Part 2 - The Effect

Greetings,

Last week I ended the message with the following, "As you prepare for next week's message, think about what's behind these actions that are going on, do you see the underlying tones of pride, selfishness, and godlike complexes? Everyone hates the level of responsibility Christ puts on one through free will.  They seem to believe that the Bible prohibits them from enjoying life, or that they are not allowed to have free will.  On the other hand, you have members of other religions who take radicalism and advantage the minds and hearts of people to a level that has had an negative effect on society."

Well this past week as I tried to spend time in prayer and my studies, I allowed so many distractions to intervene with writing this.  The distractions were the topics I listed above.  The television news, talk radio, and web-based media was overwhelming. I could not get away from the constant political wrangling, social media, Hollywood madness and human evil.  Granted I am not trying to consider myself as a saint or sinless.  I merely except that the more I learn about God and his plan for us, it becomes difficult to stay the same and act the same.  Additionally,  I often see things differently.  In light of my past, I have taken time to see the change in society and time.  I also recognized that spending the past 20 plus years working for the federal government has allowed me to see and hear things from a different perspective. This is where the effect comes in to play.

THE EFFECT(S):

As the human race, we are taught in Scripture that because of the sin of man in the Garden of Eden, we were born in sin.  God created us in his image (Gen. 1:26-29), and provided us with the gift of free will.  Following our sin, God provided us the gift of his Son and the gift of salvation and eternal life (Rom. 10:9-11).  

Please read the following scriptures and then consider the comments afterwards.  Please feel free to take the time to make comments. The below are excerpts from a site called ecclesiastical.org, (http://www.ecclesia.org/truth/why_jesus.html), titled "15 Reasons Why Jesus Came".

1.      Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. 1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

2.     Jesus Christ came into the world to call sinners to repentance. Mark 2:17, "When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."

3.      Jesus Christ came into the world to seek and save the lost. Luke 19:10, "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

4.     Jesus came into the world to demonstrate the true purpose of life and give Himself a ransom. Matthew 20:28, "Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

5.     Jesus Christ came into the world to be a King and bear witness to the truth. John 18:37, "Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."

6.     Jesus Christ came into the world to do the Will of His Father. John 6:38, "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me."

7.      Jesus Christ came into the world to be a Light in the world. John 12:46, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness."

8.      Jesus Christ came into the world that men might have the Abundant Life. John 10:10, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

9.      Jesus Christ came into the world to Judge the world. John 9:39, "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind."

10.    Jesus Christ came into the world to Proclaim or preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God. Mark 1:38, "And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth."

11. Jesus Christ came into the world to die on the cross.  John 12:27, "Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour."

12. Jesus Christ came into the world to fulfil the law.  Matthew 5:17, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil."

13. Jesus Christ came into the world to be a Divider of men.  Matthew 10:34, 35, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."

(Christ makes it necessary to choose between relatives and the truth. This choice often causes division.) 

14. Jesus Christ came into the world as a demonstration of God's Love.  1 John 4:10, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

15. Jesus Christ came into the world because the Father sent Him.

John 20:21, "Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you."

a. The Father SENT Jesus to be the Propitiation (atonement) for our sins.

1 John 4:10, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."

b. The Father SENT Jesus and gave Jesus as the Saviour of the world.

John 3:16-18, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

c. The Father SENT Jesus to bless us by turning us from our iniquities.

Acts 3:26, "Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities."

d. The Father SENT His Son to redeem us from the curse of the law.

Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

e. God SENT His Son to make possible a new power in the hearts of men, a power to enable him to fulfil the righteousness of the law.

Romans 8:3,4, "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." 

In this case, I believe that it was not necessary to bombard you with a historical facts for each book, but allow the plainess of the scriptures speak to you. It is believed by many, including myself, that we are going through a strange period of time.  It seems that the more generations that develop after WWII, the more depraved the generations become.  Each piece of each generation seems to search for ways to separate themselves from God the Trinity.   As technology advances, we become more like the Israelites before Christ  came; i.e. We are not satisfied with what we have, increased idolatry, increased sexual immorality (coveting another's spouse), we are not willing to believe unless we have something tangible to see, feel, or hear a voice, and finally, the fear of a relationship causes us to believe that our free will is taken away.

I truly believe that God is on His way to do something profound and many of us will have to deal with the consequences of not being prepared.  I am going to continue to pray that each of you take time to consider what the scriptures say.  As the old song goes "I am just a nobody, trying to tell everybody,  about somebody".  My point is and will always be,  this is never about me, I merely want to share God's word with you or someone who would listen and take a moment to consider Christ as your personal Savior.

God bless you and keep you