All in Salvation
How is it that we are saved? How is it that the sin which rules our flesh is ever overcome? When I realized that without Jesus Christ in my life each and every day, I would naturally revert back to the creature I once was, my faith began to change at once within me. I came to understand that temptation and sin did not go away when I first believed, but instead must be held at bay, and I am allowed a moment by moment victory over it through Jesus.
Spiritual gifts, they are so misunderstood. Are you one of those who believes that you have no spiritual gifts? Do you watch as others exercise the gifts they have been given, and become despondent because you think that you have been passed over? Well I pose this question to you... what have you prayed for? Have you asked God to show you His will for you, and then after receiving that answer, asked for the ability to accomplish it?
We often pray for forgiveness, and in one such prayer we ask God to forgive us from those things we have left undone. Have you ever prayed this way and wondered what those undone sins might be? Well the most powerful example of these is not witnessing in word or deed to a sinner, either unsaved, or who has wandered from the faith. Not witnessing when we are able places the blood of that soul upon us, but by obedience we save our own souls.
Do you bless your family? Are you more than a sire, or a dame who brought forth children from the womb? There is so much to raising a family, and all of our children are as different as Jacob’s; each needing a special blessing. Not all of them are presently good, but each one needs to know the Lord, and that necessitates our prayers, our attention, and our blessing as we wait upon God to call and save them. This is our calling, the will of a God for us, but in the end we can’t save them ourselves.
When we say the word revival, as it pertains to our faith, what comes to our minds? Is it tent meetings that run late into the night? Is it a guest Pastor who preaches fire and brimstone or directs the Church towards some new endeavor? Is it the return of calm to a chaotic world? No, although you might find a sense of revival in these things, it is actually the restoration of the divine nature in a soul, a church, or even the world... it is the reinvigoration of faith by God’s divine presence.
Jesus laid down his life for all of us collectively, but to a much finer point, he died for each of us individually. It is easy to disavow personal ownership in the ramifications of something when you are part of a crowd, but it becomes very clearly an individual matter when we form a personal attachment, or take a leadership role. Jesus died to save each of us individually, and we are each responsible for our own actions, and covenant with Him.
Do you think that you are too far gone to be salvaged? Are you too embarrassed to come before Jesus and ask for forgiveness and a new life? When you look at your past do you think it is too filthy and torn to ever be made new once more? Well think again because the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away any stain, and mend the holes in every garment in life.
Do you seek out the will of the Father as you go about living each and every day? Do you say that you do the things which Jesus taught, and yet neglect to ask, seek, and knock on the door of God in search of His Holy will? If this is true then you are in dire straights, and Jesus will know you not when you stand in judgement. Nothing was more important to Him than to do His Father’s will.
Over the past few days many of you have prayed for me as I have battled to throw off the head and chest cold I have been suffering with, but today I wish to pray for you, and ask that you join me by praying for me and those around you. My prayer today is not for your physical body, but rather for your spirit and faith. Have you ever prayed such a prayer? If you haven’t then you are missing the greatest opportunity in prayer... to pray for the will of God to be manifest in all its power within another person.
When we look at life we know that there is only room for one God, person, or thing at the pentacle of it. When we look at ourselves we don’t see a Mesa, or a plateau, we see a peak... the spire that is our ultimate point of existence. So what will we place there? What will occupy the highest point in our life, will it be the God of Abraham, Jesus Christ, some created form of mock spirituality, financial success, physical prowess, or another worldly desire? The decision must be made, and the champion of our lives placed at the crest.
What is the state of your life right now? Are you proud of where you are in your faith at this very moment? When you address your actions of the past, even the last few hours, how do they make you feel right now? We hate the word “now” because it requires immediate action. We put off changing our lives, we neglect a marginal faith, we postpone a look at where and who we are. We say, tomorrow I will begin to __________. How do you complete this sentence within the bounds of your life? Jesus says NOW is the accepted time.
As Christians we claim that Jesus Christ is Lord, but so many of us continue to fret over the world as if it still reigns supreme in our lives... and when we do this, it does. Are you one of those who says he trusts in God, and then busily works at trying to solve the world’s problems for Him? Are national and world politics more than casual interests? Do you worry yourself sick about your health and dying despite knowing that you are already dead to this world, and are eternally secure in the next? Well let’s revisit our faith.
Are you struggling with whether you will give yourself to Jesus, and fully believe in God? Have you been reasoning and reading scripture without moving an inch closer to believing? If so, then quit listening to your own intellect, and still yourself... then open your ears to the still small voice of God that calls you to “Come.” Hearing God isn’t a matter of intellectual reasoning on your part; it is being inexplicably drawn by the Lord.
We are creatures of both natural and spiritual construction. It is God’s desire that our natural selves be disciplined, and come under the authority of the spiritual, but that wild and unschooled nature is not a passive student in this transition. Have you gained control over your natural self? are you waiting for God to make this choice for you? Well He has His desire, but the choice remains yours.
Do you understand that Jesus Christ had to die in order to secure your redemption, or do you think He was just a mythological character meant to describe morality to us in a how-to book called the Bible? Friends, the account is real, and not a story; it is the single greatest event to occur since creation... complete with all the miracles, wonders, suffering, awe, and yes, death.