Words of Truth Ministries

 

            In this day and age it is seriously time to consider your future..........! Jesus said (Mark 16:16) "he who believes and is baptised will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned!!" Where are your beliefs today? Romans 3:23 say's "for all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God" we are born with a sinful nature, when was the last time you told a young child to do wrong, we do the wrong things naturally.

            Let's go back to Genesis in the Bible to find out why this is. Picture Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and God walking around in the cool of the day (chap. 3 v8) looking for Adam and his wife, who were hiding from Him because they were naked. At that point God knew that they had eaten of the Forbidden Tree (v11). God must have felt very disappointed in that, what He had created and had seen as good (chap. 1 v31) had gone against Him. You cannot get feelings from a book but I can imagine that it must have hurt our Lord very much to have done what He did next.

 

GENESIS CHAPTER 3 : 16-24

 

            Now everything comes under the "curse" as man's relationship with God, the fountain head of his power to rule is severed (v17-18). Thus man looses the "life" power essential to ruling in God's Kingdom (v19-22). Beyond the tragedy of mans loss, two other facts unfold. First, through his disobedience, mans rule has been forfeited to the serpent, Rev. 12:9 verifies that the spirit employing the serpents form was Satan himself. The domain originally given to man now falls to Satan, who becomes administrator of this now cursed realm, The serpents "seed and head" indicate a continual line (Seed) of evil offspring extending Satan's rule (head v15). However a second fact offers hope. Amid the tragedy of this sequence of events, God begins to move redemptively and a plan for recovering mans lost estate is promised (v15) and set in motion with the first sacrifice (v21).

 

WHAT HAS JESUS TO DO WITH THIS

 

            The covenant (promised) love of God required that innocent animals be sacrificed to provide garments of skin as a covering for Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve made a vain attempt to cover themselves with their own efforts by sewing together fig leaves (Gen. 3:7). Gods order provided covering of a sacrifice. Under the New Covenant (New Testament) we are required to be covered with Jesus rather than good works (our own efforts) Galatians 3:27 say's "for as many of you as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ"

 

THE BLOOD ESSENTIAL FOR RIGHT STANDING BEFORE GOD  (Gen. 4:1-10)

 

            The issue of blood Sacrifice as being essential for right standing with God is carried through the offerings of Cain and Abel. Following upon the lesson God gave in dealing with Adam and Eve's sin (Gen. 3:21). Cain's vegetable offering, the fruit of HIS own efforts was an offering of self-righteous refusal to live under Gods revealed Covenant. As Adams attempt to use fig leaves for a covering was rejected, so was Cain’s offering, but Abel's offering of a blood sacrifice was pleasing to God. God's sacrifice of animals in the garden had established the blood sacrifice as necessary for approaching Him, Right standing before a Covenant-making God was shown to be a matter of life and death, not merely of ones good efforts.

 

THE INNOCENT LAMB

 

            Blood was used in the Exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. God told the Jews (Exodus 12) "take a lamb v5 say's without blemish (clean) and take some of the blood and put it on the door posts and on the lintels, v13 and when I see the blood I shall PASS - OVER you and the plague will not be on you"

The scene is set........

 

"FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON SO THAT WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE" John 3:16

 

The New Covenant: Jesus used the occasion of the Passover meal (The Last Supper) to install the New Covenant. The mark of the Passover Meal under the Old Covenant (Old Testament) was about to be fully satisfied through the Crucifixion of Jesus. In this historic moment, Jesus transformed the meaning of the elements of the Passover Meal into New Covenant belief. The bread now represented His body, which would be given and the cup His Blood which would be shed for the forgiveness of SINS. The Holy requirements of God and the Old Covenant were about to be forever satisfied. A new and living way into the presence and provision of God was being prepared through Christ, the Lamb of God. A new and eternal bond was being established by the Blood of Jesus Christ (Matt. 26:28)

Several things happened at the time of Jesus' death.............

The veil of the Temple was torn in half from top to bottom, this veil or curtain separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:31) to separate man from God, only the Priests could enter into God's presence and then only on certain occasions. This now means that we as individuals can enter into Gods presence without the Priests, but here comes the clauses.........

 

You must be Born Again (John 3:3) Jesus tells Nicodemus "most assuredly I say unto you unless one is Born Again he cannot see the Kingdom of God"

John 3:5 Jesus say's "most assuredly I say unto you, unless one is Born of Water and the Spirit he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. To break it down further; born of water, means Baptism, from the Greek word baptizo meaning immerse (sink below) cover. The point of Baptism is that it is not only a command from our Lord Jesus but the vows we take upon ourselves in Baptism mean a lot. We are baptised in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as our bodies go fully under the water, this means we are buried in the likeness of Christ's death and as our bodies surface again, we are raised in the likeness of His Resurrection and we are to live a new life. Our life is to be bound with the life of Christ, and the believer is to bear in mind that he / she is dedicated to God, to Christ and to the Holy Spirit and have died to the world. Mark 16:16 say's "he that believes and is baptised SHALL BE SAVED"

 

 

THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

            Is the third person in the Trinity, He is the one who changes believers and enables us to live a Holy life from within. He convicts us of sin, with a feeling of guilt within us if we do something which we know is against God. (John 14:26) He is a helper, (John 14:16) who will always be with us. He is the SPIRIT of TRUTH (John 16:17, He protects us (Isaiah 59:19).

 

WHAT HAPPENED AT PENTECOST?

 

            Acts 1:8 "you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth". Acts 2:1-13, Pentecost was a Jewish feast (the Old Testament Feast of weeks which was held 50 days after Passover. So all the Jews came to Jerusalem from all over for this feast and all the disciples were in the upper room with one accord (united in prayer) when a sound like a rushing wind came and it filled the whole house (v3,4) then there appeared to them, divided tongues of fire and one sat upon each of them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. this still happens today. This marks the birth of the first true Christian Church.

 

WHAT DO I DO TO BE SAVED

 

            John 3:3: to be saved you must turn away from sin, believe in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and Receive Him as Saviour and Lord of your life. Here is the step by step process:

First you must consider your life and turn away from everything that is opposite to what God wants. This turning away is called REPENTANCE. (Matthew 3:7-10, Acts 3:19).

 

Secondly, you must admit that Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive you of sin. You take Him as your Saviour to cleanse you from sin as the substitute who paid the price due for your sin (no man or Priest can forgive you of sin only God can through His Son Jesus. through His Death and the ripping in half of that curtain, you can approach God yourself there is no longer the need to ask a priest to forgive you because he cannot only God can.

 

Thirdly, you must ask Him (Jesus) to become Lord of your life, admit openly and verbally that Jesus is not only your Saviour but your Lord (1 John 2:23). The Bible say's that as many as receive Him were given the power to become Son's of God (John 1:12). So when you open your heart and receive Him, He comes into your heart, your inner person, through His Holy Spirit and begins to live His Life in you. From that point on it is your privilege and call to confess what God has done. (Romans 10:9)

 

If you would like to have a personal relationship with Jesus or you want to make sure He has come into your life, here is a prayer to say out loud, phrase by phrase, thinking carefully about what you are saying and meaning every word....................

 

Lord Jesus Christ.

                        I know I have sinned in my thoughts, words and actions, there are so many good things I have not done. I am sorry for my sins and turn away from everything I know to be wrong. You gave your life upon the Cross for me. Gratefully I give my life back to you and ask you to come into my life. Come in as Saviour to cleanse me, come in as my Lord to control me. Come in as my friend to be with me and I will serve you all the remaining years of my life in complete obedience. AMEN.

 

If you already belong to a Church and SALVATION is not taught or preached as above check your Bible and ask your Church leader why not because it is the TRUTH!!!

 

John 14:6  "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me"

 

            Please remember even if you go to Church regularly, pay your dues, help people and do charitable works ............... "UNLESS ONE IS BORN AGAIN you will not see THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN" your own efforts and good works are not good enough. Jesus must be your Saviour and Lord of your life!!..........

 

            Time is very short, in fact the time is now ........Jesus said He will be back for His people. In Matthew 24:36 Jesus say's "but of that day and hour no one knows, not even the Angels of Heaven, but my Father only". He could come at any moment like a thief in the night, you could cross the road and God forbid have an accident or if you are married, and your partner is Born Again and you go to bed and wake up and he/she is missing  think about it. WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY. Now is the day of Salvation  2 Corinthians 6:2