howard Hughes was one of the greatest contributors to charitable organizations that there ever has been. It is said that he gave over 1 and half billion dollars to charity. I guess some people would think that giving away that much money was crazy too.

In parting I’d like to say it’s not what you hold in your hand but what you hold in your heart that has real value.