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Author
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Topic: In Light of the Darkness
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Billy
Advanced Member
Member # 7193
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posted
I've been having to use my computer at work, because I have issues with my computer at the barracks. The computer at the barracks is the one that has the article on it. As soon as I get all these issues sorted out, I will post it in its entirity.
In Christ,
Billy.
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Test yourselves to be sure that you are in the faith.
- The Apostle Paul
Posts: 217 | From: overseas | Registered: Jun 2008
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Zeena
Advanced Member
Member # 7223
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posted
Do tell! ![[clap2]](graemlins/clap2.gif)
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Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
Posts: 749 | From: Toronto, Canada-EH! | Registered: Jun 2008
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Billy
Advanced Member
Member # 7193
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posted
Thank you for finishing my post, Zeena. For some reason, I got disconnected from the internet before it finished uploading my entire post. I was about to go into the saving grace part of my presentation, at the part where it left off. Here pretty soon, I will post the full article. Perhaps you will like how it ends.
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Test yourselves to be sure that you are in the faith.
- The Apostle Paul
Posts: 217 | From: overseas | Registered: Jun 2008
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Zeena
Advanced Member
Member # 7223
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by Billy:
Now, who here knows what God did so that we would not have to go to hell? Who here knows what He did so that we would be able
He sent His Son!
The Creator Himself entered into His own creation to save us! ![[Cross]](graemlins/cross.gif)
In acts of blessing, the lesser is blessed by the greater.
We were lost, blinded like the man who wondered where the stars went at night! I'm so glad he wondered! I thank God that he sought to ask why the light of the stars disappeared! And in so doing he was given an answer. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
1 John 1:5-10
And this is the message which we have heard from Him and announce unto you, that God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the Truth: but if we walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, we have fellowship one with another, and the Blood of Jesus his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is Faithful and Righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The Truth is Jesus! He is the One who has both paid the penalty for sins of the WHOLE WORLD, and for YOU, personally! ![[thumbsup2]](graemlins/thumbsup2.gif)
His Righteous Wrath could not overlook sin, for He is JUST and THE JUSTIFIER of whoever would reach out in faith to Jesus!
The penalty is paid! It was paid for you and I at the cross on Calvery!
Isaiah 53:10
Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
1 Peter 2:24
who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed.
All that is expected is to believe God!
Romans 4:3
For what saith the scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness.
He fortold all these things HUNDREDS of years prior to the actual happenings through His servants, the Prophets. He has made it so that we can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these things are True! History itself bares witness to the crucifixtion of Jesus on our behalf!!!
We must humbly bow before our Creator and offer up right sacrifices of praise!
John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
2 Corinthians 5:20
We are ambassadors therefore on behalf of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God.
If you are convicted by God of your own self and sins, you too can pray this prayer;
"Heavenly Father, I have seen that I am a sinner, still in the life of Adam, and that I have committed sins. I believe you sent your only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die in my place for my sins. I also believe He rose again and now lives, and right now I receive Him into my spirit as my Saviour. I surrender all that I am, all I have and all I shall be to you. I turn from my sins and my selfish ways to live my new life in Christ. Thank you for saving me. Amen."
If you have prayed the "salvation prayer," you have been born again, for God says He gives to all who believe in Christ the privilege of becoming His children (John 1:12). Now, whether you prayed for salvation just now or in the past, praying an "identification prayer" may help you to experience Christ' s life of victory and peace. Before this prayer can be effective, you must be truly sick of your self-life; you must be under conviction by the Holy Spirit of trying to live the Christian life in your own strength, and you must be ready to give up control of your life. If this is your condition, pray in this manner.
"Father, thank you for forgiving my sins and taking me out of the life of Adam and grafting me into the life of Christ. Now that I am in Christ, I believe that I was crucified with Him, buried with Him, raised with Him and that I am seated with Him at your right hand. From this moment on, I choose to have your son, Jesus Christ, live His life in me and through me. I consider myself dead to sin and alive to you, and I am counting on the Holy Spirit to make me aware when I forget my death with Christ and try to live His life for Him in my own human wisdom and energy. I choose to yield my total being to you as an instrument of righteousness, allowing no part of me to be used for sin. Thank you for making Christ and his life real to me. Glorify yourself through me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."
2 Corinthians 4
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, even as we obtained mercy, we faint not: but we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by the manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that perish: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn upon them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. Seeing it is God, that said, Light shall shine out of darkness, who shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, and therefore did I speak; we also believe, and therefore also we speak; knowing that he that raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also with Jesus, and shall present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that the grace, being multiplied through the many, may cause the thanksgiving to abound unto the glory of God. Wherefore we faint not; but though our outward man is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
http://thechristianbbs.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=51;t=000066
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Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
But I trust that ye shall know that we are not reprobates.
Posts: 749 | From: Toronto, Canada-EH! | Registered: Jun 2008
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Billy
Advanced Member
Member # 7193
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posted
Men and women of the Christian BBS and guests, incline your ears to me. A man stood on a street corner, in Los Angeles, California. The time was about mid-day, and he peered into the sky wondering, “Where did the stars go?” By night, they were seen, but in the light of day, they seemed to simply disappear. This man went from person to person asking, “Where did the stars go?”
One man, a man that had never dared to step out at night, stated that he didn’t believe that the stars had ever existed. Another man that had no concept of science stated that it was his belief that the stars fled by day, because of their fear of the Sun. Yet another man stated that he believed that, during the day, the sky was filled with water, drowning out the light of the stars.
Finally, the man came upon a scientist that was well schooled in astronomy. The scientist went on to explain to the man that the stars did not simply disappear or run away. Though they are not visible by day, they are there, none-the-less. The reason that they had ceased to be visible , by day, was because they were drowned out in the light of the Sun.
“So, why are they so visible, in the night sky,” the man asked.
“Because they are suspended in the darkness. The contrast of the darkness with the light allows us to look upon them in all their splendor,” the scientist explained.
And so it is with much of the preaching, today. Many do not see their need for a Savior, because it hasn’t been explained to them, the terrible state that they’re in. Many don’t understand why Christ had to die on the cross, because they don’t understand the enormity of the debt that they owe to God. Thus, like the night sky, it is the role of the preacher to reveal the darkness of the state of man, in order for the light of the gospel to make sense.
This begins with an understanding of the eternal holiness and righteousness of God. Many understand that the Bible teaches that God is holy, though they have no concept of what that holiness entails. If God is eternally holy, righteous and just, He must punish sinners. To not do so would be an act of injustice.
Imagine for a moment that a dear relative of yours had been raped and murdered. There is ample evidence that the suspect on trial had committed the crime, beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, on the day of judgment, when the verdict comes to bare, the judge tells the man to stand to his feet. In front of the news cameras and all that are in attendance, the judge begins to speak…
“The defendant has been found guilty in a court of law, and by a jury of his peers. Legal precedent and state law grants me the authority to give him the death penalty as punishment for his crime. However, I am a loving judge, and as such I forgive this man for his crimes. Sir, you are free to go.” With that, the murdering rapist turns and walks out of the courtroom.
There is something built into us, ladies and gentlemen, that will not accept this verdict. We know that a just judge would never forgive a man his crimes, but would exact justice upon him. In the same way, God, if He is in fact just, must punish those that have broken His law. It is at this point that we must all feel a bit uneasy, because we all know that we have broken His law.
Look inside your hearts, ladies and gentlemen. Look into the mirror of God’s perfect and holy law, and know what you truly are in His sight. If your have lied, you are a liar. If you have taken the Lord’s name in vain, you are a blasphemer. This means that you have taken the Lord that gave you eyes to see, lungs to breath, ears to hear and a world to experience, and you have used His name as a four-letter, filth word.
If you have stolen anything in your whole life, no matter how small, you are a thief in the eyes of God. Jesus said, if you look with lust, you commit adultery of the heart. This makes you an adulterer. The Bible says that he who hates commits murder in his heart. So if you have ever harbored hate, this makes you a murderer. Yes, God even sees our secret sins.
On the day of judgment, we will all stand before the eternally righteous and holy Judge and give an account for all that we’ve thought, said and done. If we are found guilty of breaking God’s law, the Bible tells us that we will be cast into the lake of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. The Bible tells us that no man is good, not one. Instead, it tells us that we have all fallen short of the glory of God.
This predicament is to be likened to a passenger that was sitting on a plane flying over the Pacific Ocean. After a few moments of mild turbulence, the pilot got on the intercom and told the passengers that they had not put enough fuel in the aircraft to make it to Hawaii, and they had already passed the mid-point between San Francisco and Hawaii, so they could not turn back.
Inevitably, the plane would come crashing down into the ocean and all those that had not put on a parachute and jumped would perish with the plane when it hit the water. The man wasted no time in putting on a parachute, but quickly he noticed something strange. None of the other passengers were putting them on. With urgency, he began to run around and tell the others to put their parachutes on, but no one listened.
One man told the passenger that he did not believe that the plane would crash, but that the pilot was simply misinformed. As he began to expound on the argument that “the service crew could not have possibly been so neglectful to have….” the passenger moved on. The next man that he found, had a parachute, but had not put it on, nor did he show any interest in it. It was just rolling to and fro, up and down the aisle. When asked, the man simply stated, “I don’t like wearing it. It’s uncomfortable, and the other passengers make fun of me.”
Let me tell you something, ladies and gentlemen, you may be like the first man. You may not believe in God, or in this gospel, but I tell you that your belief does not negate the fact that you will one day have to jump out of this life, and on that day, you will answer to God. On that day, he will judge you for your sins, and you will be found wanting.
You may be like the second man. You may feel as though you are covered because you prayed a prayer or got baptized at one point in your life. Jesus is just an accessory to your life. He is not your Life. The Bible says that a good tree bears good fruit and a bad tree bears bad fruit. If you aren’t bearing the fruit of Christ, you don’t know Him. I beg of you to examine yourself in the light of scripture and determine for yourself whether or not God is truly doing a work in your life. Your eternity depends on it.
Now, who here knows what God did so that we would not have to go to hell? Who here knows what He did so that we would be abl
Posts: 217 | From: overseas | Registered: Jun 2008
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