Acts 20:20-21
“And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.” The Apostle Paul preached not only publicly to the multitudes, but also from person to person. He traveled from house to house with a soul winning partner. The Scriptures teach us that Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs to reach the people, person to person. Mark 6:7 “And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two…” Paul followed the example set by his Saviour. Most of those who were saved under the ministry of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels were won person to person. Nicodemus – John 3:1-21 Philip – John 1:43 Bartimaeus – Mark 10:46-52 Zacchaeus – Luke 19:1-9 The Thief on the Cross – Luke 23:39-43 Soul winning must be a personal effort. We must go forth with urgency to reach them person to person. We must be persistent in our effort to win the lost. Revisiting those we have talked to before must not be neglected in our outreach. Acts 5:42 “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.” The Gospel must be preached in our churches, but it must also be proclaimed personally to those around us. Bible Reading: Isaiah 60-61 | John 8 | Psalm 73
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Daniel 1:8
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” Daniel was a man of Purpose. Regardless of the consequences, he refused to compromise what the Lord had told him to do. How many people have a heart like Daniel today? May we be willing to obey the Lord’s commands in spite of pressure of the world around us to go against them. Perhaps the Lord has been working in your heart about something He has in mind for you. What will you purpose in your heart to do for the Lord? Daniel 2:27-28 “Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king; But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” Daniel pointed people to God, for he knew that only He could help them. Many people today point to themselves rather to the God they say they serve. In Matthew 6, we read that they have their reward only here on earth, but those who do not seek to glory in themselves have a reward in Heaven. Imagine the rewards in Heaven that awaited Daniel because he purposed to serve the Lord. Where will you choose to receive your reward? Daniel 9:17-19 “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.” Daniel was a man of Prayer. He faithfully prayed unto the Lord, his God. He confessed. He exalted the Name of the Lord. He was persistent in his prayers, and the Lord blessed him. He prayed because he knew he had a purpose to be fulfilled...to glorify and honor the Lord. Will you be a person of purpose today? We cannot fulfill our purpose for the Lord without prayerfully seeking Him. What are you purposefully praying about? Bible Reading: Isaiah 58-59 | John 7 | Psalm 72 2 Timothy 3:15
“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” It is through faith that we receive anything that is of eternal value. It is through faith that we understand the Scriptures. It is through faith that we believe in Him! When we take the time to know the Scriptures, we receive wisdom. We learn that through faith in Jesus Christ we are given so many blessings that our minds cannot fully comprehend. Through faith, we have atonement for our sins because of His Blood. Romans 3:24-25 “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” Through faith, we receive the Holy Spirit. Galatians 3:14 “That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” Through faith, we are saved by His grace. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Through faith, we are sealed and receive eternal life. I Peter 1:5 “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Through faith, we inherit God’s promises. Hebrews 6:11-12 “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” Through faith, we can see God do the impossible. Hebrews 11:11 “Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” We must believe to receive, and we can only believe through faith in God’s ability to provide. All things are possible, if only we would place our faith in Him! Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.” Bible Reading: Isaiah 56-57 | John 6 | Psalm 71 2 Corinthians 4:6-10
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.” “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” Find the bright side of your situation. There is a positive aspect to whatever you are going through today. It may not seem like it on the surface, but God has a reason for whatever your need is today. A reason that is both for your good, and His glory. “this treasure” We have the light of Christ in our hearts; a treasure that this world cannot compare, the very face of Jesus Christ. No matter what you are up against today, you have an opportunity to let the light of Christ shine through you. If you neglect to shine the light, you miss out on the blessings available to you despite the struggle you are facing. Look on the bright side… “troubled on every side, yet not distressed” “perplexed, but not in despair” “Persecuted, but not forsaken” “cast down, but not destroyed” You may be troubled, perplexed, persecuted and cast down…but you do not have to be distressed, in despair, forsaken, or destroyed. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” When we shine so that others can see God, He gets the glory. Allow the bright side of “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God” to shine in your life today. Bible Reading: Isaiah 54-55 | John 5 | Psalm 70 Deuteronomy 1:21
“Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged.” Discouragement is nothing but a tool of the devil. He discourages us so that we will be distracted from our God given purpose, which makes us less effective in what God has called us to do for Him. The devil knows what discourages us, and he also knows how to use people to accomplish just that. Resist him today, and drive the discouragement away. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” We can be encouraged because the Lord is with us wherever we go, whatever we do, whomever we are with. We have no reason to be discouraged or afraid with Him by our side! Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” Resist the discourager. Be strong because the Lord is on your side! Discouragement does not have to get you down today. Bible Reading: Isaiah 53 | John 4 | Psalm 69 Galatians 6:7
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” To be deceived one must be mislead to go astray and commit sin. Who deceives? Does God deceive us? The Lord? The Holy Spirit? Absolutely not. Deception starts with the deceiver. The devil uses people, possessions, and pride to deceive us. We must resist the deceiver and not be ignorant of his devices. Deceived By Alcohol. Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” Many focus on the first part of the verse and dwell on the Truth of it, while leaving out the Truth of the latter part. We learn from this verse that wine and strong drink can deceive people. In order to partake of wine or strong drink, you must be deceived. A person who is deceived by the devil in partaking of wine or strong drink may have their reasons why they feel it is okay for a Christian to do so; however, the Bible tells us that they are not wise. Deceived By Pride. Galatians 6:3 “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” To be deceived by someone or something else is one thing, but many times we forget how often we deceive ourselves. Pride is followed by shame and destruction. God hates pride, so shouldn’t we? The Fate of the Deceiver. Revelation 20:10 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” How encouraging it is to remember the fate that awaits the deceiver. After all is said and done, he will be cast into the place that was created for him, the lake of fire. Yet it is sobering to think of the many that will choose to reject Christ and His payment for the debt that they owe and spend eternity with the deceiver. Resist the deceiver today. Bible Reading: Isaiah 51-52 | John 3 | Psalm 68 Galatians 4:16
“Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Knocking on a door, smiling cordially and greeting the resident as they wonder why you are standing on their doorstep is the easy part. The conversation is friendly until you tell them you are with so and so Baptist church and are out in the area inviting people to come to your services. Suddenly the look on the homeowner’s face changes from friendly to annoyed. They nod and make an excuse as to why they haven’t been to church in years, and they may or may not be surprised as you turn the conversation to ask them that all important question…”If you died today, are you 100% sure you’d go to Heaven?” The annoyed expression has turned again, but this time to intrusive and distant. The Truth hurts. Jesus told Nicodemus the Truth when he acknowledged that Jesus was come from God. John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Have you ever asked a friend, “hey, can we talk?” and you can tell they instantly get the feeling that something is wrong? The defensive maneuvers go up as they prepare for an assumed attack of some sort and a guilty look appears on their face. The truth hurts. The Lord sent Nathan to rebuke David for his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah. 2 Samuel 12:1,7 “And the Lord sent Nathan unto David… And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.” The truth hurts sometimes, and with that feeling our flesh tends to treat those who are delivering or reminding us of it most of the time get the brunt of our feelings. We do not like to be told or even realize that we are in the wrong. Our flesh oftentimes shoots the messenger so to speak…perhaps you know the feeling. To be treated like the enemy is never fun, but how else will they or we learn the truth? Someone must tell them, and someone must tell us. God uses people to reach others with the Gospel. He can use you to reach others with the Truth. You were once on the receiving side, and needed someone to tell you the Truth in love. God places people in our lives to tell us when we are wrong. He can use you to lovingly tell others when they are wrong. Sometimes we are the ones that need told we are wrong. Should we treat the messenger as our enemy? The truth hurts sometimes, but the Truth is needful. We can approach and respond to the Truth in love. The Word of God is our Final Authority and the Source of Truth. Allow the Scripture to bring out the Truth in your life today. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” Bible Reading: Isaiah 49-50 | John 2 | Psalm 67 1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Throughout the Scriptures we see conditional blessings where God promises to grant us something if we will simply do what He says. God wants to give us so many things, yet so often we miss out on His blessings because we are unwilling to obey His commands. If we confess, He will forgive and cleanse us. We want His forgiveness. We want Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness; yet we often neglect to confess our sins. We desire to be cleaner, but are rarely willing to do what it takes to be clean. He is faithful to forgive and cleanse, if only we will confess. Are we as faithful to confess, as He is to forgive and cleanse us? If we will humble ourselves, pray, seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear, forgive and heal us. 2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” We want Him to hear us. We desires His forgiveness. We beg for His healing; yet we do not receive because we are not willing to humble ourselves, much less pray, seek and turn. There are many more examples of conditional blessings in the Bible. Seek to notice what blessings can be ours if we will simply obey God’s direction. Bible Reading: Isaiah 47-48 | John 1 | Psalm 66 Mark 8:34
“And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” All throughout Scripture we see the word “whosoever”. A simple way to define this is simply anyone. “Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Our text today shows us that anyone can follow Christ. We must simply die to ourselves and exchange our own will for His. Today we will look at some Biblical Truths that we can learn from this one simple word. Take the time to read through these verses that contain the word “whosoever” and see the Truth that we can apply to our lives. Anyone can hurt you. Matthew 5:38-40 Anyone can be used by God. Matthew 16:25 Anyone can be humble. Matthew 18:4 Anyone can serve. Matthew 20:26-28 Anyone can be proud. Matthew 23:12 Anyone can follow Christ. Mark 8:34 Anyone can have faith in God. Mark 11:22-24 Anyone can believe in Jesus. John 3:15-16 Anyone can drink of His water. John 4:13-14 Anyone can see His light.” John 12:46 Anyone can have their sins erased. Acts 10:43-33 Anyone can be judgmental. Romans 2:1 Anyone can be saved. Romans 10:13 Anyone can resist. Romans 13:1-2 Anyone can be deceived. Galatians 5:3-5 Anyone can be guilty. James 2:10 Anyone can be distracted. James 4:4 Anyone can sin. I John 3:4-5 Anyone can have love. I John 4:14-16 Anyone can go to hell. Revelation 20:15 Bible Reading: Isaiah 45-46 | Romans 16 | Psalm 65 Psalm 98:1
“O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.” All throughout Scripture we find reference to the “right hand” which often refers to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here we find another mention of “his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.” Jesus won the ultimate victory when, after having given up His life on Calvary, He arose victoriously after three days in the tomb. God always gets the victory! 1 Chronicles 29:11 “Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.” He is God! Any greatness, power, glory, or victory we have is because of Him! When we exalt Him to His rightful place in our lives we can be on the winning side! We find near the end of the Book of Revelation that after Satan is loosed for a little season, he will receive his ultimate fate and be cast into the place created just for him, the Lake of Fire, never to deceive men again. He knows that his time is short and he will never win in the end, so he has chosen to make havoc of the world we live in. The outlook may be bleak, but the uplook is bright! Do not fret or fear today, but remind yourself that you are on the winning side! He's the keeper of my soul since I gave Him full control, And He placed me on the winning side. Well, I am on the winning side, yes, I am on the winning side, Out in sin no more will I abide; I've enlisted in the fight for the cause of truth and right, Praise the Lord, I'm on the winning side! Hale Reever Bible Reading: Isaiah 43-44 | Romans 15 | Psalm 64 |
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