In 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 14.
The Apostle says that we are called by the gospel.
Again in First Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 9.
He states that were called into Fellowship by the gospel.
Now John in the Epistle of John Begins, the text by talking
about the fact that Jesus has been revealed that he has.
God has come to the world and we've touched him, we've talked
to him. We've Walked with him and we
know fully who he is and we have a special fellowship with God
and with Christ, and he says, we want, we want you.
We remind you of these things, we write these things to you
because we want you also to have this same Fellowship.
We've been called into fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ. We've been calling the
fellowship with God, the Father, all the way back to the
beginning. This Fellowship was broken by
seeing and Cause of sin of man being separated from God was in
need of a savior, Jesus came and through the apostles words,
through the words of the Apostles, we can find the way
that leads us back into Fellowship.
John clearly tells us in first John chapter 1 that it's through
the light of his word that we have Fellowship as long as we
remain in the light. Now, obviously, he doesn't mean
in that passage that a person makes every step in the light,
but he's teaching us the importance of having, the right
attitude of walking in the right way of Walking, In The Light, in
1st, John 1:7. John says, if we Walk in the
light even as he is in the light, we have Fellowship one
with another and the blood of Jesus Christ.
His son cleanseth us from all sin.
Jesus was the True Light. Jesus came with the word and
through that word, we can have that light today and we do have
that light as long as we remain within the confines of that
light. Now, noticed he says that our
fellowship with God is dependent upon the fact that we walk in
the light. Now, I want to illustrate that
when I was a little boy, About the size of a little Caleb, who
was here this morning hand, his oldest son, my Grandpa took me
to some railroad tracks and he was about forty, nine or so at
that time and he took me to the railroad track, a couple of
blocks of our house and and he got up on the rail and he just
started walking. He says he's a little boy and
Arkansas. He had walked the rail.
Now, I don't know if he had this in mind or not, but he taught me
a great lesson and of course, When I first took my first step,
I can hardly take a step without Fallin.
I can hardly walk one step after another without falling off of
the rail. But he would encourage me.
He put me back on the rail and I kept walking and I kept
practicing. He said, when I go away, I
believe you back in a month or so and every chance you get you
practice. And so I practice well pretty
soon because I was determined to walk the rail.
I could walk a few steps without falling.
Well, that's A little bit like Christianity.
You see, when you start your baby, that's why Jesus says,
except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot
enter the kingdom of heaven. When you start, you don't know
anything. When you start, you can't walk
in the light hardening but your determine and you have a mindset
to be the kind of person God wants you to be.
And so, you get back in the light every time you fall.
You get back in the light because you're determined to
stay there your tutor. Ermine to be the kind of person
that God wants you to be. But you know what I learned.
After I learned to walk pretty well.
I learned that that there were always distractions.
You know, sometimes these tracks that I walked on went from the
East, to the west and on the north side of the track that
were some tall cottonwood trees. And in the top of those trees
were some red-tailed. Hawks sometimes, as I would walk
along one of those red-tailed, Hawks would swoop down to get a
squirrel and the shadow would start early and I'd follow.
Or sometimes I would be at a certain place and and there was
a stop sign on the road and a car would come screeching up to
the stop sign and it would start on me and I would fall.
Sometimes we lived in a small town.
Everybody knew each other at the distance.
Somebody say Dwayne and I turn around and I fall.
Now that again is a little bit like Christianity.
No matter how long you live it, no matter what you do, there's
always going to be some distractions.
In fact, the Bible says in First Peter chapter 5 and verse 8,
that the devil is a roaring lion.
Well, can you about seeking whom?
He may devour in the second Thessalonians letter, our Second
Corinthian letter. The Apostle says that Satan is
like a serpent. He's deceptive.
And so he's always looking for ways to cause us to fall. but
she see the difference between the person who fails and the
person who is successful is the person who gets up one more time
when he falls You see the difference between success and
failure is not your education. It's not from which side of the
tracks that you were born. Now we want to blame those
things and we want to bring those things into Vogue.
It's not because you're a man or a woman, it's not because of
your job or your social status. It's because you just get up one
more time than you fall. That's the difference.
I'm telling you today, that whoever you are, you can live
for Jesus and you can be the kind of person that you ought to
be. Get up, get up one more time and
give it a little more effort. You'll be amazed at how
successful you can be. That's the key.
That's the difference between failure and success, clearly.
Lee In this passage John is teaching us.
A lifestyle is teaching us a way of life.
We've been called to fellowship with God.
Think about that we've been called in the fellowship with
the creator of the heavens and the Earth.
The Bible says, in the beginning, God created the
Heaven and the Earth and he wants us to be in fellowship
with him. He made us in his likeness, he
made us in His image and he wants us to be like him.
I am and it's up to you. He has designed of means he's
designed a way that you can be successful.
He wants you to be successful. You know, there's an interesting
passage over there in second Peter.
All of us are familiar with this passage.
This is where Peter is talking about what we sometimes call the
Christian Graces and he says if these things be in you and
abound, they make you that ye shall neither be a Barren, nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord and savior.
Here. Jesus Christ.
But there's an interesting Passages at the conclusion.
Some interesting versus at the conclusion of what he says about
the Christian Graces, look at this or listen to this.
Now, second Peter, chapter 1 about verse 10, I believe it is.
The writer says, wherefore the rather Brethren give diligence
to make your calling and election.
Sure, for if you do these things you shall never fall.
Listen. Now for soul entrance, Shall be
administering you abundantly now?
Listen to me. You're not going to make it to
Heaven by the skin of your teeth.
It's not going to be something that happens by accident.
You have to make up your mind. You have to decide on going.
Now you can earn your salvation and there's nothing you could
do, that will cause you to deserve it.
But when you make up your mind, God will provide a way.
For you to get through and do you want you to do?
His plan is simple, too. Simple for some.
In fact, it's a plan that everybody could submit to.
Everyone can obey known as he says wherefore an entrance
should be ministering you abundantly into the Everlasting
Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now sometimes I hear people quote from 1st Peter 4:11 and
we're not first Peter 4 verse 11, but I better look at it
because I think it's forward 17 and 18.
Let's see here. Yeah we're Peter says that
judgment is going to begin at the house of God and says that
the righteous scarcely be saved. And then there are, you know
sort of goes to something like this, you know, it's real hard
to get to heaven. Fact, it's impossible for some
and and we'll be lucky if we get there.
And you know, That's a contradiction to what he says in
2nd Peter chapter 1. If he's talking about judgment
he's talking about our Eternal home now.
It's clear in second, Peter chapter 1 that he's talking
about the Eternal Kingdom. He says into the Everlasting
Kingdom of our Lord and Savior. Jesus Christ over there in
second, Peter chapter 2, the Eternal Kingdom.
So now if in First Peter Chapter 4, verses 17 and 18, he's
talking about the same thing, it on fit.
Now, in the preceding verse believe it's verse 7.
Peter says, the end is near you see that tells us what he's
talking about in verse 17 18. He's not talking about the day
of judgment in verse 17, 18 because it's been 2000 years
since he said that and the Judgment hasn't come.
Now, we've been preaching to premillennialists for years,
that when John, the Baptist said the Kingdom of Heaven is at
hand, it had to come and that generation.
So, the pro it is, it has something.
It has reference to something else.
And the reference to that. Something else is the
destruction of Jerusalem. He says the righteous will
scarcely be saved. Now why?
Because they're going to be righteous people of Jerusalem
with Titus comes with that army. and that all of a sudden,
they're going to withdraw. The Jews are going to think that
this is an omen from God telling us to hold out and will be
victorious, but those who listen to, Jesus are going to flee the
mountains. Remember, that's what Jesus
said. When you see the armies
encompassing Jerusalem, flee to the mountains.
The righteous were scarcely. Saved the Judgment was right
upon them. But they were allowed to escape.
and, History Bears record that no Christian suffered in the
destruction of Jerusalem, death. For they left when Jesus told
him to leave. well, the point is all the things that we've been
talking about this week, if we want to be saved eternally, we
have to make up our minds that we're going to be saved.
We got to make up our minds to Center our eyes on the Mark.
We got to walk in the light. We got to determine that we're
going to remain in the light. Sometimes we may see him
sometimes we may fall but we must get back up and get back in
the light and press forward, Press On.
Now, let's go back to 1st John and look at this, a little more
carefully. Notice what John says, at verse
7. We've already quoted that but I
want to read that again. It says, but if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have Fellowship one with another
and the blood of Jesus Christ, his son cleanseth us from all
sin. If we say that, we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just Just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. If we say that we have not
sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.
All of us are sinners. I don't know why some people
have such a difficulty with admitting that.
I remember when I was growing up, sometimes people left the
impression that they were sitting us I don't know, I guess
they wanted people to think highly of them.
I don't know what the reason was. but John clearly says, if
we claimed that sin never bothers us that we're lying, he
tells us clearly that if we claim, we are per perfect in the
sense of being flawless, that were wrong. but, on the other
hand, He says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. Now, there's an interesting
story in the Old Testament. Probably everybody here knows
the story, but you remember that Jesus came to her, rather Moses,
and the children of Israel came to the Rock in Horeb.
And they need water. And you remember that Moses in
was instructed by God to take the rod that he had been
carrying and he was instructed to Smite, The Rock.
And water would come out. Now Moses didn't have any idea.
What that was all about, he just following orders.
And so he did that. He spoke The Rock.
Bible tells us that in the book of Exodus and as a result of his
obedience and the people's need, the Bible says that God provided
the people water from a rock. Now, it's 40 years later, that's
an approximate date. It's actually 38 points of the
months, but about 40 years later, the children of Israel
are in an area of the country by the name of kadish, Bernie idea.
And once again, there without water and this time God says
again, you gather the people together, you take your rod And
you speak to the Rock. now, here Moses spoke, and he hit But
here, he's told only to speak. Now, God doesn't explain to
Moses why? That was the case.
But you know the story. Bible says he not only spoke to
the Rock but he hit it again. And God's angry.
Now, why is God? So an angry have you ever
wondered why? Moses didn't understand really
why except that God told him what to do and he went beyond
what God Said. Better be careful.
Sometimes we to go beyond What God Says.
We think we're better off then, when when we're not, like to
sell it, it doesn't do as much as the Bible says, but Moses did
more than God said, he did all that God said, plus a little
more. He got in big trouble.
Now years later. Years later.
Inspiration reveals to us, why? Moses got in such big trouble.
You see 1st Corinthians, chapter 10, Paul said that rock, that
followed them. Now, that rock didn't live.
It wasn't a literal rock that followed them.
But in both instances, the water flowed out of the rock both at
Horeb and Cadence Rania. That's what he's talking about.
He's talking about the miracle. And he says the rock that
followed them was Jesus. Now, Jesus was to be smitten in
death. One time, he tells us in John,
the fourth chapter that he was giving Living Water that would
say 28 spiritual thirst and give everlasting life.
Think about that. The first time, the hit the
rock, their first time, they came to the Rock, they smote it.
Jesus died one time on the cross.
You see, he ruined the picture. When they came the second time
to the Rock, they were to speak to it and he hit it.
He violated God's Will and he ruined the picture.
Because you see that's the way it is.
When you're Christian when you become a Christian, Jesus died,
one time, therefore you're baptized one time.
You're baptized one time. Now, listen to me, we got a
problem in the Brotherhood. People get their life messed up.
And they did think that they could be re-baptized, and fix
it. Now, it's true that if you took
a bath, the first time, if you didn't understand what you're
doing now I can't read your heart.
You have to make that decision. It's true, that of all you did
was take a bath. Then you need to be baptized,
but it's not really a re-baptism anyway.
The point is you weren't baptized first time so you got
to be baptized scripture. Well, you're baptized one time
because Jesus died. One time.
And then when you need help again you ask the rock.
That's why John writing your Christian says, if we confess
our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And so amazingly When Moses violated the picture both he and
Aaron were forbidden to enter the promised land.
You see there was always consequences to sin and we, we
fail to remember that now. Moses repented, I know that he
repeated because God forgave him because when Jesus was on the
earth he did finally enter the promised land.
Remember that? In Matthew the 17th chapter, you
remember some men appeared with Jesus when he was transfigured
on that mountain and one of them was Moses.
Moses is on the inside of the promised land.
He'd repented and someday. He's going to go to heaven but
he wasn't allowed to enter Kate him.
The type of Heaven because of that sin right there.
Now I'm going to tell you something, you may not always
understand why God tells you something.
You may not even always agree. With what God has said.
But that doesn't matter. What matters is God said.
And that settles it and no matter what I think.
No matter what I say, no matter what I believe all that's going
to make any difference to the dead.
Judgment is what God has said. And Jesus said he that rejecteth
me and receiveth, not my words. Hath one that judgeth him.
Now I've emphasized today, in both sermons, importance of the
Bible, And you can't walk in the light without the Bible.
If you're going to go to heaven, you got to be in the light.
So you got to know what this book says.
You got to study it, you got to absorb it, you got to comprehend
it. You got to assimilate it in your
life. You got to practice it.
You got to tell it to others. God's called you into his
Fellowship. Think about that.
That's an amazing thought me. Just old Wayne.
I'm the brother of Jesus Christ. He's called me in the
fellowship. With his father. and now, if I
stay in fellowship with him, If I continue to share the
blessings in Christ. Then someday I can go to heaven.
Now I don't know the mind set of you today.
We're coming close to the meeting.
We're fixing to getting our vehicle and lickety-split,
buddy. We're going to go 70 miles an
hour for several days. Maybe when we get to New Mexico
nurse, won't until 75 Vector. No maybes about it.
We are, if we decide to go on Interstate 10, we're going to go
80 because that's how fast speed limit is.
When we get to Texas, we're going home.
Well someday. Someday, we're going to go home.
Are you ready? Are you ready to go home?
Man, I want to go home, I'm ready.
Well, Jesus is coming back. He may come back tonight.
It may be tomorrow, it might be 10,000 years.
I don't know when he's coming, but I know he will.
And if you die in the meantime, or if I pass from this life
through the process, then my destiny is set.
So, we better think about it life tonight.
Better think very seriously. We're told in second Corinthians
13, examine yourselves. Examine yourselves.
Whether you be in the faith. Are you in the faith today?
You've never obeyed the gospel. We urge you to do that when
Philip went to Samaria and preached Jesus and the things
concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, the Bible says that they
believed and they were baptized in first or rather in Acts 18,
when Paul went to Corinth, he remained there for 18 months and
the Bible says that the Corinthians heard believed and
were baptized Well, maybe today, you've heard sufficiently.
You're ready to be baptized if that's the case believing with
all your heart, repent of your past, change your mind with
register sin, repent or perish. Jesus said confess him before
this audience. Peter said, in Matthew 16:16,
Thou Art the Christ, the son of the Living, God, And then be
buried with him in baptism. Bible says that both the
preaching the converted acts 8, went down into the water and he
was baptized, and they came up out of the water rejoicing.
Why? Because baptism will save you,
not because there's power and water, but because that's the
plan of God. And when you obey, God, he keeps
his promises. On the all those that obey,
Jesus is the author of Salvation.
Not everyone that says to me, Lord Lord shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven, but he that does, the will of my father.
Who is in heaven, are you ready to obey today?
Right? Now, is the time the whole today
is the day of salvation. We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans,
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