Gtcotr/ss071915
It
does not matter what I say this morning nearly as much as it matters what you
understand and accept as the truth for your life. This coming semester some of
the world’s best and brightest students will sit in high school and university
classrooms all across America listening to gifted professors and will yet, at
the end of the year, fail. Why? Because the student didn’t understand what the
professor was trying to teach.
It
matters less what teachers say than what students learn.
To
hedge myself as the teacher this morning and to better insure your success,
allow me to review and define a few terms we will be using this morning. Here
are 10 simple definitions:
1.
dead = limited mere
mortal existence without eternal life
2.
disobedience = a deviation from the truth; to walk the wrong way
3.
sin = to miss the mark of perfection by intent, neglect or failure
4.
the devil = a fallen angel who is the present commander of all evil
5.
sinful nature = the innate and unbridled passions of every man and
woman born into this world who are without Christ
6.
mercy = the unmerited and unearned goodness of God to pardon
7.
love = an unfathomable attribute that gives first, gives all and
always gives
8.
life = eternal life filled with never before known joy, peace and
prosperity throughout all the ages to come
9.
grace = the underserved favor and goodness of God towards man
10. saved = to be forgiven
of sin, freed from the devil, united with Christ Jesus, born again of a new
nature and given eternal life by the power of the love, mercy and grace of
Almighty God.
Ephesians 2 NLT
1 ¶ Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
2 You used to live in sin,
just like the rest of the world, obeying the
devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at
work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3 All of us used to live that
way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we
were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 ¶ But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5 that even though we were
dead because of our sins, he gave us life
when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
6 For he raised us from the
dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we
are united with Christ Jesus.
7 So God can point to us in
all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness
toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace
when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
9 Salvation is not a reward
for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
10 For we are God’s
masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good
things he planned for us long ago.
v.8 God saved you by His grace when you believed …
Have
you believed? What can you to be united with Christ?
1.
Recognize you need a Savior …
2.
Realize His name is Jesus …
3.
Repent of your sins …
4.
Receive Jesus into your heart today.
We
do this by way of a simple and sincere prayer to God.
Let’s
Pray Now!
For
those of you who are already born again – I want you to realize that there is
more to Church than simply trying to get someone into the altar. Church the
place God chooses to bring His family together for a time of fellowship,
refreshing and instruction. This morning we have heard the powerful truth of
the Gospel of Christ. Therefore I now charge you to go about your week living
and sharing this Good News with others.
