With great delight I welcome you to the month of September, our Month of Salvation. That you are reading this piece is evidence that God has wrought a type of unfathomable Salvation for you. Physical salvation from all manner of death, particularly the death that passed through the earth in the past few months due to the highly dreaded coronavirus.
“And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob” Ex 2:23-24.
Most times we are crying to God for salvation whenever we are in danger or bondage and he responds because of his loving kindness but you will agree with me there is a spiritual salvation which we sometimes ignore or take for granted because we love this world. The spiritual salvation that deals with eternity that has the ability to position you in heaven or if rejected send people to hell is ignored. This salvation is a gift: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” Take this gift and celebrate it. This month I want you to commit yourself to God to secure your passport and visa to eternity with Jesus-through the salvation process, making Jesus the author and finisher of your life.
Also, this month from Sept 17- 20,2020 we shall be having *International Gathering Eagles Conference* as a virtual meeting. Please watch out for the details of this important event. Our theme this year is *Discipling Nations* This the vehicle for taking the salvation message and the good news around the world. I pray that salvation shall be yours and that of your entire family today in Jesus name. Grab your salvation now!
What is Salvation?
To be saved is a coded language by Jesus Christ which means to be born again! Jesus answered and said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Jn 3:3
Salvation is not complicated.
Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” – Mark 10:15
A child simply puts their trust (faith) in the father’s strong arms. Likewise, we entrust our life to Jesus Christ—believing on Him and His finished work on the cross. The Apostle Paul defined the message of the Gospel (good news) like this—“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,” – 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 .
Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless lamb of God, laid down His life and took the penalty meant for us, dying in our place (Isaiah 53:6). He paid the debt we could not pay and redeemed us (bought us back) from the power of sin and death. John 1:29, Gal 3:13 / Rom3:25.
Salvation is accepting what Jesus accomplished for you and I on the cross! You are adopted or born into the family of God… a royal family.
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” 1 John 3:1.
Salvation is receiving forgiveness for all our sins.
“He will turn again; he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19. Once your sins are forgiven, you are clothed with the righteousness of God by faith in Christ Jesus. The Greek word for salvation is “zozo” which means deliverance. Salvation that Jesus procured on the cross is not limited to salvation of your souls it is holistic - spirit, soul and body.
Why must I be born again (saved)?
In this western world where you have access to worldly amenities like great technology, uninterrupted internet, good infrastructure, running water, constant power supply, a solid health system, functional insurance system, many people view those who are saved and love God as people who really do not get it.
“Why do I have to go to church? Why do I have to pray? Why do I have to believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour? Why must I be saved?”
I have to confess - when God prompted me to relocate to Canada, one of the concerns as a Pastor is what am I going to preach about? Where I come from its easy to gather people and motivate them to pray to God for what the government should provide but didn’t. However, many people in a knowledge economy aren’t saved because they do not understand everything that they MISS from not having Jesus Christ as their Master.
- To live with God in heaven. The main reason you need to be born again is not because about this present world it is about life after death. So that you can spend eternity with Jesus and not in hell. Nobody will live on this earth forever and the time you will live hear compare to eternity is too short.
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”Jn 3:3, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23. Being spiritually dead means that you are separated from God. If you die in that state, you will go hell.
2. Be a co-labourer with God. Another reason is to be a co-labourers with God. You are saved to serve. God wants you to be apart in spreading the word so that others will not perish. From when Adam separated from God, he looked for people who will reconcile man. Jesus became the first Son to do that work. All others that are saved are to be co-labourers.
3. To enjoy peace on earth. The world is full of troubles and challenges. We are saved and become the children of God so that we can call on God who can handle all our challenges. When he handles our problems, we have peace. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. 5:1 and no longer enemies of God (Rom. 5;10),Jn 14.27
4. To enable you have access to The Holy Spirit. Even when you want to do good, your fallen nature hinders you. It is through salvation we have access to the Holy Ghost. Jesus said the disciple will not be able to achieve much unless they receive the Holy Spirit.
“But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate (Holy Ghost) won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you”
You NEED the Holy Spirit to run your business, marriage, career, school, or ministry. Many people don’t want to be angry people, they have taken anger management courses but they still swear and beat their spouses. The Holy Ghost is available to help such people... He is also available to help YOU in your shortcomings. Even to overcome powers and principalities, sinful nature you cannot do it by your will power, only the born again’s have access to Holy Spirit.
5. Have decent life. Many people are into terrible lifestyle, indecent by all standards for example drugs, alcoholism, occults, corruption, prostitution, kidnapping, sexual perversion, bankruptcy, robbery, pedophiles, pornography, lust, reprobates, minds, immoral sinful life, alternative life styles, Salvation in Christ is what gives decent life. Salvation in Christ is the escape route from every form of immorality, sin and perversion. Give Jesus opportunity to break that chain today!
6. Become God’s children and friends. Can you imagine you and I becoming children of God and his friend? I know it is inconceivable that a finite man can become a friend to invisible God! But that is what salvation does. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. Jn 1:12. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. Jn 15:15
Friends we are no longer strangers or outsiders to God because we now have a personal relationship with Jesus. And this is at no cost! Wow!
7. Great health. Those who are saved are entitled to great health. The first category he does not even allow them to be sick, he prevents pestilences flu, diseases, sickness not to touch them. Thank God I belong to that categories in another one month I will be sixty-five. Never slept in hospital for one day! Never take medication. Why because God said- He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.” Ex 15:26. For forty years You sustained them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out, and their feet did not swell. Neh 9:21 . He took care of millions of people for forty years in the wilderness where there were never hospitals.
The second category, when they get sick, he heals them. And ye shall serve the Lord your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. Ex 23:25.
Who Has The Power to Save?
There are many religions on earth and all lay claim to have capacity to save but that cannot be true. How then do you know the true one? A drowning man cannot be saved by a person who does not even know how to swim! Check through all the people, you will find that only Jesus was born without human seed like you and myself, meaning the only one from heaven. Only Jesus died on the cross. Only Jesus resurrected… and only Jesus ascended to heaven in full sight.
That is why Peter said : Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved, Acts 4:12. Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me .Jn 14:6. Check any other religion and see who has made such claim-None!!!
A Quick Word on This Directly From Jesus
- “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matt 7:13-14
- “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matt 10:38-39
Be Ready to Defend Your Salvation.
Many of us are complaining now about the killings and persecutions of Christians. Be ready for more. Prepare yourself and your children for martyrdom. Sincerely I don’t know where we got this bread and butter Christianity mentality. Read you bible you will see the religious leaders planning to kill Jesus, everywhere he went. The more miracles he did, healing their children, raising the dead the more they thought of killing.
Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus. Matt 12:14; So, from that day on they made plans to put him to death. The apostles were persecuted and all died as martyrs. Jesus says they hated him and they will hate you. Therefore prepare to face challenges but have this assurance God will be with you all the way.
The ABC of Salvation - How to be saved.
One of the most important question of your life you must ask is “what must I do to be saved?” Paul ask Jesus that question when he encountered Christ on the way to Damascus’s – “What will you want me to do Lord?” The same Paul was asked the question by the jailors. “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved.” Its like Paul said it as simple as ABC! “And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house”. Acts 16:30-31
This past weekend we went to Chatham, Ontario to celebrate first birthday of our grandson, Nehemiah with their parents Toyin and Joshua Crandell. I decided to take his 5-year-old sister Maranatha for a walk. Holding my hand and feeling good, I said “can you count numbers”, she said ”yes”. Okay count 123 for me. She said “123”. Is that all you can count?” She said “no, but you said I should count 123, so that’s what I did!”
Salvation is that simple. Of course, there are many ways you can give your life to Christ but why make life complicated when it can be simplified? What is ABC of salvation.
- A-Admit you have sinned. Realize you have sin. You can never appreciate what Jesus did for you unless you realize you have sinned against God and humanity. Even the best of moral men has sinned, because it is not just about our act it is about our nature inherited from Adam. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. Jas 2:10 NKJV.
As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one; Rom 3:10 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 NKJV
- B-Believe on Jesus Christ. It is not just sufficient to know you are a sinner you need to believe that God has made provision for you to get rid of that sin. All you need to get rid of that is to believe that someone has paid for that sin. God because of His love for you allowed his son to die for your sins and all you need is to believe that son-is that not simple enough?
So, they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household. Acts 16:31 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17
- C-Confess Christ Publicly. Next and final stage is confessing what you believe in your heart publicly. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation “- Romans 10:9-10.
If you have done this with a genuine heart, congratulations. You are a new person now!
What do you do after you are saved?
When someone get saved, they need to continue in their faith. It’s not enough for someone to simply make a profession of faith in the gospel message. They need to continue in their faith for the rest of their human life. If they abandon their faith it manifests that their faith was never genuine from the start. Join a bible believing church. Read your bible daily and observe to do what is inside. Learn to depend on God through your prayer and remember to fellowship with Gods people.
Conclusion.
Paul said“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” That is the story of Amos Dele Dada when in February 10, 1977 when I gave my life to Jesus. And that could be your story if it is not already so and guess what? There will be a party in heaven when you make that decision, now. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance Lk 15:7.
Today make Jesus your Lord and be saved and you and your household and generations to come will not regret it. Oh I am enjoying salvation in Christ!
Shalom.
Special Note - If this is the first time you are confessing Christ please get in touch with us and we are willing to assist you in this eternal journey. www.cacbethel.com; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Important Notice. This year International Gathering of Eagles Conference is a virtual conference meaning without extra money from the comfort of your home in any nation you can participate. Do your best to go to www.cacbethel.comand www.igoeministry.comand you will have logging details. It is a four day program from Sept 17-20,2020. You will be glad you attend. If you want to support the conference financially you can donate at the website above.
