Whenever you talk to a person about his or her eternity, one of the first questions that probably goes through his or her mind is “Why?” Why should I worry about my eternity? What differences does it make now?
Does it make a difference? Absolutely!
One’s eternal destiny depends upon the decision he or she will make while alive. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was speaking with Nicodemus, He told him that “Ye must be born again.” (John chapter 3 and verse 7)
Why must a person be born again or be saved? Simply because everyone, including you and me, are sinners. We have violated the commandments of the Lord. Paul the Apostle wrote to the Romans, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3: 23). This means that no one can live up to the standard that God has established which is sinless perfection. Therefore, since we have all sinned, we all are under the penalty of our sins. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) Therefore, we need salvation or to be saved.
God in His infinite mercy and love has provided a way of salvation through His Son, Jesus Christ. He did this because He loves you and me. “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).
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, took our place on the cross of Calvary. He bore our sins. He died in our place so we might have the opportunity to accept Him as our Saviour and receive that free gift of salvation. Sin has a penalty and that penalty is death. Jesus paid the penalty for us. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
Since we are sinners and Christ gave Himself for us on Calvary’s cross, what must one do to be saved?
The Philippian jailer asked Paul, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts16 :30-31) Paul replied, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.…”
So, what must you do to receive Christ as your Saviour?
First, you must admit that you are a sinner and need to be saved.
Second, you must repent and be willing to turn from your sin.
Third, you must believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross.
Fourth, you must receive through prayer, Jesus Christ into your heart and life.
“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)
“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 whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
If God is knocking on the door of your heart, then answer the door and let Him come in. You can receive Christ through prayer. Here is a simple prayer of salvation.
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I need you. I believe that you died on the cross for me. Forgive me of my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I receive you as my Saviour, come into my life and save me. Thank you for what you did for me. Amen.”
It is not just reciting a prayer that saves a person, but believing in one’s heart on the Lord Jesus Christ and confessing with one’s mouth. For by faith (trusting) in Jesus for one’s salvation is essential.
“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, you need to trust His Word when Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
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About Me
Just a simple teenager trying to make his way on the internet, as well as a preacher in training, and an avid Bible studier.
Wish me luck on finding interesting things in the Book!
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." - Jim Elliot
Intro: Over a million people commit suicide a year because they think that dying is a way out. Considering the fact that being discouraged can get that serious, knowing how to escape and avoid discouragement is a good thing to know.
*Read Verses 1-4
1. Let people get you down
*Read I Kings 19:2-3
As you can see, Elijah let what one wicked queen said get to him. We need to be ready for verbal attacks, especially nowadays with people starting to become hateful towards Christians. Christ didn’t let what the hypocrites say get to him, and they apostles, after having been beaten and tortured, didn’t have a sad spirit.
*Read Acts 5:40-42
“And to him they agreed: and when they had called the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.”
The Devil will use whatever he can to stop you, and if you have a fear of man, he will use that to keep you from being Christ-like and witnessing.
Fix: Don’t let people get you down. Have no fear of man.
2. Isolate yourself
*Read I Kings 19:3
Isolating yourself is one of the best ways to get discouraged if you’re already a little down. You focus on your problem and, without anyone else there to calm you down and bring you back to reality, you’ll let yourself get carried away. Take Jonah, for instance.
*Read Jonah 4:1-5
“But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry. And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil. Therefore now, O LORD, take, I beseech thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live. Then said the LORD, Doest thou well to be angry? So Jonah went out of the city, and sat on the east side of the city, and there made him a booth, and sat under it in the shadow, till he might see what would become of the city.”
Jonah asked God to kill him just because he was mad at the people of Ninevah. So, he went off and stewed, letting his bad attitude take over his thoughts. In fact, Jonah, in a way, let the people of Ninevah get him down.
Fix: Don’t get alone with your problems.Go to God, or another Christian
III. Think of your past mistakes.
*Read I Kings 19:4
Elijah begins to think of the mistakes he’s made, and it is then that he asks God to kill him. A surefire way to get discouraged is to think of your past mistakes, because we all have made many, many mistakes.
Fix: Just remember that when Satan comes reminding you of your sins. Your sins are under the blood of Jesus, and nothing you OR anyone or anything can do will change that.
Something interesting that our Pastor pulled out of this passage was that after Elijah got depressed, God finally decided that it was time to replace him.
Conclusion: We need to watch ourselves and make sure we don’t get discouraged by any of the things I listed, or we will be useless vessels until we get out of the slumps of despair. As you can see, even the greatest Christians get discouraged, and when they did, bad things happened.
Tips to avoid discouragement
Listen to joyful Christian music
In the Bible, when King Saul had demons bothering him, he had David come and play his harp for him.
*Read I Samuel 16:23
“And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.”
And I would bet that the music David played wasn’t jazz or any type of worldly music. It was probably music that honored God. It made the evil spirits go away and refreshed Saul.
Pray to God for help
*Read Psalms 61:2
“From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
Count your blessings
Just thinking about how God has blessed you can make you feel better. Instead of thinking about what you’re lacking or don’t have, think about what you have, which, just by living in America is A LOT.
Watchman on the Wall
Text: Ezekiel 33:1-6
*Don’t talk too fast!
*Tell the title!
Intro: Titanic story, Captain Smith. He didn’t listen to the ice warnings and let lifeboats go without being filled with people. If he would have simply avoided that Iceberg, over 1500 people wouldn’t have died.
Titanic was physical danger, but I’m going to talk about spiritual danger.
Read:
Eze 33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
Eze 33:3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Eze 33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
Eze 33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
*Repeat yellow
As Christians we are supposed to warn the world of hell. Here is a list of requirements you will need if you want to be a good watchman.
Working – Vs 2c “Set”
Eze 33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
Faithfulness - 1Co 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Are we Faithful? Are we faithful in church, bible reading and prayer?
Watching – Vs 3a “Seeth”
1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.
Satan works all around us. We need to be vigilante.
Warning – Vs 4a “Sounds”
Involved/Not passive
We need to stand up and speak up.
Witnessing - Vs 6a “Sword/Blood”
The reason we need to be warning people is because of the sword, or else they may lose their eternal life as well as their physical life.
“…but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.”
How much blood will be on our hands when we get to heaven? How many people could we have saved from Hell?
Paul said, “I am pure from the blood of all men.”
When you get to heaven, will you look down and see blood on your hands. Will you watch as an angel casts a man into the lake of fire, and with a hand pointed out at you scream, “You never warned me! You never told me!” And will you watch as they are thrown into everlasting torment because you never warned them about Hell?
