If you have received the gift of salvation by confessing your sins and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior you are now a child of God set part or "sanctified" to do a special work. You are set apart for a specific divine Holy purpose. Understanding that is vital to having a powerful Christian walk.
There is no higher calling than to complete the special work God has set apart for you to do. You will find no greater self satisfaction, peace, or completeness, than conforming your life to doing Gods work. We do this by conforming our life into the image and character of Jesus. This can take a lifetime and we will never reach a complete and total transformation in this life. I liken it to coming into focus. When we first accept Christ and the salvation He offers we can have a very difficult time "seeing" what our new life should be. When we first become Christians, what Christ has for us will probably be completely out of focus. To bring His plan for our life into focus will require us to start re-prioritizing our life and doing things differently than what we are used to.
I think this is one of the big confusing parts about becoming a Christian. We think that after accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior that everything will be on auto-pilot and we will automatically become more and more like Christ. Not true. As a matter of fact, if you make the decision for Christ and then do nothing, the devil will probably have a hay day with you. He does not want anyone to accept Salvation and he especially does not want any of us to understand the Sanctification process of being set apart for special Holy, Devine work.
Satan is Alive and Very Active
Satan will try every trick in the book to convince you that you are not saved. He will tell you that the bible is irrelevant, it is a fairy tale made up a long time ago, this is the 21st century and it is no longer relevant. And, he is extremely effective at convincing people who are involved in the work of God that they are waisting their time, that it really doesn't matter, and no one really cares anyway.
Oh, and he doesn't stop there. How about his ability to make everything in life more important than spending time on the work of God or on our Spiritual developement? That is where he has duped almost everyone. Making us believe that everything else in life has priority over God's work because God really doesn't care.
Steve Klingel our bass player mentioned last night after the service that another very successful tactic of satan has been convincing people that he himself does not exist. Think about that. What a great tactic, making us believe that there is no such thing as satan. If I do not believe an enemy exists, why should I be afraid of him?
As I have told you before in previous sermons that Christianity is like joining the YMCA to get into shape and loose weight and then never going to the gym to work out.
Are you a member? Yes
Will you be allowed into the gym? yes
Is all the equipment you need to get into shape at the gym? yes
Does your membership card change your physical shape? No
You have to go use the equipment available and then, over a period of time you will slowly but progressively bring your new, healthier you into focus. The only way your life is going to start conforming into the image of Jesus is through much effort, it is not automatic.
The church today has a real huge challenge.
How do you get the sick to the doctor if they don't believe they are sick?
Bonni and I believe, as do our choir and band members that music is a universal language. That Great God inspired music will bring people who need the message of Christ into the church. We have some amazing talent and I want to warn all of you involved with the Praise Choir and Band that you are not exempt from satan's attacks. As a matter of fact you are going to be very high on satan's seek and destroy list. But you have the power of God and the Holy Spirit on your side.
James 4:7
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
What a simple but profound statement. submit your life to God so that you can resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Why Are We doing What We Are Doing?
In other words why are we going through all the trouble of starting another church?
Does the town need another church?
Half the churches in town now are 1/2 empty on Sundays.
What is the point? Have you ever asked yourself these questions? I have and I think these questions deserve a well thought out answer. I can only answer from my perspective as a pastor.
I come to Praise Community Fellowship with one purpose only. To bring people into a close relationship with the real, living Jesus so they can experience the peace I have found in my life. That is it. I have no other agenda. I would imagine if you asked others they may have other answers. So do we need another church for that? I don't know. Let me ask you a question. What I think is probably one of the most important questions you will ever answer in your entire life.
If you believe that Jesus is the only way to receive eternal life and that without receiving Jesus this life will one day end forever. Then how important is it that you and all the people who you truly love develop a close relationship with the living Jesus? Here is what I think. Too many people still do not grasp all that bible teaches. Satan has convinced too many people of the lie he told in the Garden of Eden that changed the history of the world. "You surely will not die!"
What do you believe? Oh, and here is one other thing to think about. What you and I believe does not change the truth.
God really does have a plan for your life but it is up to you to bring it into focus.
See you soon. Give me a call if you have thoughts. Love, pastor Kent
618-334-3575
Powerful Message.
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