“The Call”

 “The Call”

 

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”   Matthew 22:14

 

In verses one through three, Jesus tells a parable of a Great Wedding Feast, illustrated by the Kingdom of Heaven. And it is the story of a king who prepared a GREAT WEDDING FEAST for his son.  When the banquet was ready, he sent his servants to notify those who were invited. But they ALL REFUSED to come!  (Vv 1-3).  So, the king sent other servants to tell them, that the banquet was prepared, and everything was ready, “COME TO THE BANQUET!”  But those he had invited  ignored the servants and went their OWN way. Some even insulted the servants and killed them. This was a TERRIBLE “slap in the face” to the king.  And the king was FURIOUS!

 

He sent out his army to destroy the murderers and burn their town.  This was his JUDGMENT on them.  He said to his servants “The Wedding Feast is ready and the guests I invited aren’t WORTHY of the HONOR.  Now go out to the street corners and invite EVERYONE you see.”  So the servants brought in EVERYONE they could find, GOOD and BAD alike, and the banquet hall was FILLED with guests.  This invitation illustrates the OFFER of the GOSPEL, FREELY to EVERYONE, regardless of who they were or what they had done.  

 

Now, these people were hastily rounded up, with no time to get PROPERLY ATTIRED for the Wedding Banquet. So the King SUPPLIED the garments himself.   And when he saw a man without the PROPER GARMENT, the king asked him, why he did not have the PROPER WEDDING GARMENT, he had NO REPLY.  This lack of a PROPER WEDDING GARMENT, that was SUPPLIED by the king indicates that the person had PURPOSELY REJECTED the King’s GRACIOUS provision.  This act was a SLAM against the King and His Son.  It was a GREATER INSULT than those who REFUSED the invitation to begin with.  

 

This scenario is like those who are identified with the Kingdom of Heaven, EXTERNALLY, and PROFESS to be a CHRISTIAN, belonging to the church VISIBLY.  Yet they do NOT POSSESS the GARMENT of RIGHTEOUSNESS, which the LORD JESUS CHRIST has PROVIDED.  And thus they are GUILTY of a HORRENDOUS SIN against the HOLY GOD and His ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  And they are DESTINED to the OUTER DARKNESS , where there will be WEEPING and GNASHING of teeth.  

 

REMEMBER, “Many are CALLED but FEW are CHOSEN”. They are NOT CHOSEN because of their REJECTION of the ALMIGHTY GOD’S invitation, and His offer of the GARMENT of RIGHTEOUSNESS supplied by His Son, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  Is this your story?  Are you portraying to be in possession of the GARMENT of RIGHTEOUSNESS, but you ACTUALLY don’t POSSESS it, you ONLY PROFESS to POSSESS it?  If this is the situation that you are in.  You are in danger of spending YOUR ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there.  

 

However, God is giving you the OPPORTUNITY NOW to ACCEPT His INVITATION and the PROPER GARMENT, the GARMENT of RIGHTEOUSNESS, which is supplied by JESUS.  For you to be able to ACCEPT His INVITATION, you MUST ANSWER the CALL with a resounding YES and ACCEPT His SON, JESUS as your SAVIOR and LORD.  To do that You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR.  And you MUST BELIEVE that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s INVITATION, and His GARMENT of RIGHTEOUSNESS, by ANSWERING HIS CALL with a TRULY REPENTANT HEART and a GRATEFUL SPIRIT.  Do this NOW while you STILL can, He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be Left Behind!!! 

 

 

 

 

“Knowing And Doing the Will of God!”

 “Knowing And Doing the Will Of God!”

 

“I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart.”            Psalm 40:8

 

 

There are some who think that going to church on Sunday, and maybe on Wednesday, is all they need to be OK with the ALMIGHTY GOD.  And they hardly if EVER, READ and STUDY the WORD OF GOD.  KNOWING the WORD of God is very IMPORTANT to your RELATIONSHIP with God, because if you READ and STUDY your BIBLE, which is the WORD of the LIVING GOD, then you will come to KNOW what the WILL of GOD is for YOUR LIFE.

 

King David, KNEW the WILL of GOD for his life and YIELDED himself to do the WILL of the ALMIGHTY GOD.  He WILLINGLY GAVE of HIMSELF to DO the WILL of GOD.  In verse seven, he CAME to GOD, and NOT BEGRUDGINGLY, but WILLINGLY offered himself to do the WILL that GOD had PLANNED for him.  And in ACCORDANCE to GOD’S WORD, he DEDICATED himself to DOING the WILL of GOD.  

 

David sets an EXCELLENT EXAMPLE of HOW to KNOW and DO the WILL of GOD for ALL of those who have TRULY GIVEN their HEARTS and LIVES to GOD.  And to be ABLE to have a TRULY RIGHT and INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP with our HEAVENLY FATHER.  

 

Another EXCELLENT EXAMPLE is found in Hebrews 10:5-7:  That is why, when Christ came into the world, He said to God.  “You did not want sacrifices or sin offerings.  But you have given Me a body to offer.  You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin.  Then I said, ‘Look, I have COME to DO YOUR WILL, O God—-as it is written about Me in the Scriptures.”  The BLOOD of the ANIMAL sacrifice, was NOT SUFFICIENT to TAKE AWAY the SINS of mankind.  ONLY the BLOOD of JESUS, GOD’S ONLY SON, the PERFECT SACRIFICE is ABLE to do that, because it was the PERFECT WILL of GOD for His Son.  And it is the PERFECT WILL of God for MANKIND to ACCEPT JESUS as their SAVIOR and LORD.  And to be OBEDIENT to God’s Will for their life.  And the way to do that is to PRAY and SEEK GOD’S WILL for YOU.  

 

In order to KNOW and DO the WILL of GOD, you MUST FIRST become a TRUE CHILD of GOD.  And you do that by:  ADMITTING that YOU are a SINNER, in NEED of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  And by BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  And to be ABLE to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY TO ESCAPE once you are there.  And to GAIN an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  To do that you MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and, KNOW and DO the WILL of GOD for YOU!!  So, do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!!! 

“Come Out Of the Dark!”

 “Come Out Of the Dark!”

 

I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in Me will no longer remain in the dark.   John 12:46

 

There are two major groups of people on this earth, those who choose to live in the LIGHT of the LORD JESUS CHRIST, and those who choose to live in the DARK WORLD.  In this verse, we see that the LIGHT is the LORD JESUS, and it is the symbol of SALVATION, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and ETERNAL LIFE.  Whereas, the DARKNESS is a symbol of SIN, WICKEDNESS, CONDEMNATION, and SPIRITUAL DEATH.  We live in a DARK WORLD, full of WICKEDNESS, DEPRAVITY, LAWLESSNESS, and HATRED, and the RISK of living in the DARKNESS is experiencing a SPIRITUAL DEATH that will bring with it an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY of ESCAPE, once you are there.   

 

Jesus tells us that He has COME as a LIGHT to shine in the DARK WORLD, and to DISPEL the DARKNESS, in order for ALL who will put their TRUST in Him to NO LONGER remain in the DARK.  Those who REFUSE to ACCEPT LIVING in the LIGHT, (Jesus), are BLINDED to the TRUTH of God’s Word, and they FEAR that if they TURN FROM their SINFUL LIFESTYLE, to the LORD JESUS CHRIST, for their SALVATION, that they will be SCORNED, and lose their place in society.  They LOVE the PRAISE of man, more than the PRAISE of the HOLY, RIGHTEOUS GOD, who HOLDS their ETERNAL DESTINATION in His HANDS.  

 

Are you living in the DARK, or have you COME OUT of the DARK and into the GLORIOUS LIGHT of the LORD JESUS CHRIST?  If you are STILL in the DARK, you NOW have the opportunity to COME INTO the LIGHT and to have ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  This is what you MUST DO:  You MUST ADMIT that YOU are a SINNER in need of the SAVIOR, the LORD JESUS, God’s ONLY SON, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SOUL.  You MUST BELIEVE that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God. You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  And you MUST COME OUT of the DARK and into the LIGHT by; WILLINGLY TURNING AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURNING to GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION and COME OUT of the DARK and INTO the LIGHT of GOD’S LOVE.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!!!

   

“The Joy of Being Obedient and Forgiven”

 “The Joy of Being Obedient and Forgiven”

 

Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put of sight!  Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!   Psalm 32:1-2

 

This Psalm of King David is believed to be connected with Psalm 51.  In Psalm 51, we see in the first two verses of David’s lament that he is pleading for God’s forgiveness, regarding the time when the prophet Nathan had come to him, after his sin with Bathsheba.  David pleaded with God to WASH him CLEAN from his GUILT, and to PURIFY him from his SIN.  David CONFESSED his DISOBEDIENCE, and the fact that he had SINNED against GOD and in GOD ALONE had he done EVIL in God’s Sight.  He pleaded that God would restore his JOY, by REMOVING the STAIN of his GUILT.  And to CREATE in him a CLEAN HEART, and to RENEW a STEADFAST spirit within him.  

 

In Psalm 32 we see that King David, was offering up a POEM of PRAISE, acclaiming the JOY that comes to those whose DISOBEDIENCE is FORGIVEN, and whose SIN is COVERED and OUT OF SIGHT!  And what JOY for those whose SINS and GUILT has been REMOVED from their record, because God has CANCELLED the DEBT, and it doesn’t count against them any more.  This is POSSIBLE because God’s Son, the LORD JESUS CHRIST PAID the DEBT with His OWN BLOOD, on an OLD RUGGED CROSS. His PRECIOUS BLOOD not only CLEANSES the RECORD of the DISOBEDIENT but it CLEANSES their HEARTS. And when they TRULY BELIEVE and are WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM their SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN to GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, they can LIVE in COMPLETE HONESTY and have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the ALMIGHTY GOD.  They will be able to ESCAPE an ETERNITY HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and to GAIN an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.

 

In order to spend ALL of your ETERNITY in HEAVEN, and ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL, you MUST ADMIT that you are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SOUL.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God. You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. You MUST ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION, and receive the JOY of your SALVATION!  If you are a TRUE BELIEVER, and have NOT been living in OBEDIENCE to GOD, and have lost the JOY of your SALVATION, you MUST COME to JESUS with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART, and like David PLEAD the BLOOD of JESUS to CLEANSE your HEART and your RECORD of GUILT.  And LIVE a LIFE filled with JOY in KNOWING you have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with your Heavenly Father.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can. He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!!!

 

 

“An Old Testament Invitation to Salvation”

 “An Old Testament Invitation to Salvation”

 

Seek the LORD while you can find Him.  Call on Him now while He is near.  Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of  doing wrong.  Let them turn to the LORD that He may have mercy on them.  Yes, turn to our God, for He will forgive generously.  Isaiah 55:6-7

 

This is an INVITATION to SALVATION for NOW and for what an ETERNITY in HEAVEN holds LATER, for those who will CALL upon the LORD GOD, ALMIGHTY.  Those who will SEEK the LORD, with ALL their HEART, while He is STILL NEAR.  This SEEKING should be done in FAITH, along with a REPENTANT HEART.  It SHOULD be carried out with a WILLINGNESS to TURN AWAY FROM  or FORSAKING their WICKED WAYS, and even the very THOUGHT of DOING WRONG.  They SHOULD be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM their SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and EMBRACE a GODLY way of LIFE.

 

The Prophet Isaiah made it CLEAR that a SINNER MUST COME BELIEVING in God, and CONFESSING their SINS to Him.  They SHOULD have a DESIRE to be FORGIVEN and DELIVERED from their SINS.  They MUST BE AWARE that THEY are HELPLESS and HOPELESS to SAVE THEMSELVES from being RIGHTEOUS before the ALMIGHTY GOD, and to provide an ETERNITY in HEAVEN.  They MUST SEEK His MERCY and GRACE, in order to be DELIVERED from the CURSE of spending an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once they are there.  

 

The HOPE for US, NOW is through the SUPREME BLOOD SACRIFICE of God’s ONE and ONLY SON, the LORD JESUS CHRIST, who SUFFERED, BLED and DIED, in OUR PLACE, for OUR SINS.  And Who had VICTORY OVER DEATH and the GRAVE when God RESURRECTED Him from the GRAVE, and He has given JESUS the VICTORY in the BATTLE for the SOULS of ALL MANKIND, those who will COME to GOD through the BLOOD of JESUS, to be FORGIVEN of their sins.  This is the ONLY WAY to be able to RECEIVE an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS. 

 

To be able to ACCEPT this INVITATION for SALVATION, you MUST COME to God, ADMITTING that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST.  And you MUST HAVE a BELIEVING, REPENTANT HEART.  CONFESSING your SINS, and TURNING AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURNING TO GOD, SEEKING His MERCY and GRACE.  And ACCEPT His INVITATION to SALVATION and HEAVEN as your ETERNAL HOME.   Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  DON’T BE LEFT BEHIND!!!

“The Truth”

 “The Truth”

 

Jesus replied; “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”   John 3:3

 

A man named Nicodemus, who was a religious leader, and a Pharisee, came to see JESUS after dark one evening.  He probably came at DARK, so none of the other Pharisees would see him. They were definitely NOT FANS of JESUS.  Nicodemus, acknowledged Jesus as being sent from God, but as a teacher, and not the MESSIAH.  And he acknowledged that God was with Jesus, because of the miraculous signs that Jesus had done.  

 

However, Jesus, knowing the HEART and MIND of Nicodemus, said to him:  “I tell you the TRUTH, unless you are born again, you CANNOT see the Kingdom of God.”   Jesus answered a question that Nicodemus didn’t even ask.  Now, the phrase; “born again” means to be “born from ABOVE.”  In verse five and six, Jesus explains to Nicodemus what He meant:  “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.  Humans can reproduce ONLY human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.”  Jesus was talking about a SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION.  

 

This NEW BIRTH is carried out by God, and gives ETERNAL LIFE in HEAVEN to the TRUE BELIEVER.  And if you do NOT possess this NEW BIRTH, or SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION, you CANNOT see the KINGDOM of GOD, which indicates being able to be a part of the MILLENNIAL KINGDOM at the End of the Age.  The SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION or REGENERATION of an individual is NECESSARY BEFORE the END of the AGE in order to ENTER the KINGDOM.

 

If this SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION has NOT taken place, the individual will have to face JUDGEMENT, and CONDEMNATION, which will result in spending ALL of ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once they are there.  Have YOU had this SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION?  If NOT, this is what YOU MUST DO.  You MUST ADMIT that you are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, Jesus Christ, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your SOUL.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for YOU, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS. You MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION, and a SPIRITUAL TRANSFORMATION because this is THE TRUTH!!  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t Be Left Behind!!!

“Nonsense Or God’s Wisdom?”

 “Nonsense Or God’s Wisdom?”

 

The Message of the Cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved know it is the very POWER of God.  As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”  1 Corinthians 1:18-19

 

God in His INFINITE WISDOM has WISELY brought into existence the fact that mankind could NOT know Him by HUMAN WISDOM.  By allowing them to come to Him by their OWN wisdom, would EXALT them, so God planned  to save SINNERS through the PREACHING of the MESSAGE of the CROSS of JESUS CHRIST, who SUFFERED, BLED, DIED and then RESURRECTED from DEATH and the GRAVE to bring SALVATION to mankind by the PREACHING of  the MESSAGE of the CROSS, which to the WORLDLY WISE,  the message was so simple that it was FOOLISH.

 

But to those who are BEING SAVED it is the VERY POWER of GOD.  God in His WISDOM has made the wisdom of this world look FOOLISH.  The MESSAGE is FOOLISH to the JEWS who ask for SIGNS from heaven. And it is FOOLISH to the GENTILES, who seek HUMAN WISDOM.  And when the MESSAGE is PREACHED that CHRIST was CRUCIFIED, the JEWS are OFFENDED and the GENTILES say its ALL NONSENSE.  (V22,23) 

 

But to those who are CALLED by God to SALVATION, both JEWS and GENTILES, Christ is the POWER of GOD and the WISDOM of GOD.  This FOOLISH PLAN of God is WISER than the WISEST of HUMAN plans, and GOD’S WEAKNESS is STRONGER than the GREATEST of HUMAN STRENGTH.  (Vv 24-25) 

 

So, the question that YOU MUST ask yourself is;  Do you BELIEVE that GOD’S PLAN for SALVATION is NONSENSE?  If you think that and have been REJECTING HIM, then YOU are headed for DESTRUCTION, and for an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE, once you are there.  It is IMPOSSIBLE for you to get to HEAVEN by your OWN HUMAN WISDOM.   GOD may be CALLING you to COME to Him through His PLAN of SALVATION.  In order to RECEIVE an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, you MUST COME by JESUS CHRIST, and you do that by ADMITTING that YOU are a SINNER in NEED of the SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, who GAVE His LIFE to SAVE your LIFE.  And you MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST CONFESS your SINS to Him, and ask for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then ACCEPT God’s Gift of SALVATION, and TRUST in GOD’S WISDOM for your ETERNITY.  Do this NOW, while you STILL can.  He’s WAITING and COMING SOON!!!  Don’t be LEFT BEHIND!!!