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Seek ye first the Kingdom of God

2/27/2020

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In His famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus astounds the crowds with His preaching, today I would like to focus on the famous verse:
'But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.' Matthew 6:33

The 'all these things' specifically refers to food, drink, clothing, a spouse, a home, a job etc all the things we need in life. 

The Old Testament book of Haggai others a great illustration as to what happens when people fail to put God first. In chapter 1 verses 2 though to 13 the people of Judah are putting their own well-being first and are neglecting the works of the Lord and God basically says look how hard you're working and yet you are not getting ahead. It's as if you are putting your wages in a bag full of holes! God is not only refusing to bless them, He is actively working against them.
Let's read...

 '2 Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, This people say, The time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be built. 3 Then came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?
5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 6 Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.
7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. 9 Ye looked for much, and, lo it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.
10 Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.
11 And I called for a drought upon the land, and upon the mountains, and upon the corn, and upon the new wine, and upon the oil, and upon that which the ground bringeth forth, and upon men, and upon cattle, and upon all the labour of the hands.12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. 13 Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.' Haggai 1:2-13 

Just as these people were doing, many seek after their own prosperity and desires first and are more interested in their own welfare. But we should always put the things of God first.
We should put The Lord Jesus Christ first.

If God is against you, if God is not blessing you, you simply can not get ahead.
You will fail. You will experience one set back after another.
But if we seek first the kingdom of God, He will bless us.

Many people go to college or university to learn a trade or skill set that will allow them to make a living and don't get me wrong I am for working hard to get ahead 'Six days shalt thou labour,'
the Bible says, But we need to first learn how to live our lives and then focus on how to make a living.

If you know how to live you will always be able to make a living.
God knows of our needs. He knows we have bills to pay and that we need food and shelter and He promises to provide for us when we walk with Him. 

Many people, Christians even, will put their career first. Once again, I'm not saying not to study hard and strive for a better job, 'learn the skills to pay the bills as it where' what I'm saying is before you do all that, pray to God daily, read your Bible daily, do some kind of evangelising (reaching the lost) or work within the Church and put the Lord first.

God can make you fail in any aspect of life.
In verse 5 of our chosen chapter God says 'consider your ways'
Verse 7 He says  'consider your ways.'

We've all had times in our lives where God has just blown upon our plans (verse 9)
Sometimes God will not let us succeed at something to keep us humble, yes that can happen too, but most of the time when you fail in life it's because you're not right with God.
I can tell you from experience (when I wasn't considering my ways and had my priorities all wrong) that if God doesn't want you to succeed at something, there is nothing you can do to get ahead.
No matter how hard you work or how good you think you are, If God wants you to fail you're going to fail. God can blow upon your plans anytime He wants.

If God is working against you it is impossible to succeed.
Whereas if God is with you and is blessing you it is impossible not to succeed.

In verse 13 when the people repent (change) it pleases the Lord and He simply says those beautiful words  'I am with you' that is all we need in life! God to say 'I am with you.'

From there the spouse you've always wanted, the home you need, the ability to earn an income that will provide your essential needs will be given to you. 

Don't get so busy with the things of this world that your walk with God suffers. God is the one that gives you the power, talent and ability to succeed. I'm not talking about some fake prosperity gospel that says 'hey touch the screen and send in $1000 and God will bless you!' I'm saying that if you do right by God and put Him first then God will provide for you your everyday needs.

God will give you what you need. He will give you the talent and ability to do well at work and get ahead in life. I've experienced more of His blessings recently myself, as I've learned to put God firmly in first place in my life.

If God says I'm with you that is all you need. '...If God be for us, who can be against us?' Romans 8:31 If God is on your side nothing can fail, nothing can end in defeat for you.

So we need to spend more time working on cultivating our walk with God rather than trying to get ahead on our own merits.

Many people might think I just want to do a few things in my life first and seek the Lord later on.
But the Bible says 'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,' if you're a young person reading this don't put off getting saved now thinking you can do so down the track. Remember '...seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you' Get your priorities right!

If you're not saved, get saved today. Make the decision to call on the Lord Jesus Christ as your saviour by putting all your trust and faith in what He has already done for you and you will be given eternal life. If you're saved but not putting God first in your life then now is the time to do so.

Don't neglect the local Church, in the New Testament it's not a physical building but a group of believers. Don't get so busy with the cares of this life that you neglect your true purpose and your walk with God. You need God's blessings.
If God is on your side you are always going to conquer. You will always have the victory.

As we see in verse 11 God can make farms fail to produce, He can send droughts and floods whenever He chooses.
If people forget the Lord God they are in danger of suffering any number of disasters in their lives.
Get right with God and all things you need will be added to you.
...all things work together for good to them that love God,

Finally, It's not just the things we do in our actions that counts but how we feel in our heart.
God needs to have the preeminence in our hearts and minds.
He must increase and we must decrease.

God must come first. If you're a Christian that should be the first way you identify yourself.

In my case Christian first, husband second.
Christian first, son second.
Christian first, brother second.
Christian first, friend second.
Christian first, business owner second,
Christian first, soccer coach second etc etc

'He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.' Matthew 10:37
This is a clear command in the Bible, to put God first, in doing so you will become better at those other things as God will bless you.

God love us, He cares about us. He wants to bless us.
It is an incredible thing we enter into when we get saved, we enter into a loving relationship with God who truly loves us and wants to see us succeed.

'But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.'
Philippians 4:19


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God's Plan B for our lives

2/1/2020

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When I was young, I did a lot of stupid things. Nothing exceedingly wicked or sinful but just stupid, dumb things that unsaved people do. I guess my philosophy was to eat, drink and be merry.
I tried to live life well, stay in the present and to do right unto others and hopefully they would do right unto me in return. I always believed in God but didn’t truly know Jesus Christ.

I was brought up in a lukewarm Christian environment, officially our religion was Anglican, but in real terms we would only occasionally discuss religious matters on special occasions like Christmas and Easter, meanwhile all the school’s I attended were very secular.

For years I suppose you could say I prayed to a God I didn’t truly know. God of course, in His foreknowledge knew I would come to Him by faith later on and so I strongly believe He kept me safe and protected in those early years of my life.
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So, I didn’t have a solid grounding or a strong foundation to anchor myself to, subsequently I didn’t see things through the lens of faith and made the mistakes that any lost, young person with a fair amount of freedom would make.

I used to go out and party and drink alcohol not because it was really that fun or entertaining but as a way to try and fit in and be accepted, likewise I used to think that chasing female attention at parties and bars was ok as that was a vehicle to potentially meet a girlfriend who may end up being my wife, I kind of thought there was always some random element to meeting Miss Right but it never worked out that way for me.

There is a Paul Kelly song that says I did all the dumb things and I can totally relate to that song!    
I even pawned my rings as it where, if it meant I could go out with my friends on a Friday or Saturday night rather than staying in, saving what money I had, reading a book, doing something productive, taking stock and waking up refreshed the next day.
I seemed to have a fear of missing out. Really what I was missing out on was a loving relationship with Jesus and a group of committed Christian friends to help guide me through.

Naturally, there was a fair share of disappointment and failure as well, but I say to you don’t just throw in the towel after every major failure. For God always has a Plan B for our lives.

You may have missed out on God’s perfect will for your life, but God can always use you.
You may have done irreparable damage, but there is always a place to for you in His Family, in the Church, in this great community of believers.

Look, whether you like it or not God is going to use you one way or another.                       
Whether that be to use you as a kind of byword as how not to live your life, for example If you’re not saved and are living a worldly, sinful life God may use you to demonstrate to a Christian looking in, how not to do things or if you’re a saved believer, serving God and trying to live your best life possible, He may use you as an example of someone living life well, according to His ways. He may bestow extra blessings on you if He feels it will draw more people to Him.

This is the God we serve; He is a God of love; He is a God of wrath and He is also a jealous God.

‘(For the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.’
Deuteronomy 6:1
 
Now there are consequences for our actions, for instance a divorced person could not still be the Pastor of a Church. For the Bible says ‘A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;’ 1 Timothy 3:2
Some people mistakenly think that plan A is still on the table, when they have moved past that option now.

God is the perfect judge so your Plan B might not be someone else’s Plan B but there is always hope though prayer and repentance when you’re a child of God.
The story of Samson is a great illustration of someone who messed up big time and missed out on the ultimate rewards in his physical life but in the end, he defeated his enemies and so God’s plan B for him still worked out well.
‘For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.’ Proverbs 24:16

To the saved person who is perhaps backslidden, I want to encourage you to get back up and get right with God. You can serve Him in a different capacity than you once envisaged but get up and get back in the fight for we are outnumbered down here, and we need you!
I say to you, don’t go back to the trash. There is still so much work to do in reaching the lost and many rewards for you should you come back onboard.

To the unsaved person, I say please, before it's too late, come to God through Jesus Christ and secure your eternal destiny today. We serve a risen saviour He’s in the world today!

I may of done a lot of stupid things in my younger life, things that I am sorry about and regret and I’m sure there were lots of good things I did too, but the one thing I got 100% correct was calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ as my Saviour. I’m here to tell you that there is nothing as exhilarating or liberating as being in fellowship with the Lord and walking in the light with Him. There is nothing more enlightening than having the Holy Spirit inside you leading you into all truth. I now have God’s very own DNA running through my veins and you can have it too!

‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Romans 10:13

My friend, Jesus didn’t just pay for the sins you’ve already committed, You might have moved passed God’s perfect plan for your life and that's ok, Jesus paid for sins you will commit past, present and future.
'But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.' Romans 5:8
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When Jesus Christ died on that cross over 2000 years ago, you hadn’t committed any sins or done anything wrong yet! My point is His sacrifice covers every sin you’ve ever committed or ever will if you’ll simply call upon Him by faith alone. Just accept His free gift, and except it through faith, this is the Good News. This is the Gospel.

If someone gives you a gift and you agree to receive it there is no work on your behalf involved.    You simply accept the free gift, receive it gratefully and enjoy the fruits of it. That is the best picture of Salvation I can give. God offers you a gift, completely paid for and you receive it.

It is that simple. The very moment in time you call on Christ as your Saviour is the moment you are set free from the bondage of sin. All your sins then, past, present and future are forgiven.
‘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.’ Ephesians 2:8-9

Once you make that call by faith alone through trusting in Christ alone you enter God’s Family.
You are saved and can never lose your salvation. It’s done! You will no doubt still sin, mess up from time to time and God will have to bring you down a notch or two when you do, but you have been reborn, regenerated spiritually and have complete security in Christ.

‘For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Romans 8:38-39

And to end with a bit more of my own testimony, I’m sure that if all had of gone perfectly in my younger life and someone had of given me the Gospel of Jesus Christ at a young age, I would have lived life very differently. Maybe I would have married young, had kids and gone onto pastor some idyllic Country Church somewhere! But likewise, I wouldn’t have met the people I did and had the experiences I’ve had so far. I wouldn’t have met my wife who I love, be able to attend and serve in a great Church and perhaps wouldn’t live in such a beautiful place as I do now.
God has been so very generous to me throughout my life, particularly after coming to Him through the Blood of His Perfect Son, almost 4 years ago now.

So maybe this life as some kind of Singer/songwriter, Evangelist and Preacher is God’s plan B for me. Well it’s a very good Plan B and I thank Him daily. And I know that I’m going to be a lot better at getting people saved if I’m living a better/cleaner life myself.

​If I mess it up though I’ll be sure to get back up again and have a go at Plan C, Plan D, Plan E etc and this is the message I’d like to finish with here, if you’re a Christian and you’re still breathing God’s air, God can still use you mightily.
So why not go and give a lost person the Gospel today? Pull them out of the fire and show them God’s incredible and life changing Love.

‘Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.’
2 Corinthians 9:15
 

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A plea to the unsaved this Christmas

12/23/2019

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Over the past few years, on very much a part time basis, I have been studying towards a Diploma of Christian Ministry and Theology, this has proved useful as I have been able to study and read a variety of different texts and perspectives from Christian writers and authors etc.

The most recent module was the study of apologetics, which is basically a study in how to defend the Christian faith, whether that be from someone trying to propagate their own religion or beliefs on you, or more usefully (as the Bible says to avoid foolish debates) to answer any questions a non-believer may have as you work towards presenting them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, with Christmas fast approaching and people often demonstrating a heightened interest in Christianity at this sacred time of the year, I decided to share with you some things I picked up on this component of the course.

Apologetics is essential for the disciple today as it deals with defending and commending the Christian faith. I wanted to therefore demonstrate Christ’s incredible and life changing sacrifice to you, first and foremost through scripture, as ultimately it is the power of God’s Word that saves,
but also, with something historic, scientific, anecdotal and tangible. (as the world would see it)

The attacks from the enemy are fiercer than ever. People are being told lie after lie about their true purpose, human life, evolution, the big bang theory etc. While essential Biblical truths are being distorted and even removed from key areas of society like schools and the workplace.
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In the media, we are seeing an increased censorship of God's Word. Even major Christian events like Christmas and Easter are coming under attack more aggressively than ever, under the guise of 'equality.'

False religion is a major issue too, people will often say ‘how do you know that Christianity is the right way and all the others are wrong?’ Usually non-believers will blame ‘religion’ for much of the trouble in the world today and throughout history. 

Even The Bible itself is under attack, with most of the modern versions removing, twisting and changing the meaning of many key scriptures. The NIV for example, one of the most popular Bibles in the world today, removes over 16 entire verses from The New Testament and over 5000 words, many of them affecting key teachings on salvation, repentance, baptism and the deity of Jesus Christ. This is why I will always use a King James Bible.

". . .man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD of God." Luke 4:4
 
Before I start working towards some Biblical truths and overwhelming support from other sources,
I would like to break down some common misconceptions.

You see, every other belief system is about your good works saving you, (usually in tandem with believing in some kind of 'higher power') whereas Christianity is not about how good you are or what you can bring to the table, it’s what God has already done for you.

Once you put your faith in Jesus Christ and trust in what He’s done for you, that’s it,
it's done..you’re saved forever!
 
The Bible says in John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but hath everlasting life.’

It's simple, we are saved by grace, through faith in Christ.

Your good works are still vital as they will determine whether God will use you for ministry and will likely determine your level of future blessings and rewards in this physical life and beyond, but they are not requisite to making it to Heaven. Salvation is completely a free gift.

‘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.’ Ephesians 2:8-9
 
You don’t even have to change your lifestyle, go to Church or get baptized (although The Bible says you should do all those things!) Your ticket to Heaven is already bought and paid for when you put your faith and trust in what Jesus has already done for you.
 
The Bible says that you can’t make it through on your own.
‘For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;’ Romans 6:2

We all fall short and need a Saviour.
I, like millions before me, and surely millions more to come, can testify that Jesus Christ is that Saviour.

The world will try and tell you that you don’t need God, that The Bible is just an archaic book that isn’t relevant anymore, but I can tell you that it’s more relevant than today’s newspaper!
Look how people and nations fall when they turn away from God and look how they prosper when they turn to God and actively seek and follow Him.

Every great society was built on trust and faith in God’s plan and words.

Look at the great cities and cultures throughout history in this world. You see, where Christianity is, people and countries flourish. God’s people have always got up and built stuff and made things happen.

This world was made by God for us to inhabit, to experience community together, and to live peacefully with one another. God has promised to preserve the earth for us.
'One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh, but the earth abideth forever.' Ecclesiastes 1:4

The devil and his minions have attacked and that is where all the troubles in the world stems from.
As nations we need to turn back to God with our values and laws and ways and through this repentance He will open up the Heavens and let it rain for us! He will bless us if we turn back to Him!
 
The Bible says in Psalms 111:10 ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;’
You see friend, without the Holy spirit inside us, the Comforter as Jesus refers to Him, we are blind. Like a boat lost at sea with an irreparable leak, destined to sink.
When you receive Christ as your saviour your spirit is brought to life. This is a permanent indwelling and an everlasting change that can never be undone.

'Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' John 3:3
 
There is another scripture I must quote before I go into some historical and scientific reasons why you should put your trust in Jesus and the Bible, and that is in Romans 1:22
‘Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,’

You see most of The scientist and physicists of this world aren't even saved. They are as blind as the next unsaved person and no authority to tell you anything about the true wonder and beauty of this planet, which we Christians know God literally spoke into existence.

‘But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.’
1 Corinthians 2:14   
 
True science marries up with The Bible. Something can’t come out of nothing, even a year 10 high school science student can tell you that! There must have been an intelligent designer and that designer is the God of the Bible, the one true God. (manifested in 3 persons; The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit) Only God can truly breathe life into anything.
 
Many people think that this planet evolved over millions or even billions of years depending on who’s fairy tale you believe! But the Bible tells us that just as God made a mature man and woman in Adam and Eve, who were both approximately 30 years of age when God created them,
God also made a mature planet. So, when ‘scientists’ try and work out how old the earth is without factoring in this Biblical truth, it makes no sense.

You must also remember that God got angry at the depth of man’s sin and pretty much wiped things out with a great flood very early on in human history. (the story of Noah’s ark)
He just about started again, yet scientists rarely factor this in with their carbon dating etc
 
Sometimes it takes mankind a long time to catch up to God and Biblical truth.
For example using clean running water rather than still water for hygiene reasons, the fact that the world is round (a globe) the paths of the sea that allow for maximum sea transport and marine navigation, the fact that dinosaurs and man co-existed on this planet at some point, this is all shown in the Bible. It just took man centuries to catch up!

Even then, many did not want to admit that God was right all along. You see God is always right.
He is the perfect judge, full of mercy and love which is why He allowed His perfect Son to come into the world and give fallen man the opportunity to be reconciled to Him.
 
‘And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;’ 2 Corinthians 5:18

There is much historic proof too, Sources other than the Gospel writers recorded the darkness that covered much of the earth on the day that Jesus was crucified.

Even historians who don’t believe that Jesus is God, recognise him as a great historical figure, while many false religions will recognise him as a prophet or great teacher and philosopher.   
Of course, us Christians see Him as far more than that, the Saviour of the entire world no less, but my point here is that there is no question that the person Jesus Christ existed and was crucified. Even your average atheist will acknowledge that!

With regard to the preservation of the Greek text of the New Testament, we have copies dating from within a couple of generations from the writing of the originals whereas in the case of other ancient texts the corresponding time-gap can be up to ten centuries or more. God promised to preserve his word and there is no question that The Bible continues to change life’s today.

The biggest evidence that I can possibly offer outside of quoting scripture and showing you from The Bible itself is the testimonies of literally tens of millions of people that have received His grace. No matter what the time in the history of mankind, there has always been a multitude of people that have believed on The Lord Jesus Christ and have been steadfast in their belief often in the face of adversity. Look at The Apostles themselves, (excluding Judas who was unsaved and chosen by Jesus to fulfil scripture) Bible scholars conclude that all but 1 of them was martyred for their beliefs.

People don’t allow themselves to be killed or even persecuted unless they are convinced that what they are believing is the truth. During the dark ages, Bible believing Christians died horrific deaths for their beliefs, but it was all worth it. You see we only have a relatively short time on this planet. Yes, science and medicines are improving and perhaps the average person can hope to live to 85 years old now. But what is that in the scheme of things? It really is just a vapour when you look at the eternal picture.

Do you want to be spending eternity in a horrible, terrible place?
Then keep trusting in your works and ‘good’ character to get you to Heaven for you will fall short friend. Your works are as filthy rags to Him the Bible reads. If you want to make it to Heaven then humble yourself, admit you fall short and choose Jesus to take you there through belief in His death, burial and resurrection.

'He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.'
1 John 5:12

Then there are the arts, literally tens of thousands of beautiful pieces of art, film and literature dedicated to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Thousands of beautiful songs written and continue to be written that bring glory to our incredible and gracious God. Just recently I heard these lyrics from a famous hymn and I thought only a saved believer could write those words, someone who has truly encountered His forgiveness and grace.

’Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it pure as snow.’

Here are some lyrics from another beautiful hymn we all know and love

‘Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now am found, was blind but now I see’

In finishing I just wanted to say this, when you do come to Christ with a humble heart and receive the free gift of salvation it is like a veil has been removed from your eyes. You can see truth!

The first thing you will often think is how could I have been so blind for all those years?
Don't worry this is a completely normal reaction, and one other piece of advise I would give to a new believer is don't continue to dwell on past sins and mistakes that you made before you came to know Christ, you where just a human being trying to navigate your way through. Let it go.

The Bible says that as far as the east is from the west those sins have been forgiven and forgotten. So move on. Jesus already paid for those sins on the Cross at Calvary.

'As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.'
Psalm 103:12

My question to you now is friend, are you going to accept the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour? Who paid for all our sins on that Cross at Calvary so all who believe can make it to Heaven someday?

Being saved is as easy as drinking a glass of water, eating a piece of bread or walking through a door the Bible says. God wants you to be saved!  
‘The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.’ 2 Peter 3:9

Jesus said in Mark 1:15 ‘…Repent ye and believe the Gospel.’ Repentance is that lightbulb moment of recognising that you are a sinner, are lost and on your way to hell, it is turning from trusting in your own works or whatever else it was you where trusting in to accepting the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and receiving the free gift of eternal life.

It is a moment of truth. Where you change your mind and heart to now fully believing and trusting in Jesus and what He has done for you.

It is that supernatural event where the Holy Spirit comes flooding in and you are passed from death to life spiritually in a moment of time.

Friend, you can be secure for all eternity by making this decision now. In 1 John 5:13 The Bible reads ‘These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the Son of God.’

So, you can know this today The Bible says. You can have this wonderful, eternal security, this assurance that God so generously gives to all those that believe.

I hope you make the decision to call on Him as I did. It is the best decision I ever made. I now have an inner peace that Transcends all understanding and an optimism that many can not understand.
In Romans 10:13 The Bible says ‘For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’  It really is that simple, it’s just man wants to complicate it!

The laws of God are written on the hearts of man the Bible says, intrinsically you know what is right. The evidence is overwhelming really, it’s on our hearts, in our conscience and everywhere you look through nature and the skies. This, along with His word and His perfect Son, is how God reveals Himself to us, and so the unbeliever is without excuse the Bible says.

And if I can finish with 1 more scripture, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6:2 ‘Behold, now is the day of salvation.’ So, my question to you is…would you call on Him today?

Please consider this prayer...
Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and that I can't make it though on my own.
But I believe that You died on the Cross for me.
Please save me and take me to Heaven when I die.
I'm trusting only in You Jesus.
Amen

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West Tamar Baptist Fellowship

12/22/2019

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I am pleased to announce that I will be involved in the growth of a Baptist fellowship in 2020 and hopefully beyond. Held the first Sunday of each month out of Sidmouth Hall, West Tamar.

West Tamar Baptist Fellowship is an outreach of Coastline Baptist Church which is based in the North West of Tasmania. Under the direction of Pastor Dave Westbrook we hope to create a thriving ministry with old fashioned Baptist preaching from The King James version of the Bible, a music ministry consisting of hymns, psalms and spiritual songs to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and an evangelistic approach to reaching the lost.

We would love to see you at one of our meetings, for now meeting the first Sunday of each month at 2:30pm at Sidmouth Hall, 252 Batman Hwy, Sidmouth, Tas 7270. 
Please keep an eye out for our website www.westtamarbaptist.org which will go live soon.

Kind Regards
Phil
 
 

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Obstacles

2/17/2019

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What are the some of the obstacles or hindrances that stop a person getting saved?
Why in a world of approx 8 billion people do so few find the truth?

Jesus said in Matthew 7 
"for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction"

Some reasons that spring to mind are pride, living a sinful life, science falsely so called
and false religion. Let's go through and look at some of those hindrances that might stop a person putting their faith and trust in Jesus Christ.

There  is a famous story In Mark 10:23-25 where The Bible reads:

"And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! 
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."
 
A proud/rich person will struggle with the true Gospel because they are proud and think they deserve to make it to Heaven on their own merit.

They are Prideful and are used to trusting in themselves.
The proud person wants to have to pay for salvation.
But The Bible is clear, you go God's way or you don't go at all!

A person has to realise that they need Jesus Christ and He gets all the Glory for Salvation. 
Jesus paid it all, all to Him we owe!

During Jesus's earthly ministry it was the pharisees, so full of pride, that were the hardest to get saved.
It takes a humble person to admit they are broken and a sinner and can't make it to Heaven on their own. 

Sin is a big factor, and this works both ways as living a particularly sinful life can prevent a lost person coming to Christ and likewise a sinner's refusal to give up sin can mistakenly prevent them from getting saved as they think that they are saved by cleaning up their life.

On the issue of people living a particularly sinful and wicked life, this much is true,
People who love darkness, unrighteousness and evil don't often come to the light, whereas
people who are honest and love truth will often come to the light.

"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6

Some people probably think Hell is a great place, merely separation from God, who they don't like anyway. They probably think it's a place where the party continues and they can have fun with their friends. But The Bible makes it clear that those flames are real!

The Bible tells us that, until death and Hell are thrown into the lake of fire, Hell is in the centre of the earth. Have you ever stopped and wondered where all that volcanic ash comes from?

The other way sin can prevent a person coming to the truth is that 
there are people who don't get saved because they think they have to give up their sins
or they don't want to admit that the things they do are sinful and wrong.
They don't want the light shined on their sins.

But if you had to give up your sins to be saved no one would be saved.
If things were truly just in this world then we'd all be going to Hell for the Bible makes it clear
that there is none righteous no not one!
 
There is a false doctrine of works salvation that prevents many people getting saved.
"You have to be willing to give that stuff up" the false teacher would say.
But we're not saved by cleaning up our life.

Faith alone in Christ is all it takes for salvation.
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

You can clean up your life later, you can get in Church, hear some great preaching, get to know
The Bible and become sanctified later! First and foremost though let's get you to first base...
Let's get you saved!

False teachers will try and add to the Gospel...being willing to turn from sin, being prepared to clean up your life, repenting of sin etc but that is works salvation. 

"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."
Ephesians 2:8-9

We are saved by Grace alone, Faith alone, Christ alone.

There is no grey area when it comes to salvation, You must become child like here, the humble lost sinner is more likely to see the truth than the puffed up, prideful theologian who wants to add to the Gospel and make salvation difficult.

"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
2 Corinthians 11:3

Another hindrance when it comes to people getting saved is science or what the Bible calls "science falsely so called"
There are people who profess truth when it comes to science that it is almost a religion in it's self.
Atheism is a religion then, as it takes faith in scientists and professors ect and their theories.
People trust in these people and that their claims are correct.
That is a belief system.

But something can't come out of nothing, there has to have been a Creator.
Only a fool would believe otherwise.
"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
Psalm 14:1

The Bible is scientifically correct. Always ahead of it's time.
True science marries up perfectly with The Bible.

"He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing."
Job 26:7
"It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth"
Isaiah 40:22
"The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, 
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas."
Psalm 8:8
"The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land."
Psalm 95:5

Most people deep down believe there is a God.
They know there is a God on a deep, intrinsic level,
For the laws of God are written on the hearts of man.

The sincere and rational person understands there has to be a Creator,
Someone who designed this incredible and beautiful planet, Someone who designed man.
All this could not happen by accident.

Which leads me to my next point.

False religion is a major obstacle in getting people saved.

There are people who are so steeped in a lie it is very difficult to break through that exterior.

Whether it is a so called Christian denomination that promotes works based salvation or baptism based, or it is any other belief system that denies that Jesus Christ is The Eternal Son of God and
The Saviour of the world, false religion leads people away from Biblical salvation and into darkness.

"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:"
2 Corinthians 4:3

Some people are so brainwashed by false religion it is hard to break through with the truth.
This can spill over to culture or nationality, which can also be a hindrance.

People don't have to ditch their entire culture to receive Christ.
God split the people at The Tower of Babel. God made the nations!
But don't put your nationality, culture or ethnicity above Biblical truth.

Indian people for example can keep some of the wonderful things in their culture such as music, food, family values, colourful clothing and sport but they would have to forsake Hinduism and turn to Christ alone as their saviour. You can't combine trusting on Christ with any other belief system to make it to Heaven. It has to be all your faith and trust in Him alone.

Biblical Christianity can not co-exist with any other belief system.

The Bible says that Christ tasted death for all man.
Christ died for Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Atheists, Pagans alike. 
He died for the sins of the whole world. We love these people and want to get them saved!

For God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

There is a saying that says, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, many a compromising 
preacher or televangelist has lead souls to Hell by trying to be too inclusive, too watered down.
By deceiving people by saying that there are many ways to make it to Heaven when
The Bible says there is One.

The Bible is clear, if you don't know the Son you don't know the Father.
It is clear then that in order to be saved you have to put all your trust and faith in what Jesus did for you. All other ways will fail you.

Jesus said if you have Faith as big as a mustard seed you can move a mountain!
Your Faith may be minuscule, but as long as it is in The Lord Jesus Christ, His finished work on
The Cross and what He did for you, and is in Him alone, then The Holy Spirit will come upon you
and you will inherit The Kingdom of Heaven and have Eternal life!

Jesus said "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." 
John 14:18

When you preach the Gospel some people are going to get saved some are not.
You can try your best to present it as best as you can and pray for them to get saved,
​but ultimately it is up to them,
For God has given each person freewill to make their own choices.

The power though is in God's word.
"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God".
Romans 10:17

The last thing I will say is that many lost people don't even know they are lost.
They are so busy with all the distractions of life that they lose site of what really matters.
They know something is missing, something is not quite right, they are unfulfilled
but they don't know that what they need is The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I don't claim to be a theologian or academic, Just a sinner saved by Grace through Faith like millions of others before me. I was lost for years myself, I saw the world through the eyes of a lost person, before my journey towards truth led me to The Cross, led me to the feet of Jesus.

It is easy to get saved, as easy as taking a drink of water or walking through a door.
If you're lost right now why not call on Him today?
You can settle this now, The Bible says salvation happens in the blink of an eye.
In a moment of time we are passed from death to life.

Jesus said "Repent ye and believe" 
Repentance in a salvation context just means to turn, to change your mind about whatever it was you were believing or trusting in before to accepting the free gift of Salvation through
The Lord Jesus Christ and receiving Eternal Life.

The Bible says now is the day of Salvation.
Please read on for more scripture

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. 

And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:

Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
​
Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Acts 3:19-26

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Call upon Jesus as your Saviour

3/28/2018

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Where do people go after they die?
Words can't describe how beautiful heaven is.
It's a place of beauty, where God lives with His angels.
God wants people to make it to heaven.

What is the opposite of heaven?
Hell. A place of fire and brimstone. A place of darkness and torment.
It is a place where you don't want to go. God doesn't want you to go there.


The Bible tells us that people have two possible destinations when they die,
either Heaven or Hell. I'm writing this because I want you to make it to Heaven some day.
Before I present to you The Gospel, you need to understand who Jesus is and
why He had to come here.

The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is The Son of God. 
Born of a virgin, He was a little baby at one point and grew up as a small child just as we did.
​He went on to work as a carpenter. 
Just like us He was tempted at all points and yet He never sinned.
He was the only guiltless man to ever walk this earth.


During His earthly ministry, Jesus performed many miracles like healing sick people, calming storms, walking on the sea and even raising people from the dead. He fed 5000 people with just five loaves and two fish and performed many more amazing miracles.


The rulers and leaders of the day didn't like him and so they arrested Him.
They trialled Him and even though He was completely innocent they found Him guilty and ordered to have Him crucified. They beat Him, spat on Him, put a crown of thorns on His head and nailed Him to The Cross. 

The Bible tells us that when He was on The Cross it was as if all of our sins were on there with Him.
He died on the Cross for us.
3 days later He rose from the dead, this was a physical resurrection.
His spirit re-entered His body and He ascended to Heaven to be at the right hand of The Father.


The Bible tells us that God is 3 in 1. The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit.
We know this as The Trinity. 3 unique persons making up the 1 true God.
So we see here that not only was Jesus the Son of God,
He was God manifested in the flesh.

So how do we make it to Heaven?
Being saved is easy we just have to put all our trust and Faith in Jesus and we can have everlasting life. Everlasting life means it lasts forever and You can never lose it.
"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:"
John 3:36


Jesus said "repent ye, and believe the gospel." Mark 1:15
Biblical repentance means to change...a change of mind, a change of heart.
It means to change or turn from unbelief to now believing the Gospel and receiving the free gift of eternal life.

The last thing I wanted to mention to you today is a passage in The Bible, taken from one of
The 4 Gospels, The Book of John, where Jesus says
"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3

What this means is that when we accept The Lord Jesus Christ as our personal saviour and receive the free gift of eternal life we enter into God's eternal family and are born again spiritually.
Our spirit is quickened, the Bible says, and we are passed over from death to life.

It is a spiritual rebirth, obviously we cannot physically be born again!
The moment we get saved we are filled with The Holy Spirit and regeneration takes place.
Physically we will remain the same for now, but inside everything will change for the better and
you will feel a great sense of contentment, direction and purpose.

Once this takes place we have been set free from the penalty of sin and have eternal life.
We live life safe in the knowledge that we are now permanently part of God's eternal Family.

We will still be tempted by sin, and indeed will still sin, as there will become an ongoing struggle between the spirit and the flesh. We may be disciplined or punished by God if we do wrong or even have future rewards taken away.
Paradoxically, if we do good after we are saved, ie. find and attend a great church, help others, keep the commandments, tell others the good news about Jesus and generally live a clean life as best we can, then we will receive God's blessings in this physical life and rewards later on in heaven. 

Either way though, our salvation is secure. It is sealed. Once saved always saved. 


A Clear Gospel Presentation
The Bible way to Heaven

1.)Admit you are a sinner
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 3.23

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.”
Romans 3:10

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:8

For no one is good enough to make it to Heaven on his or her own merit.
No matter how much good we do, we still come short.

2.)Realize the penalty for sin
“For the wages of sin is death”
Romans 6.23

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was
cast into the lake of fire."
Revelation 20:15

Just as there are wages for good, there is punishment for wrong.
The penalty for our sin is eternal death in a place called Hell.
You must be saved to find your name written in the book of life.


3.)Believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again for you
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, 
Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10.9

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 3:16

"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."
Ephesians 2:8-10


4..)Trust Christ alone as your saviour
"But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 6.23

"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved”
Romans 10:13

Eternal life is a gift purchased by the blood of Jesus and offered freely to those who call upon Him by faith. Anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved forever.
Being saved is a one time event.

Jesus died, was buried and resurrected.
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Here is a prayer, please understand it's not mere words that save,
but your faith in The Lord Jesus Christ. All glory to Him!

Dear Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and that I can't make it through on my own.
But I believe that You died on the Cross for me.
I call upon Your mighty name as my Lord and Saviour.
Please save me and take me to Heaven when I die.
I'm trusting only in You Jesus.
Amen 

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
​Revelation 3:20






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Letter to the unsaved

12/12/2017

1 Comment

 
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Dear friend, 
As we come closer to Christmas and the end of another year, please consider a life changing decision for the eternal good of your soul. For Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, who was God manifested in the flesh. Who came down to this earth, born of a woman. 

When we call on The Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour we are forgiven for all our sins and all of our future ones too.The blood of Jesus washes us clean, we are regenerated. 

When we get saved, we are also imputed into righteousness which means all the incredible acts of kindness and good that Jesus did on this earth are added onto our account! No wonder God holds His children in such high regard! 

Physically you will stay the same, you will still sin and face the same struggles that all people do, 
but when you get saved you are reborn on the inside, that is why The Bible says we must be born again to make it to heaven. (John 3:3) 

When you get saved, life will get easier for you, as your new best friend, The Holy Spirit will guide you through. He will protect you and help navigate you through life's biggest storms. (In The Christian faith we learn that God is 3 in 1. The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. 3 separate persons making up the One True God) 

You will find as you grow on your Christian journey you get smarter. For God has given us His Word, The Holy Bible to read and meditate on. 66 books with all of life's answers inside. 

The Bible says in The Book of Proverbs that The fear of The Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In The book of Proverbs alone there is a wealth of information, knowledge and wisdom that all the other books of this world cannot offer. 

"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple."
Psalm 19.7 

The book of Psalms meanwhile, contains the most amazing and beautiful poetry and lyrical content ever written. As a songwriter myself, I read them and think there is no way that mortal man could have written this on his own, this is truly God inspired! 
(I use a King James Bible also known as The Authorised Version) 

Many people think they can make it to heaven on their own merit but The Bible makes it clear that there is none righteous, no not one. According to Revelation 21.8, even 1 lie could disqualify you from making it to Heaven and we have all done things far worse than tell a lie, let's face it! 

Stealing, Fornication (sex outside of marriage) covetousness (desiring to have something that is not ours) lusting after another person other than our husband/wife are just some of the many things that would make us unrighteous in God's eyes. 

We were born into sin, this goes back to Adam and Eve and The Garden of Eden. We inherit this disease. 

Thankfully God knew this and sent His only begotten Son into the world, who lived a perfect and sinless life before becoming our sacrifice on The Cross when He was crucified by a cruel people who rejected Him. They rejected The Saviour of the whole world, can you believe that! 

They were without excuse, for during His earthly ministry, He had performed many miracles. He had raised the dead, healed the sick and afflicted, turned water into wine, fed 5000 people from only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, walked on water and all kinds of other cool stuff. His divinity was not in question. 

Jesus preached the truth and a lot of people didn't like it. 
He exposed them. 

When Jesus Christ died on The Cross it was like all of our sins, all of your sins, all of my sins, all of the world's sins were on there with Him. 

Jesus paid for them all in full by dying on The Cross. 
All you have to do to be saved is to trust in Him. 
Believe on Him with all of your heart, that is it. 

The Bible reads 
"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Acts 16.30-31 

Jesus rose from the dead on the 3rd day, thus conquering death. 
This was a bodily resurrection. He rose with His Body completely intact with the only change being the hole's in each hand from where they had nailed him to The Cross. 

The Bible tells us that today he is sitting at the right hand of the Father in Heaven and that He will return again to this earth one day and rule for 1000 years. 

Jesus died for everyone in the whole world, but not everyone will make it to heaven. Sadly many will fail to accept this wonderful free offering. Jesus Himself spoke of this when He said
"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction"
Matthew 7:13

Many will try and work their way to Heaven and will fail. 
Salvation is a free gift offered to all those who chose to accept it. 
Salvation has always been, and will always be by Faith alone.
People living in Old Testament times were saved by their faith in God's promise of a coming Messiah. 

We can't work our way to heaven, it was paid for in full by The Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary. 

"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." 
​Ephesians 2:8-9 

Grace is something given to us that is undeserved. 
We don't deserve salvation, nothing we do could earn it, 
but through God's grace you can have it by placing all your faith in His Son, The Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross at Calvary. 

Being saved is a one time event, You are given eternal life and enter into God's Family. God gives us this security, this peace of mind. We in the faith call it the eternal security of the believer. 

You could never lose your salvation, it could not be called a free gift if you could, it could not be called eternal and everlasting life if you could. If you mess up in this physical life after you're saved God will punish you. But He is long suffering, kind and merciful. 

A great example of someone in The Bible being saved by Faith alone is the thief on The Cross. He was one of the 2 other men being murdered along with Jesus. He had lived a sinful life but The Bible makes it clear he made it to heaven through faith alone in The Lord Jesus Christ . 

This moving story, featured in 3 of the 4 Gospel accounts, perfectly illustrates how simple Salvation really is. 

Dear friend, tomorrow may never come. Don't risk an eternity in hell, separated from God. Trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour today. 

Below is a clear Gospel presentation. 
The prayer at the end is a guide but you can word it to be more personal if you like. 
A Clear Gospel Presentation 
The Bible way to Heaven 

1.)Admit you are a sinner 
"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" 
Romans 3.23 
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one.” 
Romans 3:10 
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” 
1 John 1:8 

For no one is good enough to make it to Heaven on his or her merit. 
No matter how much good we do we still come short 

2.)Realize the penalty for sin 
“For the wages of sin is death”
​Romans 6.23 

Just as there are wages for good, there is punishment for wrong. 
The penalty for our sin is eternal death in a place called Hell. 

3.)Believe that Jesus Christ died, was buried, and rose again for you. ​ 
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 
Romans 10.9 


4.)Trust Christ alone as your saviour 
"But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord 
Romans 6.23 
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved 
Romans 10:13 
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever belietheth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." 
John 3.16 

Eternal life is a gift purchased by the blood of Jesus and offered freely to those who call upon Him by faith. Anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved forever. Being saved is a one time event. 

Jesus died, was buried and resurrected. 

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” 
1st Corinthians 15:1-4 

Here is a prayer, please understand it's not mere words that save, 
but your faith in Jesus Christ. 

Dear Jesus, 
I know that I am a sinner and I deserve to go to Hell. 
But I believe that you died on the cross for me. 
Please save me and take me to Heaven when I die. 
I'm trusting only in you Jesus. 
Amen 

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” 
Revelation 3:20 
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The new vs The old

11/23/2017

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I wanted to write about the subject of the internal struggle that comes after we are saved.

We are saved by grace through faith. Christ paid it all on The Cross. We only have to believe on Him for our eternal salvation.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3.16

"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Acts 16.30-31

"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."
Ephesians 2:8-9

When you call on The Lord Jesus Christ as you're personal Saviour, you are sealed by 
The Holy Ghost until the day of redemption.
When we become saved, we enter a new relationship with God, we are adopted into His Family. 
We become a child of The King!

Spiritual rebirth takes place. All things become new.

"But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:"
1.1 John

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
2 Corinthians 5.17

But while everything changes on the inside and on an eternal and spiritual level, everything on the outside, for the time being at least, remains the same.

When we get saved, God creates a new creature called the new man which lives inside us.
A struggle then takes place.

The Bible describes this in 3 different ways:

The new man and the old man Colossians 3:9-10
The spirit and the flesh Galatians 5:17
The inward man and the carnal mind Romans 8:5-8

When you are saved, your inner man cannot commit sin. 
For inside us now, we have a new spirit, The Holy Spirit who cannot sin.

The flesh and the spirit become opposed.
The flesh lusteth against the spirit and the spirit the flesh.
For the carnal mind is enmity with God.

Every person born into this world is a slave to sin. This goes right back to The Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve's sin.
We inherit this disease, but God has provided the perfect remedy for us all through His Perfect Son Jesus Christ.

"For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."
John 3:17

The Born-Again Christian can no longer enjoy sin, I speak of this anecdotally! 
It may provide a kind of numb feeling at best, but that which once seemed enjoyable and pleased the flesh, will now leave a vexed, guilty and convicted feeling.

It is impossible to stop sinning entirely whilst we are in the flesh.
The born again believer will still struggle with sin for the rest of his/her physical life.
The will to do what's right may be there, but as Jesus Christ Himself said
"The Spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak"

As hard as it is though, we need to try our best to walk in the spirit and not the flesh.

The backslidden Christian lives in a temporary state of misery, for one reason or another he/she gets out of touch with God and ends up out of fellowship with Him.

They are still saved, still a child of God, still a Christian...albiet a careless, disobedient, unhappy and ineffective one.

It's like the devil has a plan B for your life, his priority is to stop you getting saved, and he has a range of tactics he will use to achieve this, but once you enter into God's eternal family he doesn't stop there, his plan is then to slow down your Christian growth, show you what you used to enjoy, remind you of the 'fun' you once had and keep you chained to sin, 
hence making you an ineffective Christian and denying you rewards in Heaven for serving God.

The Christian who is walking with The Lord, enjoying the fullness of blessing in Christ and living a dedicated life is extremely satisfied and content.

The non-Christian meanwhile, can be happy to a point, blissfully ignorant of the measure of his/her downfall. They have never tasted the things of Christ and therefore do not miss them.

The backslidden Christian is stuck between 2 worlds, both not being able to enjoy The Lord and not being able to enjoy the world either.

Many Christians continue to live a life of sin...eat, drink and be merry, you've heard it said.
But God wants us to come out from among them, He wants us to be a peculiar people.
Not conformed to this world but transformed.

Us Christians must live a Christian life, read our Bible daily and get right with God.
We should take heed to ourselves. even a right hearted person needs to take diligent heed to God's warnings, establish rules and boundaries, meditate on God's word,
Go to Church at least once a week.

You may need to change your lifestyle, spend your time more wisely.

Look after your body  for it is the temple of The Holy Ghost which is in You. 
You're not your own, you were bought at a price therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's. 

When we become part of God's Family, our body becomes the temple for The Holy Spirit.
Jesus Christ lives inside our heart.

Try and lead a good life, for the unsaved are watching, We are ambassadors of Christ's and should be a good role model whenever we can. 

The Bible says the prosperity of fools will destroy them.
We need to be sober we need to be vigilant.

The Bible says that when we are saved our sins have been dealt with, forgiven, forgotten and paid for in full on The Cross by The Lord Jesus Christ.

However we will be judged by our works, by our deeds, our contribution to The Kingdom.

Part of the great commission is to try and win people to Christ, you're literally pulling them out of the fire when you get someone saved. If you can't give them The Gospel, at least plant a seed, someone else may water it later on, for The Holy Spirit works in supernatural ways.

If you're a backslidden Christian reading this, you need to repent and start turning back towards God and walking in the light once again.

You will never be able to stop committing sin completely in this life, but you can still lead a clean, diligent, loving and fruitful Christian life working hard for God and securing eternal rewards in Heaven for later.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."
Galatians 5:22-23


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Saved by the Word

9/5/2017

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"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."
1 Peter 23-26 

We are born again by the Word of God.
The Word of God is the seed that makes that new birth possible and gets people saved.
In the Parable of the sower found in three of the four Gospels, The seed is the Word of God.

The Bible is the Word of God, it was in the beginning with God and it was God.

Jesus Christ is the Word made flesh.
​
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
John 1.14

The words of God are spirit and they are life and they bring Salvation.

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
Romans 10.17

"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."
Ephesians 1.13

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."
Romans 1.16

You can't separate The Word of God with salvation, for the Word of God brings salvation.
You can not be saved without the Word of God.
You can not believe on Christ without hearing of Christ.

We are saved by Grace through Faith alone in The Lord Jesus Christ.
Faith grants access into Grace and Faith comes from hearing The Word of God. 

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Hebrews 4.12

If somebody tries to paraphrase the Gospel in their own words it has to be in tandem with
scripture, You can not be saved without the Word of God. 

You could hear the Word of God and then later on someone could explain the Gospel to you in their own words, but the Word of God must have been heard at some point in order for salvation to take place as it is the seed of new life.

It doesn't have to be the whole Bible, it could just be one verse, but hearing the Word of God is the essential seed needed for salvation.

Here are some scriptures for you to meditate on: 

"That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.
​For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3.15-18 

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."
John 3.36

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5.24

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 6.40


"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
John 6.47

"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"
John 11.25

"To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins."
Acts 10.43

"And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Acts 16.31

"Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them" that believe: for there is no difference"
Romans 3.22

"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
Romans 3.26 

"Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."
Romans 3.28

"For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness." Romans 4.3

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth."
Romans 10.4

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Romans 10.9

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified."
Galatians 2.16
​
"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."
Ephesians 2:8-9

"Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you."
John 15.3
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Christ paid it all

4/11/2017

1 Comment

 
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As I grow on my Christian journey I sometimes have to stop and realise just how far my life has changed in such a relatively short space of time since I came to The Lord.

From truth seeker to Born again Christian through to discipleship.
The changes have been remarkable and I thank The Lord Jesus Christ every day for this new direction.

In the unlikely setting of Melbourne's inner North, I am lucky enough to be in a position to sit down and talk with people on almost a daily basis. There, I have been able to present The Gospel to a considerable amount of people now.

Sometimes, people are not ready to hear a Gospel presentation, however I will still try and share my own Christian testimony, or read them a Bible verse or two and hopefully plant a seed in their mind, before continuing on my way.

Many people don't accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour and as sad as that ultimately is (if they don't change) that is their decision and as a Christian worker or Disciple you have to respect their decision and move on, for God has given every person free will to make their own choices.

The Bible tells us there are two major choices available to us, either we elect to come to God
through the life and work on The Cross of His sinless and perfect Son or we choose to live in eternal separation from Him. 

"He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." 
John 3.18

"And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
Acts 16:30-31

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever belietheth in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." 
John 3.16-17

Thankfully, I do meet many people on my travels who do accept Jesus as their Saviour and are saved 
and it is always great listening to and sharing stories with fellow Christians, and I have learned a great deal from them.

Worryingly though, there are many who claim to be Christian but are so far wrong on doctrine they are not saved. This is an area of major concern with potentially eternal ramifications.

The Bible makes it clear that once you're born again and saved you're always saved,
yet one of the biggest obstacles I see is people who believe in a works based Salvation.
These people wrongly believe that it is faith plus their own good works which will take them to Heaven when they die.

There is no ambiguity when it comes to Christ's finished work on The Cross. Salvation is a free gift.
If you had to work for it it could not be considered free.

"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." Ephesians 2:8-9

"Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus"
Romans 3:24

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."
Romans 4:5

​You can not work your way to heaven no matter how much good you think you do.
Time and time again in The Bible the question is asked "What must I do to be saved?" and over and over again the answer is simply to believe on The Lord Jesus Christ.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life."
John 6.47 

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God" 
1 John 5-10  

"And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."
John 6:35 

Another false teaching I sometimes encounter is a repent of your sins Gospel which proclaims that first of all we must stop sinning to qualify for salvation. This is commonly known as 'Lordship salvation' and again is works based, as it is declaring that it takes your own good works (stop sinning) plus Faith in Christ to be saved. 

What this means is that the person is not putting ALL their Faith in Jesus and are adding works to get them to heaven. 

Repentance is not ceasing from sinful bad habits, nor even being willing to turn from one's sins;
God himself repented many times in The Bible and  He is, of course, without sin.

Repentance means to turn, to change.
Repentance in a Salvation context is to turn towards God. Accepting that you can't make it through on your own and turning to The Lord Jesus Christ to be saved.

Both John the baptist and Jesus Himself said 'repent and believe' They did not say repent of your sins and be saved. 
Repent means to turn, to change. Once again, for the unsaved unbeliever it would mean to turn from not believing or from whatever they believed previously, to believing on The Lord Jesus Christ.

Not once is the term 'repent of your sins' written in the Bible.
To repent of our sins is something us Christians should do every day (during prayer) as it is impossible to be completely sinless while we are still in the flesh.

If you become backslidden and/or continue to live a life of major sin once you are saved, God will punish you in this physical life. He will discipline you like a parent would discipline their disobedient child, but this does not compromise your Salvation.

"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
John 6:37 

Many people have confused being a humble Christian with Discipleship.
Jesus commands that the disciple pick up their cross and follow Him. Putting the Christian life first before everything and everyone else. Not every Christian has this will or calling.
 
Others confuse Sanctification with Salvation.
Salvation begins the very moment we are saved in Christ, where as sanctification continues on and on as we grow in the spirit.

Many people claim to be Christian but don't truly know Jesus, they don't fully trust in him and so they don't truly know Him. If they don't change it will be too late some day.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? 
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Matthew 7:21-23

Salvation is a one-time event, it is only by the washing of the blood of Jesus that you are saved, once you are saved. You can not then do anything to lose your salvation. You are born again and have
The Holy Spirit living inside you.

All born again believers are permanently sealed unto the day of redemption by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Regeneration can't be undone.

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
John 3:3

​"And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
Ephesians 4:30 

God is not the author of confusion. Once you've been saved you've been passed from death to life,
It is a supernatural event. You are born into The Family of God and it is permanent. The eternal security of the believer is real. God gives us this promise, this peace of mind.

"And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one."
John 10:28-30

"That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession,
unto the praise of his glory." Ephesians 1:12

We simply have to Believe to be saved. You simply have to accept salvation as a free gift.
The Bible is clear, the only way to heaven and eternal life is through Jesus Christ.

"And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day"
John 6:40

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 
Romans 8:38-39

"He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
1 John 5:10

When we are saved we are given a new status, we are born again, we are right with God and forgiven.
We enter into a new Family, we are included into God's people and we are offered a new future,
​we are transformed through Christ. We are liberated to love God and neighbour.

The Blood of Jesus Christ washes away our sins and frees us from an eternity of suffering and condemnation. Believers are saved because of Christ's finished work on The Cross. We can do nothing to earn Salvation. It is a free gift given to all who chose to except it regardless of race, age, maturity or merit.

Put all your Faith in Jesus, and let your good works become rewards in Heaven.


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