BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

SUNDAY 6DEC09

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"JESUS IS OUR ...
SALVATION, SIGNIFICANCE, & SHEPHERD"
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From: Explore the Bible

How Can Jesus Help Me?
Mark 1:1-45 (esp. 14-31)

From: Connect (OT Emphasis)

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
We Need Significance  Micah 5:1-3
We Need Shepherding  Micah 5:4-5a
We Need Salvation  Micah 7:18-20

From: New Testament

Salvation  Luke 19:9, 2Cor 2:15, 1Thes 5:9, 2Tim 3:15
Significance  Colossians 1:3-8, 15-20, 3:1-17, Phil. 3:8
Shepherd  Mark 6:34, John 10:1-21; 21:16, Luke 2:18, Heb 13:20
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Jesus Provides Salvation

1Thessalonians 5:9	
For God did not destine us for wrath but for gaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1Ti mothy 1:15	
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” – and I am the worst of them!

2Ti mothy 3:15	
and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

VICTORY OVER THE DARKNESS  by  Neil T. Anderson
A synopsis by Merrilee Clark

Chapter 2: The Whole Gospel

Many Christians are not living free & productive lives because they don't understand who they are & why they are here. Who they are is rooted in their identity and position in Christ. If they don't see themselves the way God sees them, to that degree they suffer from a false identity and poor sense of worth.

The Example of Christ
[Noticeable in]  the life of Christ was His complete dependence on God the Father... "I can do nothing on My own initiative" (John 5:30).

What Jesus modeled was a life totally dependent on God the Father.

Jesus Came to Give Us Life

What Adam and Eve lost in the Fall was spiritual life, and Jesus came to give us life. Jesus said, "I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

Those who believe in Jesus will continue to live spiritually even when they die physically...The ultimate value is not our physical life, which is temporal, but our spiritual life, which is eternal.

The Whole Gospel

The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). So Jesus went to the cross and died for our sins..."but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (6:23).

"He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life" (1 John 5:12). If we don't have spiritual (eternal) life before we die physically, we can anticipate only hell.

What a Difference Christ's Difference Makes in Us!

Perhaps that life-giving difference is best presented in 1 Corinthians 15:22: "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive."

For every biblical passage that teaches that Christ is in [us], 10 teach that [we] are "in Christ."

New Life Requires New Birth

Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3).

The moment [we] were born again [our] soul came into union with God in the same way Adam was in union with God before the Fall.

Salvation is not a future addition; it is a present transformation. That transformation occurs at spiritual birth, not physical death.

New Life Brings New Identity

Understanding [our] identity in Christ is essential for living the Christian life...If, however, [we] see [ourselves] as a child of God who is spiritually alive in Christ, [we] will begin to live accordingly.

The major strategy of Satan is to distort the character of God and the truth of who we are...If, however, he can get us to believe a lie, we will live as though our identity in Christ isn't true.

New Life Results in a New Identity

In the Bible, believers are described as "saints,"  which means holy ones (e.g., Rom.1:7,;1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1).

The status of saint is parallel to the concept of being God's called or elect ones... "Beloved of God...called as saints" (Rom. 1:7; see 1 Cor. 1:2)... "Chosen [or elected] of God, holy, and beloved" (Col.3:12)... "Chosen...through sanctification by the Spirit" (2 Thess. 2:13; see 1 Peter 1:1,2)). As a result, believers are "holy brethren" (Heb. 3:1).

As believers, we are not trying to become saints; we are saints who are becoming like Christ.

Romans 10:10	
For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.

2Corinthians 2:15	
For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing –

Jesus Provides our Significance/Value

Colossians 1:3 We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 1:4 since we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints. 1:5 Your faith and love have arisen from the hope laid up for you in heaven, which you have heard about in the message of truth, the gospel 1:6 that has come to you. Just as in the entire world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, so it has also been bearing fruit and growing among you from the first day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth. 1:7 You learned the gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave – a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf – 1:8 who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation,
1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him – all things, whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether principalities or powers – all things were created through him and for him.
1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him.
1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.
1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son
1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross – through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.

3:1 Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 3:2 Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, 3:3 for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

VICTORY OVER THE DARKNESS  by  Neil T. Anderson
Chapter 1:  Who Are You?

Is who [we] are determined by what [we] do, or is what [we] do determined by who [we] are?...[Our] hope for growth, meaning and fulfillment as a Christian is based on understanding...who God is and who [we] are in relationship to Him [which is] the critical foundation for [our] belief system and [our] behavior patterns as a Christian.

False Equations in the Search for Identity

External appearance, accomplishment and recognition don't necessarily reflect—or produce—internal and maturity.

[Solomon possessed] all that a fallen humanity could hope for, but God also gave him more wisdom than any other mortal....What was his conclusion? "Meaningless! Meaningless!...Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless" (Eccles. 1:2, NIV). Solomon sought to find purpose and meaning in life independent of God and he wrote a book about it. The book of Ecclesiastes describes the futility of mankind pursuing a meaningful life in a fallen world without God.

We also tend to buy into the negative side of the worldly success-equals-meaning formula by believing that if people have nothing, they have no hope for happiness.

In this earthly kingdom...happiness is equated with good looks, relationships with important people, the right job and a fat bank account. Life devoid of these "benefits" is too often equated with hopelessness.

What about life in God's kingdom?...The only identity equation that works in God's kingdom is you plus Christ equals wholeness and meaning.

If our relationship to God is the key to wholeness, why do so many believers struggle with their identity, security, significance, sense of worth and spiritual maturity? Ignorance is probably the primary reason... "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hosea 4:6)...For others it is carnality, the lack of repentance and faith in God, and some are being deceived by the father of lies.

"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16). God wants us to know who we are so we can start living accordingly. Then we are working out our salvation (see Phil.2:12),  not for our salvation.

DESCRIBE HEART & CHECKERS

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God. 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Phil. 3:8
More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – indeed, I regard them as dung!  – that I may gain Christ,

Jesus is our Shepherd

Hebrews 13:20	
Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus Christ,

Mark 6:34	
As Jesus came ashore he saw the large crowd and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he taught them many things.

John 10:11	
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

John 21:16	
Jesus said a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He replied, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus told him, “Shepherd my sheep.”

For a shepherd to care for his sheep the sheep need to obey, little sheep who wander too much risk having their legs broken, and then are carried until they heal.  It's a tough way to learn to obey - don't make it necessary with God!

Read:

THE LORD'S PRAYER -- a PRESENTATION

IN CONCLUSION

Eph 1:13	
And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation) – when you believed in Christ – you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit,

Heb 9:28	
so also, after Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many, to those who eagerly await him he will appear a second time, not to bear sin but to bring salvation.

Rev 12:10	
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down

Invitation

If you do not yet know the Lord then it is time for you to talk to us!

If due to a crisis of some sort you are in need of shared encouragement and prayer right now then please allow us to pray with you right now.

If you have been praying about joining our fellowship, either by transfer, or as a new believer in need of a new home - please let us know so that we may welcome you to the family!

As we sing our closing song please come forward - and pay no attention to anyone or any thing but the Holy Spirit Who is encouraging you right now to come.  If you are shy - please catch one of us afterwards - we will stay as long as necessary to serve you.   Dismissal