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A New Millennium Won't but a New Birth
Will.
1. Give you a brand new start. "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.
2, Give you a new nature. "Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust." 2 Peter 1:4.
3. Give you a new song. "And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise
unto our God." Ps 4:3.
4. Give you a new citizenship. "For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven from whence we also look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ?"
Philippians 3:20.
5. Give you a new home. "In my Father's house are many mansions if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for
you." John 14:2.
6. Give you a new kingdom. "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translation us into the kingdom of his dear Son." Colossians
1:13.
7. Give you a new master. "Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" Acts 9:6.
Three Great Goals in Life
"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." All through the Bible, God's people had
goals (look them up if you wish). Paul had three great goals in Phil.3:10-14:
I. There is a Person to be perceived. "That I man know Him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffers being made conformable unto his death."
A. As our personal Savior. "If you only knew who it is that says to thee, give me to drink." We need to know Him as Savior. Paul knew him as Savior and he tells about it in verses 4-9.
B. As our power to survive. The power of His resurrection. We sing "Because He lives I can Face Tomorrow": and how true.
C. As our power to serve. "Without me you can do nothing." "Thine is the power" "Not by
[our] might nor by [our] power." Zech. 4:6.
II. There is a purpose to be achieved. "That I may apprehend that for which I was apprehended of Christ Jesus." Vs. 12
A. God has a plan for your life. "that for which I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" He prepared us, gifted us, and placed us in the body of Christ as it pleased Him. He apprehended us, "laid hold of us" with a wonderful plan for our lives.
B. We must purpose to attain that purpose. That I may apprehend, "lay hold of" that for which I was apprehended, that for which God laid hold of us when He saved us. We must want to become all God intends for us.
C. We must pursue it with all of our hearts. "I follow after" really means to doggedly pursue this plan of God.
III. There is a prize to be received. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." vs 14
A. The prize of recognition. "Well done thou good and faithful servant"
B. The prize of rewards. "I come quickly and my reward is with me."
C. The pursuit of the prize. "I press" toward the prize. The word press is like a runner when he sees the goal and crosses the last hurdle, he "guts" it and goes all out to win that prize.
A Sermon
"How shall we escape, We neglect so great salvation" Heb 2:3. This is written to believers for the writer includes himself when he says, "How shall WE escape," and from the verses above he is talking about judgment for neglecting this great salvation. He is talking about
"neglecting," not "rejecting" this salvation. In the book of Hebrews, he tells us several reasons it is such a "great salvation."
1. It is so great because angels are "sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation" Heb 1:14. We can all think of some times when, before we were saved, God spared our lives and now we know there was a "guardian angel" watching over us even before we were saved. That is awesome and we should remember that and not "neglect" this great salvation.
2. It is so great because of the "captain of their salvation" Heb 2:19. Oh my, we emulate the author or creator or originator of a book or song or invention and rightly so, but think of the author of our
Salvation! It is Son of the Living God! Now that makes it so very special. The
Declaration of Independence is so carefully preserved and taken care of. How much more should we take care of our salvation and not neglect it.
3. It is so great, for He is the author of "eternal salvation" Heb 5:9. That is the only kind of salvation He gives. It is not a ten year policy, nor a trial policy, but eternal salvation. If you got saved by the grace of God you are saved for eternity. That should cause us to rejoice and to respond with all of our hearts.
4. It is so great because of the "things that accompany salvation" Heb 6:9. "He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Rom 8:32. He give us the Holy Spirit to comfort, teach, guide and do so much more. What a tragedy it is that so many never enjoy so much that accompanies this great salvation.
5. It is so great because He is coming again "and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation." Praise the Lord what He began He will finish. We shall see Him and be like Him 1 Jn 3:2. He said, "I come quickly and my reward is with me, to give every man according as
his work shall be." What a great salvation. No wonder He says, "How shall we escape if we NEGLECT so great salvation." Many believers who neglect reading the Word of God, prayer, church attendance, witnessing and loving the Lord Jesus need to heed this admonition.
What is the greatest thing that ever happened to you? Why getting saved of course.
Then what is the greatest thing you could do for someone else? Why seeing them get saved! Don't neglect this salvation. One great thing that accompanies this salvation is the privilege of being an ambassador and sharing this great salvation with others. Bless you as you do.
1. Abandoned to the will of God: The gifts of the Spirit are divided "to every man severally as he will" (1
Cor. 12:11). You are gifted. Paul was "called to be an apostle by the will of God". It is the will of God that every believer be taught and involved in the "work of the ministry" (Eph 4:12). Even the Lord Jesus was abandoned to the will of God for he said, "not my will but thine be done." "Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross" (Heb. 12:2). "By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasure of Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward" (Heb.1:24-26). He was abandoned to the will of God. We must be too. Joshua as he was about to go into the promised land, the place of the will of God, said, "Choose you whom you will serve but as for me" he could not answer for others but as for me he said, I will serve the Lord. He was abandoned to the will of God. It is a decision one must make for himself. Like the disciples, "we must obey God."
2. Abiding in the Word of God: "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee" (Ps 119:11). We need to memorize the Word to hide it in our hearts. Then we need to meditate on the word to really be successful and prosper. "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth but thou shall meditate therein day and night that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein, for then thou shall make thy was prosperous and then thou shalt have good success" (Josh 1:8). That great promise in Ps.1:2,3 says, "But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Then we should master it, "Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Tim 2:15).
3. Abounding in the work of God: "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast,
unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor.15:58). We are created in Christ Jesus "unto good works." What a joy to find your spiritual gifts and put them to use in the work of the Lord. In fact it is just plain fun. Then it is forever. Everything else down here is going to be left behind and burned up one day. Getting the gospel to people, "preach the gospel to every creature" and get people to the gospel, "compel them to come in" to His house just beats anything else we can do for the Lord, hands down. "It is not as important to be busy as it to be busy about the right things"
Three Great Questions Asked By Jesus
1. Lovest thou me? John 21:16. He asked this of Peter after he had
been restored.
A. He wants to hear us say it. Those three little words, "I love you" are so
powerful and desperately need to be heard by all of us. The amazing thing is that the Lord
Jesus Himself wants to hear us SAY it. Any married man, with wisdom, knows how much his
wife wants and needs to hear it said. All human beings have a vacuum that can only be
filled with love. Someone said, "The entire sum of existence is the magic of being
loved by just one person." Jesus was a man, just like us, apart from sin, and wants
to be loved and asks us to tell Him so. The sad story here is that Peter never said
"I love you" ( I agape you) but used the word " Philos" which really
means "I like you". Do you think it hurt the Lord Jesus?
B. He wants us to show it. There is nothing in the Bible more beautiful nor filled with
more pathos than the story of the woman "who was a sinner" told in Luke 7. Jesus
was in the Pharisee's house eating. This woman came in "stood at his feet weeping and
began to was his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed
his feet and anointed them with the ointment." He loved it and commend it. Oh, that
we loved Him so today
2. Where are the nine? (Lk, 17:17).
Jesus asked this after he had cleansed the ten lepers and only one turned back to give
him thanks. He did not heal them to get their praise, of course, but it is the height of
crass ignorance and ungratefulness not to praise Him. "In everything give
thanks" is the command of Scripture. In the last days men shall be
"unthankful." In Romans 1, we see those to whom God had revealed himself through
creation "neither were they thankful" and they did the dumbest thing of making
idols and calling them their God. Because of their unthankfulness and turning from God, He
"gave them up." How awful to not be thankful.
3. Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke
6:46.
It is as incongruous as can be to call Him Lord and not obey Him. Today, if you preach
obedience you are called a legalist. NO! You are not a legalist, you just realize He is
Lord, He is God and you must obey and serve Him to please Him and to glorify Him. When
Joshua was to lead the people into the promised land, in the will of God for their lives,
God said over and over for them to observe and do all of his commandments and statues that
it might be well with them and that they might live long. If we are going to enter into
and receive the life more abundantly, we must "trust and obey" for there no
other way to be happy in Jesus.
Why Witness
According to Luke 15
1. See the necessity for witnessing, evangelizing.
Vs. 4 "If he lose one of them" People are lost without Christ and headed to an
eternal hell. Hell is no joke. Somehow we have lost the fear of God and the fear of hell.
As believers we must realize hell is real and we are the only ones who have the answer to
go after the lost.
2. See the urgency of witnessing.
The shepherd will "leave the ninety and nine." You see, we are no longer fishers
of men but keepers of aquariums. We need to be fishers of men! Any good shepherd will
leave all his sheep to go after just one lost sheep. Shouldn't we do the same today? Oh
the value of one soul. Somehow we have lost the sight of the value of one lost soul.
3. See the primacy of witnessing.
"Will he not leave the ninety-nine and go after the lost sheep." We say,
"come and hear" and God says "go and tell." The last thing Jesus said
before he left is "go." What is primary in your life? What should be primary?
What is the most important thing that ever happened to you? Why it is getting saved, of
course. What then is the most important thing you can do for someone else? Get the gospel
to them and them to Christ.
4. See the persistency of evangelizing.
The shepherd will go "until he finds it". We have instant coffee,
instant rice, instant potatoes and we want instant results or we quit. I prayed for my
father for 35 years before he came to Christ. Was it ever worth it? When he died four
hears later and I had the joy of preaching his funeral and seeing over 30 people pray to
receive the Lord Jesus. "Be not weary in well doing for, in due season, we shall reap
if we faint not," (Gal. 6:9). It staggers how many truly born again Christians have
given up; witnessing or never even got started. We can change the world and we must keep
planting seed if want to pick fruit.
5. See the ecstasy of witnessing.
"And when he has found [the sheep], he lays it on his shoulder, rejoicing."
There is no joy to compare with seeing someone born of God right before your very eyes.
Jesus said, "I have food to eat, that you know not of" when the woman at the
well got saved and brought a whole city to Christ. If you want a well of water bubbling
inside of you, start obeying the Lord and get folks to Jesus and see them transformed, on
their way to heaven instead of hell, now bringing glory to God instead of being a blight
to God and His glory.
CONCLUSION: Will you make a decision to "see the lost," like
any good shepherd should do?
Jabez's Prayer
"Jabez was more honorable than his brethren" (1 Chron. 4:10). For one thing
he did not harbor nor try to cover any sin in his life for God says, "If I regard
iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me" (Ps. 66:18) much less answer my
prayer. Then he had no unconfessed sin in his life for "Behold, the Lord's hand is
not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: but your
iniquities have separated between you and your God and your sins have hid his face from
you, that he will not hear" (Isa. 59:1,2). You and I know that unconfessed sin will
haunt you like the hounds of hell, for David described it when he said, "My sin is
ever before me" (Ps. 51:3). It will rob you like a thief in the night because God
declares, "Your sins have withholden good things from you" (Jer. 5:25). Sin must
be confessed, not covered. This is essential for God to grant his or our requests. How
awful to miss getting the things Jabez got.
1. "Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed" (1 Chron. 4:10).
God is so good. He wants to bless and said, "No good thing will He withhold from them
that walk uprightly," (Ps. 84:11). How enlightening and encouraging is the word in
Matt. 7:9-11 where he concludes by saying, "how much more shall your Father which is
in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" The key here is "you have not
because you ask not" (James 4:2). Jabez, an unknown and unheralded, asked for big
things and he received them. Why don't we ask for the same things? Thousands are asking
daily, and God is still granting the same requests. Multitudes of believers need to know
that God is so good and to see the goodness of God demonstrated in their lives.
2. "Enlarge my coast" (1 Chron. 4:10), my influence, my
impact, my ministry. In Jabez day to possess land meant a person had a stewardship of that
land. Today each of us has spiritual gifts and ministries, and we are to be "good
stewards" of that possession. We too can "fill our Jerusalem with our
doctrine" (Acts 5:28) and could "turn the world upside down" (Acts 17:6) if
we each prayed fervently for God to enlarge our ministries way beyond our present border.
Sunday school teachers, youth workers, pastors, missionaries and Christian workers in
every area who consistently pray this are seeing God open doors and enlarge their
ministries to their amazement.
3. "That thy hand may be with me" (I Chron. 4:10). The book
of Ezra is a beautiful commentary on the "hand of God upon you". Big things
happened to Ezra over and over because of the "hand of God upon him". The king
granted him all his requests 7:6; he went from Babylon to Jerusalem "according to the
hand of God upon him" 7:9; he said, "I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord
my God was upon me" 7:28; they got ministers "by the good hand of our God"
8:18; "the hand of God was upon them for good" 8:22; "the hand of God was
upon us and he delivered us from the hand of the enemy" 8:31. There is nothing wrong
with new methods, plans, programs and ideas but they are all worthless unless we have the
hand of God upon us. We need to see the hand of God so people will know God did it, and
not man, and God gets all the glory.
4. "And that thou wouldest keep me from evil" (1 Chron. 4:10).
With Christians and Christian workers falling like flies into sin and disrepute, how
desperately we need to pray this. "Well, the devil made me do it" is so often
glibly alibied. Let's quit the blame game and just pray what Jabez prayed and what the
Lord Jesus told us to pray when he said, "Pray, deliver us from evil." "God
granted him that which he requested" and he still is today to those who "keep on
asking" what Jabez asked and got. Nothing in my 59 years as a Christian has had the
impact on me and my ministry as praying what Jabez prayed every day, now, for several
years. Thousands are finding God do fantastic things for them and their ministry as they
also ask for what Jabez asked. I ask people now everywhere I preach to make a covenant,
that by the grace of God they will pray Jabez's prayer every day from now on. It works. I
hope you get in on it. "The real tragedy of life is not what people suffer but what
they miss," what they could be and could do for God and eternity.
Did you know we offer a beautifully framed version of Jabez's Prayer? Click here to take a peek!
What a Difference a Day Makes
Describe the difference before and after each day
1. The Day of Sin, Gen. 2:17
2. The Day of Salvation, Acts 26:13
3. The Day of Suffering, Job 3:13ff
4. The Day of Spirit-filled Living, Acts 1:8, 2:1ff
5. The Day of the Second Coming, 1 Thes. 5:2
Satan Desires
1. To Destroy You, John 10:10
2. To Devour You, 1 Peter 5:8
3. To Deceive You, Gen. 3:1-5
4. To Defeat You, Job 1:6ff
5. To Discourage You, 1 Kings 19:1-7
6. To Dilute You, Ex. 8:25,28
7. To Detour You, Num. 13 and 14
The Lamb of God
1. Typified, Ex. 12
2. Personified, Isa. 53
3. Identified, John 1:29
4. Glorified, Rev. 5
Don't Neglect so Great a Salvation – Heb.2:3
It is so great because:
1. Angels minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation -- 1:13
– Even before we are saved and we have all seen
it happen.
2. Because of the Captain or author of our salvation -- 2:10
– The Lord Jesus Himself.
3. He is the author of eternal salvation -- 5:9
– That is the only kind He gives.
4. The things that accompany salvation -- 6:9
– List the ones you want to emphasize
5. He is going to appear again to finish our salvation -- 9:28
– Take us home, reward us, and make us like
Jesus
| Get it all Together Examine yourself -- 2 Cor. 13:5
Examine yourself -- 1 Cor 11:28
Exercise yourself -- 1 Tim. 4:7
Evangelize sinners -- Mk 16:15
Exhort saints -- Heb 3:13
Edify saints -- Eph 4:12
Exalt the Savior -- Phil 2:9 |
The Power of God Pray and Plant -- Matt. 13:3
Obey -- Lk 5:5
Water and wait -- Gal 6:9
Expect -- Matt 13:58
Reap and rescue -- Ps 126:5,6 |
Isaiah 40:28-31
Introduction
a. God is Eternal - the everlasting God. v.28
b. God is Omnipotent - the Creator. v.28
c. God is Immutable - He fainteth not - neither is weary. v.28
d. God is Omniscient - there is no searching of His understanding. v.28
I. Exhausting Experiences - youths faint and are weary. v.30
II. Essential Experiences - wait on the Lord. v.30
III. Exalted Experiences - mount up as eagles. v.30
IV. Emergency Experiences - run - not weary. v.30
V. Everyday Experiences - walk and not faint. v.30
Psalm 126:5
l. The Task - go forth. We say come and hear, God says "Go and tell".
2. The Tears - weeping. If we weep, we will reap; if we don't we won't.
3. The Treasure - precious seed. You plant seed or you don't pick fruit.
4. The Triumph - shall doubtless. We can all win. Be soul-winners.
5. The Trophies - bringing sheaves. Win souls. Crowns to lay at Jesus' feet.
1. Love Christ - John 14:21; 2 Cor. 5:14
2. Love Your Companion - Eph. 5:25; Titus 2:4
3. Love Your Children - Eph. 6:4; Deut. 6:7; Gen. 18:19
Three Great Choices of Young People
(Pray, "What will thou have me to do" Acts 9:6)
1. Christ: for salvation, God's provision for life - foundation for other (Jn. 10:10; Rom.
5:8; 10:9, 10, 13)
2. Companion: for helpmeet, God's partner for life (Gen. 2:18; 1 Cor. 6:14)
3. Career: for service. God's plan for your life (1 Sam. 3:9; Phil. 3:12)
Keys to Success
1. Abandoned to the Will of God. Lk. 22:42; 14:25 ff; Acts 5:28, 29.
2. Abiding in the Word of God. Ps. 119:11; Josh. 1:8, 9; Jn. 15:7
3. Abounding in the Work of God. 1 Cor. 15:58; Eph. 2:10; Rev. 22:12
The 20/20 Vision of a Christian or a 4-Eyes Vision
Rom. 1
1. I Want Some Fruit. v. 13
2. I Am Debtor. v. 14
3. I Am Ready. v. 15
4. I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel. v. 16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4
a. It is "good news"
b. It is "the power of God" to salvation and all that goes with it.
c. It will get you to heaven. Rockets will get you to the moon, the gospel will get
you all the way to heaven. |
