What Just Happened? One moment after Salvation
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· 21 viewsAre you saved? What does Born Again mean? How is my life changed?
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What Just Happened?
What Just Happened?
Have a seat, we need to talk for a bit.
Get comfy because this is going take a while.
What Just happened??? - One moment after salvation.
Congratulations! You’re a WINNER!
Congratulations! You’re a WINNER!
Someone presents you with a winning lottery ticket worth 750 million dollars. What just went through your mind?
Most of us think about what it would be like and how I would spend it!
But what just happened? From our vantage point
First, I was called by name and presented with a check - a new life:
Bill's?
Debt?
Old Masters done away with!
Oh yeah and a lot of new stuff.
Sorry to say I was so focused on myself and new found wealth I probably wouldn't even think until way later about what else just happened.
Second, someone had to pay not only for my lotto ticket, but the whole 750 million.
Wow 750 million Dollars.
You didn't earn it.
I couldn't earn it.
Most of us don't have 750 million dollars.
What else happened? Something most of us wouldn't think about at all.
Third, hopefully these sudden riches won’t destroy me!
Make me worse off then I was before.
But what just happened?
WHAT REALLY JUST HAPPENED????
Can I share a secret with you?
What if my being a winner was rigged!
What if my being a winner was rigged!
That’s right!
What if I was chose me to be a winner?
What if someone paid the bill so I could win?
What if someone not only gives me the check ,
but also the wisdom so I'm not destroyed by the winnings?
If you belong to God
The Father,
Jesus Christ,
& The Holy Spirit,
You are that lotto winner.
God the Father chose me to be a winner.
God Jesus Christ paid the bill so I could win.
God the Holy Spirit gives me the check or life change,
and the life wisdom so I'm not destroyed.
We will come back to these.
God is so much more than 750 million dollars.
What do you think about, when you think about salvation?
Most of us think about being saved as a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Or what it will be like with all those benifits in heaven.
Or some of us even start thinking about how I've got to pay back that 750 million.
But what just happened? Let's back up and look at God the Father who cose me to be a winner.
God the Father chose me to be a winner beforehand, through His Son
Ephesians 1:4-6, Colossians 3:12–13, 1 Peter 2:9, John 6:44, John 14:6
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
See what Jesus himself said:
44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
And the Father only calls those to Himself ONLY through His son
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
But what just happened? Let's back up and look at our benefactor,
God, Jesus Christ.
Why did God come in the flesh and die on the cross?
Was he a martyr? - No Martyrs get caught and die for a Cause.
It was the cause of Christ to die as one caught.
God Jesus Christ paid the bill so I could win.
1 John 4:9–10, Romans 3:23–25, Hebrews 2:17, Romans 5:6–8, Colossians 1:20–23
9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation' what is propitiation?
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;
17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
God pays the tab for my sin. Your sin.
Would you like to see more?
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
20 and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,
22 yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—
23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
Read verse 23 again.
23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
This deals with “Born Again Ness”,
(from the dictionary of Garyisims)
*****We will come back to this.*****
It was rigged.
It was planned out beforehand.
Isaiah 53:3–11
Jesus being our Propitiation or Debt payer on the cross, was prophesied or written down approximately 800 hundreds years before it happened by Isaiah.
3 He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
So lets get back to our lotto number.
750 million.
750 million of my sins.
750 million of your sins.
Think about that for a moment!
Before He could hand me the proverbial check of eternity,
He had to pay my tab.
A debt was owed,
I was going into foreclosure,
a death sentence,
a sin debt none of us could ever pay.
Only God, Jesus Christ could pay the tab, - the justice required by God.
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
But how can only one man die and pay for the sins of so many?
Do you get how big this is?
Obviously a single man couldn't.
God , Jesus Christ God and man,
who led a perfect life,
innocent,
shouldered our death penalty.
Think about that.
Only the shoulders of God, were big enough to shoulder the full wrath of God!
In other words,
His perfect justice required required payment. A payment we could not pay.
My sin was placed onto him.
He died for my sin.
God then Justifies me or declares me righteous.
Back to the lottery example:
He rigged it.
He rigged it?
This all sounds crazy and distant.
Like some official in another state deciding Gary would be a winner.
Why?
But why?
God Saves because He Loves.
1 John 4:10, John 3:16–17, Ephesians 1:4–6, Romans 8:15–17, Romans 5:8–10
Because He loves me.
10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
He Loves me.
He Loved me before I ever was...
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
He loved me to be a co-heir of His kingdom:
15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
Let’s review What Jesus has done.
My Sin was placed onto or imputed to Jesus Christ.
He atoned or paid my death sentence through His sacrifice.
The Father then declared me righteous or Justified.
God imputes Jesus’s righteousness back onto me.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Justified by His blood,
Saved from the wrath of God
Reconciled through the death of His Son
Reconciled,
Saved!
How is all this done? Jesus was then, I’m now.
He was there, I’m over here.
Faith is the way.
Faith is the conduit that all transactions take place.
Faith is my electronic direct deposit into my account.
Faith is my ability to access my account.
Faith is the conduit that all transactions take place.
Faith is the conduit that all transactions take place.
But What is Faith?
Romans 4:1–3, Philippians 3:8–9
Lets look at what Paul says about Abraham. All Israel came from him. This was even before the Jewish law or sacrificial system.
1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Abraham was really looked up to.
But even he had a negative holiness bank account.
See verse 2?
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
Not Before God.
Because Abraham had faith or believed he was credited as righteous.
Paul also tells the Philippians that is is not his works of the law,
(following the rules to be saved from sin),
rather, through Christ’s works that brings about Paul’s and OUR righteousness by faith.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
Righteousness which comes from the basis of faith.
What does that mean?
What is Faith?
Conduits right?
Is it belief?
Yes, but this conduit is so strong that you can relay on it, trust in it absolutely.
Here is an example.
Before you sat down on those chairs you had faith, or you knew they would support you.
But did you really know?
Not until you were held up did you KNOW.
Before that you trusted, you wholeheartedly believed.
This is important for big fella like me...
Faith.
Faith in the Gospel.
Wholeheartedly, trusting so strongly you know...
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Faith to Faith Trust to trust Knowing and Knowing its true..
Tall order Gary.
I’ve sat on a chair before.
But faith in something unseen, unfelt, unrealized?
Guess what I have more good news for you!
Faith comes from God.
1 Corinthians 12:8–9,
That’s right!
God builds the faith conduit, not you...
8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
Check out how this works:
Here is Faith and the building of Faith
20 They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21 And He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood.
22 “It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”
23 And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.”
I do believe; help my unbelief!
I believe enough to come ask....
But do I have enough faith to walk in it
I believe enough to come ask....
But if you can’t, that’s OK...
Or, If you won’t, that’s OK...
Please bring me a chair to sit on.
Oh wait, you did.
Oh wait, you actually expect me to sit in that thing?
Oh I’ve been awarded 750 million?
Oh I’m declared righteous?
Oh I have victory over sin and my addictions?
The Word of God says many things,
Ok,
I believe, help my belief!
Let’s go back to our Lotto example
Most lotto winners end up worse than they were before.
They blow it all, get further into debt! They can't handle it!
There is no deep down life change.
Old habits, old bondages still rule their lives.
They become worse off than before.
Unlike lottery winners,
God makes sure that His own people can live holy as they have been declared holy.
This is why Jesus says we must be born again into the kingdom of God.
John 3:3–7, 1 Peter 1:1–5
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
Remember earlier Colossians 1:23?
Read verse 23 again.
23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
We can only be steadfast,
run the race,
not be destroyed by our lotto winnings UNLESS we are Born Again.
We are also chosen to be Born Again:
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Please look again,
God the Holy Spirit
IS this change agent or born again promoter:
2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.
So lets zoom back out - look at the bigger picture
When our sins were placed onto Christ our old lives or old self also died on the cross with Christ.
We are Born again.
This Born Again situation results in:
The power of sin over us being is ENDED..
Being born again, means I’m dead to the control of sin over me.
Romans 6:3–14
Watch how the Bible explains all this:
3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,
9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
This is not just belief that I can be good, this is the power along the faith conduit that I shall be good!
Are you ready to be set free?
KNOW YOUR IDENTITY - WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST!
As Christ rose, we became alive in a born again, new life and we are ensured to become more and more like Christ.
But how does this work?
What is the power source???
How does this take place?Is it under my power?
Definitely not!
If I couldn’t save myself , I couldn't fix myself either...
God the Holy Spirit,
our down payment,
guaranties this becoming more like Christ.
God the Holy Spirit IS the POWER and promise of our life change.
Ephesians 1:13–14, 2 Corinthians 1:21–22, 2 Corinthians 5:4–5, Titus 3:4–5, Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23–24, Colossians 3:10
13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.
21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God,
22 who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.
4 For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.
5 Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
The Bible says The Holy Spirit also renews my mind
4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him—
This is life changing!!!!
Notice the Holy Spirit is given as the change agent to our being born again.
This is not optional.
Saved- not based on our works but His
Born Again - a live changing via the given Holy Spirit
Do me a favor. I know this is kind of strange.
But look to your left. Now look to your right.
What if Jesus himself was next to you?
Even better when you looked left or right,
what if Jesus was sitting looking back at you?
What if He was speaking to you and you heard him directly say:
Gary don't go that way!
Gary I'm working over here!
Gary I want you to go there!
Gary I want you to be still, wait, I'll tell you later?
We can know His heart through
His words,
His scriptures
AND His Holy spirit!
Can we see how important His word is TO US!
The Holy Spirit uses the WORD OF GOD to do all things.
John 1:1–4, John 16:7, John 16:13–15, Ephesians 1:13–14, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, John 17:13–17
Check this out, form the beginning of the Book of John:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
We can meet Him in the word.
We even get a helper with the Word.
Again lets look what Jesus says.
Jesus said He had to go so the helper would arrive.
7 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15 “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
The Holy Spirit also USES the Word of God to transform us daily
16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
17 so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
Jesus said:
13 “But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
14 “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15 “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
The power that created the universe is inside of you.
God that is in you, enabled you to overcome the world!
John 16:31–33, 1 John 2:12–14
31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe?
32 “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
For those that are His, God makes us overcomers:
12 I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I have written to you, children, because you know the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Summary:
Summary:
We have seen in God’s word, God loved us first and
He calls those who are His from beforehand.
He rigged the game. WE ARE chosen Lotto winners,
He paid for the ticket by paying for our death sentence,
He makes us born again into a new life. He guarantees our live change by,
His renewing our minds and lives.
He calls us to be participants in His plans for my life and more.
He gives us his Word and the Holy Spirit to participate in.
He gives us faith that is our conduit.
He shows us HIS ways and
His heartbeat is felt by our being in the word daily so, we can walk as overcomers.
One last thing we thing we will begin to notice about ourselves.
As we walk in His ways we will notice:
Being born again is to surrender my self,
my will and my old ways to His will.
The new me will begin to have a love for others.
John 15:12–17
12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
14 “You are My friends if you do what I command you.
15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.
17 “This I command you, that you love one another.
His love transforms us into love.
His love transforms us into love.
Extra Credit: Read Ephesians 2:1–22 (Made Alive in Christ)
Let’s pray...
Alter call:
In a moment the Elders will be here at the alter for you to talk and pray with.
The bible says the elders are to pray over the sick and needful.
If anyone desires any prayer, please come up in a moment.
This message has been to the saved and born again.
Also to those that are currently lost without Jesus Christ in their lives.
Are you His?
Have you heard God’s calling to you?
Has your heart been pounding as the battle is being waged within you?
If you don’t know if you are His, or doubt, come find out.
Don’t let today, this moment slip by you.
You come!
Don’t let fear and the adversary keep you locked into your seat.
Pray to God to release you.
Pray to God to give you courage to rise.
You come!
If anyone desires any prayer, please come up at this time.
Invitation to talk to any of us later.
Congregation Dismissed.