3/17/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE

TELLING OTHERS ABOUT JESUS

    We have favorites stories we love to tell.  Kids have favorite stories they want you to read.
Old Hymn: Tell Me The Old, Old Story (of Jesus and His love)
    Today we are continuing on the theme from last week when we talked about how a person becomes saved.  We will talk about our involvement, being ready to tell the reason for the hope that is in us.
1 Peter 3:15 NKJV
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
NLT
Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.
NIV
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
    Be ready to talk about what Jesus has done and is doing in your life.
    Believers in Jesus are His disciples.  A disciple is a learner.  A disciple has a heart for witnessing, gives his testimony clearly and presents the gospel regularly with increasing skill.
    A thought: sharing your faith is not like computer programming, where, if you do everything exactly right, it will work the same all the time.  We need to learn scriptures and “techniques” but must rely heavily on the working and leading of the Holy Spirit.  Remember the free-will of the person you’re talking with. God will work in their hearts, but they have to make the decision to accept.
    There is a REASON for your hope in Christ.
    Evangelism: winning new souls to Jesus.  Vital key to the living organism called the Body of Christ. Something living reproduces itself, or dies.
    Don’t ever rule out someone as a potential believer.  Remember, Jesus is the Savior, not us. He is the God of the impossible situation.
    Testimony
    Every believer has a testimony.  This is your story of your life and what Jesus has done. A testimony doesn’t have to be best-seller material.  Jesus changes us, He makes us new. That is a real testimony.
Acts 4:13 NIV
When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
    They had been with Jesus. God can and will use anyone.  Let Him.
        It is extremely important that you memorize scriptures, that you know the Bible well to be able to use it in conversations.  If you don’t know verses, you have no authority to speak, you’re only saying what you think.
    Far from being mechanical, sharing your faith will most likely be relational.  Being a friend, showing the true love of Jesus alive and active in your life so that it actually makes a difference, will be a powerful tool for you in bringing people to a personal relationship with Jesus.

TWO AWESOME QUESTIONS TO HELP A PERSON THINK:
Are you absolutely sure of your eternal home in heaven?
If you were to stand before God today as your judge, and He were to ask, “Why should I let you in to heaven?”, what would your answer be?
    Every person who is a Christian, who has Jesus Christ as their Personal Savior living in their hearts, is a Christian because someone told them, someone (or some people) brought them to a place where they knew their need of salvation and helped them make the commitment to Jesus.  This is the responsibility of every believer, to tell others of Jesus.  The reason for this is that the Bible says that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.  Without Jesus, people are lost.
    Being lost is a frustrating experience.  It’s bad when you are in a strange culture, don’t know the language.  Whether it’s in the middle of a large city or out in the woods with millions of trees, when you are lost and don’t know your way to safety, it is a horrible experience.
    I was in Chipala, Mexico.  As we walked the streets we heard someone say that it was good to hear English being spoken.  It was a retired American couple who were spending the winter there.  They heard it was warm and cheap, so they committed to a winter in Mexico.  They hadn’t been there long and were sorry they came.  They had a problem with the apartment door lock and no one locally seemed too excited about helping them.  The language, the culture, the food – it was all different and they really felt out of place.  They felt lost.  It is no fun to be lost.
    Remember, whoever is without a relationship with Jesus is lost.
    Being lost spiritually is even worse, for this deals with a person’s eternal destiny.
TAKE NOTE OF THESE VERSES
John 14:6 NIV
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Acts 4:12 NIV
Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Romans 3:23 NIV
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 NIV
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    A simple drawing to use with this verse, learn it and it can be used in many situations.  (Illustrate)
    Jesus is the peace the world is looking for.  You could also say Jesus is the piece the world is looking for in the confusing jigsaw puzzle of life.  The final piece to make life complete.
John 14:27 NIV
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
    Sin is a hard taskmaster and demands a horrible price.  We  easily see the consequences of sin.  Broken and destroyed lives come as a result of sin.  Sinners don’t have communication with, relationship with God.  But, they can have it.
Revelation 3:20 NIV
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
    So, since Jesus will come in to any life, any person who asks, someone must tell them.
Romans 10:14-15 NIV
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
    For people to know about anything, someone has to tell them.  It is not an option for Christians to tell others about Jesus.
    There is not a simple formula for winning people to Jesus.  Every situation is different. That’s why we need to pray and have the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  God will direct you in timing and in the verses to use.
    Witnessing is not just something you “do” but is something you ARE.  You must be a witness by your life (lifestyle), so that you can be a witness with your world. Your actions speak so loud that the world can’t hear what you say.
    Christians must be planting seeds.  There is no seed shortage, so spread it out liberally.
    Jesus saves the one who comes and repents
John 6:37 NIV
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
    God does a work in the heart of the sinner.
    The sinner must respond to the work of God and His Word in his/her life and repent.
Romans 10:13 NIV
for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
    When this is done, he/she is regenerated (born again) by the power of the Spirit.
John 1:11-13 NIV
11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
John 3:3-7 NIV
3 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” 4 “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” 5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’
    The blood of Jesus cleanses from all sin
1 John 1:9 NIV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
    It’s the Word of God that makes the difference, not your opinion on things.  Present the Gospel, never argue.  If you win the argument but lose the soul, what good have you done?

    There are many scriptures that you can use in witnessing. The Holy Spirit will guide you and you will find that He can use almost any verse in the Book at times.  The more you read the Bible, the more you study in Sunday School, the more you pay attention in church services, the more verses you’ll have in your heart to use to win people to Jesus.

Application Questions
Do I really believe that God can and will use me to tell someone about Him?
What must I do to be prepared to share my faith?
Identify some specific people to pray for.

3/24/13   Design For Life - TRIUMPH

    Today is Palm Sunday.  It is a day when the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is remembered and celebrated.  It is the story of Jesus receiving the adulation of the crowds, receiving the cheering and being the central focus of a parade.  This is different from what we see in His earthly ministry for about three years.  He had not been trying to build His public image.  Now, He was entering the city to cheers.  It was a day of triumph.
    It didn’t take long for the cheers to turn to jeers.  The crowds turned on Jesus and it appeared that His triumph turned to failure.  However, that is not true.  Jesus won.  God knew the outcome before it all began.  He knew there would be victory.
    It was not only the events of Easter that brought victory.  It was not only the resurrection that showed the ultimate triumph.  The church today continues to have victories in the battle that ensues.  Jesus knew that a difficult battle was ahead, but He also knew it would end in victory.  The church today, we as a fellowship today, face battles.  But, we also see victory.
    How often do we think that we can’t make it?  How often do we submit to defeat when we could persevere to triumph?  Today millions are celebrating the triumphal entry of Jesus.  Today, let’s look at the triumph God wants us to have.
Two Perspectives on the Normandy Invasion
    June 6, 1994, was the 50th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Normandy, which began the historic World War II battle to liberate continental Europe from Nazi control. All the major television networks ran anniversary programs that included interviews with aging veterans.
    One of the programs paired two contrasting interviews back to back. The first interview was with a marine who had landed on Omaha Beach. He recalled horrors and sounds. The aging veteran recalled looking around at the bloody casualties surrounding him and concluding, “We’re going to lose!”
    The next interview was with a U.S. Army Air Corps reconnaissance pilot who had flown over the whole battle area. He viewed the carnage on the beaches and hills, but he also witnessed the successes of the marines, the penetration by the paratroopers, and the effectiveness of the aerial bombardment. He looked at everything that was happening and concluded, “We’re going to win!”
Leith Anderson, Leadership That Works, (Minneapolis, Bethany House, 1999), pp. 164-165
    Perspective and information make all the difference.  Do you see things from God’s vantage point?
Adversity and the Lesson of the Coffee Bean
    A daughter complained to her father about how hard things were for her. “As soon as I solve one problem,” she said, “another one comes up. I’m tired of struggling.”
    Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen where he filled three pots with water and placed each on a high heat. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second, eggs, and in the last, ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
    The daughter impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After a while, he went over and turned off the burners. He fished out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. He poured the coffee into a bowl. Turning to her he asked, “What do you see?”
    “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
    He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled, as she tasted its rich flavor.
    She asked, “What does it mean?”  He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity—boiling water—but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.
    The egg was fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside hardened.
    The ground coffee beans were unique, however. By being in the boiling water, they changed the water.
    He asked his daughter, “When adversity knocks on your door, which are you?”
From the Internet; submitted by Eric Reed, managing editor, Leadership Journal
http://www.preachingtoday.com/search/?searcharea=illustrations&type=keyword&keywordid=3426&start=41
    Triumph. Victory.  It comes after struggle, work, a battle, some effort.  It doesn’t come before.
Romans 8:31-39 NKJV
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
    What can separate us from God’s love?  Will all kinds of problems make God not love us?  Will the worst things possible cause God to abandon us?  Even when believers are killed, brought to the slaughter like sheep, we are not abandoned by God.  There are many horrible things happening.  Today we face battles we never thought we would see.  Things are happening in our world that no one could have predicted.  Our nation is a mess.  How are we going to make it?
    The Bible says that we are more than conquerors through Jesus who loved us.  We don’t have to live in excuses, we can live in God’s victory.
    Here is a note from the Fire Bible about being more than conquerors.
We are more than conquerors.  This entire phrase is one word in Greek—hupernikömen. This compound word appears once in the NT, as part of this verse. Huper means “over, above,” and nikömen means “victors, conquerors.” Paul is saying that rather than being “victims” of their suffering and circumstances in a fallen, sinful world, Christians are “over and above victors” or “super victors.” Rather than barely getting by in life’s difficult circumstances, Christ’s followers are “overwhelming conquerors.” That is because Jesus won the decisive victory for us through his death on the cross. Because of his victory, we can now have spiritual salvation and the presence of the Holy Spirit living in us, supplying the power for us to be “more than conquerors” through life’s struggles.
    Nothing will separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  It is possible to fail in our spiritual walk, to tell God you don’t want Him any more.  If that happens, if a person fails in his spiritual walk, it won’t be because God didn’t love them.  And it won’t be because of the attack of an adversity. Instead, it will come from a person’s failure and spiritual neglect to remain faithful to Jesus.  Only through a personal relationship with Jesus do we experience the full extent of his love.  We must  continue true to Jesus our Lord.  This means we live in nonstop surrender to His authority.  Then we know for sure that we are never separated from God’s love.
    Let’s look again at verses 38 & 39.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We have victory.
I Corinthians 15:57 NKJV
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are loved.
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 5:1-2 NKJV
1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
We are delivered from condemnation.
Romans 8:1 NKJV
1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
    One of the powerful spiritual weapons of the enemy is to condemn us.  He works to make us feel worthless and unloved and unlovable.  That simply is not true.  Victory comes as we are in Jesus, as He dwells in us and we are serving Him.  Jesus delivers us from sin’s power and we are being drawn to eternity in heaven.
    The book of Romans has many powerful verses of victory.  I love a verse near the end.
Romans 16:20 NKJV
20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
    We must not give up, we must persevere to the victory God planned for us to have.
Never Give Up
    Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: The only fight which is lost is that which we give up.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Christian History, no. 32.
We Are Already Set Free
    There was a Glasgow professor named MacDonald who, along with a Scottish chaplain, had bailed out of an airplane behind German lines. They were put in a prison camp. A wire fence separated the Americans from the British, and the Germans made it next to impossible for the two sides to communicate. MacDonald was put in the American barracks and the chaplain was housed with the Brits.
    Every day the two men would meet at the fence and exchange a greeting. Unknown to the guards, the Americans had a homemade radio and were able to get news from the outside, something more precious than food in a prison camp. Every day, MacDonald would take a headline or two to the fence and share it with the chaplain in the ancient Gaelic language, indecipherable to the Germans.
    One day, news came over the radio that the German High Command had surrendered and the war was over. MacDonald took the news to his friend, then stood and watched him disappear into the British barracks. A moment later, a roar of celebration came from the barracks.
    Life in that camp was transformed. Men walked around singing and shouting, waving at the guards, even laughing at the dogs. When the German guards finally heard the news three nights later, they fled into the dark, leaving the gates unlocked. The next morning, Brits and Americans walked out as free men. Yet they had truly been set free three days earlier by the news that the war was over.
    While Christ’s Kingdom is not fully achieved, we know the outcome of the battle. We too have been set free.  As many have said, I’ve read the end of the book and we win.
Ray Bakke, Chicago, Illinois. Leadership, Vol. 19, no. 2.
Song: We Are More Than Conquerors
We are more than conquerors thro' Him that loved us so.
The Christ who dwells within us is the greatest power we know.
He will fight beside us tho' the enemy is great;
Who can stand against us, He's the Captain of our fate.
Then we will conquer, never fear, So let the battle rage.
He has promised to be near until the end of the age.
We are more than conquerors thro' Him that loved us so;
The Christ who dwells within us is the greatest power we know.
Words & Music: Ralph Carmichael

LIFE APPLICATION: The Next Step
DESIGN FOR LIFE

What are the key points of this message?

How can we apply this message?
Something I said earlier today:  The church today, we as a fellowship today, face battles.  But, we also see victory.
We must never accept defeat as inevitable.  We can never roll over and play dead.  The strongholds of the enemy will NOT prevail against the church.

NR 3/10/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE

How Do People Get Saved

    I am going to read a series of verses that include the words saved and salvation.  Salvation is the theme of the whole Bible.  There is only one reason why Jesus left heaven and came to earth, and that is to provide the gift of God, eternal life.  He came to seek and to save the lost.  Salvation is the reason for the Bible, the reason for church, the most important topic or decision anyone will every make.
Without personal salvation, nothing else matters in a person’s life.
    I have not printed the text of these verses in your notes, only the references so you can look at them again later.  I am not going to preach on them, but I share them so you can see the large number of verses that talk about this theme.  These are only some of the verses we could read at this time.
    Then, we are going to look at how someone is saved.
See the salvation of the Lord
Exodus 14:10-14 NKJV
10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the LORD.
11 Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? 12 Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.”
13 And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. 14 The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
The song of Moses after Israel crossed the Red Sea.
Exodus 15:1-2 NKJV
1 Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: “I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea! 2 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”
The story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus.  He walked away sad.
Matthew 19:25 NKJV
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
Zacharias Prophecies of John’s Ministry
Luke 1:77 NKJV
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins,
Simeon’s prophecy of Jesus
Luke 2:29-32 NKJV
29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.”
The ministry of John the Baptist
Luke 3:6 NKJV
6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
A parable of Jesus
Luke 8:11-12 NKJV
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.”
Jesus with Zacchaeus
Luke 19:9-10 NKJV
9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; 10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
The verse that is often forgotten when verse 16 is quoted.
John 3:17 NKJV
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd
John 10:9 NKJV
9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost
Acts 2:21 NKJV
21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the LORD Shall be saved.
Peter and John’s defense after they were arrested for healing a man
Acts 4:12 NKJV
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
The words of a demon-possessed girl about Paul and Silas
Acts 16:16-17 NKJV
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
The Philippian Jailer
Acts 16:30 NKJV
30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
The proclamation of Paul
Romans 1:16 NKJV
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
A simple explanation of how to be saved
Romans 10:9-10,13 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”
Paul’s declaration of salvation
1 Corinthians 1:18 NKJV
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
From Timothy’s life
II Timothy 3:14-15 NKJV
14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The effect of saving grace
Titus 2:11-14 NKJV
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.
Don’t neglect salvation
Hebrews 2:3 NKJV
3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
The Greatness of Jesus’ Sacrifice
Hebrews 9:28 NKJV
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Contend for the Faith
Jude 1:3 NKJV
3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.
Heaven Rejoices
Revelation 19:1 NKJV
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!”
    We are a few weeks from Easter.  Easter is the culmination of Christ’s mission on earth.  The resurrection completes His work.  During the Easter season many people think about Jesus and are more open to think about Him and talk about salvation.  With that in mind, today we are looking at how people get saved.
    Let me start by reading a:
Story from Ron Auch, pastor and author.
    I did not grow up in a godly home. We went to church as children but by the time I was 12, I was no longer going and my parents did not make me go either. By the time I had gotten saved, I hadn’t been in church for over 11 years.
    My cousin lived in the eastern part of South Dakota on a farm. I loved visiting him because it was fun as a kid to be on the farm, plus I loved being with him, he was older than me which meant he was cool. When I was in Junior High School (middle school), my parent’s talked my cousin’s family into leaving the farm and moving to Rapid City. They were not making a living on the farm they were renting, and so they moved to the big city to find work (Rapid City wasn’t really a big city but it seemed like it in South Dakota).
    I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember that there was no work to be found except as bartenders in a night club. My cousin and I would often go there after school just to hang out. I thought it was cool. Actually, it wasn’t, a bar is not a good place to just hang out even if your Aunt and Uncle manage the place.
    About 15 years later, God moved in our family and we all got saved in 1973. Making a long story short, we all decided we needed to be saved, so we chose a Sunday to go to the local Assembly of God church because we knew the pastor gave altar calls and that we needed to be saved. This was all connected to the death of my grandfather and how he found Christ just prior to his dying. When the pastor gave the call, my mom, my dad, and I went to the altar and gave our lives to Christ. My brother Barry, who was sick that day, came the following week and gave his life to Christ. Two weeks later my youngest brother Darryl got saved finally.
    We were all very excited but we were also faced with another challenge. My bartender Aunt and Uncle had become hopeless alcoholics. They had lost their jobs and literally everything else, they were homeless, so we brought them into our home. At this time, both of them were dying from the disease. They would both just lie in their beds they didn’t have enough strength to get up. Finally my Aunt got so bad that she had to go to the hospital- she never returned. I remember my mom going to visit her one day and we all knew she was about to die. I told my mom that she should not come home until Aunt Mildred accepted the Lord as her Savior. I was a new, dumb, and innocent Christian that thought it shouldn’t be very hard to lead a dying person to Christ. My mom went with her assignment and came home successful. She led her own sister to the Lord as her very first convert. My Aunt died a week later at 42 years of age.
    Before she died, we talked to our dying Uncle about Christ and he at least allowed us to pray with him. God miraculously healed him. His condition was considered, by the doctors, worse than my Aunt, but he ended up the one who lived, because Jesus had mercy on him. I don’t want to get into a discussion as to why he lived and my Aunt didn’t, but I have a theory. My Aunt accepted Christ as her Savior. There was no need for her to stay here. My Uncle never did take his salvation serious. Twenty years later he died. Prior to that he went back drinking however, never did suffer from the liver problems that God healed him from. I believe today, the reason my Uncle was healed and not my Aunt, is because God was doing all He could to bring him to repentance before he died. He let him live longer to give him every chance to get saved, but he never did come. To the best of our knowledge, he died without Christ.
Ron Auch e mail March 1 2013
    A person does not get saved because anyone forces them to receive Jesus.  We can’t do that.
They don’t get saved because God makes them repent.  He gave us a free will.
They don’t get saved because they hear the best preachers in the world.  Many people have listened to Billy Graham preach awesome sermons and walked away lost in their sins.
How does a person get saved?
**Salvation is received by grace, not earned by our good works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
    Any person who says “I will be good enough” or “I already am good enough” will never be saved.  People are not saved because they were baptized as a baby, or belong to a church, or teach a church class.  All must come to a place of taking a step of faith to receive Jesus as Savior.
**The Father Draws
John 6:44 NKJV
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
    The father draws. The Heavenly Father draws lost people to personal salvation in Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Lost people need their mind and heart opened to the truth of God.  While they are in their lost state they must see their need of salvation.  You can talk with people and they simply don’t see any need of change, or that they even can change.
    We need to be praying for people, that our Heavenly Father will draw them in.
    In the cooperative nature of God, The Holy Spirit convinces the conscience of lost people of the presence of sin in their lives and their need for God.
    We see that cooperation in the words of Jesus.
John 12:32 NLT
32 And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.
    God’s invitation, His desire to save, goes out to all.  People have a free will and can reject God’s call.  It is vitally important to respond to God’s call.  It is dangerous to resist God’s voice because we cannot bring ourselves to him on our own.  We must respond to God’s grace and call.
**The Holy Spirit convicts, convinces.
John 16:8 NKJV
8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
    The Holy Spirit “convicts the world.”  This means to expose, refute and convince.
    The Holy Spirit exposes sin and unbelief to wake a person up to their guilt and need for repentance and forgiveness.  Conviction also helps them understand the horrible eternal results of rejecting Jesus and remaining in a sinful lifestyle.
    The conviction of the Spirit brings a person to a place of decision regarding salvation.  God’s purpose of conviction is to bring a person to true repentance.
    The convincing of the Spirit helps a person believe that Jesus is the Son of God reveals that a personal relationship with God cannot be because of own good works.  We then can will want to live by God’s standards and overcome an ungodly life.
    The Holy Spirit also helps people understand judgment.  He helps them understand God’s present and future judgment of the world.  So many people don’t believe God will judge them, since they are basically a good person.
**New Birth Comes From God
John 1:11-13 NKJV
11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
    God initiated salvation, the gift He gives to all who receive it.  People are responsible to believe.  There must be a continual act of believing. The verb form of believe in this verse is describing an ongoing action and shows the need for perseverance - putting faith into practice by continual trust and reliance on God.  Salvation is not simply a prayer, “Jesus come into my heart”.

People need the Lord.
They cannot afford to resist.
Eternity depends on their response.

LIFE APPLICATION: The Next Step
DESIGN FOR LIFE

What are the key points of this message?

How can we apply this message?

3/3/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE

Use God’s Word When You Pray

    Almost everything we do requires faith.  Life is built on faith. We eat food, believing that it will nourish us and not poison us.  We go to see a friend, believing that he will keep his promise to meet us for lunch.
    The Christian life is built on faith. We believe Jesus died on the cross for us to give us eternal life. We believe God loves us and cares about our problems, so we pray to Him with confidence, expecting Him to answer.
**What is the foundation for our Christian faith?
**Why should we believe that God loves us?
    The truths revealed in the Bible give us the foundation for faith and for daily living.  God’s Word has proven to be reliable and dependable. If it says God loves us, He does! When the Bible invites us to pray, God means it!
    What does the Bible claim regarding itself?
II Timothy 3:16 NKJV
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
II Timothy 3:16 NIV
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
    A literal translation says that all Scripture is “God-breathed”.  It means that God breathed life into the scriptures.  This is a living and life-giving book.  Scripture is the Word of God.  As the authors were inspired and wrote the words in the original manuscripts the Bible is without error, absolutely true, trustworthy and infallible. This is true when it speaks of:
Ethical values
Moral standards
Salvation
History
Creation
Human behavior and relationships
It is without error on all subjects
    We can say this because it is God’s revealed Word to tell us what we need to know for life and eternity.  It is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
    This message looks at ways the Bible helps us when we pray.
The Bible Is Our Guide - Principles to grasp for our prayer lives.
Jesus said there is a direct link between His words and our prayers.
John 15:7 NKJV
7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
    This is a powerful promise that teaches us the answer to our prayers may depend on what part the Word of God has in our lives and how connected we are to our Savior. We must think about what the Bible says and let it guide us in our prayers. We follow the Bible teachings about how to pray, and let God speak to us through His Word when we pray.
    The Bible teaches us and helps us understand God’s will for our lives.  We must pray for His will to be done. We must also pray for what will honor God and what will be best for us and others, not just for what we want or for selfish pleasure.
James 4:1-3 NLT
1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? 2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. 3 And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

    It is not just that we pray, but the motivation, how we pray that makes a difference.  We cannot pray with selfishness.  We cannot pray with hatred, which is just as destructive as murder.
    Look at some of the prayers in the Bible as a guide. We may pour out our soul in the words of David’s cry for forgiveness or in Jesus’ anguished prayer of submission just before He went to the Cross.
Psalm 51:1-12 NKJV
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Matthew 26:39 NKJV
39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
    If we want our prayers to be effective, let us fill our minds with God’s Word. As it remains in us, we can ask and receive answers to our prayers.

    Have you ever said, “I wish I had more faith,” or “I just don’t have any faith”?  You do already have some faith! Everyone does.
    As a Christian you have a new kind of faith. This faith is belief in God, a Person you have not seen. This faith is the foundation of your life.
Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
    As you pray, let the witnesses of scripture, the testimonies of what God did through people in the Bible be an encouragement to you.  Focus on Jesus Who went through all the suffering of the cross and now is on the throne in heaven.
Romans 10:17 NKJV
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
    We are reminded that it is not just reading and thinking about God’s Word that brings faith. Hearing it preached strengthens our faith. So we go to church services and listen to the preaching. The sermons, songs, and testimonies about Jesus, the Son of God, strengthen our faith in Him. We do not understand everything about it, but we know that God works through our faith.
Act In Faith On God’s Promises
James 2:14-18 NKJV
14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
    As we pray, we also have to put some action with our faith.  There are times when God expects some movement, so steps of faith that go beyond the act of prayer.

DESIGN FOR LIFE
Use God’s Word When You Pray
Application of this message:
1.  There is nothing too hard that we must accomplish.
Philippians 4:13 NKJV
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
2.  People in contact with Jesus can accomplish things that will amaze those around them.
Acts 4:13 NKJV
13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.
3.  Ask God to speak to you through His Word to increase the power and effectiveness of your prayer life.

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