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ABC’s
As we
had a great time at Vacation Bible School this year and as the program has
related to this I would like to share with you…a few things.
Actually 3 words…
These
words have been the centrality of the VBS for the last several years.
In fact
these words…have been repeated in various ways but have carried the same
message…..
·
A
message of hope
·
A
message of peace
·
A
message of love
·
And a
message of salvation.
These
words have been the bases of the Roman Road and the way to lead people into Gods
grace for the last 2000 years.
They
have been the path to:
·
Forgiveness
·
Grace
·
Mercy
They
also have been the guide to leading a life that is:
·
Worthy
·
Set
apart
·
Called
to greatness
·
And
honor
These
words are represented by three letters…
A B&
C….
This is
the beginning of the alphabet and we say things like it’s as simple as Abc
meaning that things have an order.
An
order in which we must do things:
·
Come to
God
·
Gain
our salvation
·
Become
a child of the King.
The
first letter is A
A
reminds me of the first letter in the Greek alphabet…. The beginning and Omega
the last letter…
Representing that God is in the beginning and He will be in the end and all
things are in-between.
In
Vacation Bible School “A” represents the word ADMIT…
Admit…
1
:
to give entrance or access
2 a
:
allow,
permit
<admits of two interpretations>
b
:
to make acknowledgment —used with to
synonyms
see
acknowledge
you see
in this definition we can see that to admit to something is to allow access…to
acknowledge something and what is that something that we have to admit….
Well
there are several things I believe that we have to admit to before we can come
to Christ.
1.
We have to acknowledge that we are sinners.\
a.
God gave us the 10 commandments to use as a mirror to see our
reflections.
i.
I look at the commandments and if I look at myself in truth, I can see
there is no way that I can stand before God as an innocence man.
ii.
There is no way when I read the law I can place myself as one who is
good.
iii.
Paul says on what a wretched man he is…and when he looked at the Law of
Moses he could see that with the law there has to be an accounting to be dealt
with if one breaks that law.
iv.
The punishment for breaking one law is one thing but when I look I see
the law being broke by me not just one law but several laws and not just one
time but several times a day a year a life time.
b.
If there is to be an accounting and with an accounting a punishment…then
that punishment is like the 3 strike you’re out law….but with us, with me…I see
that in my life I have struck out time after time after time.
i.
If I strike out time after time with one law and then time after time
with a multitude of laws the my punishment for breaking those laws is nothing
less than a demand for my life.
ii.
My punishment…your punishment is no less that death because of that
mirror in my life call the Law.
iii.
So the first thing I must do is acknowledge that I have lost my
direction.
1.
I am lost without God
2.
I am a wretched man in need of a savior.
Now the
second letter is “B”
In
Vacation Bible School that stands for the word Believe.
Now the
word believe can have several meanings.
1 a : to have a
firm religious faith b : to accept as true, genuine, or real <ideals we believe
in.
2 : to have a firm conviction as to the goodness, or ability of something
<believe in exercise>
3 : to hold an opinion :
think <I
believe so
1 a : to consider to be
true or honest <believe the reports> <you wouldn't believe how long it took>
b : to accept the word or
evidence of <I believe you> <couldn't believe my ears>
2 : to hold as an opinion :
suppose <I
believe it will rain soon>
So for
us to believe is like standing on solid ground.
·
I
believe that this floor will hold my weight.
·
I
believe that I can make it to the other side of town in my truck without
breaking down or having an accident.
·
And in
faith…
o
I
believe in God
o
I
believe in a god
o
I
believe in no God
·
And we
ask ourselves what makes us believe in or not believe in things.
o
Facts
o
Experience
o
Witnesses
o
Testimonies
o
Common
sense
o
ability
·
These
are things that we can but our trust in.
·
These
are things that give us a foundation for what we believe in.
·
These
are things that can build our faith.
When I
look at the law and see myself in truth and understand that I am a dead man
walking to a point and I understand there is a penalty for my mistakes, my lies,
my sin there is one thing I must do….
I will
try with all my being, with my entire mind and all my ability to run from that
penalty of death.
·
I do
not want to die for my sins
·
I do
not want to stand before a judge and have him tell me I am guilty…I know I am
guilty.
·
I do
not want to stand before him and have him pronounce that I am doom to die.
·
And I
do not want that death sentenced carried out.
o
So I
will look for an escape.
o
I will
look for a way out.
o
I can
look to false religions
o
I can
look into buying my way out.
o
I can
look to working my way out
But no
matter what…there is no way I can escape death except though Jesus Christ…and
how do I do that…….
·
I see
what He has already done for me.
o
I look
at the price he paid
o
I look
at the eye witness accounts
o
I look
at the evidence of how one man or God in human form changed the world to make it
a better place to live through His
o
I read
His word…the Bible…God speaking to me…to you sharing with me with you his
purpose his plan, his love.
o
I use
my common sense to see his plan in his fullness of time and I admit that I am a
lost person without his:
§
Love
§
His
mercy
§
His
grace
§
Without
Christ who died on the cross I see that I am a dead man but I rejoice because
Jesus put himself on that cross instead of me…
§
I have
been forgiven and all I had or have to do is believe.
·
Have
faith
·
Trust
that God loves me.
·
Believe
in a man whom the bible says is the:
o
Son of
God
o
Who
came to save me
o
Who
died in my place and defeated death at deaths front door.
o
And
that he rose again from that grave to break the chains that bind me.
·
And if
I continue in that belief it follows that I am a saved child of the God who
created the earth, the moon and the rest of the universe and that the one who
created all that still loves me…
I have
to admit that I am a sinner
I have
to believe in a man called Jesus who saved my life and then I must confess.
Confess
You may
say that confess and admit is the same thing…but its not.
·
Admitting is looking at your self
o
Admitting who you are in light of the world
o
In
light of the law
o
and in
the light of Christ
§
we
admit that we are flaw creatures
§
That we
are broken and we need fixing.
§
In
believing we realize that only Jesus can fix what is broke.
·
Romans 3:23
·
"For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"
·
We all have
sin in our hearts. We all were born with sin. We were born under the power of
sin's control.
·
Admit that
you are a sinner.
·
Romans 6:23a
·
"... For the
wages of sin is death;..."
·
Sin has an
ending. It results in death. We all face physical death, which is a result of
sin.
·
But a worse
death is spiritual death that alienates us from God, and will last for all
eternity.
·
The Bible
does plainly teach that there is a place called the Lake of Fire where lost
people will be in torment forever.
·
It is the
place where people end up that remain spiritually dead.
·
Understand
that you deserve death for your sin.
·
Romans 6:23b
·
"... but the
gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
·
Salvation is
a free gift from God to you! We can't earn this gift, but we must reach out
and receive it.
·
Ask God to
forgive you and save you.
·
Romans 5:8
·
"…But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us."
·
When Jesus
died on the cross He paid sin's penalty. He paid the cosmic price for all sin,
and when He took all the sins of the world on Himself on the cross, He bought us
out of slavery to sin and death! The only condition is that we believe in Him
and what He has done for us, understanding that we are now joined with Him, and
that He is our life.
·
Because He
loved us and gave Himself for us!
·
Give your
life to God... His love poured out in Jesus on the cross is your only hope to
have
forgiveness and change. His love bought you out of being a slave to sin.
His love is what saves you. Not religion, or church membership.
·
God loves
you! And reaches you right where you are.
·
Romans 10:13
·
"For
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
·
Call out to
God in the name of Jesus!
·
Romans 10:9,
10
·
"... That if
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the
heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation."
The Greek
word for confession is a combination of three words; homos and logos
meaning…together or the same and logos which means thought.
Homologeo,
meaning I say or think the same thing.
In other words, the
biblical concept of confession is to "say the same thing", to admit, to agree.
It is, therefore, impossible to confess some sin that you do not agree is a sin.
It is just as impossible to confess your faith in something you don't actually
believe.
The third part of this
word is a preposition ex. When you add the ex the h is dropped and you have
exomologeo, meaning to speak out….
So when we confess we are
speaking out what we have admitted and what we believe.
But the Bible says we
should not only acknowledge our sin to God (1 John 1:9),
1 John 1:9 if we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
we should also announce
our sin to others (James 5:16).
James 5:16 Confess your faults one to
another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
We are both to "confess"
our sin, and to "profess" our sin.
We need to claim it,
proclaim it.
ABC’s Or
CPL
·
Claim our
sins
·
Proclaim
what Jesus has done
·
Live it so
others will see Jesus in us.
·
Jesus said,
·
Revelation
3:20a
·
"Behold, I
stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I
will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me..."
·
Is Jesus
knocking on your heart's door?
·
If you know
that God is knocking on your heart door,
·
ask Him to
come into your heart.
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