"The Benefits of God's Grace"

“The Benefits of God’s Grace”

“Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His Grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”      Acts 20:32



GRACE:  Receiving blessings we DON’T deserve.



Mankind does NOT deserve God’s gift of SALVATION, on their OWN merits, because mankind is born with a SINFUL NATURE, and is UNRIGHTEOUS before the ALMIGHTY, RIGHTEOUS GOD of the Universe.  The ONLY WAY, that mankind can receive God’s AMAZING GRACE, is through His REDEEMING WORK, which was carried out, through the LORD JESUS CHRIST, God’s Only Son, who gave His life to SAVE the souls of mankind from an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE.



Through the REDEEMING WORK of the Lord Jesus Christ, mankind can RECEIVE what they don’t DESERVE, by ACCEPTING what Jesus has done for them.  And by TURNING AWAY FROM their sinful lifestyle, and TURNING TO God, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. And CONFESSING their sins to Him, and asking Him for His FORGIVENESS. BELIEVEING, with ALL their HEART, that Jesus died for them, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for them, before God.  Then they can become a RECIPIENT of GOD’S AMAZING GRACE. 



The Apostle Paul brings out some of the BENEFITS of GOD’S GRACE.   First, we can be BUILT UP in our FAITH, ENCOURAGED, and given an INHERITANCE along with others who have been SAVED and SANCTIFIED (set apart).  That INHERITANCE is an ETERNITY in HEAVEN with ALL its BLESSINGS, and being able to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL. 



Receiving God’s GRACE, will DELIVER you from the DOMAIN of DARKNESS and into the GLORIOUS LIGHT of His Son, through which we have REDEMPTION, the FORGIVENESS of sins, through Him. (Col. 1:12-14) Those who have RECEIVED GOD’S GRACE, will be enlightened and able to KNOW the HOPE of HIS CALLING, the GLORIOUS RICHES of His INHERITANCE and the IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS of HIS POWER to those who BELIEVE, according to His VAST STRENGTH.  (Ephes. 1:18-19) These are the BENEFITS of GOD’S GRACE.



If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, why not do so NOW?  And become a RECIPIENT of His AMAZING GRACE, and spend your ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, instead of an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS. Do it NOW by FOLLOWING the contents in this message.  Because, Jesus is waiting and coming SOON!!!

"What is Expected of a True Believer"

“What is Expected of a True Believer”

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.  The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.        Romans 6:8-11



A person is led to Jesus Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit, and as an act of REPENTANCE, for the SALVATION of their soul.  And through their REPENTANCE, they are SAVED, and are BAPTIZED into Christ Jesus, in the fact that they identify with Christ and His DEATH and RESURRECTION, which is portrayed through their WATER BAPTISM.

With this BAPTISM they CONFESS that their OLD SINFUL MAN is crucified with Christ.  So, they DIE to their OLD SELF, and are RAISED to a NEWNESS of LIFE.  A life, in which the OLD SINFUL WAYS might be DONE AWAY with. In which, they SHOULD NO LONGER be slaves to their sin---because anyone who has died has been SET FREE from sin.   (VV6-7)



So, if they DIE to SIN, then they SHOULD LIVE with Christ.  And their OLD SINFUL LIFESTYLE no longer has RULE OVER them, because they have DIED to SIN and LIVE to RIGHTEOUSNESS.  Jesus Christ DIED to SIN, this is the SIN of ALL MANKIND, which He took with Him on the cross when He died, and so SIN’S wages, claims, demands and the penalty that was due, was SETTLED and PAID IN FULL.  And NOW He LIVES to God, as the SAVIOR and LORD of ALL. 



We can consider ourselves to be VICTORS over SIN, DEATH and the GRAVE, when we become a TRUE BELIEVER, because we are a NEW CREATURE.  One who CAN and SHOULD TURN AWAY FROM their OLD SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  One that will RUN AWAY FROM the SIN, instead of RUNNING TO the SIN.  We can do this by the POWER of GOD’S HOLY SPIRIT.  IF we will CONFESS our sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS, and PRAY for the STRENGTH to OVERCOME our WEAKNESS.  Then BELIEVE, with ALL our HEART that HE IS ABLE to DELIVER US.  And that JESUS DIED for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  And ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and be WILLING TO DIE to your SINS, and to LIVE to RIGHTEOUSNESS, and an ETERNAL HOME in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, and to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY TO ESCAPE.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"True Love"

“True Love”

This is how God showed His love among us:  He sent His One and Only Son into the world that we might live through Him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.     1 John 4:9-10



Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  This is TRULY the GREATEST and TRUEST love that mankind can ever know.   God’s LOVE is not given to us because we loved Him first, but it is given because HE FIRST LOVED US.  He LOVED us so much, that He came in the personhood of a man, and gave His LIFE to SAVE ours.  He PAID in FULL the price we could not pay.  So that we might become CLEAN and RIGHTEOUS and be able to spend ALL of ETERNITY in Heaven with Him and His Son. 



If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God.  And so, we KNOW and RELY on the PURE, TRUE LOVE God has for us. (v 15-16) We can KNOW this LOVE if we will declare with our mouth, “JESUS IS LORD,” and BELIEVE with ALL our HEART that God raised Him from the dead.  We will be SAVED.  Because it is with your HEART that you BELIEVE and are JUSTIFIED, and it is with your MOUTH that you PROFESS your FAITH and are SAVED.  (Rom. 10:9-10) We can receive this TRUE LOVE all because of God’s ABUNDANT MERCY and AMAZING GRACE.



If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you are not experiencing His TRUE, ABIDING, UNFAILING, UNENDING LOVE.  And you do not have the ASSURANCE of an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS. Instead you are facing an ETERNITY in HELL with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE.  But, because of God’s TRUE LOVE, He has provided a way to be able to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in Hell.  You MUST BE WILLING TO TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and to TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then you MUST CONFESS your sins to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You NEED to BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  Then you MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION and BELIEVE and PROFESS that JESUS CHRIST is your SAVIOR and LORD, and all because of God’s TRUE LOVE.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Clean the Inside of the Cup!"

“Clean the Inside of the Cup!”

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!  Blind Pharisee!  First clean the inside of the cup, so the outside of it may also become clean.”         Matthew 23:25-26



These are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, spoken to those whose talk doesn’t match their walk.   In other words, they say things that they want others to follow, but they, themselves do whatever their HEART wants them to do, He called them HYPOCRITES.  So, He uses the analogy of a dirty cup and dish, to prove a point concerning the condition of their HEART.



Jesus said, “You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence!”  The Pharisees were very stringent on the laws concerning CLEANLINESS.  Yet Jesus, having the ability to KNOW their HEARTS and their MOTIVES, called them out on their HYPOCRISIES.  Jeremiah 17:9, tells us that:  The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?  Jesus sure can. 



And so, He tells them about CLEANLINESS, using the example of the CUP and DISH.  He tells them that the inside of the CUP and DISH is full of GREED and SELF-INDULGENCE, of which they must have been guilty of.  And the first thing that needed to be CLEANED was the inside, then the OUTSIDE would be CLEAN. 



Now, let’s apply this to the BELIEVER.  Sometimes, the BELIEVER, will have INIQUITY or SIN inside, like the dirty CUP and DISH, and yet they try to HIDE it from others and from God.  They make sure that their OUTER APPEARANCE looks like GENUINE RIGHTEOUSNESS, when in ALL ACTUALLITY it is FAKE.  You can NOT have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God and harbor sins in your HEART.  Proverbs 19:3 says: “A person’s own folly leads to their ruin, yet their heart rages AGAINST the LORD.”  They NEED TO CLEAN the INSIDE of their CUP. 



To CLEAN the INSIDE of their CUP, they should pray as King David did: “Create IN me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” (Ps. 51:10, 12)



If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to GOD, your CUP and DISH are FILTHY inside and out, in the eyes of the HOLY, RIGHTEOUS GOD, who holds your DESTINY in His hands.  If you continue to REJECT His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and CONTINUE in your SIN, your DESTINY will be an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE.  You can have a CLEAN CUP and DISH, (inside and outside) and ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL, and GAIN an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, by:  TURNING AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and TURNING TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then CONFESS your sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  Then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and let Him CLEAN YOU, inside and outside.  Do it NOW, while you still can, He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Awake or Asleep"

“Awake or Asleep”

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him.                     1 Thessalonians 5:9-10



The Apostle Paul is talking to the Thessalonians about the Day of the Lord, and about their PREPAREDNESS for that time.  He encourages them, and us with the fact that God did NOT appoint us to WRATH, this WRATH clearly refers to the TRIBULATION period, when God pours out His WRATH upon SINFUL, UNREPENTANT, mankind.  Those who were LEFT BEHIND, at the RAPTURE of God’s Children, His Church. 



In order to escape this HORRIBLE WRATH, one MUST receive SALVATION through the LORD JESUS CHRIST, the One who shed His blood and DIED on an old rugged cross, and was RESURRECTED from the dead, so that mankind might be SAVED from their sins, and to be able to spend ALL of ETERNITY in Heaven, with ALL its BLESSINGS. 



Paul, then makes the statement: “Whether we are AWAKE or ASLEEP, we will live together with Him.”  Meaning that whether we are SPIRITUALLY ALERT or LETHARGIC, (SLUGGISH) we will live together with Him.  The Greek word for AWAKE is gregoromen, and ASLEEP is katheudomen.  If he was talking about being ALIVE or DEAD, he would have used koimao for DEATH.  But this clearly refers to being SPIRITUALLY ALERT, or WATCHFUL, or SPIRITUALLY LETHARGIC.  If you are a TRUE CHILD of God, then you will ESCAPE God’s WRATH, both the TEMPORAL WRATH, the TRIBULATION period, and the ETERNAL WRATH, of spending and ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE. 



If you have given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you will, ESCAPE His WRATH, even if you are NOT ALERT or WATCHFUL, but are LETHARGIC, and maybe even APATHETIC concerning the Day of the Lord.  What matters MOST is that you have received, Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.  To do that you MUST BE WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then CONFESS your sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  And BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that JESUS died for YOU, and that He is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  Then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and ESCAPE God’s WRATH, whether you are AWAKE (alert) or ASLEEP (lethargic), you will live an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  So, do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Sanctified Completely"

“Sanctified Completely”

Now may the God of Peace Himself sanctify you completely.  And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.      1 Thessalonians 5 :23-24



To SANCTIFY is to “set apart”



The Church at Thessalonica was enjoying PEACE at the time Paul penned this letter.  So, they could be encouraged, Paul brought out God’s ability to provide them with PEACE.  He prayed that God would SANCTIFY them, or SET them APART to Himself, in EVERY PART of their being. 



Paul did NOT mean, in any way, that they would receive COMPLETE SANCTIFICATION, while they were here on earth, but that their COMPLETE, WHOLE BEING would be SANCTIFIED, meaning their; SPIRIT, SOUL and BODY. And that God would KEEP them blameless in their relationships with Him and with other people, as well.



This same God of Peace, the One who calls a person to SALVATION, will perform this SANCTIFICATION process, by the Work of His HOLY SPIRIT, who indwells the BELIEVER.  And He is FAITHFUL to bring to COMPLETION the WORK that He first begun in that BELIEVER.  God not only JUSTIFIES by GRACE, but He SANCTIFIES by GRACE too.  Have you been JUSTIFIED and SANCTIFIED by the GRACE of the GOD of PEACE?



If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then your answer is NO.  And if your answer is NO, then, you are LOST and headed for an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS and NO WAY to ESCAPE.  In order for you to CHANGE your DESTINY, you MUST be WILLING to TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and to TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then CONFESS your sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  BELIEVING, with ALL your HEART that JESUS died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  Then you MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and be JUSTIFIED and SANCTIFIED in EVERY PART of your being, SPIRIT, SOUL, and BODY, and will be found BLAMELESS for the COMING of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Two Acts, Two Destinies"

“Two Acts, Two Destinies”

For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners so also through the one Man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.      Romans 5:19



In the beginning of time, God created a man, and called him Adam, He also created a woman, and her name was Eve.  Adam and Eve, WERE, at one time, SINLESS, and OBEDIENT to their Creator, God.  Then the great deceiver, Satan came on scene, and through his DECEPTIVE WAYS, he lured Eve and then Adam to DISOBEY God, by ONE ACT of DISOBEDIENCE, in doing what God told them NOT to do.  This ACT, not only brought CONDEMNATION upon them, but it brought a SIN NATURE to ALL of MANKIND, which would be born after Adam and Eve. 



This ACT DISOBEDIENCE, made ALL MANKIND, SINNERS, and with that SINFUL NATURE, they stand under CONDEMNATION and are DISOBEDIENT and UNRIGHTEOUS before God, and if they REFUSE to ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, they will face a DESTINY of an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY to ESCAPE.  This is ONE ACT and ONE DESTINY.



However, the SECOND ACT, CHANGES EVERYTHING!  Because of One Man’s ACT, the ACT of MERCY and GRACE, SALVATION, JUSTIFICATION, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, will provide for those who will ACCEPT God’s gift, which is provided through the DEATH and RESURRECTION of His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, the Lord Jesus Christ, who DIED for the FORGIVENESS of ALL SINS, PAST, PRESENT, and FUTURE.  His BLOOD SACRIFICE is SUFFICIENT to COVER or BLOT OUT the sins of ALL MANKIND.  And it will CHANGE their DESTINY from an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS to an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  They MUST TURN AWAY FROM their SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. They need to CONFESS their sins to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  And BELIEVE, with ALL their HEART, that JESUS died for them, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for them before God.  Then they MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and be OBEDIENT to Him, and become RIGHTEOUS in His sight.



These are the TWO ACTS and TWO DESTINIES.  Choose this day, which one you will FOLLOW.  REMEMBER:  Your ETERNAL DESTINY depends on your CHOICE.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!