and death to walk in an everlasting covenant relationship
with the one true God?
If your answer is yes, then let me ask you this; what is it
that you base that belief on?
Allow me to be straight up with you. Salvation is not a one
off event that takes place in our lives. We are saved
through a continual journey of deepening relationship with
God through faith in our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. This
Salvation is freely available to all, but if we are to
truly accept it and walk in it, their must be a willingness
to turn from going our own way.
Repentance and Salvation are inseparable. When Jesus came,
he revealed the ways of His Kingdom to be in stark contrast
to those of this world. He instructed us to love our
enemies, when our natural inclination is to hate them, and
to pray for those who persecute us, when our desire is to
fight back.
Jesus Christ, through His teaching, revealed the standards,
values and practices of His Heavenly Kingdom, which we have
all failed to uphold. Jesus took the law which was given
through Moses and revealed to us even deeper levels of
truth pertaining to it. This was done so that we might more
clearly recognize the corrupt, vile state of humanity and
our desperate need for salvation from the power of sin.
By an act of shear grace, Jesus willingly took our place
and received the wrath of God as the atonement for our
sins. Because of what Jesus has done, we now all have the
opportunity to step into a new life and walk in
relationship with our Heavenly Father. All we have to do to
become partakers in this new life is be willing to
surrender all that we are back over to Him.
To believe and have faith in Jesus is not to merely
acknowledge his existence with our words. If we truly have
faith in Christ, then we will adjust our entire state of
being, not only in accordance with the truth of that which
He has done to make our redemption possible, but we must
also live and walk according to the truth of who He is.
Jesus is not only our Savior, he is our Lord. If we truly
accept Jesus as our Lord then we will begin a process of
conforming our lives to the standards, values and practices
of His Holy Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 13:5 tells us to examine ourselves to see if
we be in the faith, if indeed to pass the test. If we are
looking for evidence in our own lives, to see if we are
truly walking with God, then we need only look at the style
of life that we are leading, and compare it to the life
that Jesus Christ has called us to, under His Lordship.
Do we see evidence of ourselves undergoing a gradual
process of change, of being conformed to God's ways? Are we
driven by an eternal, Kingdom orientated purpose, do we
desire more of God each day? Or are we conforming to the
ways of this world; seeking the same pleasures, and driven
by the same selfish motives as those who know not God. Are
we able to enjoy the pleasures of the world without any
sense of conviction? Or does the Holy Spirit continually
press on our hearts to turn from our wicked ways and follow
Him into a Holy way of living.
The Bible is one of the primary ways in which God
communicates with his people. It is our accountability and
instruction, so that through it we would know the will of
the father, that we might be built up in our faith and walk
with Him in Holy Communion. We are to hold up the bible
against our own lives, to test ourselves and see if our
thoughts are His thoughts, and if indeed the intentions and
purposes of our hearts are all gradually and progressively
coming into alignment with that which His word states they
are to be.
We can never afford to neglect the Word of God. Mathew
7:13: "For wide is the gate and broad is the road that
leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it".. As soon as we cease to abide in
His word and in prayer, we begin to loose sight of the
truth. Our sight becomes darkened and we quickly begin to
loose our way. It's scary when you realize just how quickly
this happens.
I know that I can attest to the fact that in my own life,
in times when I have neglected to be in prayer and in the
word of God for days at a time, the cares of this world,
such as anxieties over finances, the desire to reach a
higher level of social status, a heightened awareness of
what I must accomplish in my own strength to ensure a
greater quality of life for myself and those I love etc
have quickly overtaken my mind and I've begun to loose
sight of what really matters.
Mathew 7:21 reads; "Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord,
Lord," shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does
the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in
that day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name,
cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your
name?" 23 And then I will declare to them, "I never knew
you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness."
This is speaking of those who say Lord, Lord; those who
with utter conviction, profess that they are walking in the
way. But they are deceived in themselves, because the
reality is that they have not turned from following their
own selfish desires. Scripture tells us that it would be
better for us to have never come to know the truth at all,
than to have come in to the knowledge of the truth and then
chosen to forsake its way.
When we come to know the truth and yet fail to walk in it,
our hearts begin to harden towards that very truth, as we
are willingly giving ourselves over to the power of
deception. We need to realize that whenever we resist the
truth, we are resisting God Himself.
When we find ourselves resisting the plainly stated,
fundamental truths of God's word in light of what man has
preached, or in light of what human society and culture
believes is right, or what we personally 'feel' is right,
we ought to be deeply disturbed. Don't allow the popular
voices in human societies and cultures to influence the way
in which you interpret the Holy scriptures of God. Instead,
prayerfully allow scripture to interpret scripture, and
open your heart so that the Holy Spirit can freely shape
you according to the true purposes of God.
If you disagree with anything I have said in this message
that is fine. I would only urge that you look into the
scriptures for yourself. Pray and ask God to show you if
what I'm saying is indeed the truth or a lie. If what I
have said has caused you to question your salvation, then
good. It is better for you to test yourself now and know
the truth, than to risk living in deception for many years,
or perhaps even for the rest of your life.
Mathew 7:22: Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive
out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell
them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!' Jesus is prophesying here that many will come.
The correct translation for that word 'many' is 'a great
multitude'- given the way in which this term was readily
used in that day, it could potentially be talking about
hundreds of thousands or perhaps even millions of people
who believe themselves to be saved.
Don't allow yourself to become one of them. Get into the
word of God and examine yourself. Fall on your knees in
desperation before God and surrender your life wholly and
completely over to Him. Commit yourself to a journey of
faith and repentance that will last the rest of your life,
and understand that nothing else matters. Because on that
day, everything in this world that is not of Him will be
consumed in Holy fire, everything and everyone.
God loves you. And he is desperately reaching out to you.
God has done all that He can to bring you into relationship
with Him, but he cannot force you to love Him in return.
It's your choice to make; Repent now for the Kingdom of God
is at hand.
----------------------------------------------------
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