Thus Saith God's Word
by Rev. Ted Brooks
"He thai belicveih on the Son of God hath the witness in himself, he that
believetlt not God hath made him a liar, because lie belies eth not the record
that God gasc of his son" (I John 5 10)
"Marvel not that 1 said unto tliec. ye must be born again " iJolm 1:7)
Ms friend, there are mans today ss ho belies e if sou basically lisc a good life
and ss hen sou die sou ss ill see God because sour good will outweigh your bad
There are those s\ ho preach that if sou belies c in God and pray to hint that
you will be saved Ms friend, "thou belies eth that there is one God. thoudoest
well. the des ils also belies e. and tremble "(John 2 11)
There are millions ss ho pray throughihc mother ofJesusto intercede for them
Oh friend, there is one God and one mediator betssecn God and men. the man
Christ Jesus, ssho gase himself a ransom for all to be testified in due tune " (I
Timothy 2 5-6)
God said to Nicodcmus "Ye must be born again " In other ssords. s ou must
eat and drink ss ater to live so as to be born again (spiritually) ""Except a man
be born again lie cannot see the kingdom of God " To be born again must be
gotten from above It literally means there must be a transformation front God
and a rencssal in righteousness and true holiness t.o be saved
When sou are begotten from abos esse trust no man's flesh We do notes en
recognize Christ after the flesh It is s ain for any man to profess relationship
svith Christ according to the flesh, ss lule he or she is unchanged in heart and
life and dead in trespass and sins
"Wherefore henceforth knoss sse no man after the flesh, sea. though sve has c
' knossn Christ after the flesh, yet noss henceforth knoss sse him no more "
"Therefore ifans man be in Christ, he is ancss creature, old tlungsarc passed
ass ay. behold, all things arc become ncss And all things arc of God who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ " (II Corinthians 5:16-18)
You sec. my friend, ss hates er things are of God arc being done through His
Son. Christ Jesus. (Verse 18) "And this is the record that God hath given to us
eternal life and this life is in his son and he that hath the son hath life and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life." (I John5:ll)
Ms friend, eternal life is only in Jesus Christ alone
Tlie Blood of Jesus Christ testifies to the humanity and sonship of Jesus
Christ and hisblood is a guaranteed redemption from sin for the Blood of Jesus
Christ hisSonclcanscthusfromallsin. (I John 1:7)
At the moment that sve confess our sins sve arc cleansed from all sin and as
long as w% walk in the light. (1 John 1:7)
Ms frtend. yc must be born again A prison guard ask this question: "What
must I do to be saved'.'" This question has been asked countless times over
numerous generations. It is sad to say that though many ask this question, not
all get the anssvcr God intended. If this man had asked the question today, he
would have been told, lis e a basically good life, belies c in God But ss lien the
guard cried out to Paul. "Sir. w hat must 1 do to be saved. Paul replied believe
on the Lord Jesus Church and thou shall be sas cd and thv house." (Acts 16:1011)
.
Notice the word "Must" I do to be saved. The word must and will exceed the
words like non existence, inconceivable You see. the word must which is
greater than non existence and inconceivable must become conceivable
It was here my friend that Nicodcmus asked the question. "How can this be?"
When told yc must be born again. You sec. my friend, these ssords are greater
than the ssords of the enemy that declared in his heart there is no God. If these
svords were greater than yc must be born again, then it wouldbe inconceivable
to tell someone ye must be born again. So you see the Bible tells us that the
fool has said in his heart there is no God. but God's word brought life over
inconceivable ss hen He said "He that hath the Son hath life. Hcthat belciveth
pn me hath life." My friend, to be begotten from above is to believe on the name
ofJesus. Stand flat footed anddcclarc that God is inexistcnce. ltisconceivable
that God noss abides in us through his Son. Ms friend, if the enemy ssho
declares that there is no God could hold God in non existence then the enemy
ssould be stronger and more powerful than God. But Jesus said. "Believe on
the name of Jesus and thou shaft be sas cd and he that bclcivcth not shall be
damned."
You see. my friend, the ssord spoken "yc must be born again" It speaks to
every class, to every condition, to every grade and shade of character, to man
incvery rankandcverycline. to every crccd and every denomination. It is very
clear on its svorks. y e must be born again. It docs not demand reformation but
regeneration It does not demand the turning over ofa nesv leaf, but it demands
anesylifc.
How does one get this new life? MUST. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
svilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up that svhosoeverbelieveth
in Him should not perish but have eternal life. So now you see a second person
liqs entered the scene. Now there arc tyvo men and tw o musts. As the first ma n.
he must be bom again. He is noyv confronted with a choice that which you
believe all your life was inconceiv able and non existence is now before you.
Choose life or choose death. Believe that 1 am who I say I am or perish. "He that
hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath not life." Do you believe
this? Then I will become conceivable in your life. You can know and tell that
I do exist. How? Old things are become new. A new creature will come on the
scene. The children will sec and can recognize He who was nonexistent is nowexistent.
Hewho was inconceivable is now conceivable. Old thingsare passed
away. One who did not have life now has life.
Weare among those whose aim it is to please God. We are overwhelmed and
mastered by the love that Christ had for him "For the love of Christ compels
us." (II Corinthians 5:14)Paul judged that if Christ died forall. then all were dead
and that he died forall "That they which live should not live unto themselves."
(I I Corinthians 5:15)
It was the fool who said "There is no God." (Psalm 14:1) When you see people
who fight and ruin the peaccfulncss of God's house, they do so because they
have never been begotten from above like the fool who said "there is no God."
And my friend. God said such a person said it from his heart. You see. darkness
has prevailed and to him the words of God were valueless that things in their
heart is inconceivable can be conceiv ed as non existent. Then that very thing
then which a greater is inconceivable is not that then which a greater is
inconceivable which is contradiction. It washcrethat Paul preached Christ into
existence and conceivable. "That Christ should suffer and that he should be
the first that should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people
and to the Gentiles. To these people God was non existent but Paul preached
. Christ from the grave as a God conceivable. If ye believe that he is God's son.
his only son. he becomes existent. And when Paul preached God in Christ as
one risen from the dead. Festus said with a loud voice. "Paul, thou art beside
thy self: much learning doth make thee mad." (Acts 26:19-24) What has gone
w rong? We hear a lot these days of doing this and doing that. Selfishness is
the root of most all of our problems. It affects us in our homes, churches, work,
and other social relationships. You now can see it on the school yard. A little
boy and his friend riding a hobby horse together. The boy said. "If one of us
w ould get off this hobby horse, there would be more room for me."
Too manvfolks todav arc afraid of death. The God who once was conceiv able
f
now inconceiv able. A God once existent in their life is now darkened by the
fear of death.
1 submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something which is right that
he or she would die for. lie isn't fit to live.
Little Carrie Bcrnall at Columbine High School had written these words and
when called upon to be a witness, it cost her life. I believe she had met the one
w ho was inconceivable to many others, but to her Jesus Christ was real. He
existed in her life. She was compelled by the love of Christ to continue on the
path of faithfulness What about you and 1? Have we discov ered that Christ
in which you would die for9
The story is told of the Titanic that plunged 12.000 feet to the Atlantic floor
Eva Hart remembers the horror of its sinking and the more dreadful cries of
drowning people.
She tells ofa lifeboat #14 row back to the scene at 2:20 am She saw boats
half filled Boats that fled the scene in fear that others might overcrowd the life
boat, so they fled leaving many to drown. Oh rriy friend, when Christ is
nonexistent and inconceivable and w e live as the fool who said the is no God.
our churches become cold, and our eyes are not on Jesus. My friend, when the
love of Christ has cotnpellcd us it will lift us up and push uson. When we grow
weary and at time when vvcare faint hearted, and feel like throwing our hands
up in despair, vvc look to Calv ary and we keep pushing on.
My friend, it is time to become part of the fellowship of the unashamed. We
ought to announce that the die has been cast, the decision has been made We
have stepped over the line. We won't look back, let up. slow down, back away
or be still.
My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure.
I'm finishedand done with lowliv ing. sight walking, small planning, smooth
knees, colorless dreams, tamed v isions, mundane talking, cheap giving and
dwarfed goals
1 no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotion, plaudits or
popularity . 1 don't have to be riglit. first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded
or rewarded. I now liv c by faith, lean on his presence, love with patience, live
by prayer and labor with power.
My face is set. My fate is fast My goal is heaven My road is narrow My wayis
rough. Mv companionsarc few. My guide is rcliablcandmy mission isclear.
I cannot be bought, compromised, dctourcd. lured away, turned back, deluded
, or delayed. I will not finish in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of
adversity. negotiate at table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or
meander in the maze of mediocrity
I won't giseup. or shut up. or letup or slow up until 1 hasc stayed up. stored
up. prayed up. paid up and spoken up lor the cause of Christ I ant a disciple
of Jesus I must go tell that he comes. gi\ e till I drop, preach nil all know and
work till he stops me And w hen he comes for hisow n he will has c no problem
recognizing me Ms banner is clear I am part o? the fellossship of the
unashamed
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Search for Truth
by Hlder Joseph Dullard
A QUESTION OF VALUES
"Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal." Matt. 6:20.
A newspaper article teporteti that a sixtccn-iiuh vase from
the Minn Dynasty changed hands for the highest price ever paid
(or such an item?$1,008,000. Novel having been a collector of
expensive vases, thai news would not have impressed itself upon
me had not I on the same clay read the lithe report front the Far
i'.astcrn Division of Sevenlh-dav Adventists. They. loo. had
broken a record. For a three-month period their tithe income
amounted to almost the same sum as was paid for the vase?
$1,007,199.
Consider what that amount of tithe meant for the church
program in an area that stretches from |apan to Indonesia and
from Thailand to Guam. That tithe represented the livelihood
of ministers, evangelists, teachers, administrators, and office
workers, who had more than 400 million people to warn with
the message of Christ's coming kingdom. What good would a
Ming vase do in the fat e- of that challenger When God balances
His b?x>ks. how will that vase compare with the work of (he third
angel in the Far East?
But then you are probably no more in the habit of collecting
Ming vases than I am. Here is another question for you and me
to ponder: Are we spending money, albeit on a lesser scale, for
other things that arc of no greater value in the balances of
eternity than is a Ming vase? New clothes, when the others are
not worn out yet; sweets and other appetizers, which may do
more harm than good; recreation and amusement that waste
time and nervous energy as well as" money; gimcracks and
gewgaws to set on mantels and collect dust. Perhaps not any of
these things cost much, and the purchase of many of them could
be rationalized. But over a period of time they add up. And
multiplied by all the members of the church who have the same
attitude toward money, the sum could be quite large?a new
church in a town where there is none, or a new printing press in
a difficult mission field.
Perhaps our attitude is the key to the whole thing. When
money leaves our fingers?are we spending for time or for
eternity?
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