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ALL THINGS WORK FOR GOOD

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Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Here is a scripture that I have seen so abused in my life as a Christian.  I have heard people say things like, “You know that tragic accident that person had?  We know it was God’s will and He will work it out for the good.”  Or, someone has a sickness come against them, and they hit them with the same line. But to understand this verse, you have to read what the Holy Spirit was talking about.  He was talking about prayer in verse 26-27.  Let us look at it.  Romans 8:26-27 says, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 27 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints accor...
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THE RIGHT TO BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD

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John 1:12 (NKJV) But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. God has given us the right to become His very own children.  Think of that: I am a child of God!  I am not going to be.  I am now!  Many would say, “Yes Pastor, that is correct.  When we get to heaven, we will be children of God.”  No, that is not what the Word teaches us.  It says so clearly that now we are children of God! In 1 John 3:1-2 it says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” Did you see that?  Now, we are children of God!  So if I am a child of God, and God is my Father...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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Acts 2:38 (NKJV) Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” When Jesus left the earth, He promised us that He would not leave us as orphans.  He promised that He would give us One just like Himself, and that One is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is not a little God, or something like a vapor, He is Almighty God, just like Jesus and God the Father are. When the Holy Spirit came in Acts 2, He came in great power, and He has not changed.  Look at what it says in Acts 2:1-4, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled w...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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TO SEEK AND TO SAVE

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Luke 19:10 (NKJV) …for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Do you ever think about what Jesus came to the earth to do?  He came to seek and to save you and me.  What an amazing God we serve!  He did not care how far or how deep in trouble we were.  He was there for us! Jesus left His throne in heaven to come and set us free, and He will do anything He has to do to redeem us.  When a shepherd loses one of his sheep, he does not say, “Oh well, they will find their way home.”  No, a good shepherd, like a good earthly father, will move every stone and go through every obstacle to find that one lost sheep or child.  How much more God? Think about it.  God is the Almighty One who could move heaven and earth to bring us back, yet He will not violate our free will.  He wants us to want to be rescued, and when we do, He is all over it.  Jesus, our precious brother, did all that He could d...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL

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1 John 3:8 (NKJV) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. The reason that Jesus came into the world was to destroy satan’s authority over you and me.  In fact, He came to set the whole world free.  The second part of this verse shows this so clearly, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Our Jesus saw a lost and dying world, and He made a decision to come and deliver us from the power of darkness.  Jesus did not do this and then leave us here in this mess.  He gave us authority over satan and all of his powers.  Jesus has now set us free for all eternity. We, as believers, need to see satan for who he is: a defeated, dethroned, outlaw.  His only power is the power of deception.  When we get God’s Word deep within us, it exposes his lies and give...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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HE CREATED ALL

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Colossians 1:15-16 (NKJV) He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Our Jesus is the Creator of all.  By His Word, all things are made.  He created the beautiful red cardinal, and the great Grand Canyon.  Through His Word, the universe was made and is kept in perfect order.  He is the One who told the oceans to hold their place, and the earth to rotate perfectly. When we think of all that God has put in order, it would be wise for us to trust that He will keep our lives in order also.  You see, the one thing that holds us back from realizing this is that we tend to have more faith in our situation then we do in God.  God, our Father, who created all for us, has given us His Word, JESUS, Who spoke a...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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ETERNAL LIFE (Part 2)

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John 3:36 (NKJV) He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Yesterday, we saw that when we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we receive the very life of God.  In this verse, John, by the Holy Spirit, tells us again that when we believe in the Son, we receive everlasting life or eternal life.  This life is the life of God Himself.  It is called Zoe life.  This life of God will take us to heaven when we leave this earth, but it will also do so much while we are here living this life. You see, if you have God living in you, how can a demon stay there?  The very brightness of God would send him flying.  But like anything in the kingdom of heaven, we need to believe what God has given to us.  This is called faith, and it is the way the kingdom works.  So many want to see it first, but the Bible says we need to believe it first, and...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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ETERNAL LIFE

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1 John 5:11-13 (NKJV) And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, everything changed.  Before being born again we were living dead men.  We might have had breath and been able to walk around, but inside we were spiritually dead.  We did not have the life of God within us.  We were living, yet dead. But once we received God’s great gift of salvation, we received His life: the life of God, eternal life.  So many believe that we will receive eternal life when we get to heaven, but according to this verse, we have eternal life now!  The way we received it is by b...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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GOD’S MASTERPIECE

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Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. Have you ever been to a museum or an exhibit for a special work of art?  A few years ago I had the opportunity to go to Italy and see some of the great works of art.  One was the statue of David, and another was the Sistine Chapel.  As I stood there and looked at these great works of art, I was amazed that a person could do something like this.  The artwork had such amazing beauty! Well, guess what?  One day, God is going to eliminate all of these earthly works, but there is one work that He will not eliminate: US!  You see, this verse puts it so straight.  We are God’s masterpiece; we are God’s amazing work!  It is truly amazing that when God, our dear Father, looks at Himself, He sees us!  We are created in His image and His very likeness. There is nothing in the entire...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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GIFT OF GOD

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Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Our Father has given an amazing gift to us, and anyone who would believe.  That gift is Eternal Life!  So many are taught that you have to work to receive this gift, or you have to be good enough for God to give it to you, but in these verses we see that it is a gift of God .  I think to myself, “How good do I have to be to be accepted by a holy, righteous God?  How many good deeds do I have to do?”  I have found out that I cannot ever do enough!  What I need to do is trust God, and believe His Word that it is a gift from Him, and it is not of works. Now, if someone gives me a gift and then puts a bunch of requirements on that gift, it is not really a gift.  Why does religion put so many requirements on us for salvation?  According to this verse, and so many oth...
Location: New Jersey, USA
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