Predestination or Free will?

(Eph. 1:4-5) "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will…" Do these verses teach us that God chooses some to be saved and others not to be? This question has become a battle ground in a lot of churches today, but this battle is really an age old battle that has been around since the first century AD. If God has already selected those who are to be saved before the gospel, then why do we need the gospel, and if He has already predetermined the outcome than why witness at all? Brethren, (Lk.6:47, Jn.3:16, Rom. 10:13 are all promises made by God to save "whosoever will"that trusts in Christ. In the foreknowledge of God, God already new before creation who would respond to His call of salvation.  Jesus said, "that many are called but few are chosen." One must respond by faith to God’s call first to be chosen by Him! It is an act of one’s own free-will!

Four Fears That Keep Us From Serving God

(Ex 3:10) "Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt." This verse was the direct command of God to Moses as He spoke to him from the burning bush. The command to "come," has much to say about the call of Moses. Like Moses, every Christian today is commanded to come and obey the will of God. God fully expected Moses to "come now but instead Moses made up four excuses because he feared to go. 1) He feared being "unworthy," 2) He feared being "unprepared," 3) He feared being"uncertain," and 4) He feared being "unable."Brethren, these four fears are common to all that are called by God to "go." For if we like Moses look at the impossibility of our own ability, we too will fear and make up excuses for why we can't. That's why God promised Moses that "Certainly I will be with thee;…" The call of Moses teaches us that it's common to fear, but it also teaches us that God is very capable of taking the weak of this world to accomplish that which is impossible, if that servant will but trust in Him! 

 

“Finding The Will Of God”

(Gen. 24:27) "…I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren." This verse was spoken by Abraham's servant immediately after God revealed to him that He chose Rebekah to be the wife of Isaac, Abraham's son.  Abraham's servant by faith left on his journey knowing only the known will of Abraham his master, and the place he was to go. The blessing of knowing the perfect will of God only came after he realized that he was divinely led by God the whole way. God seldom reveals all the details as He guides his servants in the way. Many people try to make the will of God mysterious, and hard, but God simply just asks us to do that which we know to do, resting by faith in Him until He reveals the next step to us. Brethren we are always in the perfect will of God when we obey the known will of God for today. Abraham's servant is a great example of what it's like to walk in the way and will of the Lord, trusting only in God to reveal the next step.  Until then we must simply trust His Word, until God shows us more.  So, don’t worry about finding the will of God, If your obedient to the known will of God today, God’s will,  will find you!

Serving God From The Heart

(Eph 6:5-6) " Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;…" The Apostle Paul made it very clear that servants are to both reverence and obey those that God has placed over them in authority. In Paul's day, slavery was a common practice and in the above verse, Paul addresses all who are enslaved to masters to serve them from the heart and not just because they have to. Paul commanded them to serve "as unto Christ,"meaning that unless they serve others as they would Jesus Christ their service would not be a godly practice. In (1 Pet. 2:18 Peter expands Paul's teaching to include all servants under all masters. Using a different Greek word that implies that all who are under authority should hold to this same standard. We who are under authority should always serve authority as we would Christ, and not just when watched but from the heart always, obedient to every command,  " as unto  Christ! "

 

And God Became Man

Pastor's Corner  (Gal. 4:4-5) "But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." As we conclude the Christmas story, it's important to remember that man is not saved or redeemed by the birth of Christ, but rather by his death. For complete salvation can only come about through the redeeming sacrificial death of an innocent one. That's why Jesus came, "made of a woman," and "made under the law." God required a perfect sacrifice to free us from sin. So, "God sent forth his Son  made not of the seed of men, but rather the seed of God. He was born righteous, perfect, and obedient to the law of Mosses, and because of him we too can become the righteous sons of God through him, not by our own works of righteousness but by simply trusting in him. Thank God for the unspeakable gift of Christ who left the glory of heaven to dwell among us, who died in our place, and gave himself for our sins!

 

 

 

Have you any room for Christ?

(Luke 2:7) "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for
them in the inn." Ever since I first heard this verse as a little boy, I
have been challenged by the fact that when Jesus Christ was born, there was
"no room" for Mary and Joseph to have their baby. When I was a child I would
watch a movie about the birth of Christ, and be saddened when the Inn keeper
said to Joseph, "no room." And all my life I have never have forgotten those
words, words that the Holy Spirit uses to convict me of my heart attitude at
different times. For, it's real easy to get side tracked, to fill our lives
with the things of this world and have "no room" for the spiritual. It's
easy to get wrapped up in work and other things that cause us to neglect
church, people, and God's  service. It's easy to become too involved in the
carnal, where we no longer have time for God and His work. So, how can we
know if we have " room" for Christ today? Take a piece of paper and write
down everything you do for Christ through your local church, leave off
church attendance, and then write down what you used to do. It's amazing how
easy it is these days to push Jesus into the stable, and have "no room" for
him in our homes and lives anymore!

The Archangel Gabriel

(Luke 1:19) " And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that
stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew
thee these glad tidings." The angel Gabriel spoke these words to Zacharias
the father of John the Baptist, proclaiming beforehand John's birth. Gabriel
was also the angel that visited Mary with the announcement that she would
give birth to Jesus Christ. Gabriel is God's chosen messenger of glad
tidings. (Heb. 1:14) tells us that all angels are, "ministering spirits,
sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation," but why is
Gabriel mentioned by name? Well, the above verse says that he stands "in the
presence of God," and in (Daniel 8:16) Gabriel was "caused to fly swiftly"
to give Daniel God's vision. You see, Gabriel is (The) messenger of God, and
even though there is only one archangel mentioned in scripture, (Michael)
the defender of Israel (Dan. 12:1), most scholars believe that Gabriel was
one as well. The term "archangel" means "chief angel," and certainly Gabriel
is one of the chief ones, for Gabriel was the only one given the privilege
of proclaiming the greatest announcement ever made to man,  the birth of
Jesus Christ!