The Bedrock of Your Assurance

 

God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

The Bible speaks of our election — God’s choosing us — in Christ before the foundation of the earth (Ephesians 1:4) before we had done anything good or evil (Romans 9:11). Therefore, our election is unconditional in the strictest sense. Neither our faith nor our obedience is the basis of it. It is free and utterly undeserved.

On the other hand, dozens of passages in the Bible speak of our final salvation (as opposed to our election in eternity past) as conditional upon a changed heart and life. So, the question arises, How can I have the assurance that I will persevere in the faith and holiness necessary for inheriting eternal life?

The answer is that assurance is rooted in our election. Second Peter 1:10 says, “Be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.” Divine election is the foundation of God’s commitment to save me, and therefore that he will undertake to work in me by sanctifying grace what his electing grace has begun.

This is the meaning of the new covenant. Everyone who believes in Jesus is a secure beneficiary of the new covenant, because Jesus said in Luke 22:20, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” That is, by my blood I secure the new covenant for all who are mine.

In the new covenant God does not merely command obedience; he gives it. “The Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27; cf. 11:20). Those are new covenant promises.

Election is God’s eternal commitment to do this for his people. So, election guarantees that those whom God justifies by faith he will most assuredly glorify (Romans 8:30). This means that he will unfailingly work in us all the conditions laid down for glorification.

Election is the final ground of assurance because, since it is God’s commitment to save, it is also God’s commitment to enable all that is necessary for salvation.

YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD’S USE!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

TUESDAY MAY 24, 2022.

SUBJECT : YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD’S USE!

Memory verse: “And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent." (Joshua 6 vs 17.)

READ: : Acts 9 vs 1 - 7:

9:1: Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

9:2: and asked letters from him to to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

9:3: As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.

9:4: Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying unto him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”

9:5: And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. It is hard for thee to kick against the goads.”

9:6: So he trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

INTIMATION:

God works through people. He created us in His image and after His likeness. God obviously did not create us exactly like Himself because God has no physical body. Instead, we are reflections of God’s glory. We have the ability to His character in our love, patience, forgiveness, kindness, and faithfulness. Knowing that we are made in God’s image and thus share many of His characteristics provides a solid basis for self worth. Human worth is not based on possessions, achievements, physical attractiveness, or public acclaim. Instead, it is based on being made in God’s image. Because we bear God’s image, we can feel positive about ourselves. Criticizing or downgrading ourselves is criticizing what God has made and the abilities He has given us. 

All the people God created are useful to Him. He can use anybody, our sin nature not withstanding. For instance, in bringing our Messiah—Jesus Christ—into the world, God used all kinds of people. The study of genealogy of Christ in the first 17 verses of the gospel of Matthew (1 vs 1 - 17), we meet 46 people whose lifetimes span over 2000 years. All were ancestors of Jesus, but they varied considerably in personality, spirituality, and experience. Some were heroes of faith—like Abraham, Isaac, Ruth, and David. Some had shady reputations—like Rahab and Tamar. Many were very ordinary—like Hezron, Ram, Nahshon, and Achim. And others were evil—like Manasseh and Abijah. 

God’s works in history is not limited by human failures or sins, and He works through ordinary people. Just as God used all kinds of people to bring His Son into the world, He uses all kinds today to accomplish His will. And God wants to use you. Some of the women mentioned in the genealogy (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba—here called “her who had been the wife of Uriah”) raise both ethnic and ethical questions. At least two of them were not Israelites by birth and all four of them had reputations that could have made them unmentionable in an ancestral tree. Yet this was the line into which God’s Son was born. 

Jesus’ genealogy makes it clear, not that there were a few disreputable people in His family, but that all of them were sinners. God sent His Son as Savior of all people. No matter what the sins of the people, God’s plan was never thwarted. It continues to unfold. That plan includes you. 

Another example is the apostle Paul. No person, apart from Jesus Himself, shaped the history of Christianity like the apostle Paul. Even before he became a believer of Christ, his actions were significant. His frenzied persecution of Christians following Stephen’s death got the church started in obeying Christ’s final command to take the gospel worldwide. Paul’s encounter with Jesus changed his life. He never lost his fierce intensity, but from then on it was channeled for the gospel. 

Paul was very religious. His training under Gamaliel was the finest available. His intentions and efforts were sincere. He was a good Pharisee who knew the Bible and sincerely believed that this Christian movement was dangerous for Judaism. Paul hated the Christian faith and persecuted Christians without mercy. When he personally met Jesus on the road to Damascus, his life was never the same anymore. God did not waste any part of Paul—his background, his training, his citizenship, his mind, or even his weaknesses. Are you willing to let God do the same for you? You will never know All He can do with you until you allow Him to have all that you are!

Another example in Scripture is Rahab. She was a prostitute in the city of Jericho. As a prostitute, she lived on the edge of society, one stop short of rejection. God used her and gave her the courage to hide the spies and lie to the authorities. God works through people—like Rahab—whom we are inclined to reject. God remembers her because of her faith, not her profession. If at times you feel like a failure, remember that Rahab rose above her situation through her trust in God. You are good enough for God’s use. Make yourself available today!

Prayer: Abba Father, thank You for my self-worth; for I am made in Your image and after Your likeness. O Lord, I am available for service to You. Here I am use me, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

Is Christ Worth It?

 

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26–27)

Jesus is unashamed and unafraid of telling us up front the “worst” — the painful cost of being a Christian: hating family (verse 26), carrying a cross (verse 27), renouncing possessions (verse 33). There is no small print in the covenant of grace. It is all big, and bold. No cheap grace! Very costly! Come, and be my disciple.

But Satan hides his worst and shows only his best. All that really matters in the deal with Satan is in small print on the back page.

On the front page in big, bold letters are the words, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), and “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). But on the back page in small print — so small you can only read it with the magnifying glass of the Bible — it says, “And after the fleeting pleasures, you will suffer with me forever in hell.”

Why is Jesus willing to show us his “worst” as well as his best, while Satan will only show us his best? Matthew Henry answers, “Satan shows the best, but hides the worst, because his best will not [counterbalance] his worst; but Christ’s will abundantly.”

The call of Jesus is not just a call to suffering and self-denial; it is first a call to a banquet. This is the point of the parable in Luke 14:16–24. Jesus also promises a glorious resurrection where all the losses of this life will be repaid (Luke 14:14). He also tells us that he will help us endure the hardships (Luke 22:32). He also tells us our Father will give us the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). He promises that even if we are killed for the kingdom, “not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:18).

Which means that when we sit down to calculate the cost of following Jesus — when we weigh the “worst” and the “best” — he is worth it. Abundantly worth it (Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17).

Not so with Satan. Stolen bread is sweet, but afterward the mouth is full of gravel (Proverbs 20:17).

BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

MONDAY MAY 23, 2022. 

SUBJECT: BEWARE OF FALSE PROPHETS!

Memory verse: "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thornbushes, or figs of thistles?" (Matthew 7 vs 16.)

READ: Matthew 7 vs 15 - 20:

7:15: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

7:16: You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thornbrushes, or figs of thistles?

7:17: Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

7:18: A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

7:19: Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the fire.

7:20: Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

INTIMATION: 

There are those who claim to be followers of Christ, but in actual facts they are wolves in sheep’s clothing, deceiving believers with their seemingly godly actions. The Scripture calls them ‘False prophets.’ They are very common today, and prophesy only what the people want to hear, claiming it is God’s message even when it is obvious that the people and the nation are wallowing in sin, and not following God’s ways. 

Their words usually sound religious but they are motivated by money, fame, or power. You can tell who they are because in their teaching they minimize Christ and glorify themselves. We should not be fooled by smooth talk and glowing word. Their miracles are short-lived, their teachings hardly point out people’s sins. They allow and even encourage all kinds of immorality, especially sexual sin. We must be careful to avoid them today. 

Their works can come through books, tape series, or TV messages, and must be evaluated in the light of God’s Word. Beware of special meanings or interpretations that belittle Christ or His work. God admonishes us in the Scripture, thus, “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They make you worthless; They speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord. They continually say to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said, “You shall have peace”’; and to everyone who walks according to the dictates of his own heart, they say, ‘No evil shall come upon you.’” (Jeremiah 23 vs 16 - 17.)

Christians who study God’s Word, asking Him to reveal the truth, will not be fooled, even though superficial Christians may easily be taken in. The Bible gives us example of believers who carefully checked God’s Word in Acts 17 vs 11; “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily, to find out whether these things were so.” 

True nobility in the sight of God is that one allow God to speak to him through His inspired word. Those who do not allow God to speak to them through the Bible will be mislead either by their emotions, traditions, or the teachings of the false prophets or teachers. 

The Bible says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone into the world.” (First John 4 vs 1.) There are many ways to test teachers to see if their message is truly from God. One is to see if their words match what God says in the Bible. Other tests include their commitment to the body of believers, their lifestyles, and the fruit of their ministries. But the most important test of all is what they believe about Christ and the Word of God. 

Our world is filled with voices claiming to speak for God. We should evaluate their words by examining their lives. Just as trees are consistent in the kind of fruit they produce, good teachers or prophets consistently exhibit good behavior and high moral character as they seek to live out the truth of Scriptures. This does not mean that they are perfect, but rather striving to lead a godly lifestyle. 

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the excellent spirit of humility, and obedience to Your Word, that I may please You and have fellowship with You at all times. Give me the grace to prove all things in accordance with the Scriptures, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!

6 REASONS WHILE YOU BE PRAYERFUL BY APOSTLE JOSHUA SALMAN

 

Jesus Knows His Sheep

 

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them.” (John 10:27)

Jesus knows those who are his. What is this knowledge?

John 10:3 is a close parallel to John 10:27. It says, “The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”

So, when Jesus says, “I know them,” this means at least that he knows them by name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not anonymous, lost in the flock.

John 10:14–15 provides another insight: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

There is a real similarity between the way Jesus knows his Father in heaven and the way he knows his sheep. Jesus sees himself in the Father, and he sees himself in his disciples.

To some degree Jesus recognizes his own character in his disciples. He sees his own brand mark on the sheep. This endears them to him.

He is like a husband waiting for his wife at the airport, watching as each person disembarks from the plane. When she appears, he knows her, he recognizes her features, he sees in her eyes a happy reflection of his own love. He delights in her. She is the only one he embraces.

The apostle Paul puts it like this: “God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).

It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known personally, intimately, lovingly by the Son of God. It is a precious gift to all his sheep, and it contains within it profound, personal fellowship and affection and the promise of eternal life.

THE HUMBLE AND CONTRITE HEART!

 EVERYDAY IN THE WORD!

SUNDAY MAY 22, 2022. 

SUBJECT: THE HUMBLE AND CONTRITE HEART!

Memory verse: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart, these O God, You will not despise." (Psalms 51 vs 17.)

READ: Isaiah 57 vs 15:

57:15: For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

INTIMATION:

The heart is the seat of the affections or sensibilities, collectively or separately, as love, hate, joy, grief, courage, and the like; It is the spring of all our actions and purposes; the seat of moral life and character. it is rarely, the seat of the understanding or will; usually in a good sense, the spring of all our actions and purposes; It is the seat of moral life and character; the individual disposition and character; as, a good, tender, loving, bad, hard, or selfish heart.

Though God is exalted above the heavens, at the same time the omnipresent God dwells in the hearts of the humble and contrite. In our relationship with God, He demands a humble and contrite (grieving and penitent for sin) heart. Humility means proper respect for God, and only in such manner can one fellowship and hear Him. You can never please God by outward actions—no matter how good—if your heart attitude is not right. The heart attitude is what God is mindful of.

God’s demand for a humble and contrite heart is because with such heart, one recognizes his humanity, his spiritual poverty and destitution. One must empty himself of self-reliance and learn to humble himself before God. Those with such attitude of mind will submit to the kingdom reign of God. Such people recognize their spiritual poverty and, therefore, humbly grieve over their sinfulness—their inadequacies before God.

When one mourns over his sin, his relationship with others change. He becomes mild, gentle, lowly and unselfish in character. He is not arrogant or self-seeking. Those who realize their sinful condition and mourn or contrite over their sin, hunger and thirst after justification (righteousness) that can come only from God by His grace. They seek the knowledge of God through His word. It is the word of God that will supply the knowledge of how to be justified of one’s sin. God is the source of all righteousness. 

Those who recognize their own spiritual poverty are merciful to others. They sympathize and have pity on others. They, therefore, seek to relieve the suffering of others because God has had mercy on them in relation to their sin. And the mercy will reap mercy from God. Those who recognize their own sinfulness will seek peace of mind with others. Such are sons of God for they portray the spirit of God in their relationship with others. They are not contentious, nor do they have a spirit to argue with others.

One’s honest recognition of his spiritual dilemma leads him to frustration. The morally conscious person who seeks to do right realizes the law of his own natural fallibility to live flawlessly in reference to law. Every man must come to the point of self-recognition. Each person must recognize that his life is a “body of death” because we cannot obey law in a manner to justify ourselves before God. Therefore, we must humble ourselves before God for justification by His grace.

Christians have been chosen by God as Christ’s representatives on earth. They, therefore, should conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the calling they have received—the awesome privilege of being called Christ’s very own. This includes being humble, gentle, patient, understanding, and peaceful. People are watching your life. Can they see Christ in you? How well are you doing as His representative?

Being humble involves having a true perspective about ourselves. It does not mean we should put ourselves down. Before God, we are sinners, saved only by God’s grace, but we are saved and therefore, have great worth in God’s kingdom. We are to lay aside selfishness and treat others with respect and common courtesy, God desires a broken spirit that was manifested through repentance, and this is what a humble and contrite heart offer.

Prayer: Abba Father, endue me with the excellent spirit of humility, and create in me a clean heart contrite for my sins always, that I may please You and have fellowship with You at all times, in Jesus’ Name I have prayed. Amen.

PRAISE THE LORD!