Wednesday 9/11/2013 Protection

Dear Father in Heaven:  I love You, and I really appreciate all  You do for our family, our ministry team and their families and all those on this line and their families.  I love and appreciate You more and more each day and pray that others do also.  Please, Dear Lord, give us protection this day, protection from all things that You want us protected from.  And Lord, I know I am unworthy of all that You do for me for I confess I am a sinner now saved by Your grace and I pray that each day I, and in fact all of us, do a better job of walking the line with and for You.  Please protect our nation and thanks for answering our prayers that we have not gone to war again.  Please keep Your hand on our president and help him, and Lord, I pray for his soul and that if he is not saved through Jesus, I pray that this is the day.  In Jesus' wonderful Name, I give thanks.  And Lord, I praise You for all things good.  Again, I love You.  In Jesus' name,  I pray.  Amen.

Good  Morning, my dear brothers and sisters.  I want to start by telling all of you that I love you.  I do not say it lightly, and the love is not just because we are told to love everyone, I really love you.  Today is Salvation Wednesday on this line, and the title of my message is Protection.  Yes, this is the anniversary of September 11, 2001, when our country came under attack.  I need to do updating on our prayer requests and I want to try and get them in line today.  Please, if you have prayer requests, please put "Prayer Request" in the subject line.  Let me get to the message.

Wednesday, Salvation Wednesday:  September 11, 2013, Protection.

John 17:11 - "I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You, Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name, The Name You gave Me, so that they may be one as WE are one.  12 While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that Name You gave Me.  None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled."  (NIV)

John 17:15 - "My prayer is not that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one."  (NIV)

Brothers and sisters, with all that is going on in the world today and in the United States of America, we sure do need protection, and while our military does a great job of protecting our country, we have watched on this date twelve years ago when our protection was down and we were hit hard by those who hate us.  This happened other times, as some of you are old enough or have studied about that date, December 7, 1941, when we were attached at Pearl Harbor.  Our police and firefighters also protected us but they cannot do it all as seen in Boston a few months ago.  So where then do we go for protection?  Brothers and sisters, we go to our Lord Jesus and that is for our personal protection.  Yes, I know that even with our Lord Jesus we might not get protected from all things on this earth, but if someone gets to us, that protection He offers us through Salvation will protect us forever in our New Home in Heaven.

We look at the words of Jesus in the scriptures above and we see the protection He has prayed to our Holy Father for us to be protected.  Remember again that these Words ring true today for us, as Jesus is the same.  We are the disciples of today if indeed we are in love with Jesus and are working for Him.  Once again I want to show you the scripture where the Bible tells us that Jesus is the same.

Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."  (NIV)

Now since this is Salvation Wednesday and we need protection, I think it is the best day to go back over some of the scriptures that point out to us "The Way Home:"  By the way, you will not be able to plug an address into your directions thing you carry in your car to find your way to Heaven.  Let's make our plan now and maybe you could not these scriptures and check them out.  You should always back up what a pastor tells you with scriptures.  Okay, let's make our plan of protection, our plan of Salvation, and map out our road home!

Who really need a Plan of Salvation?  All of us!

Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (NIV)

Do sinners get paid?  Yes, they do, let's look!

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (NIV)

What must we do to get into heaven?  First, we need to repent of our sins.  Let's look!

Matthew 9:13 - "But go and learn what this means:  'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.  For I have not come to call the righteous, but the sinners."  (NIV)

Matthew 4:17 - From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."  (NIV)

Why in the world would God want to save sinners?  People, He made and gave us freedom to rule over everything, gave us free will to do what we want.  So why?

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."  17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."  (NIV)

So as I said there is a price to pay for our sins and that is death, look back up at Romans 6:23.  So then who paid the price of our sins?  Let's take a good look at this.

Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NIV)

So why must we go to Jesus for His Saving Grace?  Why not someone else?  Let's look it up.

John 14:6 - Jesus answered, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  NO ONE comes to The Father except through me."  (NIV)

So now we know all of this, what must we do?  Yes, back to the Bible, the inspired Word of God!

Romans 10:9 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."  (NIV)

So there it is, folks, in The Word, right from our Bible.  And NIV is the New International Version.  So what is left to do?  Well, it is time to pray, to confess and be sure we believe.  If you are saved, you can surely, like I am going to do, and that is start fresh right now.  Now I can't pray this one for you, so if you believe, be it a new believer or a long timer, please join me.

Dear Father in Heaven, thanks  for sending Jesus to save my sinful soul, please clean me up today for indeed I do sin.  Wash me white as snow and have me ready for heaven, and please help me keep clean here on earth.  Help me walk it each day with You.  In Jesus' Name, I pray.  Amen.

Now go forth sharing your blessings, and yes, you may forward what I have written if it will help you to reach others in the name of Jesus.  Be sure to give God the glory and not me.  God loves you and gave you Jesus.  I love you also.  And you can pass that love on to others.  Have a blessed SALVATION WEDNESDAY.

Pastor Dan