2nd LESSON For NEW NEW BELIEVERS

FIRST THINGS FIRST

Okay, We have established that JESUS Died for you.  You agree that because you have believed that JESUS CHRIST, The SON of GOD took away your sins on the CROSS, HE has secured you as a child of GOD forever, based securely on HIS PROMISE.

BUT DOES JESUS REALLY CARE FOR ME?

WE can be pursuaded that something is true based on information someone has given us, especially if the source of that information is reliable.  So the Word of God reliably promises that we are a child of GOD.  What does that mean?

LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

In His Last mortal night on Earth, Jesus sat and ate the passover with His disciples, His dear friends.  He instituted "communion" with them "This is MY body which is given  for You. This do, in remembrance of ME".  "This cup is the New Testament in MY Blood, which is shed for you." He also washed His disciples' feet He said as an Example of how HE wants us to serve one another,  After supper they sang a hymn together(Mark 14:26), then JESUS said "Come now let us  leave"  They headed out toward the Garden of Gethsemane. 

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Why?   Why this assignment?  If there was a way for me to convey to you how intensely and intimately JESUS cares for you: for you as the person that you are now.  He loves you right now, as you are, as much as HE will ever love you.  Three things will convey this truth to you in time:

1. The words of JESUS in his Word.  Thus todays assignment.
2.  The 2nd is not a what but a Who, the Holy Spirit, will witness in your heart the love of JESUS for you.
3.  The third is the toughest lesson, at least it was for me:  Time.   Time, and all the things that put wrinkles in  your brow and make pigmented hair turn grey.  All the struggles you will have, walked through learning that JESUS is right with you.  Know that HE has been there all along.  Know this also: He is ahead of you.  He has already been there and knows what is in the road ahead, and will walk you through it.  Trust Him, as much as you can, (it takes exersize) every step of the way.
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Get this picture:  Jesus knows HE's headed for His sacrifice.  HE is giving His last Will and Testament to His best friends.  HE is going to pour out His heart to them.  Then in prayer to HIS FATHER, HE will pour out HIS heart for us.  I could type the whole episode here,  but that would take an eternity, and it's in your Gospel of John from the last verse in the chapter 14, through Jesus' Prayer to the Father in Chapter 17.  

When you get to the part of the prayer where HE says "My prayer is not for them [His disciples] alone.  I pray also for those who will believe in ME through their message", 
You MUST understand: When HE is pouring out His heart, with HIS Last Will to His disciples, HE is talking directly to you and to me.  And when HE is pleading with HIS FATHER (Our FATHER) for HIS disciples, HE IS pleading for you and for me.  Not for our salvation from Hell.  We are His Children.  That is settled!  But there is so much we can become on Earth! He Created us to a purpose, when fulfilled, the fruits of which will ascend with us to Heaven. 
He begins "Abide in ME"  and ends praying to FATHER for us.  Please let that sink in: "Abide in ME"
The more we practice our moment to moment lives, recognizing that HIS Spirit resides in us, and we live in Him, and look to Him for our every moment, the more we will live out His eternal purpose for our lives.
So Go!   Find a quiet hour or so, today or tomorrow, this week, where you can read Jesus' Last Will and Testament for you-HIS dying wish for you.  The end of John chapter 14 through the end of His prayer to FATHER.  It will add much for you to be thankful for.

OH, HE lives today IN GLORY, ever to plead for us to the FATHER, that we would live out the promise of our lives here below, so that we will have many many friends ready to greet us when we get there .  But this moment of HIS, just hours before the cross was the lynchpin of History, and HE thought of ....YOU!


Your Brother,

Duane

A LESSON FOR THE NEW NEW BELIEVER

FOLLOWING is a study I prepared for  some adult Sunday School students who the previous Sunday indicated by their statements, not by promptings from me, that they were understanding God's plan for eternal salvation for the first time.  I needed a handout for the following Sunday as I would not be there, and another Sunday School Leader would begin a new study.  I searched on line for such a resource, but found none suitable.  I desired to have in print what I did not have prepared for class, so that they would have information available to them to begin to study scripture, and internalize what they have believed.

I am very curious what my brothers and sisters think of this as a rudimentary resource just to begin someone on their walk through a "3-D Gospel life" (thanks to Dr. Jim Reitman, http://justsoyouallknow.blogspot.com/  ). 
Please leave comments or questions at the end, as you feel led of the Lord: 

Thank The LORD, YOU GET IT!

Just in case you forget it,

This is where you go to get it.

Duane Watts, 2009



John 3:16 For God So Loved the world that HE gave His only begotten son, that whosoever (you) believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:36 John the Baptizer says: He that believes in the SON has everlasting life now.

John 11:25 Jesus says to Martha (and to you) :

I AM

The Resurrection                and                          The Life

He who Believes in ME                            He who Lives &  Believes

Though he die, yet shall he live.               in ME shall never ever die.*

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?

John 20:30 After Thomas Sees our Resurrected Lord for the 1st time and exclaims “My Lord and MY GOD!,"

John says: These signs (8 miracles written in the Gospel of John) have I written to you so that you may Believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that Believing you will have life in His name.



*John Niemela “The Cross In John’s Gospel” Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society,
  Spring 2003

SECURE IN CHRIST

Having believed, your eternal life is in no way contingent upon you.
Nothing you do can either make you more secure or less secure in your eternal destiny.
Your eternal salvation is only contingent upon He who gave it to you.
As we just saw, Jesus promised it to you, and only He can lose it.
This would require Him to fail or to break His promise.
This Jesus has never done, nor ever, ever will do.

Another way to illustrate this is no mere illustration, but is scripture. In II Timothy 2:13 To paraphrase: Even if we stop believing still He abides faithful, for He can not deny Himself.

Remember your baptism? O.k. your physical baptism did not save anyone. Just as in old testament circumcision, (Romans 2:28) it is an outward sign of an internal spiritual reality. (Romans 6:3-5) Your baptism (going under the water) represents you dying, being buried with Jesus. Coming up out of the water, represents you being regenerated (born again) with Jesus in His resurrection. You are “positionally” in Christ Jesus. Your life is in His. This is something we can not see, and sometimes given my behavior it is even harder for me to believe. But it is more true, more real than your kitchen table.


Get Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

Chapter 2:5-9 While we were still dead in our trespasses and sins HE made us alive TOGETHER With CHRIST (by grace have you been saved). And has raised us up together and has now Made us to sit IN HEAVENLY PLACES IN CHRIST JESUS, that in ages to come HE may show us the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

For by Grace have you been saved through faith (belief) and that grace is not of yourselves, it is the gift of GOD, Not of works lest anyone should boast.

It took a long while for me to rest in the fact of my eternal destiny being settled. I continually looked for other resources to compare notes. Many teachers simply don’t agree. Many believe that what God has given God can take away. He certainly can; but since He has promised to put you in Christ, when He looks at you, He sees the righteousness of Christ.

Paul’s epistle (letter) to the Romans is a wonderful work of expository teaching. The work of a teacher is to open the scriptures to her or his students and help them to understand the scriptures by comparing scripture with scripture, to reveal God, and His nature, and our failure,
Our need, and His plan to reconcile us with HIM.

Romans 3, Paul describes in the Old Testament how that all are guilty under the commandments. In verse 20-24:

Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in HIS sight: for the law only brings knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of GOD without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law [the writings of Moses: Genesus, Exodus, etc] and witnessed by the prophets [Isaiah, Elijah etc.].
This witnesses even the righteousness of GOD which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto All and upon All who Believe. For there is no difference: All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.
Having been justified freely by HIS grace [unearned favor] through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…

In Romans 4:3-5 Paul quotes scripture: “Abraham Believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness”. Then Paul says: Now to him that works, a reward is given that is earned, as a debt, not of Grace. But to him who does not work [for acceptance from GOD] but Believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith [belief] is accounted to him for righteousness [he is declared righteous].

Some food for thought until we meet again!

Contact info:

My cell…. 401-1930 

My e-mail...... ddw.2009@hotmail.com

I would love to hear from you if you have any questions.

GODS BLESSINGS and PEACE to YOU and YOUR FAMILY

IN JESUS CHRIST, OUR FOREVER LORD AND SAVIOR

Duane Watts

FOR OUR G-D IS A CONSUMING FIRE

Note: For the Purposes of this blog today, I will observe the Jewish principle of not spelling out the name of G-d, because HE is simply too HOLY to be named out loud. If I communicate the following effectively, you will understand why.
The award winning contemporary Christian band, THIRD DAY, whose music and message I love, has a song "Consuming Fire" referring to the passage in Hebrews. It's a powerful song; a joy to worship with, but the lyrics seem irrelevant (my apologies to the author)to the passage in Hebrews:

"Did you ever realize, deep inside of you there is a flame.
Did you ever try, to let it burn, let it burn:
'Cause our G-D, HE is a Consuming Fire...
(words and music by Mac Powell, 1995 New Spring Publishing Inc)

G-D OUTSIDE THE CELESTIALARIUM

G-D reveals Himself in Scripture in a wide variety of descriptions, e.g He is the Righteous Judge (II Tim 4:8), and a Friend who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24)
Dr. A. B.Badger in "TULIP: A Free Grace Perspective Part 2 Unconditional Election" (Journal of The Grace Evangelical Society, Autumn 2003), describes G-D in a way uniquely terrifying to me: He says that G-D is everywhere everytime all at once. Please bear with me while I stammer through this: HE created time. Time bears no restriction to HIM. Also HE always was going to do what HE was going to do. If I understand Dr. Badger, G-D being eternally Omniscient always knew what He would do, HE always knew what HIS creatures would do and there was never actually a deciding moment: HE has simply forever known absolutely everything: the creation, the fall, the incarnation, the cross, my thought thirty million years from this moment HE IS there now. He is outside of the Time-Space Celestialarium. It's not past, present, future for G-D: There is no before and after. HE is everywhere everytime present. Jesus said: Verily Verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I AM. John 8:58. I never saw it that way before. The Universe: 15 billion light years across or whatever at whatever age it is, and forever after, in fact, The entire time space BUBBLE is less than a single droplet of water in all of the seas of all of the planets of the Cosmos compared to ALMIGHTY G-D. G-D has always known everything and has never decided anything. Deciding implies not knowing before. The thought process is so foreign to me that reading it agitated me. God became an alien to me: No. I mean like a Beheamoth Thick Darkness. WHOA Dude! How can HE interact with me since HE does not react, but all of HIS actions were foreknown by Him forever and ever, because HE always knew my reactions! My Savior G-D who is near, I suddenly seriously do not recognize. HE does not even obey time! How can this HOLY SPIRIT, Who makes the entire Universe look like a single spec of dust in a dust storm, relate to me? Suddenly, HIS incarnation is a much bigger deal than I even imagined. The Truth is, G-D IS here ETERNITY Past Present Future Forever is normalcy. We, locked in Time/Space are the anomally. Created for HIS Purposes.
With the Psalmist I proclaim "such Knowledge is too wonderful for me: it is high. I can not grasp it. Psalm 139
In light of this what Does Hebrews chapter 12 reveal about our CREATOR,MASTER and LORD?
The passage in Hebrews 12, is speaking to we who have believed in Him: we who by virtue of His promise and His ability to keep His promise, are secure in Him forever:

JESUS THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH

Wherefore seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight & the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Looking to JESUS, the Author and Finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before HIM, endured the Cross, despising the shame,and is set down at the right hand of the throne of G-D.
Consider HIM who endured such...lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. You have not YET resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

FATHER G-D

V. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that speaks to you as unto children:
My son despise not the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked by HIM. For whom the Lord loves, He chastens, and disciplines everyone he receives as His Child....v.9 Furthermore we have had earthly fathers who corrected us and we gave them reverence...[even though they] corrected us for their own purposes, but He [G-d corrects us] for our profit, that we may be partakers in HIS Holiness. No discipline seems joyful, but grievous at the time, but afterwards, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who are corrected by HIM.
[to verse 18] For you have not come to that mount that can be touched... and burned with fire, nor unto blackness, darkness and tempest and the sound of a trumpet....v. 21 and so terrible was the sight that Moses said "I exceedingly fear and quake"
V22 But you are come unto Mount Zion, and unto the Heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable company of Angels [innumerable?]. To the General Assembly and the Church of the Firstborne, which are written in Heaven and to G-D the JUDGE of all, and the spirits of just men made perfect [all saints?]: and to JESUS the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. See that you refuse not HIM that speaketh.

HOLY SPIRIT: G-D THE REFINER'S FIRE

V. 25b For if they escaped not who refused HIM who spake on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn again from HIM who speaketh from Heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth, but now HE hath promised saying "Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also Heaven. And the word "once more" signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as of things that are made,that those things that can not be shaken may remain.
Therefore we, receiving a Kingdom which can not be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve G-D acceptably with reverence and G-dly fear.
v.29 FOR OUR G-D IS A CONSUMING FIRE.

Comments? Thoughts?