THE POWER FOUND IN THIS OLD BOOK (pt 1)
Heb 10:23
I had a guy that wanted to help me down about 10 trees one day. He said he had axe had been stolen that week. So I told him I have 2 chainsaws and he could use one of them and they are faster than axes.
I cut my 5 trees and came back to him. He had only 4 trees down. He complained that something must be wrong with it because it was no faster than his axe. I took the saw from him to check it out. Other than the bar being slightly bent, it looked ok, so I cranked it up first pull and it roared to life. Shocked, he looked at me and said, “What’s that noise?”
** We have easy access to the Bible in America. This Old Book is everywhere. Some cheap, some expensive, and if you want a free one, The Gideon Ministry will give you one. There is power in this old Book, but if you are ever going to access its power, you must actually read it.
Heb 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
What kind of power?
1. SALVATION POWER IN THIS OLD BOOK.
Rom 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes,
The Bible teaches us the Gospel...how to be saved. IT TEACHES US
A. We are each sinners and worthy of death.
Rom 3:23 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
No matter how good we think we are, we are all sinners.
Rom 6:23 the wages of sin is death.
Because we are sinners, we deserve death and hell.
B. Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins.
Rom 5:6,8-9 6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
* We were lost in our sins, helpless to save ourselves. We cannot!
* Jesus died on the cross. His blood paid the price for our sins.
* Those who receive Christ are saved from God’s wrath against sin.
C. How to be saved.
(1) Repentance. “To turn away”. Contrition- sorrow over your sins. It is abandoning your old life of sin and embracing the life Jesus desires.
Lk 13:5 Jesus said “unless you repent, you cannot be saved.”
Jesus came to save us from our sins, not so that we could live in them.
(2) Faith in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Rom 10 speaks about this and the 2 are intertwined.
Rom 10:9-10 9 If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
Faith- trusting in Christ and Christ alone for salvation.
Lordship- Yielding your control to Jesus Christ. He is Lord of your life
* Many want to be saved, but don’t want to leave their life of sin, you cannot. Repentance, faith, and Lordship are each required for salvation. Unless you repent, you cannot be saved. And to be saved, You must trust Jesus Christ as your Savior, but Jesus will not be your Savior unless He is also your Lord.
2. THE POWER OF GOD’S PROMISES IN THIS OLD BOOK.
2 Cor 1:20 For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.
* Throughout the Bible are found many promises that God has made to us. These promises are wonderful to think about, but they are also very powerful for us when we claim them and apply them to our lives. And, God guarantees His answer to all of these promises is “YES”.
A. God loves you! (The most important. All rest hinges on this one)
Is 54:10 “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, And My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” Says the Lord who has compassion on you.
God loves you with an everlasting love. He loves you no matter what. It is not based on how good you are, but upon how good He is. No matter what happens in this world, His love for you remains strong.
B. Claiming the Promises of God.
** CNBC News did a story about how over $ 3 billion in gift cards go unused each year. Most are given as gifts to people. The blessing is there, already provided, yet for 1 reason or another, these gifts are never claimed. God has given us many promises that He desires to bless us with, yet far too many times we fail to claim those promises and never receive the gifts He has provided for us.
What are some of God’s promises found in this Old Book?
(1) God desires for you to pray, He hears your prayer, and He answers your prayers!
Jer 33:3 Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.
God’s plea has always been that we call to Him in our hour of need!
* And, Jesus had this to say..
1 Jn 5:14-15 14 This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.
God’s promise is that He hears our prayers. And He will grant us the desires of our heart that fall within His will.
* But you must be on praying ground. If you’re living neck deep in sin, you should not expect God to hear/answer your prayers unless your prayer is one of repentance. Men there is another truth I’m going to remind you about this morning at no extra charge!
1 Pet 3:7 You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
If you mistreat your wife. Yell at her, abuse her physically or verbally, or any other way, God says “I will not hear your prayers!!!” Some of us men need to make things right with our wife before we are ever going to be right with God. God was a champion for women’s rights long before it was cool in society.
(2). God has a plan for your life!
Jer 29:11 11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
Pray: God I am your child. I know you have a plan for me, but I can’t see it. Please reveal that plan to me so I can follow your path! Ask Him to meet your needs. Jesus told us in Mt 6:26-28 that what the Father does for the birds of the air + lilies of the field, He’ll do for you!!
(3) Are you weary? Spiritually/emotionally burdened?
Mt 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
Bring your burdens to Jesus. He will carry the load for you. But you must give it to HIM. Don’t try to give it to Him and still worry with it.
(4) Do you feel all alone and afraid?
Deut 31:6 6 Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.”
Trust in God as Moses did. Realize that God is with you always. Invite God into your situation to strengthen your faith to live in victory! God may lead us into dark valleys and call us to hard battles for his name’s sake, but he will always be there with us.
(5) Do you feel powerless against the enemy of your soul?
Is 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.
Yes, God calls us to stand firm in the spiritual battles that we face, but when you feel overwhelmed, just remember “God’s got this” and, more importantly, “God’s got you. He has you in the palm of His hand.
Pray for His Power to manifest in you and strengthen you in your desperate hours.
(6) Are you suffering from guilt and shame feeling that your sins are so great that God could never forgive YOU?
1 Jn 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
I’ve shared just a few of God’s promises for you to claim in your time of need, but there are over 3,000 promises from God that you can find in “This Old Book”. Read your Bible and search the Scripture, you will find what you’re looking for. You will find what you need!
* Remember this great promise that God has for us in that time of need
Heb 10:23 “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”
