March 2020

Have you ever dreamed, of what it would be like, to serve God as an evangelist?

Don’t ever think that God couldn’t use your ministry, to lead someone to Him.

Now, I want to share with you a tool of evangelism, is known as “The Roman Road to Salvation”. It calls attention to how the Gospel is presented by the Apostle Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans.

Why is this important?

The day may come, when someone could ask you:

“Will you help me commit my life to Christ?”

The Romans Road is a Scripture map, which will help you lead a seeker to the Lord.

Here are the main points:

The Human Problem

Romans 3:10 – 10 “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’”

Romans 3:23 – “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Humanity’s Hope in Christ

Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

(John 3:16 may be inserted here:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John Wesley referred to God reaching out to us, while we are yet sinners, as “God’s prevenient grace”.

The Sinner’s Response

Romans 10:9 – “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Romans 10:10 – “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Romans 10:13 – “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’”

The Result of Salvation

Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Romans 5:2 – “through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

Romans 8:1 – “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

If you can read these Scriptures to someone who is spiritually seeking, and help explain what they mean, you can lead someone to the LORD!

Once a sinner has been justified in the LORD’s sight, by grace – (saved from spiritual death) through faith in Christ, they become a new saint.

(John Wesley said we are saved through justifying grace.)

Then God begins the lifelong journey of transforming us, completely, into the image of Christ.

A “saint”, is simply a sinner, whose sins have been forgiven because they have trusted Christ for salvation, and, who continues to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the sanctifying grace of God. Slowly but surely, we become more like the Master.

What happens if we die the physical death, before we are completely sanctified??

Then, the glorifying grace of God finishes us, in the twinkling of an eye!

How simple is the sinner’s prayer?

Very!

Dear Lord Jesus,

I know that I am a sinner.

Please forgive me of my sins.

Come into my heart, and live inside of me.

Help me to live for You.

Thank You, for giving me the free gift of eternal life.

Amen.

You do not need to be able to answer all of a person’s spiritual questions, in order to lead them to new life in Jesus.

You do not need to be a pastor or missionary, in order to lead someone to Christ.

The tools above, and the Holy Spirit inside of you, are all that you need.

Familiarize yourself with the Romans Road, and ask the Holy Spirit to quicken your spirit, to know when someone is ready to hear the Good News of Jesus. It may even be their “day of salvation”.

God always reminds us:

“Today is the day of salvation!” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Bless your hearts!

Pastor Michael

February 2020

In the early chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, there is a tremendous out-pouring of God’s Spirit, in Jerusalem. Thousands of people placed their faith in Christ, as the result of God working through the ministry of Peter and John.

The record of converts is reported in Acts 4:4 …

“4 But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand.”

An incredible movement of God’s Spirit!

And yet … this glorious time of the growth of God’s Kingdom is also marked by the opposition of the enemy.

The priests and Sadducees, arrest Peter and John and place them in jail over-night. As the Spirit moves Peter, he tells them:

8b “Rulers and elders of the people!

9 If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a man who was lame and are being asked how he was healed,

10 then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.

11 Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’[Psalm 118:22]

12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”

Over the years, I have noticed something. When you answer God’s call, to serve Him in the world, the enemy of God will oppose you.

Is this a reason not to serve the LORD?

By no means!

God is faithful to defend His children!

The enemy can never attack the children of God, any more than God allows. While it is true, that God does sometimes allow us to be impacted by the enemy’s opposition, this in no way means that we should be too afraid to serve the LORD.

Any strength trainer knows: there must be resistance, in order to achieve growth.

Where we could get into trouble, is by being tempted to take our eyes off of the LORD, and focus, instead, on the problems we face.

When king Jehoshaphat was being attacked by a vast army of Ammonites and Moabites, the LORD spoke to him, in 2 Chronicles 20:15 …

“15 He said: ‘Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.’”

Over the years, I have come to decide, that the more the enemy opposes a servant of God, the more the LORD is planning to d

o through that ordinary person.

So how about you?

Have you faced opposition in your faith?

Not only are there daily personal struggles, we also struggle to carry out God’s mission to reach the lost, disciple believers and equip the saints.

I love it, when a plan comes together. The Bible is God’s plan for humanity, and He is absolute Truth! We’ve read the end of the Book. We know how it turns out: God wins.

Ultimate victory belongs to God and to all, who are faithful to Him.

Stand to serve Him.

Where do you stand with the all-powerful God of the universe?

Do you know Him?

He Loves you; He wants to know you … and … He has a wonderful plan for your life!

Start living into it!

Through prayer, worship, fellowship, service and biblical study, God has mapped-out a strategy for our success.

Yet, even if we do fail … because we have been faithful, we win!

Prayer is our invitation, to God, to inhabit our lives and bless our efforts for Him. This is true in our personal lives, and, it is true in our community of faith, or church family.

Are you committed to a ministry of prayer?

I hope we all could commit to such an important aspect of our faith and work for the LORD.

As you prayerfully discern the LORD’s will, for your life and the life of our Church, may He richly bless and keep you, and remember:

1 John 4:4 says,

“4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

It pleases the LORD, when we worship Him together.

I hope to see you in worship!

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Michael

Happy New Year 2020

It is the year of our LORD, 2020.

When we visit the eye doctor, we hope for at least 2020 vision, which means we see at 20 feet, what the “normal” human eye can see, at 20 feet.

However, with corrective lenses, some people can improve their vision, to see at 20 feet, what the normal human eye must have at 15 feet, to perceive clearly.

In terms of our walk with the LORD, what does it mean, to have spiritual Vision?

Perhaps, having at least the faith of a mustard seed, to consider how God could transform something in the future, or, better yet, to have heard Him speak, as to how something will be.

What do we need?

The needs of people all around us, are forever changing.

They change from season to season, and they can change from moment to moment!

In terms of our faith, we want to:

“Know Christ and make Christ known to all.”

A year ago, we could only speculate, as to how this last year would unfold – but some, among us, were sensitive to the Holy Spirit; some were able to receive knowledge from Him; and, some were even using God’s spiritual gift of prophecy, to know and convey to God’s people, what the LORD is currently saying.

An authentic prophetic word will never contradict the Word of God.

Does that mean we can know everything which will take place, in the future? No.

Perhaps, we need the kind of corrective lenses, which only God can provide.

But God has already equipped us, with everything we need, to serve Him and to rely on Him. He has made sure, that we are not alone.

We have the Body of Christ, to be a part of, and to function within, as God has gifted us, accordingly.

We have His recorded WORD, in the Holy Scriptures, His divinely inspired message of Love, to you and to me.

It is News good enough, to share!

It pleases Him, when we worship Him together, and I hope to see you, in worship!

In His Love,

Pastor Michael