Telling the Story of GraceGod has given to us a message which no man could have conceived. It would be impossible for a man to work out such a plan as the gospel presents. Since it is by His mercy, we faint not. We rejoice in it! But we must also lead others to it. As we study these verses this morning I ask two simple questions:1. Do you believe in Jesus. Do You Believe in a risen Savior that died for Your sins? 2. 2. Do you share your belief with others? 2Corinthians 4:17: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; God wants us to be ministers of the Gospel 2 Timothy 1:8: Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. Are we sometimes embarrassed that we are Christians? 2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. All the religions of the world say, "Do, do, do." The gospel says, "Done." The gospel tells me that God has done something for me; I am to believe it; I am to trust Him. The only way I can come to Him is by faith. That is my approach to Him. Hebrews 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. In contrast to this, the religions of this world all say, “You must do this” or “you must do that”. Some of these cults say you must have faith. However, by "faith" they do not mean a trust in Jesus Christ. They preach that you must believe in yourself and that if God chooses not to act it is because if a failure on our part! The truth is that IF GOD CHOOSES NOT TO ACT IT IS BECAUSE OF HIS DEVINE WILL AND NOT DUE TO ANYTHING I HAVE DONE OR COULD EVER DO! If it was based upon what we did or did not do, we’d all be lost. We’d never make it to heaven! This gospel is a gospel that is man made. It is based on service through GUILT, service to receive GIFTS, and from certain gifts or talents receiving GLORY. FAITH IS NOT...an acknowledgment as historical fact that Jesus lived and that He died over 2000 YEARS AGO. What? Oh, you have to believe that but that is not enough. Okay he rose again. NOT ENOUGH! WHAT?? Read Phillipians 3. May I say to you, it will not save you simply to believe that Jesus died. OR THAT HE WAS RESURRECTED. WE MUST BELIEVE Jesus Christ died for our OWN PERSONAL sins and rose again, according to the Scriptures. That is the important distinction. In His finished work we must put our trust. It is done. At one time Paul had been under the Law. Phillipians 3:5-6: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. He was really under the Law, and he hoped that he would be able to work out his salvation. Then one day he met the Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus road. Philippians 3:7-9: But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: You see, after Paul had stood in the presence of Jesus Christ, he saw that he could never make it on his own. Paul realized that any righteousness he might have by the Law would not be enough. He would need to have the righteousness of Christ. It was a new beginning for Paul. It is a new beginning for each of us when we recognize this fact. WE CANNOT MAKE IT ON OUR OWN!! Today we need mercy. God has been merciful; God loves us. God in His mercy provided a Savior for us, and now He saves us by His grace. How wonderful He is! 2 Corninthians 4:2: But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. You see only God and Our hearts know who we really are. Sometimes, as we will discover later, our hearts are even deceived! I want all of us to ask ourselves these questions: Do I believe ? Do I share my belief with others ? Does my life show my faith? We are saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ Jesus. However, after we have been saved, that gospel must live in us. We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. We have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty. HAVE WE?? If we are to claim Christ we must also allow him claim of us! Coming to Christ and trusting Him is more than an intellectual assent to the fact that Christ died on the Cross. It is placing our trust in Him and experiencing His regeneration. When Christ has saved us, we ought to be an example of the gospel. In other words, the man who preaches the gospel should be a holy man. Paul says that we have "renounced the hidden things of dishonesty." We are not to walk in hypocrisy. We should not be FAKE OR unreal. Our behavior should not contradict that which we are preaching. It ought to be a conduct which meets the approval of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are not perfect, but we are to walk in a way that is well pleasing to Him. We are not to handle "the word of God deceitfully." We are not to be SELLING the Word of God. This gets right down to where we live. Mr. Preacher, why do you preach? Are you preaching for money? You say that you preach for the love of souls, but is it really the love of souls? Or is it for money? 1 Corinthians 9:16: For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel! A person can preach the gospel and say things that are absolutely true, but at the same time his life can be speaking another message. I pray a great deal about this in my own life. I pray, "O God, don't let me preach unless I can have a clear conscience, and unless I am preaching in the power of the Spirit of God." I don't want to preach unless there are those two things. It is a glorious thing to preach the gospel but it is an awful thing to preach it if down underneath there is a lack of sincerity a lack of being committed to Him and having a conviction about Him. It is awful difficult to preach a sermon about being a loving husband when you just got in a fight with your wife! I HAVE BEEN ADDRESSING THE OFFICE OF PASTOR, Actually, this is directed more to the Christians who are not pastors. And may I say to you, I am not always seen as a pastor. There are people who do not even know I am a pastor. But I am always a Christian? Is My life is a witness for Christ? Do you want to be a witness for Christ? You are a witness either for or against Him. When Paul speaks of the ministry here, he is not referring to the clergy or the man in the pulpit. He is speaking of the man in the pew. The man in the pulpit is to train people for the work of the ministry. Read 2 Corinthians 5:18. Our business is to help equip them for that work. I heard a tremendous analogy the other day: Sheep produce sheep. The shepherd cannot produce sheep. He watches over the sheep. It is the sheep today who are going to win sheep, because sheep produce sheep. Part of my task is to equip you to witness. Part of your job is to witness. REMEMBER 2Corinthians 5:18? 2Corinthians 5:18: And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Are you doing something to get out the Word of God? ARE YOU TELLING OTHERS ABOUT RECONCILLIATION? That is witnessing. God may have given you the gift of making money. Do you use it to send out the Word of God? Perhaps you are a man or woman of prayer, interceding for those who preach and teach the Word of God. You have contact with some person whom no one else could reach. Many people will not listen to me. They tune me in and then they tune me out. Maybe you can reach a person who will not listen to anyone else. God has called you to be a witness, my friend. This is tremendous! 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The god of this world is Satan. Although sin has marred it, it is still God's world. Some will tell you that Satan took it over. He doesn’t need to - we are giving it to him! He is the god of choice of this world. God is the God that chose this world! Satan is the god of this world. He is running it. We are ruining it by allowing him to run it! He has "blinded the minds of them which believe not." Have you ever heard someone say, "I don't understand the gospel. I have heard it all my life, but it doesn't mean anything to me"? I have heard people say that again and again. What has happened? The Devil has blinded them. The light is shining, but the Devil has blinded their eyes so they cannot see. Satan blinds many folk. They say, "Why don't you turn on the light? I don't see the gospel at all." That is the blindness that comes from Satan. He also used alcohol and drugs to deafen the sound of The Holy Spirit’s voice!!! There are other folk who say, "There are things in the Bible that I cannot believe. I don't know why, but I just can't believe them. But do you know what is really the problem? It is not that there are things in the Bible which people cannot believe. The problem is that there is sin people’s lives. Sin that the Bible condemns. People do not want to believe. That is the condition of a lot of folks today. The problem is not with the Bible; the problem is with their lives. My friend, if you choose to go on indulging your sins, then you can go on doing that. It is your loss. But you can turn to Christ. Don't tell me you cannot. You can turn to Christ if you will. The moment a man comes to the place where he sees himself as a sinner and says, "I am ready to renounce my sin; I'm ready to receive Christ as my Savior," he will be saved. The Word of God is light. Instead of saying you cannot see the light and instead of trying to blame the Bible why don't you face your sins before God? Then there will be no difficulty about your believing. 2 Corinthians 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. We preach Christ Jesus the Lord. Believe me, my friend, you and I are helpless when we give out the Word of God. There is an enemy opposed to us, and he blinds the minds of people. 2 Corinthians 4:6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Paul goes back to the time of creation when God created light. Genesis 1:3-4: And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 2 Corinthians 4:6: For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Just as the Spirit of God brooded over the waters, and created light and life, so the Spirit of God broods over a soul. He moves in to bring conviction to our hearts. Then He regenerates us. And the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, shines in. Seeing the light saves us. Living under the light conforms us. STILL EVEN UNDER THE LIGHT OF GOD we are weak vessels. 2Corinthians 4:7: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. Judges 7:16-20: And he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet in every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and lamps within the pitchers. And he said unto them, Look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when I come to the outside of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so shall ye do. When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands. And the three companies blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers, and held the lamps in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow withal: and they cried, The sword of the LORD, and of Gideon. We are just an "earthen vessel. But we have this treasure. What is the treasure? That is the glorious gospel. We carry this glorious gospel in our little, old earthen vessels. We contain the Holy Spirit. That is the Light within us. Too often we dampen this light. Gideon took only three hundred men with him to free their land of innumerable Midianite invaders. Each man had a trumpet and a torch and a pitcher or an earthen vessel. They carried their torches in the earthen vessels so that the light couldn't be seen from a distance. Then when they got among the Midianites, they broke the earthen vessels. It wasn't until the earthen vessel was broken that the light could shine out. My friend, that is the thing which we need today. We need the vessel to be broken. The apostle Paul was a man who knew what it was to suffer for Jesus' sake. That vessel had to be broken. The trouble today is that we don't have very many who are willing to do that. Travail is a word commonly used for birth pains. When someone is born, someone has to travail. The reason that more people are not being born again is that there are not enough who are willing to travail. We hear a great deal about witnessing today, but, my friend, what kind of a price are you willing to pay? It is not enough to just knock on a door and visit someone. I'm not minimizing that, and I'm not saying it isn't important, but I am saying that the earthen vessel must be broken. We cannot have our way and His way in our lives. We need to make up our minds whether we are going to follow Him or not. Do you believe? Do you share your belief? Does your life show your faith? When is the last time you told someone about Jesus? Is it because you are ashamed or becasue you really do not believe? Satan does not want you to. Back to Hope Chapel
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