What must I do to be saved? Saved from what? What is it you wish to be saved from? Hell? That proves nothing. Nobody wants to go there. The issue between God and man is SIN. Do you wish to be saved from it? WHAT IS SIN? Sin is a species of rebellion against God. It is self-pleasing; it is the utter ignoring of God's claims,—being completely indifferent whether my conduct pleases or displeases Him. Before God saves a man, He convicts him of his sinnership. By this I do not mean that he says with everybody else, “Oh yes, we are all sinners, I know that.” Rather do I mean that the Holy Spirit makes me feel in my heart that I have been a life-long rebel against God, and that my sins are many. Have you ever had that experience? Have you seen yourself to be totally unfit for heaven, and for the presence of a Holy God? Do you now perceive that there is no good thing in you, nothing good credited to your account, that all the way through you have loved the things God hates and hated the things God loves? Has the realization of this broken your heart before God? Has it made you mourn that you have so despised His mercies, misused His blessings, broken His sabbaths, neglected His Word, and given Him no real place at all in your thoughts, affections and life? If you have not yet seen and felt this personally, then at present there is no hope for you, for God says, “EXCEPT YE REPENT, YE SHALL ALL LIKEWISE PERISH” (Luke 13:3).
And if you die in your present condition, you will be lost forever. But if you have been brought to the place where sin is your greatest plague, where offending God is your greatest grief, and where your deepest desire is now to please and honor Him; then there is hope for you. “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10). And He will save you providing you are ready and willing to throw down the weapons of your warfare against Him, bow to His Lordship, and surrender yourself to His control. His blood can wash the foulest clean. His grace can support and uphold the weakest. His power can deliver the tried and tempted. “Behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day salvation” (2 Cor6:2). Yield yourself to Christ's claims. Give Him the throne of your heart. Turn over to Him the regulation ofyour life. Trust in His atoning death. Love Him with all your soul. Obey Him with all your might and He will conduct you to heaven. “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
~ A.W.Pink
Friday, August 12, 2011
Monday, August 8, 2011
Spiritual Battle
"You will be wounded. Just because this battle is spiritual doesn't mean it's not real; it is, and the wounds a man can take are in some ways more ugly than those that come in a firefight. To lose a leg is nothing compared to losing heart; to be crippled by shrapnel need not destroy your soul, but to be crippled by shame and guilt may. You will be wounded by the Enemy. He knows the wounds of your past, and he will try to wound you again in the same place." - John Eldredge, "Wild at Heart"
I watched the following video this evening. It was no coincidence that God put this in my path at this time as I have been struggling the past few weeks with feelings of hopelessness and anxiety, as well as mental and spiritual exhaustion. The battle has seemingly become ever more difficult causing me to grow weary, which has in turn led to my attempting to find escape...often in things other than God. I will have more to say on this in following blogs but this offers a good foundation and starting point.
Britt Merrick - A Dialoge on The Devil, Demons and Spiritual Warfare from Reality on Vimeo.
"Every story has a villain because yours does. You were born into a world at war. When Satan lost the battle against Michael and his angels, "he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him" (Rev. 12:9). That means that right now, on this earth, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fallen angels, foul spirits, bent on our destruction. And what is Satan's mood? "He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (v. 12). So what does he spend every day and every night of his sleepless, untiring existence doing? "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against . . . those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (v. 17). He has you in his crosshairs, and he isn't smiling.
http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/spiritual-warfare
You have an enemy. He is trying to steal your freedom, kill your heart, destroy your life." - John Eldredge, "Waking the Dead"
I watched the following video this evening. It was no coincidence that God put this in my path at this time as I have been struggling the past few weeks with feelings of hopelessness and anxiety, as well as mental and spiritual exhaustion. The battle has seemingly become ever more difficult causing me to grow weary, which has in turn led to my attempting to find escape...often in things other than God. I will have more to say on this in following blogs but this offers a good foundation and starting point.
Britt Merrick - A Dialoge on The Devil, Demons and Spiritual Warfare from Reality on Vimeo.
"Every story has a villain because yours does. You were born into a world at war. When Satan lost the battle against Michael and his angels, "he was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him" (Rev. 12:9). That means that right now, on this earth, there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of fallen angels, foul spirits, bent on our destruction. And what is Satan's mood? "He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (v. 12). So what does he spend every day and every night of his sleepless, untiring existence doing? "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against . . . those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus" (v. 17). He has you in his crosshairs, and he isn't smiling.
http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/spiritual-warfare
You have an enemy. He is trying to steal your freedom, kill your heart, destroy your life." - John Eldredge, "Waking the Dead"
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