He Is Risen

Bible Verse:
Luke 24:6a - He is not here, but He has risen. (NASB)

Text:
Over the period of a few weeks in Sunday School, the lessons have been about the rewards of salvation, abundant life, and eternal life, given to us when we believe and receive the Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts. I'm nine years old. It's Easter Sunday. Given our final instructions, a small group of us enters the church service. The little Methodist Chapel is packed. We sing a number of rousing hymns and choruses: "He is Risen", "He Lives", and so on, and the sermon follows. Finally, the invitation comes: "Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and want Him to come into your hearts, may come forward to receive Him." Nervously, but very sure I want this, I walk to the front, and as I am prayed for, I feel a physical lurch in my body, a lump in my throat, and huge happiness in my heart. Right there, my young life changes. I am safe. I am not alone. Jesus is inside me all the time. By God's perfect grace, those changes, which occurred that Easter Sunday, still pervade my whole being to this present day.

Easter 2011: Christians all over the earth celebrate the miracle resurrection of our Lord. He is risen! He is alive! Everything about our Lord is gloriously unique: His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, His eternity. Jesus in our lives makes us unique human beings also. Through our Jesus’ resurrection life, everlasting life -- and all that He gives -- is ours.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. (KJV)

May we remember all He has appropriated for us, as we celebrate with honour and humility in this Easter season. Jesus' resurrection power working in and through us is the evidence in our lives that we are indeed children of God. Through Jesus' resurrection, we have the divine guarantee of His justification and reconciliation to God. Jesus' resurrection is like our seal, our surety, not only that we are reconciled to God, but also that we are made righteous, and we can live resurrection-power-filled lives.

Ending Prayer:


Prayer: O Lord, high praises we offer to You in grateful prayer, celebratory song, worship, and in holy communion. Thank You from our hearts for all You have sacrificially wrought for us and in us. Heavenly Father, may we ever be happily testifying to all humanity of Your perfect salvation plan. In Jesus' saving name, we pray. Amen and Amen.!

Rosemary, Westbury Victoria, Australia

GOD CANNOT PLEASE SINNERS

SERMON BY CHARLES FINNEY

 Luke vii. 31--35. "And the Lord said, Whereunto, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread, nor drinking wine; and ye say he hath a devil! The Son of Man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children."

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WHAT MEN HIGHLY ESTEEM, GOD ABHORS

SERMON BY CHARLES FINNEY

"Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men, is abomination in the sight of God." --Luke 16:15.

Christ had just spoken the parable of the unjust steward, in which He presented the case of one who unjustly used the property of others entrusted to him, for the purpose of laying them under obligation to provide for himself after expulsion from his trust. Our Lord represents this conduct of the steward as being wise in the sense of forethoughtful and provident for self--a wisdom of the world, void of all morality. He uses the case to illustrate and recommend the using of wealth in such a way as to make friends for ourselves who at our death shall welcome us into "everlasting habitations." Then going deeper, even to the bottom principle that should control us in all our use of wealth, He lays it down that no man can serve both God and Mammon. Rich and covetous men who were serving Mammon need not suppose they could serve God too at the same time. The service of the one is not to be reconciled with the service of the other.

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ON PRAYER

SERMON BY CHARLES FINNEY

"He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."--Luke 18:1.

In discussing the subject of prayer, presented in our text, I propose to inquire:--

I. Why men should pray at all;

II. Why men should pray always and not faint;

III. Why they do not pray always;--with remarks.

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Pride that Blinds

Bible Verse:
He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27 NIV)

Text:
I was born into a typical Christian home and I went to church, read the Bible, but did not give God my all. Why? Well let us find out. Let’s back up. A couple months before now, I had joined a worship team serving in my church in Wyckoff, New Jersey. I also co-led small groups for our youth group Bible studies. I thought I was so spiritual and that I knew so much about the Bible that I did not need it that much anymore. So I neglected it, leaving it on a shelf for the dust to gather on.

During a sermon, our pastor called on me and asked where the verse above came from, and I didn’t even know! I thought I was so well versed in the Bible. I did not even stop to ask, “What does God think of my prideful behavior?” If I actually tried to love the Lord our God, with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind, I would actually see that my pride was wedging me further and further away from God.

I was still not ready to give up my filthy pride. After the sermon I went up to my pastor and said, “I’m sorry, I just forgot, I know the Bible verses better than anyone in our church, and I can’t believe I forgot this verse.” In reality, I was lying; I barely knew any verses in the Bible.

My pride blinded me, I was not able to neither see God’s love nor love God because of my pride.

Ending Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I thank you for exposing my pride to everyone and humbling me. Help me to give you back the love I did not give when I was blinded by pride and please forgive me. In Jesus Name, Amen

By Justin Yen  ( USA )

ON PRAYER FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

SERMON BY CHARLES FINNEY

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or, if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"--Luke 11:11-13.

These verses form the concluding part of a very remarkable discourse of our Lord to his disciples on prayer. It was introduced by their request that he would teach them how to pray. In answer to this request, he gave them what we are wont to call the Lord's Prayer, followed by a forcible illustration of the value of importunity, which he still further applied and enforced by renewing the general promise--"Ask and it shall be given you." Then, to confirm their faith still more, he expands the idea that God is their Father, and should be approached in prayer as if he were an infinitely kind and loving parent. This constitutes the leading idea in the strong appeal made in our text. "If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or, if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or, if he shall ask an egg, will he give him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

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What it Means to be Saved

Q. What does it mean to be saved?

A. Sweat poured off His body as sharp, relentless pain flooded His mind. He could not “will” himself to think of anything but the overwhelming pain. He twisted and turned trying to find a position that would ease the intolerable pain but His movements only created new sharp stabs of pain . There was no escape. His eyes were only half open, His lips white and drawn, and His body trembled continuously as it was brutalized by pain. It was everything He could do to just make it through the next few seconds. Why did Jesus have to suffer so? Have you ever taken a spanking for someone else who was guilty, or perhaps, were reprimanded at work for someone else’s mistake. If you have, you will begin to understand the sacrifice that Christ made. Of course, this does not help us to understand the enormity of Christ’s sacrifice for us. You and I are the guilty ones. We have turned our backs to God and lived in opposition to Him. We have not lived in the way that God has designed us to live. Christ suffered for our mistakes and our outright opposition to God. There was this Prussian general who had come into the command of a large group of undisciplined troops. They had to be ready to fight in short order. Some of the sentries were caught one night sleeping. At the trial the next day the general donned his judge’s robe and after hearing all the evidence found them guilty. Their sentence was the standard for this offense, sitting all night on a frozen lake without clothes. Since the temperature outside was below zero, it was a death sentence. Their punishment caught the attention of all the troops. Fear spread through their ranks and discipline increased dramatically. The general knew that the men needed more than discipline to win the battles ahead. He also knew they needed to learn to sacrifice for the common good, for each other. So he took off his robe and his clothes and joined his men on the ice that night. The troops went into battle without their general but his example, wisdom and sacrifice had started a fire in their hearts that the enemy couldn’t put out. Christ also sacrificed himself for us. His sacrifice showed once and for all His unbelievable love for us. It showed the heights and depths that He was willing to go for us. He did not suffer for just a few individuals, He suffered and gave His life for everyone who will yield their life to Him. He opened the way to eternal life for a race that was condemned to death.

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