Believe
Acts 4:12
“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Intoduction
I. Man is searching in all the wrong places for salvation.
Illustration: There is an old story about an old man who was out walking one night, and saw another man under a lamp post. Approaching, he asked the man what he was looking for, and the man, without looking up,replied,”My watch.” The first man asked, “Well precisely where were you standing when you dropped it?” Continuing his search, the man pointed a finger in the distance and said, “Over there somewhere.” “Well then sir, why are you looking for it here?” Finally looking up in frustration and meeting the first man’s gaze, the searcher replied testily, “Because sir, the light is better here!”
A. We live in a world that teaches self sufficiency, you won’t find salvation in yourself.
B. This world is one of self gratification, you won’t find peace in the things of the world
C. This world teaches that if you gain positon(power) you will be happy, happiness comes from peace and peace comes from Jesus.
John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”
II. You must believe in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Illustration: One size fits all
As you can see I am a pretty big man. I have always been quite tall but now I am as big around as I am tall. Now I have been to by a new bath robe and find out that you have to be careful of what you buy. In the men’s department at the store in the mal they had a nice assortment of robes. They had plaids, solids, flannel, terry,and even silk. All these robes were different except for one thing, on the tag it says one size fits all. I thought, “Boy that is great I get to pick whatever one that I want and don’t have to hunt for a particular size. So I picked out this pretty plaid one that looked like it would be quite comfortable, paid for it and took it home. When I got home I took it out of the bag removed the tags and hung it up. When evening came and it came time to relax I got my bath and got dressed for bed, but decided to stay up for a while and watch the football game on TV. Well you never know when someone will drop by so I went and got my new robe. As I took it off the rack I anticipated many nights of comfort that it was going to bring me. I slipped on arm in and threw it over my shoulders, slid the other are in and low and behold my “One Size fits All” robe looked like a mini skirt on an elephant. I learned qute fast why some stores have a big and tall department. That robe did not fit but I will tell you about a gift that is given that is large enough and that one size truly fits all it is the gift of God’s grace. Salvation through belief in Jesus Christ.
A. Before belief there has to be repentence.
2nd Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentence.
B. From Repentence comes submission.
When I was young I used to love to play out doors. Any of you that are around my age will probably Amen that. I really don’t understand the youth of today. I did not want to sit under momma and daddy, there I would have to behave, it was more fun outside. I would play everything, sitting in the sand and building dirt cities, football, my favorite was rassllin with the boy next door. We would wallow all over the yard getting dirty. Now sometime near the end of the day I would hear a shrill whistle, that was how daddy called us, that was an indication to come in. Now when I came in they would have me remove my dirty clothes and take a bath and the I would be clean and fresh. Note one thing that took place befor I received that refreshing cleansing, I had to submit my will to daddy’s will. I would not have been in the right place at the right time had I not submitted myself to his will. When we realize that our life is dirty with the dregs of this world called sin then we have to hear the Word of God and bring ourselves to Him and totally surrender our will.
C. Repent,submit, then believe and receive, the gift is yours.
Belief is essential. The great missionary D.T. Niles said, “Jesus Christ is not a value that we can negotiate, nor is he a preference that we can reject. He is the truth, and the truth cannot be changed.” The Word of God says, “Sirs what must I do to be saved?” “They replied’ “Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved….”Acts 16:30B-31A. Now this is not talking about intellectual belief for the bible tells us in James that even the demons believe. What we are talking about when we sa “believe” we are talking about totally surrendering to the point of trust. Let me try to show you what I am trying to say: I once heard a story of an event that took place years ago, before great sporting events and concerts, there were men called daredevils that would do perilous tricks to gain fame. It was told of a tightrope walker that decided to walk the tightrope over Niagra Falls The rope was stretched, the platform was built, and finally the big day came. This fellow was a bit of a show man and liked to tease the audience. As he ascended the steps to the platform he turned and yelled to the crowd, “Do you believe that I can wlk this rope across the falls.” Slowly one after another of the people answered, “WE believe!” The walker got on the rope and slowly made his way across the gourge. After successfully crossing to the other side he called out to the people, “Who believes that I can cross the Falls blind folded? Again, but with more confidence because they had witnessed him successfully going across the first time, the yell “We believe!” He was blindfolded and began his journey across the Falls. As he got to the center of the rope it began to sway and he began to stumble, then he slipped and fell, but caught the rope. He slowly pulled himself back on the rope and step by step he made it safely made it across .
God’s desire is that all people are saved.
Conclusion
You won’t find peace and deliverance from the things of this world. Riches and power do not bring joy, instead they usually bring more problems and grief. The true source of life, not only eternal life but victorius life in this world, is Jesus. If we
hearken to the voice of the Holy Spirit, as it speaks to our heart, and repent of our sins, submit ourselves to God’s will we will find true joy,peace, and victory for life’s trials.
