March 25, 2011 Faith Not Works

But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. -- For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so no one can boast.

Brrrrrrr, Good Morning, my dear brothers and sisters, it is Friday again and it is cold here at the Southern Location of the North Pole, or did I get shifted to the Northern North pole? Anyway, it is Friday and the day we pray for all those who go working in the fields of Harvest for our Lord Jesus. Today's message will fit right in with this. Please pray for Mary Jane from the Bridges and for Kathleen Sansoni, and all others who have cancer. Also please keep praying for the unsaved as we continue our review of salvation.

The Big Trip 15-5 Salvation review: Ephesians 2:4 - But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. -- 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not by works so no one can boast. (NIV)

Maybe I should have called this review of steps of Salvation what I have titled my message for Sunday at The Bridges... "Am I Heaven Bound?" The answer I pray is that you are, but the reason for the review is so you are sure. It is between you and our Lord Jesus. You know the gift of Salvation is free, but it surely was not cheap for Jesus gave His life for our salvation.

We talked about those scary words, scary to some, "Born Again". Do you remember those signs on the side of the barns years ago... Chew Mail Pouch? No Dan, you dummy, it was Ye Must Be Born Again. Anyway, we reviewed that yesterday, and today let's take a look at the scriptures that God led me to today.

Ephesians 2:4 - But because of His great love for us. This is the real reason, and we find backup scripture in>>>

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)

You know out of all the gifts God has given us Love is the best, and number one. Out of all the gifts in life you can give to someone it is love for them. If you love someone you will really treat them nicely, and this love comes from God and please do not confuse the word love with sex. Folks, if I were to be taking bags and bags of food to someone's home, it could be said I am out making love. If you were at your neighbor's home helping mow the grass because they are old, you could call it love making. See where I am coming from? When Jesus went to the cross for us, it was because of His great love for us. It was not then, nor now, nor will it ever be a sex thing.

Now let's go back to more of that scripture.

Ephesians 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not by works so no one can boast.

Ok, now we see it is by Grace of God, which this Grace comes from Love, and it is by that Grace and Love we are saved. This is what God did when He went to the cross for us. Now it becomes our turn, our part. You see my dear friends, a gift, a gift, if it is a true gift, needs both a giver and in this case it is God the Father giving His Son Jesus, who in turn gave His life for us... They are the givers, and now to be a gift it needs receivers and that would be those of us who are "Born Again" for we have truly received the gift. Some might laugh it off or walk away from it, others might try and earn or work their way into heaven, but that cannot be done folks. Again, take a look at the scriptures, I am not making this up. Let's read it one more time...

Ephesians 2:8 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, 9 not by works so no one can boast.

Now not to confuse you, but after you are saved you need to go and work for God, and we will talk about that, maybe tomorrow, maybe a Saturday special for I have gone on long enough today.

Let's Pray... Thank You, Dear Father, for Your true gift of Love when You sent Your Son to give His life to us as a Gift to us. Thank You, Lord, for forgiving me of my sins, and now, Lord, I know I can't work my way into heaven, but I do need to work for You, send me assignments of work you want me to do for You. And Lord, sent others work that needs done. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Now, folks, go forth and share your blessings. And wait till you see what is coming. What the Bible tells us about those people who "will not work." It might just surprise you... Love ya, Pastor Dan.