" THE AUTHOR OF SALVATION "
Lets take a look at - Ezekiel 36:24-28 -
For I will take you from among the nations,
gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you;
I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My Statues, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers;
you shall be My people,
and I will be your God. ( Ezekiel 36:24-28)
Now its gonna take us a while to diesect exactly what God
has revealed to me through these 4 verses.
This is God's divine motive for seeking salvation of wicked
people,
we will also be able to consider the actual work of CONVERSION in the individual believer.
This is one of the most beautiful and powerful Old Testament
prophecies concerning the new covenant that was to be
inaugurated by the coming of the Messiah.
It also provides us with one of the clearest illustrations of the
doctrines of regeneration and conversion found anywhere in
the scriptures.
For the believer who understands the content of this text,
it has a twofold purpose.
This text teaches us that genuine conversion is the result of a
supernatural work of God,
by which the very heart or nature of a person is changed,
making him responsive to the will of God.
It shows God's ongoing work of Sanctification and a growing
submission to His will marks the life of the truly converted.
Second, this text is an inexhaustible source of joy, consolation,
and comfort.
The first great truth that we will consider from this text is
that God is both the author and finisher of our salvation.
He initiates it, sees to its perseverance, and brings it to its
ultimate consummation on the day of Christ Jesus.
The sovereignty of God is here brilliantly displayed as the
foundation of the believers hope and the source of his strength.
The certainty of which God speaks is unmistakable.
This is apparent in the following phrase,
Notice the use of the pronoun " I "
(God is the one who acts)
Followed by an unconditional promise (He will not fail)
"I will take you from the nations."
"I will gather you from the lands."
"I will bring you into your own land."
"I will sprinkle clean water on you."
"I will cleanse you from all your filthiness."
'I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you."
"I will take your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."
"I will put my Spirit within you. "
"I will cause you to walk in my statues. "
Hers God is not speaking about what He would do if He could
gain our cooperation.
Rather, He speaks as one who " does whatever He pleases"
and who "works all things according to the counsel of His will"
(Ps.115:3; Eph.1:11) Notice God is not telling what He will
do in the life of every Christian,
but He is also Gauranteeing the outcome of His work.
"You shall be clean."
"You will walk in my statues, and you will keep my statues and do them.'
"You will dwell in the land that I gave your fathers.'
"You shall be My people and I will be your God."
HE WHO BEGAN A GOOD WORK IN US WILL FINISH IT"
The power of God and the salvation of His church !!!!!
This is not a denial of human responsibility in salvation
or of the Christian's great struggle against sin.
There will be great loses as well as victories in our striving
for conformity to Christ.
However it does assure us that God has set out to make for
Himself a people, and by His own power,
He will see it done.
All whom He calls will come to Him, not one will be lost. (John 6:37,39)
Through the blood of Christ, we are justified, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, they are regenerated, sanctified,
and led. (John 3:3-8)
Although each may grow at a different pace and also to a different degree some may seem to fly to maturity while others
barely crawl, they will all, nevertheless, progress toward the upward call of God in Christ and demonstrate in word and
deed that they are His people and He has become their God. (Philippians 3:14)
MORE TO COME "AUTHOR OF SALVATION"
There is none righteous, no, not one;
There is none who understands;
There is none who seeks after God.
They have all turned aside;
They have together turned aside;
They have together become unprofitable;
There is none who does good, no, not one (Rom.3:10-12)
If God finds no reason in us to save us, they why does He do so ?
" I do not do this for your sake.......but for My holy names
sake," and again, " I will sanctify My great name........and the
nations shall know that I am the Lord."
God has determined to save us people for Himself from the
midst of the nations, and He has determined to do so for His
own glory, for the sake of His own great name,
and for the sake of His praise, that all might know that He
alone is God.
Listen how God declares it through the prophet Jeremiah;
I will cleanse them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned and by which they have transgressed against Me.
Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them;
they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it (Jer.33:8-9)
Here God clearly communicates to us His motive for the salvation of His people: for all the goodness He shows them,
He will gain for Himself praise, glory, and reverence from
those who hear of it.
JESUS' MESSAGE.............
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:3
The Beatitudes do not tell us how to become a Christian.
They tell us what a true Christian looks like.
The message is not: "If you humble yourself, mourn your sins,
submit yourself to God, and get an appetite for righteousness,
then you'll get into heaven".
Salvation by works is not the teaching of the bible,
nor is it the teaching of Jesus.
Here's His message: Many people profess to be Christians,
but the church is a mixture of genuine Christians and people
who deceive themselves.
How do you tell the difference ? The ones who are saved seek to imitate His life.
Jesus invites us to measure ourselves against the marks of the
Beatitudes,
(1) Do you mourn over your sins?
(2) Do you humble yourself before God?
(3) Do you submit yourself meekly before God?
(4) Do you have an appetite for righteousness?
Use the Beatitudes as a tool for discerning your spiritual condition.
As you do this you may come to the conclusion that you are
not yet a Christian.
But don't worry, there are Christians all around the world that
would say: I used to think I was a Christian.
I was a good person.
I attended church.
Then I started listening to Gods word, and I realized that what
Jesus is describing is not true of me.
If this is Christianity, "I am not yet a Christian."
One of Satan's greatest strategies to keep people out of
heaven is to falsely assure them that they are indeed a Christian.
Only when you know that you're not a Christian are you in a
position to become one.
We're learning more about what it means to be a man of God
who is a growing and developing disciple of Jesus Christ.
In Matthew 5:13-16, part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus used two powerful word pictures to describe what out lifestyle should look like and the impact He wants us to have
as His followers and members of His body, the church.
We have an incredible opportunity today as Christians to really
impact our culture for Jesus Christ.
Our wives, children, co-workers, our friends and the larger culture
are absolutely crying out for something --- someone -- who's real,
someone whom they can believe in and follow.
I believe that we as Believers have a special "Kingdom moment'
today to make a lasting difference for the Lord.
" PREPARATION " Jesus gave us two timeless illustrations
for what it means to be ready for maximum impact when He
said, " You are the salt of the earth................you are the light of the world " (Matthew 5:13-14)
Jesus used these two common substances to tell us how we,
as born again believers, are to engage our culture and
maximize our culture for Him.
Some people say that the world is going to hell and there is nothuing that we can do out it, well I strongly disagree !!
There is something we can and must do about it ---- for the sake
of our own children and grandchildren,
and for the sake of of the work and the witness of Jesus Christ.
We Need To Be Stimulating And Penetrating As The
Salt Of The Earth....................
If we are going to make a difference, then we must be different.
That is an obvious statement,
and yet it seems there is very little difference between the way
professing Christians live today and the way that the world lives.
But Peter tells us that God " called us out of darkness into
His marvelous light " (1Peter 2:9)
And Jesus told us, "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness " ( Matthew 6:33 ) Doing this will make us distinctive, just as we will be distinctive when we truly become
salt and light.
When Jesus says "You are the salt of the earth" and "You are the light of the world' the word you is in the emphatic position both times.
The idea is, "You, yes you of all people, are to be salt and light"
Jesus is saying to us today, "You, man of God, be My salt and light."
Next we are going to begin teaching how you can be the "SALT"
THANKS FOR FOLLOWING !!!!!!!!
God has called us as His followers to change the world,
not just to sit behind a desk or take up space.
You do not have to be a corporate executive to make a difference,
because the exciting truth is that any man who is willing to "follow"
Jesus with his "whole heart" can be a disciple who makes a telling
impact for Him.
I personally believe that we often do a disservice when inviting
men to come forward in church to accept Jesus.
We tell them to sit down on the front row -- -- --
and many Christians have been sitting there ever since !!
But the Christian life is a matter of becoming a world changer,
a difference maker,
and I have an exhilarating sense that many Christians are tired of settling for less than the best in their spiritual lives......
Its time for Christians to raise the bar, lift up Christian standard
of Jesus Christ rather than living for lesser things.
We are called to commitment,
so if words like "exciting", "challenging" and "dynamic" do not
describe your walk with Christ, then its time you take a new look
at the way you are walking and where you are going.
Next we will get into Luke 14:25-33, Where Jesus confronted a
large crowd of followers and "would-be" disciples by spelling out
what it really cost to be His disciple. (To be Cont.)
Fans of Jesus sooner or later find themselves exhausted.
Fans grow tired of trying to maintain an outer appearance
that doesn't match an inner passion.
They find themselves weary of trying to keep all the rules
in hopes of somehow earning Gods favor.
And I want you to know, that Jesus came to free you from
religion.
To those who have been hauling around a long list of rules.
To those who are pretending to be more than they actually
are.
To those who are weighed down with the fear and guilt of
religion.
To all the fans who are worn out on religion,
Jesus invites you to Follow Him.
Are you tired ?
Worn out ?
Burned out on religion ? Come to me........
Get away with me and you'll recover your life.
I'll show you how to take a real rest.
Walk with me and work with me --- watch how I do it.
Learn the unforced rhythms of Grace.
I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Keep company with me and you'll learn to live
freely and lightly.
(Matthew 11:28-30 MSG)
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds
of them which believe not,
lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God,
should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord;
and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of
the darkness,
hath shined in our hearts,
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (KJV)
God uses us believers to spread the gospel (Good News),
and He gives us power to do His work.
Knowing that the power is His, Not ours, should keep us from
pride and motivate us to keep daily contact with God,
our supreme power source.
Our responsibility is to let people see God through us !!
BEWARE.............If you hear someone preaching about
themselves or their own ideas rather than about Christ,
beware --- that is a false teacher.
We sow our "seed" whatever we have to give to the work of God -
by seeking the Lord in prayer,
serving His will with perfect effort,
steadily believing God's promises without becoming cynical,
declaring His reviving power to His worldly church,
consecrating our money to His glory,
waiting patiently for the divine visitation.
Those who do the will of God live forever.
In John 14:12 Jesus Himself said,
"He that believeth on me, the works that I do he shall do also;
and greater works than these shall he do;
because I go unto my Father".
Spend time in Gods Word and find out for yourself the rights
that you have.
When you do, righteousness will become an active,
powerful force in your life.
One of the hardest things for people to understand and receive
is living from a point of authority.
When you made Jesus the Lord of your life,
Colossians 1:13 says you were delivered from the
power of darkness.
The word power is literally translated authority.
You have been delivered from the power, and authority,
of darkness and placed into Gods kingdom.
The Kingdom of God includes both heaven and earth.
Jesus said,
"All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore " (Matthew 28:18)
That same power was given to you as part of your inheritance
in Christ Jesus.
You have entered into this position of authority because
you are in Him.
In (Romans 5:18) the word says that righteousness has come
upon all men.
You may ask, then why don't all men become righteous ?
Because in order to receive it,
you have to act on righteousness from the point of authority.
Remember that authority has been given to you !!
All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful,
but sorrowful;
yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields
the peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off
the old nature with its practices and have put on the new
nature, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image
of its creator.
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect
will of God.
Be prepared in and out of season.
The end of all things is near;
therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake
of your prayers.
Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you
a reason for the hope that is in you.
The ones who stop doing evil and make themselves pure
will become special.
Their lives will be holy and pleasing to their Master, and they
will be able to do all kinds of good deeds.
