Gtcotr/ss061216
This
morning we are going to cover 3 critical questions which hold eternal
significance for you, your family, your friends and even your enemies. It is
vital that you know the answers to each question. Truth
demands justice … only love demands mercy. Thank God the Truth loves you!
First question:
1. How do I know I am a Child of God?
There
are two essential elements present in the life of a Child of God.
o
Faith
Galatians 3:26 For ye are all
the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
o
Inner
Witness
Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself
bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
1 John 5:13 These things I
have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the
name of the Son of God.
2. How will others know I am a Child of God?
There
are also two essential elements which should be evident in the life of every
Child of God.
o
Love &
Righteousness (To Live a Life Right With God)
1 John 3:10 In this the
children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not
practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his
brother.
3. How can I help others to become a Child of
God?
o
Care
enough to share …
§ We have been given a
great and precious privilege
§ We, the children of
God, are the Fragrance of Christ
2 Corinthians 2
15 For we are to God the
fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are
perishing.
·
We smell like Jesus
·
There is a spiritual fragrance known to God
and to the souls of men
·
God is using us like a recognizable perfume
·
A reminder of Jesus in the hands of God
·
Among both the saved and the unsaved
16 To the one we are
the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading
to life. And who is sufficient for these things?
·
We are a reminder first to the lost of their
lost estate and the eternal death that awaits the soul without Christ
·
Then we are the perfume of Christ, a
fragrance of life to those who know life and a reminder of the sweet life to
come.
·
But who could ever be that spiritually
impacting on their own? No one … none of us is sufficient for these things in
ourselves.
17 For we are not, as so many,
peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the
sight of God in Christ.
Peddling
– Corrupting – Watering Down – Mingling – Merchandising:
·
To
knowingly or unknowingly deal deceitfully with the Word of God in attempt to
achieve gain hoping or moving towards a goal or desire to procure for the
speaker advancement in any arena of life from money and fame to power or
position.
·
It
is often done by attempting to attach a philosophical explanation to the facts
of revelation making the theory as important as the fact.
·
The
hope is to make the cure more palatable to man’s taste than God designed it to
be, when in fact in its mingled state is the rudest taste of all bringing death
to the patient if embraced with confidence and claimed for truth.
·
We
must not mix opinions, traditions, current trends or human philosophies with
the eternal Word of God lest the souls of men be laid to our charge.
How cruel to water down medicine given to the dying which cannot
secure life and health without its full strength so that it tastes better and
therefore will be more readily and more often received and thus elevate the
peddler to servant status.
The
Church and its ministry are solely responsible for the work of the Gospel and
thereby deeply and awfully connected to eternal joys or everlasting woes of the
souls of man.
We
are the fragrance of Christ. A reminder to the souls of men that eternity
awaits. For some it means life and for others death. This spiritual perfume
cannot be denied.
It’s
a great and precious privilege to help others become spiritually born again. We
each have our primary parts to: Go; Stay; Pray; and Pay so that the pure love
of God and the true Gospel of Jesus Christ can find its way to our family,
friends, enemies and the coming generations.
Will
you help?
In
order to help others become a child of God we must first:
1.
Know
that we are born again.
2.
Live
like we are a child of God.
3.
Care
enough to share the truth with others in love.
Only
love demands mercy …
Make
your decision to do your part and be a:
·
Goer
·
Stayer
·
Prayer
·
Payer
Let’s
make a difference for God!
