Staying Radical Means True Conclusions

We have been discussing staying radical for God, meaning staying on fire for God.We have been looking at the example of Nehemiah and the process he went through. First he made a true assessment of the situation, then he had a true concern. Today we see that Nehemiah came to true conclusions.

Neh 1:7 We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

Here Nehemiah brings the responsibility where it belongs. He doesn’t blame the Babylonians or the Medo Persians for the plight Israel was in. He puts the blame on Israel. He admits that it was their sins that led to this predicament.

Unless we take responsibility for the reason for our state, we will never improve.


Like the prodigal son. Nehemiah comes to his senses and admits that had they not sinned against the Lord, they would not have gone into exile.

You know some people have the idea that because Jesus died on the cross, that the temporal judgments of God on the earth have been suspended.

Rom 1:18-20 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

Paul says the wrath of God is currently being revealed on the earth against the wicked. Many in the church don’t want to hear this. They want to blame absolutely everything on the devil. But if we sidestep our responsibility, will God hear us?

Nehemiah realized that it was their own sin that led to the situation. He took responsibility. Similarly we need to take responsibility for our spiritual lives. So many people want to sidestep their responsibility but God is looking for those who will come to true conclusions, repent and be restored.

Staying Radical Means True Concern

Yesterday, we saw that staying radical means making a true assesment of the situation. We looked at how Nehemiah made a true assessment of the situation with the return of the exiles. He saw that they were in trouble. Similarly we need to admit our situation, and not walk in denial. Let's continue with the example of Nehemiah.

Neh 1:4-5 When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

I LOVE THIS Reaction of Nehemiah. Because he demonstrated a true concern for the situation. You see unfortunately there aren’t too many Nehemiah’s around. We may see the problem but we are not concerned about it enough to even react with horror or urgency.

You know a lot of unbelievers know the church is not producing the fruit that it should. Many in the world look at the church and they see no difference between the church and them. They see the priest pedophile scandal and they say “you know these Christians have no better morals or life than anyone else.” The only difference between us and them is that they waste their Sundays in church and we sleep in.”

And saddest of all, it even happens to those inside the church. People in the church begin to get cynical and say: "Oh nothing ever changes. Why should I stir myself up? Why should I invest myself?" Apathy sets in.

Apathy is the worst enemy of Revival. God cannot revive an apathetic church.

Excuses:
"Why are you so upset? It’s God’s plan that it should be this way"
"There’s nothing you can do about it."
"You are over reacting. Just worry about your own life. "
"You are too emotional."

The nice thing about apathy is you don’t have to exert yourself to show you’re sincere about it

But Nehemiah wept and fasted over the situation. He didn't care about how others were responding. He responded with TRUE CONCERN.

In Love in the Time of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, ( Nobel laureate) portrays a marriage that disintegrates over a bar of soap. It was the wife’s job to keep the house in order, including provision of towels, toilet paper, and soap in the bathroom. One day she forgot to replace the soap, an oversight that her husband mentioned in an exaggerated way (“I’ve been bathing for almost a week without any soap”), and that she vigorously denied. Although it turned out that she had indeed forgotten, her pride was at stake and she would not back down. For the next seven months they slept in separate rooms and ate in silence.
“Even when they were old and placid, “ writes Marquez, “they were very careful about bringing it up, for the barely healed wounds could begin to bleed again as if they had been inflicted only yesterday.” How can a bar of soap ruin a marriage? Because neither partner would say, “Stop. This cannot go on. I’m sorry. Forgive me.”

Only showing true concern can change the situation.
Are you truly concerned about the state of your spiritual life? About the spiritual life of your family? Are you apathetic or are you concerned about the city and God’s glory?

Staying Radical means True Assessment

We have been talking about the radical church. We said the radical church is a church that is hungry for a radical relationship with God. It goes beyond the prejudices and traditions that would keep God at arm's length. Secondly, we looked at the qualities of the heart that God revives. Then last time we talked about what it would take to get there--that it would take a radical effort in prayer and in the kingdom of God.

This week I want to go into staying radical. How do we stay in this kingdom mindset? I want to take a look at this by reviewing the story of a famous revival that happened during Nehemiah’s time.

A. True Assessment
Neh 1:2-3 Hanani, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men, and I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile, and also about Jerusalem. 3 They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire."

The first thing we see about Nehemiah is that he enquires as to the state of Israel upon its return from exile. He gets the report and it doesn’t sound too good. He learns that they are in great trouble and disgrace. The walls have been burned and lie in ruins.

Now I like Nehemiah because he wants an honest assessment of the situation. He asks the hard question. If you never ask the right questions, you never see the need. If you don’t see the need, you will never take any action.

And this is not just a one time thing. It is a lifestyle. Like we saw last week with the Laodicean church, they had a completely wrong assessment of themselves. They saw themselves as not needing anything. But Jesus saw them as poor , pitiful and blind.

We could look at the American church today and, without being too critical, we could say, we have money--some churches are very large. But if we scratch a little deeper, we will find out that the divorce rate among so called Christians is equal to the world. You will find that the church is not really growing statistically. But most of the church growth is just musical chairs.

If you look at our effect on the larger culture, we might be upset as well, as we see child abductions, crime and abortion on demand still very much a part of our culture. While we may see positive signs, we need to ask ourselves: "is the church bring held, and is Jesus Christ being held in high esteem by the world, to the point that the church is exploding in growth?"

This is not to say that all is gloom and doom and that there are not many hopeful signs. But lets’ bring this closer to home. Are we individually alive with the power of God?
Are we thriving in God? Is our church seeing people lining up to get in to worship the Lord? Are we seeing the healings, the revelations that they had in the book of Acts. Are we seeing an explosion of new converts?

If we don t presently and accurately assess our spiritual condition we will never see any change

I think of the story of Ahab and Elijah. Elijah had called for a three year drought on the land because of the sins of Ahab. Yet Ahab blamed the drought not on himself but on Elijah and called him the "troubler of Israel." See how easy it is to be deceived.

The reason some churches don’t see revival is because they are so busy making the mechanism work that they don’t ask the hard questions. Are people really maturing in the Lord? Are they moving beyond adolescence and into adulthood? Is the church merely an enterprise of programs?

Unfortunately many Christians are not used to being confronted like Jesus confronted the Laodiceans. They are so used to being told how wonderful they are that they cannot bear to hear preaching along that vein.

God does not want us to just survive, he wants us to thrive. Are we settling? We need to get radically honest with the situation and radically honest with each other.

Are we making a true assessment of our spiritual condition, our family’s condition. our church’s condition, our nations condition? Jesus is calling us to honesty. Only if we have the right diagnosis will be have the right prescription.

No Effort Leads to Lukewarmness

2 Peter 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.

That’s interesting. Peter says that we have a secure position, but then he says that we can fall from it. Our position is only as secure as we are diligent in maintaining it.

We do well to remember that Satan himself was close to God, but he fell and took 1/3 of the angels with him.

The only thing separating us from the power of darkness is our willingness to submit to the Lordship of Christ. If we let others drag us down, and we let ourselves become lukewarm, then what is left for us? Well, here is the sobering scripture that we have in Revelation:

Rev 3:15-16 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot nor cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

We tend to not take this scripture too seriously and point the finger at others. But the fact is that any one of us could fall away from God. The lukewarm have a promise, but it is not a very good one. It is that they will be spit out of the mouth of the Lord. Luke warmness literally makes Jesus sick to his stomach.

Lukewarmness puts us in a very dangerous place.

Notice something: God has an order of preference. He wants you to be hot, but then his second choice is not lukewarm, but cold. He leasts wants you to be warm. Why? Because if you were cold perhaps you could see more your need to repent. But if you are lukewarm, you are tempted to think that you are okay. And that was just the problem with the Laodiciean church. They thought they were good to go.

Rev 3:17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

Jesus accused this church of saying that they had no need. That’s the typical answer of the lukewarm. They did not realize that they were poor and blind. This is a scary picture because Jesus said this to a church. He told this church he was about to spit them out. Why did he tell them this? So that they could repent. He said this out of love.

Rev 3:19-20 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent

God is so good. He warns us so that we can repent and be restored.

God is not trying to kick anybody out. He is trying to keep people in. But this verse shows the need for earnestness and repentance. The word earnest here is "zeloo" from where we get the word zealous. Be zealous. Make an effort . Do not be lulled asleep by the false teachers and easy believism of our day.

2 Cor 11:2-3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Paul says that we can also fall from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Many people may have already been spit out of Jesus' mouth and don’t’ even know it.

Not heeding the Lord and putting effort into our relationship with Christ, puts us in an at-risk position. There was Judas working God’s power to heal the sick and doing miracles, but yet he was stealing money. He was only partially committed.

Luke 13:24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to

The word effort here is "agonizomai", which is where we get the word "agonize". It means to struggle and strive, to fight.

We have to face the fact that there are no backsliders in heaven. By that I mean that the lukewarm are not going to make it. They are being spit out of the mouth of Christ.

One of the worst things that we have done in the church is give people the idea that just because they believe in the historical Jesus that they are saved. But we need to warn people that those that live like the world will perish with it. That God does not save backsliders but only those who truly repent, take up their cross daily and follow Jesus.

Hold On !--Some have taught that we don’t have to hold on, but that God holds onto us! But it’s both!

1 Cor 15:1 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.

Phil 3:12-14 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

2 Thess 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

1 Tim 3:9-10 They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience.

Heb 3:6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

Heb 3:13-14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.

Heb 4:14-15 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess.

Heb 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.

Rev 2:24- 25 Only hold on to what you have until I come.

Rev 3:11-12 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.

Back sliders are not going to heaven but only those that overcome and persevere. But remember God is for you and with you in your effort!

How do we hang onto a thriving relationship with Go? We must exert effort.

Effort in prayer
Effort in the Word
Effort in worship, time and giving.

We put effort into what’s important to us. No time, no importance.
No effort means no importance.

Postage stamps are getting more expensive, but at least they have one attribute that most of us could emulate: They stick to one thing until they get there.

What made Jesus different? He never stopped putting forth effort. Even now he is making intercession at the right hand of the Father.

Increase your effort, your time and your energy level and you will find the presence of God increasing in your life as well .

Relationships Take Effort

Most people have figured out that any relationship, marriage, friendship requires effort to make it good. Without effort, relationships seem to fade.

Sometimes married people lose their steam. They take each other for granted and they stop putting the effort into the relationship that they used to. Notice something: divorce never happens to people who try too hard. No on the contrary, divorce happens to relationships that are abandoned and neglected.

Salvation is just the beginning of our relationship with God. It is vital to maintain the relationship. When we start to get this we realize the key lesson.

“I have to put effort into my relationship with God if its going to go anywhere”

I remember one day I was walking through the garage where my frined told me he had a new van on the way, and that he had given the old one to charity. As an aside, I said that next time he wanted to give a vehicle to a charity, to think of my ministry. He informed me that the charity he referred to was a day late in picking it up and if I wanted it now I could have it. te only catch was, the car had no plates. So I had to get the car title, get it insured and registered with new plates in 3 hours. I remember scrambling like a maniac and running full tilt to make it to the DMV seconds before closing. I drove the vehicle out of the garage three hours later with new plates in the name of my ministry. I may have been given it for free, but it took much effort to claim it.

Similarly, we need to exert effort to grab a hold of what God has for us.

o one ever fell away from God because he tried too hard or for loving God too much. No one ever became lukewarm because he prayed too much or died to self too much. No, if we drifted away from God, most of the time we have to admit that we allowed luke warmness to make us drift.

Heb 2:1 We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

You see its easy to drift away . It’s easy to not pay attention. I’ve known many who began the race but then began to compromise. Sometimes they even take the cue from the bored church members, who in reality would rather be doing something else and they drift. Then we lose our effort. We stop making an effort. We get into a country club mentality or that Christianity should be easy.

Are you willing to work on your relationship with God?

Radical Effort

The radical church is a church that is hungry for God, even to the point of giving up its traditions and making him a priority so that we can walk dynamically with God.

Then recently we looked at the qualities of the heart that God revives. We talked about the heart of prayer, heart of worship, and the heart that accepts Jesus’ power through the comfort zones.

Today I want to explore making a radical effort. Making a radical effort in what?. Making a radical effort in getting our hearts renewed and keeping them there. One of the biggest hindrances to our entering into a personal revival or a renewed relationship with God is the idea that we don’t need to put any effort into our walk with God.

2 Peter 3:14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.

The word effort there is the word spouden where we get the word "speed". It means to make haste, to attend to quickly and earnestly.

Peter was exhorting people not to take their faith for granted. But they needed to be hasty about watching their lives.

It takes effort to be a Christian. It especially takes effort to get into Revival mode.

WHAT WILL KEEP US FROM THIS EFFORT?
False Teaching- The Protestant Church gets very uneasy when you start talking about effort in the Christian life, because the whole Reformation was based on the idea of justification by faith not works---that it was only faith that saves-- which is true. Unfortunately the tendency has been at times to go to an unbiblical extreme.

The teaching is something like:“Look you got saved by faith, you did not earn it. Therefore don’t try to do in Christian life. Just take the gift. Let go and let God.”

“You can’t save yourself” they say. But the Bible says 'make every effort to found blameless." Does that mean that we are trying to save ourselves? Does that mean that our works are what get us into heaven ? No!

But the Bible teaches that it takes effort to grab hold of what God is holding out to us.

No one ever got saved by accident. In other words anyone who has ever gotten saved had to choose Christ and then start living for him as an act of the will to make every effort to live a spotless life.

Triumph is just "umph" added to "try"
The memo from the testing director of MGM, shortly after Fred Astaire’s first screen test, read: “Can’t act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!”

What if people like this just gave up. But God has something better in store for us . But it will take effort on our part to enter into it.

Unfortunately religion has messed us up with this doctrine. People hung up on this say things like: “Stop striving. You are trying to earn your salvation.” Unfortunately there are many such people that will tell you as soon as you get busy for the Lord that you are trying to earn God’s approval. “Why don’t you just rest” they will say.

Heb 13:9 Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings.

Hebrews says that we should be careful not to get carried away by strange teaching. Strange teaching can have the effect of quenching your faith.

Distractions
2 Tim 4:9-10 Do your best to come to me quickly, 10 for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.

Heb 3:12-13 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.

The love of the world can cause us to be distracted. Our own sin can cause us to turn from the living God. Look at the imperatives used in these scriptures. "See to it. Do something. Take effort. Do your best." Not half baked, half measures, but "do your best".

Listen, life here is a test. There is initial salvation but there is also final salvation.

There is a story involving Yogi Berra, the well-known catcher for the New York Yankees, and Hank Aaron, who at that time was the chief power hitter for the Milwaukee Braves. The teams were playing in the World Series, and as usual Yogi was keeping up his ceaseless chatter, intended to pep up his teammates on the one hand, and distract the Milwaukee batters on the other. As Aaron came to the plate, Yogi tried to distract him by saying, “Henry, you’re holding the bat wrong. You’re supposed to hold it so you can read the trademark.” Aaron didn’t say anything, but when the next pitch came he hit it into the left-field bleachers. After rounding the bases and tagging up at home plate, Aaron looked at Yogi Berra and said, “I didn’t come up here to read.”

Hank refused to get distracted.

Sometimes even friends around us will try to say things that will keep you down.. “be careful you might go too far. God’s power is not for today. Be careful of emotionalism.” You need to find friends who will say. “Sounds like God is doing something powerful in your life. Go for it. He’s worth it.”

Don’t let false teaching or the distractions of the world keep you from making the effort necessary to thrive in your relationship with God.

The Gospel Renewed

We have been looking at the gospel of the kingdom and the gospel of grace. We need to have the true gosple renewed in our day in light of the perversions that have passed for it. Let's look at Peter’s Gospel.

1 Peter 5:12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

Peter under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit writes that his letter is the true grace of God. Look at some other directives from this letter:

1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.

1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men:

This book of Peter is full of admonitions to "watch", to "keep oneself pure". , to "be holy as he is holy". He winds up by saying that this is the true grace of God. The true grace of God does not make our effort unneeded.

Peter had a different view of grace than the false grace teachers of today who teach that we can sin with impunity and still remain saved. He understood that

A. Immorality disqualifies
Gal 5:19-21 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Cor 6:9-11 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Eph 5:5-7 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-such a man is an idolater-has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

While many popular grace teachers allow for the immoral to enter into heaven, the Bible categorically denies this. The true grace of God does something different


Titus 2:11-12
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,


Again we see from this scripture that grace is not just unmerited favor. It is also an empowerment. Grace is also an empowerment to live for Him

Have you reconciled works with grace? Do you understand that true grace is to be stood in? Overcoming is necessary, but grace makes it possible.

Let me just conclude by saying that the gospel of the Kingdom and of Grace have been radically misunderstood and that has led to a sick and anemic and directionless church. The Goal of the Kingdom of God is not just to get you saved .It is to make you into a Son. It is to make you into a follower that lives in the fullness of his inheritance.

Grace has changed you into a Son: Live in your sonship.

The True gospel of the Kingdom is first a call to change Kings. Then it is to learn to obey the commands of this new King. This is the only entrance into the Kingdom of God. Let no false grace teaching lull you into a false sense of security, but press in to take hold of what God has taken hold of you for.

Gospel of Grace

We have been looking at the true gospel. Last time we looked at the phrase gospel of the kingdom. Today let's look at the gospel of grace. An accurate gospel means an accurate faith.

Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.

True Grace.
Eph 2:8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

We get an idea about what grace is here because it is contrasted to works. The difference between them is that when you work, you feel entitled to receive the benefit of it. But if it is by grace, it means that it is unearned, unmerited favor. This is how Paul describes the gospel. Our salvation is a gift that was not earned by us but was given to us based on our faith in Christ. Faith is not a work.

Yet if we look at the next scripture we see that grace also is an empowerment. It produces works.

Eph 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So though we are saved by grace,we are not saved as an end in and of itself. We are saved to do good works. Part of the purpose of the grace we receive is to do these works that we were predestined to do.

Works therefore are a barometer. They are either a proof of grace or a proof of the absence of grace.

That’s why Paul could go on in the same epistle and say.

Eph 5:5-7 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-such a man is an idolater-has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7 Therefore do not be partners with them.

B. Perverted Grace

Jude 4 For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.

From the beginning of the church there were always the efforts of certain men to change the gospel of Christ into something it never was meant to be. Unfortunately this still goes on today .

2 Tim 4:3 For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

The warning to Timothy is more relevant now than ever. We must be vigilant. But in fact, many have changed the grace of God into a license for sin.

Unfortunately there has been much teaching that basically says this:

“Once you have a moment of real saving faith and were born again , you cannot out-sin the grace of God. The Grace of God is a complete covering for you past, present and future--no matter what you do.”

Is this an accurate teaching of grace or is this a perversion of grace?

“You don’t have to hold on, Grace holds on to you” Oh really?

John 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

1 Cor 15:2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain

“You don’t have to strive, we are already secure.” Oh really?

Luke 13:24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

Several years ago a young Frenchman captured the attention of the world by walking a tightrope between the towers of New York’s World Trade Center (1350 feet high). A few months later, however, while practicing on a relatively low wire in St. Petersburg, Florida, he fell 30 feet and was injured. As he lay waiting for help, he reportedly beat his fist on the ground saying, “I can’t believe it! I can’t believe it! I never fall!”

Complacency leads to disaster. The fall doctrines of the grace teachers leads to complacency which puts us in a place of danger. The scariest place is when one thinks he is secure because he was taught that his actions do not endanger him, only to be examined on the last day and to be found wanting . He finds that his faith was not really genuine, but he was lulled into laxity by false doctrine.

The Gospel of Grace is the gospel of the unmerited favor of God which leads to good deeds. It is not permission to live as we please and hope for salvation.

Have you fallen for a perverted definition of Grace, that allows a striving free salvation?

The Gospel Of The Kingdom

A problem with the church is that it has succumbed to the desire to be politically correct, but it is way past the time for political correctness. What we need is truth and Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth and the life." Jesus is the truth.

We make no apologies for that here, just as Jesus made no apologies. It is always important to look at what Jesus said and to really examine his words with spiritual eyes so that we would not be deceived. Last time, we looked at the fact that God commands us to be faithful to the end. We saw that there was a difference between initial salvation and final salvation and that God is calling us to persevere to the end. It is something we must do.

Today I want to take a fresh look at the gospel. I think there have been many misunderstandings about the gospel. Again this is a very important issue because it will affect everything that we do. Let’s look at the gospel of the Kingdom.

Matt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Acts 2:22-36 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him:

"'I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will live in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.'

29 "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

"'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
35 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet." '

36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

I want to point out a few things from this scripture . First of all, when we have proclaimed the gospel in this century we have tended to emphasize heaven and hell. We have tended to emphasize the gospel of salvation. We have been very good at that. So much so, that we have seen many people pray what is called “the sinners prayer”. Unfortunately, you don’t find the sinner’s prayer in the bible. But what we haven’t emphasized as much (which seems to be a large part of this presentation in Acts) is the Lordship of Christ.

The Jews understood something. They understood that there were these prophecies about Messiah. These were written by the prophets, one of which was King David. Peter quotes King David as an authority on the subject of kings. David prophesied that when Messiah would come, he would be the King of Kings. So when Peter preached that Jesus was this very King, we have no idea how it must have made the Jews feel. They had crucified the One that was promised.

Peter tells them to repent and to be baptized in the name of Jesus. What did that mean? Did that mean that Peter expected them to enumerate their sins one by one? That he was interested in hearing confessions by all these people? No, it meant that they were to repent in one major way and that was in their choice of whom they were going to submit as Lord to in this life.

That is the major emphasis of the gospel of the kingdom. The word "kingdom" is used 157 times in the New Testament. It is a major theme of the preaching of Jesus. His first message was "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. "

The kingdom emphasizes a king. And a kingship implies ruler ship. Ruler ship implies rules.

This has been a missing emphasis in our evangelism. Christianity more than anything else implies a new kingship in your life. You have become a subject of the kingdom of Christ.

Many times we are so busy looking at particular sins. We are waiting for people to give them up instead of proclaiming the Kingship of Jesus and teaching them to obey. We can put men on a religious treadmill just like the Pharisees were on. We get people judging themselves by what they have given up, instead of measuring themselves by whom they serve.

Faith is not measured by what you have given up but by whom you serve.

Matt 28:19-20 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.

The Great Commission says "teach them to obey". You see, we tend to think that "teaching" is good enough. But it is not teaching for teaching’s sake. It is teaching "to obey."

The goal of our instruction is not to make us big headed but to bring us to obedience.

Obedient to who? Obedient to the new King. The King of Kings, The Lord of Lords, The Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ himself.

Do you see Christianity as primarily a doctrine--a set of facts to be believed, or do you see Christianity as primarily a King to be followed?

Blessings!

We Must Overcome

We have been looking at the topic of remaining faithful to the end as a Christian. We have seen that perseverance is a necessity to enter final salvation.

Matt 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

Again, here we see a salvation referred to in the future, and it is made conditional to standing firm to the end.

Rev 2:10-11 Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.

Rev 21:6-8 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."

This passage describes the non overcomers. Those that don’t inherit the kingdom of God. The book of Revelation was written to the church which had already experienced initial salvation. Yet these believers would have to overcome as well so that they would not be hurt by the second death.

A works salvation?
Sometimes people misunederstand this as a works salvation. Salvation is of faith. But faith must be exercised and it in itself is not a work. Faith leads to works. A faith that produces no works is not a faith at all.

Run the race
Heb 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.


Luke 15:23-24
23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.


In the story of the Prodigal son, the son was with the Father. He was a true son but he gave up his inheritance and squandered his position and became dead in sin. But then the Father said that his son became alive again. How did he do that? Through faith and repentance.

No matter how far you may have fallen, we have a Father that longs to redeem and restore. Be encouraged that you can overcome. God has put His spirit in you. His word is in you so that you would overcome. It is something that you have to do. Not in your own strength, but in the power of the Spirit.

Blessings

Entrance Into The Kingdom

Is the Christians life now , because of grace, one in which he can sit back, relax, live according to his sinful nature, with no possible hindrance to his personal entrance into the kingdom of God?

A. According to the Bible, the Christian in this life is like
a) a soldier in battle
b) a runner in a long distance race.
c) a worker in a vineyard
d) a fruit tree required to bear good fruit.

Etc. etc.

Entrance into the kingdom is based on perseverance.

A.The Christian is in enemy territory.
The devil is alive and well on planet earth.

1 Peter 5:8-9 Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

If that weren't a distinct possibility, there would be no need of a warning. Those that say that the devil is "toothless" are kidding themselves.

B. We need to keep from sin.
Heb 3:12-14 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first

Here Christian "brothers" are warned against turning away from God in unbelief and sin. Our "share in christ" is made conditional on our "holding firmly till the end".

Mark 9:47 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell,

The Lord did not limit sin that can send you to hell, to the sin of unbelief, as many would have you believe.

C. Keep their consciences clean.
1 Tim 1:18-20 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
According to Paul, holding on to faith and a good conscience is a fight. It is possible to shipwreck the faith.

D. Stay linked to the truth
1 John 2:24-25 See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us-even eternal life.

Here John links remaining with the truth with remaining with the Son. You can be deceived out of the way.

Rev 22:18-19 And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

Lies and Deception are deadly and can cost you your share in the tree of life.

King Saul

King Saul is an example of someone who started out well but finished badly.
1 Sam 10:10 When they arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he joined in their prophesying.

1 Sam 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him.

Here we see Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit only to have the Spirit leave him. Saul sinks so law, that he goes to a medium to consult the departed spirit of Samuel:

1 Sam 28:16-19 Samuel said, "Why do you consult me, now that the LORD has turned away from you and become your enemy? 17 The LORD has done what he predicted through me. The LORD has torn the kingdom out of your hands and given it to one of your neighbors-to David. 18 Because you did not obey the LORD or carry out his fierce wrath against the Amalekites, the LORD has done this to you today. 19 The LORD will hand over both Israel and you to the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons will be with me.

We need to heed the warnings of scripture, stay linked to the truth, keep from sin and pride and persevere that we might gain final entrance into the kingdom.

Initial and Final Salvation

Sorry it's been a while since my last post. But I am getting back on the wagon!

Luke 13:23-24 Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?"
He said to them, 24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.

I don’t mind being called a fundamentalist, although this disturbs many people, because I believe that the words that Jesus spoke in the Bible are true. I believe it when he said that no one comes to the Father but through him. Jesus made himself the issue in coming to the Father. Now he was either truthful or he was a liar. But the modern day church unfortunately has made a mockery of the cross because we have watered down what Jesus has said.

The subject that we are going to be looking at today is central. Because it has to do with salvation issues. Is there anything more important than salvation issues? Jesus said, "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul." I am going to tell you the truth: we are living in a dangerous time right now. Many false doctrines have been scattered in the church that have been calculated to bring the church into ruin.

Faithful to the end.
It’s not how you start, its how you finish. This is a lesson that we see often in the Bible. Jonah started out poorly, yet finished well. Peter had some poor performances, but finished well. Paul started out poorly, yet finished well. Judas and Saul started out well, but finished poorly.
We will see that the way we finish, will determine our entrance into the Kingdom of God.

I. INITIAL AND FINAL SALVATION
In the scriptures we have many statements on the position of the believer. We see that there is a beginning to our faith walk.

I remember the dayI was sitting under a tree, reading my bible and talking with the Lord, when he put the challenge to me.
"Are you going to live for self and live for men?"
And I remember after making that decision, the peace that I had in my heart. How I delighted in all the promises of the Bible that were mine at that moment--the promises that belong to every believer at the point of initial salvation.

I’ve been made righteous 2 Cor 5:21
I am forgiven. Eph 1:7
I have been adopted as his child Eph 1:5
I’m a temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Cor 3:16

But there are also many scriptures that portray salvation as something yet to come. These are the verses that unfortunately many of us are not familiar with. They describe our salvation as being in the future.

Gal 6:7-7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

Here, “will reap” is in the future tense. Eternal life is not only something we possess now, it is also something to be entered into at a later time.

Matt 10:22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

"But I thought that we were already saved?" If we are already saved, through our faith in Jesus Christ, what are these scriptures doing talking about, “will be saved” or “will reap eternal life.”

In both of these verses, salvation or receiving eternal life is in the future tense! How can that be? Are Christians saved now or are they saved later? The answer is both.

At this very moment, the Christian is somewhere between his conversion experience and his future entrance into the kingdom.

Rom 13:11-12 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

If salvation is already complete, how can it be nearer? Because final salvation awaits us.

Final salvation is the time of entering the kingdom of God, which only occurs for those who die in a righteous state, or are in such a state when Jesus returns.

Though we now possess eternal life we are also on the road that leads to life.

Rom 2:7-8 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.

Jude 21 Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

So according to true biblical grace teaching, eternal life is also a "hope", to be "reaped" in the age to come, for only the ones who "persist in doing good".

Luke 18:29-30 "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God 30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

"When does eternal life come?"
"In the age to come."
"Is the age to come the same as this age?"
"No."
"So when is it?
"after this age."

"Who does it go to?"
"Those who overcome!"

That means that not only must we enter salvation initially but we must persevere until the end.

At this very moment , the Christian is somewhere between his conversion experience and his future entrance into the kingdom.

The Apostle Judas

Most Christians beleive that Judas was never a disciple or follower fo Jesus. But this is a dangerous teaching.

Matt 10:1 He called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

Judas was one of the twelve apostles. He was given authority to drive out spirits and to heal. We assume that he must have been doing it, for the Bible says the disciples healed and cast out demons.

Judas was so much one of the apostles that they did not suspect him at the time of the betrayal of Jesus.

Luke 6:16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

The Bible says that Judas became a traitor not that he always was one.

Acts 1:24-25 And they prayed, and said, "Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, show which one of these two Thou hast chosen 25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place. "

Judas turned aside from his apostleship and ministry.

We need to see the difference between initial salvation and final salvation so that we will persevere to the end.

Blessings