Let God Provide Salvation
Step 1: Hearing
The Wonderful Word of Jesus!
John the Baptists and others prepared the way for Jesus so that the world could know who He was and what He was about. The Bible says in Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert A highway for our God”. In Matthew 3:17 God Himself at the baptism of Jesus proclaimed who Jesus was- His Son. The Bible say, “And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The question is: Have you heard about Jesus? To eat God’s food for the soul, to have God’s peace that surpasses all understanding you have to know Jesus and obey Him.The Bible says in Romans 10:1-15 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? The word “heard” refers to not just listening to the auditory sounds of Jesus, but the understanding and acceptance of His message. The message of the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are not born with this knowledge, nor are we born sinful as though we needed it. But eventually as we live our lives we sin, and that is when we need the message of Jesus. That He died on the cross for your sins. The sad thing is that many people have not heard the wonderful saving message of Jesus. This is the message you must hear today! I am a preacher of the Gospel who have been sent by Jesus thru the teachings of His marvelous word. I know my part, do you know your part ? It is to hear Jesus’ message and to believe who He is. Let’s look at the life of Jesus.
Step 1a Hearing:
Jesus is the Only Voice of Salvation
Jesus took some of His disciple Peter, James, and John to a high mountain. There Jesus was changed from His bodily form to His spiritual form- the Bible calls it transfigured. Jesus changed into the brightest light ever seen by man. There Jesus was met by Elijah a jewish preacher of the Law of Moses, and then also by Moses himself. Now how do you think Peter, James, and John reacted when they saw Elijah? He was one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament. And they also saw Moses, the author of God’s covenant with the Jewish people. The Bible says in Matthew 17:4, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” A tabernacle here refers to a place of worship. They wanted to worship Elijah and Moses. God was not pleased. The Bible says in Matthew 17:5 “...behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!’ ” This was God speaking and He was not pleased with Peter, James, and John’s intentions of building places of worship to Elijah and Moses. They learned a hard lesson today. Jesus is way bigger and way better than both of these two Old Testament titans combined. God had to remind them sternly that Jesus should be HEARD and Him alone.
Step 1b Hearing:
Nature Obeys the Commands of Jesus
One night as Jesus was travelling along with His Apostles across a great lake a storm came upon their ship. The Bible says in Mark 4:37-41 “... the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But [Jesus] was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’ Now notice the last statement by the one of the Apostles, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” We find here that the Earth itself is under Jesus’ power! Why? Because Jesus created world alongside God. The Bible says in John 1:1-3 and in verse 14 “ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth”. Jesus has power to overcome nature. He walked on water (Mat. 14:22-33), He cured human disease (Mat. 4:23-24) and He even has raised people from the dead (Jn 11:1-44). Jesus is more than qualified to help you. Will you let Jesus help you today?
Step 1c Hearing:
The Devil Fears the Voice of Jesus
Even the devil know who Jesus is? But do you? The Bible says in Mark 5:7, “And [the legions] cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” Even the devil and his angels knows clearly knows Jesus. but they will not and cannot change. But will you? Will you believe who Jesus is?
Step 2: Believe
"Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mk. 9:23).
Many people struggle in their belief in Jesus, this is not unusual.In the Bible there was man who heard the message of Jesus but he had problems in his beliefs. This man’s son was demon possessed. Jesus’ Apostles could not cure the boy so the father brought the boy to Jesus. Jesus became upset, not because of the demon inside the boy but, because His Apostle didn’t have enough faith to heal the boy. Jesus told the man “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” The man said “...with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!’ ” It takes faith in Jesus to follow Him. It may even cause you to cry. Do you have enough faith in Jesus that He can make your life right? Have all that you heard in these video lessons been enough for you to give your life over to Him? Sometimes we need to be like that father and ask God to help us with our unbelief. If you do believe Jesus, then He can make things that are impossible for you and I, possible. Do you believe Jesus? It is step 2 to being right with God. You have heard the word now believe it.
Step 3: Repentance
For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. 4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge. Jesus came so that people could be saved for the hereafter. But Jesus came that people could be better people today. Having a right relationship with God gives you Heaven and having a right relationship with God also makes you a better person today now on Earth. After you’ve heard the message of Christ, believed it, Christ expects you to be a different person, He expects you to change or repent from your old sinful ways. Christ wants you to live righteously.The Bible says in Luke 5:31-32 “... “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Sin is a sickness and Jesus is the only doctor who can treat it. All sickness can lead to death, sin too can lead to death. Jesus says in Luke 13:3 “I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise [die]”. So what does it mean to repent? Repent means to change PERIOD. If you are living in a sinning way stop. Find the righteous path for yourself. Repentance means we have to perform a careful self examination of ourselves. When we do this we will find that there are things that are sinful and we need to stop. Are you willing to be different for Christ?
Step 4: Confession
“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven". (Mat. 10:32-33)
After you have heard the message of Jesus Christ, believed it, and are willing to change or repent for Christ, it is a natural progression to want to confess your faith to anyone who may ask. The Bible says in Romans 10:9 Therefore it is critical to tell people about your faith in Christ. When we do this Christ will confess us to God in Heaven.
Step 6: Baptism
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mk. 15:16).
Jesus came to die, to be buried and to be resurrected into a new existence. Christ will never see death again. He calls all who would follow Him to do the same. But how? How do we die to our sins? The Bible says in Romans 6:3-11 “... as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him,that the body of sin might be done away with, ... knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.... Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So we find in this text that we must die to our sins, we need to bury that old person and we need to be resurrected a new life. This is the Gospel message, Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus died from His old life, was buried for 3 days, but was resurrected unto a new life. We cannot be saved without following Jesus’ footsteps. We must be baptized as Jesus told us in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” And He says in Mark 16:16 “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” When you are baptized you are being born again. This baptism is not a baptism of the Holy Spirit- no. it is a baptism into water. In John 3:5 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” The Bible says in Acts 2:38-39, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins...” When you are baptized into water you are receiving God’s forgiveness and you are inviting His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, into your life. The Holy Spirit is a seal of your salvation. The Bible says in Ephesians 1:13, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.” Also in Acts Chapter 2:47 we find that God adds you to Jesus’ body; His only body- the church. Not any church, but the one He died for. The one you can read about in the Bible. The Bible says “47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church[h] daily those who were being saved.” And this is where we will pick up on the next video.Will you be saved today? Today you have heard the message of Jesus Christ, I hope you believe it, I hope you are willing to repent or change your life. You know you need to confess your faith in Christ. So, “... why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Do you want it? Do you need it? Let God Provide food for your soul, Let God provide you with peace in your life and in death, and let God provide you with the salvation of your soul.
Conclusion
If you stand in need of to be saved, don't hesitate to do so. None of us knows when our time on Earth is over. Contact the person who gave you the wristband and they will make the arrangements for you, or call Marcus Grayson at 813-421-3756.
Now take the quiz that is on this web page. Don’t worry it is open book and you can go back and look at this video. Also you can look at the written version of this video. Good luck and see you at the next video lesson!
