My sermon notes for Wednesday night, June 15th. Remember, these are my personal study notes and not a manuscript of the sermon. They are provided as an outline each week for our Tabernacle Church family. The church provides a live stream of the service each Wednesday at 6:30 on Facebook. We also provide the services through YouTube. You can find Sermon Notes, Family Devotional Guides, Prayer List, and other resources at our Church Website.
Thoughts
- We all have people that we love that we want to come to true saving faith in Christ.
- After our VBS, we have young children we want to see come to true saving faith in Christ.
- We look at the world in which we live and we desire for people to come to saving faith in the Christ.
- Yet, how do we go about being used of God to see these conversions take place.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW SALVATION WORKS
A person has a role in salvation
- A person must respond
- A person must repent of our sin and place our faith in Christ
- If they do, then they WILL be saved.
John 1:12 – To all who did
John 3:16 – Whoever believes
Acts 2:38 – Repent
Acts 3:19 – Repent and turn
Eph. 2:8 – Our faith
God has a role in salvation
- God has a much bigger role in salvation.
- Think about how we pray for someone – “God please save my children”
- Even though man is responsible… we must acknowledge God’s sovereignty.
Acts 16:14 – God opened the heart of Lydia
John 1:13 – Born of the will of God
2 Timothy 2:24-26 – God may grant them
Our Salvation Is:
- Purposed by the Father
- Accomplished by the Son
- Applied by the Spirit
I TRULY believe both.
- I responded to the Gospel on my own will.
- Yet, I understand that God saved me. (I did not save myself)
TWO BAD SCHOOLS OF THOUGHT
- God has done everything He can do… the rest is up to us. (Arminianism)
- There is no human involvement (Hyper-Calvinism)
IF I believe God has done all that is necessary, and the rest lies in their decision of a person…
- I will do whatever I can do to get someone saved.(repeat a prayer… do something)
- I will rest in my ABILITY
- We will do whatever it takes to see people saved (the unhealthy aspects of church growth)
IF I believe that man has no responsibility in the matter…
- I will not share the Gospel or believe in missions
- I will not look for opportunities to share the Gospel
- My life will have little desire to do “ministry”
MY MINISTRY (MY BALANCE):
I believe God is completely sovereign over all things
- He saves. I did not save myself.
- He has provided and accomplished my salvation
- He opens the mind and changes the heart
I responded to the Gospel message
- I did not understand the deeper things of God when I became a believer. I heard and believed.
- Yet, now I do know. I did not save myself.
- This is truly grace!
THEREFORE, I LOVE AND TRUST IN THE GOSPEL
- I do not need to trust anything else but the Gospel.
- The gospel saves not my personality or presentation.
- We are to do all things with excellence, but it is God that saves through the hearing, believing, and trusting in the Gospel
- It is through the Gospel that God brings about redemption
- I want to do my best to be crystal clear with the message.
- It is not just A, B, C. I want to be patient and clear.
- It is the Gospel by which a person responds
THEREFORE:
- We are praying people
- We are proclaiming people
- We are persuading people
- We are PEOPLE THAT LOVE TO DO MINISTRY
- Build relationship
- Share the Gospel
- Disciple believers
CONCLUSION
How to make the greatest impact.
- You believe and live out the Gospel in front of your friends and family. (Our witness … our character)
- Love those that you believe are lost
- Trust in the divine plan of God
- Trust the process
- Expose them to the Gospel
- Pray daily