What The Gospel Does

What The Gospel Does Acts 26. 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ Romans 1. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. We can attest to this happening in our lives. We are saved. We are being saved. Hebrews 7. 25 Therefore, He is always able to save those who approach God through Him, since He lives forever to make intercession for them. Let’s look at what the Gospel does. * It Opens Our Eyes the eyes of the mind, the faculty of knowingly Until the Gospel comes we are blind to the eternal things We are not able to see things truly as they are. We are spiritually blind. We really cannot understand the Eternal Word of God until we come to know Christ, the Living Word. The Spirit draws us. We receive Christ through repentance and faith. His grace for you. You believe and suddenly you see things Eternal. Life can be understood as we read the Proverbs. Learn and Live. It is amazing to me that years ago when I read Proverbs I read without a lot of examples, kind of this is the way life is. Now as I read them people come to mind, both righteous and wicked and what they have sown and are reaping. The Proverbs are in a way a commentary on life. The Gospel opens our eyes to good and evil, right and wrong. We see things in life in focus. There is a clarity in relationships. Our eyes are opened to Eternity. There is a Heaven and Hell. The gentleman in Florida reading his Bible who said to the LORD in his Convertible on his way home from work, “God if You are real, will You show me?” He got home and began to read the Bible critically. He said to his wife, “Where is my Bible?” She said, “That is your Bible!” He went on to explain that this one was making sense and was not like the other one. Then he remembered his prayer. His eyes were opened. He surrendered his life to Jesus. Elisha and his servant. II Kings 6.17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. The Word of God is about Light shining in the Darkness. Genesis to Revelation If the Gap Theory is true (That there is a gap between Genesis 1.1 and 1.2 and Satan fell from Heaven at that time) then this fits perfectly. There was a recreation of the original creation. And that is what happens when a person is born from above. * It turns us from Darkness to Light. Ephesians 5:8-14 ESV / For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. John 3:19-21 ESV / And this is the judgment: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the Light and does not come to the Light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the Light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” 1 John 1:5-10 ESV / This is the message we have heard from Him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. ... Before we hear the Gospel and believe we are in darkness, sin, wandering spiritually. That darkness is deceptive. We stumble over things we do not see. When we come into the Light we can see where we are going. We have compassion on those walking in darkness. It is pitiful. It is heartbreaking. When we do this we are following Jesus. Matthew 9.36 When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Sheep must be led and cared for. People without the LORD are not being led, not having the deep needs of their lives met and will make bad choices. * It breaks the Power of Satan and Turns Us to God. If you are under the power of Satan, you have no choice. You obey him. Romans 6.16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? We are born children of the Devil. Sin is inherited from our parents. We choose Christ and He frees us. We become children of God. A whole bunch of things happen among which we are adopted. That makes us children of God. Now we have a choice: to serve Him or to resort to sin. When we are children of the Devil we have choice. This breaking of the power of God continues to this day in lives. It also happens in nations! Pastor Daniel from Kenya, who is a dear friend, has a friend serving in Haiti on the Police Force sent in there to fight the gangs, the Kenyan Police Force. These are the ones who fought and won against ISIS in Kenya. Last evening I was speaking with him, felt led to call him, and he has a desire to come to the United States for a visit. He would like to be at my Mom’s Celebration of Life and Burial in June. He asked if I thought we could go to Haiti from here. At first I was going to say, “That would be impossible.” Then I heard the LORD say in my heart, “Nothing is impossible with God,” so instead I said that would take a bunch of miracles! But God works miracles! So we prayed at the end of our conversation for God to do that! Remember that Word given to Habakkuk, “Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something, in your days that you would not believe even if you were told.” Haiti being set free would be wonderful! Freedom from Voodoo and oppression. When Jesus sets us free we choose each day to serve Him. Pastor Faisal in Pakistan yesterday. Electricity out. Very upset. Asked me to send a link so he could play the video recording. I did. He wrote back, “Brother I'll arrange many meetings and your all records message we'll plan via laptop or LED.” Told him we would be praying. As for the enemy he meant it for evil, but as for God He meant it for good to the savings of many lives! Let’s pray! For Haiti and Pakistan right now. * We receive the Forgivness of sins This means freedom from the guilt of sin, from the penalty of sin. It means no record of sins! The slate is wiped clean. The Prodigal Son and the Waiting Father Luke 15 * We receive a place among the Sanctified By Faith In Him. This is such a blessing I Thessalonians 5. 23 May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ. 24 The One Who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. Set apart for God For His Possession For His Service For His Glory Being like Jesus Receiving the Gospel Open our eyes Turns us from darkness to light Breaks the power of Satan

Innocent Before The Court

Innocent Before The Court Acts 25.24 Festus said: “King Agrippa, and all who are present with us, you see this man! The whole Jewish community has petitioned me about him in Jerusalem and here in Caesarea, shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 I found he had done nothing deserving of death, but because he made his appeal to the Emperor I decided to send him to Rome. As followers of Jesus we obey the law. Those who break the law are not good examples of His followers. I Timothy 1. 9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me. There are some who keep the law of the land and think that is going to earn them a place in Heaven. My goodness is not enough. I have never murdered anyone. I do not steal. I give to a charity. Paul, the apostle, kept the law. In his own words, Romans 7.7b For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. In the present case here, Paul, like Jesus, had done nothing deserving of death. Jesus was sinlessly perfect.. Paul was not Neither are we. Before the Sanhedrin different Jesus Paul Jesus was silent. Paul was not. Acts 23.1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people. What Paul said was true. The way he said it to the High Priest was not respectful. Probably because of his eyesight problem he didn’t realize it was the High Priest. We misspeak. We ask forgiveness. We ought to seek to be blameless. An overseer must be. This is a message on us being citizens of Heaven being good citizens on Earth. Paul, the Apostle, was a Roman Citizen. He also was a citizen of Heaven. Philippians 3. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, We have duel citizenship. We are American Citizens. Wherever you are around the world, you are a citizen of that country. You see this plainly when you show your Passport. We have an obligation * A Good Citizen Keeps the Law of the Land In Which He lives As we get our taxes done… Been told twice now by preparers, “You don’t have to report this income.” To the one 35 years ago I said, “Oh yes I do.” To which he replied, “I knew you were going to say that.” Our church buildings are in code. We cannot, as Christians, violate Town of Islip codes. That would be so wrong. I know of one church that did, flagrantly, and their building was condemned. They violated, among other things, the Fire Code, endangering children. Horrible. Very unlike Jesus. They lost the building. Paul did not violate the code of the Temple. He kept it carefully. He tried to win his enemies over. He had Timothy circumcised as a young adult man. He made a vow and kept it according to the law of Moses. He learned that if someone hates you or a group hates you and they cannot find grounds to have you arrested they will make up false charges. Learn a lesson here. If you try to make friends out of your enemies you will get beat up sometimes. Mrs. D’ Nofrio in Bellmore. My Mom showed us how to love her. What do we, as followers of Jesus, do? Those who falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. * You do not respond. I know what it is to have people say, “You have got to defend yourself!” “You need to say something.” No we do not. We know what the truth is… and far greater than that so does God. Years ago the Word of the LORD came to me in such a situation, “The Battle belongs to the LORD.” At first I had to endure. However right up to this day, the LORD is setting the record straight without me saying a thing. * You rejoice. If it is difficult to keep your mouth shut, this is even more difficult. Rejoice?! Be glad, Be well, Thrive From your heart. If you are not there yet, keep seeking to obey. The sinful nature dies slowly. But what freedom when you count it dead. * You realize you are in good company. The prophets Your own self respect Jesus Jeremiah 38. 7 When Ebed-melech the Cushite, a eunuch who was in the house of the king, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the pit —now the king was sitting at the Gate of Benjamin— 8 Ebed-melech went out from the house of the king and spoke to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, in that they have thrown him into the pit, and he will die there because of starvation, for there is no longer any bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, saying, “Take with you these thirty men and pull Jeremiah the prophet up from the pit before he dies.” I am not up to Jeremiah yet. They haven’t thrown me into a pit. I could have fallen into a pit of despair. It is hard to get out of that. On Tuesday I shared with a group of pastors in India who are suffering persecution there. You do not do that lightly. Only a few among us know what that is. * A Good Citizen of Heaven Keeps the Law of Love Love the LORD with all your might and all your soul and all your strength, and your neighbor as yourself. -Jesus Matthew 22.36-40 Our lives are witnesses to the love we have for Jesus. I have a habit of greeting people. I did this way back at three years of age. I held the door for people at the Dining Room at the headquarters of the church where my Grandmother worked. I greeted them with a cheerful, “How are you today. Good Morning!” My parents told me later I made my Grandma shine with joy. The other day I was with my friend, Ray Toca. We were outside. A young lady walked by where we were standing and I greeted her with, “Good Morning! What a beautiful day!” I waved and she ignored me. Then she began to let out a string of obscenities. Whew! At first I thought she was talking into the phone she was carrying but after she passed she let us know it was me. I was really surprised. Then I remembered the words of Jesus, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Who can live like that?! You say that is impossible! Yet it is what Jesus calls us to. Not some wise comment. Pray for them. Obviously something was wrong in this poor girl’s life. She has some deep issues that are manifesting in anger. * The LORD has promised to stand with us in Trials Whether it is before the court or in life itself. II Timothy 4. 16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. We ought to live lives that if we ever have to stand in a court nothing could hold up. I like what an old Preacher I knew used to preach, “If you were put on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you? We are on trial. We say we love Jesus. He is our LORD. From time to time we will be falsely accused. Other times people will see we are not perfect and will call us on it. Humble yourself. Be a peacemaker. Learn the discipline of being like Jesus. Learn to not respond in the flesh but in the Spirit.